Salby Damned

By Ian D. Moore

Nathan Cross and Evelyn Shepherd fight a multi-million dollar gas drilling corporation in a desperate struggle to save humanity from one of science's fiercest creations. There are things in this world we wish we could un-invent, this is one of them. Fast-paced graphic action/adventure with twists and turns you simply won't see coming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ian D. Moore
• Release date: Sep 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310039775

Ian D. Moore

I'm a 43yr old trucker for a major national haulage firm, living and working in North Yorkshire. A father to two sons aged 15 and 9 and step father to a boy and girl who feature in my first novel as smaller versions of themselves. I've been writing for many years but never published my work, usually poetry, short stories or random ideas and this first book, Salby Damned, was created mostly on my break periods while at work and originally written on a mobile phone. I am an ex army soldier, served for four years and after a serious road crash, had to leave the service but then became a trucker, been doing that now for the thick end of 17 years and still love my job. I have loved every minute of writing this first book, already released a second short story book for children and am currently working on my second novel. In the short time since publishing, I've already talked to some amazing people and been given lots of advice and tips for which I am greatly appreciative. Do please visit my web page, there will be an updated blog page shortly.

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Acknowledgements

My sincere thanks and appreciation to the following without whom, this book would have been much harder and much less fun to produce.

Nyree Charlotte Lloyd - For her eternal love and support and her initial views on the completed story.

Tom Lloyd – For being a Stepson I am proud of and adding mischief to this tale, in his own inimitable style.

Holly Lloyd – For being a Stepdaughter I am proud of and giving me the perfect excuse for adding the word dimples to the story which, in itself makes me smile.

Richard Chalkley MA BA(Hons) of SpiffingCovers.com Ltd – For his professionalism and ability to listen to his customer to create what is without a doubt, a work of modern art, my sincere gratitude to you and your team.

Stefan Proudfoot – Designer SpiffingCovers.com – For his hard work in producing the final cover for this novel.

Dear Reader,

Salby Damned is my first novel, originally created as a request for a story by my younger sister Helen. It has been written primarily in the course of my duties in my full-time job as a HGV Driver for a well known televised haulage firm with chapters and paragraphs completed during my legal break periods or while waiting to load or unload household goods for a major supermarket chain, mostly on my mobile phone and originally uploaded to Facebook. It is a work of fiction with some factual content and I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and adventure that writing it has given. Two of the stars, Tom and Holly Lloyd, do actually exist although the characters of them portrayed within this story are of much younger versions than the real life children and based entirely on my own perception of their individual personalities.

I hope that as you read, you will find yourself immersed within the words and that you are able to see and feel each scene as you progress, I hope it takes you away from the real life outside and entertains you wherever you choose to read. Finally I hope you’ll consider keeping an eye out for more books I have planned, all in good time though. For now, thank you for your purchase and...............ENJOY!

First published by Completely Novel 2014

Salby Damned

Ian D. MooreCopyright © Ian D. Moore July 2014

ISBN 13 digit 9781310039775

Smashwords Edition

The author Ian D. Moore asserts the moral and legal right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

This book is a work of fiction with some factual references and based on certain characters very much alive and well. With their exception, any similarity to other persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Cover design and creation by Spiffing Covers Ltd.

For Helen Moore – My Sister

Ever the voice of reason throughout my life.

This book is dedicated to the memory of two of the greatest men I have ever known, my father Mr. Sidney J. Moore and Lt.Col. Dr. Gerald A. Batson, both much loved and much missed. May you continue to guide me from Heaven.

Salby Damned

Chapter One – Awakening

He stumbled as he rose from the bed, stubbing his toe on the protruding leg which sent a white hot pain up his right side and snapped his eyes wide open. He cursed, glaring at the inanimate frame as if to blame it for being there and now limping, he headed for the bathroom to answer an urgent call of nature, recalling the heavy night it had been. Nathan Cross was a freelance reporter, a vulture to some yet highly regarded by a lesser few, who found himself at a town conference in support of the Shale Gas Fracking Corporation, they had picked his patch to attempt extraction. The conference should have been a run of the mill story, nothing spectacular, at least until the residents association turned up. Heated arguments ensued, it wasn't front page news but he'd make a couple of hundred selling the story..........

