by Mark Tufo
‘And you think they’re going to let us get away?’ Michelle continued. ‘You think they’re just going to let us sneak out by the back door?’
‘We already have.’
‘No we haven’t. We’re still trapped, in case you hadn’t noticed, just in a different building.’ She stopped talking and held her breath as a group of soldiers thundered past the classroom. She lowered her voice again. ‘How is this helping any of us?’
‘I’m doing a damn sight more than anyone else, in case you hadn’t noticed. If it wasn’t for me we’d be—’
‘Back home in Redditch?’ Tammy said, wrong-footing him. ‘A million miles away from whatever’s going on around here.’
‘What the fuck is wrong with you lot?’ Scott said, the volume of his voice rising the angrier he became. ‘I should have just—’
The classroom door flew open again, and another group of figures crawled up the steps on their hands and knees. Scott braced himself to fight, to defend his territory and kick out these intruders. But wait... he recognised them. ‘Saw you lot gettin’ away,’ Dez said, shoving Jackie and the twins towards Michelle, the girls and George. ‘Figured you looked like you knew what you were doing.’
‘Think again,’ Michelle said.
‘We’re just trying to keep one step ahead, that’s all,’ Scott said.
‘It’s madness out there,’ Dez said, on his knees now, his eyes just above the wooden windowsill, surveying the chaos. ‘Never seen nothin’ like it.’
‘Keep your bloody head down,’ Scott yelled at him. ‘And get away from the fucking windows. You’ll bring them straight to us.’
‘Doubt it. They’re too busy tryin’ to sort out what’s happening in the gym. Anyway, the helicopter’s probably got us on infra-red.’
‘So why don’t you just piss off and hand yourself over? I didn’t ask you to come in here. If you’re staying, you do what I say. Now get your bloody head down.’
‘All right, Scott, man... no need for that. All the trouble’s out there. Don’t want anything kickin’ off in here.’
Time crawled. The world beyond the flimsy walls of the prefabricated building continued to be full of noise and activity; a constant, muffled din. Most sounds were indistinguishable, the noise occasionally punctuated by things they were able to make out more clearly, sounds of suffering and panic that they didn’t want to hear. It seemed the worse the noise got, the louder it became.
Dez tried to talk to Scott and plan a way forward, but he had nothing. And the frustration and the fear combined to leave both men feeling increasingly lost. Scott’s helplessness manifested itself as anger. By contrast, Dez tried to remain positive for the sake of his family. ‘We might’a made a mistake here, Scott.’
‘What?’
‘I don’t reckon we’re gonna get far like this.’
‘So what are you saying? Give ourselves up?’
‘Least we’ll have a chance of talkin’ then. What good’s this doin’ us?’
‘I can’t believe I’m hearing this.’
‘An’ I can’t believe any of this. Look, mate, this ain’t just about us. We’ve both got families to look out for.’
‘What the hell do you think I’m doing?’
Dez’s silence spoke volumes. ‘I don’t know, man... There’s a lotta firepower out there. Seems to me we might not have a lotta options.’
‘So you’re just going to hand yourself over? Hand your kids over?’
‘I never said that...’
‘You didn’t need to say it. Jeez, what kind of a man are you?’
‘One who knows when he’s beat. One who knows when what he’s doin’s gonna cause more harm than good.’
‘You’re fucking pathetic.’
‘That’s fuckin’ rich. You don’t even know—’
Their argument was truncated by the classroom door flying open again. A soldier scrambled up the steps then shut the door behind him and leant against it, facemask pressed up to the glass. What the hell was he doing? Whatever it was, Scott quickly realised he hadn’t yet noticed there were other people in the classroom. He went to get up. Michelle grabbed his arm but he shook her off. He gestured for Dez to go the other way around the outside of the small, dark room. Dez’s scrambling movements were more obvious than Scott’s and as the trooper turned around, panicking, Scott lunged at him and grabbed him from behind, taking him by surprise. Dez ripped off his facemask. Jesus, he was little more than a kid.
