Nuclear Midnight Read Free Page A

hammered out over lunch, you know. It could take weeks or months for them to reach common ground.’
    Alex shrugged. Jason could be right. It was hardly fair to expect an agreement right away, when they had failed to reach one in over seventy years. He was probably over reacting, as he usually did. The British government was just being cautious, winding things down slowly. He stroked his chin, realising that he hadn't shaved, or had more than a few hours’ sleep since the ultimatum had been announced. He now felt dirty and very tired, but his mind wouldn't let him rest. He wished he felt easier about the situation. When he had arrived, the grandeur and antiquity of London had seemed to linger in every street and building, urging him to wander endlessly, just to soak up the atmosphere. Now he felt he was living in a death trap. He knew something of the possible consequences of a nuclear exchange. If London was hit, many of its older suburbs would burn for days, incinerating thousands of people. Then the lethal fallout would start. He didn't know much about the specific medical effects of radiation, but he had read enough to realise that the homeless would not survive for more than a few days out in the open.
    ‘Why don't we start travelling around Britain now, and find a job in a couple of months?’ Alex asked, on impulse.
    Jason, aware of the reasons behind Alex's request, sighed deeply and put on a resigned expression before he spoke. ‘If you feel safer in the country for the moment, I suppose we can go travelling for a few weeks until this whole thing blows over.’
    Alex smiled back thankfully. At last he felt he could relax a little.
     
    Over the next few days, Alex collected piles of holiday brochures and scanned online timetables and tourist guides. Jason had stipulated that they should only be away for a month, before returning to London to look for a job. The cheapest form of travelling was coach or train, but neither of them felt like enduring the hassle of that again; besides, they had money over from their incomplete European trip. So, after obtaining a range of car hire prices, they decided to drive.
    On the morning of the fourth day after the end of the crisis, Alex and Jason took the motorway west to Devon and Cornwall. As soon as they could, they turned off and took the back lanes and secondary roads through Berkshire and Wiltshire. They had lunch not far from Stonehenge, then travelled on to Bath that afternoon. As in Europe, accommodation was easily found, even at this time of year. After a couple of leisurely days spent sightseeing around Bath, they set out again at a lazy pace, making their way towards Cornwall. It was the seventh of July; midsummer in England, and the earth was covered in a plush carpet of green. Every plant or bush seemed to have burst out in spectacular bloom. Flowers of all shapes and sizes were in every cottage garden or window they passed. Jason was driving, while Alex had the window wound right down and the radio on. The sky was clear with only a hint of cloud on the far horizon. Alex lay back enjoying the sweet, heavy scent of flowers coming from the hedgerows along the roadside. Each time the car reached the top of a rise, the brothers could see the gently rolling hills stretching out in front of them. Only the occasional clusters of thatched or slate roofed villages interrupted the already picturesque scene.
    While driving, Jason was busily explaining some elaborate plans for hiking and fishing from one end of the country to the other. He seemed to have forgotten that there was ever a threat of war. He never spoke of it; he seemed to regard the whole episode as a closed book. Alex had not forgotten so easily but for him, too, it was like a nightmare they had put behind them.
    Alex was just about to weigh in with his thoughts on the most scenic route to follow when he noticed that the radio had gone dead. Before he could reach across to fiddle with the dials, however, an