Having stood at the toilet for what seemed like an eternity and feeling like the entire fluid contents of his body had emptied, he headed for the basin to wash and shave, staring into the mirror, examining the reflection there. At forty three his rugged looks had faired ok he thought, biased of course, he had retained a fairly athletic build from long gone army days and as yet, the middle age spread had been kept at bay although he’d adapted to country life well, enjoying the relaxed way of living and fresh air. What WAS that woman's name last night? His mind still slow with the burden of sleep trying frantically to remember, Emily, no wait, Evelyn that's it! She had been the town council chair, a forthright woman he thought, mid thirties maybe, attractive with mid length hair, chocolate brown eyes he remembered, and a fierce bold tell it like it is approach and yet there was something about her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, hidden by her exterior impression.

She had told him all the details about the Shale Gas Fracking Corporation and of their previous practices and had given him the ring side seat at the conference. As a freelance reporter, he had reminded her that he had to be objective, to portray both sides of the debate, although with the new government policy it was almost a futile act to try to stop the Corporation because they had already sunk a test well at Salby in West Yorkshire. After the conference the parties dissipated and Nathan headed for the local pub, he needed a drink and so it seemed, did Evelyn Shepherd. The night wore on and the debate was eventually set aside, he remembered sitting and talking to Evelyn.......Evie she had said to call her, on a more social level, giving her his business card when they eventually parted. Now shaved, taking care to retain the trimmed Movember moustache and short cropped stubble, he dressed and checked his phone for messages, none. Not unusual. Since the passing of his wife in a car smash 3 years ago he'd kept himself to himself, allowing his work to take over with the occasional vermin night shoot to let off steam. Today's agenda would be to research the Shale Gas Fracking Corporation and to type up the story for submission, the bills were due so the extra income would be welcomed. He began to type up his shorthand notes, sipping a mug of hot sweet tea as he did so, the caffeine would see off the last tendrils of sleep. His phone beeped, a message from a number he didn't know, wasn't the office they would have called, looking at the screen and tapping the message icon to open the text it simply stated :-

It’s Evelyn Shepherd, call me as soon as you get this, it’s urgent!

His mind raced, had he forgotten something? What had they done last night? What could he do? He pressed the phone call icon and the number dialled.

Nathan hi, are you busy? How soon could you get yourself into Salby? She said, talking almost too fast for him to understand.

What? Why? Hi Evelyn umm, Evie what's up? he blurted, kicking himself silently and wishing he could remember more clearly.

There has been some sort of incident at the well head site, you could get an exclusive if we're quick!

Whoa!.....What's this we business? What's in it for you Evie? Huh?

Her voice raised an octave, the urgency in her tone spurring him into action.

There isn't time to explain now. It happened in the early hours, they'll be trying to cover it up by now unless we hurry. I'll meet you at the pub going into Salby and bring you up to speed there, bye! She rang off, not waiting for the reply.

Nathan yanked his jeans up, throwing on a t-shirt and slipping on his trusty boots, flipping the quick tie catches. The thick over-jacket he had would suffice for the rural setting of the well head development site. Packing a small bag containing a loaded camera, blank film, spare lens and batteries, then slipping it over his head and shoulder he headed for his car, gunning the engine as soon as it fired over. Salby was about 10 miles away and he could make it in around 15 minutes, cutting through the back roads he knew so well. Sure enough, as he approached the Swan at Salby, on the left hand side parked up was a sporty looking Ford, out of which stepped Evie, looking different in casual clothing but none the less second glance-able.

Get in, he said, pulling alongside.

We'll take my suzi up there. It is better equipped for rough terrain.

The suzi was his abbreviated name for the battered but reliable ISUZU 4 x4. He looked directly into those oh so deep brown eyes.

Wanna tell me what the hell happened?

