other than patchy.
‘All right?’ He extended a hand. ‘I’m Alan Maxwell.’
He sounded just like he looked: like an ill-tempered sales manager.
Nathan grabbed his hand and shook it. ‘I’m Nathan Williams and this is Jacob Sutherland.’
Jacob smiled as they shook. ‘I just want to thank you very much for taking us both in—’
Maxwell waved him silent impatiently. ‘Sit down. I want to have a chat with you.’
Both boys did as they were told at once. There was something about his gruff commanding voice that told them he didn’t stand on ceremony, he didn’t swallow bullshit, nor did he take ‘no’ for an answer.
‘So? You like the place so far?’
‘You kidding?’ Jacob grinned. ‘It’s amazing. All those games machines and the disco lights and everything. It’s brilliant!’
Nathan just nodded. Playing it cool.
‘Safety Zone Four. One of twenty-seven regional emergency rallying points in the UK,’ said Maxwell. ‘And the only one to survive.’ They nodded silently. Maxwell tidied away a folder of papers he’d been scribbling notes on when they’d entered.
‘It survived because I made a deliberate choice to disobey the emergency authorities’ instructions during the crash. This place should have taken in about sixty thousand civilians and provided them with food and water for twelve weeks.’ A dry half-smile on his lips. ‘Twelve weeks . . . that’s a bloody laugh. That’s how long they reckoned it would take to tidy the streets and get everything back the way it was.’
He looked at them both, locking them down, in turn, with a long uncomfortable stare. ‘I allowed in just under two thousand lucky people. Then I stopped.’ He shrugged. ‘I suppose the other fifty-eight thousand I should have let in are all probably dead somewhere. But I’m okay with that. I sleep all right.’
He shrugged. ‘Sounds harsh but that’s the way it is. Bottom line . . . I turned out to be right. The world didn’t fix itself. The supplies in the other safety zones ran out and they ended up in a complete bloody mess.’
He stroked his clipped salt-and-pepper beard thoughtfully. ‘Anyway that explains why we’re still here. I asked Edward to bring you over so we can talk. I do this with any new waifs and strays we take in nowadays. It doesn’t happen quite so often.’
‘There are still people out there,’ said Jacob. ‘In fact there’s dozens of kids living in that exhibition place across the river.’
‘Them? Oh, they’re feral,’ said Maxwell. ‘No more than wild bloody animals now.’ He looked at the expression on their faces. ‘Don’t feel sorry for them. Most of them can barely talk. Many of them were small children when it happened and they still are in a way.’
‘I don’t feel sorry,’ said Nathan. ‘They nearly killed us.’
Maxwell nodded. ‘Every now and then we come across packs of them and have to scare ’em away. Otherwise they’d be trying to get in. Anyway,’ he continued, ‘the pair of you clearly haven’t gone feral so I’m guessing you’ve come from somewhere else that’s managed to sort itself out.’
‘Yeah,’ said Jacob. ‘But not as big or as cool as this place.’
Maxwell shrugged. ‘Unfortunately, that’s what I suspect - that this is probably, by far, the largest going concern in the country. Where’ve you two come from?’
‘Norfolk,’ said Nathan. ‘A place in Norfolk.’
‘You walked down?’
‘No we got some bicycles.’
‘What’s it like out there? Did you come across many people?’
Jacob made a face. ‘Nothing really. It’s just lots of empty towns.’
‘Yeah, we was hoping we’d see other groups an’ things. But it was just a load of rotting buildings an’ stuff,’ added Nathan.
‘So, what about where you came from in Norfolk?’
‘Well actually it’s off the north-east coast,’ said Jacob. ‘On a bunch of gas rigs.’
Maxwell’s frown lifted ever so slightly. ‘Really?’
Nathan nodded. ‘But it’s rubbish up there. It’s always wet and cold, ain’t it?’
Jacob nodded.
‘Shit,’ nodded Maxwell, ‘it must get very cold out there.’
‘Oh, but we got heaters in some places,’ said Jacob. ‘And the gas gives us some electric anyway.’
‘How many people living there?’
They looked at each other. ‘I think it’s about four hundred and fifty now, isn’t it?’ said Jacob.
Nathan shrugged. ‘About that.’
Maxwell’s eyebrows arched. Impressed.
‘So, where’d you get all your ‘lectric from?’ asked Nathan, nodding towards the double doors and the soft, insistent pump of a dance beat from beyond.
‘Ahh, well we have a sizeable reserve of diesel here and four emergency generators. I put all the lights and the arcade machines on for my boys once a fortnight. It keeps them happy.’
Jacob frowned.