Cassie wiped away the tears.
“Please forgive me,” she whispered. She supposed she was talking to God, a god, any being who might judge her – Jack. What if this was all going to go wrong? What if the formulation was different, if the Germans tinkered further with the virus formula, and the English spies didn’t realise? What if she and Liam caused humans to be wiped out in England, or all over the world?
Too late to worry now.
Her cough was getting stronger, and inside the building, she could hear others hacking away. Liam had fallen into a thin sleep. He twitched and fidgeted against her. His cheeks had gone bright red from the fever, but his heat was comforting against her.
And so it begins, she thinks. My death. Jack’s life. His future in this land that Liam and I are clearing. Please forgive me.
The police had tortured her to try and discover the father’s name. She’d not given in, taking her punishment on that stupid game show and with Devine’s sleazy smile. Thought the money might help her mother accept her. But in reality, she knew her mother never would. Cassie started coughing, unable to stop, she hacked to the point of almost choking. She caught her breath and checked on Liam. He had the smell of illness on him. She supposed she did as well.
How long had they been here, cuddled up together against the wall? Hundreds had filed by as she journeyed the past, lost in her thoughts. The citizens gave her as wide a berth as they could, but she knew they couldn’t get far enough away, even if they tried. There probably wasn’t a safe place for miles. She forced herself to look up at them. Focussing was difficult, her vision was blurring just a little. They were such automatons, most not even giving her a second glance.
She said a silent prayer for her son as inside the building a chorus of coughs reached a crescendo.
Forgive me Jack.
The Ultimate Choice
By Lisa C Hinsley
Dear Reader,
If you enjoyed this novel, please let me know at [email protected] or leave a review on the book’s Amazon page.
Thank you!
Lisa
Also available on Kindle:
Coombe’s Wood – US
My Demon – US
Coombe’s Wood – UK
My Demon – UK
Lisa C Hinsley was born in Portsmouth in 1971, and grew up in England, Scotland, and America. She now lives on the Wirral, in northwest England, with her husband, three children, and four cats. She hopes not to be thought of as the American Cat Lady, but some things are just inevitable.
Recently, her novel What Alice Sees placed as runner-up in the 2010 UKA Opening Pages Competition. Her novel Coombe’s Wood finished in the semi-finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2009 and was awarded runner up in the all-genre Book of the Year Awards 2008 on Arts Council website YouWriteOn. Now listed on Amazon Kindle, Coombe’s Wood has sold over 2000 copies and counting. Lisa’s novel The Crocodile was short-listed in the Undiscovered Authors 2006 competition. Several of Lisa’s short stories and poems have appeared in print publications.
You can find out more about her here: www.lisahinsley.weebly.com.
First published in 2011 by Lisa C Hinsley
Copyright © Lisa C Hinsley All rights reserved.
The author asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
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