by James Harden
"So where is he? I asked. "Don’t tell me he slept in on the first day?"
"No, his sister was asked at the last minute to give a speech at assembly this morning. So they’re carpooling."
"Oh. What do you think her speech will be about?"
"It'll probably be about joining the cops. It could involve handcuffs. It might get kinky."
Jack’s sister Kim was a real life action hero. She’d finished high school last year and had since joined the police force. She was the kind of person who rode a bike everywhere instead of driving a car because it was great for your core strength. She was constantly training for a half marathon or full marathon or triathlon. Sometimes she could make you feel like a slacker.
Despite this, I was actually looking forward to her speech. She had the same great sense of humor as Jack and it sure beat listening to the principal talk about the school motto and how we had a responsibility and a duty to study hard and try our very best and all that stuff.
As the bus pulled up to the front gates of the school my heart began to beat a little faster and I started to think about what would lay ahead in the coming year. New teachers, maybe new friends, definitely late night study sessions and hopefully good grades. I was excited and nervous and scared all at the same time.
But then we stepped off the bus and saw that the school gates were chained shut. Hundreds of kids and their parents were standing out the front of the entrance.
The principal was speaking through a loudspeaker. He kept saying sorry. Sorry for the confusion and the disorganization.
He said, "School has been cancelled across the state by order of the Government and the World Health Organization."
Chapter 2
Even though there must have been close to a thousand kids all gathered around the main entrance of the school, the mood was pretty calm. I had expected everyone to lose it, for parents to angrily demand an explanation, for the students to cheer with excitement. But this wasn’t the case.
One time when I was in the eighth grade the school was evacuated because there was a fire in the staff kitchen. Apparently one of the teacher’s aides had put a pizza box in the oven and forgot about it. Five minutes later the box caught on fire. The whole school was evacuated. I’m pretty sure the entire New York fired department turned up to put out the burning pizza box. The kids thought it was hilarious; even some of the teachers thought it was funny.
But this was different. Looking back, I think people somehow knew it was more than just a precaution.
Maria had walked off to find Jack and Kim. I told her I’d meet her back on the bus and save us some seats. I was pushing my way through the crowd of students when I felt a tap on my right shoulder. I turned to the right but no one was there. I turned to the left and saw Jack standing there with a giant, excited smile on his face. "Isn't this great?" he said. "One more day of summer vaykay!"
Jack was always in a laid back mood. He never really stressed about school or exams.
"Aren't you worried that something is wrong?" I asked. "Or that we’re just going to get more homework tomorrow to make up for the lost time?"
"It's the first day. They’re not going to make us do homework on the first day. That’s just cruel. Everyone knows that a student’s mind needs time to warm up after doing nothing for two months."
I would’ve agreed with him but for some reason I was feeling uneasy. It’s not like I’m psychic or anything. I had no idea why classes had been cancelled but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it wasn’t the school who had chained the front gates together.
"So where’s Maria?" he asked. "I thought you guys caught the bus together this morning?"
"She went to find you and your sister actually."
"But I sent her a text to meet at the bus."
"Maybe she didn’t get it?"
"Yeah maybe," he said as he checked his phone. "Anyways, now that school is out for the day, how about we meet up at the beach? We can squeeze in one last surfing lesson for the summer."
For some reason Jack had made it his life's mission to teach me how to surf. He said if they can put a man on the moon, he could teach me to surf. I wasn’t so sure. And I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to go to the beach. I was still trying to figure out if Kenji had somehow broken into my house last night. And if he did, how the hell did he find me? I guess I was still a little freaked out.
"How are you enjoying my surfing lessons by the way?" Jack asked. "Am I a good teacher or what?"
"You're great. I can almost stand up for longer than two seconds. That's a new personal best for me."
"So, are you in?"
Usually I would be keen for a surfing lesson from Jack. Despite his relaxed attitude towards school and all the trouble he gave the teachers, he was actually a very good teacher himself. And even though I was terrible at surfing and spent most of the time trying not to drown it was always lots of fun. But I was still feeling uneasy.
So I said, "Maybe. Let me think about it."
"Sure. Take all the time you want. But for now, let’s find Maria and get the hell out of here before they re-open the school."
Jack said we could get a ride home in Kim’s patrol car. The police had leant it to her today as a public relations exercise to impress the kids. Jack was super excited. He kept going on and on about the V8 engine and how it had a whole bunch of horsepower. He said he’d get Kim to fire up the sirens so we could run some red lights but then she got a call from the station and she had to leave without us. Apparently there was a riot out in western suburbs or something. So we all had to take the bus home.
Jack and Maria pestered me about going to the beach again but I made up some lame excuse about how I hadn’t eaten breakfast and that I wasn’t feeling very well. I don't think they bought it but they didn't push the issue.
The next day we were notified by email that school had been postponed for a whole week due to 'health concerns'. Not that they needed to send an email. It was all over the news. I remember watching all morning to see if they would tell us when school would be going back but no one seemed to have any idea when that would be.
