Dead Tropics

by Sue Edge

  Copyright @ 2011 Edge

  Cover by Sue Edgerley

  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 permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  First printing March 2011

  ISBN 9781456473785

  About the Author:

  A freelance writer and mother of three, Edge steals the time to write by ignoring the state of her house and pretending that the kids can look after themselves.

  Dedicated to:

  My family, for whom I would take out countless zombie hordes!

  My friend and editor,

  Sharyn, for persevering with reading a zombie tale when she would rather be reading Georgette Heyer.

  Claudette and Ed for their contributions to my cover.

  Dead Tropics

  by

  Edge

  The hospital

  1

  The first hint of the plague which was to destroy our world came with a brief report on the morning news. I barely registered it, really, as I tried to persuade the twins to stay in their seats and eat their breakfast. I noted something about miners being diagnosed with an unidentified form of encephalitis in the nearby village of Mossman.

  Joe snorted from his easy chair. “That’s what you get for messing with nature. The Cape Tribulation rainforest has been untouched by humans for millions of years. You’ve got species of plants and insects that have never been identified! I wouldn’t be surprised if they discover that this strain of encephalitis predates the dinosaurs.”

  I rolled my eyes. I loved my brother dearly but the last thing I needed this morning was a lecture on the dangers of destroying the virgin rainforest of Cape Tribulation. He had been impossible for the last few months since the mining companies had won permission to mine part of the rainforest around Mossman. I guess it was part and parcel of living with an environmentalist for a brother.

  “Are you likely to get called into work this morning?” I asked, wrestling a porridgy spoon away from Sarah and pushed Alex firmly back into his high chair.

  “Lori, if they do call, they’re sadly out of luck.” He grinned, hazel eyes twinkling. “Or have you forgotten that somewhere out there is a marlin with my name on it.”

  “Hmph.” I sniffed disdainfully, sidestepping the fact that I had forgotten all about the fishing trip. “I’ll wager that the marlin with your name on it will still be safely swimming in the ocean when you get back!”

  Joe switched off the tv and stood up, miming a dagger in his chest. “Ouch. Low blow, sis.”

  He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug. “But I forgive you, seeing I have the most understanding sister in the world, offering to drive me in, holding down the fort for the whole weekend, picking me up at an ungodly hour…”

  I smiled and squirmed away. “Stop crawling and help me clean these kids up before we go.”

  He grabbed three-year-old Alex and lifted him high as he headed for the bathroom. “Okay, rugrat, try not to make your mum’s life a misery while I’m away!”

  Alex squealed and tried to swat his uncle’s face. I smiled affectionately at their disappearing backs. Although I had protested when Joe had said he was moving in after Charles’ death, it was impossible to imagine life without him now. In six months, he had become an indelible part of our family’s life, helping me out with the kids, bringing in much needed money and reminding me that I could laugh again.

  Seeing her brother leaving, Sarah demanded loudly to be picked up as well. As I gingerly tried to lift her out of the chair without getting porridge all over my clothes, Michele wandered out of her room. At 15, she had reached an age where she seemed to want to sleep all morning so I was a bit surprised to see her before noon.

  “Good morning, sweetness.” I called out as I shepherded Sarah ahead of me to the bathroom. My teen grunted a greeting as she flung cupboard doors open, no doubt in search of a breakfast that didn’t scream healthy.

  All in all, a normal morning in the Nelson home. No awareness that our world was already in the process of changing forever; no hint that, somewhere, an impossible disease was taking hold; no clue that some of us would be committing unthinkable acts before the day was through.

  2

  Twins cleaned up and occupied helping their uncle double-check his gear, I poured myself a cup of tepid coffee and joined Michele at the breakfast table. She was looking a bit more alert after a sugary cereal hit.

  “So what gets you up so early, honey?” I asked chirpily, knowing how she hated cheeriness first thing in the morning. Michele narrowed her golden brown eyes, one of the few features she had inherited from me, but refrained admirably from making a sarcastic reply. Instead, she smiled sweetly, which immediately sent off alarm bells.