Evie began from the start, repeating all she had found out about the Shale Gas Fracking Corporation, refreshing the hazy memories of the previous night. She told him of the Salby project test well, that Salby had been selected as high probability for shale gas due to its location. Yesterday night they had begun the actual fracking process down the bore hole. At a depth of just over one kilometre, they angled to ninety degrees as they pumped chemicals and high pressure water into the shale rock, to displace the gas ready for extraction. In the early hours the process hit some sort of hard rock face, halting progress in its tracks. At £15000 an hour, a decision was made to blast the obstruction through which resulted in a massive surge of gas and water, back-funnelling up the bore hole and exploding into the night sky. So far initial reports are hazy but 10 confirmed dead, over a hundred missing.

Wow! Can't believe I didn't see that on the early news, he said. He turned the key and the old diesel clunked into life, it never failed.

Ready? As he looked at her, she nodded nervously as they headed for the development site.

As they got closer, the road narrowed considerably and various signs had been erected warning of construction traffic, possible explosions and hazardous conditions. In hindsight, they really had no idea how appropriate that sign would become. Entering the main survey area, there were a number of cars with amber flashing lights still glowing in the early morning haze, no sign of movement though. Nathan pulled up alongside a black Nissan Navara that had SGFC emblazoned on the side, peering into the cab in the hope that someone might be able to help, nothing moved. Pulling the handbrake he flipped his door, pushing it wide with his foot as he stepped out and walked over to the Navara, noticing now that the engine was still running. Over his shoulder he heard the passenger door of the suzi pop open, Evie came up alongside him and peered into the truck.

Where is everyone? Asking the obvious question running through his mind too.

I don't know Evie, but I've a bad feeling about this, go back to the suzi and stay there a bit, I'm going to take a look around. Ushering her gently back towards his own jeep.

Having watched Evie get into his jeep, he scoured the Navara for anything he might be able to use. Under a small tarp in the back, he found a fireman's axe, pointed at one side of the head with a honed blade at the other and mounted on a hickory wooden handle, the kind he thought, that you'd see in burning building movies on the television. He grabbed it, taking care not to let it swing down too close to his feet, this would come in handy, he thought as he headed for the whitewashed portakabin buildings of the site offices.

As he approached, from the corner of his right eye there was movement; he stopped and immediately turned to face the motion. A huge bear of a man came ambling towards him, he was wearing one of those orange florescent jackets and a hard hat with SGFC over the peak. The man must have been well over 6ft tall and Nathan estimated at least 18 stone, his ruddy cheeks suggested he worked outside a lot and his expression was of someone troubled.

This is private land! You're not supposed to be here! The man bellowed as he approached.

Sorry, who are you? Nathan asked.

Garrett, name's Brin Garrett, I am the Chief Production Well Head Foreman for SGFC his raised voice, stating his full title to add to the importance.

I'm....... Nathan attempted, but was cut short by the huge man mountain.

I don't care who you are, you need to leave and you need to leave now. Drop the axe, turn around and go back to your car!

Nathan looked at Garrett directly, letting the axe handle slip through his fingers and fall at his feet, taking two steps backwards he stopped. More movement, this time from behind and to the left of Garrett, no, could it be? Looked like a child, 6 maybe 8 years old Nathan thought, still wearing her bedtime onesie and walking towards Garrett. Nathan heard the suzi door open as Evie began to approach. She made an attempt at walking to the child but Nathan grabbed her arm, holding her back.

Evie.....WAIT! Look at her! he shouted.

The child was ashen faced, eyes so dark and fixed, staring blankly ahead and the onesie was now covered in dirt and dust from the site. She must have walked a good 2 miles to get here from the nearest residential area. Without warning, the child began to run at Garrett who turned to his left at the approaching sound, lifting his left arm to about waist height to fend off the youngster.

The girl seized his forearm and fingers with her small hands and sank her teeth deep into the fleshy part of Garrett’s left hand, just behind the little finger, biting hard enough to penetrate the skin and draw blood. Garrett winced and without thinking, his huge fisted right hand came crashing down into the temple of the girl with such force that it sent her skidding across the dirt, with her went a large section of Garrett's torn flesh.

She lay motionless with her head at a crazy angle, blood from the flesh in her mouth stained her chin and onesie. Garrett screamed in pain as the girl hit the hardtop, clutching his injured hand into his gut and shielding it with his right.