Around lunch time I got a call from Maria to meet her and Jack at the beach.
"We might as well make the most of this extended vacation," she said. "And I won’t be accepting any more pathetic excuses for not going."
"Well, it’s a good thing I’m feeling a lot better." I replied.
I met them at Bondi beach and Jack gave me another surfing lesson. I managed to stand for at least three seconds so it was a definite improvement. Maria sat on the beach and laughed at me. I didn't know it at the time but it was my last ever surfing lesson.
I arrived back home in the afternoon and turned the TV on, eager to see if anyone knew when school was going back. But to my surprise no one was even covering that story anymore.
Every single station was now covering a story about an outbreak of a virus. Every single station now showed the exact same image; a live feed of what looked like a prison complex in the middle of the desert. Every single channel had the same information scrolling across the bottom of the picture.
"Virus spreads through immigration centre in outback."
I continued to change the channel but there was no use. It reminded me of the September eleven terrorist attacks on the twin towers in New York. I was only young but I clearly remember the live images of the world trade centre. I remember smoke billowing into the blue New York sky from one of the towers. The information scrolling across the bottom of the picture read: "Fire in south tower."
But it wasn't a fire. It was something much worse. And then almost in slow motion, a plane, a 767, flies in from nowhere, slamming into the north tower.
Was this like that?
Was it really a virus outbreak? Or was it something much worse?
Just as I was about to turn the TV off the information scrolling across the bottom of the picture was updated.
It now read:
"American
scientists confirm virus is a multi-resistant virus or ‘super bug’. They have named it the Oz Virus."
Apparently things were getting worse.
Breaking News: The Oz Virus
4:08pm - The World Health Organization has declared a Phase 4 PANDEMIC alert. Phase 4 = multiple cases reported and human to human transmission of virus has been confirmed.
5:16pm - Reports of multiple deaths within the Woomera Immigration Centre
6:32pm – A military force made up of Australian and American troops have set up a 10km quarantine around the detention centre.
7:02Pm - The township of Woomera is also under strict quarantine. No one is allowed to leave. No one is allowed to enter.
7:21pm - Scientist declare Oz Virus extremely dangerous and recommend national quarantine.
I was glued to the TV for another five hours. The constant updates were progressively getting worse and worse. I wasn’t really afraid at this point in time, just curious. Maybe I should've been more worried about the deadly virus and the military force and the quarantine but who could’ve known it was the humble beginnings of an all out apocalypse? Who even thinks like that?
It was nearly midnight before I noticed a note from my mother on the kitchen bench. It read:
Working night shift. Dinner is in the freezer.
Love you.
I looked back at the TV. There was a bright flash and then the live image went black.
On Wednesday a nationwide quarantine was announced. All flights in and out of the country were cancelled. Travel between different states was also banned. According to the news this was a first in Australian history and even in the days of small pox and the bubonic plague, such measures had never been taken. By midday there were police cars patrolling the streets urging everyone to stay indoors. On TV and radio there were public health announcements telling everyone to wash their hands regularly and to cover their mouth when coughing and sneezing.
Later that afternoon the government announced a 10pm curfew. Anyone found outside their homes after ten would be arrested on site. Zero tolerance.
On Wednesday night my mother called me to tell me she had to work overtime again at the hospital and that she wouldn’t be home. There was spaghetti bolognaise in the freezer.
Defrost. Eat.
The week dragged on and boredom set in. There was nothing to do except watch the TV and wait for the paranoia and cabin fever to take over. I’d lost track of how many hours of TV I had watched. One particular news segment showed a panel of scientists and doctors discussing the basic definition of a virus.
Scientist number one said, "A virus is a microscopic organism that replicates within a living host."
You could tell the journalist doing the interview wasn’t really paying attention. But the panel was made up of professional nerds and hardcore academics and the discussion was getting pretty fired up.
Scientist number two said, "I think we are on the brink of a major viral outbreak. A virus much worse than the black plague. A virus that will wipe out a significant percentage of the global population."
"Not a chance in the world," another Doctor replied. "We have medicines and vaccines now days. They didn’t have any of that back then."
"That’s part of the problem. Viruses have an amazing ability to adapt and survive."
"How bad could it be?"
"Worst case scenario is the virus mutates. An aggressive virus will kill its host. But a successful one will allow its host to stay alive."
"Why would it do that?"
"So it can spread."
"Let me get this straight. You’re talking about a virus that will evolve and mutate into something we’ve never seen before, something that we can’t cure or immunize against?"
"Yes. I’m talking about a virus that will kill quickly and spread even quicker. It will find a way to live and multiply inside the host body for a long time. Even after death."
Chapter 3
On Friday, after two straight days of wearing my pajamas and not showering, Maria called me to tell me about a party she was throwing that night.
"What about the curfew?" I asked.
"Screw the curfew. The cops aren’t even patrolling the streets anymore."
She was right. I hadn’t heard any sirens or loudspeaker warnings in at least a day.
"Jack can pick you up on the way," she said.
