The Legend of Dark City

Chapter 36

The troop which was heading for Wales had a monumental task ahead of them. They had a vast amount of ground to cover including mountainous areas. There was no way that the troop leader Mac, Roy MacFarlane, and his men could cover every area. When Britain had been carved into sections to be searched they all knew that only a fraction of their allocated zones could be properly scoured.

Maps were laid out and discussions ensued about which places they should focus on and which areas they would reluctantly ignore. They sought out those with any local knowledge of the countryside and took advice on where to concentrate their explorations. David Williams was from North Wales so he was designated the expert for the expedition heading there.

Dave was a man of few words. His assessment of the structure of the Welsh search was that there were people living around the edges of the country but not much was happening in the middle. Mac managed to coax a few more details out of him and they established a plan of where they would go. The troop would move along the south coast and then up the west coast before covering the north coast.

On the way back the platoon would employ a meandering course veering from the east into the centre. It was not ideal, they could easily miss entire communities, but it was a plan. It was accepted that everything might change during their mission depending on what they would find. Once they left the bunker they were left to their own devices with no commander issuing orders from afar.

The platoon members called their leader Mac, he liked a more informal atmosphere, and they set off with a positive happy attitude. The laconic Dave even managed a smile as they set out when some of the men sang a chorus of The Green, Green Grass of Home. It took a couple of days for the reality of all the walking and uncomfortable sleeping conditions to make them understand how hard it was going to be.

Mac tried to keep the men and women under his command happy. They were on the search for fresh food as soon as they got on the road and, where possible, they would find a building to use as a place to stay overnight. To remind them that this was not a jolly sojourn they were marched at double time for a period each day. This kept up their fitness levels and focused their minds.

They were heading for the Severn Bridge and felt that once they had crossed it they would be properly beginning their mission. The roads were no longer full off traffic except for the vehicles which had been abandoned at the side of or in the middle of them. Some cars even had the remains of people inside them. Where were these drivers hoping to reach as they set out in the last hours or minutes of their lives?

As they approached the start of the bridge the platoon ground to a halt and surveyed the sight ahead of them. There were a few cars dotted along the bridge but the huge span was eerily quiet. They all hesitated before Mac began walking again leading them onto the path which would lead them to their destination.

Halfway across a trooper turned to Dave "Well, is there a welcome in the hillsides Taff?"

He carried on walking and replied "The names Dave".

The comment raised a laugh amongst the soldiers and the tension that they were all feeling broke. It was strange being part of a small group travelling across the formidable man made structure. It made each of them aware of how few people had survived and how it may be centuries before such a feat of construction could be attempted again.

It was with some relief that they stepped onto solid ground on the other side. The soldier referred to as Buzz, their resident joker, knelt down and kissed the ground as they left the bridge. Nervous laughter followed his action and then they were ready for the next part of their adventure. They would head for the more densely populated areas of Newport and then Cardiff because they knew, from what other platoons experienced, that some people never left the urban landscapes.

Survivors were still on the move and they hoped to learn of settlements from people that they encountered on the way. This really was a journey into the unknown and there were only fourteen of them to scour a whole country. They would do what they could and, hopefully, return with all those that had set out and a few immunes as well.

Mac was well respected by his men and women who knew when to have a laugh and when to knuckle down and get the job done. They were in a different mode as they began their mission. They had chosen to follow the M4 for most of their trip which had meant that they had not seen any communities nor met many people. Those that they had run into were nervous of, and then curious about, the platoon of armed soldiers.

Everyone that they spoke to was asked about what they had seen in the area, where they had been and where they were going. Intelligence gathering was vital and they made notes about any relevant information they received. Near the bridge a man had told them about a community living near Newport and that was where they would head first.

As they walked Mac sought out Dave to see if he had any advice about the South Wales area they were approaching.

"I'm from North Wales Mac" he said "We're a different breed".

"Do you speak Welsh?" Mac asked.

"I can swear and ask for a pint" was Dave's unhelpful reply.

The leader decided not to use his Welsh colleague as a spokesperson for the group. He had the accent but what good was that if you rarely uttered more than a few words.

The community near Newport was a good one. No one was oppressed and they had made a great job of getting organised and producing food. It was also the place where they found their first immune. As they approached the settlement a woman was on the road ahead of them. She smiled as they got nearer and it seemed that she had anticipated their arrival. Jenny was excited to greet the platoon and she led them to meet the rest of the settlers.

Jenny's confidence that the troops were friendly was accepted by the group and they were soon chatting with the people. They wanted to know what was happening in other parts of the country and offered information about South Wales in return. They got a great deal of advice about where to go and they planned their next moves accordingly.

The immune girl Jenny couldn't be expected to march all round Wales with them so they made the Newport community a collection point for any immunes they found in the South. They would gather them there and then collect them after they had completed their search. It would take months and Jenny was disappointed that she couldn't head for her new home straight away.

It had been nice to stay in one place for a while but they had to move on. The settlers gave them some supplies and they headed onwards to the Cardiff area. The platoon fell into a pattern of marching, searching, approaching communities and where possible finding the immunes. As they set off up the west of the country they had already sent a number to Newport ready to be collected on their way back.