‘Don’t hurt me,’ he begged. Stripping him of his breathing apparatus had stripped him of his bravado too. He looked broken, close to tears. ‘Please don’t hurt me, mate. I’m on your side. I’ll help you.’
‘Bullshit,’ Scott said. ‘Why should we believe you? You’ve rounded up the entire town and held us prisoner for most of the day. Why should we believe anything you say?’
Scott pushed the soldier into an empty corner and squared up to him for the first time. He had a pistol in a holster, no rifle, but he made no attempt to reach for it. ‘I was just looking for somewhere to hide, same as you.’
‘Ask him what’s going on,’ Jackie shouted. The soldier looked startled. He hadn’t realised there were others there. His demeanour changed when he saw there were kids too.
‘We were just following orders,’ he said, his voice full of emotion. ‘We didn’t know...’
‘Didn’t know what?’ Dez asked.
‘What we were dealing with. What you were dealing with. They didn’t explain. They just told us there’d been a chemical spill in the town and that we had to round everyone up and keep them safe, that’s all.’
‘And you believed that?’
‘Wouldn’t you? Ask yourself, mate, what’s more believable here? Some bullshit story about a chemical spill or the truth?’
‘And what exactly is the truth?’
The soldier looked around with frightened eyes, wishing there was more light so he could see how many people he was up against, and at the same time praying for the darkness to swallow him up. He licked his lips and took a deep breath, figuring he had nothing left to lose. ‘They don’t know where it came from. They don’t even know what it looks like. Fuck, they’re not even sure what it is yet.’
‘What’s he talking about?’ Tammy asked.
‘It’s a parasite,’ the soldier explained. ‘We were laughing about it when we first heard, ’cause it sounded so bloody unbelievable, like something out of a horror film. It found the perfect way to make sure it kept itself alive – making people have sex. No one’s gonna say no to a quick fuck, are they?’ He grinned, the strain and surreal desperation of the moment beginning to show.
‘Wait,’ Tammy said, looking at her mother. ‘Is that what happened to Dad this morning...?’
‘I don’t know...’ Michelle answered.
‘It has to be, doesn’t it? So what happens to them?’ she asked, demanding an answer from the soldier. ‘Once they’ve got this thing inside them, what happens?’
‘It takes what it needs,’ the soldier said, still watching Scott’s every movement, ‘then it discards the rest.’
‘What do you mean, discards?’
‘Did you not see what happened to that fella back there? It forces its way out. There’s not a lot left when it’s finished.’
Tammy stared into the darkness, letting the full enormity of what she was hearing sink in. Her dad was dead. She didn’t need any further confirmation, she just knew it. The lack of any comfort or explanation from either her mum or Scott was enough to convince her she was right. She began to sob. Next to her, Phoebe wailed.
‘Keep the bloody noise down,’ Scott hissed at them both.
‘You bastard,’ Michelle said. ‘You absolute, heartless bastard. You knew all along, didn’t you? You let them spend the day thinking he was okay, worrying about him... and all the time you knew he was already dead.’
‘What else was I supposed to do? I’m trying to keep us all together here.’
‘Like hell. Yo
u’ve never given a shit about anyone but yourself.’
Scott grabbed the soldier by the collar of his protective suit. Focusing on him made it easier to shut out the rest of the unwanted noise. ‘Why did you keep us isolated? That’s the real question.’
‘Because isolating everyone in Thussock meant we’d isolate the parasite too.’
‘I get that, but why? Was it for our benefit, or yours?’
‘Why else would they do it?’ Jackie asked.
‘To keep it safe,’ Scott answered quickly.
Michelle laughed with disbelief. She’d seen and heard it all now. She looked at the young soldier, waiting for him to start laughing too, but he didn’t. His expression remained unchanged. ‘I swear I don’t know,’ he said. ‘We was just told to stop people getting away, that’s all, but it all went tits up when people started panicking. That’s why I’m here. I wasn’t gonna be a part of that. I couldn’t. And...’
‘And what?’
