drop us off right on the coast, thinking it would be safer to check things out here before we headed inland. He left us in the middle of an empty car park on the sea front. He wanted to stop and make sure we were okay but I insisted he went. They flew on to the nearest large city. I told him to fly back over the car park on his way back to the island and if we were still sitting out there, to land again and pick us up. Needless to say we'd already found ourselves a place to stay by the time he flew back overhead.
The first thing I noticed were the bones. We'd been away so long that the bodies had rotted down to just about nothing, leaving countless piles of bones littering the streets. The place was quiet ? eerily silent ? like a ghost town. We're used to the quiet, but this was different. We knew that we'd probably got the whole country to ourselves. For a while I felt uneasy, particularly when we walked through a deserted playground and amusement arcade. It seemed strange to think that there had been hundreds of people there once. Families. Kids on the rides...
We let Clare choose where we stayed. I thought she'd be sensible but we ended up in a static caravan in the middle of a holiday park overlooking the sea. It was a sensible choice really ? isolated, small and self-contained. Reminds me of being on holiday, sitting here. It's strange. Tonight I actually feel excited sitting here and looking out over the ocean.
Tomorrow morning the rest of our lives start again. We don't have any great plans. We'll get food and clothes and I'll try and persuade Clare to let us move into a house for the winter. It's going to be bloody cold. My guess is that because all the cities across the world are dead, the temperature will drop lower than normal. I don't think we'll have an ice-age or anything like that, but it's going to be bloody cold.
Donna's going to teach me to drive, if we can find a car that will start. It's about time I learnt. She says I should pick it up pretty easy. She says it will be easy for me to learn because I won't have to bother with the highway code or anything like that. We'll just be able to point the car forward and go. And that's what we're going to do eventually. Next summer, if we're still here, we're going to find a motorhome like the one Michael and Emma used to have. Then I'm going to fulfil my ambition and drive right around the coastline of our little country. It will be a complete waste of time but who cares, we've got nothing better to do. Michael used to say to me that all we can do now is make the most of the time we have left. That's exactly what we're going to do.
AUTUMN: THE HUMAN CONDITION
Appendix i
AMY STEADMAN
Is not a named character in the novels, but she appears in PURIFICATION as the figure on the other side of the airfield fence which grabs the recently re-animated corpse of Kelly Harcourt. 'Eight weeks ago this creature had been a young, intelligent and attractive clothing store manager with a bright future ahead of it. Now it was a mud- splattered, half-naked, emaciated collection of brittle bone and rotting flesh.'
JIM HARPER
Is one of the first six survivors to settle on the island of Cormansey in PURIFICATION. He is introduced when Michael arrives on the island and is seen collecting and burning bodies with another survivor, Bruce Fry.
SHERI NEWTON
The shopping mall where Sheri Newton works is the mall which is looted by Nathan Holmes and Bernard Heath in THE CITY. Sheri joins the group of survivors in the university and leaves with them to find the military base (although she is not mentioned by name). She also stays with the group when they travel to the airfield and, subsequently, Cormansey. Michael mentions her arrival when he is searching for Emma.
SONYA FARLEY
Eventually reaches the survivors in the university in THE CITY. The birth, and subsequent death of her baby is a tragic and significant event. The baby's death from the infection brings the group to the harsh realization that the human race now has very little chance of survival.
HARRY STAYT
Plays a major part in PURIFICATION. Another one of the first group of six survivors to arrive on Cormansey, his physical strength, confidence and enthusiasm make him perfect when it comes to clearing the island of bodies and preparing the place for the arrival of the survivors from the mainland. He is also mentioned in `The Last Flight' ? further evidence that he remains an important member of the island community.
JACOB FLYNN
It's not clear at what stage Flynn joins the survivors at the airfield in PURIFICATION. He shows his true (unpleasant) colours when he is unable to get on the plane and leave the mainland when the fence is brought down by the dead.
BRIGID CULTHORPE
A strong, confident and determined character, Brigid soon takes charge of Cormansey when she arrives with the first group of survivors in PURIFICATION.
PETER GUEST
Guest is one of the group of survivors from the university in THE CITY. The office where he used to work is, in fact, less than a mile away from the university campus. Guest struggles more than most with the loss of his family, so much so that he is not mentioned by name until the group flee from the military base at the beginning of PURIFICATION. Although a nervous and irritating individual, he plays an increasingly important role in getting the survivors to the airfield and, later, in making Cormansey habitable.
JACKIE SOAMES
A loud and colourful character, Jackie is one of the driving forces behind the group of survivors gathered at the airfield in PURIFICATION.
GARY `TUGGIE' KEELE
A lazy coward who's confidence was shattered when his wife left him for another man. Keele now struggles to take any responsibility, and the prospect of flying the survivors to Cormansey in PURIFICATION terrifies him.
JULIET APPLEBY
Has spent much of the first thirty-nine years of her life trying to blend into the background. She lives and works in Rowley and made her way to the airfield at an early stage. Given her demeanour and lack of confidence, it is hardly surprising that she is left behind when the survivors attempt to leave the airfield in PURIFICATION.
KAREN CHASE Is a member of the group of survivors based at the airfield in PURIFICATION. A woman who has had a difficult last few years, the catastrophe presents her with an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and be stronger and more positive.
PHILIP EVANS
Philip is discovered at the end of AUTUMN by Michael and Emma. A sad and lonely bachelor, all he knows is the house he shares with his elderly mother and the small village community nearby. His naivety distorts his understanding of what has happened to the rest of the world.
DEAN MCFARLANE
Is perhaps the youngest survivor. He joins the group in the university in the early part of THE CITY and is referred to in a conversation between two survivors; `You see that young lad who came in this morning?' Yvonne asked Sunita. `Poor little bugger. Could only have been six or seven years old. One of the others spotted him running down the ring road. Said his mum had died and he'd come into town to try and find his dad. Wouldn't be told that he was probably dead too...' Looked after by the group, we later hear that Dean has survived when, towards the end of PURIFICATION, he makes it onto the plane to Cormansey.
PENELOPE STREET
Does not appear in any of the novels. The tragic irony of her situation is that the furniture store where she is trapped is half-way down the road from the `Lamb and Lion' pub where Jackie Soames is the licensee. Penelope says `help might be just around the corner...'. She does not know how true that is...
KATE JAMES
Is a primary school teacher who appears in AUTUMN. Initially strong and positive, the pressure of events take their toll on Kate and although she wishes she could leave the Whitchurch Community Centre with Michael, Carl and Emma, her nerves give out and she stays. Kate's story also makes reference to STUART JEFFRIES and RALPH, two other characters from the first book.
KILGORE
Plays a major part in PURIFICATION after leaving the bunker with the survivors who flee as the military
