The time after the bombing

A play in one act

Richard Homer
© Richard Homer 2008

Cast of characters

HIGGY: c 55, male, ex police constable

KAY: c 50, female, ex hospital nurse

JOY: c 25, female, ex biology teacher

BRITTY: c 45, male, ex telecom repair technician

The play takes place in the near future / present time, after the outbreak of a nuclear war.

Opening music: Harp, Sîan James, Ar Lan y Môr, 45”
Closing music: Harp, Sîan James, Calôn Lan, begin to 1’ 10”

At rise: in the afternoon, in a disused sheep pen on the side of a hill, bare earth floor, a rough fireplace area. The characters enter, carrying a bag with some cooking utensils, sleeping bags, rugs, rucksacks, and camping gear. The characters are in warm clothing, long woollen shirts, light jackets, boots, suggesting a cool climate. The four remove the camping gear. They then rest, either by lounging on the floor, or sitting up against the wall.

HIGGY: Oh boy, I’m in; I’m exhausted. Phew. What a climb. I used to go trekking in these hills with the Ramblers Association on a regular basis, but that was quite a few years ago; I’m a bit out of condition. Right, put this bag down here. It seems to weigh a ton.

BRITTY: It’s not the weight, I don’t think; it’s the trouble trying to carry the thing across this kind of terrain. It’s tricky to get a decent grip on it.

JOY: Yes, but they’re essential for us. Put it here, I think.

KAY: Without them, we’d be stuck in next to no time. That’s better, oh.

BRITTY: There we are; one large pot, one barbecue grill made from a bit of garden fencing, one kettle that looks as if was in a war of its own, a small knife, not much use except for cutting fruit or vegetables, a bit blunt, too, a large spoon, and the big one, my old garden barbecue tray, that’s the heavy one… that’s it. My hands are sore, carrying that…it…them.

HIGGY: But not to worry; we made it. We’re here now. I know this area well; you too, Britty?

BRITTY: A bit of yes and no. Yeah, I used to come to these isolated parts when putting in the phone lines, or getting called out to fix something. I know the area quite well, but not this immediate vicinity though. I knew it better in winter, that’s when the problems used to happen. It’s freezing up here then.

KAY: Yes, I can imagine that; but it’s good to be here, you were right about this place. It’s not in bad shape.

JOY: Not bad shape for sheep. It’s not quite the Hilton, is it?

BRITTY: That’s assuming Hilton and Sheraton and the rest even exist now. From what I last heard, most of the big cities and big towns are flattened or unable to function.

HIGGY: Or both. Talking of winter, we might be in for winter for the rest of our time here on this earth. The pollution of the atmosphere, I think.

BRITTY: That I can imagine too. But there’s nothing here just yet. But I can do with a break.

KAY: It might be the last break you have, but I agree with you. My legs are aching something terrible.

JOY: Me too. It’s no good worrying about the long term future just yet. It’s the next few months that concern us; that’s what I think.

HIGGY: Joy’s right there. We need to get this place set up and running, see how we manage together, if things work out, and then worry about what’s going to happen next year.

KAY: If there will be a next year.

BRITTY: That’s right.

KAY: The way I see things now, we don’t have that much choice, regardless of whether the carnage spreads, or if things improve, although how on earth things can improve after what we have heard, I don’t know.

JOY: We’re here; we have to play it out here now.

BRITTY: Why’s that?

JOY: There’s not much of a choice, is there? We can remain up here, away from the town, or go back and get attacked by the mob, unable to find food and water, watching our backs all the time.

HIGGY: At least up here, we’re safe. There’s a spring just over there; it’s just a trickle but it’s clean and pure. There are wild mushrooms and an assortment of berries. Most people don’t come up as far as this; it’s off the beaten track, and unless you know the place, it’s almost invisible. There’s the sun to the west, so the afternoon gets the warmth; bloody cold in the morning, though. The sun will be gone in ten minutes, I imagine, yeah, about that. Then the temperature will drop quick.

BRITTY: The cold mornings I can recall with a chill alright. You try climbing one of the telephone posts with ice on it, the wind whistling like mad, and you can’t use gloves because they’re too big for the work; you can’t hold the instruments proper like. It was freezing; the wires could cut your hands and the funny thing was you didn’t know about it, until you saw the blood. It was terrible on a bad day up here. Bloody painful later on, I can tell you.

HIGGY: I can imagine.

KAY: I used to come to similar places up in the north of England when I was a young nurse. I used to go with the ambulance, sometimes with the doctor, to see patients who were out in the wilds. It used to amaze me how they could live in these places. They were often a good mile or two from the nearest neighbour, let alone some place of any size. They were a tough breed up there. Oh, I’m using the past tense; maybe a few of them are living like us. I hope you’re okay, people

BRITTY: Me, too.

JOY: Yes, I agree. I like small quiet places, I like nature of course, being a Biology teacher, but some of these rural types take things to the extreme. Talk about being on the edge of civilization. But there are advantages being out in the country. I had my fill of pollution and traffic and motorway congestion etc.

HIGGY: The real pollution is about to begin.

KAY: I think you’re right. I have read about the after effects, the debris in the atmosphere, the nuclear winter, that business; it’s a horrible scenario. I hate the thought of it.

JOY: But we’re here now, here in place, and now in time. It is pretty here, in spite of the war.

BRITTY: You said it, Joy. But it’s beautiful up here; the Black Mountains over there, and the Brecon Beacons over there. It’s a beautiful part of the world, this is, that’s for sure.

HIGGY: Yeah, it might soon be the only part of the world left the way things are going. When I last checked on the wireless about, oh, ten hours ago, there was so little traffic on the air. It’s a waste of the battery just switching the thing on. I might try again later tonight; the reception’s often better then. It’s quite cloudy but that shouldn’t matter if the rain holds off. There’s quite a bit of interference if the rain is bucketing down. It’s not the world’s number one machine, gadget, whatever, but it’s okay and if course, it’s all we’ve got at thee moment. Although compared with the muck that’s hanging in the atmosphere over much of Europe, the rain is not much of a problem.

KAY: You’re right. I pity the poor characters on the edge of the blast area. We used to practise elementary emergency scenarios back up north, nothing specific, but it gave one an idea of what might happen, and the one thing that sticks in my mind was a talk by some nuclear physicist who told us about the effect of any nuclear explosion in the different fall out zones; he made the comment that you might be better to near the centre of the blast; that way, It’s over in an instant. The ones living at the edge, which might be thirty kilometres away, will manage to get through the initial blast, but it’s the after effects that are so horrendous.

JOY: I can imagine.

BRITTY: Keep talking, Kay.

HIGGY: Yeah, go on love.

KAY: Then there are the effects of radiation burn; I’ll leave that to your imagination. We have all seen the photographs of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Then you will have the effects of radiation poisoning, and in spite of what you might have heard, the reality is that no one knows for sure what they will be, the duration, and the severity. That’s because we haven’t had a nuclear war before.

BRITTY: There were the effects of …what was it, the stuff in Iraq…plutonium? I’m not sure.

HIGGY: Yes, if a small amount of whatever it was can cause such horror, imagine the effect of the big boys when they get into real action.

JOY: You’re right. Kay, what other effects, what scenario did you practice for, were you told about?

KAY: Well, the first things are the total break down of all services. Most people think the first thing to worry about is your roof getting blown off, but it’s the basic things that cause the most problem, and the first, as you might imagine is water and sewerage. Once those pack up, you have an escalation of potential disease apart from the obvious unpleasant aspects of hygiene. It’s no laughing matter. I was in a hospital in the Leeds Bradford area, oh, fifteen, twenty years ago, and we had the water cut for about forty eight hours. I tell you, you wouldn’t believe the chaos. If that can happen in a hospital, I hate to think what it must be like in a town or worse, a city. There’s no doubt that water would be your overriding priority.

JOY: At least we don’t have that problem here, if there’s a spring over there. A latrine should solve the other problem.

BRITTY: Yes, we’ll make a move on that first, I think, but after some tea. That’s the telecom man’s favourite; just what you need on a cold day fixing the wiring.

HIGGY: Okay, I’ll give you a hand later. Let’s get some hot water. There’s a gas burner here; there we are. It won’t last long, that’s for sure, but it’ll give us a breather whilst we scout around for firewood, tinder and the like. The tea’s going to be weak because a, there isn’t much of it, and b, we’ve got to conserve what there is coz once it’s gone, it’s gone, and it’s spring water for the rest of our time here.

KAY: That might be the rest of our life, too.

JOY: It might, Kay, it might well be. It could be worse. If we manage to get through the next few months, or years -

BRITTY: Oh, yes, the years… what a thought.

JOY: If we manage to get through the next…to get through what’s happening now, at least we’re in a good place. We could be far worse off.

HIGGY: You’re right there, Joy. We don’t have much, but we’ve got a bit of freedom, and we’re still kicking, which is what most of our fellow countrymen and women aren’t able to do now. That’s if the wireless is anything to go by.

KAY: Well, the initial reports when the BBC was on the air weren’t exactly encouraging. I can recall seeing the broadcast from Birmingham, and the screen just went blank after the shock wave appeared; that was horrible. Did you see that?

JOY: Yes, and I cried, because I did my teacher training in Birmingham, and many of the people on my course were working there.

BRITTY: I’m sorry to hear that. Look, I know it’s going to sound a bit brutal, but I think we should get our sadness and negative thoughts out in the beginning, and then try to move on. If we keep harking back to those we miss, those we know are gone, I don’t think it’s going to do the person talking, and those of us listening, any good at all in the long run. I know I might sound a bit callous, but the only way we can go is forward; reminiscing will do none of us any good at all. That’s my position.

HIGGY: I agree with Britty here. I think that’s the way to go. How about you two?

KAY: Yes, I agree. It’s better to get it over with, I think.

JOY: I think better we cry now and finish, rather than keep harping on, and harking back, all the time, as Britty said just now.

