We all had a restless night. I spent a lot of the time tossing and turning, wondering about the lorries and who might have been driving them. Were they friends or foes?

 

---

Chapter 11

Previously…

Eve got up and gazed out of the window. The rain was lashing against the glass and she had to wipe away condensation on the inside with a hand.

‘Rotten weather out there,’ she remarked.

‘That’s good,’ said Jeanie.

We all nodded as one.

Then we heard it–the sound of engines from the road outside. Jeanie, Sarah and I struggled out of our sleeping bags and ran to where Eve was peering out into the night.

There were headlights coming towards us–three sets. It was hard to see properly with all the rain spattering the windowpanes, but I think they were lorries. I had visions of their being Russian tanks after all our recent talk about other countries. For some time now I had had a sneaky suspicion at the back of my mind that all this might be some sort of terrible chemical weapon attack.

In seconds the engines’ noise became louder and the headlights brighter. They thundered past a few seconds later, confirming the fact that they were lorries. They were gone so quickly, we had no chance to see who was driving.

Rapidly, the engine noises and the red tail lights disappeared into the distance, making me wonder if we had imagined it. Glancing at the others, however, it was obvious that it was neither a dream nor figment of my imagination: we had seen them and they were going the same way we would be heading tomorrow morning.

‘Maybe there is help,’ Sarah said, ‘at least we are not alone.’

‘Well, don’t forget we’ve been shot at–twice,’ Eve mentioned ominously. ‘I just hope that they are friendly, if–or when–we come across them––’

And now the story continues…

Thrushwood to Carronbridge

We all had a restless night. I spent a lot of the time tossing and turning, wondering about the lorries and who might have been driving them. Were they friends or foes? Could they have been children like us or adults? Then there was the thorny question how to get up to Scotland without hitting big towns, Looking at the map earlier, I could see that we were on the A591 and that would lead to Bothel where we would have to turn right on to the A595 leading into Carlisle. It seemed obvious to me that the lorries would go that way too, unless they knew something I didn’t.

Maybe they were based in Carlisle and we might come across similar problems to those we had in Huddersfield. I sincerely hoped not, as I was desperate to reach Scotland and find out if our parents were still alive and we had to go through Carlisle to get there.

~ §~

We were on the road early the next morning after a tinned breakfast that made me yearn for good old corn flakes, toast and marmalade.

I had swiftly grown tired of our restricted diet and reliance on food out of tins or packets that we were sure were safe to eat. Water always had to be boiled because we had no way of finding out if the water was contaminated. It was something, I supposed, that we would all have to get used to.

Anyway, enough of the whinging, we had to make the most of what we had. The others had left the decision regarding the route to me, so I had Jeanie up beside me today with our rather battered map, to help me get to our destination for today which was Carronbridge north of Thornhill in Dumfriesshire. Our Aunt Betty and Uncle Archie lived there and I suppose both Jeanie and I hoped that they were alright.

Anyway it was a target and we knew that once there, we would able to reach Dunoon the following day, God willing, that is, if we could get a boat to cross the Firth of Clyde. If not, we would have to go the long way around which would add a further day to our epic journey.

The road to Bothel had beautiful scenery and was relatively empty of unpleasant sights. The Lake District is a lovely place and its beauty just reminded me of what we had all lost. Bassenthwaite Lake was on our left, but there was a bit of early morning mist about so we could not appreciate the view as much as I would have liked. The others were fairly quiet, which reflected the fact that not many of us had had much sleep the previous night. Even young Arthur had been a bit restless.

All that was behind us now as we went up hill and down dale, changing gear constantly and trying my best to keep Bessie Bedford going. It was a shame that I was the only driver. Apart from Jeanie, who had never really got the knack of changing gear and trying to drive in a straight line, the others were either too small to drive or just didn’t know how. This meant that it was all on my shoulders and I couldn’t drive as far as I would wish without having a break.

We stopped for our first toilet-cum-snack break outside of Thursby, just before the right turn we needed to take for Carlisle. After the usual scramble to find a bush we all had a cold drink from our plentiful supply of orange and lemonade. Arthur had a still orange drink which he seemed to like a lot as he started smacking his lips after drinking his titty-bottle dry.

