by Alex Burns
The Survivors
Pandemic
Alex Burns
Copyright © 2018 by Alex Burns
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Afterword
About the Author
Prologue
I didn’t realise how much I’d miss grocery shopping until it was gone.
To not take anything for granted had been one of my go-to New Year’s Eve resolutions for years. I thought I’d done pretty well at following it. You know, to appreciate how damn awesome my fiancé was and remind myself daily how lucky I was to have him, to having a mostly sane and supportive family, holding a well-paying job that allowed us to buy a house and keep food on the table, to not be allergic to anything other than cheap laundry detergent…
That was before, though. I’d actually taken a lot for granted. Simple things that I never even really thought about. Things like the light turning on when you flicked the switch, and running water coming out of the tap. Public transport, the postal service, hospitals full of doctors, nurses and medical supplies. The Internet and mobile phones. Law and order. Grocery shopping. The simple stuff.
I’ve heard it called a few different names. First it was just ‘that really bad flu that everyone’s got’. After the first few hundred deaths other names started popping up. The minister’s wife calls it Our Reckoning. Other’s called it the Red Death or simply The Plague, likening it to that pestilence that wiped out a third of humanity in Europe and Asia in the 14th century. If only we’d gotten off as lightly as those poor medieval people who lived through the Black Death. From here, I tell you a third of everyone dying sounds damn positive. Humanity recovered and bounced back. Living conditions and wages improved for the survivors and their children.
I don’t see us recovering that quickly. I don’t know if we’ll recover at all. I don’t know how many of us are left. Sometimes I think I don’t want to know. The thought is terrifying…
Chapter One
The second Friday in August was the day everything changed. I didn’t recognise the world as I knew it ending at first. Not many people did.
It was a cold winter morning. I snuggled up under my blankets, wishing I had Tristan next to me. The man was like my own personal radiator. Instead, all I had was the cat by my feet. She wasn’t nearly as big or warm.
“Five more days,” I muttered to Gertrude the cat. She ignored me and kept on sleeping. My hand darted out to grab my phone off the bedside table. A few messages had come through while I’d been sleeping.
“Bastard,” I muttered, a grin spreading across my face. Tristan had sent me another photo of the view from his parents’ deck. Blue seas, an even bluer sky and those brilliant mountains. How I missed those mountains! He’d been gone for almost four weeks, back home in Canada visiting his friends and family and living it up in the glorious British Columbian summer while I slogged it out in gloomy, grey Melbourne. I looked out the window, through the crack in the blinds. Another grey morning. I was forgetting what sunshine felt like.
Before we’d moved here, Tristan hadn’t believed me that it got cold in Australia. ‘Isn’t it always hot and sunny,’ he’d innocently asked. He knew better now after living through two of our winters, although he still always got a kick out of wearing shorts while most people were rugged up in coats and scarves.
I could see my breath in the cold morning air. Our little house was cute and old and I loved it, but it needed a lot of work, and part of that work was getting it properly insulated! The bedrooms didn’t seem to retain any heat overnight. I thought longingly of the nice, warm weather Tristan was experiencing and yet again wished I’d been able to go with him. I’d been living vicariously through Tristan’s photos and updates but it just wasn’t the same. I missed my Canadian friends and Tristan’s family, but I also really missed the mountains. I never noticed how flat Melbourne was until I’d lived in Vancouver for four years.
I must have dozed off, because I didn’t wake up again until the cat bit me. I lashed out at the normally quite pleasant creature with my feet. She streaked out of the room with a yowl. I grabbed my phone from where I’d dropped it.
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” I tumbled out of bed. It was 9:30 am and I was very late for work. I pulled on the same clothes I’d worn yesterday from the pile next to my bed and checked my phone again, surprised that I hadn’t had a phone call from my sure-to-be irate boss, Meghan. I was supposed to have co-led a meeting with some new clients half an hour ago.
In my rush I skipped breakfast, spilt toothpaste down my front, and spilled cat food all over the floor. I left the mess for Gertrude to clean up.
I power walked to the train station, wishing I’d thought to put on a clean shirt at least. I felt particularly gross and sweaty by the time I made it to the platform heading into the city, and made a mental note to go to work bathrooms and freshen up before going to my desk.
The train was much emptier than I was used to, but I put that down to the time. Most people would have already been at work or school for at least an hour. Along with nearly everyone else in the carriage, I spent the trip enamoured with my phone, scrolling through my social media feeds to see what important things I’d missed out on overnight but in reality just ended up watching cute cat and dog videos.