BRITTY: Right then who wants to begin? You go first, Higgy. Is that okay with you two girls; you happy with that?

JOY: Yes.

KAY: Right.

HIGGY: Okay, I’ll kick things off. In my career as a police officer here in this part of the country, I’ve seen victims of all sorts of violence; traffic, husband/wife, rape, assault, mugging, murder. It’s not an easy thing to deal with, but you have to. Maybe that will help me now, in the present. We all have family, or we used to. My wife and I were married for twenty years; she was a nurse too, Kay, doing community nursing. But we decided to split up, but in a quiet way, no animosity or anyone else involved, and she went with the two children to New Zealand. I like to think they’re okay over there, but I don’t know. There are no phones working, as you know, and no news. I keep my hope alive by thinking they’re well away from the war, at least they were. But coming back here, I know the area well, I was a keen rambler for many years; I spent a number of years, part time of course with the Mountain Rescue. I went on various emergency coordination courses over the years, so I think I’m equipped, at least in part, to handle things as they are now. That’s what I think; maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’ll be the first to crack. But I’ll do what I have to, for as long as I can. That’s about it, I think.

BRITTY: Thank you, Higgy. I’ll go next…?

JOY: Okay

HIGGY: Right you are.

KAY: Yes.

BRITTY: Like Higgy, I’m from around these parts, further to the west, towards Merthyr, but I have spent quite a bit of time here over the years. Like Higgy, I’m split from my wife; we didn’t have any children; that’s something I wanted, but it didn’t happen. Now, it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe that’s why I said before about being a bit callous; without a family, it doesn’t matter too much what happens to me.

HIGGY: It matters to us.

JOY: Yes, that’s right.

KAY: You do matter, Britty. By the way, how did you get a name like Britty?

BRITTY: I used to work for British Telecom; it was a name the people at work gave me as a joke but it seemed to stick after that, so I have used it ever since then. Right, getting back to what I think, I’m experienced in being out doors in all weather, know the country well, and being a technician, sorry, ex technician, I’m pretty good with my hands, practical like; I brought a few small tools,. I thought they might come in useful, but there’s a limit what I can carry. I couldn’t bring everything. I’m a keen, sorry, was a keen DIY man, so maybe I can be useful in some way. That’s it from me.

HIGGY: Thanks, Britty. Kay, you want to tell us something about yourself now?

KAY: Right, but I want to tell you that I think you’re both right. You’ve both got a lot of experience of life, and that will help you a lot; I find it hard to cope at the moment.

BRITTY: I think we all do, Kay.

KAY: Thanks. Well, I’m from the West Midlands, and I trained as a teacher, a Biology teacher, and worked for about three years before this business began. I suppose being a Biology teacher and doing a lot of hiking and running nature camps etc means that I have some experience, at least I have the experience that most city people don’t have, being in a tent, trekking, cooking in the open etc, these are all familiar to me, and I enjoy them…although whether I’ll enjoy them everyday for the next few years is another matter. My parents and sister were in Birmingham, so I think they must be…

HIGGY: We know, Kay. But if the pictures were anything to go by, it would have happened in a split second, no time for worry or suffering or anything like that.

BRITTY: Higgy’s right there. I used to read a lot about nuclear warfare, I suppose it was my technical interest in things to do with Physics etc. I know that when a blast occurs, the ones near are …gone like that. There’s no time to even think about what’s happening.

KAY: Thanks, Britty. Anyway, I’m pretty determined woman, and I hope I won’t be a burden to anyone, to all of you.

HIGGY: I don’t think you will be, Kay. Joy, let’s hear from you. We know a little about you as a nurse; what else is there, or what would you like to tell us, if anything?

JOY: Right, thank you. I know how you must feel, Kay. Like Higgy here, I have had my fair share, and above, of tragedy; you work for twenty years in a large hospital, trust me, you see a lot of things and a lot of people. You become immune to it a bit. I think that makes the whole thing now easier for me to cope. I don’t know, I think so, but maybe I…

BRITTY: I can relate to that, Joy. My experience isn’t as much as you and Higgy, but I have had a couple of occasions when I have seen horrendous accidents, horrendous in the damage to a man; when electricity goes wrong, it’s awful, I can tell you. I hope that helps me now, the experience I’m referring too.

HIGGY: I think anything will; if we pool our resources, we can get through for quite some time, but what happens after that is anyone’s guess; anyway, carry on, Joy

JOY: I think I have mentioned the main part; I come from an area somewhat similar to this, in fact, regarding the weather, I might be acclimatised to living out in the open rather better that you three. Growing up in rural Northumbria toughens one up; you get used to the cold weather.

KAY: I bet you do; this must seem quite mild to you.

JOY: Yes; my family… I have, or had, I don’t know … a brother who went to Canada years ago; my parents passed away a couple of years ago too, one after the other, in the space of a few months. They were good people, not well educated, but intelligent and practical, and they made sure I went on to some kind of professional training. I thank them for that. That’s enough about me; I’m flexible, pretty easy going, and if anyone gets sick, I can take care of you; I have a full medical kit with me.

KAY: That’s brilliant.

HIGGY: That’s good.

JOY: No, I’m joking; my medical box has a handful of Elastoplasts, ten or so bandages, a small bottle of disinfectant, note the word ‘small’, please, Paracetamol, scissors, and a small bottle of Tiger Balm warming cream. It’s going to be a good idea for no one to get ill. Sorry, people.

BRITTY: That’s reassuring; we must take care in everything we do; I know too well how a silly simple mistake can lead to a major problem. It’s happened to members of my crew; it’s happened to me. You slip on one of the telegraph posts, you cut yourself, you think it’s nothing, and the next day there’s infection, bruising. It’s no big thing if you can get to a clinic, or even a pharmacy…but that’s out of the question now.

HIGGY: You’re right, Britty. We must think before trying anything. We can’t afford a broken anything, or internal injury. But at least we’ve got Joy to reassure us, and in terms of our group psychology, that’s important.

KAY: I think that a healthy mental attitude will help us a lot; I found that in my teaching. You can get a lot out of people if you tap into their way of thinking and get them keen, to try to do something, to motivate them, etc.

JOY: You’re one hundred percent right there, Kay.

BRITTY: I agree. I suggest now we look at what we have, and try to get a broad picture of what’s happening, although I think we all know the answer to that.

HIGGY: Yes, we know everything and we know nothing.

KAY: Higgy, you’ve got a small wireless, is that right?

HIGGY: Yes, emphasis on the ‘small’… it’s a pocket thing; here you are. Its range is quite good for a thing of its size, but here, listen to this…hang on, here we are.
Higgy turns on, the sound of hissing, faint talking, incomprehensible.

JOY: That’s not going to tell us much, is it?

BRITTY: No. But what do we know? Come on, let’s put our thoughts together.

HIGGY: The last I heard was that nothing in the vicinity of Europe was left; that was the BBC from London, and after that, they went off the air. Prior to that, they had talked of a global breakdown – transport, communications, social unrest, and of course, the bombs, missiles, whatever you want to call them. The impression I got, the impression they gave was that there was little life in many places, and other places that seemed to have escaped any direct hit were in such a mess that it made little difference. Well, apart from the fact that people weren’t killed outright.

KAY: Joy said that without clean water, disease etc soon begins to appear, and the thing just grows and grows, gets worse.

JOY: That’s right; I had this experience for a short time in a well equipped hospital in a part of the world with a decent quality of professionalism, and in a place with cold weather. You take the same conditions re the water supply, put them in a warm or hot region, where the quality of care isn’t as good as we have …had…where the hospitals have poor equipment that may or may not work, have insufficient staff, insufficient medicine, then compound this with tropical or sub tropical weather, and you have a recipe for a very real, large scale, and unstoppable disaster. Trust me, when water borne sickness gets going, it spreads like the proverbial wildfire. Some of my colleagues in Yorkshire had worked in places like that, and they told me horror stories. It is one advantage we have here, that the paradox of the discomfort in cool and cold weather is going to work to our advantage.

BRITTY: That’s a good point. That’s a plus factor. That cheers us up a bit.

HIGGY: You’re right, both of you. Whatever the faults of the weather here, it does mean we get plenty of water that’s clean and potable.

KAY: That’s true… but what about contamination for nuclear fallout? Is that something to worry about?

JOY: Not in the short term, I don’t think in the long term, I just don’t know.

BRITTY: The last news I heard, oh, two weeks ago now I think, was that the wind was blowing eastwards; that would mean a lot of dust particles, radioactivity etc would be blowing away from here.

HIGGY: That’s what I heard too. The rain over the past few days too has come down from the west. That might clean things up… I don’t know.

KAY: What about across the ocean? Are we going to get their fall out?

JOY: I wouldn’t have thought so; it’s too far away.

BRITTY: What about the wind direction over there? Which way does it blow?

HIGGY: I don’t know. To be honest, it doesn’t matter that much. In the long term, we’re not going to make it; sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know what I’m thinking.

KAY: No, it’s better to be honest. There’s nothing for us in the long term, let’s be open about it.

JOY: You’re right. We get on with what we can do at the present time. It’s no good thinking of what might or might not happen in a year or two’s time.

BRITTY: I agree. We make the most of what we have, and go from day to day. If we were in one of the towns, we’d be caught like rats in a trap; there’s no law and order; gangs rule the roost, and you’re doing well just to keep out of trouble. Getting food and water is secondary to that. What do you use for money?

HIGGY: It doesn’t exist; where I was, the money ran out in three days. No doubt the banks have got stuff stashed away in case things get better. That’s one good thing, isn’t it?

KAY: What’s that?

JOY: I think Higgy means that if life as we know it ceases to exist, one benefit will be there’ll be no banks, banking system etc.

BRITTY: That’s right; pity no one will be around to see it, though.

HIGGY: True; no government either. I suppose that’s two major benefits of nuclear annihilation. Total freedom; relax and enjoy what we got; in one sense, we own the Brecon Beacons now.