  “Seeing we don’t have any exams today, Hannah wants me to go shopping with her. Can you give me a lift to Central Shoppingtown? Please, mummy?”

  That’s the thing about being a parent. Even though you can spot your kid’s manipulations a mile off, they still work more often than not. “Yeah yeah. If you want a lift, you’d better be ready in half an hour. I have to drop your Uncle off at the jetty and your brother and sister at Aunty Kaye’s, not to mention get to work on time for once.”

  Michele jumped up and gave me a hug. “Thanks Mummy! Oh, and can I borrow $20?”

  ****

  Surprisingly, we got out of the house on time. Being winter, Cairns was enjoying a glorious day. Brilliant blue skies, balmy breezes and lush green hills on all sides. Even after all these years, its beauty could still take my breath away. I loved the way you could be in the midst of rainforest country one minute and at the beach the next. It was the best of both worlds. However, it seemed I was the only one taking notice of our beautiful surrounds as I drove along the highway. Michele had her IPod plugged in, the twins were loudly singing a Wiggles tune while Joe tried to listen to the news. “Shush, kids!” he called out abruptly as he turned up the radio.

  “…at least 5 suspected cases of the unidentified strain of encephalitis are currently being transported from Mossman to the Cairns Base Hospital where they will undergo testing to confirm the diagnosis. All the victims so far have been employees of the Coldman Mining Company; however, anyone who has visited the Mossman region recently should see their doctor immediately if they experience symptoms such as a sensitivity to light, headaches, vomiting and a stiff neck. It is suspected that the victims contracted the virus from mosquitoes disturbed by the mining operations…”

  I sighed. “Looks like I am going to be busy at the hospital today.” The shortage of nurses at the hospital meant that we were spread pretty thin and an influx of emergency cases was going to make it a hairy day.

  Joe frowned. “Five cases in one day - that doesn’t sound good. This could be like that dengue fever epidemic we had last year.”

  I hoped not. A dozen people had died in that outbreak. The downside of living in a gorgeous place like Cairns was that we weren’t the only creatures that did so. Being such a humid, tropical place, the mosquitoes loved Cairns just as much.

  At the jetty, my brother in law, Andy, was already waiting with a few other guys in front of a medium sized fishing boat.

  “About time, Joe.” He called out as we pulled in. “Putting on your makeup, were you?”

  Joe pulled his gear out of the back of our four-wheel drive. “Don’t need makeup, mate. I’m naturally gorgeous. You, on the other hand…”

  I interrupted their good-natured bantering. “Hey Andy, make sure you guys do less drinking and more fishing this time, will you? That puny fish you b
rought home last time was an embarrassment.”

  Andy leaned through the car window and gave me a hearty kiss on the cheek. “Leave the fishing to the men, Lori, and we’ll leave the childbearing to the women.”

  As I searched for an appropriate comeback, Joe laughed and pulled Andy away. “We’d better get on the boat now, mate! Lori may be five feet nothing but she’s a fiend behind the wheel, and I don’t like the way she’s looking at us!”

  I grinned at them as I reversed out of the car park. “This is me secretly jumping for joy at the prospect of not seeing either of your sorry asses for a whole weekend.” My last glimpse of them was in the rear view mirror as they laughingly loaded their gear onto the boat.

  I drove along the highway towards my sister’s home in the hills. Droves of tourists were lounging on the Esplanade, a green stretch of park paradise that separated the city from the sea. It was an irresistible attraction for families, bird lovers, sun seekers and active people with its boardwalk, mudflats, palm trees, playgrounds, bicycle paths, skateboard park, barbeques and saltwater pool.

  “Muddies, Muddies” the twins hollered as we passed the adventure playground. Even this early, it was already full of children climbing rope and running through fountains.

