The Old Store: A Science Fiction Anthology

By Peter Salisbury

An anthology of twenty-six themed episodes set in a post-apocalyptic future, where the world population has been ravaged by a flu-like pandemic. A close-knit group of genetically immune men, women and children battle to survive attacks by marauders. The Families attempt to use their ingenuity and disparate skills to evade discovery and establish a viable, self-sustaining community, only to find it falls under attack by armed gangs.

There are twenty-three named characters. See how Jed, Sylvie, Brian, Jaide and their families tangle with gang members Snake, Rat, Stink and Grease. Discover the roles played by the spirited Nina, airport guy Graham, and the biker horde.

A couple of snippets:

Sylvie looked out across the rooftop, sunlight pouring in through the four-sided pyramidal roof.
'You can almost see the beans and tomatoes growing,' she thought.
Her husband Jed, Brian and his wife Jaide, Grandpa Gunn, all the kids, and Christine and Simon were sitting around the dining table with satisfied looks on their faces. It was the second week in a row they'd had roast boar for Sunday lunch.
'We call it Sunday,' Sylvie thought, resting her hands on her own slightly over-filled stomach, 'Who knows what day it is according to the old calendar.'
**
A plume of black smoke jetted out the exhaust ports of a huge battle tank. The tank lurched forward, the sound of its failing engine reaching the roof terrace a second or so later. Its squat, ugly shape was covered in black and brown camouflage and it positively bristled with armaments. The most prominent weapon was the main gun mounted on its top turret. The beast made it the fifty metres from the slip road into the car park, riding straight over the remains of a burnt-out car before the alternately stuttering and over-revving engine finally cut, and the short, stubby gun muzzle swivelled to point directly at the top of the building.
**
'Like I said, I ain't no lady!' Nina held Snake's gun at arm's length, with the muzzle against the back of his head. She pulled back the hammer on the over-sized, chrome-plated revolver.
'Take it easy,' Snake said.
'Don't 'easy' me,' Nina said. 'You're the one making trouble.' The others saw from her face that she was in deadly earnest. 'Now move that truck, or your boss gets it.'
**
Was Stink's plan just a bluff? Was he really trying to take over from Snake or was he playing a game to throw Nina off guard? While they were distracted, Nina moved again, so fast they didn't see it coming. She drew her own gun and pointed it straight at Stink.
Stink spat on the ground. 'Jeez, she's fast,' he said.
**
The stories have been written as episodes. They are in a logical sequence but mostly are separate stories about the same people in the same place. They don't all join up like chapters in a novel, although some may run on to the next. 54,000 words (equivalent to 74 paperback pages).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peter Salisbury
• Release date: May 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458015525

Peter Salisbury

I am a life-long fan of science fiction, and so when I had an idea for my first story, I wasn't surprised that it was in that genre. The first book took me ten years to complete, but I've got a little quicker since. I am pleased to say that I now have over thirty books published in my name. What next? So far I haven't run short of ideas for new stories, so there are several projects in various stages of completion, and I hope to be publishing the next story before too long, so please subscribe to my alerts. My profile picture is a portrait of the author as a young man, painted by my daughter Charlotte Salisbury who has also contributed to several of my book covers. Professional background In the 1970s I studied Chemistry at university and then spent over thirty years in classrooms across England teaching almost anything but Chemistry, including Photography, Communications Skills, General Science, Computing, and Information and Communications Technology. In the 1990s I spent ten years writing abstracts of chemical patents. This was a most exacting process but very rewarding to be reading about the very latest inventions in the field, and the abstracts were distributed world-wide to research scientists by subscription. Articles of mine have been published in magazines and I have written assignments used for assessing Communications Skills for a major international Examination Board. After retiring early this century I began writing in earnest.

Book preview

The Old Store: A Science Fiction Anthology

Peter Salisbury

The Old Store: A Science Fiction Anthology

Smashwords edition

Copyright © Peter Salisbury May 2011

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold, reproduced or redistributed in any form, or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This work is entirely fictitious and any resemblance to any person or organization is wholly coincidental and unintentional.

