I own nothing. All credit to Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and all involved in making The World's End.
Be warned - much swearing
Sam's eyes shot open. Her hand flew to cover her mouth as she struggled out of the blankets and ran towards the door. She just managed to unbar the front door and stick her head outside before throwing up in the flower bed.
She heaved again and again, managing to keep her long blonde hair out of the way. Her right hand gripped the door frame tightly as she struggled to stay on her feet. As her stomach finally finished spasming she sank down to sit on the door step, feeling dizzy and feverish.
Her head dropped into her hands. "Oh buggering fuck!"
A hand stroked the back of her head and began to gently rub her back.
"Are you OK sweetheart? Are you ill?"
Sam groaned before turning to face her husband. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's already passed. I'll just sit here for a bit."
"OK, if you're sure. I'll get the fire going and put the kettle on. Would a peppermint tea help?"
"Yes please. Thanks Steve." Sam looked out towards her patchy garden that she'd tended so lovingly. She knew her days here were numbered.
-0-0-0-
They'd pulled over at the first opportunity after clearing the explosion. Gary was grinning like a mad man, Andy was shell-shocked. Steve climbed out of the car and walked in circles running hands through his hair and swearing.
Sam couldn't let go of the steering wheel. She was staring out of the windscreen but seeing nothing. She began to tremble, then shake violently. Tears welled up in her eyes even as the wail of despair tore out of her throat. Her head dropped forward onto the steering wheel as another wail ripped from her. "Ollie, oh god, Ollie."
Steve opened the driver's door and carefully unclenched her fingers from the steering wheel. He turned her slowly in the seat until her feet were hanging outside the car. He wrapped his arms around her and rested her head on his shoulder as he tried to comfort her in her grief.
"That was fucking brilliant. I saved the fucking planet from the Blanks. I'm a fucking hero!"
Andy rounded on the man sat next to him in the back seat of Sam's car, his anger causing his colour to rise and his fists to clench.
"You fucking selfish bastard! Oliver and Pete are dead because of you. Why couldn't we have left when we first found out? Why the fuck did we let you make us keep on that fucking pub crawl? They're dead! Do you understand that? And what about everyone else? You blew up a fucking town!"
"To stop an alien invasion."
"Bollocks. You just wanted to finish the Golden Mile you selfish bastard. You don't give a flying fuck that Pete's kids have lost their father or that Sam has lost her brother. You don't do you? You don't fucking care about anyone but the great Gary fucking King. You selfish self-centred bastard."
"Shut up, just shut the fuck up! Can't you think about Sam for just one minute?" Steve shouted at the men in the backseat as he continued to try to soothe the distraught woman in his arms.
"Oh shut up Steven. You're only saying that so you can get your leg over."
That was it for Andy. He let rip with a punch aimed at Gary's face, with as much power as he could muster in the limited space of the rear seat.
"Shit! What the fuck was that for Andy? I just saved your fucking neck."
"No, you didn't. This is all your fault you selfish shit. Get out of this car now and bugger off. I don't want to see your fucking face ever again. You fucking nearly killed me twenty years ago and now you're responsible for Oliver and Pete. Just fuck the hell off you fucking shit!" And with that he pushed Gary out of the car. "Come on Steve. Get Sam in the back seat and I'll drive us back to mine. It's nearest and we can clean up there."
As they drove, the level of devastation became apparent. Every village they drove through was dark except for the occasional pedestrian with a torch.
Even the suburbs were dark. There were a few cars on the road, but not as many as normal for a Saturday night.
The sky was dark and peppered with more stars than any of them had ever seen. However the far horizon was a blazing orange.
"That must be London, though I've never seen it that bright before. I wonder why they've got power when nowhere else has?"
Steve peered from the rear seat out through the windscreen. "I don't think that's lights mate."
Andy did a double take then realised his mistake. "Ssshhhhhiiiiitttttt! Fucking hell Gary, what the fuck have you done?"
Steve pulled out his mobile. No signal. Andy tried to tune in the car radio but got nothing but static.
Arriving at Andy's building they managed to support Sam as they made their way up the dark stairwell to his flat.
An old lady timidly opened her door as Andy slid his key into his front door.
