Breaking Britain (Completed)

Chapter 47

47
Sunday 6th January 2030
00:20

            It had been a quiet journey back to Clarise's house. Clarise had felt torn between comforting Justin and Adrianna, in the end she had managed to get Adrianna lying with her head on her lap and Justin with his head on her shoulder. Her dad, much to her relief, had given neither Justin or Junior a hard time about things.

           Mrs Milford had opened the door to them, noticing immediately how dirty her daughter was. Worry spread across her face, Clarise's jeans were ripped, her face overly red on one side, her hair disheveled and her eyes slightly bloodshot. The usual smile that graced her daughter's face was not there. Her daughter carried a white girl clinging to her, as a monkey clings to a tree trunk.

           Her husband followed her daughter, who walked past her, without any form of recognition. She waited for her husband to provide some form of explanation. Mr Milford only forced a smile to his face, kissed his wife on the cheek and followed his daughter, who was heading for the lounge.

           Mrs Milford wasn't prepared for the sight that followed. The two cousins stunk  of smoke, their clothes were blackened and torn. They had blood on their hands and clothes and they walked as though they were carrying the worries of the country on their shoulders.

              She ushered them in quickly, worried about what the neighbors would be thinking.

              Mrs Martha Milford was a woman of action and although she was a stay at home mother, she was educated to a Degree level and had previously worked at a management level, on a government public service project, which involved trying to get the homeless back on their feet.

              'You two follow me', she ordered the two boys. They obeyed instinctively. Justin was aware of his girlfriend's mother's sternness and would have followed her even if he wasn't running on automatic mode.

             She lead them to the bathroom, told them to undress, which they did and grabbed two towels out if the airing cupboard. Justin took his shower first, Junior sat on the floor, his towel wrapped around him, leaning on the radiator.

             Mrs Milford had disappeared into her son's room, to pull out some of his clothes. Jimmy was two years younger than Junior, however, he was large for his age and Martha was more worried about the clothes being too big for the boys. Jimmy stirred a moment, but remained asleep.

              When Mrs Milford returned to the bathroom, Justin was drying himself off and Junior was stepping into the shower.

             'Put these on', she ordered and left them to get dressed.

             Martha shuffled back to the top of the stairs, she stopped there a moment, looking at the back of her husband, hunched over, seated at the bottom of the stairs, with his head in his hands.

               Slowly and quietly she made her way down. She sat directly behind him, her legs either side of his waist. She hugged him from behind and rested her head head on the top of his. It wasn't as comfortable as it should have been. She had put on a lot of weight over the last six or seven years, but her husband Dale had never complained about it, so she never saw the need to change.

             'Was it that bad?', she asked sympathetically.

              'Worst than I could have imagined. Nothing like we see on the television. People are actually dying out there. It's like we're living in a war zone'

              She could hear him choking up. He had chosen to move to Hertfordshire and she knew he was taking responsibility for the situation they were surrounded by.