The soldier paused, choosing his words, knowing he’d said too much already. ‘And something wasn’t right. Something changed.’
‘What do you mean? What changed?’
‘I don’t know, I swear. You ever been in the forces? It’s just something you learn to pick up on. Usually happens when things are about to go shit-shaped.’
‘What the hell are you talking about?’
The soldier shook his head, struggling. ‘The orders changed, and no one would say why. We felt it filtering through the ranks. There was a shift in focus. The priorities were changing...’
Scott had had enough. ‘That’s it. I’m getting us out of Thussock right now.’
‘How?’ Dez asked.
‘You’ll never do it,’ the soldier said. ‘They won’t let anyone get away.’
‘So why exactly are you here again? Surely you’d have been better off staying with the military?’
‘It’s fucking chaos out there. They won’t notice me missing.’
‘So once they’ve caught this thing, they’ll leave the rest of us alone, right?’ Michelle asked.
‘I suppose,’ the soldier said. ‘All they’re interested in is—’
‘Are you serious?’ Scott interrupted. ‘You really think they’ll just let people go back to normality after this?’
‘Depends,’ Dez said. ‘If they still think this was just a chemical spill or sumthin’ like that, why not? They can’t make a whole village just disappear.’
‘They probably could,’ the soldier said ominously, ‘but they won’t want to, not unless they have to.’
‘So we can just stick it out here with him, can’t we?’ Michelle suggested, nodding at the soldier. ‘Wait ’til it’s all died down out there, then give ourselves up. We’re not infected, so they’re not going to care. We act dumb, tell them we just hid when it all kicked off, then tell them he found us. He’ll look good, we’ll be safe... we might all get out of this still.’
‘She’s right, Scott,’ Dez said. ‘Play our cards right an’ we might all be okay.’
‘Do you have any idea how naïve you both sound?’ Scott said. ‘Just listen to what you’re saying.’
‘And can you hear how cynical you’ve become?’ Michelle said. ‘You’re not interested in anyone but yourself, are you?’
‘Shut the fuck up and—’
‘Quiet!’ The soldier’s voice abruptly truncated Scott’s outburst. He raised his pistol and aimed it at Scott. ‘All of you shut up. She’s right, we can do this. Stay quiet, stay calm, and we’ll all get out of this in one piece.’
Chapter 79
Scott was at the end of his tether. They’d been cooped-up here for over an hour now. He was sitting with his back to the door, holding George while Michelle consoled Tammy and Phoebe. The madness outside wore on, though to a lesser extent now as more of the population of Thussock, those who’d escaped and run blindly into the night, were rounded up. The longer Scott spent trapped in here, though, the harder it was to sit still and do nothing.
They were wrong, all the others.
Between them they’d agreed to sit tight and wait until everything had died down outside before giving themselves up, but giving himself up just wasn’t in Scott’s nature. And if they did surrender, he doubted the military would be as welcoming as the rest of them seemed keen to believe. The others were naïve, stupid even. He couldn’t afford to lose control, not now, not with so much at stake. He needed to get out of Thussock.
There was a lull outside. Time to move.
The soldier was sitting on the other side of the door to him. Scott reached across and tugged at his sleeve. He sat up with a start. Christ, had he almost been asleep? ‘What’s your name?’ Scott asked, voice low.
‘What?’
‘I don’t even know your name.’
‘Gary Waites.’
‘Can I trust you, Gary?’
‘Sure you can. We’re all in this together now, far as I can see.’
‘Good man. Listen, I’m worried.’
‘You ain’t alone.’
‘Something’s not right here.’
‘Things haven’t been right around this place for a long time now.’
‘No,’ Scott said, shaking his head and lowering his voice again, ‘I’m not talking about in Thussock, I’m talking about in here.’
Gary looked concerned. ‘Like what?’
Scott paused. Should he do this? He was running out of options. ‘Have you seen anyone who’s been infected with this thing yet?’
‘I ain’t seen nothing. Just a couple of the bodies and that guy in the leisure centre, why?’