"Oh Mr Knightley, it's you. Do you know what's happening? There's no electricity, no tv and no water. I can't even make myself a cup of tea. I've tried calling my sister but the phone isn't working. Have you seen anything?"
"No Mrs Phillips. I've no idea what's happening. Why don't you go back inside and wait until morning. I'm sure it will all be better then."
He felt a bit guilty for not telling her, but what could he say? 'My mate Gary went on a pub crawl, pissed off some aliens, told them to fuck off so they did, and pretty much destroyed everything in the process.' Nah, maybe not.
Steve led Sam to the sofa where she curled up into a ball. As Steve eased her shoes off, Andy found a blanket to cover her.
"Fuck Andy. They said they were across the planet. If everywhere is like Newton Haven … it's all gone isn't it?"
"Looks like it."
"Bollocks."
"I've got to get to my family. Are you OK here? There's food in the fridge. Will you be OK?"
"Yeah mate. You get to your family. I'll stay here with Sam. Leave me her car keys. Do you have a spare for your door?"
"If you wait here, I'll try to get back to you in a couple of days. Hopefully it'll be clearer then and we can work out what to do."
"Yeah. Go on mate. Go see your kids and check they're OK. We'll wait here."
-0-0-0-
That had been a year ago.
Andy and his family had started a small holding near his home. Suddenly his marriage troubles didn't seem so important, and he didn't have an office to bury himself away in any more. Protecting his wife and kids became his top priority.
Sam had refused to leave Steve. She clung on to him like her lifeline as she dealt with the loss of her brother. Steve thought he'd be overwhelmed, but found that, with Sam, he didn't mind.
They'd decided to stay as far away from people as possible and had built a wooden shack in a clearing in a secluded wood about ten miles from Newton Haven. They'd known it as children and it just seemed right. They'd raided the remains of some out of town shopping centres for supplies. There was no fuel so once the car's tank was empty it became useless except as a temporary refuge until their shack was finished.
They'd liberated an abandoned horse from a field, some chickens from a garden centre and an 'ornamental' cart from someone's front garden. What they had wasn't much but it was enough. That first winter had been very hard, but they'd manage to collect enough packaged and tinned food for them to survive.
It took several months before they finally got together romantically, too exhausted for the first few months to do anything but work, sleep and grieve for family, friends and a way of life lost. It took another six months before they called each other husband and wife. It wasn't as if there was anyone to actually perform a marriage ceremony, so they did it themselves, speaking their vows to the Milky Way.
Sam cradled her mug of peppermint tea as she sat, head bowed at the kitchen … the only table.
"If I clear the weeds from the far side we can plough it and extend the vegetable patch. And the chickens need a bigger enclosure. That was a great idea of yours to use the car as the chicken coop. It certainly keeps the foxes out."
"I'm pregnant."
"And I really want to try building a poly tunnel so we can grow tomatoes and early veg."
"We can't stay here. We'll have to move."
Steve's ears pricked up as he turned to his wife in confusion. "What do we need to move?"
"We'll never survive another winter here. And we'll need help in a few months."
"Sorry. You're what?" He'd replayed her words in his mind and realised he'd missed something incredible.
"I'm pregnant. We're having a baby."
"What the fuck!"
Sam crumpled. The combination of Steve's disbelief and that particular phrase that her brother had made 'polite' by saying WTF were enough to break her flimsy control of her emotions.
"Oh shit. I'm so sorry sweetheart. I didn't mean to upset you. Don't cry. Please don't cry. We're … we're having a baby! I can't believe it. A baby. Jeez." He didn't know what to do, He wanted to jump around in delight, but he was also scared for his wife and needed to comfort her. He dropped to his knees next to the love of his life and wrapped her in a gentle hug.
"We'll have to move. I'm sorry but we'll have to leave our home. I'll need help with the baby, and we can't stay here. We barely survived last winter and we can't have a baby here. I can't risk my baby Steve. I can't lose my baby." She looked at her husband with scared, pleading eyes.
"I know love. I know. I'll think of something. Don't worry. I won't let you or our baby down."
-0-0-0-
A week later Steve came back from his trip to the remains of a nearby shopping complex.
