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enough fuel to run them.
    The military spasmodically maintain one main road between each major settlement but most of the old roads are overgrown and crumbling, so you need some serious transportation. Tanks are best, though any AV will usually be up to the job. People reluctantly walk or, if they ’ re lucky, ride a mountain bike or a horse. Most people stay home though, as you risk your life when you venture into public areas.
    There are always food shortages and a non-existent health service. We’re so far gone we couldn’t get back if we tried. Our taken-for-granted civilisation, hard-won over hundreds of years, has crumbled back into dark-age chaos. Sixteen years is a long time; the difference between one life and another.
    And it’s onto these roads we are soon to go. We need to be fully prepared for anything we might encounter. Weapons are a top priority. We’ve managed to get hold of three machine guns, a couple of revolvers, ammunition and two serious-looking hunting knives. The rest of our packing list looks like this:
     
4 lighters
2 large boxes of matches
2 torches
6 candles
4 blankets
A length of rope
A ball of twine
Spare clothing
Water purifying tablets
Basic medical supply kit
48 litres drinking water
Food
100 gold coins
350 silver bits
2000 cigarettes to trade
1 crate whisky to trade
30 bars Swiss chocolate (way past its sell-by-date) to trade and to eat
    ~
    It’s been surprisingly easy to plan our journey and hide the supplies. I ’ m ashamed to say I stole most of it from Pa ’ s underground stores. But I’ve told him what I did in my note, so none of his workers will get into trouble for the theft.
    It’s our good fortune and Pa ’ s shady activities that’s given us such easy access to supplies. We’re definitely among the luckiest in the world when it comes to standards of living and we’ve got some pretty strong currency in the form of Pa’s illicit goods.
    We plan to borrow Luc ’ s mother ’ s all-terrain AV which is state-of-the-art and custom-built for maximum comfort and security. It’s fitted with full-coverage exterior shock-plates, transparent armour multi-layered glass with blackout mode and run-on-flat tyres. It’s also got a hidden compartment beneath the passenger-side footwell , large enough to take a gun and some emergency provisions.
    Three days to go and the tension is unbearable.

 
    Chapter Eight
    Riley
    *
    The AV ’ s engine is obscenely loud in the quiet of the morning. I’m sure any minute now we’ll hear raised voices and see Pa running up the Donovans ’ driveway in confusion and rage. But apart from the engine noise, I hear nothing.
    Chilly and damp, I’ve got that half-asleep, grubby, early morning feeling. My eyes itch and the skin on my face feels raw and prickly. I wish the heater would hurry up and kick in. I forced myself to eat some breakfast before leaving the house and I can feel it now, sitting in my throat and chest – hard, undigested lumps of cereal.
    But we’re finally doing this and despite my nerves I’m excited that today has finally arrived.
    Luc crunches the gears and the AV glides down the driveway and out onto the tarmac road. There isn’t a soul around. A skinny brown fox trots along the pavement and makes a left into Mrs Hannigan ’ s garden. A faint light glows on the blue black horizon behind the avenue of trees but the stars are still glimmering, bright and winking in the not-quite-morning sky. Dawn has all but broken and the translucent moon is fading.
    We turn off our familiar road and onto Elgin Avenue. Luc turns to me and grins his cheeky grin.
    ‘ Okay, Riley, time to duck down. ’
    I crouch on the floor in front of my recently vacated passenger seat and pull a blanket over my head. It’s very spacious really, not like a regular car. Luc grabs the holdall from the back and places it on the passenger seat, so it part rests on top of my crouched body. This way, no one will be able to see me if they peer into the