Maybe Steven stayed to help, maybe he returned to friendly lines. Those that returned found the situation in around Poole Safe Zone had stabilised after some break-ins and a general failure of the wire. Zones were isolated and cleared, one by one.
Those that stayed with the homeowner who offered them shelter were in a secure enough place, for now. There was food and water. Electricity was provided by solar cells. In a matter of days a patrol stopped by to see how they were and evacuate the wounded and everyone else that wanted to leave.
Over the next while, the community on Calshot spit prospered, expanding the safe area and developing agriculture. More communities were contacted, links of trade and cooperation established and strengthened. Other groups were found, some friendly, some isolationist. Some potentially hostile. On the Isle of Wight the HM's UK Emergency Government soldiered on, trying to muster resources for an eventual return to the mainland. Monitoring threats from abroad and domestically. Of course No Man's Land remained a safe haven, converted over to medical uses and used as a hospital.
Maybe the future held a reinstatement of the UK, maybe peace would be restored. There was still a shadowy group out there, perhaps intent on claiming the newly purified Earth for themselves, perhaps even responsible for the world as it was now. Would they succeed? Would they be somehow stopped, even brought to justice? No one alive knew for sure.
THE END