Surviving The Evacuation (Book 5): Reunion Read Online Free PDF Page B

“I’m coming. I just wish I knew what we were heading into.”
    The house in Earl’s Court, a small, three-bedroom end of terrace, seemed as quiet as its neighbours. Resigned anticipation in her voice, McInery nodded towards the door and said, “Go on. Break it open.”
    Chester did. The family, three children, husband and wife, were all dead in their beds.
    “Must have taken it before going to sleep,” Chester offered. “That’s a small mercy.”
    “Whether their deaths were quick or slow, their lives were stolen,” McInery said with what Chester thought was unaccustomed sympathy until the woman added, “Stolen from me.”
    Chester said nothing more. The next house, two blocks to the west, told a very different story.
    “Who was he?” Chester asked.
    “Damien Burns.”
    “Never heard of him. What’d he do?”
    “Cocaine, mostly. He was a mid-level distributor. Worked his way up from the street. He was a bit like you, but he’d moved into property during the recession. He bought up houses on which their owners had defaulted, and he was very good at making sure someone couldn’t make a payment.”
    Chester nodded. The man was dead. So was the woman lying halfway up the stairs. Neither had died quickly nor peacefully. In the grip of death, the woman had kicked through the wooden bannisters, raining splinters down upon the man’s body.
    “There’s nothing more here. Come on,” McInery said, turning on her heels.
    “Where’s the next house?” Chester asked, following her out into the sunlight. There seemed to be a fresh chill to the air.
    “What would be the point of going to any more? We’d only see a hundred variations of the same scene. No, we go back to the warehouse and wait. Anyone still alive will be bound to go there. But they may well come seeking revenge, so we’ll find somewhere nearby to wait and watch.”
    “Right,” Chester said, thinking that it might well be Cannock who came back, wanting to make sure his work was done. His free hand slipped down to his pocket. He patted the revolver, but neither gun nor sledgehammer offered much reassurance now.
    They made their way back to the warehouse, breaking into a vacant shop opposite the side entrance. There they sat, watched, and waited, each lost in their own dismal thoughts.
     
    “No one’s coming,” Chester said, four hours later.
    “None of our people, no. Any that didn’t take the vaccine will have come here and seen the bodies whilst you and I were wandering around Earl’s Court. They won’t return, but Cannock might and if he does…” her hand moved to the pistol sitting on the rickety table between them.
    “N’ah. Not Cannock. Not now. If he wanted to come and gloat he’d have been here already. Trust me on that. Maybe tomorrow or next week or next year, but it won’t be today.”
    “Well, we can’t stay here waiting for him. London’s a big place. There will be other survivors.”
    “You want to go looking for them?” Chester asked, surprised.
    “What choice is there? We can’t go to an enclave. I suppose we could think about leaving the country, but where could we go? It’s not as if the phrase ‘non-extradition country’ means anything anymore. Of all the things I anticipated, it was never this. No, we stick with the plan, the original plan. We find other people, and we take over the city.”
    Chester eyed her sceptically, wondering whether she truly believed the words she was saying.
    “So where do we start,” he asked. “We can’t go back to your place. Or mine. Cannock knows those addresses well enough.”
    “We need supplies. What was in the warehouse?”
    “Just the rations Cannock left us.”
    “And everything else?”
    “Distributed with the vaccine.”
    “Well, at least we know of houses where we’ll find food. As for everything in there, anything given to us by Cannock is suspect. Let’s start by getting away from here. We’ll find a hotel. A nice one. We will see what luxury London