After It Happened (Book 2): Humanity

by Devon C. Ford

  Karen moved on. "Melissa. Eighteen, should have finished A-levels last year. Grew up in the country. She has expressed interest in the animals"

  "Sold" said Chris straight away. They all knew he had more work than helping hands and the spring would only pile more on him.

  Karen nodded, "In that case maybe you'll like that her close friend is almost inseparable from her" she checked her notes again.

  "Kerry is twenty two, and was a biology student in her final year after a 'break' where she travelled to South America. She has knowledge of genetics and wants to stay with Melissa if you would like her too?" She looked at Chris.

  "Definitely. She can work out breeding programs and track our herd growth"

  "Lovely" said Karen, who found animals quite disgusting. Dan saw the look on her face and reminded himself to scare her with his 'monstrosity' of a dog that she liked so much when he next got the opportunity.

  "Nina ran a small catering franchise, and has a desire to stay in that line of work"

  "I could do with some help" said Cara quickly, still slightly nervous at having a senior role to play.

  "Moving on, neither James nor Ed have asked for placements. James worked in a call centre, but did grow up shooting and fishing."

  Dan looked to Chris, as he was the one who spoke to Pete most "apprentice gamekeeper?" He suggested. Chris was happy with the idea, as were the others.

  "I’ll take the big guy" Dan said.

  Karen opened her mouth to speak, but Penny interjected. "It seems we have recruited our first true pacifist" she said with a soft smile. "The only thing he wants no part of is violence, and it seems that his captors had wanted to recruit him into their enforcement ranks. He was beaten for refusing, even though it would have meant more food and better conditions. He refuses to hurt people on principle"

  Dan was shocked. It was the kind of justification he had heard from six stone women who don't eat cheese as the milk was stolen from cows. He knew it wasn't the same thing, and he felt a little understanding for the man.

  "Ok then!" he said, lost for more words.

  Pig yapped at Chris, conveying boredom at being stuck inside, but it stirred him enough to ask if he would join the gardens. "We've got a need for a heavy lifter, and work will pick up there soon as things need planting"

  Dan told them of the farmer he had met, and warned them all about his unique appearance. Chris stirred again, "Welshman?" He asked.

  "Yeah. You know him?" Dan said.

  "I think so, from young farmers years ago. Hard to think there'd be two who look like him!" He was happy for another experienced man on the farm, and said he would see how he goes with a view to making him a foreman.

  Penny nodded to Karen, who took it as a polite dismissal. She would go and speak to the new ones about their work.

  Penny started in again after she had left.

  "There are concerns about where these people came from. Clearly the women were hiding from a self-styled King of Wales, but I'm assured they will not be able to follow them here" she looked at Dan who nodded.

  "Joe took care of that. He's a bit tender about it and needs to let it sink in but he did very well. The others are more of a worry"

  Everyone listened in more carefully.

  "I want to question James and his mate in detail, as it seems they were basically slaves in a large group where they employ enforcers to make them scavenge for them. God knows whatever is going on there, but I don't like it. Not one bit"

  Frowns and head shakes rippled around the table. He went on.

  "Based on what they say, I may feel the need to visit their 'leader' and explain why slavery was abolished."

  The threat hung heavy in the air as they all went away to their own thoughts.

  BUNKER BUSTER

  They had stepped out into the world for the first time in months to find a wasteland. Rubbish swirled around the streets, cars lay on flat wheels covered in winter grime. Their plan to get a vehicle failed as none were well enough preserved, resulting in a convoy of traipsing people heaving for a nearby army barracks. Some of the group simply walked off alone; desperate hopes of finding loved ones running through their heads.

  Most of the group eventually reached the barracks where the now delirious Colonel yelled at the long dead Ministry of Defence police barrier guard to open the gates. Some of them broke in and found the place partly ransacked, with no way of opening the weapons lockers without power they took what they found lying around. They set themselves up in the mess area where people found what food was still edible.

  There was no cohesion, no leadership, and no purpose.

  She felt forlorn, uncomfortable in her clothes and scared. She tried to call them to order to hear her carefully planned speech, which had actually been written by her as they walked and not by one of her staff as she had been used to for years now.

  Without a speaker to call the assembled people to order, she was ignored. One of the remaining police officers even shouted at her and called her an 'interfering bitch'. She knew to expect such vulgarity from them; she would have wiped them all away to replace them with private companies working to government policy if she still had the power.

  Only now she had nothing, and the realisation crushed her.

  She lay on the comfortable seats and rested. She coughed, the force of it getting away from her and ended up doubling her over in a coughing fit. When he finally caught her breath and wiped the tears from her eyes she saw them all looking at her in horrified silence. Those near her didn't even have the tact to slide away slowly; they just got up and moved quickly giving her a stare.

  She felt like a leper; her head spun as her body temperature started to rise. One by one the rest of the group started to cough.

  ENTER THE DRAGON

  Ewan arrived just after breakfast, driving a big continental tractor - the kind that can do normal road speeds - and towing a large trailer. Chris met him, and the two recognised each other immediately. Ewan was offered the tour, but refused saying that he had set off before dawn and needed help bringing back machinery that they would need. All available people were tasked to go back and bring what they could. Steve drove their old minibus with a view to dumping it there and driving something more useful back.