"Sam, Sam. I raided Boots. There was still baby stuff on the shelves. I got bottles, some formula that's still in date, different sizes of nappies and lots of other stuff. And look at these cute baby grows. They'll need a wash, but a least we've got supplies."
Sam emptied the cart and took the 'shopping' into their home to be stored away until they were needed.
"And I've heard something. I think it might be what we're looking for."
Sam stopped and looked at her husband.
"I bumped into a bloke at Boots. He's heard that there is a village not far from here that is taking people in. It's a group of farms and workshops. They're operating like a sort of commune, you know, trading with each other and supporting each other. I thought it might be what we needed. The only problem is … it's just outside Newton Haven." He paused waiting for the information to sink in, and the inevitable reaction.
Sam froze, her eyes wide. She slowly swallowed and hugged herself as she tried to control her feelings.
It all sounded absolutely perfect, except … except Newton Haven. She didn't know if she could go back there. Not after everything. Not after Ollie.
She sat there rocking slowly as she thought. She sat for what seemed like hours as Steve kept on with his chores and left her be, occasionally casting a worried glance in her direction.
"We'll do it."
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes. It's not like we have a choice. We've got to try."
"Ok. Ok." Steve looked around their home. "If we're doing this we'll need to do it right. Just pack everything up and go."
"Yes. We can do that."
"Alright. It's only about ten miles so we can make it there in a day if we leave first thing. We'll have to make a cage for the chickens and we should take as much as we can. We can't go empty handed. You're a doctor. You've got useful skills. I'm sure they'll be delighted to take us in."
"Alright. I can do this. We can do this. Yeah. We can do this."
She unwrapped herself from the bench she had been sat upon and slapped her palms resolutely on the table top.
"Right. Ok. When do you want to go?"
"As soon as possible. If I build the chicken cage tomorrow, we can start packing the cart and be ready to leave by the end of the week. Hopefully this good weather will hold until then. Are you going to be OK to walk because I don't think they'll be any room in the cart."
"Steve, don't be an idiot. I'm barely showing so walking ten or so miles is not going to kill me."
"OK. So end of the week?"
"Sounds like a plan to me."
-0-0-0-
Sam looked over her shoulder as they left the clearing and began down the track, walking away from their home, their refuge for the last year. A tear trickled down her cheek. She brushed it away angrily. They needed to do this and she wasn't going to let her fears sabotage them. Her baby needed a safe home.
She focused her eyes on the back of her husband's head as he led their horse. Over the last year Steve had changed so much. His skin had tanned from the days working outside, and his body had strengthened. He'd also grown a beard as razors became difficult to obtain. She loved how he felt against her when they lay in bed.
She wondered how she had overlooked him for so many years. Looking back it was so obvious that he'd fancied her ever since school, but she'd spent so much time at first drooling over and then dodging Gary, she'd never noticed her brother's quieter friend. Finally she'd upped sticks and left to follow her own dream. She'd spent twelve years at the Bristol Royal Infirmary both as a student, then as a junior doctor in the Emergency Department. The last few years she'd spent in Manchester where the pace was even more frenetic. She'd been thinking of slowing down and re-training into general practice to give herself a chance at a social life. Then Gary King happened and the whole planet went to hell in a hand basket.
It wasn't really Gary's fault. After all it wasn't like he'd invited the alien invasion or killed Ollie. He was just the arse who had discovered it, stopped her brother from escaping in time and then pissed off the aliens so much they'd given up the Earth as a bad lot leaving devastation in their wake. In his own fucked up way, she supposed Gary had saved the human race from being dragged into some sort of galactic alliance. So it had thrown the planet back into the dark ages. So millions of people had died and those that hadn't were trying to scratch out a living in the shattered remains of their lives. In some respects Gary could be seen as a hero.
No, he was a selfish arse and would always be a selfish arse.
"You ready for a break sweetheart?"
"Yeah Steve. I could do with a drink and a snack."
"OK love. I reckon we're about a third of the way there. There should be a village up ahead. Probably best if we skirt round it. There's no point inviting trouble."
