by RR Haywood
‘Now, this bit we put against the chest like this and you can hear the heart working away,’ the Doc places the round section against Billy’s chest.
‘Can you hear it Billy?’
Billy nods, hearing a thump-da-thump.
‘So that means that your heart is working properly,’ the Doc grins, ‘now try mine, is my heart working properly Billy?’
The Doc deftly undoes a button of his open necked shirt to reveal a smooth, very pale chest. He stretches the stethoscope towards his chest, pulling Billy in closer.
‘So your heart works okay and my heart works okay, what else do we need to check?’
Billy stares awkwardly up at the Doc, unsure of what to say so he just listens to the Doc’s heart instead. The sound is much different to his own heart. The Doc’s heart is booming much faster and harder.
‘We have to listen to your lungs,’ the Doc says. Taking the stethoscope end he presses it once more to Billy’s chest, then gently takes the ends from Billy to press into his own ears.
Billy waits as the Doc listens intently. ‘Breath in for me Billy, nice big breath, that’s it…’
The Doc leans in closer, dropping his head so it almost touches Billy’s chest. Maybe being closer means the tube things work better. Billy glances down at the big bald patch on the top of the Doc’s head and the white bits of skin his mummy always called Dandyrough or something.
This close to the Doctor, Billy can smell the sweat coming from him. It’s stale smell that isn’t very nice but the Doc stays there for a long time just leaning in close and listening while Billy breathes in and out.
Eventually, he pulls away and takes the tube thing out from his ears. Pulling a thin torch from his top pocket he clicks the end to make it light up.
‘Now, we have to check you all over,’ the Doc says. His face is red again and he speaks a bit faster than he did before.
Billy stands quietly while the Doc pours over every inch of his skin. His back and chest, his arms and armpits, then his feet and legs. The Doc doesn't touch him but hovers really close, so close that Billy can feel his hot breath on his skin.
The Doc seems to spend ages looking at Billy’s bottom then round at his front bits.
‘Got to be very careful here Billy,’ the Doc says breathlessly, ‘the disease can get in places like this very easily so we have to be very, very careful and keep a good watch.’
The Doc stares and stares, moving slowly to shine the torch from lots of different angles but still doesn't touch Billy. A couple of times it’s like the Doc wants to touch Billy but he doesn't, his big hand just sort of stops and shakes a bit before dropping.
‘Right,’ the Doc calls out in a loud voice as he clambers back to his feet, ‘I would say, young Billy, that you are all clear, isn’t that good?’ The Doc turns away, taking a tissue from his desk he wipes the sweat from his face with trembling hands.
‘But,’ the Doc says with his back still turned to Billy, ‘we have to keep checking to make sure the disease doesn't get here, oh you can get dressed again now Billy,’ the Doc adds as he turns back to see Billy still standing there naked.
‘Larson, Billy is all clear. He needs to go down to Meryl for some food.’
‘Okay Doc, give me a minute.’
Pulling his wheeled chair back to his desk the Doc doesn't glance at Billy but sits down to start leafing through a big book. Billy dresses quickly and waits.
‘Wait outside please Billy,’ the Doc says without looking round, ‘Larson will be up for you in a minute.’ His voice is different now, speaking like the teachers did at school when they were busy and didn’t want to talk to you.
Closing the door behind him, Billy waits in the corridor like he was told to. A door further down opens and he watches two men pulling another man out. Billy recognises the clothes that Vince was wearing and wonders what happened him? Maybe he fell down and cut his head.
One of the men carrying Vince glances up the corridor and spots Billy. ‘Shit, go back, go back,’ he urges his mate. Within a second they’ve shuffled out of view, closing the door behind them.
Billy just waits thinking that this place is very strange but he’s glad the disease hasn’t got him. The disease sounds horrible and Billy doesn't want to bite anyone either.
Quietly, he waits thinking about the big, strange man in the white coat and wondering if Lilly will be here soon.
Thirty Seven
‘That’s the last one,’ I say. Clambering into the big, zebra striped Landrover I glance back at the gates now open.
