Reunion

By Tony Bayliss

In 1975, a school party is on a trip down a local coal mine when the mine collapses, killing all but two. These two, Richard, a teacher, and Rachel a sixth form student, eventually escape from the mine by climbing up the lift shaft. On reaching the top, they discover the cause of the collapse: there has been a nuclear war and, instead of emerging to a sunny June day, there is a nuclear winter.They go to Nottingham, a ruined city, where they meet Frank, who has survived by living in a cave, together with children he has saved. The streets are run by gun-toting thugs, led by the notorious 'Beano'.Beano's gang invades Frank's cave, killing some of the children, and taking Rachel away to be a sex slave. Richard eventually rescues Rachel, but only after she has been raped by gang members. Rachel is mentally damaged by the experience, and turns to prostitution in order to survive in a city where looted shops are running short of supplies. Richard decides to join a commune in North Wales, taking Rachel with him, but she turns back, deciding that she prefers to stay with Frank and her 'friends' in the city.Meanwhile, at Valewood Comprehensive School, a memorial service is being held for Richard and Rachel who, it turns out, were the only two fatalities in the mine collapse, everyone else having survived. Their bodies were never found, so Rachel's mother, and Richard's girlfriend, Priscilla, refuse to believe they are dead.Twenty-five years later, on Millennium Eve, Richard goes to the square in Nottingham where it was agreed he would meet Rachel again. Also there, is Rachel's mother, and Priscilla, both hoping that Richard and Rachel will be at the meeting. All four are there, but none of them see one another because either they are unrecognisable, or they now exist in different universes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1702304914
• ISBN13: 9781702304917
• Release Date: October 2019
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"