KAY: With a few others that are around, in their farmhouses, hidden away from the public eye.

JOY: Yes, not much in the way of the public, and the people in the rural areas are able to last a little longer than their counterparts in the town and city. One advantage of being on the land, isn’t it?

BRITTY: Most city people couldn’t manage here; they’d be lost. They’re too used to having everything nearby.

HIGGY: You’re right.

KAY: Right, why don’t we have some tea? I have my one desert island discs luxury, except that it is of practical use- my thermos flask, no glass interior, so unbreakable, at least that’s what they told me when I bought it. I used the birthday money I got from my Mum…

JOY: I’ll pour; you give me that. Higgy and Britty, you must have a cup or mug.

BRITTY: Kay, talk a walk for a couple of minutes; it’ll clear the air for you.

KAY: Right; sorry. I’ll be back in a minute or two.

HIGGY: No need to be sorry, love. We know how you feel, okay?

KAY: Okay.

Kay exit, wiping nose

JOY: It must be hard for her; she’s twenty three, I think, something like that. It’s not so hard for us, I think.

BRITTY: Yeah, at least we’ve had something of a life. She’s got bugger to look forward to.

HIGGY: I think she’ll manage…oh, thanks, Joy, that’s fine; Britty, pass your mug. There we are, take that.

BRITTY: That’s nice, taa. Bloody hot; that’s a good flask, that one.

JOY: It is, isn’t it? Oh, you’re right, that is hot.

HIGGY: We’ll get through, at least for a bit. I can feel it; I feel a sense of camaraderie between us, even though we met, when was it, three days ago?

BRITTY: That’s right. But it feels much longer. I suppose it’s the proverbial ‘right place at the right time’ thing.

JOY: Yes, the right people in the right place at the right time.

BRITTY: That’s it. Higgy trying to get some firewood, me wandering around half lost in my own little world, not knowing what to do, you coming out of the hospital, and young Kay looking for a place to bunk down; the four of us taking shelter from the wind and the rain in someone’s garden, none of us knowing each other or what we were going to do. We got talking, and that was that; four people with nowhere to go.

HIGGY: Nowhere to go; that’s right. But we came up with this plan, and here we are.

JOY: It’s working; we’re away from the violence, we’ve got some shelter, there’s water, and we can try to live off the land, can’t we? Huh, that takes me back to my childhood, up there by the hills. I didn’t ever think I might one day be forced to reuse those skills I learned from my parents. You think technology brings you everything; you forget the important things in life, the ability to be near people, the earth, the beauty of simple things in nature, and how to use it. Years ago, if you wanted to eat chicken, you caught the thing, cleaned it, prepared everything, then cooked it; what have we become accustomed to?

HIGGY: Trip to the supermarket, back home in the car, into the microwave, and hey presto, eat. That’s what most people used to do. I didn’t; my wife wasn’t the kind to do that. She bought fresh in the market. Thank you, sweetheart, wherever you are now, with the boys.

JOY: I’ll drink to that.

BRITTY: Yes, me too. I agree with everything you said, Joy.

HIGGY: The war to end all supermarket wars. That’s what this is.

JOY: Yes, no shareholders, no special offers, no traffic jam…

BRITTY: No price rigging, no fat cat payoffs, no anything.

HIGGY: You look at it this way, we’re better off than before.

BRITTY: That’s irony…is that the word?...for you.

JOY: We know what you mean. It’s funny, isn’t it? The end of the world as we know it, and so far we’re counting the benefits; no government –

BRITTY: That’s number one!

HIGGY: Ha! Nice one.

JOY: No banks, no supermarkets… we’ll have to make a list of things we don’t miss.

BRITTY: We can play that in the evening. It’s not like we can switch on the box or the stereo now.

HIGGY: That don’t bother me in the slightest; I’ll miss, or I am missing being able to listen to music though; I like that. Ah, here’s young Kay. Are you okay now, love?
Kay enters

KAY: Yes, thanks, I’m okay now. Sorry about that. I was getting a bit too emotional.

JOY: It’s nothing to apologise about. We feel the same way, but being a lot older than you, maybe we can handle it in a different way.

BRITTY: You’re right there, Joy. Come, Kay, have a cup of tea. Have a cup of your own tea, I mean.

KAY: That’s fine, thank you. Oh, it is good, oh, what a good little tea girl I am.

HIGGY: Take care, it’s hot.

KAY: Wow, you’re right.

JOY: It’s good tea. We must work out what we have with us here, then calculate how long it’s going to last, what we need to eat first etc. The way to do that is spread everything on the floor, like a big plan; that way, we can see everything. We used to do that when practising for emergencies.

BRITTY: That’s good thinking.

HIGGY: Yeah, we use to do things that way in the police too. It’s much better when it’s clear in front of you, rather than trying to make a list of what’s there and what’s here. But before that, I must go out.

BRITTY: Me too. We can check out a place for a latrine whilst we’re at it. What d’you think?

HIGGY: Let’s do it. We’ll be back in a few minutes.

KAY: Right.

JOY: Bye, don’t get lost.
Higgy and Britty exeunt

JOY: Are you okay now?

KAY Yes, thanks, I’m fine, or as fine as I ever will be. I just worry about what I can do in the group; you all have so much experience; I have none.

JOY: You listen to me, young woman. You are talking nonsense, at least about yourself. You’re an intelligent young woman, with a degree and teaching experience, you’ve got the experience of managing things and people; you know about trekking and being in the country and camping; you’ve walked around most of the national parks in the country; you’ve seen parts of England most people don’t know about. You were a ranger when you were in school, and you did an Outward Bound course.

KAY: How did you know that?

JOY: The badge on your rucksack, my dear. People don’t go around sewing Outward Bound badges on their rucksacks if they haven’t done it, at least, not in my experience. You’ve got a lot of useful skills, you must put these to good use… well, you’ll have to put them to good use. You’re not some inner city girl who hasn’t gone anywhere, can’t recognise a rabbit, is afraid of the wind and rain at night; you know how to use a tent etc. These things will make you feel strong, and that’s the way you’ll get through this, at least, get through it for some time to come. None of us know what the long term future has in store; it’s no good thinking about it, either. In the end, who knows? We’ll get radiation sickness, we’ll have to forage like wild animals, our clothing will wear out, the equipment will break…the list of possibilities is endless, and at the present time, worthless. There’s no point in thinking about it. We must focus on the day to day things. If things…when things get bad, we’ll work it out as we go along. That’s the reality of now.

KAY: You’re right, Joy. It’s so good to have someone of your knowledge and experience in the group. We’re fortunate like that. You three have a good combination of skills and experience.

JOY: I just told you, so do you, my dear. Try not to underestimate yourself. If things hadn’t turned out like this, you would have made the right man a very good wife, and a good mother, too.

KAY: Thank you. There’s not much chance of that now.

JOY: No, there isn’t, but you mustn’t think about it. To try for a family now would be …

KAY: A foolish thing to do, right?

JOY: Right, and what kind of life would your child have, too? You can still have a good time without children; I know I have. Of course, I would like to have had a husband and children, but taking care of mum and dad, and my work seemed to take all my time. But I’m not bitter, far from it. I have…oh, I had, money to do what I wanted to do when it suited me. I had better holidays than many. I enjoyed my work. I like to think I helped people. No, I can’t complain. In fact, I regard this as something of a challenge, a once in a lifetime experience, except that in this case, there will be no future, just looking back.

KAY: You have a very positive way of looking at things. I admire you for that. I hope I can do the same, feel the same way. I hadn’t thought of myself as being different to the other teachers or other people I know…knew. But when you told me about the things I can do, like camping, trekking etc, it makes me think that maybe, I can do it; I can be of some use to you. You give me a lot of confidence.

JOY: Thank you, but I think it is us who will be thanking you; you are the one who knows about plants, what we can eat, what we cannot.

KAY: I know what some medicinal uses are too. I’m interested in alternative medicine, so I have read a lot abut herbs and medicinal flowers, roots, etc.

JOY: There you are; you see, there are many things you can put to good use. You’ll be fine, don’t worry.
Higgy and Britty enter

HIGGY: We found a place.

BRITTY: Yeah, a minute’s walk, very sheltered, where the ground is sloping a bit.

HIGGY: There’s no problem with anything getting into the spring; it’s some distance away, and flowing the opposite way, too. There’s a hedge to the rear, so it’s quite secluded, you can’t be seen there, and there are wild flowers and long grass too. I’ll get started on that tomorrow morning.

BRITTY: I’ll give you a hand too. The ground’s quite soft after the rain, so the digging shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I brought a couple of tools from work with me.

HIGGY: I have a small axe; it belonged to my father. It’s not designed for digging of course, but it will cut into the earth, and besides, we don’t have much choice. It’ll take time, but that is one thing we have, at least for a few months. This is my hunting knife; I had this when a youngster in the Boy Scouts. I was going to bring a spade, but the weight…

KAY: You couldn’t walk around with that on your back, at least, not for very long.

JOY: There are some bits of wood lying around here; we could use those too, for digging. It might take a bit of time, but it’s not that tricky.

BRITTY: No, I think if the four of us work at it, we can get something functional in a couple of hours. The time consuming part is scrapping the hole out; tedious I know, but we have to do it.

HIGGY: If we make a decent job of it, it should last us for a few months, maybe a year.

KAY: If we’re here by then.

JOY: Yes, if we’re not…

BRITTY: Right. Now that we have that sorted out, what’s the next thing to do?

HIGGY: Any suggestions, anyone?

KAY: Joy suggested we lay out our things, and see what we have. Then we can take things from there.

JOY: That’s right.

BRITTY: Yes, you did; a good idea, Joy.

HIGGY: Right, let’s get on with it. The bulk of our gear is clothing; there’s not much point in taking all that out, is there?

JOY: I was thinking of the food and the tools, equipment, things like that.