‘You sure about this?’ Lani asks, ‘I mean, nice idea but…’
‘It’s done now.’
‘We couldn’t just leave them locked up like that,’ Cookey says, twisting round as though expecting to see herds of wild animals bursting from the gates in a mad dash for freedom.
‘We might have just re-introduced wild predators to England,’ Blowers says proudly, ‘now that is cool.’
The decision to open the safari park was taken quickly. We all felt a sense of responsibility for the animals after seeing the lion and gorilla fight. That was our fault, and none of us wanted more animal death on our hands. The lions were able to move about now, so they could go through the broken enclosures but that meant the prey animals had nowhere to go. So we opened everything.
Clarence found the keys to one of the safari vehicles, all of us laughing when he pulled up in the black and white striped Landrover. Milly was safely secured inside with Clarence and Meredith was tied up using some rope we found. After that it didn’t take long, moving to each enclosure, breaking the locks, snapping chains and pulling the gates open.
For a second or two we did consider the snakes in the glass cabinets. The big pythons wouldn’t have been a problem, but none of us fancied trying to release a more nimble cobra or rattlesnake.
Milly had a great time, a proper trip round the park looking at all the animals while being held by Clarence. Bouncing up and down with absurd glee and asking us each in turn whether we liked certain animals.
The fleeting conversation we had earlier in the café was done and apparently gone. She hasn’t said as much, but I think we all get the impression she was a bit neglected by her family.
Loaded up, we leave via the long exit road as we snake through the wooded copses to the main road.
‘Ha!’ Cookey bursts out laughing, ‘guess what we just saw?’
‘What?’ Blowers asks.
‘Lions and tigers and bears….’ He looks round waiting for someone to finish the sentence. ‘Oh come on…Lions and tigers and bears…Don’t leave me hanging.’
‘Not doing it,’ Blowers shakes his head.
‘Lani? Come on!’
‘Nope, not a chance Cookey.
‘Clarence?’
‘What do you think?’
‘Dave then, come on Dave…’
‘What?’
‘Finish it off…Lions and tigers and bears….’
‘And what?’ Dave asks dully.
‘Boss?’ Cookey moves swiftly on, looking at me with a pleading look.
Smiling whilst shaking my head I feel the stupid urge to say it.
‘Don’t do it Mr Howie,’ Blowers urges.
‘I can’t leave him hanging,’ I say, ‘go on then…’
‘Ha! Lions and tigers and bears…’
‘Oh my,’ in the end it comes out with a laugh as Cookey cheers. Milly watches, enraptured at the young lad laughing at his own jokes.
‘Lions and tigers and bears…’ Cookey repeats.
‘Oh my,’ I say louder, laughing at the groans coming from the others.
‘Lions and tigers and bears…’ Cookey sings now.
‘Come on Milly,’ I coax, ‘oh my!’ She claps her hands in delight, waiting for Cookey to say it again so she can join in.
‘Lions and tigers and bears…’
‘OH MY!’ Milly and I shout the reply, both of us laughing.
‘Come on,’ Cookey yells,
‘lions and tigers and bears…’
‘OH MY,’ Lani joins in this time and I can see Blowers is struggling not to say it. Even Clarence is starting to smile.
‘Lions and tigers and bears…’
‘OH MY,’ Blowers joins in laughing, just leaving Clarence and a somewhat bemused Dave to go.
‘Lions and tigers and bears…’
‘OH MY!’ Clarence adds his deep voice to the chorus, even Meredith gives a high-pitched bark at the sudden explosion of noise.
‘Dave, come on Dave,’ Cookey grins, ‘lions…and…’ he goes slowly as everyone turns to stare at Dave, ‘tigers….and bears…..’
Dave looks round at everyone slowly, his expressionless eyes giving nothing away, with a shrug he turns away to stare out the window, ‘oh my,’ he adds quietly with a rare wry smile.
‘YES!’ Cookey booms in victory, ‘I got Dave to say oh my.’
‘Do it again,’ Milly giggles.
‘Lions and tigers and bears…’
‘OH MY,’ Milly yells, almost collapsing in a fit of giggles.
