Everyone looks around them as if doing a headcount, trying to work out who is missing.
“But what happens if somebody gets it in here, what then?”
“What do you mean if? More like when.”
“This is crazy. They can’t lock us up together like this. It’s more likely to spread. If anyone in here has it, we’ll all get it.”
“But they have to quarantine everyone. What if it gets out?”
“But what about us? Why aren’t there enough suits to go around?”
“They think we’ve all got it already. That’s why they’re doing this.”
“Where is he? Where is Dr. 1?”
The last was said by an angry woman in a voice that carries, and the rest of them look nervous, like that isn’t something that should be said out loud.
So, he’s not in here. And none of these people know what is going on, that’s clear. I slip out through the crack under the door.
There are guards on the other side of it now. With actual guns. They weren’t here when I went in before. They’re suited, but their suits look different. Heavier. They’re talking to each other, but I can’t hear what they’re saying.
There is banging on the door again from the inside.
There is some sort of exchange between the guards. Then one of them gestures to another.
“Stand back and we’ll open the door!” he barks, his voice plain now.
The ones with guns come closer and arrange themselves in a semicircle around the door.
The first one opens the door.
“What’s the problem?”
A barrage of shouts greets him, but he doesn’t want to listen.
He holds up a hand, and somehow his voice gets louder than theirs. He must have a megaphone built into his suit. “Yes, I know: we’re all trapped underground, and some of us are dying. We’re doing what we can to contain the spread. You’ll have to wait in here for now.”
“What about Dr. 1?” a man shouts. “Where is he? Is he even on the island?”
The guard turns and looks at him slowly, like he’s weighing his response. His hands tighten on his gun. But then he shrugs. “Wish I bloody knew. Now! Get back in, sit down. Chill out, because we’ve got a temperature scanner on the room. If anyone’s temperature reading goes up, well…you’ll be removed. Be thankful you’re in here and not where you’d be taken then.”
They quiet down, and the doors are shut.
The guard who spoke turns. One of the other guards must say something, as he looks at him and shrugs again. “They’ve been trying to reach him, but communications aren’t working. Someone was sent up to check if he’s at his house above, but they never reported back. Maybe he bolted, or—” Then, like he realizes he’s forgotten to turn off his external speaker, his voice suddenly goes silent even though his lips, behind his mask, are still moving.
Well. We’re on an island?
Island means the sea is all around. Open and wide as far as eyes can see, and now I’m even more desperate to get out of this place, to hear waves crash, smell salty air. A trace of a memory from long ago grips me: of the sea—of a holiday. Of someone tall holding my hand as I stand, barefoot, sand squidgy through my toes. Squealing and laughing as cold waves splash my feet and ankles.
Can I even smell or feel the sea anymore, as what I am now?
I have to know.
And if Dr. 1 is out there, all the more reason to go.
Let me out!
CHAPTER 26
SHAY
KILLIN, SCOTLAND
Time Zero: 7 hours
I TWIST AND STRUGGLE but can’t get away. Duncan’s too strong when I haven’t got the element of surprise on my side.
“Now, Sharona, you really hurt me the other day. Hurt my feelings too; pretending to be nice, and then look what you did to me.”
“I’m sorry. Let me go!”
“Are you really sorry? I doubt it. You’re going to have to show me that you’re sorry. Kiss me like you mean it, and then maybe I’ll let you go.” And he tries to twist me around, his breath hot on my neck.
And I’m struggling uselessly, scared, a scream working its way up inside, but I can hardly breathe with his arms crushing my chest, and anyhow no one is anywhere near to hear me.
That’s when I remember that I’m wearing boots. I stomp back on his foot, hard, with one heavy boot. While he’s still crying out in pain, I kick backward with the other boot into his shin.
He lets go.
I spring around, fists up.
But it’s Kai who’s got him, who’s pulling him away. Kai punches him hard once, and again, and again, and Duncan slumps to the ground, moaning, hands and arms covering his head.
Kai grabs his shoulder with one hand and pulls him to his feet. His other hand is a fist that is ready to hit again. Blood and tears are running down Duncan’s face.
I grab Kai’s fist with both of my hands. “That’s enough, Kai!” He turns to me, wild-eyed, like he can’t really see me.
“That’s enough!” I say again. “Let him go.”
Gradually Kai’s eyes focus in on my face; his breathing steadies. One hand is still gripping Duncan’s shoulder. He relaxes his fist and turns to Duncan.
“Listen to me. If you ever go anywhere near Shay again, I’ll kill you. Do you understand?”
Snot and blood are dribbling down Duncan’s face from his nose. “Yep. Keep away from Shay. Got it.”
Kai lets go of Duncan’s shoulder, and he runs.
“Are you all right?” Kai says, and now he’s trying to hug me again.
But I don’t want anyone’s hands grabbing me, touching me, right now, not even Kai’s; I push him away. “I can take care of myself. I had him on the ropes.”
“Did you?” He reaches down and pulls at my collar. My shirt is ripped from when I was trying to get away from Duncan’s hands. These are memories I don’t want to keep, but every little tiny bit of it starts to replay in my mind, and now I’m shaking.