‘Because I have.’
‘And?’
‘And I didn’t think about it until just now... that bloke who turned back there, I knew him. Used to work with him. His name was Warren.’
‘So?’
‘Like I said, it didn’t mean much at the time, but I was watching him just before it happened and he looked... different.’
‘Why are you telling me this? What are you saying? You think I’m infected?’
‘No, no... it’s not that. I respect you, mate. You’ve come in here and nailed your colours to the mast and I respect that. No, it’s not you, it’s them I’m worried about.’ He surreptitiously gestured towards Dez and Jackie at the other end of the room. They were sitting in the opposite corner to Michelle and the girls, their twins safe between them.
‘What about them?’
‘I think...’ he began before stopping again and clearing his throat, nerves getting the better of him. ‘Look, I might be wrong, but I think I know what I’m talking about. I found one of the bodies last week and this morning we had an infected bloke hanging around by our house...’
‘Just say what you’re thinking,’ the soldier said, pulse racing, hints of desperation and panic in his eyes.
‘I’m trying to tell you I think I know what people look like when they’ve got it in them. I’ve seen them. It takes its time to show itself, but I’m starting to think... Look, it’s that woman over there... I think she might be infected.’
The fear in the soldier’s face was clear now. He lowered his hand towards his pistol. Then he paused. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’ll be honest, mate, not a hundred per cent. But I don’t know about you... I don’t want to take any chances. My missus and my kids are in here, you think I’m going to risk them? But that woman... she’s got the same kind of look about her as the guy at the house this morning and the bloke who turned just now in the gym. I’ve been watching her. I tell you, if I’m right, I don’t reckon it’ll be long now...’
‘So what do we do?’
‘What can we do? Just be ready for when she turns I guess.’
Gary sat back, weighing up his options. What was it his commanding officer had said? Be wary of anyone showing any signs of sexual activity. Watch out for displays of physical contact... we don’t know how fast this thing moves.
He went for his gun again. Scott grabbed his arm. ‘Wh
at are you doing?’ he asked, his whispered voice full of feigned concern.
‘I’m going to talk to her. Find out where she was before she came in here, who she was with.’
Scott relaxed his grip and let go. Perfect. So easily manipulated. Gary got up and walked over to Dez and Jackie. Dez looked up. ‘Problem?’
‘Split up.’
‘What?’
‘You heard me.’ He raised his pistol. ‘Both of you get up. Move away from each other.’
Jackie started to panic. She grabbed the kids and reached out for Dez at the same time. He tried to pacify her then scrambled to his feet, blocking the soldier’s way through. He put his hands up in submission. ‘Look, mate, I dunno what this is about, but you’ve got the wrong idea about us... we just—’
‘Shut up,’ Gary ordered, and the volume of his voice was enough to panic everyone in the classroom. Scott picked up George in the confusion and made for the door.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ Jackie said, sobbing, still trying to pull her family closer together. ‘Dez ain’t done nothing wrong...’
Gary looked from Dez, to Jackie, then back again. Dez made another move. Gary shoved him back and aimed the pistol at his chest. ‘Don’t, man...’ Dez said, mouth dry. ‘This is fuckin’ crazy...’
The soldier was frightened. Confused. He didn’t know what to do now. He didn’t know how to stop this, didn’t know which of these strangers he could trust and who he couldn’t. ‘Which one?’ he asked, looking around for Scott. ‘Which one is it?’
Scott remained low behind a desk, clutching George close to his chest. Michelle and the girls were crawling towards him.
At the other end of the room, Dez moved forward again, but Gary was having none of it. He raised his pistol level with Dez’s face. ‘Don’t move,’ he yelled. ‘Don’t you fucking move!’
‘Wait, wait, wait...’ Dez protested, terrified. ‘You got this all wrong.’
‘I’ve got nothing wrong,’ Gary said, ‘I know what’s going on here. It’s one of you two... one of you is infected.’
‘I swear we’re not. We never went anywhere near anyone who—’