Looking at the control panel, he quickly worked out what the two levers were for, and the wheel was self-explanatory. Walking to the back, he hopped onto the wooden board walk and untied the rope. Throwing it back on board, he jumped back on the deck and jogged to the wheel. Pushing up on the chrome lever the boat lurched forward and then slowly moved out of the harbour.
Jake actually smiled, he watched as Swansea slipped past him and he steered the boat into the open estuary, and then the Bristol Channel. He could get quite used to being a salty sea captain.
Amber was just slipping into a sleep when the boat rocked; she opened her eyes. She realised they must be moving, and that made her feel safe. Now it was just her and daddy. Settling down again she closed her eyes and thought of a massive bar of chocolate. Grandma then came into her thoughts, she missed Grandma. Closing her eyes tight, to get the chocolate back, she placed her hands under her head as a make shift pillow.
Again, she was just slipping off when she thought she could hear a scratching noise. Amber tried to ignore it; she was too tired to care.
The scratching got louder; it was followed by a banging. Amber shot up; she could see a panel in the wall moving.
An almighty scream followed. ‘Daaaaaddyyyyyyy!!!!!!’
Three seconds later Jake shot down the stairs in one stride, and ran to where Amber was sat hysterically crying. He could see her pointing at the wall.
Jake at first missed it, but on closer inspection he could see a small brass handle. The oak style wall was in fact a row of doors and drawers.
Spinning around he grabbed a large kitchen knife, and without fear of his own safety, and the built in instinct to protect his offspring, he opened the narrow door and pounced forward ready to attack.
There was nothing there. Just a mirror with his face staring back at himself.
‘Daddy!’ Amber’s voice was cracking, but softer in tone. ‘Daddy, look?’ She now laughed.
Turning around, his daughter was holding a small dog. He was confused.
‘It must have been trapped in the toilet.’ Amber, now with a beaming smile, cuddled up to the long haired Patterdale terrier.
‘How?’ He looked back into the small bathroom and could see the porthole was open. The dog must have got in and then found itself stuck.
‘Can we keep him?’ The dog was now licking Amber’s face, much to her delight. ‘Please Daddy?’
Jake smiled, more with relief. ‘For now.’ He closed the bathroom door. ‘Has it a name?’
Amber grabbed his collar and felt for a nametag. ‘Yes, I can’t read it though.’ The small dog was moving too fast for Amber to hold the tag still.
‘Let me.’ Jake grabbed the dog by the collar and placed him on the floor. There he held the dog down and twisted the tag so he could read it. ‘Young Red.’ Jake thought that was a silly name, but he could see something inscribed underneath. It was the Liverpool football club emblem. He laughed. ‘This dog is a football supporter.’
‘Give Young Red back, please daddy.’ Amber held out her arms.
Jake placed the mutt back with his daughter. ‘Just try and get some sleep, please.’ He then jogged back up the stairs and onto the deck.
‘Bloody Liverpool.’ He muttered. He was more of a rugby man.
***
Doctor James Robert looked at the lab floor. They had said it had been cleaned up, but he could still see the red smear where the attack took place.
He shook his head. The whole set up at Taunton was falling apart. They were undermanned; and now another shipment of Infected inmates, plus injured victims, was stretching their miniscule resources to breaking point. The attack that happened only yesterday would now become commonplace.
Doctor Robert’s thoughts were broken when there was a knock on the lab door.
‘Come in.’
The door opened, and in walked a woman holding an automatic weapon. The doctor remembered her from before, Emma Davis. He remembered joking to Linda Blunt that she reminded him of Leila K. He also had to explain to Linda who Leila K was. Poor Linda.
‘I have some help for you.’ She stood aside; behind her stood an old man and a young woman who looked as though she wouldn’t say boo to a goose.
‘Hello, welcome.’ The doctor ushered them away from the blood smeared floor. ‘I’m James Roberts, senior medical advisor at the unit.’
The old man shook his hand. ‘Jeremiah Rosser, assistant to Doctor Gough.’