Kai holds out my phone. “You left this on our table; that’s why I followed you. I only just saw which way you went across the park. Thank God I did. Let’s call the police.”
“He’ll have you up for assault if you call them. Besides, I think you punished him enough.”
“If you hadn’t stopped me, I think I really could have killed him.” Kai’s hands are hanging helplessly by his sides, as if he’s afraid of them. He looks up. “It was like you were Calista, and I could save you. But I wasn’t there to save her.” His eyes go glassy, welling up. As if they are linked, mine do too.
This time it is me who reaches for Kai. We hold each other and cry. And the way he fights against it, his shoulders shuddering, I know he doesn’t allow himself to do this often.
Not often enough.
After a while Kai takes me home on his bike. I cover my ripped top with his jacket.
When we get there I call Mum, tell her Kai brought me home.
And Kai waits. He promises he won’t leave until Mum gets home.
I throw my ripped top in the trash and take a shower—scrub and scrub, washing Duncan away—and even though I know Kai is out there, that no one could get past him, I keep feeling like this could be the shower scene out of Psycho. Nervous and jumpy, I get soap in my eyes, trying to watch the door all the time even though I locked it.
I hurry and throw on jeans and a sweater, not wanting to be alone, wanting to rush to Kai. To feel safe.
CHAPTER 27
CALLIE
SHETLAND INSTITUTE, SCOTLAND
Time Zero: 6 hours
NOT KNOWING WHAT ELSE TO DO, I stay with the guards by the door. They must be the ones who know things. One of them is watching a control panel, and on it a button starts flashing red; then another.
They open the door. The people who were yelling earlier look more subdued now. A few of the guards go in, holding up some sort of scanner thing. They stop next to a few people, speak to them. One of them is Nurse 11. They are told to stand up and follow
the guards out. One of those selected protests, and they grab his arms, drag him along with them.
Everyone shrinks away from them as they walk out. I follow them. They’re not taking them to the movie theater, where the first sick people were. Instead they open the door to a large open space—it’s got basketball hoops at either end, courts marked out on the floor. It’s the gym.
People are lying on the floor. Some are still, silent. Some are writhing, screaming. The ones with Nurse 11 that just got pushed through the door shrink away in horror. They don’t feel sick yet, at least not much; they’ve just got a temperature.
But Nurse 11 walks into the room. She clucks under her breath. “Where are the doctors?” she says.
Someone who is shaking on the floor hears her. “Th-th-the last one just died.”
Nurse 11 turns, bends down to the woman who spoke. “Jan?”
Jan’s eyes are closed now; she’s shaking and moaning.
Nurse 11 goes to the door, bangs on it, and yells out, “We need pain relief. Get me some morphine and syringes.”
“There’s none left” is the answer called through.
As if that was the last thing they couldn’t bear to hear, the crying and screaming goes up a notch.
All these people lying on the floor deserve what they’ve got.
So many people.
Crying out in pain, shaking, just plain crying. The distress and agony leak out from them into the room, filling it like it is a separate living thing, one growing bigger and bigger while they get smaller and more insignificant.
Except for the lucky ones.
They’re still. They’re dead.
This sickness escaped and caught those who inflicted it on others. But who made this thing happen on purpose in the first place? Why?
Nurse 11 may have come here because she wanted to find a cure for cancer for her granddaughter, but I bet that isn’t the only reason Dr. 1 set this place up. Anyone who found a cure would be rich—richer than pop stars. Richer than professional athletes. Richer than royalty.
I shrink away from all the concentrated agony. I’m getting out of here. I rush for the door, but then stop.
Nurse 11 has started to sing, like she used to sing to me. Others, those who can, join in and sing with her. And as their voices rise in the room, the pain monster settles down, at least a little.
Who is this woman, who one minute comforts the sick, and another minute deliberately infects others and ends their lives?
I shake my head. I don’t understand her. I don’t understand how I feel either, but something inside me wishes she wouldn’t die.
But she will, and I don’t want to watch it happen. I don’t want to see any of this anymore. I slip back under the door, past the guards.
I hope someone is left to sing to her.
CHAPTER 28
SHAY
KILLIN, SCOTLAND
Time Zero: 5 hours
WHEN I GET TO THE FRONT ROOM, hair a mess of wet curls from the shower, I’m suddenly shy. I hesitate by the door. Kai is on the sofa, next to Ramsay, looking lost and alone. He gives me a ghost of an uncertain smile.
He hesitates, then holds out a hand. I cross the room, feeling awkward with his eyes on me, and sit next to him, close—too close? I start to pull away a little, but then his hand finds mine. As his warm fingers wrap around mine, some new feeling wraps around inside me, even warmer.
“Are you all right?” he asks. His eyes search my face.
“Yes,” I say, and Kai raises an eyebrow, as if he can see through what I’m hiding. “Ish,” I add. What I don’t say is that now that I’m here, sitting next to him, with him holding my hand, the nervous weirdness I had before is gone, and I am all right. More than all right.