KAY: Right, here goes. One Ordnance Survey map of the area, one torch, I think the battery’s quite good, but not new. Those are my clothes; we agreed to bring just one change, so that’s what I have, plus a couple of personal items- scissors, comb, penknife, etc; that’s my rubber mat for sleeping; the tent, just a one man thing; here, my food – a couple of tins, maybe three of some, of beans, tomatoes, fish, potatoes, a jar of coffee, a box of teabags, a pack of sugar, that’s it, along with my plate and mug. That’s what could manage. Oh, here’s my portable gas burner; it’s tiny, and of course when the gas is gone, it’s gone.

BRITTY: That’s okay. It’s much the same with me: torch, tent, a mattress, clothing etc. The food is the same as you, a couple of tins of beans, tomatoes, fish, oh, and some tinned fruit. There’s tea, coffee, cocoa etc. Here are a few packets of noodles; they’re light to carry, so I brought, let’s count…ten packets. One should be enough for a meal; at least, that’s what it tells you here.

HIGGY: That’s for people who are sedentary. I think we’ll need a bit extra, when we’re working or when the winter sets in. But that’s some time hence. We’ll worry about that then. The noodles will have long gone by then, that’s for sure.

KAY: But they give us a week or so to begin to try to live off the land, that’s the important thing.

HIGGY: That’s right; it’s these next few days that are important.

JOY: I brought much the same; the selection was so limited I had little choice. But this one here is salt and pepper mixture; it makes a difference to the cooking, plus these here are various herbs, this one’s chilli, this one cumin; it’s not much but it does make for some variety, and I think that’s important.

BRITTY: That’s pretty good; it’ll make a nice change.

HIGGY: Right, good thinking. I have these; tins of the same, plenty of fish, tuna, some luncheon meat, not the nicest thing to eat, but…couple of thick candles, one box…my last…of matches, that’s just about it.

KAY: Anything is going to be good here.

JOY: You’re right.

BRITTY: There we are; it looks quite a lot, but there are four of us, and four people get through quite a bit quite fast. The tea and coffee are no problem; there’s enough there for at least a month.

JOY: I would think two months, maybe three.

HIGGY: Yeah, I think you’re right, Joy. Your herbs, spices, etc…they should lat a few months, I imagine.

KAY: No problem, if we go light with them.

JOY: The problem is with the tins; if we use a tin a day each, using three of each, we’re looking at, what, three weeks at the most.

BRITTY: That’s about right; let me count…

HIGGY: Yeah, twenty days, thirty maybe, it depends on how much we use in the first few days. We have to find a balance between eating enough, and not using too much.

KAY: We need time to get used to finding our own food. It’s not something anyone can pick up overnight.

JOY: You’re right there.

BRITTY: Right, I make it that we have enough tins here for about thirty days, give or take a couple. We have to begin thinking of what to get off the land, and how to do it.

HIGGY: Yeah, I don’t think the problem so much is what, but how. There are plenty of sheep here. There’s no shortage of meat.

KAY: One sheep would last us ages; we could eat well for a week.

JOY: Except that the meat wouldn’t keep for a week, unless it was winter.

BRITTY: What about smoking the meat? I haven’t heard of smoked lamb before.

HIGGY: There might be a first way. Yes, smoking might be a way.

KAY: It’s going to very much a case of trial and error. There’s a big difference between going camping for a week, and trying to do what we’re up against.

JOY: That’s true, but we’d have a similar problem, indeed maybe a worse one, in any town. Here, one huge plus factor is security.

BRITTY: That I agree with one hundred percent. Our biggest problem here, I think, might be accidental injury. If that happens, I hate to think…

HIGGY: You’re right, Britty. It’s horrible just to contemplate. I mean, if someone broke a leg…what would we do? We can’t carry someone to the hospital; it’s just not an option, and even if we got you there, what guarantee id there that the hospital is in any way able to help you.

KAY: That’s true.

JOY: It is true; I saw the interior of the Memorial a few weeks ago; you’d be better off lying on the grass than in there.

BRITTY: Enough of that; let’s keep on the matter of what we’re going to eat.

HIGGY: Right, but we must get back to the other business too, however unpalatable a subject it might be.

KAY: You’re right, Higgy. You can’t just ignore it. It’s a real factor for any of us.

JOY: How would get your hands on a sheep?

BRITTY: I don’t think it’s that tricky. They’re quite inquisitive animals; when I was working out in the country, it was quite common for a few sheep to wander over and watch you. They were quite amusing. I think if they thought you were going to feed them, they’d come across.

HIGGY: I agree. I have seen that kind of thing.

KAY: But there’s the moral aspect; it would be, in reality, theft. The sheep belong to some farmer somewhere, don’t they?

JOY: That’s true, but these are special times, okay. If we were to find a farmer who would sell us one, how would we pay for it? I think in all honesty, the last thing on most farmers’ minds is worrying about the odd sheep disappearing. I don’t think they’d notice.

BRITTY: You’re right, both of you, but I think we must adopt Joy’s position on this matter. We’re not living in normal times. We have to live; we wouldn’t be taking any animal for monetary gain. It’s a matter of keeping us fed, that’s it.

HIGGY: I agree. If we begin to worry about paying every time we want to eat, we’d better go back into one of the towns and join one of the gangs. That’s far worse than anything we are going to get up to here.

KAY: Right, that’s that. We get the sheep; how do we prepare it? I have no idea how to begin.

JOY: But neither did people in other parts of the world where they use fresh meat all the time. You learn by watching, and trial and error. I have some experience in this, although not with a whole sheep, or even an animal of that size, but I have cleaned and prepared chicken, duck and rabbit, on a number of occasions too. It’s not tricky.

BRITTY: That’s good to hear.

HIGGY: I have helped my wife gut and clean fish, but that’s not quite the same, is it?

KAY: I’m not sure. The principle’s the same.

JOY: I think so; it’s just a lot bigger animal. If you’ve used a knife to cut, put your hands in to pull out and clean, then you know the basic things to do; you can help me.

HIGGY: Right, that’s that.

BRITTY: Talking of fish, what’s the chance of getting some?

HIGGY: Pretty good around here. Once again, it’s the problem of catching them rather than finding them. Any water will have fish; we’ve just got to find a way to get them. We need a net or some sort.

KAY: A net can be made. There’s plenty of material. I’m sure that can be done. I’ll try if you like. Is that okay?

JOY: You go and do it.

BRITTY: I thought people made nets, no traps from sticks.

HIGGY: They do, but how do we do it? I can’t be that much of a problem; otherwise people in other parts of the world wouldn’t be able to do it. Once again, I think it’s a question of sitting down and trying to work things out. There’s plenty of wood, we have cutting tools, we know where to find fish, and we know how to get them into a trap. It’s a question of practice.

KAY: What about game – birds, rabbit, deer…no, deer are out of the question. They’re too big.

JOY: I think so, and there aren’t that many around here anyway. Rabbits are quite simple to catch once you know where the burrow is. You get them to run into a net. Game birds are another matter though. One, how do you get hold of them?

BRITTY: Two, they need special preparation, isn’t that right?

JOY: Yes, they do; you need to hang them, and that might be awkward if the weather’s warm; also game bird might well have disease. I would suggest we give them a wide berth, at least for the time being. Maybe when we are better experienced, we could look at that option again.

HIGGY: That sounds sensible to me.

KAY: I can go out and look for edible plants; there are bound to be mushrooms,
berries, maybe nuts, seeds etc.

JOY: You need to be careful with mushrooms, Kay. There are some that are poisonous.

KAY: I know, but I also know what are and what aren’t. Trust me, I know this thing.

BRITTY: We have to. I wouldn’t know if a mushroom was poisonous or not. Maybe Kay could eat the first one of everything she finds…?

HIGGY: Brilliant idea. There you are, Kay. That’s your contribution to the post-nuclear era; mushroom tasting. We promise to bury you with full honours should you poison yourself.

KAY: Thank you. What a way to go.

JOY: We’ll put a little epitaph for you, scratch it on a rock; ‘Kay, who survived the nuclear war bombardment, but ate the wrong mushroom a few weeks later.’ How’s that?

KAY: I love it. Thank you so much.

BRITTY: Okay, there’s mushroom; what else was there? Nuts, seeds…?

KAY: Yes, there are plenty of edible plants if one knows what to look for. People in other parts of the world have done it for centuries.

HIGGY: That’s true; why don’t we let Kay do that sort of thing. Maybe tomorrow,
after we finish to two essential bits of engineering, you can do that.

KAY: What are the two... oh, yes, the toilet. Yes, that’s important.

JOY: What’s the second one?

HIGGY: The second is the first; I want to clean the area around the spring; there are some brambles nearby, and I want to cut them back, as well as clear the immediate one metre or so around it, get rid of the long grass – the seeds fall in the water – in part to get to it without getting cut or scratched, in part so we can see if any animals is using it. It’s a matter of hygiene.

BRITTY: That’s good thinking. Yes, they are the two most important, and immediate things to get done. Anyway, that’s first thing tomorrow.

HIGGY: Right, after that I suggest this. We’re up early, and get the digging and clearing out of the way; after the spring’s clear, you two women get the food sorted out and get some lunch. Whilst you’re doing that, Britty and I get on with the latrine business, okay?

KAY: That’s fine.

JOAY: Okay.

HIGGY: After we have lunch, we split up and wander off, getting to know the area. We look out for water, fruit, and animals, anything that might be useful to us in future.

BRITTY: Like going on reconnaissance?

HIGGY: You got it. Kay spends the rest of the day looking for edible plants etc. You wander everywhere, within a half mile radius; then do the same with a one mile one. Britty, I want you, I mean, if you all agree, Britty checks out the security of the area, going south west from here; line of escape, nearest roads, how much traffic, if any, on them, any farm buildings, anything we might need to use. Joy, you do the same, but going north-east. I’ll take the south. It’s important we observe everything, and get to know the area like the back of our hand; if there’s trouble, our knowledge might be the thing to help us get away.

