Last Light
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 - 8.05 a.m. GMT BBC, Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 2 - 8.19 a.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 3 - 8.31 a.m. GMT University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich
CHAPTER 4 - 11.44 a.m. local time Pump station IT-1B
CHAPTER 6 - 12.35 p.m. GMT Manchester
CHAPTER 7 - 3.37 p.m. local time Desert, Salah Ad Din Region, Iraq
CHAPTER 8 - 12.38 p.m. GMT UEA, Norwich
CHAPTER 9 - 6.42 p.m. local time Road leading to Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 10 - 9.21 p.m. local time Road leading to Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 11 - 8.33 p.m. GMT UEA, Norwich
CHAPTER 12 - 11.55 p.m. GMT Whitehall, London
CHAPTER 13 - 5 a.m. local time Road leading to Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 14 - 6.57 a.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 15 - 7.21 a.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 16 - 8 a.m. GMT Manchester
CHAPTER 17 - 11 a.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 18 - 11.18 a.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 19 - 8.21 a.m. GMT UEA, Norwich
CHAPTER 20 - 11.22 a.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 21 - 8.55 a.m. UEA, Norwich
CHAPTER 22 - 8.57 a.m. GMT UEA, Norwich
CHAPTER 23 - 9.41 a.m. GMT Manchester
CHAPTER 24 - 9.45 a.m. GMT UEA, Norwich
CHAPTER 25 - 11.37 a.m. GMT North Finchley, London
CHAPTER 26 - 12.30 p.m. GMT Whitehall, London
CHAPTER 27 - 3.42 p.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 28 - 12.57 p.m. GMT Hammersmith, London
CHAPTER 29 - 1.30 p.m. GMT Whitehall, London
CHAPTER 30 - 1.37 p.m. GMT Whitehall, London
CHAPTER 31 - 2.15 p.m. GMT Hammersmith, London
CHAPTER 32 - 2.45 p.m. GMT M6 motorway, north of Birmingham
CHAPTER 33 - 10 p.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 34 - 7.23 p.m. GMT Between Manchester and Birmingham
CHAPTER 35 - 10.24 p.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 36 - 7.40 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 37 - 10.41 p.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 38 - 7.46 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 39 - 10.50 p.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 40 - 7.52 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 41 - 7.53 p.m. GMT Between Manchester and Birmingham
CHAPTER 42 - 10.53 p.m. local time Al-Bayji, Iraq
CHAPTER 43 - 5 a.m. GMT Between Manchester and Birmingham
CHAPTER 44 - 11.31 a.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 45 - 12.15 p.m. GMT Beauford Service Station
CHAPTER 46 - 2 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 47 - 2.01 p.m. GMT Hammersmith, London
CHAPTER 48 - 2.05 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 49 - 5 p.m. local time Northern Iraq
CHAPTER 50 - 2.30 p.m. GMT Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (COBRA), London
CHAPTER 51 - 3 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 52 - 3.47 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 53 - 8.51 p.m. GMT South of London
CHAPTER 54 - 11.57 p.m. local time Northern Iraq
CHAPTER 55 - 10.03 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 56 - 7 a.m. local time The Turkey/Iraq border
CHAPTER 57 - 10 a.m. GMT Beauford Service Station
CHAPTER 58 - 9.12 p.m. local time Southern Turkey
CHAPTER 59 - 6 p.m. GMT Beauford Service Station
CHAPTER 60 - 6.11 p.m. GMT Beauford Service Station
CHAPTER 61 - 6.15 p.m. GMT Beauford Service Station
CHAPTER 62 - 9.51 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 63 - 11.43 p.m. GMT Beauford Service Station
CHAPTER 64 - 11.46 p.m. GMT Beauford Service Station
CHAPTER 65 - 3 a.m. local time Southern Turkey
CHAPTER 66 - 3.25 a.m. local time Southern Turkey
CHAPTER 67 - 4 a.m. local time Southern Turkey
CHAPTER 70 - 12.31 a.m. EST New York, USA
CHAPTER 71 - 7.31 a.m. GMT Guildford
CHAPTER 72 - 7.51 a.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 73 - 4.23 p.m. GMT Outskirts of London
CHAPTER 74 - 10.27 p.m. local time Over Europe
CHAPTER 75 - 10.05 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 76 - 10.09 p.m. GMT London