The day was a bit warmer than we’d had of late; overcast and the winds were light. As I looked over the hills, I marvelled at how easily I had become used to being a girl. The breeze ruffled my hair and my skirt flapped slightly against my thighs, making me aware, if I needed any sort of a hint anymore, that I was female–a girl, moreover, with small budding breasts which itched somewhat and seemed to be growing slightly every day–although that could just be my fertile imagination.

My life as Alexander seemed a long time ago now–even if it was only a matter of days–and almost like it was a dream. I wondered how my parents would react to the sight of the new me. The last time they saw me, I was a boy–a strong, active, slightly naughty boy–who loved games like rugger and cricket who thought that having a wash once a week was just about right. Now, I was Alexandra, a girl who was strangely happy to be who she was. If my old mates could see me now, would they laugh at me, I wondered?

‘Allie, we’re ready,’ Eve called from the bus.

Sighing at such thoughts, I turned towards Bessie, climbed aboard, settled into the driver’s seat and set off towards Carlisle.

~ §~

Carlisle was visible from miles away. It’s a city close to the Scottish border and there was no way round it that I could see. Eve, sitting next to me with the map, was looking up roads that we might take to keep us out of the city centre. I still thought that those lorries last night were probably military, so I had visions of the place being occupied by troops from a foreign land, maybe Russian or even Chinese! Would we be met by barricades and guns? I didn’t want us to get shot at again and there was a real chance that we might find our way barred.

We approached the city using the Wigton Road. As we got nearer to the more populated areas, we could see that the fog had been here too. There were more wrecked cars and bodies in the streets than we had seen in other places. At one point, water had burst through the cracked road and was gushing upwards and outwards making the way through rather difficult. Well at least the bus got a wash! A number of buildings had been destroyed–whether by gas explosions or bombs, I had no idea. There was so much glass in the road that I worried for our tyres; so I went through very slowly. As we made our way further towards the centre, the desolation and damage was more widespread: a factory on our left had black smoke billowing out of the remains of the roof. The smell of burning rubber was very evident.

We passed some more houses. In the back gardens of more than one, laundry on the clothes lines fluttered in the gentle breeze like strangely shaped colourful flags, but with no one left to gather them in, making me feel rather sad.

Then I noticed a pram sitting on the garden path of one of those houses. The thought of a baby being in it made me feel rather sick. I pulled over; I could not just go by without checking. Switching off the engine I just told the others that I wanted to go to the loo. I opened the garden gate and strode up the short gravel path. It was quiet, so quiet that I was aware of my rather heavy breathing over the crunch of my footsteps on the gravel as I approached the pram. It was by the side of the open front door and the hood was up.

Slowly I lowered it–

Of all the sights I had seen, this was the worst. Leaving the still form, I dashed round the side of the house and was promptly sick against the wall. My body heaved and heaved until there was nothing left inside me. I cried tears of pain, frustration, anger and sorrow for the poor wee baby and all the many others who had died because of the hateful, evil fog.

I was frustrated because I could do nothing about it. How I wished I could wave a magic wand and make everything better. I was unable to help those who had died and others–like us–who might be clinging to life, waiting to be consumed by the fog.

I slid down to my knees, my bare legs on the gravel drive which would have been painful if I had noticed. Putting my face in my hands, I rocked backwards and forwards, hot, salty tears slipping through my fingers as I was overcome by grief.

Then there were arms around my shoulders and I was helped gently to my feet. Opening my eyes, I saw Jeanie, her face beset by anxiety.

‘Oh, Allie, you shouldn’t have looked.’

‘I—I—I h—h—had to; the b—baby could have been another Arthur–still alive.’

‘Arthur was lucky. Judging by what we’ve seen around here, they have all been dead for a long time. Och, even if the wee bairn was spared the fog, he or she would have died from hunger, thirst or exposure.’

‘I know, but I just had to look,’ I sniffed.

She gave me a hankie and I wiped my eyes and blew my nose. I went to hand it back and she grimaced.

‘You keep it,’ she said, a sad smile on her face.

I smiled back and then looked at my skirt; it was covered in sick, as was my cardigan and blouse.