“I want to apologize,” he says.
“What for?”
He shakes his head, as if the words aren’t there. But I wait, saying nothing.
“For losing control,” he says finally. “Both of my temper, and…” He shrugs, doesn’t finish the sentence.
“While I appreciate you punching that loser, once was probably enough.”
“I know. While I am here, calm, I know this.” He frowns. “But somehow, inside, I was confusing you and my sister; what happened to her, and today.”
“I’m not a child, you know. I can take care of myself.”
“Sure you can.” He grins, a trace of a twinkle in his eyes. “I saw you stamp on his foot in those boots you were wearing. Once the fear wears off, I bet he can’t walk.”
“Just now you were going to add something else?”
“Sorry about after, also.”
I’m puzzled, but then it clicks. “What, for crying, is that what you mean? For being human?”
“Yes, that’s it. Far too much of being human. I must put a stop to that.” A trace of humor is back in his eyes.
“Being human means having feelings. You can’t bottle them up, or they explode. As Duncan found out.”
“Is that his name?” I nod. “Do you think he’ll leave you alone now? You’ll let me know if he causes any problems?”
“He’s a coward; he won’t go anywhere near me after what you did to him.” I hope. But if he has enough imagination to come up with them, I’m sure there are other ways he can be a nightmare at school. I shake my head. “Let’s not talk about him anymore.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
I hesitate, somehow knowing there is one person he needs to talk about more than anything else, even if he doesn’t want to. “Please, Kai. Tell me about your sister.”
CHAPTER 29
CALLIE
SHETLAND INSTITUTE, SCOTLAND
Time Zero: 4 hours
THERE IS A LOUD BANGING down the hall: gunshots?
There is screaming—a sort that is somehow different from that of the sick. More surprised; cut off quickly.
More gunshots.
I follow the sound. It leads back to the cafeteria. The doors have been thrown open; a guard is on the ground, a knife sticking out of him. His suit is ripped open, blood leaking out around the blade.
But even more of the people from the cafeteria lie bleeding and still on the ground.
Two guards are there, guns trained on the few left inside. Where are the rest of them?
I follow the sound—running feet. Yelling. More gunshots. Another body lies on the floor, and another. I pass running guards—they are chasing half a dozen or so people, who round a corner and almost run into another group of guards. Their feet backpedal in haste, but now they’re trapped between the two groups of guards. They raise their hands over their heads to surrender, but there are gunshots, screams. They fall to the ground.
Why are they killing each other?
I feel sick, like I could be sick over and over again until nothing could come up, but I can’t even throw up anymore.
Why kill each other when so many are already dying?
I have to get out of here. I have to.
I fly away from the bleeding and dying, up and down every corridor I’ve already been up and down, looking for a way out.
But everywhere I go, it’s a dead end.
What if everyone in here dies, and I’m sealed in with all the bodies and ghosts, forever?
There must be a way out.
CHAPTER 30
SHAY
KILLIN, SCOTLAND
Time Zero: 3 hours
KAI HESITATES, and I’m afraid he’ll refuse. But then he begins. Halting at first, then with more and more animation, he tells me how Calista was born early; tiny, like a little doll. How his name was her first word. How she drove him crazy, following after him everywhere as soon as she could walk. How she loved reading and hated sports but still made their Mum take her to his soccer games, even if she sat there with a book on her knees.
How much he loved her.
Once he starts it’s like he can’t stop.
And the whole time he talks, he holds my hand like a lifeline.
&
nbsp; CHAPTER 31
CALLIE
SHETLAND INSTITUTE, SCOTLAND
Time Zero: 2 hours
KABOOM!
The explosion is loud, like a million cracks of thunder at once. The very earth shudders, as if it doesn’t like this place any more than I do.
The screaming is quiet by comparison.
And like the explosion knocks some sense into me, I finally work it out. The place those people were running to when they were shot? There were guards there. What were they guarding? Those people wanted to escape. They must have been running there because that was the way out!
I don’t want to go back there. I don’t want to see the blood and the bodies.
But I have no choice.
CHAPTER 32
SHAY
KILLIN, SCOTLAND
Time Zero: 1 hour
AFTER A WHILE KAI IS SILENT, but it’s not like the locked-down silence from this morning, when he couldn’t talk about anything real. This time it is because he has finally said all that he needed to say.
The clock ticks, a breeze ruffles leaves outside. Kai lets go of my hand, but before I can feel the loss of it his arm is around my shoulders.
My head is against his shoulder, then snuggled a little closer, against his chest, but it’s not awkward or uncomfortable, or wondering what could or should happen next—it’s being still, here, now, as if this is where I was always meant to be.
My eyes close, the lack of sleep last night catching up with me no matter how much I want to stay in this moment.
His heart beats, th-thump, th-thump, against my ear, and I’m warm, sleepy, drifting between awake and asleep as his hand gently strokes my hair.
CHAPTER 33
CALLIE
SHETLAND INSTITUTE, SCOTLAND
Contagion Page 6