‘Lions and tigers and Millies,’ Cookey calls out.
‘OH MY,’
‘Shame we can’t get the Saxon on the way,’ I turn to Clarence, leaving Cookey and Milly singing in the back.
‘We can go there but unless you know how to fix it.’
‘Not a chance,’ I reply, ‘we need Nick really, Christ I bet even Maddox’s lot will probably know about engines and stuff than us.’
‘You’ve not mentioned it much?’ Clarence asks quietly.
‘Which bit? Immune or one of the other things going on?’
‘Fair point,’ Clarence nods, ‘immunity then, start with that.’
‘What’s to say?’ I ask him, ‘like I said before, it doesn't change anything, without doctors and scientists it means nothing to us.’
‘No, it does mean something, it means everything,’ Clarence says seriously turning to fix me with a keen glare, ‘it explains why they shit themselves round you, explains why you can do that thing…’
‘What about Lani then?’
‘That I don’t know,’ Clarence concedes, ‘the most likely explanation is that you’ve passed some kind if gene or… anti-body to her. Not as strong as yours, which is why she turned but got better whereas you didn’t turn at all.’
‘Maybe, how we gonna test that then? I kiss one of you and send you out to get bit?’
‘Again, fair point,’ Clarence sighs, ‘but seriously boss, maybe it’s something we should be thinking about.’
‘I know, it’s been going through my head,’ I reply, ‘I was thinking like an insurance policy, in case one of you does get bitten then it might help, might be like Lani and resist it.’
‘Right, insurance policy,’ Clarence nods, ‘we should do it.’
‘But mate, on the flip side I could be a carrier, so could Lani. We could still infect you, is that a risk worth taking?’
‘Yes,’ Blowers calls out, making me realise the back has fallen into silence following our conversation.
‘Seriously?’ twisting round I look at the hard lad, only he isn’t a lad really now. Him, Cookey and Nick are men now.
‘Definitely,’ Blowers nods, ‘I’ve been thinking about it…and don’t even think of making any gay jokes,’ he glares at Cookey.
‘I didn’t even think about it,’ Cookey admits, ‘but cheers for reminding me.’
‘So you’d risk getting infected from me to see if you can…I don’t know…resist the virus or…Jesus mate, what if it turns you?’
‘Then you’ll know,’ Blowers replies quickly.
‘Risk one to save many,’ Dave cuts in.
‘No, I couldn’t do it…I couldn’t risk any of you.’
‘Mr Howie,’ Blowers leans forward, ‘they are shi…’ he pauses with a glance at Milly, ‘they are scared of you, we’ve all seen it again and again…’
‘And you kissed Lani, and Lani came back,’ Cookey takes over, ‘what Clarence said makes sense.’
‘No..no…it can’t be that simple…you telling me that my saliva is the cure for the zombie plague? Not a chance lads, sorry.’
‘Why not?’ Clarence asks, ‘if you’d told me two and a half weeks ago I would be running through a lion enclosure to save a little girl, or running around with you lot killing zombies I would have laughed…but here we are.’
‘The circumstances we find ourselves in are completely separate to whether or not my saliva gives you anti-bodies that resist the virus. There are so many factors to this, what about the body the heart came from? He could be the special one, he could be able to carry the virus but not transmit it.’
‘Eye juice and fingers,’ Lani says quickly.
‘It was pitch black and very confusing,’ I retort, ‘anything could have been happening then. ‘We don’t know enough. The risk of me passing saliva to one of you and infecting you is too great.’
‘What about that cigarette yesterday,’ Lani says, ‘remember?’
‘Yeah I remember but that still doesn't mean anything, you might not have got your saliva on it and that was you to me, not the other way round.’
‘So what if Lani made you immune, maybe her saliva got into your system and that’s what protected you,’ Clarence suggests.
‘Maybe,’ I shrug, ‘it could be a thousand different things that led to it. Bloody hell, I could have eaten something three weeks ago that made me immune, it could be a random gene or a mutated string of DNA or… it could just be very lucky.’
‘Lucky?’ Lani lifts one eyebrow, ‘that two people in the same group are immune when the whole world is getting infected?’
