The Silent Invasion

by James Bradley

  ‘After Dad Changed you said he should have run, made for the Zone.’

  ‘Oh, Callie. If I did, that wasn’t what I meant. It’s too dangerous. And even if you got her there, what would happen to you? You couldn’t come back.’

  ‘I can’t go back already.’

  Claire looked at me for several seconds. Then she seemed to reach a decision.

  ‘Wait here,’ she said, standing up. ‘And keep quiet.’

  As she shut the door behind her and turned the key in the lock panic gripped me, my eyes travelling to the little window above the door in search of an escape route. Next to me I felt Gracie’s eyes on me.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ I said, smiling as brightly as I could.

  ‘Is Claire really going to help us?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes,’ I said, trying to sound confident.

  ‘She won’t tell anybody we’re here?’

  ‘Of course not,’ I said, hoping it was true. ‘Are you tired?’ I asked, trying to change the subject. ‘Would you like to lie down?’

  Gracie shook her head, but when I put my backpack on the floor and lay down she came and curled up next to me. The floor was hard, and the lino smelled dusty and old, but my eyes were hot and tired and it was a relief to close them, even for a few minutes.

  6

  I woke with a start. Although I only seemed to have been asleep for a few minutes, the light in the room had faded. Claire was seated at her desk, watching me.

  ‘You must have been exhausted.’

  I nodded. Looking down I saw I had drooled on the floor where I had been lying; clumsily I wiped my face with the back of my hand. Claire laughed.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ve thought about sleeping there myself from time to time. I’d save on rent.’

  Aware she was trying to put me at ease I forced myself to smile.

  ‘What time is it?’ I asked.

  Claire leaned over and touched the screen on her desk. ‘Almost seven. I didn’t want to wake the two of you.’

  I stood up and moved toward the window. Outside the sky was dusted red and orange by the setting sun. In her chair Claire regarded me carefully.

  ‘I know you feel as if you have to do this, but you don’t, Callie. Nobody will judge you if you choose not to.’

  I didn’t reply.

  ‘I’m serious. Sometimes the cost of helping is too high. You do understand that if you take her to the Zone you won’t be able to come back? And that once you’re there there’s every chance you’ll be infected as well? That you will Change?’

  Perhaps I hesitated, because Claire leaned forward and gripped my arm.

  ‘No, Callie. I want you to consider the consequences of what you’re doing, of what you’ve already done.’

  I shook my head. ‘I can’t let Gracie go,’ I said, surprised by my own vehemence.

  Claire didn’t reply. Finally she nodded. ‘All right.’

  Sitting back she regarded me thoughtfully. ‘You remind me of your father, you know that?’

  I didn’t reply.

  ‘How well do you remember him?’

  I shrugged. ‘Well enough.’

  ‘He loved you, you know. More than anything.’

  I nodded. For several seconds Claire was silent. When she spoke again her voice was quieter, more distant.

  ‘This thing you’re doing, he wouldn’t approve but I think he’d understand. He didn’t advertise it but he was very brave. His work . . . his work mattered so much.’

  I hesitated, wanting to know more about my father’s work, aware there was something Claire was holding back. But then she smiled and the moment was gone.

  ‘I often wish things had worked out differently.’

  ‘With Dad?’

  ‘And you.’ Briefly I thought she might say more, but beside me Gracie was stirring.

  Claire had brought food: bread and olives and fruit, as well as some packets she stuffed into my bag. Although I was hungry I found it difficult to eat without watching Gracie pick at her food, anxious her lack of appetite might be a sign her transformation was hastening.

  Claire’s plan was that we should make for Sydney, then head north along the old Pacific Highway. ‘Before the Change, getting between the cities was easy: you could just get a train or a bus or a plane, and if you couldn’t afford that you could drive. But there are hardly any flights any more, and you wouldn’t get through security at the airport or the train station anyway. That leaves hitchhiking, but there are checkpoints, and they’ll be looking for the two of you.’

  ‘Then what are we supposed to do?’

  Claire tapped the table in front of her. ‘I have a friend whose son ran away a year or two ago. Afterwards it turned out he’d broken into a container yard and stowed away on a truck taking fruit up to Sydney. He’s back now, so I got my friend to give me his number and I called him. He was a bit shifty about the details but eventually he told me there’s a container yard where you can get over the fence and jump on a truck.’

  ‘How do we know it’ll be the right one?’

  ‘That’s the catch. You don’t. But apparently most of the trucks go to Melbourne and Sydney, and at least it’d get you out of Adelaide.’

  ‘What if we end up in Perth? Or in the desert somewhere?’

  Claire looked uneasy. ‘That’s the risk, Callie. And it’s another reason you should think again about even trying this. If you go back now, try to explain, they might understand, even let you off with a warning.’

  I could feel Gracie watching me. ‘I can’t do that,’ I said. ‘Not now.’

  Claire nodded. ‘You should try to rest,’ she said. ‘You’ve got a long night ahead of you.’

  We stayed in Claire’s office through the evening, Claire and I talking while Gracie dozed. As it grew dark outside, the pool of light cast by the reading lamp on the desk seemed to float, suspended in the warm dark. Near midnight Claire sat back in her chair and looked at me.

