Richard had a variety of electronic devices in his office. Lisa and Anita spent another hour sitting at his desk, scrolling through their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds, and logging in to their email accounts trying to fill in the gaps and track down the whereabouts of their friends and family.
During the first few hours of the attack on Thursday, there had been a lot of activity. There was too much to take in and most of it was repetitive: people posting images and video footage of their own terrifying experiences, sharing their fear and concern, speculating about what was happening, and trying to find or contact loved ones. Into the night, and throughout the following morning. the chatter had gradually slowed down and now was almost silent.
That silence frightened Lisa more than anything she had seen or heard. Where was everyone? What were they doing? She tried to reassure herself that they were probably using all their energy to focus on actually surviving, rather than documenting it. But a small insistent voice in the back of her head kept telling her that it might be due to something more sinister. People might be silent because they were unable to post. The chatter might have stopped because most of the population had been infected.
Anita had received an email from her brother on the boat in Croatia. They had attempted to moor up in a small town just north of Dubrovnik but had been forced to head back out to sea for their own safety. They were part of a small flotilla that was moored just off the coast, considering heading south to North Africa, which was so far unaffected. He'd sent a flurry of emails since Thursday evening and was frantic with worry about her and the rest of the family. She emailed him back telling him that she was safe and that she was with good people, and not to worry.
She had heard nothing from her parents, nor her other brother. Nothing had been posted by any of them, and no emails had come from them since she'd left home at lunchtime on Thursday. She feared the worst and became tearful and subdued.
Lisa tried to reassure her. "You don't know what's happened, Nita. They might just be trapped at work or have been evacuated or something."
But Lisa's experience was similar, and she was struggling to stay positive herself. There was nothing from her parents who lived in Leeds, one of the worst affected cities according to Richard, and nothing from her sister Judith, who lived with her family in Sussex. However, an email had come through from her other sister, Gina, letting her know that she was safely ensconced in her isolated, but solid, old barn conversion in the Yorkshire Dales, with her two children, her husband and her mother-in-law.
They had seen no direct evidence of any infection in their area yet. They had no phone signal in normal times, but Gina had sent several emails to Lisa over the past 24 hours, pleading with her to get in contact just to let them know that she was safe. It felt good to be able to email her back to say that she was ok and making her way home to Neil.
Disappointingly and disturbingly though, there was nothing from Neil himself. Nothing on Facebook nor Twitter, and no emails - just total silence. She sent him an email anyway.
Hi Darling, it's me again. I'm still safe. No longer at the farm but in a house in Bubbenhall. Been an awful day, but some great people have helped us. I'm still coming home. It's not going to be easy, but I'm getting closer. We're going to stay here tonight and set out again in the morning. If you get there first, just wait for me. Please just wait there, and I'll come. I promise. If I get there before you, I'll wait for you. Like we promised. I love you so much. Please be ok, my darling. Lisa Xxx
Eventually, when they had exhausted all avenues of enquiry, they joined Richard and Charlie in the lounge again, where Richard opened a bottle of expensive red wine and Charlie served an elegant selection of sophisticated nibbles.
To Lisa, it seemed as though their lives were almost untouched by the crisis. They had been in regular contact with their own family throughout and knew that they were all safe in different secure locations around the country.
They seemed to be simply waiting for it all to be over so that they could resume their normal lives. They were good, kind people, though, so who was she to judge? Maybe it was just their way of coping? Lisa was beginning to suspect that there was a strong possibility it might never be over, or at least not for a very long time.
The property was enormous and seemed to be completely secure. The high wall with the conifer hedge that had blocked their path earlier completely surrounded the house and spacious gardens, which included a large outdoor heated swimming pool. The whole place was effectively concealed from the rest of the world. The electric gates at the end of the small lane were so innocuous you would never imagine that a property of this magnitude nestled behind them on the edge of the River Avon, in the sleepy little village of Bubbenhall.
The lounge was warm, and the lights had been dimmed. This, combined with the wine and their emotional and physical exhaustion, quickly made both women very sleepy. The conversation dried up, everyone lost in their own drowsy thoughts. Anita failed miserably in her attempt to stifle
