Dystopia

by Jason Chapman

  Parsons stood. ‘I’ll get started immediately Prime Minister.’

  ‘I hate to be a scaremonger but what happens if this is the start of something bigger.’ Fuller said.

  ‘Then god help us.’ Mayflower stated looking at Bishop. ‘Are we going to label this as a terrorist attack?’

  ‘Since we believe the two attackers may have been connected the only course of action is to label it as terrorism. Or at the very least a hate crime.’

  ‘Ok we’ll put it down to terrorism.’ She looked at Fuller. ‘If there are other incidents then we have to be ready.’

  Chapter 4

  Smith Street – London – 5:12am

  ‘This better be good.’ Alan Manning said yawning.

  ‘Alan get your arse out of bed and get down to the Examiner right now.’

  ‘Why what’s going on?’

  ‘There’s been an attack in central London.’

  Alan suddenly felt more alert. His stomach tightened at the thought of an attack happening so close. Through his closed window he could hear sirens of emergency vehicles. He stood and walked over to a wardrobe. ‘What kind of attack exactly?’

  ‘We’re not sure but social media is on fire. There’s a video that’s gone viral.’

  ‘I’ll be there in half an hour.’

  BBC News – BREAKING NEWS – 5:34am

  ‘Good Morning you’re watching the news from the BBC, the headlines this morning.

  Terror strikes at the heart of Central London.

  Two locations have been closed off by the police.

  The authorities are urging the public to stay clear of The Sound Box near Leicester Square and Piccadilly Tube Station.

  A number of hospitals around Central London have received casualties. Some of these casualties are thought to have Life threating injuries.

  Police have yet to issue an official statement but early indications suggest this is a terror related incident.’

  London Evening Examiner – Fleet Street – 5:59am

  Tony Mirren glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘You said you’d only be half an hour.’

  ‘It’s bloody murder out there, they’ve blocked off so many streets. You’re lucky I rode my bike. If I would have used the car I would have been stuck in traffic.’ Alan complained taking off his cycle helmet.

  People in the newsroom were staring at a large screen mounted on the wall. The BBC news were running a story about an attack at a nightclub and a tube station.

  ‘Come into my office there’s something you need to see.’ Mirren invited.

  Alan sat down at Mirren’s desk staring at the video that played on a laptop screen. ‘This can’t be real.’ He said glancing up at Mirren.

  ‘It’s real, facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all other social media platforms have been running this video for a few hours now. It’s already had tens of thousands of views worldwide.’

  ‘How the hell can they keep running this?’ Alan questioned. ‘I would have thought the police would have ordered social media to shut this down.’

  ‘They have.’ Mirren stated.

  Alan glanced up at his editor.

  ‘According to my police source they have been trying to get hold of the main social media networks since this video was first uploaded but no one is responding.’

  ‘Then it has to be a publicity stunt.’

  Mirren shook his head. ‘This is as real as it gets Alan.’

  ‘Have the police released any official statement?’

  ‘Not yet but there’s a press conference at seven at Scotland Yard. Downing Street have just put a message on their Twitter feed. The Prime Minister is going to release a statement at nine o’clock.’

  Alan looked back at the video. ‘Jesus!’ He stated watching the attacker lift one of the nightclub bouncers off the floor by his throat. ‘That bouncer has to be over fifteen stone.’

  ‘What do you think?’ Mirren quizzed.

  ‘This is definitely something outside the box.’ He gestured towards the screen. ‘This bloke must have been taking some kind of performance enhancing drug.’

  ‘He doesn’t look like the type who goes down the gym every other day.’

  ‘There’s no way the police will label this as terrorism. For a start he looks too ordinary.’

  ‘Watch this next bit, the video zooms in.’ Mirren instructed.

  Alan moved closer to the screen. ‘Jesus what’s with the eyes?’

  ‘I know, I have watched this over and over.’ Mirren said. ‘He looks like something from the Walking Dead.’

  Alan looked at Mirren. ‘This bloke is no zombie.’ He hit the pause button and pointed at the man on the video. ‘I’d say he’s taken something, a drug of some sort.’

  ‘If drugs did this.’ Mirren stated. ‘I’d hate to be his dealer. Every copper will be hunting for them.’

  ‘What about the attack on the tube in Piccadilly?’ Alan asked.

  ‘Unlike this, there’s no footage. According to my police source, the attacker was a woman. We won’t know more until the police give out a statement. You have the lead on this story Alan. I want you out and about taking statements from public officials. See if you can get a witness statement as well. The other rags will be falling over themselves to get an angle. This story is going to dominate the news for the next few days. I’ll gather the troops after the police have issued their official statement. We will get working on this evening’s edition. I’ll clear all non-essential stories.’

  ‘That’s going to piss Natalie off. You know she’s due to have the front page this evening. She took months to land that interview with Chloe Chase.’

  Mirren rolled his eyes. ‘That self-centred bitch can wait a few days. She couldn’t sing if her life depended on it. Those X Factor judges have shit in their ears.’

