Bob walked through the tree line on the outskirts of the farming fields with Archie, Wren and Lara following closely behind. He wore his full camouflage gear, bucket hat and an old pair of combat boots. The British weather had returned to normal now, since the event the days had been warmer, extending their summer into the normally cold winter months.

It had been almost three weeks since the world was turned on its head. The military had now abandoned the nearby villages and towns with support, having evacuated everybody that wanted to be taken towards the coast in temporary camps, whilst more permanent structures and residences were being established in Ireland, which remained unaffected.

Archie, Wren and Lara had started to venture out into the nearby towns to check on any residents that had remained behind, either forgotten or by choice. People were glad for the temporary company, but protection was not their primary concern, the slowly declining food stores were the top priority.

Maureen had been busy keeping watch across the internet and the survivalist network she was a key member of. The UK government remained in relative control of the populous, however some smaller towns and cities were being abandoned altogether; with street gangs or mobs taking control.

There were also rumours of large wolf packs starting to form; just like the ones that had assaulted the camp site, but with ten times the numbers. They were forming their own hives, burrowing underground and creating their own network of tunnel systems under farmland and beyond. A nearby village was massacred by a pack, whose alpha was reported to have a burned face. This sent chills down Lara’s spine.

“Right. This will do.” Bob informed the group as he came to a stop.

“Do we not need to get higher or something?” Archie quizzed.

“Not at all. Especially a man my size. I would be spotted clambering up a tree from more than a mile away.” Bob retorted

“This here will do us fine. We’ll crawl around to the edge of the bush and take a peak through the binoculars and maybe my scope” he said cheerily

He really is enjoying dusting off these cobwebs thought Archie as a pair of binoculars were thrust into his chest by Bob, who was now grinning from ear to ear, radiating happiness.

Bob checked in on Maureen back at the campsite via his radio, she was fine and seemed marginally disgruntled that Bob had disturbed her peace and quiet.

Maureen had pulled together a plan, with some help from Bob, that ensured Archie, Wren and Lara would explore the local area and have plenty of opportunity to train and enhance their skills. So far, none of them had levelled up, but their teamwork, fitness and confidence had started to improve greatly.

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The people that had decided to remain in their homes provided new people for them to speak to and care for, which had kept them busy for the last five days. But now they were onto more far-reaching and potentially dangerous missions. They were now almost three weeks beyond the event. By week four, Archie, Wren and Lara wanted to be prepared enough to approach the edge of the forest that lay a number of miles west of their campsite.

The government had sent out a request that all people stay clear of these unknown sites and that a number of small units had been sent in to explore, but they had since lost contact and were unsure of their condition.

A small force was being assembled on the north and western edges of the forest to search for the exploratory units. This force was a mixture of Marines, Special Air Service and ‘Power Users’; which is what the government was calling people that had been blessed with abilities.

Maureen had been in contact with Christian who had informed her that an alternate reason for the Northern and Western approaches was that they also wanted to ensure there were no hidden forces that could pincer them. As they were in parallel trying to pincer the stone army that had now successfully taken over Liverpool and had burrowed deep within Mount Snowdon.

In return, Maureen was feeding Christian with small scale local information in an area that the Government now had zero presence.

Today’s mission, was to revisit Spains Hall Estate, the village of Finchingfield and town of Great Bardsfield with the sole purpose of finding out if anybody had chosen to remain in these areas, and if they needed help.

Bob was hopeful that the Spains Hall Estate had been vacated by Mr Vasquez, as he had grand ambitions to turn it into a village-style hub for all those that had chosen to stay behind. He had already started drawing out a plan for their campsite that involved stealing a couple of vans and seeing if they could get down to a town 15 miles south of their location that housed a large scale DIY store. These plans included establishing fences around a larger perimeter, supported by concrete and repurposing their Yurt camping area into a small scale farm of its own.

Archie was snapped away from his own thoughts when he heard a giant thud. Bob had belly flopped onto the floor beside him and had started to crawl through the overgrown grass. Slowly Archie followed in Bob’s wake and pulled up beside him once he had stopped, adjacent to the large bush that had been providing them with enough cover to stand.

He glanced over to Lara who had been tense about returning to this estate. She seemed fine. Wren was exceptionally emotionally intelligent and kept her at ease. They stood behind the bush and waited patiently for their report.

Archie was to kneel and pear through the binoculars at the large house to the right. Checking for any movement by windows or across the few open areas he could see. Bob, once happy with Archie’s position moved back round through to the other side of their cover and crawled towards a path that led to the heart of the estate.

Quickly Bob, much more agile than Archie had thought, leapt to his feet and scrambled across the path into an adjacent field. He was moving around to get a different angle and position on the estate. This meant that Bob would view from the South and Archie from the East.

Using Google Maps, Bob had planned their route carefully, maximising cover and ensuring that he put himself in the most danger for the initial scouting. If after some time had passed and no signs of life were identified, the team would move in.

Now it was a waiting game. Bob wanted them to practice their patience, it was early in the morning, they had all the gear and supplies they would need. They would now simply sit, wait, watch and learn for the next few hours and then, act accordingly.