‘I look a mess,’

‘Yes, but we have clothes. Let’s go back to the bus and get you some clean things.’

~ §~

We didn’t hang around for long, and as soon as I had changed into a clean skirt and top, we carried on. None of the others said anything, but I think that they were aware of what I had seen and that it had caused my breakdown.

As we continued on our way, the streets had papers, rubbish, overturned dustbins and more than a few bodies lying around in an advanced stage of decomposition; the nearer the centre we went, the worse it seemed to get.

I felt more or less numb by then, unable to take in the full impact of the horror which was unfolding before our eyes every yard we progressed. However I couldn’t completely ignore what I could see with my own eyes. I regret to say that there were signs that many of the bodies strewn on the roads and pavements had been got at by animals and birds. The stench was revolting and we had to keep the windows tightly shut at all times: Even that didn’t stop all of the terrible smells though.

We progressed as best we could and eventually crossed the river. There had been no sign of life up to then–human life that is. There were plenty of dogs, cats, birds, foxes and other wild life but no live people.

Then we saw it, a barricade of vehicles including lorries and cars, about a hundred yards ahead.

‘Oh no,’ wailed Jeanie, as the others came forward to look through the windscreen.

‘What do we do?’ I asked, my voice sounding strained. I was getting the beginnings of a headache. I think the stress of it all was getting to me.

‘We’ll have to find a way round,’ said Jeanie firmly.

‘I vote that we go up to them with a white flag or something and have a pow-wow,’ Sarah declared.

‘This isn’t the ABC Minors Matinée,¹ Sarah, this is real life. We’ve been shot at more than once and I for one don’t fancy being shot at again,’ Eve said.

‘Hang on,’ I said squinting through the mud-spattered windscreen.

Somebody had emerged from behind the barricade and was marching down the road towards us. It was a man wearing some sort of uniform and carrying what looked like a shotgun. As he came closer he held his arm up and gestured to us.

‘I think he does want a pow-wow,’ Sarah said.

‘He has a gun. I don’t trust people with guns,’ said Jeanie.

‘Well I’m not scared,’ said Sarah, jumping out of the bus and running towards the man. I didn’t stop to think and just got out and ran after her with protests from the others ringing in my ears.

I caught her up as the man stopped and looked at us standing about twenty feet away.

‘Kids, just kids–where’s your parents then?’

I didn’t like his attitude or the look he gave us–sort of leering, dismissive and something else––

‘All dead,’ Sarah said.

‘Got any food?’ he asked, his eyes staring up and down at me.

‘No,’ I said before Sarah could open her big mouth. ‘We were hoping to find food here.’

‘You won’t get any here. The Carlisle Provisional Government strictly limits food distribution. How many of you are there? ’ he asked looking beyond us at the bus.

‘A few,’ I said gripping Sarah’s shoulder, as I didn’t want her to give the man too much information.

‘There can’t be many people alive here,’ Sarah remarked, looking beyond the man towards the barricade. I wished that she would keep her mouth shut.

‘Enough–not many adults, but plenty of kids.’ he was gazing intently at her–staring–with those big dark eyes.

‘Didn’t the fog get you?’

‘Most of the people died but some of us–a few–weren’t affected for some reason. The fog didn’t seem quite so dense here. Anyway, enough of your questions; you can join us if you are willing to work. No work, no food.’

He smiled then and didn’t seem quite so scary, but there was something about him that didn’t quite ring true.

‘No thanks,’ I said after a moment. ‘Look we just want to pass through–we don’t want to stop. We have to get–somewhere. Please can you move the barriers and then we’ll be on our way.’

He looked at me for a second, distractedly, as if he was listening to someone on the phone and then he just nodded.

‘You should come with me. We’ll see what we can do for you.’

‘Great!’ said Sarah, enthusiastically.

‘No,’ I said firmly, ‘Thank you for the offer, Sir, but we’ll find another way. Come on, Sarah.’

‘Who are you to give orders?’ she barked at me, her voice sounding strange and harsh, a bit like the man when we had first spoken to him.

‘I’m older than you and know what I’m talking about.’ My Scots blood was up again so I just ploughed on. Tact was not my middle name.

‘Sarah, we need to get back to the others.’ I continued, trying to express with my voice how very wrong this all seemed.