  Alan looked back at the screen. ‘So what are we dealing with, a new wave of terrorism?’

  ‘If this is a new wave of terror, this is going to send the media into meltdown.’

  ‘What exactly do you want the headline to be?’

  ‘Terror strikes again in central London. Unless we know what’s going on for sure, I’m not jumping ahead of ourselves. This is the London Evening Examiner not The Sun or the Star.’

  Alan played the video again.

  ‘This is definitely drugs.’ Mirren Stated. ‘Thing is what kind of drug could make your eyes turn white like that?’

  ‘Do we know who filmed the video?’

  ‘No, whoever it was managed to leave the nightclub without being seen by police.’

  ‘Whoever it was must have a facebook profile.’

  Mirren clicked on the mouse. I have looked but cannot find anything. It looks as if this video has just randomly appeared.’

  Alan glanced at his watch. ‘I better move, getting across London should be enough of a struggle.’

  Chapter 5

  ITV News – 6:10am

  ‘Good morning you’re watching a special program from ITV News, the headlines this morning. Hundreds of people flee for their lives following an attack at a nightclub in central London. Preliminary reports say that at least a dozen people are feared dead in what seems to be a terror related attack. Piccadilly Tube station has also be closed off due to another incident. Early reports state that at least seven people have known to have been killed. We go live to our correspondence who is at Leicester Square. Chris what’s happening there at the moment?’

  ‘James as you can see behind me the entire area is teaming with police officers. Both armed and unarmed police are on patrol in and around Leicester Square. I have even seen police with sniffer dogs in the area. What I can tell you is this. Just after midnight the police were called to the Sound Box in response to an incident. One witness described the incident like a scene from a horror movie. Another witness described a crazed man randomly attacking people.’

  ‘Have the police released any kind of statement regarding this incident?’

  ‘The only thing the p
olice have said at the moment is that this is being treated as a terror related event. They are advising the public to stay away from the Leicester Square area while they conduct their investigation. We understand the nightclub’s owner Maxwell Church is helping police with their enquiries. What is disturbing in relation to this incident is there appears to be a video that has been uploaded across all social media platforms. Because of the graphic nature of the video we are unable to show it to our viewers. Facebook and YouTube have yet to release any statement as to why they have not taken down the video which seems to be available to view by everyone.’

  ‘Let’s join our correspondent from outside Piccadilly Tube Station Kirsty Jennings. Kirsty what can you tell us about the incident there?’

  ‘James the police have just moved the press back to a safe distance. There are dozens of emergency vehicles at the scene. I have seen forensic officers coming and going over the last half an hour. It is my understanding that the police were called in the early hours of this morning to this tube station regarding an incident. The Metropolitan police have issued a brief statement saying they will hold a press conference very soon. We also learnt the Prime Minister Tessa Mayflower was woken early this morning to the news of these terrible events. She and her senior cabinet members including Deputy Prime Minister Edwin Fuller have already chaired a meeting with Cobra. This is a crucial week for the Prime Minister. She’s about to start the final round of Brexit talks with the European Union. There is also controversy surrounding the appointment of her Deputy Prime Minister Edwin Fuller, a prominent member of the Republic Unionist Party. Parliament backbenchers have called on her to stand down as Prime Minister. These are indeed turbulent times for Tessa Mayflower.’

  Piccadilly Tube Station – 6:34am

  ‘Are you ok Sam.’ Constable Jason Peacock asked handing over a plastic cup.

  Sam composed herself for a few moments before taking the coffee. ‘I’m fine, just trying to get my head around all this.’

  ‘I tell you what I don’t understand. How did a young woman manage to take on a gang of youths, kill them all, only to end up dead herself. One of the forensic team just told me she wasn’t hurt in any way. None of the poor bastards she attacked managed to lay a finger on her. Yet she managed to kill all six of them without as much as breaking a fingernail. Four gang members were even armed with knives.’

  A man in a forensic suit approached. ‘We’ve finally managed to pull CCTV footage from the train carriage if you are interested.’

  Sam followed the forensic through to a small office where another plainclothes detective was staring at the screen. He glanced at Sam as she entered the room. ‘This is bloody incredible.’

  ‘There’s nothing incredible about this.’ Sam said. ‘These poor sods must have been terrified as they watched this woman kill them one by one.’

  The video played on the screen.

  ‘We have spoken to the driver of the train. He claims that after he had pulled into Piccadilly the train stopped functioning. He said after a few minutes of trying he decided to get any passengers off the train. That’s when he came across the bodies.’ The forensic revealed.

  Sam watched the woman enter the train carriage and begin her attack. ‘Stop the video.’

  The forensic clicked on the mouse.

  Sam pointed at the screen. ‘The youths are trying to get out of the carriage but the door isn’t responding. Play the video.’

  One of the youths could be seen ponding the button to the train carriage door but the door remained shut.

  ‘A malfunction with the doors maybe.’ The forensic suggested. ‘The individual who filmed the incident thought he would be caught up in the attack.’

  ‘Who has control of the doors on the train?’ Sam asked.

