Book 24 - An Imperfect Utopia, page 1
An Imperfect Utopia
Surviving the Evacuation
Book 24
Frank Tayell
Reading Order & Copyright
Surviving the Evacuation, Book 24: A Fragile Utopia
The harvest happens every year.
Published by Frank Tayell
Copyright 2025
All rights reserved.
All people and (most) events are fictional
Science Fiction
Brawl of the Worlds 1: First Contact, 2: Wish You Were Here
Work. Rest. Repeat.
Strike a Match - A Post-Apocalyptic Detective Series
1. Serious Crimes, 2. Counterfeit Conspiracy
3. Endangered Nation, 4. Over By Christmas
5: Thin Ice
Surviving The Evacuation / Here We Stand / Life Goes On
Book 1: London
Book 2: Wasteland
Zombies vs the Living Dead
Book 3: Family
Book 4: Unsafe Haven
Book 5: Reunion
Book 6: Harvest
Book 7: Home
Here We Stand 1: Infected, 2: Divided
Book 8: Anglesey
Book 9: Ireland
Book 10: The Last Candidate
Book 11: Search and Rescue
Book 12: Britain’s End
Book 13: Future’s Beginning
Book 14: Mort Vivant
Book 15: Where There’s Hope
Book 16: Unwanted Visitors, Unwelcome Guests
Life Goes On 1: Outback Outbreak
Life Goes On 2: No More News
Life Goes On 3: While the Lights Are On
Life Goes On 4: If Not Us
Life Goes On 5: No Turning Back
Book 17: There We Stood
Book 18: Rebuilt in a Day
Book 19: Welcome to the End of the Earth
Book 20: Small Cogs in the Survival Machine
Book 21: Our Home, Too
Book 22: Letters From Yesterday
Book 23: One Minute More
Book 24: An Imperfect Utopia
To join the mailing list, and be among the first to know about new titles, click here:
http://eepurl.com/brl1A1
For more information, visit:
http://www.FrankTayell.com
http://www.facebook.com/FrankTayell
Synopsis
As a new nation is born, a second apocalypse looms.
Water, shelter, food. Those three words have come to consume Kim Wright’s life as she takes charge of for the returning evacuees. Three simple words that encompass so much. Fields have to be cleared, houses repaired, a hospital established, a school opened, fishing boats built, electricity restored, and so much more. The list seems endless if they are to avoid another Dark Age, but she wants to do more than just preserve the old civilisation. They could rebuild better, if only given the chance.
For Bill, only recently returned from the final evacuation of Quebec, the major challenge should be creating a new government for these survivors of many nations. But the piratical fanatics have followed them across a continent, bringing war to their new home. A final battle looms in which they will either achieve victory, or see all they’ve created destroyed and thus end humanity’s last chance for survival.
Etienne has a different quest, one which has consumed him since the beginning of the outbreak. In his heart, he knows his wife, Maggs, is alive. Even on the eve of war, he won’t abandon the search.
A story of love, hope, and loss as the final battle nears.
.
Table of Contents
Dramatis Personae
The Story So Far
Prologue: The Court of the Pirate Queen
Part 1: The Evacuees Return
Chapter 1 - An Englishman’s Home
Chapter 2 - School Dinners
Chapter 3 - The New White House
Chapter 4 - Sentenced to the Marine Corps
Chapter 5 - The Inauguration
Chapter 6 - The First Lady
Chapter 7 - An Evacuation in Reverse
Chapter 8 - Water, Shelter, Food
Chapter 9 - Promises Made
Part 2: Umbrellas and Jazz Clubs
Chapter 10 - Never Work with Family
Chapter 11 - A Punch in the Guts
Chapter 12 - Ponchos and Crosses
Part 3: The Winter Blossom
Chapter 13 - Of Eggs and Presidents
Chapter 14 - Leave Only Memories, Bring Only Hope
Chapter 15 - Beyond the Sign of the Dragon
Chapter 16 - The Naval Union
Chapter 17 - A Necessary Massacre
Chapter 18 - The Chicken Blinked
Chapter 19 - 1798
Part 4: Vaults and Canals
Chapter 20 - The Freedom of Open Waters
Chapter 21 - Clothes Shopping
Chapter 22 - Accidental Eavesdropping
Chapter 23 - Watching Death
Chapter 24 - All Along the Water Tower
Chapter 25 - A Pirate’s Cross
Chapter 26 - The Court of the Gods
Chapter 27 - A Haunted House
Chapter 28 - The Future of Music
Part 5: Cascadia
Chapter 29 - The Inevitable Apocalypse
Chapter 30 - The Promise of Gold
Chapter 31 - Ten or Ten Million
Chapter 32 - Benton Aerospace
Chapter 33 - A Letter from Yesterday
Chapter 34 - Be Careful What You Shop For
Chapter 35 - The Requiem
Chapter 36 - Five Minute Countdown
Chapter 37 - Thirteen Bedrolls
Part 6: Water, Shelter, Food
Chapter 38 - Food in the Darkness
Chapter 39 - Anticipating the Harvest
Chapter 40 - Questions from Afar
Chapter 41 - Midsummer Blossom
Chapter 42 - Hidden Fountains
Chapter 43 - After the Storm
Epilogue - An Accidental Defeat
Other Titles
Dramatis Personae
A non-exhaustive list of the characters in this novel.