"What about your parents?"
"My parents are away on business. They’re in France or somewhere. I have the house to myself. My aunt has been coming over to check up on me but I told her to stop stressing. If we’re real quiet we can go down the back to the beach."
Maria’s family was ridiculously rich. Her father was a big time business guru. He made his money through computers or real estate or advertising or maybe a combination of all three. I can't remember what Jack told me. But it was obvious by the size of their house he was in some serious cash. The house was located on the northern side of Sydney Harbor. It was a four level mansion with amazing views of the bridge and the opera house and the entire Sydney skyline. They even had their own private beach down the back of their property.
"It’s just a party," Maria said. "So what if there’s a curfew? Everyone can sleep over if they want. We’ve got plenty of spare beds."
"All right, you twisted my arm. But if I get in trouble, I’m blaming it all on you and your intense peer pressure."
"Deal. See you soon."
As I hung up the phone there was a knock at the door. I looked through the window and expected to see Jack but I saw some other guy standing there instead. It definitely wasn’t Jack but for some reason this guy looked familiar. He kept checking over his shoulder, shifting his weight, like he was nervous. He was wearing military fatigues. I couldn’t quite read the name on his jacket but then he turned around and a jolt of recognition shot through my body.
It was Kenji.
I immediately crouched and hid behind the door. What the hell was he doing here?
He knocked on the door again. The door shook with loud, urgent thumps.
"Rebecca?"
He knocked again. "Rebecca, it’s Kenji. I know you’re in there."
How? How does he know I'm in here? Has he been being spying on me?
"Go away!" I finally said.
"Rebecca! Please! I need to talk to you. I need to tell you something."
"It's a bit late for that, you jerk. What are you even doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on tour in the Middle East or something, being all that you can be?"
"The Marine’s motto is Semper Fi."
"Whatever."
"Look, that's part of the reason why I'm here," he said. "Please Bec, it's important."
"Don't call me Bec."
I stood slowly and turned to face the door.
Although there was part of me that wanted to slap him in the face, there was a part of me that wanted everything to go back to the way it was, to close this huge divide between us. Either way, I needed to get this over with.
I hesitated for a split second before I finally opened the door. Kenji smiled. Apart from the uniform and the short hair he looked like the same old Kenji. He had grown quite a few inches since I last saw him and he was leaner but he still had the same friendly face. He opened his arms to hug me but I took a step back. I wasn’t ready for that.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I needed to find you. I..."
"What the hell for?"
"I’ve come to warn you."
"Warn me? About what?"
"We we’re re-deployed from Afghanistan to help with the quarantine. But I left... I deserted my post."
"Left without notice again, huh?"
"Look, this is serious."
"Yeah I bet. Can't you get court marshaled for desertion?"
"I had to leave. I had to warn you. It’s starting to get out of control."
I should’ve let him explain. But I was too angry. Suddenly that anger I’d been suppressing for two
years bubbled its way to the surface of my being.
"You just left!" I shouted. "You didn’t even tell me you were leaving. No goodbye, no note. Nothing! What do you want me to say? How did you expect me to react?"
I'd started yelling without realizing and this was making Kenji uncomfortable.
"Can I come inside? I'll explain everything."
"No you can't. I think it’s best if you leave."
"Please, Rebecca. It’s not safe here."
I slammed the door in his face because he just wasn't listening and I didn’t want him to see me cry.
"OK, fine I'll leave. Just promise me one thing," he said through the door. "Promise me you’ll unfold the horse I left on your kitchen bench."
"Why? What for? How the hell did you break into my house anyway?"
But he didn’t answer. I peered through the window. He was gone.
I collapsed on the floor. My heart was racing. It had been two years since he left without saying goodbye but it felt longer than that.
I remember the first time we met. I was going through a rough time after my father was reported missing. For days I cried. For days I thought it was some kind of mistake and that he’d be sent home. I was in complete denial.
My mother eventually decided to send me to a doctor because I had totally shut myself off from the world. I had no friends, no social life. I stayed in my room all day and all night. I was hurt. It felt like I was dying inside.
That’s when Kenji moved in next door. He basically saved me. I was sitting in the gutter out the front of my house. He was kicking a soccer ball around. He came up to me and asked me if I liked soccer.
"Not really," I said. "But I like David Beckham."
And just like that we became friends. We used to stay up all night watching movies. We would camp out in his back yard and scare each other with ghost stories.
He was like no boy I’d ever met. He was funny and cute but he wasn’t up himself like other guys I knew. He was this weird mix of a complete nerd and a total action hero. On the one hand he liked comic books and Star Wars but on the other hand he had a black belt in just about every martial art I'd ever heard of. I think it was because his father was a real traditionalist and insisted that Kenji become proficient in all aspects of Japanese culture including the martial arts. As a result Kenji used to teach me all kinds of cool stuff like Karate and Jujitsu. They had a huge basement underneath their house that looked like an old Japanese training hall. I swear it was like stepping back in time to feudal Japan.