They both knew that not everyone had adapted well to the new world order. Some communities had gone feral and were known to attack travellers to strip them of all their possessions. Their horse and cart would be a prime target for bandits.
Sam rested for about thirty minutes, dozing in the warm sun before Steve nudged her awake and they set off again.
It was in the half-light of evening when they approached the farm house. Sam was so tired she was perched on the back of the cart and dozing off. In the light coming from the farm house windows they could see a woman was in the farmyard shooing chickens into a coop for the night. Her head shot up sharply as she heard the sound of approaching hooves.
Steve called out to prevent a hostile welcome. "Hello. Hi, hello. Hi. We don't want trouble. Is this New Haven Village? We heard that you were a commune. Is this the right place?"
The woman finished locking away her chickens and wiped her hands on a cloth tucked in her belt. She approached them slowly, unsure of the strangers.
"This is Haven Farm. Can I help you?"
"I hope so. We're looking for somewhere to live. You see my wife has just discovered she's pregnant and, well, we were living in Drayton Woods, but with the baby coming we need some help. We heard you take people in. I'm willing to work, and we'll share what we've got with anyone who will give us a home. My wife is a doctor, so I'm sure her knowledge would be helpful."
"A doctor?" The woman's face lit up. "Need a doctor. You have no idea. Come in, come in. I'll just call my husband. DARLING, NEW COMERS!" Turning back to the visitors she gestured towards a large building to the side of the farmyard. "We've got a pen in the barn you can put your chickens in until we can make sure their not diseased. Can't be too careful. They'll be safe enough in there overnight. There's feed and water for them too. You can put your horse in the stables. Hmm, not really a work horse but beggars can't be choosers. " A practised hand ran over the animal. "He'll do."
The farmhouse door opened and a man could be seen approaching through the half-light of dusk.
"I'm Mandy by the way." She held her hand out in a gesture of friendship.
Steve stepped forward to shake hands with the woman. "Nice to meet you. I'm St …"
A familiar voice cut through his introduction. "Steven Prince! W T F are you doing here? Steve, oh god, Steve. I can't believe it's you."
"Oliver? O-Man? No, you're dead. We saw that Blank. It damn near got us all. Shit, just stay away. You're dead. This can't be."
Oliver looked shocked and bewildered as his friend shied away from him in fear, moving towards the back of the cart to protect whatever was there.
"Steve. It's me. They didn't kill me. It's a long story, but I survived, thanks to Mandy here. Please mate, don't be afraid. It really is me."
"No. Come on Sam, we've got to leave. We can't stay here. It's not safe." By now Steve was panicking, trying to keep himself between his wife and this ... thing.
A sleepy voice came from the back of the cart. "Are we there? Do we have to go? Can't we just stay the night? I'm so tired."
"Sam?" Oliver stepped toward the cart, his hopes rising. "Sam? Is that you? Sam? It's me. Sam?"
"Stay away from my wife. You're not her brother! Just stay away." Steve's voice came out in a hysterical scream, his fists balling as he tried to find a weapon, any weapon, without taking his eyes off of the man in front of him who could not possibly exist.
Sam turned her head towards the new voice. "Ollie? Steve, why can I hear Ollie? Am I dead?"
"No love. No. It's just a man. No-one important. Come on. We need to leave now." All the while Steve was manoeuvring himself between his wife and the approaching man.
Mandy tapped Ollie on the shoulder. No-one had noticed her return to the farmhouse. She handed her husband a knife. "Here you go darling. Show them."
Oliver turned toward Steve. "I am the real Oliver Martin Chamberlain and I can prove it. Look." And with that he drew the knife lightly across the fleshy bulge at the base of his thumb. Blood began to bead and well.
"Look Steve. It's red, not blue. I'm me."
Steve grabbed the man's palm and stared at the blood as it welled. "Shit, mate." Shock turned to delight as all the fear and anger drained from Steve's body, and suddenly Oliver was engulfed in a tight hug. "Oliver. Christ. How did you do it? You had a Blank. Basil told us what happened to the husks. How did you get away?"
"That's down to luck and Mandy. I'll tell you about it later. In the mean-time can I see Sam?"
"Shit, course mate. Sam, Sam, it's Ollie. Sam, wake up."