‘Come with me and we can get you some food,’ said the man rather ingratiatingly, with a smile, ‘You can stay, as I say, if you work. Nothing heavy just clearing away the rubbish, finding food; things like that. What do you say?’

He was looking at Sarah but I had a feeling that he was really talking to me, only I wasn’t interested. I had a feeling that this man was as nutty as the other grown-up fruitcakes we had come across; I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. He had a cruel look about him, even though he was smiling; but there was something else––

‘–Sarah, come on!’

Sarah was gazing at the man and he was staring intently into her eyes. She didn’t seem to want to move.

‘Sarah, do come on. Julie’s waiting and she’s scared.’

‘Julie?’ she said faintly still staring at the man with a strange look on her face.

‘Your sister Julie; we must go!’

She shook her head and tore herself away from those eyes.

‘A—a—all right,’ she said weakly and started to turn and join me.

‘Stop!’ said the man lifting his gun and pointing at my chest. ‘You’d better come with me.’

His look had lost any false friendliness that it had and his face, if anything, looked harder and then there were his eyes––

I could vaguely hear the sound of an engine behind us–

Things became somewhat hazy–

His evil eyes––

I couldn’t look away and sensed that Sarah couldn’t either.

Strangely, I began to feel calmer, suddenly realising that he was really a friend and not our enemy after all. The terrible time that we all lived in had made his face seem hard and unfeeling but I now knew that it wasn’t that, he was just hiding the pain he was feeling for the loss of his loved ones. It would be nice not to have to worry about things and let the grownups take over. I knew really that my parents were dead, so why go anywhere else? It just didn’t make any sense. We would be looked after and––

The bus hit the man a glancing blow. He screamed and the shotgun went off in his hand just as he was knocked clean off his feet. I felt myself being grabbed roughly and pulled into the bus. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sarah being hauled aboard as well.

I heard another scream of rage and pain from the man and more gunshots. I rolled about on the floor of the bus next to Sarah as it was turned around. I was then knocked on my back by the bus, accelerating away from the noise of the guns–

There was a lot of shouting and screaming from everyone and Ben was barking like mad. I struggled to my feet, feeling a bit strange and disorientated and then sat on a seat half way down the bus in a daze. Sarah was on the other side of the aisle and had a strange puzzled look on her face. Eve was looking after the baby who was crying fitfully and Julie was up at the front with Jeanie who was driving.

Jeanie didn’t stop for anything and just took an immediate right turn and drove the bus at great speed down the narrow road, missing cars by inches, scraping the wing mirrors and going over the occasional body with a sickening crunch and generally driving like a girl possessed.

After ten minutes we were out on a country road again and she stopped the bus, slumping over the steering wheel and sobbing her heart out.

My mind seemed to clear the further away from the city we got. Sarah gazed at me looking puzzled. ‘W—what happened back there?’

‘I—I d—don’t know. His evil eyes made me feel really peculiar.’

‘Me too. His horrid eyes seemed to draw me in and make me feel safe and say things that I didn’t mean to say–’

She became tearful at that and I went and sat by her and we had a big hug. I was crying too. It was a very emotional moment and even while I was sobbing, at the back of my mind I realised that boy-Alex wouldn’t have reacted this way, but for the new female me it was normal and right that I should be able to cry and release my feelings.

Glancing up, I noticed Eve and Julie comforting Jeanie. We all seemed more or less shell-shocked at what had happened those few short minutes ago. Ben, love him, wasn’t bothered at all. He saw me looking at him and I got a twitch of his tail. Arthur was quiet. How he could sleep with all that had been going on was a mystery to me and yet, if you coughed slightly, he would be awake in an instant a lot of the time.

~ §~

Five minutes later, we were all sitting at the back of the bus, discussing what had happened. Jeanie’s eyes were red from crying and I’m sure I didn’t look much better. We were holding hands, which was a nice sisterly thing to do and certainly not something we ever dreamed of doing when we were brother and sister. Julie and Sarah were close too and Eve had here arms around a still scared and shaky Nicola, her eyes wide with the shock of all that had happened.

‘We look a right bunch,’ said Eve, ‘cry babies, one and all.’

