UK Dark Trilogy

by Harris, Chris

  As our men neared the building, the camera picked out a man leaving it, holding his hands high above his head. He was ordered to kneel and keep his hands out in the open. We watched as he was roughly thrown to the ground and his hands secured behind his back. He was dragged away from the front of the building to where a group of soldiers had gathered behind some abandoned cars.

  At Jon’s request, the camera zoomed in on the group. We could see Captain Berry talking to the man. He then addressed the control room. “Colonel Moore, we have information that Gumin and a few of his men have holed up in the office suite of the warehouse.”

  “Captain Berry, we can see you, please continue.”

  “As soon as my broadcast went out, the people inside did try to capture him. They caught a lot of them unprepared and managed to get their weapons away from them, but Gumin and an unknown number of his men managed to retreat to the offices. They’ve already fortified them, as it’s where they keep all the weapons and valuables they’ve plundered.”

  “What do you propose, Captain Berry?”

  “Let me do a recon and then I’ll come up with some options.”

  A few minutes later we watched him lead a team of four men into the building.

  Another tense few minutes passed as we all waited, powerless to do anything but observe the drama being played out before us in full HD and stereo sound.

  Captain Berry’s voice broke the silence. “Get ready. We’re sending some people out to you. They’re all disarmed and will need to be secured.”

  Over the next ten minutes we watched as, singly and in pairs, men and women hurried out of the building, arms raised. The waiting soldiers secured their hands behind their backs and made them lie flat on the ground.

  “Colonel Moore, the building is clear apart from the men barricaded in the office. They’ve secured a good position and may be tough to dislodge. If it wasn’t for all the supplies in there, I’d suggest that we withdraw and call in an airstrike.”

  “Any other options, Captain Berry?” asked Jon. “I agree, I’d prefer to hang on to the supplies but if, in your opinion, it’s too risky to remove him by force, I’ll authorise an airstrike on the building. The supplies would be useful, but it’s not worth risking the lives of your men. You’re in command on the ground, it’s your decision.”

  “Thank you, Sir, give me five minutes.”

  Ten minutes later, he was back on the radio. “Sir, we have a plan. We’ve got a sniper into position overlooking the office. He’s got a good view of the inside. He’ll fire through the window and force them to keep their heads down, while we attack them through the front. Let me get the men into position and clear the civilians out of the way and then we’ll give it a go.”

  We saw the soldiers starting to gather up the people who’d been lying prone in the yard. They were moved in groups, and then placed together in one location, close to where the gates had been flattened by the armoured cars.

  We received no warning of the commencement of the attack. The camera had shown squads of soldiers moving rapidly into the building and the odd voice command could be heard over the speaker, as he got them into position inside the building.

  A flurry of commands burst out over the speaker and gunfire could be heard in the background. It was impossible to work out what was going on and there was nothing to see on the screen, as all the action was taking place inside. Jon was quiet, his face expressionless and his eyes closed, as he tried to interpret the calls coming in over the radio, to get an idea what was going on.

  As I listened, I imagined the chaos and terror of a close quarter battle, as Paul and his men fought to drive out Gumin and his henchmen.

  “Breach the door!” came through very clearly.

  A crescendo of gunfire and explosions made you want to duck under the desk. On the screen, smoke began to pour out of the side of the warehouse. More commands and voices could be heard, then silence.

  Nothing was heard for a few minutes until a calm “all clear” came over the speaker. As more “all clears” came through, we all stood and cheered as the tension in the room melted away to be replaced by relief and joy.

  “That was a bit tense,” said Jon, as he came up and shook both our hands. “I still feel I should have been out there, leading from the front.”

  Jerry replied, “Come on Jon, you did that the other day.”

  “You’re right!” he acknowledged. “Do you want to get out of here for a while? It’ll take Captain Berry quite some time to sort things out and report back, I guess.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  We left the operations centre and made our way to the canteen. It was full of people sitting down to breakfast. When we looked at the clock on the wall, we were amazed to see that it was still only eight o’clock in the morning. The whole operation had taken just over an hour.

  Jerry and I sat there for several hours, drinking cups of coffee, and not knowing what to do next.

  Our main topic of conversation was, of course, the attack and the fact that it had obviously been a success. We still weren’t sure if Gumin had been killed or captured, but came to the conclusion that it probably didn’t make much difference either way. If he’d been captured alive we couldn’t imagine him being allowed to continue his miserable and cruel existence for long.

  What had been brought home to us was that without the extra security the army’s presence was currently giving us, then increasingly, our community’s ability to protect itself against a large scale attack would be in doubt.

  We talked about the fact that we were now in the depths of winter and were entering the coldest months of January and February. Would there be a mass migration of people back into the cities?

  Whatever food the countryside might have been able to offer would clearly be exhausted by now, so if you had the strength, wouldn’t you want to get back to the towns and cities, where at least there was the possibility of a roof over your head and warmth from a fire?

  A feeling of unease came over me. “We need to get back home right now Jerry,” I said.

  “I know, Tom, but Jon did promise he would get us back home once the attack was over. Let’s give it time for the dust to settle and then we’ll ask again.”