Garrett...........Garrett! Shouted Nathan, the big man had turned and began to head back to the site offices, bent over in pain.

I'm ok, need medibox he said, through clenched teeth.

They watched him walk slowly towards the offices, he made it perhaps 10 paces and then stopped in his tracks. His arms fell to his sides and for what seemed like minutes he stood, just stood. Evelyn and Nathan looked at one another quizzically, uncertain as to what to do next, Evie suppressing the urge to scream.

Garrett, are you alrig.......... she whimpered. The words trailing to silence as Garrett turned around to face them.

RUN! Nathan yelled at her as Garrett began to walk towards them.

He looked awful, his once purpled ruddy cheeks reduced to a pale grey, eyes as black as night, fixed and penetrating, no emotion, no words, just a low guttural growl emanating from somewhere deep within him. Picking up pace, the huge frame was now coming straight at Nathan and whatever had happened to him it wasn't good. The training from years ago kicked in, Nathan waited, counting the steps and then with one fluid movement, he shoulder rolled toward Garrett, picking up the axe as he rose and then swinging it with every ounce of force he could muster, in a pendulum curve down from his right shoulder up to his left. The pointed head of the axe buried itself deep under Garrett's chin, entering as far as the handle would allow, snapping the big man's head backwards as it hit home. Garrett stood still, as if his body were trying to work out what exactly had happened before Nathan heard Evie screaming uncontrollably behind him. He kept his eyes locked on Garrett with the axe embedded, the handle now horizontal to his chest. Garrett began to sway, his knees buckled and he toppled backwards with a sickening thud as he hit the ground, his hands and feet twitching as the electrical impulses of life left his body. Nathan waited until the twitching had ceased, cautiously stepping toward the slain foreman, tentatively prodding with his foot for any reaction but the man, or whatever he had become, was dead.

Turning back to look at Evelyn he shouted.

You’re ok? It was more of a statement than a question.

She didn't respond, she'd got out of the suzi and collapsed to her knees, placing her face in her hands, her head shaking gently from side to side while her shoulders juddered uncontrollably as she sobbed, struggling to believe what she had just witnessed. Nathan walked toward her, turning part way to make sure Chief Garrett hadn't moved, still there he thought. Reaching her he bent, placing his hands under her elbows and lifting her to him, pulling her close.

Evie? He said softly to her ear, Are you alright, are you hurt, can you move?

Wuh,wuh,wuh what in the hell is going on here? she eventually managed to sob.

Honey I don't know, what I do know is that we're not safe here and we need to leave now, if there are any more like the girl and Garrett we're sitting ducks the longer we hang around here, best not to take any chances given what we’ve seen.

We're screwed! she said, with a tone that verged on hysteria mixed with dreaded fear.

No, no we're not, we're still alive and I plan on staying that way for awhile yet, now get in the jeep, lock the doors and stay out of sight. I'm going to check the site office and see if I can get a handle on what's going on here, he said, kissing her forehead before closing the car door after her, signalling through the glass and waiting for the locks to engage.

Nathan walked slowly toward the site office, scanning the out- buildings and surrounding tree line as he headed for the open office door, peering around and hoping it was empty, it was. The small portakabin was fairly open plan, a couple of desks upon which sat laptop computers, bundles of plans, papers and schematic drawings and mounted on the wall, a fire extinguisher next to a first aid kit. He took the first aid kit and the laptops, not for the value but for the data they might hold, and as many of the plans as he could fold up, shoved under his arm. Leaving the site office, not wanting to push his luck any further, he approached the body of Brin Garrett, the axe handle now vertical. He placed the items he'd taken on the ground, put his right foot on Garrett's forehead and gripped both hands around the hickory handle of the axe. It had sunk surprisingly deep and he had to move it from side to side, hearing the jaw bone crack, to allow enough give to free the axe, it might come in useful given the turn of events.

Picking up the grounded items he returned to the suzi, knocking on the window as he drew closer, which made Evelyn tense up immediately as he waved through the glass.

Open the locks Evie. The doors clicked unlocked and he loaded up the boot before slamming it shut again.