Despite the imminent inauguration of Admiral Janet Gunderson as president of the United States, and the smoother ascension of Napatchie Ashoona to the prime ministership of Canada, North America is far from a dual political entity. While Napatchie has taken over administration of Fort St John, ably assisted by Rahinder Singh, Janet’s primary focus is establishing medical provision for their scattered communities.
Chief Joseph Seward was selected to be the Canadians’ PM by the exiles whilst still in Australia, though he has since happily demoted himself to the management of Vancouver Island, assisted by his wife, Judge Wendy Seward. The principal mainland harbour in Bellingham is run by Major Thelonious Toussaint and his Marine Corps. Heather, who’d taken over Menai Bridge just after the outbreak, now runs a monolithic union which controls their fishing fleet and every associated industry. While Tom and Minnie gave up their trading post in Alma, they plan to create a new mobile trading empire just as soon as they can begin mining an old city for much-needed supplies. Nilda and Chester still run the orphanage and school but have had administration of the hospital and hospice added to their responsibilities. At least they have Eamonn, Greta, Kevin, Aisha, Mustafa, and a dozen others to help them. They don’t have Jay, though, since after his journey across Canada, he spends his every waking minute with Catherine ‘Heppy’ Ferny.
Pete and Olivia Guinn, and Pete’s sister Corrie, have settled in Charlie Lake, near Fort St John, with three thousand survivors from Otter Rapids, and are still looking for a permanent home.
Before the outbreak, Bill Wright lived and breathed governance. He’d grown up in the household of Lord Masterton, a man whose family didn’t so much play politics as conduct it. To Bill, managing the disparate power groups within their nascent society comes as naturally as breathing. While nominally the chief of staff to Janet and Napatchie, Bill’s position in their cabinet-based government of many nations is very much the first among equals.
However, for the last two months, he has been running the evacuation of Eastern Canada from Nova Scotia, then Quebec, and then in the rear-guard of the long column driving across the northern wasteland. Filling the position in the Pacific Northwest fell, by default, to Kim, along with parenting responsibilities for Annette and Daisy. All she had to do was establish the new American capital on San Juan Island; settle the easterners in the Skagit River Valley, around Cooking Lake, and in Fort St John; supply and manage the expectations of the survivors they’d found in Concrete, Diablo Lake, and the Olympic National Park; support Rahinder’s work in creating a new oil empire in Fort St John; and oversee the resettlement of exiled Canadians on Vancouver Island. And as each day brought more evacuees from the east, and each week brought flights of North American exiles returning from Australia, her workload only increased.
The new White House has a very small staff. The chief usher, Nabila Nahon, oversees the soldier-gardeners recruited from among the pilgrims. Lieutenant Miller commands the small detachment of Marines. That leaves only Hazel, a teenage survivor from Birmingham, as Kim’s administrative assistant and as nanny to Daisy and Annette when required. Bill’s brother, Sholto, helps, though as he views politics as a nail and himself as a hammer, his suggestions aren’t always the most practical.
With the Pacific Alliance focused on the war along Thailand’s border, their presence in North America has be
Jonas has finally been able to retire as a detective, for the second time, leaving policing the islands to Fatima Khalil, Magdalena MacDonald, and the other members of the RCMP. But any hopes of a quiet retirement have been dashed by his wife, Martha, who’s been scheming with Janet for them both to get a promotion.
Tuck and Sorcha Locke, along with Lisa Kempton, joined the ships sailing to Rome, Jerusalem, and Mecca. News of the pilgrimage should reach Australia in about two weeks. With the increased number of flights from the Southern Hemisphere, it should reach the far north soon after.
Scott Higson, at one time merely a pilot stranded in Britain hoping to find a way home, is now the confidant of Oswald Owen, prime minister of Australia, and de facto Leader of the Survived World.
On the other side of America, Dr Tippichandra rules her empire with an iron fist, but the other hand tied behind her back. Had she known General Denning was undergoing treatment for a malignant brain tumour, she would never have partnered with him. Now, as the general’s condition worsens, she is forced to deal with Denning’s deputy, Captain Pakhaüser, and her cultish followers.
Etienne Espoir and his cousin John, care nothing for politics, nor for pirates, but only for finding Etienne’s lost love, Maggs.
The Story So Far
San Juan Island, 2nd July
“And this lake is called Llyn Ogwen,” Annette said, as she leaned her bike against the old wooden fence.
“How come there’s a Welsh name for a lake on San Juan Island?” Jay asked as he rested his bike behind hers. “Shouldn’t it have a Spanish name? Or one from a First Nations language?”
“I think you mean Native American, since this was the United States,” Annette said as she climbed over the fence. “But I think Tash would want us to say a Salish language because this whole land belonged to the Salish Peoples, which actually is going to make renaming things a lot easier after we squish the Canadian and American governments together. When we got here it was called Sportsman’s Lake, but me and Tash didn’t think that was exactly inclusive, so we renamed it after the lake near Camlann. Since she’s cool with it, I think we’re okay.”
