The others all tried phoning their families with little success. Anita tried her parents and brothers but didn't get through, but Brian managed to speak to one of his two sons at work. He was trapped in his office in London with some colleagues, but the building was secure, and they were prepared to wait it out until it was safe to leave. After what Lisa observed to be a very matter of fact and emotionless conversation in the circumstances, he wished his son good luck and hung up.
Brian's view was that they should also follow government advice and wait at the farm until morning, or until the advice changed. The women agreed.
They systematically checked the whole house, making sure all the doors and windows were locked and all the blinds and curtains closed. They switched off all the lights except for a table lamp in the sitting area, and gathered on the sofas in front of the TV with the volume down low - loud enough for them to hear what was being said, but quiet enough to hear any sounds from outside.
They sat and watched the flickering screen for hours. Early on, Lisa thought she heard moaning and scraping sounds outside, but they eventually stopped. Matthew had growled on and off at first, but as time passed, he also settled down.
Around 11pm, Anita announced that she was hungry and the farmer's wife, whose name was Lynda, produced a slightly dried out, but otherwise tasty, lasagne out of the depths of the AGA. Although, she didn't think she was hungry, Lisa took a small plateful and surprised herself by finishing it and going back for more. Lynda picked at hers and Brian didn't touch his, but between them Lisa and Anita finished the lot. It was delicious and, although she hadn't consciously realised that she needed food, Lisa's mood and energy levels lifted perceptibly soon after she'd eaten. Even her headache began to ease.
"Aren't you hungry, Brian?" She gestured towards his untouched plate. "You should eat."
Brian was red-eyed and slightly flushed and sweaty, as though he had a fever.
"Are you ok?" she asked. "You don't look well."
"I think I'm just tired," he replied. "I might have a lie down."
"Did you clean your hand before you bandaged it?"
"I don't suppose I did. I got distracted by the news."
"Here, let me have a look at it."
She took him over to the sink and unwrapped the makeshift bandage. Deep teeth-marks formed a half moon shape around the entire edge of his hand. Already, it was evident it was infected. The wound oozed watery fluid and pus, and his whole hand was red and swollen. Dark red lines threaded up his wrist and forearm. It was spreading already.
Lynda brought over a first aid box. Frustrated with herself that they had left it so long before cleaning it, Lisa put on some plastic gloves and washed the wound under the tap. Brian winced and turned his head away. Lynda then rinsed it with TCP, causing Brian to flinch even more. Lisa applied some Savlon and bandaged it up again.
She felt his forehead. "You have a fever. It's a nasty infection. When we get out of here in the morning, you'll need to see a doctor."
They spent the next few hours in the sitting area, drawing some small comfort from being together. They kept the TV on, but no new information came through. The same video clips were replayed, the same endless uninformative discussions and analysis continued. In between patrolling the house and making rounds of hot drinks, they talked about their lives, why they'd been on the train, and where they'd been going.
Anita went first. She was a first year Sports Science student at Loughborough University, and had been making her way up there from her home in Epsom. She was an athlete - a sprinter - and had chosen Loughborough because it meant she could get the training and support she needed for her athletics career and continue her education at the same time. This was going to be her first experience of living away from home. Her parents had already been up to Loughborough with her the weekend before, to settle her into her accommodation. She'd been having a final few days at home before her first term began. She had older twin brothers, one of whom had just graduated and was back home trying to find a job. The other was a chef on a luxury yacht, currently somewhere off the coast of Croatia, as far as she knew.
Although she was young and relatively inexperienced, during the short time they'd spent together, Lisa was already impressed by her bravery and resilience. Yes, she was a bit impatient and impulsive, but she could tell that she had a depth of character and inner strength that were going to help her recover from what had happened to them, and what they'd had to do.
It was harder to get Brian to talk. As well as feeling increasingly unwell, he was struggling generally with the whole situation and just seemed reluctant to talk about himself … or anything else for that matter. They did learn that he was from London and was a director of a national animal rescue charity. He'd been travelling all the way to Edinburgh for a conference. He was divorced and lived alone
