Chapter Four

Day 3

Wednesday 14th September 2022

7:36pm

Outside Southend Radio HQ, Southend Seafront

The trio rushed towards the BMW parked just a way from the radio station, the sound of dozens of crazed people calling after them as they sprinted to the black vehicle, Chris just managing to use the auto-lock to open the car from a distance. The crowd chasing them was closing the gap within mere seconds, and had already passed the station, and was just metres from the car as it roared to life. Scrambling hands slammed against the windows as Chris put his foot down on the accelerator and pulled away from the mob with all three men panting as they looked back at their slower pursuers.

"I take it," Chris started, in between heavy breaths, "you didn't get through to the police, then?"

Daniel shook his head as he reached into his pocket for his asthma inhaler, the sudden release of ventolin soothing his aching lungs. "Line was completely blocked. Tried other numbers, too – all of them were dead ends."

"Your phone line wasn't cut?"

"Was working fine earlier." The radio presenter shrugged in what he perceived was a casual move, although his face still betrayed his worried mind.

"Try using the PMH." Joshua tapped the dashboard as he rested back in the passenger chair next to Chris, Daniel still peering out of the back window in the rear seats.

The police officer looked down quickly to the device's screen, the large 'Virgin' logo spinning in the top right hand corner, opposite the signal bar in the top left, that read no bars next to the little image, prompting Chris to shake his head in defeat. "No signal there, either." A million and one thoughts rushed through his mind as he continued to drive down the seafront, that only now did he notice to be flocked with people running in the same direction, away from the fairground and arcades. He didn't stop to ask them why, but pulled over momentarily for them all to catch their breath.

Joshua remained sitting back in the leather chair, undoing the top button of his collar to cool down his body before cleaning his glasses and replacing them promptly. "We're not going to be going to the pub, then?" He sat there, a sombre expression on his face as he spoke to his two friends, before reaching out to turn the radio on. It crackled to life with static, something that had become less common in recent years, particularly for modern radios, and a tinny voice could be heard between the fizzing and jumping of the machine.

"Streets not safe…Riots reaching critical lev… stay in ho… not to be confront.d… stay calm and do not make con…a…completel…overrun. Army making mov…Martial law decl…across nation. Downing…..eet hasn't conf…"

"Sounds promising," Chris muttered, the main thought swimming amongst his others being that of the mention of rabies earlier, and the suggestion of the disease having made its way across the Atlantic. "These 'riots' aren't just happening down here, then."

"They've been happening for a couple of days, now. All of the reports we've been getting in of gang violence." Daniel spoke quickly as he remained fixated on the road behind them, still looking out for the mob that had been chasing them. "It's been hard for me to keep the show cheerful."

Joshua was looking at his phone, a picture of a young woman and child acting as the background in plain sight for the driver sitting next to him. "I need to go see that they're okay, Chris, if this thing is going on everywhere." He looked up at his friend, his composure uncharacteristically calm. In response, he simply nodded, and took the handbrake off, pulling the car once again away.

Along the pavements, individuals, couples and whole groups were making their way towards the residential area at the end of the seafront, towards the more upper-class housing, and Daniel could plainly see one man falling over and start shaking uncontrollably, with a whole group of people surrounding him as he did so. A minute later and they dispersed with great speed, and the man began to lunge at those nearest to him. As much as he didn't want to accept it, he feared Chris' assumption concerning the virus might not be far off the mark. From the few articles he had read on the 'Incident', Dan knew that it had started off pretty similarly, with riots taking hold and the infection spreading quickly over the course of under week, and that was the amount of time it took for two continents to succumb to its whim. He was well aware of how short a time it would take for Britain to fall, by comparison.

It was this hidden realisation that they all shared but refused to admit to that kept them from pulling over to help the collapsed woman rolling around the pavement, and another that was being trampled by a gang of what appeared to be crazed pensioners. A tree was toppled by a car that sat lifeless next to it, airbags expanded and taking up most of the room in the front, covering up whoever may have been nestled there.

The BMW sped along quickly, narrowly swerving between other cars, also moving at some speed, as well as some that were seemingly abandoned by the roadside. Chris had decided that road laws were not exactly at the top of his list of priorities, given the current circumstances, not that anyone else appeared to be paying too much attention to them, either, and within a few minutes, they found themselves outside of the Wong household, down Queens Road. Even here, the shouts of scared people could be heard echoing from the nearby high street; the commercial centre of Southend sounded as though barbarians were ransacking it already.

Joshua fumbled with his keys, just managing to avoid dropping them as he inserted them into the lock, and opened the door, revealing a desperate-looking woman wielding a long bladed knife, almost slicing her husband's ear off as she lashed out at the potential intruder to their home.

