Breaking Britain (Completed)

Chapter 4

4
Saturday 5th January 2030
07:15

Junior awoke in a good mood, he was scheduled to return home that day. He had spent the week with his dad, his mum had insisted on it and although he had complained, he knew what the end result would be. His mum never lost an argument with him. He could now go back home, invite Moisha over, hang out with his friends and maybe convince his mum to buy him a new pair of trainers.

He had packed his things the previous night, excited about leaving. He pulled his legs over the side of his temporary bed. He thought about the fact he would be back in his own bed. He missed his bed. His dad had bought the single bed for him a long time before he had gone through his growth spurt, as a result he was forced to flex his knees to avoid hitting his feet on the end headboard.

He grabbed hold of his towel wrapped it round his waist, covering his boxer shorts he had worn to bed and made his way down the hallway, into the bathroom to take a shower.

After dressing and picking his hair, he made his way downstairs. The television was on, which meant his dad was awake. He headed to the kitchen.

'Dad, you want a cup of tea', he yelled from the kitchen.

He could hear his dad suck his teeth.

'No thanks, Junior. Come see what's on the news', his dad yelled back.

He thought about getting his breakfast ready first, but there was an urgency in his father's voice, that made him choose to see what his dad had yelled about.

Richard was sitting on the couch, leaning forward to the television screen. Junior followed his line of sight. The screen was ablaze with light. Fire engines and ambulances drove past the screen.

'What's going on?', Junior asked, taking a seat next to his father.

'One minute', his father replied, pointing the remote control at the television and increasing the volume.

"These were the scenes of detonation at the third explosion, it is as yet unclear as to what had caused the explosion. What we do know is that the explosion went off at seven pm when the mourners had gathered to eat. First estimates state that there have been fifty two people taken to the hospital and twelve are reported as being dead. This has yet to be confirmed.

"Thanks Jason. Now we're going back over to Charles Faulkner in Bristol, where we have clearer details on the numbers injured in the blast

"Yes, I'm here at Ashley Down Community Centre, where a blast has rocked the town of Bristol. We've received reports of thirteen dead, twelve of which were sixteen and under, five are in critical condition and another six have been taken to hospital for minor injuries"

'Dad...what's going on?'

Richard muted the television. He turned to his son, in silence. A sense of forebode washed over Junior, as he waited patiently for his dad to choose the right words.

'There's been seven explosions around England, all within an hour of each other. One at the funeral of Omar Chutani, one at a community centre in Bristol, three at clubs in Luton, Bradford and Birmingham, one at a mosque in Barnet and the last one in the middle of Southall town centre.'

'Jesus.... How many have died?'

'I'm not sure what the official account is, but it's definitely over one hundred'

Junior looked at the silent screen, images from the news teams that had remained at Omar Chutani's funeral were being played. One scene showed a news reporter carrying a child away from the burning building, it wasn't obvious whether the child was alive or dead.