‘I agree, I totally agree but the problem is we just don’t know. Forgive me for raising this Lani, but how do we know Marcy didn’t do something to me? Pass me something or…I don’t know but the point is we don’t know anything more than we did before, other than it appears’ I emphasise the word, ‘that I cannot be turned and it appears that Lani is resistant to it. I’m not going to risk infecting any of you, so unless you want to abduct some poor bloke off the street and hold him down while I kiss him, then drive about until we find an undead to throw at him…then forget it.’
They lapse into silence, not sullen or sulky but thoughtful. Milly, unbelievably, stayed quiet during the conversation, watching us all intently before moving in closer to rest her head on Lani’s lap.
‘Have you had any sleep?’ I ask Clarence watching him yawn.
‘No but I’m okay,’ he replies.
‘Nah, pull over mate, I’ll drive the rest of the way.’
‘Sure?’
‘Yep. We’ll need you awake and ready when we get back.’
He doesn't argue but brings the vehicle to a stop. He jumps out to walk round while I climb over and work out how to adjust the seat to bring it forward.
Within minutes he’s nodding off with his face turned to the open window. Using the rear view mirror I see Lani staring out at the passing fields while gently stroking Milly’s face. Sensing me watching her she turns and smiles.
The lads stay quiet for once, all of us absorbed and knackered from the exertion and heat. On the back seat, I see Dave staring at me. Our eyes lock as the sunlight pours through the window, bathing his face in a golden glow. Shadows flit across his face but he doesn't blink or move, just stares at me. I hated him earlier, I hated his coldness and inability to feel but now I remember every sacrifice and risk he has taken for me. How utterly devoted he has been and risking his life again and again.
Last night while I was passed out he chose to go outside and take that horde on his own. None of us would be here if it wasn’t for that quiet man, and for the most fleeting of seconds I get an overwhelming sensation that he knew I was immune all along. Realisation dawns as I remember all those times he’s made odd comments about how I must be the one to survive.
Glancing back at him in the mirror, he’s still staring at me. He nods once and smiles, a small twitch
of the lips before turning to stare out the window.
Even if I am immune, it won’t be me that saves everyone. It’ll be Dave.
Thirty Eight
‘Pathogen,’ the Doc mutters to himself. Taking his reading glasses off, he rubs his eyes slowly. ‘Definitely a pathogen.’
A pathogen causes disease in the host. The zombie virus is without doubt a disease that is spread from host to host, making it a communicable disease. It appears to be passed when bodily fluids from a host get into a healthy body.
That much is obvious. The infected zombie bites someone and that person then gets infected. The disease is not airborne, nor does it appear to be able to survive once it is outside the host body. Does that make it parasitical? Or possibly even a parasitoid? If it requires the host to survive, like a parasite would, then surely that must make it parasitical in nature? The Doc rubs his eyes again, Christ this is confusing.
So a parasite gets into the host and in the worst case, eventually destroys the host by eating the organs, destroying the immune system and so on. But this isn’t a parasite.
A parasite can be a form of pathogen, but there are other forms of pathogen too. Pathogen is just the word used to describe anything that can produce disease.
Flicking back a few pages, the Doc starts reading the Introduction to Pathogens chapter again. He discovers the word Prion and a description of how a Prion propagates by transmitting a misfolded protein state. The Prion enters a healthy system and converts the healthy cells into the disease replicated state by acting as a template.
‘Got it,’ the Doc grabs his pen to write the word Prion on his notepad and underscores it several times. ‘The zombie virus is a Prion.’ He knew he could work this out.
Oh wait, a Prion can attach to a virus. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a Prion.
‘Mad cow disease,’ he says finding the right page. Yes of course, CJD was what everyone called it a few years ago. So that was a Prion was it? How interesting. But if Prions and Viruses are both forms of Pathogens then how can a Prion be attached to a Virus? Can they work together? Wouldn’t that make the Prion a parasite? If the Prion was leap-frogging on the back of the Virus it would be parasitical, wouldn’t it? No, a parasite eats the host but the Prion doesn't eat the Virus it just works with it.