  ‘The driver maybe.’ The forensic replied. ‘Some of the train doors can be opened remotely from elsewhere. Perhaps London Transport HQ.’

  The video played on. The last remaining youth backed against the train carriage wall clenching his knife. The youth could clearly be seen screaming at the woman.

  ‘He’s saying get fucking back or I’ll gut you.’ The forensic said.

  Sam glanced at him.

  ‘We study footage with no sound. Learning to lip read on occasions like this is vital.’

  The woman marched towards the last remaining youth grabbing his knife hand and twisting it.

  The youth screamed in agony.

  The young woman picked the youth up effortlessly flinging him across the carriage. The youth lay on his back clutching his broken wrist. He looked up as the woman strode towards him. He screamed out again glaring at his attacker as she pinned him to the floor.

  ‘He’s shouting somebody help me, please.’ The forensic revealed.

  The woman straddled the youth. Her long hair obscured his face. She tore open his shirt before raising her hand clenching her fist before striking downwards.

  ‘Jesus!’ The forensic gasped as he watched the woman punch through the youth’s exposed chest.

  Sam clasped her hand over her mouth and turned away from the screen for a brief moment.

  The woman ripped out the youth’s heart.

  The youth’s eyes were still open looking upwards in a terrified stare.

  ‘This is madness.’ The plainclothes said.

  Sam forced herself to look back at the screen.

  The woman stood and turned to face the camera before walking towards it. She held the dead youth’s heart in her bloodied hand. For a moment she stared at the heart before looking directly at the camera. Her eyes seemed lifeless.

  ‘Pause it.’ Sam said loudly.

  The detective clicked the mouse.

  ‘There, she’s staring directly at the camera.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ The plainclothes asked. ‘She’s got no pupils remember.’

  ‘You’re right she’s definitely looking directly at the camera.’ The forensic said.

  ‘Which means she’s aware of the camera.’ Sam added.

  ‘So what does that mean?’ The plainclothes asked.

  ‘She’s aware of what she’s doing. Meaning this may not be a mindless attack.’

  ‘What are you saying this is part of something bigger or connected with the incident in the nightclub?’ The plainclothes suggested.

  ‘It could well be.’ Sam replied.

  ‘So some bloke goes nuts in a nightclub and this woman goes crazy on the subway.’ The plainclothes commented. ‘Why?’

  ‘They’re both public spots and soft targets.’ The forensic replied. ‘Especially at that time of night. Security will be minimal on the tube, not like during the day.’

  ‘But these don’t fit the profile of your average jihadist.’ The plainclothes said.

  ‘Who said anything about jihadists?’ Sam replied. ‘There has to be something linking these two. Play the video.’

  The plainclothes clicked on the mouse and the video continued.

  The woman stared at the camera for several seconds before turning away. She started to walk towards the centre of the carriage stepping over the bodies.

  ‘There.’ Sam pointed at the woman. ‘She may have no pupils but she can see exactly what she is doing. She’s avoiding bodies on the floor.’

  The woman stopped in the centre of the carriage before turning back towards the camera. She looked directly at it again for a few seconds before collapsing.

  ‘The man in the nightclub also collapsed after his attack.’ Sam thought for a few moments before turning and heading for the door.

  ‘Where are you going?’ The plainclothes called after her.

  ‘Back to the club, I need to look at the CCTV footage.’

  Chapter 6

  ITV News – BREAKING NEWS – 6:56am

  ‘Good morning you’re watching a special ITV news bulletin. We are live from Leicester Square, the scene of what appears to be yet another terrorist incident in central London. As you can see behind me police have sealed off the area surrou
nding the nightclub. Forensic officers are at the scene looking for any clues that may assist them in their investigation. What we know so far is just before midnight last night an attack happened in the nightclub. According to witnesses it was a lone attacker who appeared to be wearing a hoodie. One witness described seeing the attacker fighting with several bouncers in the nightclub. Another witness said they saw a man attacking a woman. Another witness described scenes resembling a horror movie. Police were also called to Piccadilly Tube station just after twenty to one this morning in response to a second attack. We now cross live to Kirsty Jennings who is at Piccadilly Tube station.’

  ‘Thank you Adam, well as with the Sound Box in Leicester Square the tube station at Piccadilly has been sealed off while forensic officers sweep the station looking for clues. Unlike the attack at the Sound Box, there weren’t many people around at that time of night. It was late Sunday night into Monday morning. Many people would have already been in their homes ready to start work this morning. What little information we do have is that police were called in response to an incident that occurred at around midnight. Throughout the night witnesses have described bodies being brought up from the tube station and put into the back of ambulances. Heavily armed police have been patrolling the area in the event of another attack. Trains have been diverted away from Piccadilly causing huge disruption to early morning commuters. The Metropolitan police are due to give a statement on last night’s attacks. We also understand the Prime Minister has chaired an early morning meeting with her senior ministers, along with police and security advisors. Downing Street have issued a brief statement saying the Prime Minister will address the nation later this morning.’