Do you have your phone on you? Can you pass me my camera from the passenger foot well too? he asked.

Did you find anyone alive in there? she asked, in a much more calm and reasoned tone.

Who do you want to call?

Not me Evie, you, will you make a call to the local police, 999 or 111 should get you through, tell them what we have seen and warn them to come prepared, someone should know what to do. I'm gonna get a picture of Garrett, the girl and the damage to the well head if I can get close enough, then we're leaving. Honk the horn if you see anything moving, I won't be very long, as yet I’ve seen no other survivors which doesn't mean there aren't any.

He headed back to the fallen bodies, first the young girl, looking at her tiny body filled his very soul with sorrow, what had happened to her to bring her here, he wondered. The blow from Garrett had caught her with such force that it had snapped her neck, vertebrae and spinal cord instantly and mercifully, she would have been dead when she hit the ground. He looked closer at the body, photographing from every angle before turning toward Garrett and again, rattling off multiple shots from all angles and in doing so, noticed something quite bizarre. There was no blood, from the wound he had inflicted with the axe; there was no blood at all. At the point of entry there was only a black, what looked like jelly substance, no spatter and no droplets just the jelly-like substance at the wound.

Back at the jeep, Evie thought about making a call to the police, what would she say though? That she had been told of an industrial accident, had come to take a look and ran into half-dead zombies who had attacked them? They would surely think she had lost the plot, would ask her if she'd been drinking or taken any drugs. No, she would call and tell them she had seen something suspicious at the well head, kids messing about maybe, they would likely send a patrol and it would escalate from there. She dialled 999, the emergency operator went through the motions, her name, location and which service please, then connected her to the nearest local police station which she thought would be Leeds. As the ringing tone echoed in her ear she saw something move ahead of her, only a glimpse but she was sure something moved. She hung up the phone and strained at the windscreen, trying to see through the traffic film and dust covered glass, peering almost until her nose touched the screen. Without warning the car shook and she screamed. Glaring back at her was a pair of cold, dead black eyes, emotionless, what used to be a man, she could see tattered overalls and the stone grey tinge of his face. He mounted the bonnet and began pounding the roof with fists and feet, totally oblivious to the pain the impacts would have caused. Evie hit the horn in a long loud blast, sidling from the passenger seat to the driver's side and grasping at the ignition keys, panic setting in now. She blasted the horn once more, frantically trying to grip the keys to start the engine, finally managing to turn the starter and allowing the old diesel engine to cough into life.

The half-dead man atop the bonnet began to kick at the windscreen, teeth bared in a wild grimace. Evie slammed the car into reverse and punched the accelerator to the floor, popping the clutch as the car lurched backwards, sending her assailant spinning head over tail into the ground. She hit the brakes, slammed it into first and floored it, changing gears a split second before the 2 tonne jeep ploughed into the prone man. She felt the THUMP, THUMP as the wheels ran over him, the panic of her thoughts almost sending her into the side of a storage hut. Skidding to a halt she checked the rear-view mirror, unbelievably the creature still lived and was attempting to sit up, the weight of the car must have broken its legs but it still had intentions of coming after her.

Pulling the gearstick to her right and back, the car juddered as it once again found reverse gear, she pushed her foot down as far as it would go, the wheels spinning up dust as they fought for traction before finally biting and catapulting the car rearward, it slammed into the creatures head. Two tonnes of 4 x 4 complete with tow bar, the impact imploding the face of the prone attacker, dragging the body beneath the car as the tow bar embedded itself in his skull. The car careered backwards, finally coming to a halt having rammed up and over a log barrier, preventing accidental drainage ditch entry. The body beneath the car came to rest bent over the log, wedged by the weight of the jeep, Evie didn't wait for possible movement, engaging first she powered forwards, back over the log, dislodging the now dead man and putting some distance between her and it. Coming to a stop meters from the site hut, she hit the horn with such force it actually hurt her hand, papping furiously until she saw Nathan running toward her.

Opening the passenger door from the inside she yelled, almost hysterically GET IN!!!! Nathan didn't argue, Evie hit the gas before he could close his door which clunked shut with the inertia as the car raced for the track road exit.

