A Day to Forget

Posted on Sat Jun 7th, 2025 @ 12:46pm by Albert 'Bert' Smith

1,672 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Before
Location: London
Timeline: 12th September, 2010

0600 Hours

“All hospitals in London have been closed until further notice and the roads leading up to them have been cordoned off. The Army has been brought in to guard the cordon lines.

This has also been the case across the whole of the United Kingdom with the Army being brought in to help Police keep people from getting in and out of the cordon zone.

We’ve also received unconfirmed reports that there are similar countries across the world. Cities such as Washington, Atlanta, Berlin and Paris have all brought in Police or Army personnel to guard hospitals.

The British Government has released a statement saying there is no cause for alarm and that these are precautionary steps which have been taken. However, they are yet to confirm what has been the medical problem or outbreak.

This is Linda Newland for London’s BBC Radio News.”

The radio went dead as the car ignition was turned off. Bert picked up his McDonald’s coffee and finished off the dregs. His added extra of whiskey was a well received pick me up for the early morning.

He pulled down his sun visor and took out the picture of his pregnant wife. He gave it a kiss, as he usually did, before replacing it in the visor and closing it. He grabbed a stick of gum and pushed it into mouth before doing his top button up and pulling his work tie up to make him look smart and presentable.

He got out of his car and locked it before heading across his works yard and into the office.

“What’s so important you have to call me up at half 3 in the morning and get me in on my day off?” He asked in a grumpy tone.

“Morning Albert.” Said Betty who sat in the job allocator's seat. “I’m sorry but the powers that be forgot they had a special sightseeing job come in. A group of Americans want to see the sights without the rest of the tourists spoiling their view.”

He picked up the job sheet and skimmed through its contents. “You’re giving me the beast?” He said with a roll of his eyes. “It’ll be lucky to make it to the hotel pick up, let alone driving it around town.”

The beast was the nickname for the 15 year old open top double deck bus which currently sat in one corner of the yard. Everyone hated driving it, it was rumoured that the owners only kept it so the drivers would keep the normal fleet in good condition.

Betty shrugged, “What can I say, Albert? This is the job. I don’t do vehicle allocation, I do work allocation.”

“Peter John! For fuck sake, no!” Bert said unimpressed with the tour guide he’d been assigned. “The bloke is a proper tosser, hell, I drive and do the talking.”

“You know that’s not allowed.” Betty said, looking at Albert over her glasses. “Health and Safety.”

Bert rolled his eyes, “what about letting me take the duchess out for a spin then?” He asked, looking at the brand new double deck coach sitting in the workshop.

“Ha! You’ll be lucky! Besides, it still needs to be registered with the DVLA and have the legals and sign writing done. I’m sure you’ll get your chance eventually.” Betty said after chuckling.

“Morning all.” A voice from behind. Bert turned to see Peter standing at the door. “I hear it’s me and you on this job, Alf. Are you ready? Should be fun as I hear London city is getting proper shit with all the road closures and looters.”

“Looters?” Bert said with surprise. “I heard on the news as I came in they’d brought the Army in to cordon off the hospitals. Great timing for some yanks wanting a tour of the city.” He said with a roll of his eyes.

“They’ve paid good money, Albert. Try your best to accommodate them.” Replied Betty.

“What if I can’t get them anywhere?” Smith asked.

“Then take ‘em back to the hotel.” Peter said with a laugh.

“I just don’t want to be stuck babysitting a bus full of yanks if I can’t get them back.” Bert said with a shrug. “Alright, I’m going for a piss then we can get going.” He added before heading to use the facilities.

0800 Hours

”...all flights have been grounded until further notice. If you are meant to be travelling today you’re being advised to stay at home and not head to the airports.

The government has confirmed that the outbreak of rage flu which has hit the country was worse than first thought but believe they finally have it under control. You’re being advised to keep away from public places to help not spread the virus.

In other news, there have been reports of groups of people attacking individuals. The police are trying to keep a lid on the violence, however, they’ve asked for help from the military as they’re very undermanned as they’re dealing with hospital cordons, looters and now these attacks. This is Gordon Jameson for LBC News.”

Bert turned the radio off after the news finished. “Well, the news is nice and depressing today.” He commented as he continued to drive the open top double decker into central London.

“Yeah.” Peter replied as he stood next to the driver's cab. “Seems very quiet for a Wednesday morning commute time.” He added as he looked at the empty roads in front of them.

“Perhaps people are heeding the government's warnings and staying at home today. I get the feeling I should have as well.” Bert replied as he turned a corner and was met with a police cordon. “Shit!” He said as he slammed the brakes on.

In the distance they could see armed police dealing with what looked like a group of people attacking them. Suddenly the police opened fire into the group.

“Get us out of here. Go the other way to the hotel.” Peter said.

“I hope they’re using rubber bullets.” Smith said as he quickly put the bus into reverse and backed out of the street before heading around the cordon to the hotel.

Ten minutes later they arrived outside the hotel. “I’ll go in and see if the group is ready.” Peter said as opened the front doors via the emergency button.

Bert turned the bus off and got out of the cab to stretch his legs. Another sight seeing bus drove past and he waved as drivers did. He stepped off and pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it before replacing the packet into his pocket. He looked up at the cloudy sky, he had a really bad feeling about this day. He hoped he was wrong.

1145 Hours

Bert stood outside his bus and puffed on his cigarette. The tour group were off the bus taking a closer look at the Tower of London. Peter was with them, probably talking a load of old bollocks as usual.

He still couldn’t believe how quiet the city was for a Wednesday. They’d seen quite a few cars packed up and driving quickly past them but the streets were mostly dead. The odd person wandering aimlessly around but that was it.

He pulled out his iPhone to see what the time was. ’11.45’ He thought to himself. ’No signal that’s odd’.

“Hey, are you about ready to go?” He turned to see Peter walking towards him.

Bert nodded, “The yanks ready to go?” He said as he chucked his fag butt into the road.

“Yeah. They’re a little pissed they can’t see Westminster and St. Paul’s.” Peter replied.

“What can I do? They’ve been cordoned off. All coz of a bad strain of flu.” Bert said as he stepped onto the bus with a shrug of his shoulders. “Where to next?” He asked as he settled himself into his seat and started the bus up.

“Let’s take ‘em back to the hotel. This is pointless.” Peter replied with a shrug.

“Alright,” Bert replied. “You can tell them the bad news though.” He said with a smirk.

1300 Hours

Smith turned the wheel of the bus to turn into their yard. Only a few cars were left in the car park and all the company vehicles looked like they’d been abandoned.

“What the fuck is this?” Peter said, looking at the state of the yard.

“Got no hope of getting near the fuel pump with all these in the way and im sure as hell not moving all of them.” Bert said as he came to a stop and put the handbrake on. He opened the cab door, as he watched Betty come out of the office.

“What the fucks going on?” Bert asked, gesturing to the other buses and coaches.

“Albert, Peter, I need to tell you something.” She said as she approached. “The company has had all of its work cancelled for the next 6 months. They’re closing. You’re being laid off.” Betty said.

“What? They can’t do that without any notice! Peter said as he got off the bus behind Bert.

“The fuck you talking about girl.” Bert added, angrily.

“They can and they have. This flu has everyone worried. Everything is being cancelled.” She replied with a shrug. “Last wages and a thank you will be paid into your banks on Friday. I’m sorry.”

Bert pulled out a cigarette and lit it, which was against company policy. He didn’t care. Without another word he pulled off his tie, dropped it on the floor as he headed to his car. Home via the off-license was the only way to deal with this bollocks.

 

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