  ‘Can I ask you something, Callie?’

  I nodded. ‘Of course.’

  ‘That day, the day your father Changed, did he say anything to you? Did he give you anything?’

  I looked away, remembering the pounding on the door, my father hugging me, telling me he loved me.

  ‘I don’t think so. Why?’

  ‘I never told you this, but the night before he’d told me he was close to finding a treatment.’

  I looked at her in amazement. ‘A treatment? For the Change?’

  Claire nodded. ‘He’d been looking for one since it first arrived.’

  ‘What was it?’ I asked. ‘Did it work?’

  Claire shook her head. ‘That’s the thing, I don’t know. The day after he Changed, Quarantine came, impounded his lab, took his files. But if he said he was close, Callie, he was close. Which is why I wondered whether he’d left something with you.’

  I leaned back. It seemed so unfair, that my father should have been so close to a cure and then been arrested. How different things might have been if he’d been able to finish his work. Not just for us, but for the world.

  ‘We should go,’ Claire said.

  I nodded, kneeling down beside Gracie. But when she opened her eyes they were full of light. Claire gasped, and Gracie blinked, still half-asleep, the light fading again. Shaken I put my arms around her and, lifting her up, laid her head upon my shoulder.

  Outside we walked quickly through the darkened space of the university. I had buttoned Gracie’s dress up tight to hide the signs of the Change, but still, it was difficult not to worry people might see something.

  We had already agreed it was too risky to take a bus, so on North Terrace Claire flagged down one of the old cars that served as taxis, standing aside while I clambered in with Gracie in my arms.

  The
night air was warm and still and the smell of salt mingled with the stink of diesel from the taxi’s engine as we drove out of the city and through the parklands. Once this area had been covered in trees and grass; now it was filled with shanties built by refugees from the north, ragged constructions of tin and canvas and wood. Overhead a helicopter hung in the air, the vertical beam of its spotlight moving restlessly across the rooftops. Claire watched it, unspeaking.

  ‘What is it?’ I asked.

  She shook her head. ‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘It’s just it sometimes seems difficult to believe things got so bad so fast.’

  ‘They’ll get better again,’ I said, but Claire only looked away.

  ‘I suppose we have to think that,’ she said. ‘But we can’t go back.’

  As we headed westward the suburbs grew more dilapi­dated, shop windows boarded up or abandoned, the streetlights working less often. Eventually we passed a container yard set back from the road behind a high fence and lit here and there by floodlights. Next to me Claire squeezed my hand.

  ‘This is it,’ she said quietly. Once the driver had pulled over she helped me and Gracie out, then waited until the taxi had driven away. Once we were alone she pointed at the wire fence that ran down the side of the yard.

  ‘My friend’s son said the hole in the fence is up there.’

  ‘And I just find a truck and get on it?’

  ‘If you can. Apparently once they’ve been loaded it’s possible to climb in without being spotted.’

  ‘What about security?’

  ‘There are cameras but apparently they don’t often check the trucks themselves.’

  In the orange glow of the lights the yard looked lonely, still, its deserted structures like a vision of a world without humans.

  ‘I’ll wait here,’ Claire said. ‘If you have any trouble come back and find me.’

  I nodded, trying not to look nervous.

  Claire put a hand on my shoulder. ‘Are you absolutely certain you want to do this?’

  ‘I am,’ I said, and Claire nodded. For a second or two I thought she might say something more, but in the end she just reached into her bag and took out a handful of twenty dollar notes. ‘Here,’ she said. ‘Take this. It’s not much but hopefully it’ll help.’

  I took the cash and slipped it in my front pocket. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I’m glad you came to me, Callie,’ she said.

  ‘I’m glad too,’ I said.

  She looked at me intently. ‘Be careful. And remember you can’t trust anybody. Even if they say they’re going to help, you can’t be sure they will.’

  Kneeling down she hugged Gracie. ‘Look after your sister for me, will you, Gracie? And make sure you do exactly what she says.’

  Gracie nodded seriously and Claire kissed her and stood up.

  ‘If you find some way back, Callie, come to me. If I can help you I will.’

  I nodded, biting my lip.

  I led Gracie along the fence, keeping low as I searched for the gap Claire’s friend’s son had told her about. In the yard figures were moving about in the yellow glow of the sodium lights, and as I scanned the cyclone wire ahead of me I kept darting looks up and in, nervous somebody would notice us. In the end the hole was so well disguised I almost missed it: a series of cuts running upward that had been wound back together with plastic ties. Dropping low I fumbled to undo them, working fast with my eyes fixed on the yard.

  As the last tie came loose I pushed the wire, and it separated with a rattle, opening a gap at the bottom of the fence. I slithered through and then reached back for Gracie. She pulled away.

  ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We’ll be fine.’

  She hesitated, then, as if deciding to trust me, she let me help her through. In the long grass on the other side she waited while I replaced the ties.

  ‘Where are we going?’ she asked when I was finished.

  I looked around. A line of containers stood ten or twelve metres from us, their blocky shapes piled two or three high. Along the edge of them were spotlights mounted on poles, casting yellow light on their sides so the logos were illuminated, faded images of ships and names like Shanghai Star and ATRAN.

