Aftermath (formatted)

The Aftermath

'The way to win an atomic war is to make sure it never starts'
O. BRADLEY

He ran, because it is human instinct to survive. He couldn't apprehend
what was to come, there is a limit to what the human mind can cope
with, and thus he blocked all thoughts and feelings. Any moment now it
would happen.
He ran, others ran, a swarming mass of colours, united in the struggle
to live. The further away he was, the safer he would be. Empty cars
blocked the road, deserted by their desperate owners. Any moment now,
the atomic bomb would land. His wife would surely die, sizzled alive in
the middle of the targeted city. Yet he just couldn't think of her, or
it would cost him his life. The further away he was, the safer, his
only thought.
A huge blazing inferno obstructed his path, what appeared to be two
cars had collided with a lorry. The automobiles were scarred beyond
recognition. Inside he heard a horrifying scream, someone was dying
amidst the pyre, yet he felt no symphaty, as he blocked out the cries.
It was every man for himself.
He re-routed around the fire and for the first time became aware of
his complete and utter exhaustion. He felt as though he couldn't go on.
And then it came, the noise louder than anything he'd heard before, a
deafening, piercing sound from behind him, a blaring turbulent sound.
He wanted to see the source of this apocalyptic bang yet he was to
frightened to do so, and he was lucky, for if he had, he would have
been permanently blinded.
His ears were ringing, rendering him oblivious to the screams, pleas
and cries around him. He was safe, far enough from the target not to be
fried alive by the bomb. He hoped for no more bombs for they would
target different areas and he would surely perish.
He considered his next move, he had an hour or so before the fallout,
radioactive debris in the air that would slowly kill him. He needed to
find safe shelter quickly. He would have to stay inside this for
several weeks until the radiation level had decreased enough for him to
return to the open air. He knew there were several refuges for this
type of situation spread throughout the city, but they were reserved
for top doctors, scientists, politicians, the royal family and other
important civilians. He knew that if the country was destroyed, these
selected people would be able to establish some sort of community. He,
a policeman, would have no chance of entering these high security
private shelters.
He knew that most people would head for the underground tube stations
and tunnels, he also knew that they would offer dissatisfactory
protection due to radiation seeping in. He knew that many would try to
leave the city, but he also knew that all exit routes would be blocked
with huge amounts of vehicles and even if this was managed, no car
would be fast enough to leave the zone of contamination in time. He had
to go underground, somewhere with a food supply.
He located a motorcycle, lying on the ground like a shot animal. It
glistened gold in the light of the summer morning. Memories came
flooding back of his early years when he loved bikes, yet after
breaking a leg after a traumatic accident, he vowed never to ride
again. Now he had no choice. He mounted the bike, the owner had
probably fallen off or crashed, started the engine and drove into the
sunlight.
Destruction surrounded him, humanity had destroyed itself. But he had
no time to think about such philosophical issues, these pointless
ironies. He had about, he didn't know, he checked his watch which had
ceased to operate, who knew what forces were at work here ?
He continued his journey into the sunlight, buildings silhouetted
against the bright sky. His ears had returned to their normal condition
and once again he began hearing the distant cries. One man had caused
the suffering of all these innocent victims. Where could he be safe ?
Where ? He had it, the central bank, there were many sealed underground
chambers for the storage of money, but no food, he would starve to
death.
Thoughts whirled around in his head, dizzying him. Where would there
be both food and protection. Canned food. The canning factory of course
! It would have huge amounts of food, and he would be safe in the
airtight chambers designed to keep food fresh. He knew where it was,
close to his father-in-laws house in the east. He headed there.
He grew frustrated at the speed of his bike, which appeared fine from
the outside, yet being a former biking expert, he could tell that the
components were lacklustre to say the least. They don't make things now
like they used to do. He was thinking of this to take his mind off the
destruction encircling him.
The factory was five miles away by line of sight, but due to the
winding roads and standstill traffic, he would have to travel a greater
distance and it would take him more time. The bomb had shook buildings
to their foundations and many older ones had collapsed like they were
made of clay. Many had been sleeping inside, and those who survived had
come crawling out, injured, begging for help, only time separating them
from a slow and painful death. He refused to think of these poor
victims as human beings for he would be unable to cope.
After a long thirty or so minutes, he arrived at his destination,
fearing that it had either been obliterated or it was swarming with
masses of people. He was relieved to find that neither outcome was
true. Surely somebody would have had his idea, otherwise he probably
wouldn't be able to enter. Luckily, he spotted the door broken
in.
Surely, whoever was inside, would let him take refuge in this safe
haven. In hope and desperation, he entered the building and descended
the stairs into the basement. He heard rustling, and hopes high, he
walked through the corridor.
A tall dark figure approached him with and hurriedly bundled him into
one of the side doors, he offered no resistance. The man turned towards
him.
'Good to have you.....'
'Joe Samuel'
'Nice to meet you, I'm Roger Johnson', the tall black man said.
'You too, Mr Johnson', Joe replied, still gasping for breath.
'Call me Roger', he said.