Strangers

25

The van stopped again, and all those inside knew that this was the end of the line.

School.

Tammy thought she was going mad when she realised where they were. She pressed her face against the window and watched as armed guards opened the school gates and allowed the van through. It was a bizarre collision of the normal and the surreal: the banality of the out-dated school campus, now alive with military activity, their equipment everywhere. Right in the middle of the netball courts, near to the temporary classrooms, was a helicopter, and it didn’t take a genius to identify stockpiles of guns and missiles. What the hell was going on?

They’d reached some kind of checkpoint, manned by more soldiers, this time armed with clipboards, pens and tablets rather than guns. Scott craned his neck to see what was happening. At the front of the van paperwork was exchanged, lists of names compared… were the people of Thussock being processed? ‘Looks like I was right,’ Dr Kerr said. ‘They’re rounding everyone up.’

‘I guess.’

‘My money’s on that fracking site. Must be something to do with that. Problem is they never fully investigate these things before someone gives their high-powered friend a grant and tells them to get on with it, do they? It’s always profit before people, you know?’

‘I don’t reckon this has got anything to do with digging holes in the ground.’

‘You never know though, do you? I was dead against it from the start. I got on all the committees and went to all the public meetings, but did it make any difference?’

‘I doubt it,’ Scott said, wishing he’d shut up.

‘Damn right it didn’t. All the objections were just dismissed. It was an absolute bloody whitewash. You’d think they’d be legally bound to act on objections, wouldn’t you, but you’d be surprised.’

‘Nothing surprises me anymore.’

The doctor was about to say something else when the van juddered forward again, processing complete. It followed the narrow road towards the main school buildings, then curved sharply to the left.

A few rows behind, Phoebe watched with wide eyes as they drove deeper into the campus. She’d almost been on the verge of getting used to this place, but every last shred of familiarity had been stripped away today. There was the assembly hall which doubled-up as a gym, and the Portakabin classrooms, freezing cold even on warm days, the uncomfortable temperature keeping her awake during Maths. There was the dilapidated technology block and the music rooms, and the playing field and—

—and this looked less like a school now, more like something out of a science-fiction film. The relatively new leisure centre towards the back of the site had always seemed out of place, but now it looked positively alien. It was surrounded by armed guards, and much of the car park space had been filled with camouflaged temporary buildings. As she watched, another van similar to this one drove away from the leisure centre. Parts of the angular building were covered in heavy-duty plastic sheeting, like someone was trying to shrink-wrap the place.

The van stopped again. The driver turned in a tight circle, then reversed back into the space the other vehicle had just vacated. There was a delay, probably less than a minute but which felt inordinately long, before the back doors were opened and the van’s passengers were asked to move out, politely but very firmly, by more faceless military personnel.

The doctor returned to his wife. Michelle and the girls waited for Scott. He walked with them in silence.

The gap between the back of the van and the leisure centre door was several metres wide. Big enough, Scott thought, to be able to make a run for it if he wanted to. But even though the barrels of their rifles were pointing at the ground, there were enough armed guards around to deter anyone thinking about trying to make a break for freedom.

Dr Kerr was just ahead of them. ‘Is anyone going to tell us what’s going on?’ he demanded of one of the soldiers. Scott couldn’t hear what the reply was, but it was clearly insufficient as far as the doctor was concerned. He continued to rant, oblivious to the proximity of their weapons, sounding increasingly angry, winding himself up but, it appeared, no one else. None of his questions or demands seemed to warrant even the most cursory of responses.

When they reached the inside of the leisure centre, Tammy stopped walking, dumbfounded. It looked as if the entire population of Thussock was already here, that they were late to the party. She remembered how this room had felt like a vast, cavernous space when she’d first come in here, bigger than the rest of the school combined. Right now, though, it felt uncomfortably cramped. It looked like something out of a film, one of those old disaster movies, she thought, or maybe something she’d expect to see on the TV news after an earthquake or tsunami. The floor was covered with row upon row of people lying on metal-framed camp beds or sitting on thin foam mattresses and bedding rolls. Thussock had seemed like such an insignificant place in comparison to Redditch, but the sheer volume of people gathered here in close proximity made it feel horrendously overcrowded. She was feeling claustrophobic, and the fractious atmosphere wasn’t helping. People were uncertain… afraid. Considering how many people were trapped in here, it remained unexpectedly quiet.

‘Chelle!’ someone shouted. Michelle looked up and saw that Jackie, Dez and the twins were camped on the far side of the huge room, leaning up against the back wall. There was a space next to them. Without waiting for anyone else, Michelle marched over to her friend. The girls sat down in silence, still in a state of shock, but Scott remained where he was, reluctant to follow. His heart sank when Dez got up and walked over to him. There was no escape, no way of shaking him. Between Dez and Dr Kerr (who’d also followed them across the gym and who was setting up camp with his wife just a couple of metres away), he imagined he’d be struggling to breathe if they were stuck in here for any length of time.

‘How long have you been here?’ Scott asked Dez.

‘Couple of hours.’

‘And have they told you anything?’

‘Nothin’. You got your pack yet?’

‘My pack?’

Dez pointed to a half-demolished mountain of cardboard boxes in the diagonally opposite corner of the hangar-like room. More were being taken away as Scott watched. ‘You get a couple of pillows and sheets, some water, a bit of food, and this,’ Dez explained, pulling a laminated card from his pocket and handing it over. Dr Kerr intercepted it. He adjusted his glasses to read it, flipping it over first, holding it up to show Scott the biohazard symbol printed on the reverse.

‘Residents of Thussock… We apologise for any inconvenience. A biological concern has been identified in the immediate area.’ He stopped and looked from Scott to Dez and back again. ‘A biological concern? Who wrote this garbage?’

‘What else does it say?’ Scott asked.

‘Blah, blah, blah… not a lot really. It’s all just bullshit and flannel. All very vague… all residents are required – by law – to remain on these premises until such time as the hazard has been successfully contained and neutralized.’

‘And that’s it?’

‘Pretty much.’

‘Shit.’

‘Well, there’s not a lot we can do for now,’ the doctor said, and he handed the card back to Dez, then ambled back over to sit with his wife.

Scott realised Michelle had gone. He looked around and found her on the other side of the leisure centre with Jackie and Tammy, collecting boxes. He watched her every move.

Bottles of water, pillows and a few chocolate bars kept the girls and George occupied temporarily. Michelle walked over to Scott. ‘Mind if I sit here?’

‘If you want,’ he grunted.

‘What’s happening, Scott? You’ve been talking to the doctor… what does he say?’

‘He knows as much as I do. Nothing. You see the card?’

‘This thing?’ she said, picking one out from her cardboard box and studying it. ‘Doesn’t say much, does it?’

‘Not really.’

‘Look, Scott, I just—’

‘Do me a favour, Michelle, just don’t even talk to me. In fact, just stay away.’