‘Girls do that,’ sniffed Sarah.

‘Don’t I know it,’ replied Eve, ‘talk about water works. I can’t seem to switch off the tap sometimes. Boys don’t cry. I used to be a boy and now look at me.’

‘Boys don’t cry in public,’ said Jeanie, ‘but I bet you did sometimes when nobody was looking?’

‘Never mind that,’ said Eve looking cross and embarrassed at the same time. ‘What happened to you two out there with that horrible man?’

I glanced at Sarah. ‘You tell them,’ she said, ‘it’s all a bit foggy to me.’

‘Not green fog?’ Nicola squeaked in a panicky voice.

‘No, honey, it’s just an expression,’ said Sarah softly.

I smiled at that and then told them what happened.

‘So you didn’t trust him and wanted to get away and then you sort of got mesmerised by his eyes?’ said Jeanie.

‘I think so. As Sarah says it was a bit confusing and after a bit I just wanted to do as he asked. Then you drove up and knocked him over. It felt like a rubber band in my head, connecting with his, suddenly snapped and I came back to reality. Is that how you felt, Sarah?’

‘Yes, that’s it exactly. I’m still not sure what happened back there, though. It was almost like I was in a dream. I didn’t even realise that I had jumped out of the bus and had run to him before I felt Allie grab my shoulder hard.’

‘We saw him raise his gun at you,’ Jeannie continued, ‘and you were both swaying slightly. Eve said we had to save you, even though we seemed to be thinking with treacle for brains. We both felt queer and Nicola and Ben had gone to sleep and that was another strange thing. Arthur was quiet too and he had been crying fit to wake the dead a few moments before. Anyway, I just got into the driver’s seat, started up and drove at the man. I didn’t want to kill him, but I had to do something, so I hit him with a glancing blow and Julie and Eve pulled you both in and I got us out of there as fast as Bessie’s wheels could take us.’

My headache wasn’t clearing up and I still felt a throbbing over my temples. ‘Have we got anything for a headache?’ I asked.

‘You have one too?’ said Jeanie.

The others all said the same, except for Nicola.

‘It must be connected,’ I said.

‘What is going on?’ asked an exasperated Eve.

‘I don’t know,’ I replied, ‘but one thing is for sure. If we see anyone, we just get out of there as quickly as we can. We cannot trust anybody.’

~ §~

Jeanie told us she didn’t want to drive any more, so after a few minutes I took over and we carried on. Eve found out where we were by looking at the signposts and checking with the map. We soon found another route which meant that we could avoid Carlisle. It was a bit of a detour compared to the more direct route, but we weren’t taking any chances. I still had hopes of reaching Carronbridge before having to stop for the night. We would look in on our auntie and uncle’s house but I expected to discover the worst, though I really didn’t want to think about that.

We passed through Kingmoor and Cargo, then continued to Todhills and then finally skirted the famous Gretna Green.

Now we were in Scotland at last, I felt that we were much closer to finding our parents. I refused to think that they were dead; despite the peculiar things I had thought when my mind was playing tricks on me following the meeting with the evil-eyes man in Carlisle.

We stopped for another loo-and-food break just north of Gretna. Out came the Tilley stove and we heated some soup and had it with some cream crackers that were a bit dry without butter but were rather nice dunked in the soup. The only incident of note was that when Ben went for a lift his leg, he somehow had an encounter with a fox who ran off at the sight of the big soppy dog. The poor thing looked thin and ill and I wondered whether it had eaten something that made it sick. The thought of rabies also came to mind and after making a quick but careful examination of Ben, it was decided that we would have to use a lead with him in places where there was risk of him getting into a fight with local wild life.

As we continued our journey north, we were constantly on the lookout for signs of the fog. We still had no real idea as to how, when or why it appeared. Also we had no idea if it was just one bank or a number of different ones spread across the country. I suppose that we were in a continued state of tension, not able to relax at any time because of attacks from the fog, people or roaming animals.

There were no signs of any more moving cars, lorries, aeroplanes or any other transport on our way towards Carronbridge. It was if everybody was dead we were the only ones left alive in a desolate, inhospitable world.