  ‘That way,’ I said. ‘Are you ready?’

  Gracie nodded. Bracing myself, I took her in my arms, then, with a last look around, pushed myself upright and ran toward the containers.

  Although it only took a few seconds, my heart was beating fast by the time I reached the nearest of the containers and flattened myself against it. Up close it smelled of rust and oil and the sharp, dry smell of metal. I caught my breath then, moving carefully, we made our way to the end of the row and looked around into the yard.

  In the open space in front of us a dozen trucks stood in two rows with their backs open, surrounded by crates filled with fruit and packages of one kind and another, while ten or twelve men in reflective vests were at work directing a pair of forklifts or securing the loads. Beyond them several more trucks stood by the gate, presumably loaded and ready to leave.

  I knew I had to get to the trucks by the gate. But as I watched the men working in the space in front of me it was difficult to see how I could make it over there without being spotted.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Gracie whispered, her face close to mine.

  ‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘I’m just thinking.’ But as I spoke one of the forklifts whirred past with a stack of plastic-wrapped pallets on its forks. Startled, I flattened myself against the containers, hugging Gracie to me, but the driver didn’t seem to have noticed us.

  I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. And as I did I realised that if I could make it to the trucks that were being loaded without being spotted, then, if I timed it right, I might be able to slip between them to the far side and make a dash for the loaded trucks by the gates.

  I swung Gracie up onto my hip. ‘Okay,’ I said, looking at her. ‘I’m going to need you to hold on tight and keep very quiet. Can you do that?’

  Gracie nodded, her face serious.

  ‘All right then,’ I said, watching as the forklift swung past us again. ‘Here we go.’

  It was only about fifty metres to the trucks, but that was more than far enough with my pack on my back and Gracie on my hip. As I ran I kept waiting to hear a cry or a shout as one of the men spotted us, but it never came, and a few moments later I reached the closest of the trucks and dropped down into the shelter of its shadow, my breath coming hot and hard.

  Once I had recovered a little I put Gracie on the ground, took her hand and led her toward the front of the truck, careful to stay low and out of sight. It was old, its sides dented and pitted with rust and festooned with graffiti, and as we made our way along it I peered at the machinery beneath it, wondering whether it was safe.

  When we reached its front we stopped and I peered around. Ahead of us the yard was empty, and the trucks seemed to be unattended, so I led Gracie out and around and began to move from truck to truck. The loaded trucks by the gate were still a hundred metres away, and I kept glancing at them, anxious for any sign they might suddenly depart.

  At first it looked like we were going to get lucky. But as we came around the front of the fourth truck we found a woman standing by an open panel in its side.

  It’s possible that if I’d been quicker I could have darted back before she saw me, but I was so startled I just stopped dead, meaning I had time to watch her glance my way and fall still.

  For a second, maybe more, neither of us moved. I had caught her off guard, my presence confusing her, but in the time it took me to realise it was too late to duck away, she regained her presence of mind and began to move toward me.

  ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ she demanded, but instead of answering I took a step back out of sight.

  ‘Hey,’ I heard her call. ‘Hey!’ But I was already in motion, swin
ging Gracie up onto my hip and bolting back the way we’d come. As I reached the first truck a man appeared in front of me. Not knowing what else to do I darted sideways between the two trucks, but then I heard shouts and glimpsed figures moving in the loading area at the far end, meaning I was trapped.

  I didn’t know what to do, all I knew was that I couldn’t let them catch me, so I did the only thing possible, which was to duck down beneath the truck. I landed hard, overbalanced by Gracie’s weight, my free hand scraping painfully against the rough concrete as I struggled not to stumble. In my arms Gracie whimpered, but before she could cry out I pushed her face into my shirt, silencing her as the legs of our pursuers raced by, only centimetres from our faces.

  Moving quickly I shuffled toward the nearest set of wheels and leaned against them. A few metres away people were shouting, demanding to know where I’d gone as they ran up and down the truck on either side.

  I knew there was no longer any possibility of reaching the trucks by the gate. But I also knew that if we stayed here we’d be caught. Taking Gracie by the hand I crawled as far along the truck as I could and looked out. Although I could hear our pursuers shouting I couldn’t see any of them, so I broke cover and raced toward the next truck. As I did I heard a cry. I looked around and saw one of the men standing at the other end of the row.

  Cursing I darted back the way we’d come, only to hear somebody hiss, ‘Over here!’ behind me. I turned and saw a figure in the back of one of the half-loaded trucks.

  ‘Here, give her to me,’ he said, reaching out for Gracie. I hesitated, but then I heard another shout from behind me and I lifted her up to him. He took her and set her down away from the opening, then shoved a hand out and pulled me up after her.

  ‘Quick!’ he hissed, shoving the two of us down behind a pile of pallets.

  I dropped down, scared even to breathe. Outside I could hear our pursuers shouting to one another as they hurried back and forth. After what seemed a long time one stopped somewhere nearby. Somebody called to them from further away, and after a moment’s silence they said, ‘Nah, gone.’