“Llyn Ogwen? Oh, you mean where King Arthur lobbed his sword after the battle. Yeah, I’ve got it now.”
“I wanted to rename the island Camelot, but Janet said no,” Annette said. “Apparently it has connotations. Sholto pitched Washington SJI, but that sounds like a disease, so we’re stuck with San Juan Island, for now. Don’t forget the picnic.”
Jay unclipped the panniers. Two of them, packed and prepared by the catering staff in the vineyard that was being turned into a new White House. They weren’t so heavy, though he did note Annette was only carrying a small bag. Even more notably, she wasn’t wearing a gun. He was. Two of them, plus his bayonet and mace, and he still felt underarmed.
It was barely more than two months since they’d flown back together from Australia, landing in Nanaimo on the 27th April. While Jay and Bill had continued east to Nova Scotia, Annette, Daisy, and Kim had remained in the Pacific Northwest. Annette had changed. She’d always been bossy and overly confident, but now she seemed more relaxed. Maybe it was the freedom that came with living on a zombie-free island. Or maybe it was the influence of this other girl, Tasha Seward. When Annette had turned up at the orphanage, it was with Tasha at her side. Tasha was the daughter of Chief Joseph Seward. Chief Seward had been elected prime minister of Canada by the exiles in Australia, but had handed his position to Napatchie Ashoona, and now acted as Deputy PM and governor of Vancouver Island. Before the outbreak, Joseph had been chief of the tribe that held Nanaimo as their ancestral lands. Jay wasn’t sure where that put Chief Seward in the current hierarchy. For that matter, he wasn’t sure where Janet and Bill fit in this new nation they were cobbling together.
While Tasha helped Heppy feed the chickens on the Mansfield-Ferny Estate, Annette had insisted Jay come for a tour, which had taken them first to the White House kitchens, and now to the lake.
It was great being out in the fresh air again. Ever since he’d landed back in Digby at the end of April, they’d been planning to leave and dreaming of finally arriving. But it had taken nearly a month just to get everyone from Nova Scotia to Quebec. Then it had taken a full month to cross Canada. He’d left Alma on the 28th May, with Bill and the rest of the rear guard fleeing early the next morning. They’d arrived in Cooking Lake on the 27th June. Their new easternmost outpost was little more than an airport near Edmonton in Alberta, but still twelve hundred kilometres away from the heart of their new civilisation. It had taken another four days of stop-drive-wait to get through the mountains and reach Bellingham, the mainland harbour. Then there’d been another wait, this time for a fishing boat to arrive and unload its catch before it could ferry them across to San Juan Island, and to their new home. Meanwhile, Annette, and Daisy, Kim, and Tasha Seward, who’d flown to Cooking Lake so they could celebrate Annette’s birthday with Bill, had come back by plane this morning. Two hours it had taken them, while his bones still vibrated from the drive.
Last night, stinking of fish, he’d barely said hello to his mum, Chester, Eamonn, Greta, and the gang before he’d collapsed into his new bed. It was a decent room, on the bottom floor of an apartment block. The rest of the downstairs flat was storage for the Crown Jewels and their armoury, so he truly had a space of his own. Despite the Tower kids in the flat above causing enough noise to wake King Arthur from his slumbers, he’d slept well and long, even missing breakfast. Their packed lunch was definitely calling to him.
He slung the panniers across his left shoulder, vaulted the fence, and followed Annette up the beaten path towards the lake. It was a nice spot. The grasses had been cut, though the wildflowers had been left to display their full midsummer glory. Bees buzzed between the blooms while dragonflies danced above the water to a sonata played by a hundred-strong orchestra of crickets.
Annette glanced around and laughed. “Seriously, Jay, there’s no zombies here. The island’s completely safe.”
“What?” He looked down. His right hand was on his holstered sidearm, an M1911 originally gifted to King George V, and which, among other weapons, he’d brought with him from the Tower of London. Reluctantly, he moved his hand away, though it had returned to its perch on the holster by the time they reached the picnic site. Two dozen benches ringed the lake, with almost as many wooden picnic tables gathered beneath a skeletal framework for an awning. Beyond, atop a large square of sand, stood two halves of an oil drum, both topped with grills, awaiting fuel and raw food.
“Do you come here a lot?” he asked.
“It’s our favourite spot. There’s a sheet in that box over there. If you take it out, we can use it to make some shade.”
“And then we can eat?”
“Not until Tash and Heppy get here,” Annette said.
His stomach grumbled in protest. The large waterproof box was near enough to the oil drums that it could be used as a bench by a cook. Inside were some neatly folded tarpaulins.
“Do you fish here?” he asked as he hooked and tied a tarp above the bench where Annette was setting up her phone and microphone.
“No, sorry. We overdid the fishing, so we’re not allowed until next year. But it’s great for swimming. Okay, cool, the microphone works, so we can start recording. Off you go.”
“With what?” he asked, as he secured the last of the straps.
“With your story. For the history. We’ve got about an hour at most before Tash gets here.”