Sharon was slightly embarrassed; she had never been addressed as doctor before.
‘A doctor; oh, this is marvellous news.’ James Robert’s spirits were instantly lifted at the welcome news. ‘What did you graduate in?’
Before Sharon could answer and correct him, Emma Davis cut the conversation short. ‘We need you both to work on the injured. The Doyen is finding survivors hard to come by. If they haven’t been attacked and killed by the Infected, they have been killed by fellow survivors who have gone feral.
‘Feral!’ Doctor Robert laughed. ‘Or killed by the Doyen himself.’
Emma Davis narrowed her eyes as she studied the Doctor. She wasn’t impressed with his outburst.
‘Saving our fellow man, and more importantly the future of this country, must be a priority.’ Jeremiah Rosser interjected.
‘That’s the remit.’ Davis looked Doctor Robert up and down. ‘Let’s go over to the trauma unit and see what we have. I need to get some figures back to the Doyen.’
‘Figures?’ Sharon Gough asked.
‘Make a decision on who to save. Who you think we can get back to full fitness.’ She followed the three through the door and into the corridor. ‘We need labour, and fast.’
‘And what of the others?’ Doctor Robert walked next to Davis.
‘Let them die.’ She said without emotion.
‘Die?’ Sharon Gough stopped and turned to the woman holding the gun. ‘We can’t do that, it’s not ethical.’
Emma Davis looked her fellow woman in the eyes. ‘We have limited medical supplies. We save the adult men first, then the women. Any children or pensioners are surplus to requirements. Ethics are now gone.’
‘Now look here, Missy.’ Jeremiah Rosser stood close to Sharon, taking Davis’s eyes away from her. ‘We will have no part in that.’
Davis raised her gun ever so slightly, just to remind everyone who was boss. ‘You will do as the Doyen asks.’ Through gritted teeth she added. ‘Or you will be surplus to requirements, old man.’
‘Come on now, let’s calm down.’ Doctor Robert knew it was pointless arguing with Leila K. She had bought into the whole crazy philosophy laid down by the self-proclaimed Doyen. ‘We will go and assess the injured. I’m sure we will be able to save most of them on the limited resources we still have.’
Davis looked at the doctor. She didn’t like him, but for now he was useful.
Chapter Five
It had taken Jake twenty minutes to work out how to lower the anchor, to stop the boat from drifting. Now he had done this he could get his trusty binoculars out, and see where exactly they were.
He could make out the harbour wall with his naked eye, and he could see some buildings to the right. Over to the left it was hilly, and few bigger houses sat on the top, overlooking the sea.
Focusing in on the buildings to the right, Jake could now see they were shops. A fish and chip shop, an ice-cream parlour and what looked like a fancy restaurant that sold overpriced shell fish to the holiday makers. He also read the town’s sign, which adorned every building. Ilfracombe.
He lowered the lenses and wiped his eyes. He had made it across the estuary to North Devon; he breathed a sigh of relief and raised the binoculars for another glance.
Bodies bobbed up and down in the harbour. So many of them he lost count at twenty seven, it was like a floating cemetery. In the distance he could hear the smashing of glass, and he could see a stool crash out onto the street. He panned back to the shops.
Jake caught his breath; it was a
young woman not much older than eighteen. He zoomed in, and he could just make out she was screaming and kicking. She had dived through the broken window of the ice-cream parlour, and just behind her was a naked woman who was much older.
The grey haired pensioner was obviously infected and chasing the younger woman down. The teenager scrambled to her feet, but the older woman wasn’t alone. To the right of the fish and chip shop were two more naked aggressors. These were both men, and they pounced on the young woman from behind. Jake panned away when her throat was ripped open and the old lady went for the spurting blood. He had seen enough of that to last a lifetime.
Ilfracombe was far too dangerous to dock. There was no way he was going to lead his little girl into that hell hole. The place was overrun with infected bodies, it was far worse than he thought.
Jake left the helm and trotted down the stairs to the cabin below.
