Above Board

Chapter 4

Meanwhile down in the cafeteria, Will and Joey waited in anticipation of their father's return.

The cupboard was cold and cramped. The boys huddled together to try and keep warm.

Will put his arm around Joey. "I'm sorry I left you like that."

"It's okay," Joey replied.

"Not it bloody well isn't. You could have been killed." Will sighed. "Look, I promised Mum I'd look after you and I almost broke it. I'll never break it again."

"You didn't break it," said Joey. "I thought it was a good hiding place too. It's not your fault those stragglers chose that particular place to munch on their kill."

Both boys shuddered.

"Will, why are they called Stragglers? Why do they eat people?"

"D'you remember the Riots? When the Bandits took control of the country and left the rest of us high and dry?"

Joey shook his head.

"Well, Dad's a bit of an expert on bandits; he knows what they're capable of. But he won't speak of his past so don't bother bringing it up. He knew there were groups forming north as well as south of the country. This land was once known as Britain. I remember when everyone was happy, everyone knew their place.

"But when the Rioting began, the government was overthrown. No-one had seen such brutality, such anger on that scale. The Bandits cut power lines to there's no electricity, drove innocent people out of their homes and cast them out onto the streets."

"What about the Stragglers?" Joey pointed out.

"I'm getting to them. So as I was saying, Bandits were everywhere. Dad knew it was only a matter of time before they'd be at our doorstep too. He and Mum'd hatched a plan where we'd cross the border into France so we could stay with Uncle Peter and Aunt Lisa.

"We packed our stuff in the car. Food, water, petrol, as much as we could carry. Except about two thousand people had similar ideas. The motorway was clogged as far as the eye could see. Everyone was travelling to Kent, trying to board a ship to Calais.

"We were sat in the back, Mum and Dad were travelling in the front. Dad got out to see what the delay was. That's when the cry went up.

"People started screaming. They were running out of their cars, thinking the Bandits had caught up with them. But it was something much worse."

Will looked at Joey. "Are you sure you want to hear the rest? You were only seven after all."

"I can take it," Joey replied. "I want to know the truth."

"It was a different group running rampant on the motorway. Their clothes were torn, their teeth sharpened like fangs. They looked human, but behaved like animals.

"The three of us were in the back; I looked at the front mirrors and people were being dragged from their cars and devoured before our eyes.

"Pandemonium erupted then. The armies guarding the border were shooting at the groups, but bullets were hitting random citizens as well. They tried letting pedestrians through, but there were too many trying to get into the tunnel.

"Mum took Ashlene and Dad carried you outside. They were starting to close the barriers, cutting off the crowd from the waiting ship.

"Mum and Ashlene were ahead. They only just made it when the barriers were shut. I tried to grab Mum's hand but the crowd pushed her and Ashlene until we couldn't see them any more."