then.’
‘But no good women?’ Eve asked archly.
‘Lost a lot of them, too.’ He kept his voice even.
‘I thought women didn’t serve in combat situations?’
‘ They do ,’ Harker said, and even Eve didn’t argue with that.
‘Stick to the marked paths, Lu,’ he said. ‘There are still some mines in the fields.’
‘Excellent,’ Tallulah muttered, her voice nearly lost under the rattle of the ancient Wolf’s engine.
They drove in relative silence. South of Southwark, and the swarm of army wagons clearing people out, there was nothing but rubble and the skeletal remains of buildings. Some of them were black with fire. The fields surrounding them were pockmarked with shell holes, and in one meadow there was a big crater, with mud spattered for miles around, and bits of the unlucky animal who’d set off the mine decorating the rubble and the stark trees.
A sheep mine, the lads called them.
Occasionally, something in one of the ruined houses gleamed white, and Harker looked away, because he’d seen enough naked human bones in this lifetime.
After about half-an-hour of weaving around the remains of Brixton, Clapham, and Streatham, Harker leaned over Tallulah’s shoulder, peered at the map, and said, ‘Reckon this is about it.’
‘This is about what?’ asked Eve.
‘Well, this is Mitcham.’
Tallulah stopped the car. There was grass growing on what once had been a street, between some lumps in the ground where buildings had stood. Off to the right was half a stone wall. A hundred or so yards ahead was part of a wooden house frame. It stood like a dead tree, listing to one side and creaking in the wind.
Harker vaguely remembered Mitcham before the battle, and what he remembered was the air, thick with the scent of lavender from the bushes growing for miles around in all the fields. Now, the fields were stark and empty but for the flock of crows feasting on some dead animal.
‘This is not Mitcham,’ Eve said.
Harker ignored her. He couldn’t even be bothered to sigh at her any more.
‘Look. My Mitcham has tower blocks, and shopping precincts, and, and, and people, and buses, and cars! This looks like something out of a war film!’
‘It is something out of a war,’ said Harker, politely ignoring the last word, which he didn’t understand.
‘This is ridiculous! This is – wait.’ Eve’s voice changed. The hysteria vanished, and in its place came a sort of relief. ‘I’m still being filmed, aren’t I?’
‘Um,’ Harker said. All right, she was crazy. Pity. That soft little body next to his in the car had been a pleasant thing to be thrown against.
‘This is – oh my God, this is like, what do you call it? That thing on MTV. Where they do something to celebs – well, not that I’m much of a celeb any more, but this is all Let’s Humiliate stupid Has-Beens, isn’t it? You’ve been filming me the whole time!’
Tallulah turned in her seat to exchange a look with Harker. Her expression said she didn’t know what the hell Eve was talking about, either.
‘All right,’ Eve called cheerfully, ‘you can come out now. Where’s the camera? There’s probably one here, isn’t there? In the car?’
‘A camera,’ Harker said. Who the hell was she talking to? What the buggery bollocks was MTV? A Multi Terrain Vehicle, maybe that was what the Coalitionists called them. ‘The army doesn’t have any cameras.’
‘Yes, but this is not the army, is it?’
A pause, then Harker said, ‘I’m pretty sure it is.’
‘I bet it’s in one of those building things. Where are we? ’Cos you just told me we were in the Tower of London and I believed it, but I bet it’s a set, isn’t it? A film set? It’s pretty elaborate, but wow, I’m impressed.’
She sounded pretty cheerful, Harker thought. Of course, that was because she was completely insane.
‘Where is it?’
Eve made to open the car door, but Harker leaned across. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’
‘To look
‘But no good women?’ Eve asked archly.
‘Lost a lot of them, too.’ He kept his voice even.
‘I thought women didn’t serve in combat situations?’
‘ They do ,’ Harker said, and even Eve didn’t argue with that.
‘Stick to the marked paths, Lu,’ he said. ‘There are still some mines in the fields.’
‘Excellent,’ Tallulah muttered, her voice nearly lost under the rattle of the ancient Wolf’s engine.
They drove in relative silence. South of Southwark, and the swarm of army wagons clearing people out, there was nothing but rubble and the skeletal remains of buildings. Some of them were black with fire. The fields surrounding them were pockmarked with shell holes, and in one meadow there was a big crater, with mud spattered for miles around, and bits of the unlucky animal who’d set off the mine decorating the rubble and the stark trees.
A sheep mine, the lads called them.
Occasionally, something in one of the ruined houses gleamed white, and Harker looked away, because he’d seen enough naked human bones in this lifetime.
After about half-an-hour of weaving around the remains of Brixton, Clapham, and Streatham, Harker leaned over Tallulah’s shoulder, peered at the map, and said, ‘Reckon this is about it.’
‘This is about what?’ asked Eve.
‘Well, this is Mitcham.’
Tallulah stopped the car. There was grass growing on what once had been a street, between some lumps in the ground where buildings had stood. Off to the right was half a stone wall. A hundred or so yards ahead was part of a wooden house frame. It stood like a dead tree, listing to one side and creaking in the wind.
Harker vaguely remembered Mitcham before the battle, and what he remembered was the air, thick with the scent of lavender from the bushes growing for miles around in all the fields. Now, the fields were stark and empty but for the flock of crows feasting on some dead animal.
‘This is not Mitcham,’ Eve said.
Harker ignored her. He couldn’t even be bothered to sigh at her any more.
‘Look. My Mitcham has tower blocks, and shopping precincts, and, and, and people, and buses, and cars! This looks like something out of a war film!’
‘It is something out of a war,’ said Harker, politely ignoring the last word, which he didn’t understand.
‘This is ridiculous! This is – wait.’ Eve’s voice changed. The hysteria vanished, and in its place came a sort of relief. ‘I’m still being filmed, aren’t I?’
‘Um,’ Harker said. All right, she was crazy. Pity. That soft little body next to his in the car had been a pleasant thing to be thrown against.
‘This is – oh my God, this is like, what do you call it? That thing on MTV. Where they do something to celebs – well, not that I’m much of a celeb any more, but this is all Let’s Humiliate stupid Has-Beens, isn’t it? You’ve been filming me the whole time!’
Tallulah turned in her seat to exchange a look with Harker. Her expression said she didn’t know what the hell Eve was talking about, either.
‘All right,’ Eve called cheerfully, ‘you can come out now. Where’s the camera? There’s probably one here, isn’t there? In the car?’
‘A camera,’ Harker said. Who the hell was she talking to? What the buggery bollocks was MTV? A Multi Terrain Vehicle, maybe that was what the Coalitionists called them. ‘The army doesn’t have any cameras.’
‘Yes, but this is not the army, is it?’
A pause, then Harker said, ‘I’m pretty sure it is.’
‘I bet it’s in one of those building things. Where are we? ’Cos you just told me we were in the Tower of London and I believed it, but I bet it’s a set, isn’t it? A film set? It’s pretty elaborate, but wow, I’m impressed.’
She sounded pretty cheerful, Harker thought. Of course, that was because she was completely insane.
‘Where is it?’
Eve made to open the car door, but Harker leaned across. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’
‘To look
Similar Books
