There are so many things to consider. Do we want to look for other survivors? It sounds like a stupid question but with the failure of a governed society, law and order breaks down. Who might we be meeting out there? Maybe I am just scared of everything right now.
What about trying to find some kind of authority? The most obvious thing to look for would be a checkpoint or refugee camp. Both fill me with a cold dread. We need to find out what is going on, what efforts are being made to get things under control and back to normal without getting killed by either the Infected or soldiers. I think that until I can be certain how the authorities are approaching this problem, discretion is a better idea. That leaves it at just us then. Me and Craig versus the world.
Still the question of
where. We are still lucky or simply haven't seen the effects of any
radioactive fallout from the Manchester bombs. I still think more
distance is vital. It's too easy to forget about that invisible
killer with so many visible means of dying at hand.
My mind keeps returning to
what efforts the authorities are doing to resolve this crisis. My
assumption here is that there is still an authority to speak of.
Someone has to be in charge. What if there is nothing to be left in
charge of? Or nobody to be left in charge? I can't think like that.
If I can for one moment admit that we are alone, if all that exists
are more Infected, then we are fucked and better off dying on our own
terms. So, someone is out there.
Where would they be?
London must be lost. If the authorities were still there they'd be in
a bunker, and unreachable. In any case, London is likely home to
several million Infected if this is the pandemic I fear it is.
Scottish Parliament? Even in the face of Armageddon I doubt that. I
would choose an island off the mainland. Large enough to house
anybody that was not infected, and everything I thought would be
needed to maintain authority. That still leaves us trying to reach
any part of the coastline and then looking for some kind of sign that
we are going in the right direction.
What about taking a boat and making for Ireland or mainland Europe? Well, if the UK were the only country with Infection, or unable to contain it, then the whole country would be under some kind of quarantine. Anything bigger than a sardine is going to be destroyed attempting to leave. If Europe has the same scale of infection as here, then we are no better off. Besides, what do I know about boats?
I don't think there is any point in heading East. South and Southeast are going to be the worst areas. Probably safe to assume everything below Leeds is lost to infection. That leaves me with the Southwest, Wales, or Scotland and the rest of the North. Wales means going the long way around Manchester and I think there's still the threat of radioactive fallout in travelling that direction. I don't see too much difference between the Southwest and Scotland. Southwest might be warmer and better weather. It comes down to a coin toss. Heads North, tails Southwest.
Heads. Can the infected
freeze solid? I hope so. We're going North. It's hard to pick a firm
destination yet. While there are going to be plenty of secluded
places along the way, we are still looking for a body of organised,
uninfected people and some kind of authority. First place that comes
to mind is the Orkney Islands. Been looking at some maps though and
I'm surprised by the number of small and large islands scattered all
around the North and West coast. Finding a quiet place isn't going to
be difficult. Getting there may be. More to the point, we will need
to find food and water there. That likely narrows the field
considerably, and I have no way of knowing where has what. My mind
comes back to farmhouses or the larger of the offshore islands. I
guess we'll just have to ask along the way. (Who says you can't keep
a sense of humour during the end of the world).
The route is going to take
some work. Need to go by as few urban areas as possible, but
enough to be able to scavenge both food for us and fuel for the car.
I want to get close to some of the Isles, either to check them out
ourselves or see if we find anybody who may know if there are people
there. So far I have Arran, Jura, Islay, Mull, and Skye. Then all the
way over to Thurso and see if we can get out to the Orkney Islands.
It has occurred to me that the extreme West and North of Scotland is
so hard to get to and sparsely populated that any of the villages
along that way may be safe havens. It's something to keep in mind
anyway.
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