New edition June 2014

Acknowledgements:

Matthew for the idea for Horde

Helen and Karen for assistance with proof-reading

The Old Store: A Science Fiction Anthology

An anthology of 26 Post-apocalyptic short stories. A highly infectious, deadly plague took advantage of modern mass transport systems. It all but eradicated the populations of several continents. Only people with natural immunity survived the pandemic. Even fewer of those survived the aftermath. The Spere and Gunn families are still struggling to stay alive in a world where every day brings deadly threat.

Table of Contents

Episode 1. Raiders

Episode 2. Fever

Episode 3. Jed's tunnel

Episode 4. Fashion Sense

Episode 5. Fourteenth floor

Episode 6. Power

Episode 7. Security suite

Episode 8. Night visit

Episode 9. The hunt

Episode 10. Tank

Episode 11. Dead guy

Episode 12. Siege part (i) Snake Returns

Episode 13. Siege part (ii) Rat Bites Snake

Episode 14. Ham radio

Episode 15. Visitors part (i) Arrivals

Episode 16. Visitors part (ii) Escape

Episode 17. Visitors part (iii) Camper

Episode 18. Airport part (i) Spy

Episode 19. Airport part (ii) Waiting for Graham

Episode 20. Nina part (i) Nina Breaks Out

Episode 21. Nina part (ii) Obstruction

Episode 22. Hotel

Episode 23. Horde

Episode 24. New Plans

Episode 25. New Directions part (i) Stock Take

Episode 26. New Directions part (ii) Growing Things

Appendix 1. 'Cast List'

Appendix 2. List of Floors

Appendix 3. Introduction

The stories here have been written as episodes. They are in a logical sequence but mostly are separate stories about the same people in the same place. They don't all join up like chapters in a novel, although some may run on to the next.

Episode 1. Raiders

The sirens could be heard from miles away. Jed felt a cold night breeze chill him further as the sound got nearer. He shuddered as four trucks blazed past at great speed, the familiar Doppler effect raising the pitch as they approached, and lowering it as they sped away.

Fifty metres back from the southbound freeway, Jed leaned forward, taking care to remain in shadow. He pulled his jacket tighter. Standing beside a broken wall in a ruined rest stop, he listened to the diminishing sound of the sirens. Blinking, he tried to dispel the after-image of the passing headlights that had sliced open the darkness surrounding his refuge.

Before Jed had chance to relax his tense muscles, he heard the sound of more vehicles approaching, these without sirens. His heart sank as he heard two vehicles slow down and rumble up the sliproad into the service area. He crouched behind a counter, averting his eyes from the glare of their headlights. Jed took the opportunity to breathe freely beneath the throaty muttering of the engines as the trucks pulled up next to a row of empty pumps, until the acrid smell of unfiltered exhaust drifted towards his hideout. Two individuals got out and opened the backs of their trucks to look inside.

One lit up a cigarette.

'You still smoking those things.'

'When I can get 'em. What's the matter, Curly? You think you're going to live forever cos you don't smoke?'

'Nah, just can't stand the taste,' Curly said.

The smoker laughed. 'Well I bagged me some more tonight.'

'Can't beat a good raid. Spider sure knows how to pick 'em.'

'Yeah, we fixed those new guys good.'

The interiors of the trucks were dimly lit but there was enough light for Jed to see a jumble of boxes and other swag. The sidearms the men wore showed up clearly enough.

'What you get?' Curly said.

'Bout ten boxes of tinned food, some beer...'

'Beer! You got beer?'

'Grabbed it quick before Spider got his eyes on it.'

'I ain't had a taste of that in a long while.'

Yeah, you want some it'll cost you. You got any decent pickings?'

'Ammo mainly. Some water.'

'Ammo's good. Didn't I see you got some camo netting?

'Yeah, you want to swap a six for one of my nets?

'Six for a net? Don't make me laugh! Four and it's a deal.'

'Four then. Wait! You hear something?' Curly peered into the darkness beyond the pumps.

Jed froze. He hadn't made a sound but he'd heard something, too. He dreaded that one of the kids concealed in the Families trucks had made a noise.

The smoker took out his gun and let off a careless shot into the undergrowth. Something small skittered away.

Curly laughed. 'Dumb night critters.'

You think there's anything worth taking here?

'Not last time I stopped by. See better in daylight.'

'We got the searchlight.' The smoker went to his vehicle's cab and started the engine. A searchlight probed the car park. The backwash from the light showed up a heavy duty gun mount on top of the cab next to it, and the lined, sunburned face of the operator.