"Evie SLOW DOWN! This car isn't like yours, what happened?" He said, clutching the side of his seat as the big old jeep bounced over the rutted track road. Evie kept going until she made the main road, only backing off the power to slow for the turn out, she tried to speak but nothing would come out.

I...It....I

It's ok we're safe now, pull over said Nathan.

Evie brought the car to a halt, the engine spluttering to silence and then she began to shake, the tears forming in her eyes and when Nathan leant over toward her she practically fell into him, squeezing him tightly as she sobbed. After a good few minutes she pulled away and began to tell of what had happened, her voice faltering at first, recalling the creature she had seen and killed. There were so many questions that Nathan couldn't answer but he listened to her until she had nothing left to tell, then he pulled her close and held her awhile until she regained some sort of composure.

We'll head for my place, pick up supplies, stay away from the towns until we know how widespread this has become, we'll be fairly secluded there for awhile and it will give us a chance to examine the papers and laptops I took from the site, trade places, I’ll drive he said.

Evie nodded in approval, remaining silent for the entire 10 mile journey and still trying to get the images of that thing out of her mind, to rationalise it in some small way but there was no rationale, no sense to it at all. The drive back to Nathan's house was a cautious process, in the distance towards the town, they could see plumes of black smoke rising and it became clear that whatever had taken over the men and the girl at the well head, had also begun to emanate outwards to the surrounding areas. Approaching his home, Nathan spoke softly.

We're here. I could use a hand with the stuff in the back.

Chapter 2 - Out-break

His home was a rural small-holding consisting of the central farm house with one outbuilding, set in about 4 acres and surrounded by high old oaks and coniferous species. The main house was two storey, old world wooden window frames looked like they could do with a fresh coat of paint and climber plants had made their home high up the end wall, with designs on rooting into the roof. Uneven cobblestone bricks gave away the age of the building and the chimney stack on the far end wasn't quite straight, Evie thought.

They took the various items from the boot, leaving the axe where it was for now. They headed to the front door which was a two stage split opening type, the key unlocking the top half, allowing access to the bolted lower section. Nathan set the maps and plans down on the kitchen table, placing the liberated first aid kit next to them. Evie followed behind slowly, allowing time for her eyes to adjust to the stark low light of the kitchen. She placed both laptops next to the plans and stared at them.

Evie? he said, You alright? How 'bout I make us a drink? Make yourself at home, bathroom is up the stairs there first on the right if you need it. Tea, coffee or something a little stronger? he asked jokingly, trying to take her mind off the well head events.

I, I need to use the bathroom first, do you have vodka? she said, so quietly that Nathan struggled to hear.

Surprised by the request, he moved to get two small tumblers as Evie made her way up the creaking wooden stairs to the bathroom. From below, Nathan could hear the water sloshing into the deep old washbasin, and remembered that it had been awhile since he'd had a good clean up. He'd bought the small farm house and surrounding land with his wife Katelyn ten years ago almost to the day, having moved from London to get out of the faster paced big city life. Working as a Commodities Advisor for an investment bank group had meant long hours though the rewards had been great, a good salary and some wise investments had secured a modest income for the rest of his life. The economy back then was much stronger and he'd been fortunate to get out before the house of cards began to crumble. They had looked for a rural home together, it was to be their retreat with a view to raising a family, but fate had a different agenda. His wife Katelyn had been a designer, working mainly in the fashion industry in charge of lucrative high end fashion lines and occasionally with the Ministry of Defence. They were both busy active people who had found each other against all odds, she had captured his heart and mind after only a few weeks of dating, he recalled. They had married two years to the day after their first encounter, on a beautiful summer’s morning in the local church, with just a small select group of friends, colleagues and family present, it had been the best day Nathan could remember and oh how he had loved her.