Amber was sound asleep. Young Red curled was up in her arms, his legs twitching as he dreamt of chasing rabbits.
‘It’s gonna be hard to leave you behind, little one.’ Jake stroked the dog. He knew Amber wasn’t going to give up the small Patterdale terrier without a fight. She had always wanted a dog, and now in this uncertain world, where tomorrow never knew what was in store, her wish had come true.
If only life could be simple.
Jake thought about Angel. How he longed to see her again, hold her hand, stroke her skin. He had longed to love and trust another woman for so long after he had broken up with Amber’s mother. Just as he had found her, they had been separated. He touched the soft skin on his daughter’s cheek. Amber was his number one priority now, but he was determined to be reunited with his Angel. He wouldn’t rest easy until he kissed her lips once again.
As Jake returned to the helm he could see the light had changed. The spring evening was a couple of hours away, and he had to make a decision as to whether to move now and try to dock later tonight, or maybe to spend the night on the open water. The thought of sitting out at sea in the pitch black wasn’t a nice one, but was the alternative?
At least if he moored up, in the morning he would have the whole day in front of him to assess the situation, and find somewhere safe to stay that night. He couldn’t keep marching Amber across land, her little body wouldn’t cope with it. She needed to rest for a couple of days. With a heavy heart he decided to sleep on the boat, but not too close to the land.
He took out his binoculars once more, for another look at Ilfracombe before they left to find somewhere a bit more sheltered to drop anchor.
The body of the teenage girl had now been torn to pieces, and the cobbled street in front of the shops was painted with her young blood. A gathering of about nine naked bodies had now got into a huddle, and they squabbled with each other for the fresh meat. It really was a sickening sight, and Jake was just about to clock off when surprisingly, a black vehicle screeched to a halt on the other side of the harbour.
Jake refocused, and made out three people in white overalls with their hoods up and white dust masks covering their nose and mouths. All were carrying automatic weapons, and all three of them were sprinting towards the Infected, who had yet to notice the incoming trio.
The first burst of gun fire ripped through the naked huddle, and three bodies dropped to the floor. The rest of them scattered, some into the buildings and some into the side streets.
The three white knights ran after them, cutting each one of the naked savages down as they fled. Jake couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It wasn’t the army but some sort of hit squad. But why?
It only lasted a few minutes before the assassins in white overalls came back into view, and were nonchalantly strolling back to the black transit van. It was as if they had just bought a pizza for lunch.
Jake watched as the vehicle disappeared up the hill. He couldn’t work it out. Had some of the survivors had enough of the marauding crazies and decided to hit back?
All he knew was he liked what he had seen. It was about time some people had decided to try and bring some law and order back to the streets.
Maybe when he found his way down to Bickington and Old Mill cottage, and Angel was by his side, he could sign up to one of these squads and help out. He knew Yanto would approve.
***
Doctor Robert opened the large, white double doors that led into the sick bay. The room, which usually held twenty patients, was rammed. White sheets were hanging in between the hospital beds forming makeshift cubicles to house another fifteen or so wounded.
‘Here we have the injured that have come from the trauma unit. Most of these will survive; it’s just a matter of recuperation and rest.’
Sharon Gough held her hand up to her nose. The smell of unwashed bodies, and poor sanitary conditions, did not invite itself nicely to the nostrils. ‘You mean there are more?’ She could also see there was one nurse, or what looked like a nurse, to tend to the many sick.
‘God, yes.’ Doctor Robert ushered the small party through the ward and out the other side. ‘They are now arriving daily.’
‘You need many hands to assist you, Doc.’ Jeremiah Rosser could see what a hopeless state the place was in.
‘We need all the help we can get,sir. If only more medical staff could be found, and less people were being killed.’ Doctor Robert held the single door open for all to enter the trauma unit.
‘We are doing all we can. The priority is to clean the country up of this disease.’ Emma Davis was growing tired of the doctor’s attitude.
‘But there won’t be anyone to put back into the country at this rate. Take a look around, if the infected don’t get us then a deadly new born virus will.’ The doc knew Leila K hated him, but he’d gone past caring. He was the senior medical advisor, and at the moment the ‘movement’ needed him more than her.