Jed tensed and raised his automatic as inevitably the searchlight fell on one of the Families' trucks, heavily shrouded by brambles and ivy.

'That a new one?'

'Can't say, not been here for a month or more.'

'You want to check it out?'

'Nah, I wanna get back and have a beer.' The searchlight went out.

Jed felt his body sag against the wall. He could only imagine how his family must have felt when the searchlight had alighted on their truck. They would have had no idea that he'd had both men in his sights.

'We got a deal then?' the smoker said.

As soon as the goods were exchanged, Curly and his accomplice got back in their trucks and roared off into the night.

As the sound of their engines faded, the rustlings returned.

Jed noticed the cold pinching through his jacket once more and he rubbed his hands together for warmth. He began to think of the others in his party. He'd been able to see what was going on but he knew the anxiety his wife Sylvie must be feeling, cooped up in the truck with the kids. The gunshot would have terrified them.

Jed looked at the luminous hands on his watch; it was twenty past three, almost the end of his shift on sentry duty. He could count on one hand the number of decent night's sleep he'd had in the last eighteen months; this was not going to be one of them, they'd be up and off again at dawn.

When on the move, the safest way they'd found to park up for the night was to find a ruined rest stop or commercial building. They put one vehicle in each corner of the most overgrown section of the car park and dragged as much vegetation over each as possible. The most vulnerable time was within the first half hour after stopping, when the engines made cooling noises and everyone got out of the vans to stretch their legs and eat.

Being out on the road was one of the things Jed liked least of all about the way of life that had been forced upon them. There were seven adults, three kids who, being eighteen or over, were technically adults and four younger kids. It was a lot of them to feed and keep safe. The Families had been travelling on and off since the plague destroyed what he had always thought was a civilised society. Jed yearned to find somewhere they could stay safe for a while, rest up, not worry about being attacked, robbed, or worse.

He settled into a corner between two walls, trying to find shelter from the cold night air. It wasn't a plague, it was a flu virus but everyone had called it plague. And it had left millions dead. Completely indiscriminate, it had taken old and young, rich and poor. No-one had been able to protect themselves; you either lived or you didn't, it was all down to genes.

Plague or not, it had left very few alive. Within a few weeks, roaming armed gangs took whatever they wanted, often fighting each other over the spoils. For decent folks, the only option was to keep out of sight. That was something that was never easy when every morsel of food had to be scavenged for. There was no help from any other country that had closed its borders in time. They were more than happy to see great nations fall, let the survivors wipe each other completely out or die off gradually, then come in and take over the territory in a few years' time.

An owl hooted, interrupting Jed's thoughts.

Jed chuckled then yawned into the back of his hand, knowing full well it wasn't an owl. Brian's face appeared out of the darkness.

'Close,' he said.

'Too close,' Jed said. 'I could have got them both. I had a clear shot if I'd needed it.'

'Thankfully, you didn't. Go on back to your truck. Sylvie's all shook up.'

'Anyone would be, trying to sit tight when a guy lets off a shot like that. How's Jaide?'

'She's OK. And the kids. I hate to say it but they're used to it by now.'

'What a world.' Jed shivered. 'I've been thinking...'

'What?'

'Oh, never mind.'

'Stop worrying. I'll take a turn now. And Dad's going to relieve me when I've done my stint.'

Brian's father was known amongst the Families as Grandpa Gunn. Being in his sixties, he was older than everyone else, but he never once shirked or missed his turn.

Jed picked his way carefully back to his truck, where he could settle down to a few hours sleep before setting off again. According to the signs he'd seen on the freeway, there was a fair sized city up ahead. Rather than tackle it after dark, Jed had called a halt at a minor service station. Being looted and burned out, he'd thought it would not attract the attention of raiders.

'I was almost right there,' he said to himself, thinking about the four that had raced past earlier.

At first light, they had a quick breakfast and headed off. Grandpa Gunn lead the way in his stealth truck, followed by Jed, Sylvie and their kids, then Brian, Jaide and their kids, chased up by Simon and Christine. They found less trouble travelling between dawn and noon. The next city was over a hundred kilometres away and then they'd have to get round it safely. If there was a ring road or orbital highway of some sort, they'd take it, going fast, planning to be long gone before trouble, in the form of those like Curly and the smoker, bothered to wake up.