  “Maybe tomorrow, kids. Mummy’s got to work today.” I answered distractedly. For some reason, a mother and child standing outside the gate to the playground caught my eye. Maybe it was the nurse in me but I immediately recognised that the woman was sick. She was clutching the gate, her skin was pale and sweaty and she seemed to be struggling for breath. My foot hovered indecisively over the brake but before I could make a decision, she had opened the gate and was gone.

  ‘I guess she’ll go see a doctor if she is sick.” I muttered under my breath, trying to talk myself out of the instinct to find the woman.

  ****

  My sister was sitting on her verandah drinking a cup of coffee as I parked at the bottom of her steep driveway. Nestled in the midst of a rainforest, Kaye and Andy had built a beautiful pole home, or as my children called it, the tree house. A gorgeous wooden home, it stood high off the ground on thick poles, accessed only by a large spiral staircase. So reluctant were they to disturb their natural environment, that their back door opened directly onto the jungle covered hillside. I wasn’t sure what purpose that back door served, actually, as I couldn’t see either of them fighting through the jungle for fun.

  As always, I complained about the hike up the driveway, lugging the twins behind me while Michele followed at a more languid pace. “Ever thought about installing an escalator?”

  Kaye’s dark hair fell around her laughing face as she leant over her balcony. “And deny you the only exercise you get? I think not.”

  “Hey, these kids keep me plenty fit, thank you very much!” I retorted, ushering the twins up the wooden staircase. As always, the view from the house was breathtaking. There was lush rainforest on three sides and a river running through a deep valley on the remaining side. On rainy days, a low mist hung over the tops of the mountains making you feel part of a world untouched by man.

  I greeted my sister with a kiss and gratefully took the hot cup of coffee she held out for me. I plonked myself down on a chair and took a sip of freshly brewed black coffee. “You do know the way to a woman’s heart.” I sighed blissfully.

  “Of course - coffee, chocolate, massages and time alone to read a good book.” She sat down gracefully in the cane chair opposite me and picked up her china cup. Next to Kaye, I often felt as graceful as Fergie must have felt next to Princess Di. Kaye was all finished elegance and gentle manners while I was a t-shirt and jeans gal with foot in mouth disease. She took after mum with her dark colouring whereas I had inherited my Dad’s honey - coloured hair and fair skin, not to mention shortness.

  “Ooh, you really do know me!” I said admiringly, as the relaxing effects of caffeine seeped through me. From within the house came the sound of four toddlers creating havoc, but we ignored it with an ease that only mothers can. Michele finally made it up the stairs and greeted her aunt with genuine affection before moving inside to sprawl on the comfortable sofa and check her text messages.

  “Uhh. I suspect I am going to need a caffeine drip for the day ahead.” I closed my eyes as I took another long draught. Really, nothing beats a good cup of coffee.

  “Yes, I heard about the encephalitis outbreak on the news. Do you think you will be looking after them?”

  “There’s a good chance of it. I’m just worried that the shortage of staff at the moment will mean that I am going to have to work a double shift.” I sighed. “I’m supposed to finish at 7pm but if I’m not here by 8.00…”

  Kaye grinned. “Feed ‘em and bed ‘em. Yeah, I know.”

  With a glance at my watch, I finished off my coffee and went inside to bid farewell to my babies. Needless to say, they brushed me off with a hasty goodbye and returned to their game with their cousins, Beth and Allie. I grinned to myself as I returned to my car. At least I didn’t have to go to work worrying about separation anxiety.

  3

  After dropping Michele off in town, I only just made it to work on time. Fortunately, this early in the day, the ER was relatively quiet. By the time I clocked in, there were four patients being examined in the cubicles and several more waiting in the triage room. Asking around, I found out the first lot of encephalitis patients would be arriving soon.

  As I checked the status of available beds on the computer, Emma dumped records on the counter beside me with a heavy sigh. “How much longer have we got on this shift?”

  “Let’s see.” I glanced deliberately at my watch. “Our shift started half an hour ago so…only eleven and a half hours to go!”