‘Oh my!’ Sharon Gough was taken aback as she entered the high dependency ward.
Jeremiah put his hand in her shoulder to steady her. ‘You okay?’ He whispered.
She nodded and composed herself. Always knowing she was easily upset, Sharon had tried hard to control her nerves to make it easier for herself, but what confronted her eyes shocked her to the very core.
‘These are mainly victims who have lost limbs.’ The doctor stopped, as the visual impact said a lot more than he ever could.
‘How have these survived?’’ Sharon shook her head. ‘The blood loss, how did you cope?’
‘Blood is something we have in high quantity.’ Doctor Robert turned his disapproving glare to Emma Davis. ‘Isn’t it?’
She knew what the doctor was getting at her, but she wasn’t going to avoid the subject. She was the one holding the gun, she was in charge. ‘Any survivor who won’t co-operate with us, well their donation of disease free blood is for the greater good.’
‘You mean you kill them and drain the body of their blood?’ Jeremiah said, looking shocked.
‘Yes.’
‘You kill anyone who doesn’t want to join you?’ Sharon Gough couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing.
‘No.’ Emma Davis fidgeted. ‘Anyone who is deemed to be breaking the law or generally going out of their way to cause trouble is executed.’
Sharon Gough’s mouth dropped open.
‘You shoot them?’ Jeremiah asked.
‘Yes.’
Doctor Robert kept quiet at this point. He knew that statement was only partly true; he had yet to hear about anyone being left alone to go on their own way without being, well, exterminated.
‘Anyway, why have these people been saved?’ Emma Davis continued trying to change the subject. ‘The remit was to save those who can work on the land, or can serve as a white guard.’
White guard?’ Jeremiah assumed she was taking about the white overalls.
Doctor Robert became more animated. ‘Look, I have been put in charge of this complex and I will say who gets to be saved.’
Emma Davis grew in stature as her heckles rose. ‘Have you tried to save
everyone here?’
‘Yes.’
‘That’s not the remit!’ Davis shouted back.
‘I will not just stand by and let people die. Not in my hospital.’ Doctor Robert shouted back.
‘It won’t be for long, you can be sure of that.’ Davis once again raised her weapon. ‘Not after the Doyen hears about your insubordination.
‘I’m not scared of him!’ Doctor Robert threw his arms in the air. ‘Tell him to come and see me.’ He waved his arms around. ‘To come and see this.’
‘I’ve had enough of this.’ Davis turned around. ‘I will be back the day after tomorrow. Then we will see where your insolence gets you.’ She walked back through the doors and out of the ward.
James Robert turned back to his two new assistants. ‘That fucking woman! Who the hell does she think she is? God!’
Jeremiah motioned his hands down to the floor to try and appease the situation. ‘Calm yourself doctor, you don’t have to tell us. The woman is vile; an egotistical sociopath. You can see that a mile off.’
‘Yes let’s forget about her, we have much to do here.’ Sharon Gough stepped forward to hold the doctor by the hand. ‘We are here to help.’
Doctor Robert took a minute to compose himself. ‘Thank you guys. You are both correct, please forgive my outburst.'
He led them both out of the high dependency ward and into the final unit. Life support.
‘Again, as you will see, there are too many patients and not enough machines. We can’t move people out until someone moves from the ward unit below them.’ He rubbed his face. ‘We have many generators on twenty four seven, just to keep it going. You know how precious fuel is at the moment? It’s like rocking horse shit.’
He apologised to Sharon for his language. He had never been under so much pressure before; it was taking its toll.
‘Who’s that?’ Jeremiah noticed a huge man with a shaven head, wired up to the life support machine. He was stitched up right across his stomach and his legs were heavily bandaged.
‘We don’t know I’m afraid. He did regain consciousness for a half an hour earlier today, but he had no idea who he was or where he has come from.’
The Dust: Book Three - Sanctum Page 4