Sam tried to open her eyes, but was too tired to register what was happening.
Mandy stepped forward. "The poor kid's exhausted. Ollie, take her in and tuck her in the spare room. Steve, come on, let's get your animals and things sorted. Just bring in what you need for tonight and we'll sort out everything else tomorrow. Ollie darling, wrap a cloth round that hand. I don't want blood on the bedclothes."
-0-0-0-
She awoke slowly. Everything was so soft. Soft mattress, soft sheets and soft lighting. Sunlight was shimmering through curtains. They didn't have curtains in their home. Where was she and where was Steve?
She looked around the strange bedroom she found herself in. A double bed. A dressing table under the window. It looked old, possibly 1930's. A chest of drawers, two bedside tables and a wardrobe completed the set. Slowly she raised her head.
Suddenly she had a desperate need to find a bathroom. She scrambled out of bed, barely noticing the floral print nightie she was in. A bright yellow post it note on the door said 'BATHROOM – TURN RIGHT, SECOND ON RIGHT. Then come downstairs for food (if you can face it)'
Opening the door she followed the instructions, just making it to the loo in time. Having emptied her stomach, she took advantage of the facilities to answer the call of nature. A bucket of water sat beside the loo. She poured some down to wash away the waste.
She followed the instructions to enter the kitchen. A cheerful woman at the sink turned towards her as she entered. "Good morning sleepy head. Here's a glass of water for you and I'll make some peppermint tea once the kettle boils. I'm Mandy by the way. We met yesterday but I think you were too out of it to remember. Grab a seat and I'll get you some breakfast. I assume porridge would be the best thing – how does that sound?"
"Yeah, good thanks. Errm, where's Steve?"
"He's outside feeding the animals. We've been up for a few hours, but don't worry about it. You had a long day yesterday and I suspect today won't be much different, but we'll talk about that later once the men get back."
"Men?"
"Yeah. Steve and err, my husband. Um. Look, I'm heating up some water so you can have a bath after you've finished eating. I bet you haven't had one of those in a while. I'll bring it up to the bathroom for you. Steve put a change of clothes in the drawers for you. The men will be back in a while for lunch. We can all talk then. In the mean-time just relax. You're quite safe here, so don't fret. OK?"
"Yeah OK. Err, Mandy? Thanks."
"My pleasure. You have no idea how good it is to have you here."
-0-0-0-
Sam was sitting at the kitchen table chopping carrots and Mandy was cleaning a rabbit for the pot when Steve walked in through the back door. Mandy shouted from her place by the kitchen sink "BOOTS OFF BY THE BACK DOOR AND ANY DIRTY CLOTHES. NAIL BRUSH, SOAP AND WATER ARE IN THE PUMP ROOM ON THE LEFT. HAVE A GOOD SCRUB UP. WE'RE IN THE KITCHEN."
Sam could hear her husband washing, then heard the back door open again. Steve said 'hello' to someone, and she could hear another man also washing in the back room.
Steve walked in, wrapping his arms round his wife and planting a kiss on her head. He threw a worried look at Mandy who glanced pointedly at the knife Sam was using. Sam saw the silent exchange and was becoming confused. Steve gently took the knife from his wife's hand then moved the carrots. Mandy indicated a cloth next to the sink.
"Here you go Steve. Give Sam this cloth to wipe her hands. I would, but I'm a bit busy with this rabbit."
After her hands were cleaned, Steve returned to sit beside her. He clasped her hands and gently drew circles on her wrists with his thumbs.
"Sweetheart. I don't want you to get over excited, but we have some news." Steve again cast a worried glance at Mandy.
"What Steve? What is it? You're beginning to scare me."
"It's ok. It's nothing to be scared about. It just might be a bit of a shock. Errm, you remember that night in Newton Haven, when we … errm … we lost Ollie."
Sam was really worried now. "Of course I remember. The Blanks killed him. How could I forget?"
"Well, err, that's not quite what happened."
"What do you mean? He went to the gents and then that Blank came out. I should have spotted the birthmark on his temple but I didn't. If I had maybe I would have been in time to save him."
