The Shaking

Chapter Twenty Nine

Bromley Common. 17.46.

Ryan Buckland lay dozing on a plastic groundsheet under a donated blanket, using his rucksack as a pillow. Along with Michelle and Grace he sheltered under a tent jury-rigged from a large blue builder's tarpaulin, supported by a rope and scaffold pole framework hammered into the earth.

Looking like a festival site gone wrong or a post-apocalyptic settlement the community founded camp had mushroomed in size during the short time he'd been here as more people heeding the official advice to evacuate quake damaged buildings arrived: Now the local authority had taken charge of it. After quite a search he found Michelle and Grace as Wesley had said; camping together with the other residents of their block. With the family's tearful but ecstatic reunion they exchanged survival stories. Ryan learned that as soon as the major tremor had begun Michelle and Grace had run from the flat and with their equally terrified neighbours fled to the Common for safety.

Grace was delighted to see her guinea pigs - who she had given up for dead - again; the thankful look on her face made the risk her father had taken to save them worthwhile. However the pets' rescue was scant consolation for the loss of their home; Michelle seemed to accept the news as well as could be expected, but Ryan worried that in her shock she'd not fully taken it in.

Under police supervision groups of people had gone out salvaging food and other supplies from local shops; a community kitchen was being set up at the camp, along with other services. The survivors were promised a mass dinner later. In the meantime the Bucklands exhausted the edible contents of Ryan's ready bag; even Squeaky and Fudge were given a few morsels of cereal bar which they eagerly devoured.

Now, being temporarily safe, there was nothing else for the family to do but stay here and await further developments. Ryan eased his trousers off and took a closer look at his leg which, though stiff as well as bruised, was less badly injured than he had first thought. After another application of the freeze spray he settled down to rest for a while.

His snooze was interrupted by a cacophony of electronic noises and ringtones. At least in this area the mobile signal was back. As one the newly homeless - Michelle among them - scrambled frantically for their devices to retrieve their messages before the networks crashed again under the demand, but this time the service appeared to be more resilient. A new chorus of sounds heralded more information arriving, and as it did so came the first murmurs of surprise, then confusion, followed by annoyance, anger, and fear from the displaced people.

"What's this all about?" Michelle asked her husband, thrusting her phone at him. She was confident enough using it but always got him to sort out her technical problems when they arose.

"I dunno. Let's have a look!" Ryan replied, as he read the text which had appeared on the display.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE. it began. DO NOT DELETE UNTIL YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD IT.

Under the State of Emergency Decree issued under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, the Government has assumed temporary control of all communications networks in the national interest, and to assist recovery.

Two apps have been automatically sent to your device. The downloads are free, and will not count against your data allowance whether you are a contract or prepay customer. They will help you to obtain any assistance you may need, and also provide warning of possible exposure to harmful levels of radiation. THE RADIATION DETECTOR APP DOWNLOAD DOES NOT MEAN A NUCLEAR INCIDENT IS INEVITABLE: THIS IS ONLY A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE.

You should learn to use these apps now in case you need them in the future. You should also keep up to date with the news via the Emergency Announcements section of the GOV.UK app.