Falling

Chapter 9 : Leaving London

Ella had cried. Dave had said she would. Then she had threatened to kill Jim, if he didn't bring Dave back. He'd said she would do that too. The one thing he hadn't assumed though, was the affection Ella had directed toward Jim. She had held him for a very long time. Long enough for her brother to tell them to 'get a room!' in pretend disgust. The sentiment was purely out of concern though. It was only a week since Aimee died, only a week but the three friends had become quite close.

The docks were full of activity. Ships were being unloaded everywhere, huge cargo ships were lined up throughout the area. Soldiers stood on every corner, all wearing body armour, and the constant drone of aircraft filled the sky. Even after joining the group due to disembark, it still took over an hour to actually stand on dry land.

Jim and Dave were part of a group who were planning on going home. Dave had been told that Manchester was a no go zone, so they had lied and told the sailors they were both travelling to Stockport. This was now classed as a high risk area, but they were still allowed to go. The line they stood in, joined an even bigger queue, and Jim was getting impatient.

"I can't bare this!" Jim hissed. The line didn't seem to be moving.

"It's OK mate, we'll get there."

"But it's been a week now, you saw Portsmouth, you know how bad it was."

Dave paused for a few seconds, "We will get there, all of this is keeping London safe. We will get there." He put his hand on Jim's shoulder. "Listen, if Jess and the old man are built like you, they'll be there, pissed off and waiting, but alive. You don't know when to quit mate."

"I can't quit. I have to get there."

"We will, don't worry we will."

Finally the queue started to move.

They had left the docks on large coaches. Four soldiers and around fifty passengers on each one. The government had declared martial law, and the country was now under the command of the military.

The good thing was that now buses ran on time, trains ran on time, but the bad thing was that nothing else did. All non essential travelling was now deemed illegal. Personal cars, motorbikes basically anything other than military vehicles was stopped and removed. The idea was to limit the travelling distances available to civilians, therefore slowing down the spread of the infection. In one respect it was working, there were very few vehicles on the roads, but in another respect it wasn't the best of ideas, every citizen of London seemed to be walking.

The coach lumbered towards the M25 ring road. This was the quickest way out of the city. The two friends were sat together on the right hand side. Everywhere they looked shops were closed. every building which had a shutter was sealed up. Army trucks and Land Rovers stood on each of the major cross roads, and you couldn't see a place which didn't have a soldier.

As they moved into outer London, you could see there had been trouble. Burnt out buildings and cars stood on every street. Scorch marks scarred the roads, and people were lining up at the back of big trucks. soldiers were handing down cardboard boxes, 'food and water' stamped on the sides.

They both marvelled at the organisation on display. How could the government arrange all of this in one week?, how did they know how to contain the outbreaks. The positioning of the troops, the use of the coaches it was very impressive.

The coach was headed towards the motorway, but a single Land Rover raced past, and the passenger indicated for them to stop. The coach driver slowed to a stop, parking behind the other vehicle. The troops on the bus used the doors, and walked to meet the others. There was a short discussion, then they returned. The Land Rover did a quick U turn, and disappeared back the way it came.