A few stations along, a sniffling and snuffling and utterly miserable looking young woman in business clothes sank down in the seat opposite me. I resisted the urge to move away, but resolved to get a big glass of fresh orange juice and pop a vitamin as soon as possible. I couldn’t help but think she was selfish, spreading her germs around. She should just call in sick, or work from home. I tried to be charitable to the sick woman; the problem was our workaholic culture. Too many bosses gave you a hard time if you called in sick, especially just for a cold. There was the expectation that you’d just soldier through. It was pretty counter-productive, in my opinion. The sick worker comes into the office instead of resting at home and infects everyone else at work, and then they’re dealing with half the office away instead of just that one initial sick person. I didn’t get it. That was one thing I did like about my new boss; she wasn’t like that at all. She encouraged us to stay away if we were under the weather.
I glanced nervously at my phone and wondered if I’d get off easier if I called Meghan now or if I grovelled in person. I decided to make the awkward conversation and potential tongue lashing Future!Alice’s problem and not call. I was more charming in person, anyway.
I dawdled a bit more than I should have, walking up Collins St to the office. The damage was already done, and now I was just dreading the inevitable confrontation. Meghan wa
sn’t exactly known for being calm and reasonable when people stuffed up. I didn’t even have a good excuse. I couldn’t even remember going back to sleep. I didn’t usually do that.
I stood in the lobby, waiting for the elevator.
Calm down, it’ll be fine. You’re not about to be fired, I told myself. I didn’t seem to be doing a very good job of convincing myself judging by my whacky heartbeat and clammy palms.
The elevator doors finally opened with their annoying ding and I stood like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Alice. You came in.” She didn’t look angry. She just looked exhausted.
“Yes…” I said slowly, wondering when the yelling was going to start. “I’m really, really sorry I’m late. I don’t know what happened. I’m so sorry,” I gabbled.
“What?” Meghan frowned and rubbed her forehead.
“I’ll make it up, somehow, I promise.” I bit my lip, trying to gauge her reaction. She looked confused for a moment and I was starting to think I’d got the date wrong and all that stress had been for nothing when recognition dawned on her her face.
“Oh, the client meeting. Didn’t Pete tell you? They rescheduled for next week.”
Relief flooded through me. “Oh! Right. Well, um…” I was going to kill Pete.
Meghan swayed a bit and I reached out to steady her.
“Are you all right?” I asked, alarmed. I looked at her more closely. She was very pale and clammy.
“I’m fine, just a bit…,” she trailed off and shook her head. “I’m going to go home. I’ll check back in with you this afternoon, okay?”
I blinked at Meghan’s retreating back and watched as she got into a waiting cab. I couldn’t believe I’d gotten off that lightly.
I made a beeline for Pete’s desk once I got up to our level. It was empty.
“Where’s Pete?” I asked Ruby. Her desk was next to Pete’s. She looked up from her computer and smiled brightly at me.
“Gone home sick,” she said, still smiling.
“And why do you look so happy about that?” I asked with a laugh.
“You don’t sit near him, you don’t understand the daily struggles I have. Pete sounds gross when he eats. And he eats at his desk all the time. This is blissfully quiet. I’m enjoying it while it lasts.”
It was quiet. Much quieter than I was used to, and that wasn’t all down to Pete’s lack of munching. I turned and looked around properly. Half the desks were empty.
“Where is everyone?” I turned back to Ruby.
“Home. A bunch of people called in sick. I figured you had as well.”
“Nah, I just slept in. What’s wrong with everyone? Not food poisoning is it?” The company had supplied us lunch the day before and I’d thought the fried rice tasted a little but funky.
Ruby shook her head. “No, I think they’ve mostly all come down with the same cold or flu or something. There’s a nasty one going around. My boyfriend works at a law firm over on Burke Street, and he said half the lawyers are away sick today too. You know they must be really sick if they’re giving up billable hours!”
I nodded. “They all seemed mostly fine yesterday…”
Ruby laughed. “That’s what Meghan said. I think she thought they were all faking it and hungover or something, until she started to feel sick too.”
“Well, I hope we don’t catch it!”
Ruby opened her drawer, pulled out some hand sanitiser and threw it at me. “Just in case,” she said. “I’ve been using it anytime I have to touch anything in this place. Better safe than sorry!”
I laughed. “Thanks, Ruby.”
The rest of the work day passed by, and I had a surprisingly productive day without Ron coming up and asking me pointless questions every ten minutes or so, Gerald telling me about the latest amazing thing his kid had done, or Kim trying to lecture anyone who would stand still long enough about whatever her latest obsession was. She’s already gone through knitting, the paleo diet, hot yoga, and the moon landing being a hoax over the past month. It was hard to keep up.