KAY: What sort of trouble do you think might happen?

JOY: No one‘s going to come up here, are they?

BRITTY: I don’t think so, but better safe than sorry.

HIGGY: That’s it. Maybe I’m being over cautious, but I want to sleep with some degree of comfort at night. When the food in the towns runs out, people begin going further out, and the first place anyone is going to check is a building, and this dump is a building. You trust me; I know how a criminal mind works. They don’t go off and check a park for something to pick; they choose a building, and if there’s a fire, as they will be here, smoke is a giveaway. It’s a magnet. We have to have fire, but no matter how hard we try, there’s the chance someone might spot us from a long way away.

KAY: I see what you mean. A building is a source of food, that’s what they think.

JOY: Although it might not have any; they assume there’ll be someone or something there.

BRITTY: Yes, that’s seems right. It’s horrible to think that we already are imagining people to be going wild; just a couple of months ago, we might have stopped in the street for a chat. Now, a short time later, we regard them as a real threat.

HIGGY: People can change very fast. You saw what was happening in Brecon a few nights ago; the two gangs fighting over something. We saw the windows boarded up, or smashed, the litter, two bodies just lying there, door grills put on, chains and locks, rubbish everywhere, and the two bodies of the youngsters lying there. They might be there now. Who’s going to pick them up? That’s Brecon, a small out of the way place where people know each other. You imagine what it’s like in a bigger town. Cwmbran must be a no go area, and who knows what the very big towns are like now. You’ll have a nightmare scenario; that I can guarantee.

KAY: I think you’re right, Higgy. If what we saw is happening here, other places must be worse, by a long way.

JOY: You saw what happened…correction; we heard what happened where you had an airport, fuel depot, chemical works, anywhere where you could ignite something. Plenty of fuel, lots of things to explode, plenty to wreck. Bye, bye airport. I said it before; once the water supply goes, you’re in terrible trouble. Can you imagine a conurbation without water for a week?

BRITTY: It’s three weeks by now. You think people will have caught disease by now.

JOY: I can guarantee it. A large population living close to one another, no water, no sewerage, no rubbish collection, no food, no law and order; it’s a doomsday picture. You let it go on another week, and the place will have changed for ever.

HIGGY: You don’t think people can get back together, work together again?

JOY: No, I have seen the results in hospital time and again. One person gets worked over by another group, then the retaliation follows; it’s the vicious circle effect. I have treated, in the same evening, people spanning three generations in one group.

KAY: What, youth, father, grandfather, all fighting the same evening?

JOY: Yes, I’m not joking. You throw race, religion and local politics into the equation and you have a recipe for mayhem. The recipe was used too, by many.

BRITTY: Maybe there is no hope. Maybe this time it realty has gone too far, past the point of no return.

HIGGY: I think you’re right. I looked around Brecon; I couldn’t imagine that happening there. But it did, again and again. It’s over, that’s what I think.

KAY: I hope you’re wrong, but I don’t think you are.

JOY: It must be over in the places – wherever they are – that were hit direct. The half life, I think it is, of uranium or plutonium is how many years? I don’t know. I do know it doesn’t clean itself up after a week or two.

BRITTY: Then there are the after effects; have you seen the pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? They’re horrendous, quite sickening. And those were mini bombs compared to the power of the ones being used now.

HIGGY: You’re right. They killed hundreds of thousands; these kill hundreds of millions.

KAY: What was the population of Europe, the latest figure, the latest census, anyone know?

JOY: I think it was about three hundred million. That’s down to half at least.

BRITTY: What about South America? What happened there? Did anything happen there?

HIGGY: I don’t know. I didn’t hear any mention of war, but that might mean nothing. No news used to be good news; I don’t think that is the case now. The place could be free and clean; it might be a wasteland like Europe.

KAY: I think maybe we are better off not knowing what’s going on. What one doesn’t know, one doesn’t have to think about. It’s a negative way of looking at things, maybe.

JOY: You may have a point there, Kay. If we know half of Africa are no longer around, we begin to get the pictures of the horror. Not knowing anything at least takes that away.

BRITTY: Africa’s finished one way or the other.

HIGGY: How do you mean?

BRITTY: Well, if they were hit as we were, there will be the same sort of carnage and chaos that we have seen or heard about here, but on a bigger scale; it’s a bigger continent. If they haven’t, two things are bound to happen. One, contamination from southern Europe will blow across the Mediterranean into North Africa.

KAY: Are you sure?

BRITTY: I think so; it must it’s not that far from one to the other. I went to Morocco and Tunisia for holidays; it didn’t take the plane long to cross the water. The least bad scenario would be that the northern part of the continent would be plagued by the sort of disease and sickness that are happening here. Radiation sickness doesn't discriminate on grounds of race or place.

JOY: That’s true. What’s the second problem?

BRITTY: If most of Africa doesn’t get hit, or rather, hasn’t got hit, their infrastructure will be in place, and, one assumes, working much as it did up to the onset of the war. But, their economies, i.e. the economies of so many African countries are so linked with that of Europe that there would be a total breakdown of business. There would be no tourists going there, taking money, going around the place, using the transport, hotels etc. Business in Europe has ceased to exist; therefore two things happen. One, there are no exports to Europe or to Africa, and two, there are no imports in either direction too. That’s the end of the story. The same will happen there as has happened here without the complications of radioactive waste and related disease etc. No one wins here.

HIGGY: You paint a grim picture, but it seems like a real one to me.

KAY: I don’t know what to think. It’s horrible to feel so helpless.

JOY: But we have our own problems to, our immediate area. How are we going to remain here, and try to live, for how long; what happens if one of us gets ill, or breaks something? That’s our own little horror scenario. Now, at the moment, we’re okay. How will things be in just two weeks time? We might not be here; by here, I mean in this world, on this earth. I don’t know. No one does, do they?

KAY: It’s just that I was brought up to think about other people, not just oneself, and to try to feel some compassion for those less well off. Now there’s no compassion left, there’s nothing left now.

BRITTY: There’s some compassion between us. We need each other. Putting it in a blunt way, we have no choice in the matter.

HIGGY: I think you’re right, Britty. I agree with young Kay, though. We were brought up the same way. That’s why I joined the police; I thought in all honesty it was a job worth doing, helping society to run, to function in a decent open way. What I saw the other day makes me wonder if I wasted my time.

KAY: How are you responsible for that? It’s nothing to do with you.

JOY: That’s right, Higgy. How are you to blame for what's going on?

BRITTY: I wouldn’t worry about that, Higgy.

HIGGY: I know that, but I think if I, and maybe other policemen like me, if we had done things different like, maybe doing things in a different way, if we were able to arrest people rather than let them go with a useless warning, would we have created a society that had respect and tolerance? We ended up with a fractured society, one group against the other, nobody caring about anyone but themselves etc. There were the politicians in one corner, society in the other, and we were the referee, just following rule after rule after rule, rather than the enforcement we were supposed to be. Rules made by people – politicians – who had no idea, no intelligence, no knowledge of what the ordinary man and woman needed and wanted, politicians so out of touch with reality it was pitiful. I used to fill in forms about how many minority police there were…in Powys. You know the Brecon Jazz Festival? I know it’s a rhetorical question; we were told to ignore the late night partying in case it affected the tourist business. They were worried that too many arrests might lead to people boycotting the place. What a bloody nonsense. What a joke. They ruined this country long before the war did, but that’s another story. The war had to happen; it was a disaster, a script just waiting to be played out.

KAY: I think most people were fed up with the political correctness; it just went mad, out of control.

JOY: You’re right. People got afraid to open their mouths. Mention the wrong thing, and you were in court.

BRITTY: I think it resulted in a total apathy, and that contributed towards the war; no one could be bothered, they couldn’t care less. Why should they? They saw the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the system beating everyone unless you had the money to escape it. How many footballers were charged with assault? Answer: quite a few. Question: how many were convicted and did time? Answer: you guess. It was the same with big name entertainers. If you or I were caught with drugs, that was it; a term at HM’s pleasure. You were some pop singer with a record – oh excuse the pun – as long as your arm, what happened? You got a slap on the wrist and a couple of hundred quid fine. That made a hole in the pocket, it was nothing to them.

HIGGY: You’re right there.

KAY: It was a rotten place. We used to ask each other at work, or after work in the pub, what was going wrong, why can’t we change things. Nobody had the answer, and time kept going on by. The children I taught would often ask me ‘Miss, why are we doing this? Miss, what the point of coming to school, I can’t get a job anyway. Miss, what’s going to happen? Miss, if the war begins, what will happen to us?’ I know what happened to them.

JOY: I know what you mean. It was the same where I was, up in the north. Oh…one good thing, although maybe I shouldn’t talk like this with the carnage that’s happened, but one good thing is that they got it too. They, I mean the politicians, the big time lawyers, big people anywhere, they couldn’t escape. Money can buy a lot, but not a way out of a nuclear war. There was, maybe, some justice in that; just a pity that so many others had to go too.

BRITTY: You’re right there.

HIGGY: I agree; but a pity about some of the lawyers though, because I did meet a number, quite a number to tell the truth, these are small town lawyers, who were honest and decent people. I think they resented being put in with the piranha group.

KAY: I met a young lawyer once, about two, three years ago. He was from Birmingham, but his family came from south East Asia. He was a really nice guy, very committed to the idea of justice. He worked out of a small office in some run down part of the city, and used to advise welfare groups, people like Greenpeace, the homeless, the victim of violence and crime. He made quite an impression on me; I had always thought that lawyers were rich, greedy and money grabbing. This one changed that. I had a lot of respect for him. Yes, a nice man, a very nice man.

JOY: It makes one have some hope when one meets someone like that. it makes one have a change of social scenery too.

BRITTY: Talking of scenery, the night’s beginning to roll in. I’ll light a candle, if that’s okay.

HIGGY: Here, Britty, take this, it should last a few hours.