We bypassed Annan and Dumfries by using minor roads, sometimes little more than tracks. Somehow we found ourselves eventually back on the main road and were able to continue our journey. We were desperate now to avoid anything larger than a village and luckily, we came across nothing that would harm us.

By now it was mid afternoon and the sun was low in the sky making it a bit difficult to see when I was driving towards the sun on that bendy road. We passed through Thornhill just after three thirty and were just about a mile away from Carronbridge where our Auntie Betty and Uncle Archie lived in their farmhouse by the side of the River Carron.

‘My tummy and I’m sure Jeanie’s too, was wound up as we came closer to the place that was, near enough, our second home. I had nightmare visions of my aunt and uncle dead with bloated bodies and all terrible things like that. I wanted to believe that they were all right, but all sense told me that they were like virtually everyone else, dead.

~ §~

Jeanie was sitting on the front passenger seat next to me as I drove along the main road and turned left towards the river. We passed several cottages on the way through. The road wasn’t very wide and we had to go rather slowly at times. We had spent several summers here, happy times where we could sail on the river, play with the dogs, ride ponies and generally enjoy ourselves.

My tummy began tying itself more in knots with butterflies on the rampage as we took the final bend and swung into the yard of the Carron Farm.

The first thing I noticed was that the cows in the fields were lying down, obviously dead and then I saw a farm cat in the corner, once again dead with its throat a mess where a scavenger had got at it.

The horse box doors were all open and I could see no sign of any horses or ponies. As we drew up in front of the farmhouse, I noticed that the front door was wide open. I stopped the coach and switched the engine off. It was quiet, deathly quiet. The air was heavy and the smell, unpleasant and sickly.

Jeanie gazed at me. I could see that she felt the same as me–they were dead. I felt so sad, I loved them almost as much as my parents. A world without them, to me, would be a very empty place.

‘Right,’ said Eve, matter of factly, intruding on my thoughts, ‘Sarah and I are going to have a look.’

‘No you can’t,’ I protested.

‘It’s not fair,’ Jeanie added, ‘they’re our uncle and auntie––’

‘–Look, Allie, Jeanie, you wouldn’t let me see m—my parents so Sarah and I will do the same for you. You shouldn’t see them, erm–dead and everything. You should remember them as they were when they were alive. Come on, Sarah, are you coming?’

‘Of course, Eve. You two stay here; we won’t be long, promise.’

Without another word, they got out of the bus, sliding the door closed behind them and went to the house, pausing for a second before entering.

Jeanie and I gazed at each other and I could see the worry on her face. Nicola and Julie were at the back of the bus with Ben and Arthur. Everyone was quiet, realising, I think, that this was all very upsetting for us. I sat with Jeanie, holding her hand. She was trembling slightly, or was that me?

They were gone for about five minutes, but it seemed like an hour. I was just about to suggest going to look for them when they reappeared.

I couldn’t read the expression on their faces as they climbed back in the bus.

‘Well?’ I said, unable to hold myself back.

‘There was nobody there,’ Sarah said, ‘it looked like they left in a hurry. Breakfast things were still on the table and the beds, unmade. There was still tea in the pot, but it was cold.’

‘What about the dogs?’ asked Jeanie.

‘No dogs. As I said it looked like they had left in a hurry.’

I glanced at Jeanie and then got out of the bus. I ran to the large corrugated iron shed where they kept their Land Rover, avoiding the dirty puddles, and pulled one of the doors open. The hinges screeched, causing a number of birds to fly off in alarm.

The shed was empty.

I ambled slowly back to the others who had just alighted from Bessie. Jeanie had been crying–I hope from happiness because we had not found them dead.

‘Well,’ said Sarah, ‘that was a turn up; where do you think they are?’

Jeanie and I looked at each other and replied in unison, ‘Dunoon––’

____________________

¹ ABC Minors: A popular Saturday morning film club for children at ABC Cinemas in the late 40s, 50s and 60s which showed films like Charlie Chaplin, Hopalong Cassidy, Laural and Hardy and others suitable for a child audience.

---

 
To be continued…
 

Please remember to leave comments...it's nice to know if people like/don't like my stories :-)

My thanks go to the brilliant and lovely Gabi for editing, help with the plot-lines and pulling the story into shape.