  A soldier approached and told us that Colonel Moore was ready to hold a debriefing on the results of the attack. We followed him and found ourselves in a room that was set out in conference style, with enough seats for at least three hundred people. Jon and a number of officers were seated at a table at the front of the room. As the room was about half full, Jerry and I managed to find a couple of empty seats close to the front and sat down. Asking for quiet, Jon announced that he would begin soon; he was just waiting for a few more people to arrive. I could see the Prime Minister and most of the people I’d been introduced to the day before, sitting just in front of us.

  The noise in the room increased again, as everyone continued their conversations with their neighbours.

  “Atten-shun!” a voice boomed, immediately silencing everyone. All the uniformed occupants of the room sprang up and stood as if on parade. Jerry and I, not knowing what we should be doing, followed suit and stood up.

  I realised that the Queen and Prince Philip had entered the room and everyone watched as they seated themselves at the front.

  “Thank you,” said Jon, “Please sit down, everyone. Captain Berry has sent through his initial report and I thought it would be simpler to brief everyone together.

  As I’m sure you’re aware, the attack was successful, in the fact that we eliminated this Gumin character, who was terrorising and controlling quite a large area. The details may change as Captain Berry discovers more, but this is what we know for now.

  After a fierce firefight Gumin was killed in the final moments of the attack. He’d barricaded himself into an office suite once Captain Berry had taken control of the warehouse. Up until this point, the attack had gone according to plan. His victims had risen up against him and overpowered most of hi
s men. We now know that over a hundred and fifty men, women and children were living under terrible conditions of abuse and virtual slavery.

  I’m sure as the stories come out, they’ll be added to many more shameful tales for years to come about the levels of depravity some humans are prepared to reach.

  “Gumin and his men fought viciously, and in the main, without any fear or regard for their own personal safety. They seemed to be impervious to pain too, all of which suggests that they were under the influence of some serious narcotics. Captain Berry was forced to use flashbangs and grenades to make a breach in their defences, and this started a fire. Even though the rooms they were hiding in were burning fiercely, they refused to surrender. Gumin only made a final bid for freedom when his clothes were alight.

  Pausing, Jon picked up a sheet of paper and looked around the room. “I’ll now read from the report Captain Berry sent through, to prove that I am not dramatizing Gumin’s last moments.

  “Gumin ran from the room with most of his clothes on fire. Holding a gun in each hand, and shooting wildly, he managed to get virtually to the warehouse door before being brought down by sustained fire from most of us”.”

  Jon explained that once all of Gumin’s men had been eliminated, the fire had consumed most of the inflammable items in the room, and Captain Berry had been able to bring it under control and extinguish it. He was currently organising the survivors, and the volunteers from our own community were helping them to understand that their ordeal was over. It was obviously too early to have itemised all the supplies that remained in the warehouse, but initial reports indicated that these were substantial. Looking around the room again, Jon continued,

  “Once we’ve had time to assess all the facts, I’m sure the survivors will have a big part to play in the recovery programme. They’re now effectively the owners of a large, well-stocked food warehouse, and I’m sure that they’ll want to help move things forward. And don’t worry, we’ll make sure it doesn’t fall under the control of a madman again. Thank you. That’s all for now. We’ll keep you all updated on any changes. Now if you could return to your duties, I’m sure we all have a lot to do.”

  We all stood up as the Queen left and then the buzz of conversation started again. Jon made his way over to us.

  “Jerry, I’ve arranged for you to meet the psychologist we were talking about yesterday. He’ll be in the medical centre and is expecting you to drop by shortly.”

  Jerry nodded. “Thanks, Jon, I’ll head over now.”

  Before he left, Jon spoke to both of us. “While I’ve got you together, I just wanted to let you know that we’re planning to get you home tomorrow. We still think travelling through the night is the best option, so you’ll be leaving with the convoy tomorrow night and if all goes to plan, you’ll arrive early on the 31st.”

  “News Year’s Eve!” I exclaimed. “That’s great! Thanks, Jon. You’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment and I really appreciate that you haven’t forgotten about us.”

  He grinned, “As I’ve said before, how could I forget about you? You’re the ones who have landed me with all this work! Now Tom, if you could follow my aide, I have a few people who want to meet you. Jerry, once you’re finished with Dr King, if you want to join Tom, I’m sure you’ll find it interesting as well.”

  As Jerry set off, Jon led me into a smaller room and asked me to wait. A few minutes later he returned and introduced me to a man called Chris. He was dressed in civilian clothes and looked about the same age as me.

  “Tom, Chris has requested a meeting as he has a proposition he wants to put to you. Chris, why don’t you start by giving Tom your background and why you happen to be here.”

  We shook hands and sat down together. “Tom, thanks for meeting me,” he said. “My name is Chris Garland and I’m a Bushcraft Instructor. I’ve been here for about a month now.

  When the power went out, I knew straight away what had probably happened. I don’t have any ties, so I decided that my best course of action would be to get away from everyone and try to survive in the wild. It worked well at first and I travelled around the countryside, avoiding people whenever I could.