  Ewan saw the scaffolding at the front of the house and asked if they were conned by some fascia salesman.

  The solar panel work was explained to him, and Chris admitted that it was slow progress as the panels had to be carefully lifted one at a time.

  "Bollocks, man!" Said Ewan. "Get that Manitou” the big telescopic forklift on the farm was called a Manitou apparently “up here and lift the whole pallet!"

  How that had escaped the entire engineering team was a mystery to Dan, but it seemed like the strange looking and slightly obnoxious Welshman was going to be helpful.

  He smiled at the small man giving a loud explanation of what he would do if he was building it, and walked inside.

  Leah was in Ops, having got hold of a nervous looking James and Ed as she was asked to. Dan sat down with them and gathered a notepad and pen close as Leah worked the map on the laptop.

  "Thanks for coming in gents" he started in a friendly tone "I know this sounds silly, but you aren't in any trouble" both relaxed slightly.

  "You've got jobs now I hear?" He asked, to warm them up a little.

  James spoke first "I've got to work with Pete and learn more about gamekeeping" he said. He was happy about that. "I'm going to be a gardener and grow vegetables" said Ed as happily as he could, still quite suspicious of Dan.

  "Good stuff. If it doesn't work out, or you want to learn something new instead just ask Chris" he said, ending the ice breaking.

  "Now, I need to know more about where you came from and I'll be completely up front about it; if people are keeping slaves to work for them then I intend to put a stop to it if I can".

  Ed studied the man in front of him. For all his smiles he still looked dangerous. Ed was taller and p
robably had four stone on him in weight, but he was scared of him. He had a vicious scar down the left side of his face which Ed doubted was a shaving accident.

  Without doubt, this Dan was a fighter. As much as fighting upset and offended him, he wanted the others to be free too.

  James began telling him all about who was in charge and how many thugs he had with him. He told him about the shipping containers they lived in, and that they couldn't get out unless the crane lifted them. They were fed and let out to work. In the winter they had metal barrels for fires and kept warm, but they were still prisoners. He would not think about what punishment the others had received after they didn't come back.

  Dan asked questions about the layout, the guards and their shifts, what weapons they carried. He wanted the guns described in detail, and asked insignificant questions like, "How do the leader and the guards talk to each other? Do they use any jargon or code words? Do they have radios?"

  This went on for over an hour as Dan wrote pages of notes. The kid, who was dressed like one of the soldiers, was working on a laptop and found the shipping yard. He studied the pictures as she gave James a big piece of blank paper and asked him to draw the place where the shipping containers were. She asked questions as Dan looked over the map, checking against a paper one as he went.

  The girl got James to mark where the guards stayed, where they walked and lots of other drips of information.

  Their questioning finally came to an end, but before they left Dan asked "One last thing boys; if I go and set your friends free, I'll need you to come and convince them they are going to be safe.”

  For maybe the fourth time during the questions, Ed spoke. "I'll come to see those people safe, but I'll not take part in anything that comes before. Ok?"

  "Understood, Ed. Loud and clear." He replied.

  Dan and Leah were left alone. He went over his notes and let out a sigh. Leah looked at him and he summarised.

  "Thirty plus survivors kept as slaves. Up to twenty guards with a range of weapons including at least five shotguns, a rifle and two semi-automatic pistols. High ground approach, but to a dead end."

  He stopped and rubbed his face, scratching the stiff scar down his left eye.

  "This isn't going to be easy, kid" he said.

  "You'll figure it out, you always do" she said helpfully "I'll make a model of their camp" she declared as she skipped off to find Marie who was teaching her how to draw in their sessions.

  "Oh, if I had your faith in me" he said to himself, as Boris jumped onto his notes and hissed at him.

  HOT SHOWERS

  With the help from Ewan over the next week, the pitched roof was now mostly covered on both sides by solar panels. Eight metal tanks lined the apex, all firmly connected to the scaffolding frame which was being secured wherever they could. Pipes ran down to the two bathrooms and the kitchen where Adam had fitted new taps. Heavy wires wrapped in rolls of tape snaked back up, powering the battery bank which in turn fed electricity to the house.

  Mike said it wasn't an endless supply, and suggested a further scaffold tower or two be erected on the flat ground near the house. More materials were required for this, as well as a smaller but similar setup for the farm and gardens, and teams were deployed to recover what he needed.

  The big win was what Adam and Carl had done; the rainwater reservoir tanks fitted to the guttering system now filled the upper most floor of the house, and the newly fitted electric showers - three in each bathroom - were ready for use.

  Marie was the most excited, claiming she hadn't washed her hair properly for nearly a year, and organised an official opening ceremony. A ribbon was found and cut in lighthearted mockery of their old lives, and the queues went along the corridor. Neil had to use the generators to boost the power supply, as the solar panels hadn't yet had a chance to fully charge the batteries.

  Dan was amazed at how the small things in life, like a hot shower, made everyone happy. Happy was good. Happy was productive.