KAY: Yes, I think so; it’s getting pretty gloomy now.

JOY: I think we should think about getting a bite to eat, and then get some rest.

HIGGY: I’m not hungry, but you lot go on and get a bite.

KAY: No, thanks. I’m the same as you.

JOY: Me, too. I’m happy to be here and talk and listen to talking. You can hear the wind now, it’s soft but it’s there, watching us, making sure we don’t spoil the night.

BRITTY: We won’t; there’s enough spoiled at the moment. Regarding food, if you’re not eating, I’ll give it a miss too. To be honest, I’m not that hungry. I might get a couple of biscuits later on. Oh, hold on, I got a packet of cream crackers somewhere in here, under my pullover. I forgot about them. I don’t know why I put them there…oh, maybe to stop them getting crushed. There we are, and a slab of cheese, Cheddar, mild, fresh and in cling film. How about a bit?

HIGGY: Yeah, I’ll join you then.

KAY: Okay, a light snack would be nice. Then we can watch the stars and the moon. It’s made of cheese, too.

JOY: Yes, please, Britty. I’ll have some, and Kay, tonight you’re right. It can go back to being made of rocks when the morning comes, okay?

KAY: Okay. That’s fine with me.

BRITTY: Here you are; take that.

HIGGY: Taa.

KAY: Cheers.

JOY: Thank you. Oh, they’re still quite crispy.

BRITTY: Yeah, not too bad, are they?

HIGGY: I am imagining a mug of cold real ale right now. Ah, that it good; I’m going to have another. Ah, that is good, yum, yum; anybody like a swig?

KAY: Yes, please! Oh, that is good. Here, Joy?

JOY: Thank you. Yes, very refreshing. Britty, finish it.

BRITTY: Merci beaucoup. Ah, thank you.

HIGGY: I must get some extra next time I go out to the imaginary shop.

KAY: What a good idea. I’ll come for a walk with you…an imaginary one.

JOY: An imaginary walk or an imaginary Higgy?

KAY: Both.

HIGGY: Right, if that’s the case, I’ll be talking to myself. I’ll enjoy that.

JOY: Britty, you can speak French?

BRITTY: Yes, a little. I did French in school, the usual boring translate this in to that and vice versa, but I got to know the language much better when I went as part of the earthquake relief team in Algeria in, oh, the eighties I think it was; we had a crash course, but it was out there that I picked up quite a bit; there was no choice. No one spoke English, so we had to use it. Then a few years later –

KAY: How long were you there? I’m sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.

BRITTY: About ten weeks. We were working every day in practice, although we had a bit of a break i.e. a few hours less work at the weekend there. The people I was working with were the locals, so I was using it, the language, literally all the time. I’m not perfect, far from it, but way better than the average day tripper going across to Calais or Boulogne. A lot of the stuff I know is technical French. I can read a technical manual with no problem for example. Then a few years later, I was in East Africa for about three months, maybe a bit longer, I forget now. ; I know it’s English speaking, but the people I was working with were French, so once again I was using the language almost everyday.

KAY: The French did a lot in science and technology. Pasteur, the first flight, the Montgolfier brothers I think they were.

BRITTY: That’s right.

JOY: The Curie couple in X rays.

BRITTY: Ampère in electricity.

HIGGY: But the most important was… their cuisine! I love French cooking.

JOY: Me, too.

KAY: You’re right there.

HIGGY: I went to La Rochelle on the west coast, about half way down one summer for a weekend; I had some fabulous meals there; simple but superb. They know how…they knew how to cook. But that’s gone now, I imagine.

JOY: I think you’re right, about both the cuisine and the …ending of it.

BRITTY: Where have you gone, Joy?

JOY: Most of my life I was looking after my parents, so any breaks, they weren’t long enough to be called holidays, were within Britain. Most parts I know; the north, and the north east in particular, but East Anglia, the borders just across the way from here, the south west, southern Scotland etc. There’s plenty of variety in these islands, the scenery, buildings, even the food, too.
KAY: That’s true.

JOY: Then in the past few years, after my parents passed away, I began to explore further: Western Europe, North Africa, and I went to Singapore a couple of years ago, for a couple of weeks. It cost me a fortune. I had a wonderful time there, eating all the time, but I spent quite a bit, too.

HIGGY: I bet you don’t regret it now, though. At least you got to see something of the world, didn’t you?

JOY: You’re right. There’s a joke in…there was a joke in Singapore, that if eating were in the Olympic Games, Singapore would win the gold medal every time. It’s like a hobby there, not just an activity.

BRITTY: If what we think is happening, then there’ll be precious few places to go even if we get through. The fallout from thermonuclear blasts spreads everywhere, and the effects last a long time.

KAY: Yes, the winds take the stuff everywhere.

HIGGY: That’s right; half life of plutonium and uranium, that kind of thing.

JOY: That kind of thing is depressing, makes you think there’s no chance for us, for anything.

BRITTY: It is, but that’s the reality; we can’t get away from it. I don’t think we are going to do ourselves any good whatsoever by pretending it’s okay. It isn’t. It’s something we must think about. What happens if we get sick, we get injured, or we break up?

KAY: That’s true, but I agree with Joy. Maybe it’s not the thing to do, to keep on about the problems when there aren’t any.

HIGGY: Come on, Kay, we’re in the middle or the end of a nuclear war. The problem's here; it’s just that it hasn’t touched us yet, not this area. The chances of a bomb coming this way are remote, because the area’s remote. If they, whoever ‘they’ are by now, the same ‘they’ who began all this, or maybe a different ‘they’ by now, if they want to drop anything, they’re going to do it on an urban area, not here.

JOY: You’re beginning to get confused in your thinking, Higgy.

HIGGY: No, I’m not. I’m pointing out that we don’t know what’s happening, and we won’t get a bomb thrown at us here.

BRITTY: Yes, you’re right, Higgy. The places that might get hit, or don’t exist now, are the places with military installations; the main two I can think of are that early warning place in Yorkshire, you know, the place with those huge golf balls for listening to whatever, that’s a prime target, I imagine, and the submarine place, the nuclear one in western Scotland, that’s another one. That one will be taken out by now, Loch something or other, that’ll be gone.

KAY: Oh, Britty, do we have to talk about this?

BRITTY: The whole of the west of Scotland too. The locals knew that years ago. Typical government; they wanted the nuclear deterrent, but stuck it miles from London. No one had the guts to use it, anyway; otherwise we might not be in this mess now.

JOY: Oh, no, please…

HIGGY: I think it’s a logical thing to think about. We all know what’s happening, at least, in general terms.

JOY: But it’s getting to me. Maybe the whole horror of what’s happening is beginning to register; I don’t know.

BRITTY: I know it’s terrible, but I see point in ignoring it; you’re trying pretending it’s not happening.

KAY: That’s not true. We know what’s going on; it’s just that we don’t want to talk about it. We mentioned it when we first got here. For goodness sake, let’s drop it now. It’s enough now for me.

HIGGY: Okay, that’s enough. There’s no point in trying to get worked up.

JOY: Thank you, Higgy.

BRITTY: Right, sorry about that. I agree, we can’t afford to argue with each other here.

KAY: No, that’s true.

HIGGY: But there is one thing we must discuss, unpalatable or not.

JOY: What’s that?

HIGGY: That is what we do if or when we get sick, or get some kind of serious injury.

BRITTY: That’s important to talk about, like it or not.

KAY: Oh, do we have to?

HIGGY: Yes, Kay, we do have to. It’s no good waiting for an accident or sickness to happen, and then hang around thinking of a plan of action. What happens if one of us is sick and unconscious, and we can’t talk to them? We must consider this scenario, whether we like it or not, as Britty just said now.

JOY: Yes… I think maybe you’re right.

BRITTY: No matter how careful people are, you can get an injury; goodness knows how many times I have seen it, and that’s working away from crowds, away from traffic, away from the town and city. The country has always had a reputation for being a dangerous place. You ask any farmer or farm worker. I spoke to many over the years.

JOY: I have seen the results in hospital, that’s true. Accidents can and do happen.

KAY: Oh, alright then.

HIGGY: Right. What I’m going to tell you might seem strange, unusual in this country with the laws regarding firearms etc. But I have on me here, a gun.

JOY: Oh, my goodness! Where did that come from?

HIGGY: I’m a police…ex police. I know how to get these.

BRITTY: Why did you bring it here? It’s not much of a defence, a thing that big.

HIGGY: It’s a deterrent, as the chances of anyone else having a gun are remote. But I have only about ten rounds. It’s not a long term weapon, that’s for sure, no way.

KAY: What are you going to do? What’s it got to do with getting an injury, or being sick, or…oh, no, you can’t be serious?

JOY: Kay, what do you mean? I don’t follow you.

KAY: He’s going to use it on us if we’re sick.

JOY: Oh, no, you’re not, are you?

HIGGY: No, hold on; you’re twisting things before I have even explained anything.

BRITTY: Yes, let him finish; go on, Higgy.

HIGGY: If we are sick, there is no way we can get to a hospital, not in time; the chances of getting treatment there are next to zero. We know that for a fact, agree?

KAY: Yes.

JOY: Huh, huh.

BRITTY: Go on.

HIGGY: I get radiation sickness. I can’t move. I’m in agony. I fall over somewhere; I break a leg, or arm, my neck etc. How long can I last? That’s question one. Question two, how much agony will there be? Will it be a day or two, a week or two, a month or two? You see my point? In my way of thinking, a quick clean end is better. You point it here, and pull the trigger. It’s over, quick and clean. That’s what I want for me.

KAY: You expect one of us to shoot you? I’m not going to do that. It’s murder.

BRITTY: No, it isn’t. It’s common sense, if you think about it.

JOY: I can’t shoot someone. I’m a nurse. It goes against my training, my morality etc. Please don’t ask me to do it; I won’t.

BRITTY: I’ll do it for you, Higgy, if you promise to do it for me.