  It wasn’t always easy though, as before long, the countryside started to fill up with people escaping from the cities. After seeing some terrible things, I decided to cut myself off from all the violence and settle in the remotest and least populated area possible.

  Unfortunately, and rather embarrassingly, I was passing close by on my way to an area of Wales I knew would be ideal, when I tripped over a rabbit hole and fell and broke my ankle.” He pointed down at his foot, which was in an air cast boot.

  “I was now in a bit of trouble, and seeing a farm in the distance I had no choice but to try and make my way there and seek help. Fortunately for me, it turned out to be this place. I was picked up by one of the patrols and I’ve been here ever since. My ankle’s almost better now and, not wanting to be a burden, I was thinking about continuing on my way when all the excitement of making contact with you happened.

  And now I’m hearing stories and rumours about a recovery plan, so I approached Colonel Moore to see if I could offer my services.”

  “Sorry about your ankle,” I said. “Look, please don’t take this the wrong way but, how do you envisage helping us? Bushcraft is all very well, but I’m not sure the ability to whittle a spoon is going to be much help to our survival.”

  He laughed good-humouredly, “I don’t think I explained myself properly; I’m a Bushcraft AND Survival Instructor. Before I broke my ankle I was living entirely off what was around me. I could teach you that you don’t have to rely on stored food, and that there’s more than enough food to be found just from foraging and trapping.”

  With another grin, he added, “Bushcraft isn’t just about spoon whittling. It’s about living in the natural environment, and using your ingenuity and what nature can provide, to find food, shelter and tools. I can teach you to make a great spoon as well if you want, but personally I still prefer my trusty metal spoon for eating.”

  Apologising for my flippant comment, I immediately saw the benefit of what he was offering. Before the event, Becky and I had created a file containing information on edible wild plants, and how to trap and catch wild game in the countryside.

  But apart from gathering and harvesting berries, and well known plants such as dandelions and nettles, we’d been far too busy amassing supplies to concentrate on wild food.

  “I’ve mentioned to Colonel Moore that I’d like to offer my services to you,” explained Chris. “If we can stretch the food we have stored for as long as possible by supplementing it with foraged food, it’ll make a big difference. I could teach the lost art of living on what nature can provide us with. I want to start with your group, then create and adapt a basic survival programme so that we can roll that out as we reach out to more and more people.”

  It made perfect sense and the benefits of what we could learn from Chris were obvious. This was clearly a skill gap that needed to be filled and the thought filled me with excitement. “Chris, it would be great if you could join us,” I said. “Will your ankle be a problem? Do you need it to heal properly before you join us?”

  He shook his head. “I’m going stir crazy trapped down here. I can’t wait to leave. I might not be up for a marathon just yet, but it’s good enough for me to hobble around on. Anyway, the boot’s due to be removed next week so I’ll be back to normal pretty soon. When are you planning to go home?”

  I looked at Jon, who replied for me. “They should be leaving tomorrow, so if you want to go to the stores and pick out whatever clothes, equipment or supplies you’ll need, I’ll authorise it.”

  Delighted, I shook Chris’s hand again and left him to get organised. My first impression of him was that he was a great bloke who would fit easily into our little community.

  “Thanks for finding him, Jon,” I said. “He should be a real asset to us.”

  Jon nodded smiling. “Yes,
I’ve met him a few times now and with the skills he has, he could mean the difference between survival and starvation for a lot of people. I’ll need your opinion on what he teaches you, and whether we can realistically use it in the recovery plan. But I don’t see why not. I believe he has skills that no one else in this base has, but once again, it’s all based on theory and until we try it out we won’t know if it’s going to work.”

  Looking sombre, he said, “I don’t think I need to remind you that a lot of people will be following these plans of ours. I hope to God they work. Millions of lives will depend on our getting this right, and at the same time we need to be as quick as we can.”

  “No problem, Jon. I understand.”

  “Thanks, Tom, the next few months are going to be hectic. We need to get as much as we can in place by the end of the winter.”

  He glanced at his watch. “Talking about hectic, I’ve had a request for some more of your time to go over some further plans and ideas we’ve come up with.”

  I shrugged and said, “I’m all yours until I go back tomorrow. Could I have some time with you later though, to discuss something that Jerry and I were talking about earlier?”

  “Of course, Tom. I’m not sure when I’ll be free, but how about we catch up in the pub later?”

  He sent me off with a waiting aide to a nearby room, where Jerry and I (who by now had finished talking to the psychologist) spent the rest of the day discussing and helping to improve various plans and ideas that had been put together by a number of aides and ministers. We also met with the farmer and had a useful discussion and a quick education on the use of polytunnels.

  We concluded that they were definitely something we needed to build when we got back.

  We put together a plan for the next few months. The base would remain on lockdown, but we’d managed to get them to agree to contact any groups that were picked up by their reconnaissance in the local area.

  I argued that they would need to work with these people in the future, if they managed to survive the next few months, and pointed out that they could hardly expect any cooperation from them at a later date, if they subsequently discovered that the Government had known of their whereabouts and offered no help or contact.