I opened up a news website just before leaving work. One of the headlines grabbed my attention. Woman, 30, dies from mystery flu. A young woman, only a year older than me, had died of a mystery flu-like virus. Her name was Naomi Lee. I couldn’t stop staring at Naomi’s grinning face. She was radiant, holding a glass of champagne, with a gorgeous river backdrop behind her, obviously not suspecting that death was around the corner. Apparently she’d just got back from an overseas trip. I felt horrible for her, and her friends and family. Thirty was too young to die. And from the flu! Healthy people didn’t die from the flu! The article stated that the virus appeared to be extremely contagious, and people who had been in contact with her or on her flight were being asked to monitor themselves for any symptoms and to call ahead to a hospital if they started feeling ill.
I stopped reading and looked uneasily around the half-empty office. Surely it wasn’t the same disease. It was just a coincidence.
The train was definitely emptier than usual on the way home that night. That fact didn’t set off any bright red alarm bells at the time, it it would have if I’d known what was coming. At the time I was just grateful for the seat and told myself to enjoy the extra space while it lasted because surely everything would go back to normal soon enough. How wrong I was.
Chapter Two
I got off the train at Yarraville. The plan was to meet up with my best friend, Lucy, for some after-work Friday drinks. I’d been looking forward to it all week.
I was early. I walked around the usually bustling Village and noticed, in that way that you don’t realise until later when you think about it, that it wasn’t as busy as usual. I ended up in my usual spot while waiting for someone; browsing in the Sun Bookshop.
My phone buzzed, and I really hoped it wasn’t Lucy cancelling. I put the book I’d been contemplating buying down and fished my phone out of my coat pocket.
Lucy: I’m close. Where are you?
Phew. I replied to her text, telling her to meet me at the little wine bar around the corner that we both liked.
We got there at the same time. She looked tired, but greeted me with a happy smile.
“Hey,” she said. She pushed the door open and I followed her in. The bartender greeted us, and we headed to our usual spot in the heated courtyard out back. The brickwork and ferns reminded me vaguely of Europe. I felt a little sophisticated sitting there. It was a far cry from the local pub in my tiny hometown.
“You look like you’ve have a long week!” I said as we sat down. The bartender followed us out with some menus and asked us what we wanted to drink.
“Two of the shiraz’s, please,” Lucy said with a smile at the bartender and a wink for me. She knew me too well. “Yeah, it been pretty busy,” Lucy continued after the bartender retreated inside with our order. “I can’t wait to just sleep in and do nothing tomorrow. I’m knackered.”
“Me too,” I said, looking at the dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept properly for days. “Although I’ve got Paddy’s birthday drinks tomorrow night. Don’t want to tag along, do you? You’ve met Paddy, haven’t you?”
Lucy nodded. “Yeah, I’ve met him. I’ll see how I feel… Where are you going?”
I shrugged. “Dunno. Some bar in the city. I’ll have to check the invite. Some place overpriced and trendy, no doubt.”
Lucy laughed. The bartender returned with our drinks.
“Cheers,” we said at the same time, holding up our drinks.
“Another week survived!” Lucy said with a giggle.
“And Tristan gets back in a few days!” I grinned almost manically.
“You must be getting excited. I haven’t ever been away from Alan for more than a couple of days. I can’t imagine a month!”
“Yeah,” I said and looked into my wine glass. “I’ve actually missed him more than I thought I would.”
“You big sap,” Lucy said with a laugh.
&nbs
p; “It’s been kind of fun living alone though. I’ve never done that before. But, yeah, I miss the big goofball.”
“Of course you do,” Lucy said with a slight shake of her head. “You should probably reconsider the engagement if you didn’t miss him at all after not seeing him for a month!”
I snorted. “Yeah, probably.”
“It’s not as silly as it sounds,” Lucy said after taking a small sip of wine. “My cousin Steve called off his wedding after he moved to Mildura for work. His fiancee was back in Melbourne and they could only see each other once a month or something. After a few months, he realised he was happier without her!”
“You sure he didn’t just meet someone else up there?” I asked.
Lucy shook her head. “Nah, I don’t think so.”
“Well, I’m definitely not happier without Tristan!”
“Good to know.” Lucy tapped her glass with mine again. “So how was work this week?”
“Yeah, fine. Today was a bit weird though,” I said and took a long sip of wine. It tasted divine. I’d been a good girl that week and not given into the temptation to drink at home alone. The week before, I hadn’t been so good.
“How come?” Lucy asked when I didn’t elaborate.
I started to reply when the bartender came back out and asked us if we wanted anything to eat. I raised my eyebrows at Lucy, but she shook her head.
“No thanks,” she said politely. He retreated with a nod.