Collapse: The New Blackout Time Travel Novel

Chapter 3

Swann emerged from the derelict farm building and allowed his eyes to adjust to the bright afternoon sun. Having descended the rusted ladder that led up to the small hideaway room where he had left Catalina he had explored his surroundings.

Nature had long ago reclaimed the old farm buildings and as he walked away from the ladder it surprised him to find most of the concrete structure still intact. A handful of the roof panels had been broken and allowed streams of sunlight to illuminate patches of the overgrown floor but mostly the walls and roof were in a fair state of repair.

As Swann walked along the length of the long cattle building, he lost his footing more than once in the disguised uneven floor beneath the carpet of nettles and grass. What stuck out the most for Swann was the lack of graffiti and damage in the empty farm building.

There was little sign of human interference and as he reached the far end of the building, he found the whole far wall collapsed.

Stumbling up the pile of rubble Swann pulled aside the thorny weeds and was surprised at the view he found behind them. Painted in the crisp afternoon sun he could see for miles out across a long valley of rolling fields and hedgerows.

Far off in the distance Swann could make out the splattering of buildings showing a town or village but between him and them there was nothing but countryside. Having been on the run for so long, avoiding the curious glances from people he savoured the solitude in the picturesque view.

He wasn't sure how long he peered through the hole in the wall but a curious sound dragged him back. Turning around Swann heard the rhythmic thump of wood banging against wood and looked around for the source of the noise. Shielded on all sides by the walls of the cattle shed it wasn't until he looked out of the open door on the far side he saw that the gentle breeze had picked up in ferocity.

Scrambling down the precarious pile of bricks and mortar Swann moved back towards the open sliding doors. The old wooden door that had once secured the outbuilding lay rotting on the floor and as he stepped onto the blue-painted wood, he felt the wooden door struggle to accept his weight.

With an air of caution Swann tiptoed across the face of the door and emerged into a vast open courtyard.

'What is this place?' Swann gasped to himself as he looked around.

The skeletal remains of an arched-roof building stood off to his right. Sheets of rusted metal wafted in the wind. All but a handful of steel sheets had long since been removed from the site. Those that remained were rusted and weathered and hung, held by a handful of rivets, from where the roof would have once been.

Moving past the tattered building keeping clear of the wafting sheets Swann moved towards a two-storey farm building. Unlike the twisted metal frame this was a brick structure and an open door beckoned him. Having once been a barn or similar Swann realised the door was mid way up the wall and the stone steps had long since crumbled. Finding hand and footholds he pulled himself up and was about to step into the room beyond the door before he stopped himself.

The wooden floor on the inside of the building served as a ceiling to the three stables below and had been rotted through by years of exposure to the elements. Where Swann's foot now hung, where wooden boards should have been, was now a gaping hole with a fifteen foot drop straight down to the room below.

Steadying himself against the splintered doorframe Swann shimmied himself around and onto the more stable part of the flooring. Testing his weight Swann allowed himself to let go of the wall and looked around.

The impressive wooden beams that supported the tiled roof were untouched by the weather. Pale wood against dark metal looked as sturdy as he imagined it would have been when it had first been constructed. The steep pitch of the roof took the rafters high above him. It absorbed Swann in the silent mystery of his surroundings as he moved into the second room.