The farm house had needed quite a bit of work when they took it on, so together on weekends off they would work to make it their own and Nathan loved the creative female touches that Katelyn would incorporate, she was vibrant, full of life. In late November three years ago, on a water-drenched stretch of road heading back to the farm, Katelyn's car had come face to face with a vehicle driven by a newly passed driver. Given the weather conditions, the inexperienced youngster had been travelling much too fast, as was the practice on country roads and no doubt showing off to the two friends in the car with him and with no room to pass, Katelyn had veered to her left which, in hindsight didn't help her. The oncoming car struck the driver’s front quarter, peeling back the bodywork from the chassis and shearing the engine mounts, sending the car rolling side over side almost 50 yards, Katelyn died instantly. The other car bounced from the impact, hitting a solid old oak and still travelling in excess of 40mph, the crash investigators had ascertained. Two of the three lads in the other vehicle were also killed instantly and the driver died at the scene an hour later, despite the best attempts of the medics to save him. Such a waste of life, in that instant, Nathan's perfect world had disintegrated into a million fragments that would take many a sleepless night and many an empty bottle to come to terms with. Nathan poured two good sized shots of vodka into the glasses, downing one and refilling it, the alcohol making its fiery descent into his empty stomach.

Upstairs Evie stared blankly at the mirror over the basin, searching her own eyes for some sort of answer. She ran the cold water, waiting until the tepid stream had been replaced by the flow from the header tank, cupping her hands and leaning over, she pulled water up to press into her face, the coolness of the liquid making her gasp and kick starting her senses once more. She dried using a towel that smelled faintly of shaving foam, being sure to fold it neatly and replace it on the towel rail before heading back downstairs.

There you are he said, as she tentatively peeked around the corner.

Here, get this down you, it'll put a fire in your gut for sure, handing her a glass from the table.

What are we going to do? she asked, after slugging the vodka, her voice stronger now as if the vodka had given her back lost courage.

Nathan unfolded the plans from the site office and laid them out on the table, then rifled through the bundle of files hoping to strike lucky, but they were mostly invoices for materials, progress schedules and what appeared to be some sort of register. Upon further inspection, it became apparent that the register was a detailed file of the employees contracted to work on the site, the shift patterns and various block charts relating to productivity against cost.

Take a look through these Evie and see if you can find out what they had been doing at the well head, how many people were on shift at the time of the incident and any information relating to Salby. I'm going to fire up those laptops and see what they can tell us. He said, sitting on a chunky wooden chair and pushing the button to initialise the computer.

After going through the start-up process, the computer screen briefly flashed up the SGFC company logo before the cursor settled mid-screen, opposite desktop saved file folders, fortunately there had been no access password on this machine. Double-clicking on the files revealed numerous charts, graphs and statistical data, none of which made a great deal of sense to Nathan however, one such file contained an outlined underground survey of the town of Salby. He studied the file plan there, noticing that at the very edge of the town, the detailed depth and composite information had no entries logged, very strange, he thought. At the site of the well head the same file listed soil sample recordings at various depths, analytical data of substances found, deep well extraction sample data along with recommendations for directional exploration to follow, yet underneath the town itself no data had been collected or if it had, it wasn't there to be seen. He tried searching the laptop for hidden file folders, returning with a none found message then puzzled by his findings, he turned to Evie.

You found anything yet?

Evie looked up from the register, It was B Shift working when the well head exploded, in all 120 men and women, mostly surface based. They had been pumping chemicals into the well head to dissolve the rock, along with high pressure water jetting. According to the town plans here, they had bored down to around one kilometre before heading west at ninety degrees, towards the town boundary. The last log entry I can find was at the beginning of the shift at midnight last night, it shows that a 2 mile tunnel had been cut through the rock, releasing evidence of some shale gas, which had been stored for purity testing. The plans indicate a seam of gas pockets in the general direction of the tunnel, going towards the town boundary which is where they must have reached by the time of the explosion.

I can find no records on this laptop that show surveys under the town, yet here..... tapping his finger on the open site map, at the well head site, there are tons of files and figures, even soil sample references. Why would they blatantly drill into an area that hadn't been surveyed? he asked.

He stood to turn on the TV, maybe there would be a news report that could shed more light, or at least confirm that someone had reported the initial explosion.

Did you manage to get through to the police before the attack Evie?

She looked straight at him with the fear of the recall evident in her eyes. Nathan already regretted having asked the question.

"I....I made the call, had been transferred to the local police station but the phone just kept ringing, it came at the car while I was