  The new hands had made the farming and gardening tasks much easier. They had four polytunnels of potatoes growing, and a handful of other vegetables which could be grown early. Ewan had been a godsend in that respect, as he brought sacks of mouldy potatoes sprouting lank shoots and they had gone in the ground to make a new crop. His return trips had also yielded pigs, a cockerel and some chickens and more cows as well as some pieces of farm machinery which made work quicker.

  The general feeling was good, and people went about their daily routines with a smile.

  Dan brooded, saving his own thoughts of the impending conflict for only a few who knew what he was planning.

  His Rangers went out, scouting the things he needed. He tried different scenarios out in his head, calculating problems and losses. That was the issue; he couldn't serve up a plan to the council which allowed for any losses.

  He theorised with Steve over Leah's cardboard model, they pored over the maps and suggested different plans of attack which the others were invited to criticise.

  Leah surprised him by saying, "Why don't you just go and ask them to let the people go?"

  The stunned silence was broken by Steve laughing. Leah looked annoyed and snapped at him "That's just the start, but if you're going to laugh then I won't tell you!"

  Dan looked at her more closely. She had an idea, and she had the balls to offer it in this company.

  "Run me through it, kid" he said.

  WAR GAMES

  "Drive straight up to the gate and ask to talk to their boss" she explained. "You'll have top cover here and here" she said impatiently, pointing at two marks on her model.

  "All of the people we want to rescue will be inside metal containers so they won't get shot by accident" she said, as though she spoke to a child in a weird role reversal.

  "If they say no, then you shoot the guards on the top - never more than eight to ten - and deal with the rest coming from where their building is." She was annoyed because it was the fifth time she had talked him through it step by step.

  He thought about it. "How do we know they'll all be there?" He asked.

  She flipped the laptop round, showing her now typed notes of the debrief. "No night activity, all guards sleep in adjacent building bar the ones watching the pen. We get there for sunrise and they'll be there." She finished with a triumphant look.

  Dan looked to the other Rangers sat around the table.

  "Leah" he said carefully "do you realise your plan involves killing twenty odd people?"

  "Yes. But they aren't nice people and they aren't coming to live here so I can be kept prisoner too"

  He couldn't argue with her logic, but he worried that he may have created a monster.

  "How am I supposed to 'deal' with more than ten people rushing out shooting at me, even assuming that the ones on guard duty have been shot?" He asked, fearing the answer.

  "Machine gun. In the back of a truck like in the films." She said with finality.

  He hated to admit it, but she had come up with a simple plan which had every possibility of working. Their plans all fell down when they tried to extract scared people without confronting their captors.

  "There's a lot more to it, but fundamentally I think she's right" said Steve carefully. Leah practically burst with smug pride.

  "Ok, everyone think on it but keep it to yourselves" he said, as they left. He called Steve back and asked him if he thought Leah was too quick to suggest killing.

  "I haven't pushed her too far have I?" He asked. Steve had spent a lot of time with her as her training progressed and knew her well.

  "No. She's looking at this as a problem to be solved using what we have. She was never constrained by rules of engagement before, and never will be now. She's not a psychopath, she being pragmatic like you. Albeit a little cold..." He finished.

  Dan laughed. "Mount the GPMG in the back of a truck like in the films! What's she been watching?"

  Steve laughed with him and poured two glasses from the bottle he r
etrieved from a drawer.

  "It has its merits, and is entirely doable. Personally, I'd like more evidence that they are actually mistreating people. I'd like eyes on myself, ideally"

  "Me too, but the risk is too high" said Dan as he sipped "I'll work it out, see if Neil can weld a tripod into a Defender! In the meantime, train her hard tomorrow, she's getting cocky"

  His head swam with possible tweaks to her plan, but essentially she was right; get everyone in place, demand they release the people and kill them if they don't. They still had to then calm and rescue the people inside and take responsibility for them - after all, they had been dependent on the bastards for food and shelter and probably won't know how to look after themselves. He was planning to kill twenty, and bring back over thirty.

  What if they didn't want to be here? What if they wanted to stay where they are? What if some of them know the guards or are related to them?

  After breakfast Dan walked outside with Ash; it was just about warm enough for shirtsleeves but his body armour gave him another layer. He smoked as he walked up to the farm to find Neil in his workshop.

  "Wotcha, old bean" he said cheerfully from under the bonnet of a Defender he was servicing.

  Ash ran to him and sniffed his pockets until he gave up his work giggling, and tossed him a treat. Neil always had some on him as the group now had four dogs. All of them liked him, which was no surprise at all based on the contents of his pockets.

  "Hypothetical question mate?" Dan said, getting a well-deserved sceptical look.

  "Is it possible to mount the GPMG on a land rover?" He asked, nonchalantly.

  "Of course it's possible, but this ain't Desert Bloody Storm! What the hell are you planning, mate?"

  Dan's mind flashed to pictures of the 'pinkies' with GPMG's on each side and a fifty calibre in the back. He didn't keep secrets from Neil and trusted him not to gossip.

  "I want to rescue those people to the south and we don't have the numbers to take them on conventionally. We need to surprise them with overwhelming force" he said. He ran through the basics of Leah's plan, and told him what he imagined for the heavy gun.