HIGGY: Right, I promise you that. Shake on it.

BRITTY: Are you sure the ammunition is big enough, strong enough to…we don’t want to just injure someone.

HIGGY: Take it from me; this little fellow will do the job. We wouldn’t be issued with them otherwise. Plus there’s the fact that I know cases where this type of weapon was used, and the suspect, er, got it. Plus, of course, if I thought it wasn’t big enough for the job, I wouldn’t have brought it with me.

BRITTY: Right. I promise to take care of you, should the need arise.

HIGGY: I return the promise. You two are our witnesses.

KAY: This is getting to be a sick joke. How do we know you won’t decide we’re sick enough, and take us out? It’s like you’re judge, jury and executioner.

JOY: I agree with Kay. It’s not the way to do things. There must be a better way.

BRITTY: Yes? How?

JOY: Well, we could try…

HIGGY: Go on.

JOY: We …

BRITTY: We’re waiting.

JOY: I don’t know.

BRITTY: Right, you’ve no answer. You listen to me, both of you. I’m out looking for food, I break my ankle, I get gangrene, I’m on the floor here in agony; you think I want that? I don’t.

HIGGY: About a mile away from here, that way, there’s a thick hedge; there’s plenty of long grass and weeds. I’ll take you there tomorrow. That’s where I want you to put me. You strip me, you use whatever items of clothing you like, and you lay me there; there’s a stream, the earth’s soft, it’s easy to dig, even with the tools we’ve got. You put me there, put some rocks on the top, and walk away. That’s the way I want it; quick, simple, clean. You got that?

BRITTY: Right, I promise you that.

HIGGY: I promise you that, too. I want you to make sure I’m pointing towards the south east, too.

BRITTY: I’ll do that, but why?

JOY: Does it matter which way you’re pointing?

HIGGY: Yes, to me. It’s towards New Zealand, where my wife and children are…I
hope.

BRITTY: You point me towards…that way. That’s Merthyr over there. That’s where I was born.
JOY: This is all very morbid; I’m quite miserable now.

KAY: Me, too. I hate this sort of thing.

BRITTY: It needs to be done.

KAY: No, it doesn’t. We can always hope. Things might change, we might get help, the war might finish, we just don’t know.

JOY: Kay’s right. Things might get better.

HIGGY: You two are joking; none of us are expert in these matters, the war I’m talking about, but it’s clear to me that when people begin to use nuclear weapons on each other, there’s little chance of a, things getting better, and b, a well equipped ambulance turning up, up here in rural Powys waiting to take any of us to a well equipped hospital where we will get first class treatment and make a full recovery. I’m sorry, girls, that just doesn’t happen. It might in a film. This isn’t a film, people.

BRITTY: This is four people on their own out in the wilds, with very limited food, equipment, a few resources, the main one being our own intelligence. We have water, we have shelter. There is fuel for a fire. Anything else we are going to have to search for, and use in any way we can. No one is coming to help us; if anyone does get up here, we will be in competition with them, no cooperation. Human nature doesn’t work that way. If they see what we have, the chances are, if they outnumber us, and we’re just four, they would take over the place, and maybe get rid of us. You know what happens to women too, in times like these. You must think about that, too. It’s a dog eat dog thing, everyone for him or herself, get that clear.

HIGGY: Britty’s right. Go back and think about what we saw in Brecon just a week ago.

JOY: It’s awful. How are we going to manage? I’m sorry, I can’t agree to shooting someone, whatever the reason.

KAY: I agree with Joy. I’m sorry, I won’t do it.

BRITTY: Please, think about it. It’s a way of helping us cope, in the knowledge that if the worst comes to the worst, there’ll be someone to take care of us, as Higgy said just now, quick and clean.

KAY: But who decides what is serious, and what isn’t. What’s the breaking point for one person might not be the breaking point for another; people are not the same.

BRITTY: We use common sense.

JOY: That’s okay in theory, but what if one of us disagrees?

HIGGY: Then the injured party decide.

KAY: What happens if the injured party in unconscious, unable to talk or
respond to anything? What happens then?

JOY: Those are valid questions. It’s not a simple matter to decide when to shoot someone.

HIGGY: It’s not shooting; it’s taking away agony. Think of it that way.

KAY: That’s the first time I have heard that kind of logic, at least where humans are concerned; it reminds me of years ago, when the game rangers in some park in Africa told people they were helping the elephants by shooting, in order to protect them. It’s silly logic, a silly way of thinking.

JOY: What don’t we let the person shoot him or herself?

BRITTY: Because they might not be able to. We mentioned that already, just now.

KAY: It makes us seem like animals, with no morality.

HIGGY: Yes and no. Rubbish to the second comment; we have morality otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about what to do; we’d have done something without asking. The first comment, you’re right. We are, up here, like wild animals. That’s the reality. We have to get used to it. What do people do with a pet if it’s suffering? No one just leaves the animal; of course not. You take it to the vet, and that’s that. The suffering’s over, quick and clean. That’s the way we need it here.

JOY: I’m sorry, you two, I can’t be part of that. Kay feels the same way, don’t you? I’m a nurse; I’m not trained to think that way. Kay’s a teacher; she thinks the same as me.

KAY: I’m not going to take part in any murderous game with a gun. You hear me? You count me out. If I had known this before we set off, I wouldn’t have come. It’s horrible, trying to think of who will live and who won’t. I don’t want to walk around knowing that someone will shoot me because they think I’m too weak, or can’t get better. No thank you.

BRITTY: You think I, or we, don’t feel the same as you two? Just because I spend my life, or have spent my life up to now, with wiring, etc, doesn’t mean I don’t think about people, and care about them. I might be a technician, but I’m not a robot. Higgy’s a police…was in the police, with a truncheon, a gun. It doesn’t mean he wants to use his weapon to kill people.

KAY: I’m frightened by this talk. I don’t like it. I want to change the subject; anyone like some tea? Tea takes one’s mind off things; the Chinese drink it, lots of it; the Russians drink lots of it, too. British people, Indians, many people in many places in the world like tea. It’s a better drink than coffee. When you put the water in, it shouldn’t be one hundred degrees; you must let the water cool just a little. I like Chinese tea, too. There are different blends, some quite floral scented, very light on the tongue, very good for after Chinese food, taking away the oil, making one feel clean and fresh, your mouth thinks it’s had a bath, yes, relaxing, tea is relaxing and quiet, just the thing, yes, just the thing to take you away…

JOY: You sound like a poet, Kay. Are you alright?

KAY: Yes, Joy, I’m fine, I’m fine, oh, I’m okay. Yes, okay. Here, let’s have tea.

There is murmuring of agreement, pouring tea, drinking. Quiet one minute.

HIGGY: It’s not too bad for this time of the year.

There is a long pause, murmuring of agreement.

BRITTY: Yes, it could be much worse.

There is a long pause, murmuring of agreement.

HIGGY: The tea’s nice.

There is a long pause, murmuring of agreement.

BRITTY: Yes, it is. I like tea.

There is a long pause, murmuring of agreement. Kay begins to get her things together.
Joy helps her, and then begins to pack.

HIGGY: What are you two doing?

KAY: I’m packing my bag. I’m going.

JOY: Me, too. I can’t take this kind of thing, and it’s clear neither can Kay.

BRITTY: You’re asking for trouble. It’s mayhem there in the town.

KAY: I didn’t mention the town. I just said I’m going. Goodbye. I hope all goes well for both of you.

JOY: Yes, me too. Goodbye.

HIGGY: No, wait. We can work this out. It’s better we stick together. Look, I’m sorry about the gun; it seems it was a bad idea. Come, please, sit down and let’s talk. There’s no point in us splitting up. We’re in a position where we need cooperation, not conflict.

BRITTY: Higgy’s right. We’ve got a much bigger problem on our hands than worrying over a gun. Come on, get back in here. We need you, please.

KAY: I am going to go away if you insist on keeping the gun. I mean it. The whole thing frightens me.

HIGGY: Right, we can talk about that now.

KAY: What will happen to the gun? That is what I want to know. Once that is out of the way, I might reconsider my position. I would like to be here with you. You’re a nice group.

BRITTY: Come here, Kay; just relax a bit and we can talk things through like, clear the air.

JOY: I have a suggestion. Why don’t Kay and I keep the gun and the ammunition? Kay keeps the gun, I keep the rest. That way, in an emergency, we still have a little defence. We feel better; you know the gun is here, and can use it for our defence if and when necessary. That’s a bit of a compromise.

KAY: That might be a way. What do you two think about that?

HIGGY: I’m against it.

BRITTY: I’m quite happy with that. It means we still have the gun, but the two girls are happy about it. It’s a good plan… to me. What’s the problem, Higgy?

JOY: Yes?

KAY: What’s the problem? The three of us think it’s workable, and we’re happy with it.

HIGGY: The problem is that it’s not a good idea to let someone with no experience of a firearm take care, or control, of it. An accident can happen; there are plenty of examples, horror stories, of people playing around with a gun, or discharging it by accident, people getting hurt bad, or even worse. I think that to let you two look after a gun is asking for trouble. I know how to handle a gun; you don’t. I can check the thing to make sure it’s okay to use. You three don’t know how to. I have walked around with one of these little fellows on my belt. I’m used to them; none of you are.

BRITTY: Come on, Higgy. It’s not that difficult to take care of a gun. You put it somewhere out of reach. It’s simple to check if the thing’s okay, you just look to see the bullets are there, don’t point the thing at anyone, I mean, what else there?

