World War Zed

13. Interview with: Dr Elena van der Nacht

Geneva, Switzerland

Interview with : DrElena van der Nacht

Once I've finished congratulating Dr van der Nacht on her most excellent talk, we find a quiet corner in a nearby bar, and she agrees to talk more about her own personal experiences of the War. Over a glass of dark lager, she talks animatedly about her survival:

"I was living in Amsterdam at the time of the outbreak with my partner of four years, and a small dog called Alphonse. We had rented a canal boat in the centre of the city. It really was a very beautiful place and we loved it there. I suppose we were just a pair of old hippies in many ways, but it was a peaceful and carefree existence.

"For us and many others, the main result of the mass Infection of so many people and the panic that followed was that there was no-one left to man the pumps on the levees which protected so much of Holland. Hundreds of miles of banks kept the sea out, but as soon as the world descended into chaos, so did Holland.

"Amsterdam itself was thirteen feet below sea level. I was on my own as the water levels in the canal started to rise. To this day, I have no idea what happened to Malcolm, he just didn't come back, although I assume he'd taken the dog for a walk as Alphonse didn't come back either.

"I'd loosened the mooring ropes on the boat and sat in the centre of the canal, waiting. A young couple I knew had joined me on the boat just before I did this, and we sat watching the Zeds take over the streets. We watched helplessly as people ran screaming from one group of Zeds into the waiting arms of another group. We watched as men, women, and children died. And we were utterly powerless to prevent any of it, and sat there, shamed by our own inaction and ability to help. We saved ourselves. Had anyone swum out to join us we would have helped them on board but no-one seemed to turn to the watery streets of the river and canal network.

"After the first few days, the water rose very swiftly and there was a very dicey period when the levels rose enough that we were almost in reach of the Zeds, who were moaning their way around the chaotic streets. A couple of times we had to use the oars from our small rowing boat to fend them off. Soon though, we floated above them and watched through the murky water as they wandered slowly around under the encroaching tide, occasionally falling into the deeps of the now swamped river channel.

"As the area turned into an inland sea, more boats joined up with us over the next few days, one of which was a police patrol boat that had a couple of divers on board. They were the ones who came up with the idea of using their experience and diving kit to get more food and equipment. Their little boat had nothing useful on board apart from the diving gear. We had a full galley; it seemed like a useful arrangement for all of us.

"They soon found a supermarket, but were very careful not to make too large a hole, as they didn't want the Zeds in there. That night, we ate well.

"During the following weeks, more survivors joined up and we tied together in a massive clump of boats, anchored to the side of an old church. As the water continued to rise, we became more and more exposed to the elements, and realised our boats wouldn't survive for any great length of time, particularly with the onset of winter. By this time, we had about forty people huddled in our group. One, a civil engineer, suggested we try and take a tower block. This would mean securing the area below water level, and breaking into and clearing the building. With little choice remaining to us, we began to make plans.

"A local man came up with the location. He had been a member of the local planning department and remembered a sturdily built block of flats with a multi-story car park built into the lower levels. This meant most of the building would be above the current water level, and as such would allow water to flow through it rather than having detrimental flows building up against it. Access to the upper floors was limited, it was deeply piled to take the weight of the building above, and had no other structures nearby that could threaten it if they collapsed.