The man leans forward and picks up the phone. He struggles with the controls for a second but soon manages to locate the file and starts it playing. At first the words are hard to make out. He adjusts the volume and lifts up the phone so that we can all hear what's being said.
'If you're listening to this,' Ankin's weary voice says, sounding tinny and distorted, 'chances are you don't have a clue what's happened to you or what's happened to the rest of the country. You won't know why you feel the way you do or why your life has just been turned upside down. I'll give you some information but I won't be able to answer all of your questions. I'll tell you what I know but that's not what's important now. Ultimately it doesn't matter why this has happened or what caused it, what matters is how we deal with it. Because of the unprecedented nature of the change and its effects on our society we need to act now and we need to act quickly. There will be time enough to look for reasons when the fight is over.'
I shuffle on the ground and glance at the other faces gathered around the telephone. They stare at the small handset with bewildered expressions. I'm not sure if anyone believes what they're hearing.
'Put simply,' Ankin's voice continues, 'there is a fundamental genetic difference between us and them. A fundamental and basic difference which, until now, has remained dormant. I can't yet tell you why, but something has happened to trigger a change, and that change has created the hate. If you're hoping for me to give you a more scientific explanation, I can't. If you're waiting for me to explain why we can no longer exist alongside the people we loved, lived with and worked with just a couple of weeks ago, I can't. One day we'll understand, but today we don't have the luxury of having either the time or resources to find out.
'Initially it was presumed that the change was limited to just a small minority of people. Before it happened to me, while I was still in office, I saw figures which indicated that our numbers are much greater than was first thought. It's likely that as many as three people in every ten are like us. That's around thirty percent of the population. That's enough to take the fight to them and stand a chance.
'The change strips away some of the restraint we used to have. In very basic terms it makes us less susceptible to bullshit and more likely to take action. The change seems almost to amplify our instincts. We immediately know who is like us and we know who isn't. We know who poses a threat to us and who is on our side. Many of the layers of conditioning and control imposed upon us by society have been stripped away by the change and no longer apply. Now you fight when you need to fight and you destroy the enemy because you know that they will destroy you if you give them half a chance.
'Until now we've discriminated against each other according to race, religion, age, gender and just about every other differentiation imaginable. Look around you tonight and you'll see that those differences are gone. Now, to put things as simplistically as possible, there is just 'us' and 'them', and it is impossible for us to coexist. We have no alternative but to fight, and we must keep fighting until we have wiped them out.
'The change has spread across the world with an incredible speed. No corner of the planet has been left untouched. We are everywhere. You must remember that we are not the underdogs. Their advantage over us is in physical numbers only. We have served at every level and among us we have experts in every profession. Among us we have every skill imaginable. We have everything we need to fight them and destroy them.
'Forget your past. Forget your families and friends and who you used to be. In time some kind of normality will be restored. Until then we have no alternative but to fight.'
The message ends and I look at the phone in disbelief. Is this a joke? Can any of this really be true? For a moment I'm overloaded, unable to take it all in. Then my mind begins to fill with memories of the events of the last week and particularly of the last day - the killings, the battles, the bloodshed, the emotions - and I know that every word I've just heard is true. I remember the feelings of strength and power I felt as I killed the enemy soldiers with my hands just a few hours ago and I know that it's all real. Impossible and unproven but real.
SUNDAY
44
The dead politician's words still rattle round my head as I wake up. I've slept for little more than an hour but I feel as refreshed as if I've slept all night. I look up at the canopy of leaves and twisted branches above my head. A familiar face stares back at me.
'Thought it was you,' says Patrick. 'You managed to get away then.'
I sit up quickly. He reaches out his hand and I shake it. I look around and see that many more people have arrived here while I've been asleep.
'You okay,' I ask as I stand up and stretch.
'Absolutely bloody brilliant,' he replies, grinning from ear to ear. 'You?'
I think before answering. In less than twenty-four hours I've lost everything that used to matter to me. I should feel battered, devastated and empty but I don't. I echo Patrick's sentiment. I feel incredible. I feel alive. My body is full of energy and strength. My mind is clear. I'm ready to do what I have to do.
'Never felt like this before,' I tell him. 'I've never felt this good.'
It isn't long before we move on. The scouts who brought us to this place tell us that there's a small town on the other side of this valley. We'll start there. I know exactly what I have to do. I'm ready now to go into the streets and destroy as many of them as I can find. This battle is only just beginning.
We leave the trees at the bottom of the valley and emerge into a clear and dry morning. The sun is just beginning to rise and I can already hear the sounds of fighting drifting on the breeze. There's a hint of smoke in the air - the smell of their world being torn apart.
Christ I feel strong. I know now that I've finally thrown off the shackles and restraints of the life I used to lead and I'm free to follow my instincts and do what I was born to do. For the first time since I left her I can think of Ellis this morning and not feel any pain. I know that my little girl is out there somewhere, killing for us. I hope I'll find her again one day. I'll tell her how proud I am.
We move as a pack, powering up the side of the steep hill which looms ahead of us. We reach the top of the climb and I'm barely out of breath. I stand next to Patrick and together we look down onto a truly beautiful scene. In the distance we can see the town, and it is burning. There are already battles raging in the streets. Explosions rock buildings and reduce them to rubble. People are running, fighting and killing.
It's awe-inspiring.
Patrick grins like a child on Christmas morning.
The sun bathes the scene with brilliant, golden light and I can see for miles in every direction. People are swarming towards the town from all sides. With excitement burning in my gut I start to run towards the buildings, desperate to get there, desperate to fight and kill.
We thunder down the other side of the hill, sprint diagonally across a wide and uneven field and then reach the main road into the town. With two others I break into the first building we reach. We smash the front windows of the small, square house and climb in. I find the two elderly occupants upstairs, cowering pathetically in a bedroom. One of them hides under the bed. I grab its foot, drag it out, stand it upright and smash its face into the wall. There's another in the wardrobe. It tries to stay silent but I can hear its unsteady breathing and pitiful whimpering. I pull the doors open, throw it across the room and watch in satisfaction as the other two who are in here with me tear it limb from limb.
By the time we get back outside our bloody attack has been replayed numerous times in numerous houses. Without pausing for breath I run on, desperate to find more of them to destroy.
This is a perfect day.
After so much uncertainty, fear and pain, everything is clear. Everything finally makes sense.
We are at war.
THE END