CHAPTER 77 - 10.11 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 78 - 11.59 p.m. GMT Guildford
CHAPTER 79 - 4.21 a.m. GMT Heathrow, London
CHAPTER 80 - 10.03 a.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 81 - 11.35 a.m. GMT Heathrow, London
CHAPTER 82 - 2.32 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 83 - 9 p.m. GMT Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (COBRA), London
CHAPTER 84 - 9.15 p.m. GMT London
CHAPTER 85 - 9.51 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 86 - 10.25 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 87 - 11.36 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 88 - 11.54 p.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
CHAPTER 89 - 12.01 a.m. GMT Shepherd’s Bush, London
Jenny twisted in her seat and studied the pavilion anxiously, half-expecting a swarm of people to suddenly emerge from it and charge them down, hell-bent on pulling them out of the car and ripping their throats out.
My God, doesn’t this feel just like that . . . Like one of those crazy zombie movies?
This whole situation was like some post-apocalyptic scenario; the glimmering firelight from the bonfire, the debris and detritus strewn across the tarmac, the flickering torchlight and the frantically scrabbling crowd inside the building, the noise, the chaos.
Paul drove across the car-park towards the exit leading on to the slip-road that led out to the motorway and headed south once more.
She watched the service station in the wing mirror until it disappeared from view.
My God, this is how it is after only four days.
Alex Scarrow lives a nomadic existence with his wife Frances and his son Jacob, their current home being Norwich. He spent the first 10 years out of college in the music industry chasing record deals and the next 12 years in the computer games business. His previous novel -
A Thousand Suns
- is also available from Orion paperbacks. Visit his website at
www.scarrow.co.uk
.
By Alex Scarrow
A Thousand Suns
Last Light
AN ORION EBOOK
First published in Great Britain in 2007 by Orion
This ebook first published in 2010 by Orion Books
Copyright © Alex Scarrow 2007
The moral right of Alex Scarrow to be identified as the author
of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All the characters in this book are fictitious,
and any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.
eISBN : 978 1 4091 2454 2
This ebook produced by Jouve, France
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Orion House
5 Upper Saint Martin’s Lane
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For my son Jacob, smart, imaginative . . . and maybe one day, competition. I love you man.
For Jacob’s eyes only:
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FADNSRMPR
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Acknowledgements
There’s a small list of people that deserve a mention for the help they gave me in putting together this book. There’s no particular order in which I want to do this, so I’ll dive right on in.
Robin Carter for extensive proofing and valuable comments. Yes . . . his name does appear in the book as you, dear reader, will soon see. Obviously for legal reasons, I need to say something about this being utterly coincidental and any resemblance . . . blah, blah, blah. A damn good character name that. I also want to thank Andy Canty for his proof reading and comments as well, and again . . . that’s another Christian name that has turned up in the book! Funny old world.
My thanks also go out to someone I can’t name for security reasons, who gave me some useful ‘on the streets’ details of life in Iraq. He knows I’m thanking him anonymously like this, and that’s how it needs to be.
I want to thank my wife, Frances, for reading the first draft. I must extend my apologies for making her cry with the second draft. Her comments were many and varied; you’ll never truly know how valuable her feedback is. Dad, Tony, and brother, Simon, thanks you two for your encouragement. Additional thanks go to Jerry Stutters for some background military details.
Finally, a thank you to my editor, Jon Wood, and agent, Eugenie Furniss, for working with me on this and helping me to finesse the story and take it up to the next level.