Episode 2. Fever

Jed Spere tripped over the last step on Twelfth, wondering as his legs gave way why he hadn't taken the lift. The children watched as he appeared to collapse in slow motion, scattering the berries he'd been collecting across the floor.

'Alice, go to your dad. I'll call your mum.' Jenny Gunn said.

'I bet he's been out in the sun too long,' Alice said, as she ran across the luxurious carpet of what had once been Shoes, Leisurewear and Toys. She and Jenny had been doing instructive play with the younger kids.

Jed was intermittently aware of being manhandled up the stairs and into the first aid room. While his wife, Sylvie, fussed over him, trying to correct his body temperature, he drifted in and out of consciousness. Each time he was out, his mind wandered back to the first day when they had found the store.

'I can't go any further,' Sylvie said.

Jed pulled off the freeway and followed a slip road signposted Grimdales Department Store, 1.7 million square feet, free parking.

'You're not getting sick?' Jed said.

'No, no. Just my legs are getting twitchy, my behind has lost all feeling and if we hit another pothole...'

'I'm doing my best to miss them.'

'I know. I just need to get off the road for a bit.'

Jed spoke over the short range com. 'Chris, Brian, come in,'

'Nearly lost you over the last hill,' Brian called back, his voice masked by hiss and crackles through the speaker. 'What's up?'

'Sylvie needs to stop. Take the next junction. Jed was careful not to name the junction. You never knew who was listening in.

The store was an imposing sight. It had an eight-column pilaster with an ornate cornice at the front entrance over four double doors. Horizontal ledges marking off the floors between the rows of windows carried an egg and dart pattern. Jed counted fifteen floors, not including the roof terrace restaurant that was advertised on a garish but lop-sided sign.

Grimdales faced south, so the entrance was in full sun. Jed drove round to a narrow strip of shade at the rear of the building. Strewn around the car park was evidence of comprehensive looting. All but one of the once-grand carved wood and etched glass doors under the cornice had been torn from their hinges.

Jed's head was pounding like it was about to split open and he appeared to have gone blind. He raised his hand to his face and found a wet cloth over it.

'You'll be fine Jed,' Sylvie said, taking Jed's hand and putting it back by his side. 'Just been outside too long without your hat. Now go back to sleep.

The three Families scouted the ground floor of the store with great caution. It was just the place lurkers or marauders might be shacked up, keeping out of the blazing sun. A single rifle shot into the interior and a rapid search showed that they were the only ones there. It soon became apparent why: the stairwells were full of rubble, like some of the floors above had caved in. The lift was immobile, there having been no power after the third day of the plague. The building simply looked dead and deserted.

With the time at half past noon, it seemed like a good time to take a look at the sparse fare they had allocated for lunch. The Families took out the rations that had scavenged at their last stop. They'd learned to take small bites and chew for as long as possible.

After a cautious amble to the top of a low hill a hundred metres behind the store, Sylvie was ready to travel on. Jed went to meet her beside tall, overgrown ornamental shrubs and wild gorse. Without much interest he regarded the unimpressive scrubland surrounding the perimeter of the store and car park.

'Strange place to build a store,' Sylvie said.

'When everyone had cars and plenty of fuel, it was pretty busy here, I guess,' Jed said.

Sylvie pulled a face. 'You mean back when there were still plenty of people.'

Jed sifted the sandy soil with the toe of his boot and took a final look around to where the evergreen shrubbery gave way to bleak scrub and tussocky grass. A small oasis was covered in a tangle of fruit bushes. Three hundred metres beyond that, a stand of trees thickened into a forest.

'The others are ready to go,' he said, raising his arm to return a wave from Brian.

'Me too,' Sylvie said, giving Jed's hand a squeeze.

As they strolled back together, Brian, his wife Jaide and Chris and Simon walked across to meet them halfway.

'See anything over the hill?' Chris said.

'Not much,' Sylvie said.

Jed had been juggling a small stone, trying to contain his impatience. He dropped it and it made a dull clang when it hit the ground. They all stopped talking. Jed crouched down, brushing at the silt with his hand, until he noticed the dull gleam of the edge an over-sized manhole cover.

'I wonder what's down there.' Brian said.

'Could be water,' Jaide said.

'That would be useful.'

Jed and Brian