HIGGY: That’s a perfect example of ignorance talking. People make mistakes with a gun, and the consequences are, without a doubt, serious. If using a gun, or even taking care of a gun, were that simple, there wouldn’t be the number of accidents that there are. I’m sorry, but the weapon remains with me. I’m not risking my life, or that of anyone else, just to play a party game. A gun is a gun, not some toy. They are built for a purpose, not to keep as a trophy. I brought this with me to help us, to protect, not to butcher you, not to control you, not to frighten you. If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it ages ago. If I didn’t want your company, why did I suggest you join me? This has two purposes. One, it can offer us a limited protection against any enemy. I told you there are about ten rounds, so I have to use it as a last resort, a threat towards any hostility. Two, as I began pointing out until my thoughts were hijacked by Joy and Kay here, if any of us are sick or injured, there is no help, get it? No one is coming to help. I don’t want to be lying here, sick or injured, or both…knowing that there’s nothing I can do about it. This chap would help me. You have to trust me.

BRITTY: Higgy’s got a point there.

JOY: Just because he’s got a point doesn’t mean we have to agree with it, or accept it. The reality is that with Higgy having a gun, it makes him in control of us; it’s a symbol of authority, and in this case, serious authority and maybe enforcement.

HIGGY: You’re being paranoid, you’re… it’s laughable. I just told you what I could have done if I had wanted to.

KAY: It might be laughable to you, Higgy, but the rest of us don’t seem to find it amusing.

HIGGY: How about you, Britty?

BRITTY: I think both of you have a point. I can see Joy’s argument that it, in effect, makes you the boss of the group.

JOY: Why don’t we vote on it? We vote on whether to allow Higgy to keep the gun, or the gun and the ammunition are split up, or…or whether we remain here as a group.

KAY: I think that’s a good proposal, don’t you?

BRITTY: Okay, I’ll go along with that.

HUGGY: This is getting absurd, a joke. Out there, is a nuclear war; in here, you want to vote on what to do with a small handgun that I brought along to protect and help us. I don’t know…no, I’m not taking part. I think, I’m beginning to think it was a mistake to ask you to join me here.

JOY: Right. Who wants Higgy to keep the gun? No one; right, that’s clear. Who wants Kay and me, or Britty and me, or Britty and Kay to keep the gun and the ammunition, but separate? Three hands are up; motion carried, Higgy must hand over the gun.

HIGGY: No. I’m keeping it; it seems to me that I must be the one to go. Thank you very much for your appreciation of what I was trying to do for the group. Take you to a place with shelter, water, some freedom, a place where we could, as a group, live at least a little longer in some degree of peace and health and harmony, away from the chaos that seems to be everywhere. Okay, I accept. I’ll go. Take care; maybe I’ll bump into you. Bye.

Higgy picks up his things, and goes to exit.

JOY: Higgy!

KAY: Wait a minute.

BRITTY: Hang on, Higgy.

HIGGY: No. I’m off. I hope you find some peace in the next year or two. Take care. Bye

Higgy exit.

JOY: Oh…

BRITTY: We got a problem now.

KAY: Why? We can manage; I’m sure of that.

BRITTY: How are we going to manage without Higgy? He’s the one who knows the area, he’s the toughest, he’s experienced in trekking, mountain rescue etc. We’re going to find it hard going, I can tell you. Oh, he’s got the axe and the hunting knife…oh, no, this is a nightmare coming. We can’t manage here without Higgy.

JOY: I’m sure we’ll manage…somehow…I think…maybe…

BRITTY: Come on, just think about it, and take a look around you. Who’s going to take care of us when things go wrong, and that, I am sure is going to happen.

KAY: You mean you think we’ll be in trouble without Higgy? You don’t think we can manage?

BRITTY: In a general sense, I think we can get by, if, and it’s a big if, if everything goes according to plan. I think we can get by. In terms of everyday living up here, it’s going to be a lot tougher with just the three of us. I know we have some outdoor experience between us, but I don’t think we’re in the same class as he is, in terms of experience and knowledge. He’s ex Police, done mountain rescue, spent, what is it, thirty years working up here, he knows the place backwards. That was why we agreed to join him. You get asked by most people to come and live up in a sheep pen in a nuclear winter, and you’d tell them to take a hike. Excuse the pun.

KAY: What do you think we should do now? It looks like rain...it’s going to be a miserable night.

JOY: I think I’m going to turn in. I mean, there’s not much else we can do, is there? This is going to be our life from now on; going to bed, and not knowing what the next morning will bring. We must listen to the news… he’s got the wireless. We won’t know what’s happening. Oh, no, it goes from bad to worse. Britty, can you go after him; try to persuade him to come back. It’s going to be…we can’t manage without…how are we going to get something to eat? I think we must go…I don’t know.

KAY: You mean we remain here, whilst Britty goes off…is that a good idea? What happens if he gets lost, or hurt? I don’t think we should split up. What do you think, Britty?

BRITTY: That’s right; I think for the present we must remain together, we need each other, and with the night here, and the wind and the rain closing in now, it would be foolish to go alone. I have spent quite some time up in these parts, and trust me, the weather can be a bitch; it can change from hour to hour. We’re tired, we’re not familiar enough with the terrain or the area in general; no, I think what ever we do we must keep together.

KAY: The strength in numbers thing. I think you’re right. Joy, I don’t think you can sleep here alone.

JOY: But you’ll be with me, won’t you?

KAY: I can’t if I go with Britty. The chances of you getting into trouble sleeping alone up here are at lot less than Britty alone traipsing over unfamiliar territory in the rain through the night, trying to spot Higgy, and we don’t even know what direction he’s gone off in.

JOY: That means we all go down to the town tonight; oh, it’ll take us hours. I’m exhausted, I just want to sleep.

BRITTY: I don’t think you have that option tonight, Joy. It’s move now, or we end up here tomorrow morning, maybe in worse weather, with nothing. I’m blowing the candle out. Right, that’s that. Come, let’s go now.

JOY: You can’t go with Kay? You can go faster by yourself, without the two of us, couldn’t you? We remain here, you go.

BRITTY: I’m not sure of that. How can I follow him at night? There’s the moon; I can make out a bit. Try to think, how did we come here? It was from the south, wasn’t it?

KAY: Yes, past the bridge and the trout farm…ex trout farm. The trout farm came first, didn’t it? No, maybe not. I’m not sure, but from the bridge, then we would have another two hours to the town. If we go now, we might run into him, or if not, we’d meet him in the town again; we could talk to him…the thought of going back into Brecon…oh, what were we thinking of? Can we go after him? Could we find him? What’s that noise?

JOY: What noise? Where? Don’t try to frighten me.

KAY: I’m not trying to frighten you; I heard a noise, out there. Oh, listen to that. What is that?

BRITTY: It’s just a sheep, or another animal, a bird maybe…a wild horse?

JOY: It could be the rain. It won’t be people…will it? No one can get up here…can they? Can you have a look, Britty?

BRITTY: I can’t see anyone, I mean, anything. It seems quiet. My goodness, it is quiet. I didn’t realise how quiet the hills are in the night, just a light breeze for now, but…oh, there’s the thunder away there. We will be getting rain quite soon, I think.

KAY: Can you relight the candle?

BRITTY: With what?

JOY: You mean there are no matches…Higgy had them. Oh, no.

BRITTY: I’m thirsty. Anyone got some water? Oh, I’ll go and get some from the…where did Higgy…where’s the spring? It can’t be that way, or can it? It’s confusing at night; everywhere looks the same, the hedge looks the same, the horizon looks the same too. Kay, where’s your map?

KAY: The map’s no use at the moment because I don’t know where we are. I didn’t write anything on it. I was going to do that tomorrow, ask Higgy, but…where’s my torch? Oh, here…that’s typical; the bloody thing isn’t working; well, it was working when I checked a couple of weeks ago, oh, bloody wonderful, the thing’s packed up on me. I don’t suppose anyone’s got a torch? No, I thought not. You know, I think we’re going to have to go back to Brecon, and get some things, from where, I don’t know. We can’t remain here.

BRITTY: I think you’re right. Oh, bugger it. I don’t know…I think if we go down towards the stream, then across the hill there; there, you can just make it out, we should hit one of the B roads, and look for a signpost. We could be on the road in about an hour if we walk fast. But we can’t walk fast at night, you idiot. Oh… I think we make a move. If we wait till daybreak, we might have forgotten the way. Bloody place, everywhere looks the same time. I think we go that way, down there, then across to the crest up there, what do you think?

KAY: Yes, I’m not sure, I think so, I …okay.

JOY: Oh, I’m exhausted; but I think we’d better go now, while we can; if the rain comes tomorrow, we’d have a bigger problem. Come on then. Oh, the rain’s coming now.

BRITTY: We’ll just take our rucksack; the rest of the things, the cooking gear can remain here; if we come back, it’ll be here. No one’s going to borrow it.

JOY: Right, I’m ready, as much as I can be. Oh I wish we hadn’t spoken to Higgy in that way; maybe I was wrong…

KAY: It’s too late now; let’s go.

BRITTY: Yeah, I think so; you should have thought it through before jumping the gun, sorry about the pun. Come on then, go.

(Britty, Joy, Kay exeunt. The sound of rain, light thunder for a minute. Higgy enters, puts rucksack down, lights candle, lays out bed, takes out small cigar, lights up, takes off boots, smoking, takes out the gun from jacket, takes out photograph from rucksack;)

HIGGY: slow I hope you three are going to be okay; I hope you make it back to Brecon without any problem…I’m not sure what you’re going to find there, but I think it’s going to be unpleasant…you’re a tough chap Britty, you’ll take care of them, and Kay and Joy have their resources too…I wish the three of you well in the rest of your time here on earth, how long we don’t know…just unable to see it my way, I suppose…but I’m not giving in to my principle about the gun, no, I can’t do that…it’s the way I want it, and if I do it…oh…then there’s my other three, you lot here…but you’re not here…in New Zealand, I think…I hope you are okay too…you can’t hear me…but I’m thinking of you…I love you…thank you for everything…for what you gave me…I hope I gave something back to you, too…you enriched my life, and if we could go back, I’d do the same, just to be with you three again…I love you…there you are, a big kiss for each of you…thank you…take care.

(Then, quiet, begins to sing, after half a minute, blows out candle, continues
singing, curtain, music for half a minute.)

The End