“What do we say?” I heard Andrew's words low as we walked along the endless string of cars.
“Tell them everything,” Toby said, his voice quick and coarse.
“No,” I said, shaking my head, gaze fixed on my feet. “They’ll panic.”
“I’m panicking,” Toby replied.
I looked up and slowed the breath I hadn’t realise had been racing and took a moment to feel the energy building in my chest.
“We tell them what they need to know. Tell them we found a roadblock…” The words caught in my throat and I took a deep swallow. “We tell them we found chaos the other end. We tell them everyone has gone, evacuated.”
“Not everyone,” Andrew said.
I waited a moment to answer, knowing the full extent of what our words could do to our friends.
“We tell them about the panic. We tell them people didn't make it,” I said, picking up my pace with the gun heavy in my jacket pocket.
Their reply was silent. I hoped if I turned I would see them nodding. To say anything else wouldn't make sense.
“Then what?” Toby said, breaking the silence, his words soon crumbling under their weight.
“We find another way out.” My gaze fell on the procession of cars stretching to the horizon. “All this in just a few hours?” I said, not targeting my words anywhere in particular.
No one replied, but Andrew slowed. I turned, watching as he cut across to the wall, his hands testing the stone before climbing. I joined him high at his side, mirroring him as he took in the view.
All around us were fields rolling gently up and down, with only the occasional wind-battered tree pointing skyward to punctuate the horizon. The long-packed road at our front was the only sign of anyone having ever set foot on the earth.
Our gazes carried to the left; we were about a third of the way back to the cars and our friends. Breath stole from my lungs, my stomach a cavern as I thought of Zoe and the others back at the car. I thought of their fear for us, their fear for the unknown. They would have heard the explosion but weren't in the same head space as us and had yet to see what we had.
“What the hell is going on?” came Toby’s voice at our backs.
I climbed down and offered my hand, helping him up as we jumped down the other side. I was about to open my mouth, about to speak, about to tell him I had no idea, when our heads turned skyward, our gazes darting this way and that, trying to spot the low rumble building on the horizon.
Breath came fast, my look swapping between my two friends. Their eyes were as wide as mine.
We moved quickly, soon building to a run, winding our way through the metal and jumping the haphazard belongings clogging the road.
The roar grew, rising too quick to a crescendo as a grey fighter jet ripped through the air high above.
“Invasion,” I shouted, my instant reaction. “It's World War Three...” the words tailing off as I ran faster than I dared.
6
Breathless, I spotted the missing car at the back of our own short convoy before I saw Zoe stood next to Toby's young wife.
Lily waved her arms high above her head and, in unison with Zoe, their faces lit with relief. Lily ran towards us as we grew closer, rushing past me to clutch her husband. I turned away when no one came running in my direction.
Slowing my pace and with Andrew at my side, we watched Naomi climb from our car, followed soon by Matt and Chloe pulling out of Toby's silver Mercedes.
“What is it?” Zoe asked, her hands at her mouth, dread covering her face. “The explosion,” she said, turning towards Naomi who eyed me with a squint of interest.
“It's a roadblock,” I said, not ready to give the details. “Where's Leo and the others?”
Zoe and Naomi exchanged looks. Matt stepped forward, glancing to Chloe before he spoke.
“They didn't want to sit around waiting. They were pissed off you upped and legged it.”
“I was coming back,” I said, my voice high and defensive. “Of course, I was always going to come back.”
Matt shrugged, his gaze flitting to the distance.
“So where did they go?” I said, catching the gaze of each of the five. Matt spoke again.
“They're going to find another way around.” Zoe shook her head, a look of distaste on her face.
“Leo said some scary shit,” Matt continued. “Dan thinks we're being invaded. World War Three or something.”
Zoe looked at me the entire time, not hiding her interest in my reaction. “Max reckons they blew up the rest of the power station to stop a build-up of heat, but that must be bullshit,” Zoe added, fixed on my eyes, her own wide for an answer.
“Well, what is it?” she said, her voice rising.
I didn’t reply straight away, the pressure of the question weighing down heavy.
“I don't know,” I replied, shaking my head, speaking my true feelings. “It's not an invasion,” I said, pausing, adding more words than I needed to. “I don't think. I did before, but it makes little sense now.”
I watched Zoe's eyes widen and Naomi's contract. “If the Russians or the Chinese have invaded then why the evacuation? The skies would be teaming with fighters,” I said, shaking my head.
“But the explosion?” Zoe replied, noticing the rest had gathered around, their faces intent on our discussion.
“I don't know.”
The only reply was silence. Each of my friends looked on, waiting for me to come up with some idea, some plan, some theory they could latch on to. I read the disappointment on their faces