"Hello to you too, Saw (!)" Josh remarked sarcastically, unable to hold back a wide, cheek-splitting grin as he sighted his healthy and safe wife, immediately being embraced by her as she recognised her husband.

Even to Christopher, Stephanie Alexandra Wong ('Saw' to her friends) was a remarkable woman, having spent years abroad, working in relief areas around the world, but had paid the price for her charitable and ambitiously moral nature; she had contracted more forms of tropical diseases than the medical encyclopaedia had pages to contain them. He watched their embrace uncomfortably, eager to get inside and make some sense of their predicament.

"Can we go in, now?" Daniel spoke bluntly, nervously checking over his shoulders for any approaching attackers, and ended the happy reunion prematurely. "More of those people are gonna be here soon, if we don't get inside!"

His panicked voice led Saw to nod confidently to Daniel as she stepped to one side and motioned for them to enter, the smell of recently cooked stir-fry thick in the air - a smell very welcoming to the ever-hungry radio DJ. From around the corner, a small girl could be seen peeking at the newcomers in the hall, and her lights lit up at the sight she saw.

"Daddy!"

Joshua's smile returned once again as he turned to greet Holly, arms outstretched to welcome her into his chest. "You okay, sweetheart? Been indoors all day?" She nodded to the significantly larger man, a smile as big as his painted across her face, eyes closed as he held onto him. He looked up to his wife once more, whispering quietly, genuinely believing that Holly wouldn't be able to make out his words. "Nothing's happened, then?"

Saw spoke plainly, aware of the impossibility to prevent any eavesdropping. "A man did try and barge through about an hour ago, but I couldn't get through to you on the phone, and then I put the television on; it's all doom and gloom. They say that nationwide riots are crippling the country and that the police are powerless, so they're bringing in the army to help clean up the streets." She sighted the blood on their clothes, and her eyes widened. "What happened to you, though?"

"'Rioters'," the DI said ironically, just walking into the corridor with the rest of them, with Holly quickly turning her attention from Joshua to him, standing to attention in front of him, as if he were a drill sergeant. He chuckled to himself. "At ease, Hol. No need to go through citizens' rights today, my dear." This girl never failed to amuse him, and reminded him greatly of his own Hollie-Marie and Sarah, his twin girls, of the same age. He thanked his lucky stars they, his son and wife, were out of the country, if this truly was what he thought. Chris hugged the girl quickly before looking to the other three adults.

"Call this whatever you want," he started, hands folded across his chest, "but this place clearly isn't safe."

"You really think it's that, don't you?" Daniel looked quizzically at the broad-shouldered man.

"Without a doubt. I say we scarper before things get too gruesome." Chris addressed all of them. "Head to the police station; it'll be a lot safer there from attack. There are bigger walls, thicker doors and greater manpower. If this is as bad as we suspect it will be, then that's the safest place I can think of near here. It's a ten minute drive, tops, and we'll have everything we need there. Even if we go there just to co-ordinate something a bit better, it's a plan."

Daniel was already standing next to Chris, looking at Joshua. "I'm up for it."

The dark-haired Joshua was nodding slowly as he considered the option presented, and then looked once more around at the room they were standing. On the wall sat several photographs of family members now deceased, others abroad (his parents had moved away long ago, and his sister was a researcher in Cuba, analysing the American continents after the Incident), and some of those still alive. A happy portrait could be seen of the three Wongs, all smiling and cuddling on a plain white surface, embedded within a golden frame. "And what about our belongings?"

"We'd only end up slowing ourselves down, at the moment." Chris smiled in an attempt to reassure his unwilling audience, appealing to both Saw and Josh. "We can come back for it when this calms down. We just need to get ourselves settled for the time being."

Saw, although annoyed at the suggestion of leaving her home, rolled her eyes before picking Holly up and grabbing two coats from the rail on the cream-coloured wall. "Trust you to pick a police station."

"Stick with what you know, Stephanie." Chris looked at the unassuming group; the confused DJ, the bemused teacher, a worried wife and a confused child, who could quite clearly see something was wrong, despite her lack of awareness of what was really happening.

Joshua went over to his daughter, and looked her deep into her brown, glassy eyes, mirroring his very own. "Listen, Holly, when you're out there with us, ignore the sounds you hear. Don't even look at the people – just stick with me, Mum, Chris or even Daniel, if you have to, and never stop moving unless we say so. Okay?" The little girl nodded, and her father smiled at her once again before kissing her on the head, and then nodding to Chris, who in turn nodded, straightened the collar of his black overcoat, and turned towards the door, team in tow.

NOTE: I haven't gone into too much depth describing Saw or the Wong household, generally, yet, as this character and his arc is down to a friend of mine who will be writing snippets of the overall story, and I wouldn't like to force him to have his characters a particular way, but once I know more about how he wants them, I shall go into more details about them. Sorry.