  She heaved another dramatic sigh as she reknotted her auburn hair.

  “Why? Got somewhere else to be?” I asked, amused. Emma’s drama-filled love life had been the source of much vicarious entertainment for me over the years. At twenty-eight, she loved to complain about how hard it was to find Mr. Right while, it seemed to me, she thoroughly enjoyed all the angst and uncertainty that came with the search.

  Before Emma could start her latest tale of woe, Dr Wilson hurried by and beckoned to us for assistance. The ER doors opened and the paramedics hurried in with one of the encephalitis patients. I recognised one of the paramedics, Big Dave. A gentle giant, Dave had a wad of bandages pressed over a wound in his neck.

  As he related medical information to Dr Wilson, I got my first good look at the patient. A man of about forty with dark, curly hair, strongly built, he was fighting his restraints, tossing his body to and fro as he moaned. As he turned to face me, a shiver went down my spine. For all his tortured movements, there was a complete lack of any pain or any emotion in his eyes. I had never seen anything like it.

  Emma patted his hand hesitantly. “You will be fine, sir. Just relax.”

  With a sudden twist of his body, he lunged across at her, teeth snapping violently together. Emma jerked away with a startled gasp. Groaning, he sank back on the gurney.

  “Watch it.” Dave glanced over at her. “This guy has already taken a chunk out of me.” He instinctively reached up to touch the bloodstained bandage on his neck.

  “I’m having trouble finding his pulse.” Dr Wilson mumbled, a frown of concentration on his wrinkled face.

  He turned back as Dave completed his report. “This patient presented with a high fever, severe headache and confusion. He went into cardiac arrest half an hour ago. We successfully revived him but he began displaying extreme aggression and irrationality. As you can see, he managed to get a couple of bites in before we were able to physically restrain him. Skin is cold and clammy, pupils fully dilated, temp is…” Dave hesitated. “low. Sedation was unsuccessful.”

  Dr Wilson frowned. “Unsuccessful?”

  The paramedic shrugged. “Two doses - no effect.”

  The doctor raised his brow but didn’t comment further as he headed off with the patient to the isol
ation ward. Emma and I watched in bemused silence as the patient continued to struggle down the corridor.

  “What do you make of that?” Emma asked.

  I shrugged noncommittally, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in my gut. “Encephalitis has been known to make people aggressive.”

  She looked at me incredulously. “Ok, Lori, but did you see his eyes?! Creepy!”

  Looking sideways at her, my lips twitched. “Is that your professional diagnosis? Creepy?”

  She flicked a rude gesture at me in response.

  A yell jerked our heads around, to see more encephalitis patients being wheeled in, also struggling against their restraints. Another bleeding paramedic called for assistance. Nurses and doctors hurried over. I got a glimpse of blank eyes, bloodless skin and clawed hands as the trolleys passed by. Emma raised her eyebrows at me as she hastened after them, promising further discussion over coffee later.

  I shook myself and walked over to Dave. “Come on, let’s take a look at that wound.” Dave obediently allowed himself to be led into a room and sat thankfully on a bed.

  “Never seen anything like that before in my life.” He muttered.

  I glanced at him as I gathered my supplies. “Really? You know encephalitis can cause aggression and confusion.”

  Dave shook his head. “This is something else, Lori. I swear, this guy tried to eat me.”

  I laughed as I sat down beside him. “Come on, Dave. Never heard of a virus turning people into cannibals!”

  The big man shrugged. “Yeah, well, I’m the one who had to watch this guy chewing on the piece of flesh he tore from my neck. He was drooling and chomping and watching me the whole time like I was a giant piece of meat dangling just out of reach…it was unnatural.”

  I shuddered. “Quit it, Dave. That’s gross.” I pulled away the bandage and whistled. The patient had managed to tear a substantial chunk out of Dave’s neck; nothing vital, fortunately. “You are going to need some serious stitches, my friend.”

  “Yeah, I kinda figured that.”