At this Mandy let out a sharp intake of breath. "Oh Sam love, don't think like that. In almost every case you would have been too late. The memories were taken as part of the … um … Blank creation process. The Original person was dead as soon as the process was complete. It only took seconds. There was just no brain activity left once they were done."
"Ollie." Sam whispered as tears began to fall.
"Oh sweetheart, don't cry, please don't cry. It's ok really."
"How can it be ok? My brother is DEAD!"
"Yes, well about that … " came a familiar voice from behind her.
Sam turned sharply to face the man who had just entered the kitchen. "Ollie?"
"Hi sis. And before you ask, I'm not a Blank. I'm the original Oliver Martin Chamberlain, your not so big brother. "
"Ollie. But how?"
"Mandy and I think it was a combination of my high blood alcohol level and my Bluetooth ear piece interfering with their brain sucking. Whatever happened I was only copied, not transferred. Mandy found me alive and brought me back here to keep me safe. Then Newton Haven blew up and I've been here ever since."
"But Mandy said her husband was here."
"Yeah, well that would be me."
"Really, married?"
"Yep. Don't looked so shocked. And in about five months I'm planning to be a dad as well."
Sam's shocked face swung from Ollie to Mandy and back again. "A baby?"
"Yeah. Which is why we were so glad you showed up. We only have a vet in the village at the moment as all the Newton Haven doctors were replaced. You're going to be in demand young lady. Now, are you feeling up to giving me a hug because I've really missed my not so little sis."
Sam stood on shaky legs and turned towards her brother. They fell together hugging and stroking and just confirming that the other was real. Sam sniffled and wiped happy tears from her eyes with the cuffs of her jumper. Then she dinked his nose.
"Oi, gerroff" squealed her brother, swatting at the offending finger. Sam giggled for the first time in a very long time. Steve was delighted to see his wife childishly happy. He'd missed it more than he'd realised.
Ollie turned to Steve slapping him on the back. "And you mate. I told Mandy, if anyone could get Sam out safely it would be you."
"Yeah well, as you'd buggered off I thought I'd do my duty."
"Bloody cheek. But I'm so glad you did. Thank you. And you're married. And pregnant Mandy was saying. Do I need to have the Talk with you mate?"
"Bit late for that. But yeah we are. Sam reckons about fourteen weeks."
"Damn, not too far behind us then."
"Yep. So we're going to need to find a home and settle in before too long. We heard about this sort of commune. Is it near here?"
"Commune? Well I suppose it sort of is. And you're here already. After Newton Haven blew all of us who were outside in the farms and villages began to club together, bartering and sharing what we had just to survive. Mandy was already pretty much self-sufficient here anyway as she hated going in to Newton Haven knowing what was going on there. Working together just made sense. And then people began turning up exchanging skills and services for food and accommodation. Without the diesel for the tractors we needed man power for the animals and crops. We've even got some Blanks working in the fields – they got a bit lost once they lost their connection to their command centre, but they work damn hard. The old mill and farm museum over at Little Marshfield joined in making flour and animal feed, and the blacksmith at the museum is creating replica tools for the labourers. We've got a couple of weavers, a cobbler and leather worker who's branching out into making shoes. One of the farms still had an orchard and we've got a bee keeper set up in there. We've even got a couple of brewers. In fact we're doing pretty ok. Oh, and Sam, we've got a herbalist who's got loads of information on old remedies and can make medicinal oils and tinctures. She can't match you for medical knowledge but should be able to help. I know it's a bit alternative but as there's no more drugs it's the best we've got."
"Wow, you're really set up here aren't you mate."
"Yeah, not bad at all considering. And now you're both here it's brilliant. Look, Mandy and I were talking last night and, if you're OK with it, we can't see any reason why you don't just stay here, with us, in the house. I mean, it's huge with loads of bedrooms and space. You could practically have a whole floor to yourselves. In the short term you may as well stay here anyway, but, if you do want to stay we'd love to have you. No pressure. Talk about it. There's no rush to decide."
-0-0-0-
And that's how the Princes came to live with the Chamberlains at Haven Farm. And how New Haven sprang from the ashes of Newton Haven.
And there we are. What did you think? I'd love to know.
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