The Bug: Complete Season One

by Barry J. Hutchison

  “Shut up, Jaden,” Col sighed. He reached across the table and squeezed Amy’s hand. “You OK?”

  Amy beamed, but her eyes filled with tears. She shook her head. “Hell of a day,” was all she managed to squeak through her tightening throat.

  She and Col sat in silence. Even Jaden paused in his quest for food. “It’s going to get sorted out,” Col said. “The government or whatever, they’re going to send in the army. It’s going to get sorted out.”

  “I doubt that,” said Jaden. “This is end of the world scenario stuff. Far as we know, this is everywhere, not just Massachusetts. Whole country’s probably affected. Whole world, maybe.”

  Col shot him a scowl. “That’s not helping, Jaden.”

  “I’m fine,” said Amy. She sniffed noisily, and this seemed to center her again. “Better we know the truth than don’t. If help’s not coming, then I guess we deal with that. Somehow.” She looked between them. “Where were you going? You know, when you smashed my tiny car to pieces with your huge train?”

  Col smiled. “New York,” he said. “My parents are there. Somewhere.”

  “You were taking the train all the way to New York?” Amy asked.

  “Yeah, until that asshole Mike stole it,” Jaden said. “He must’ve been watching my mom when she…”

  His voice trailed off. He looked around the kitchen, as if only just seeing it for the first time. “Hey, now I come to think about it,” he said. “Where the Hell is my mom?”

  HIGHBRIDGE, BY FORT WILLIAM, SCOTLAND

  May 25th, 8:38 AM

  Hoon slurped down a mouthful of tea so brown it was almost black, then turned away from the window to face the rest of the group. They were all gathered in the kitchen - Daniel and Marshall studying the instructions on the tin of baby milk formula, Leanne pacing with a whimpering Immy, and Moira wiping squidgy bits of dog off the butt of her gun.

  “So, hang on, we put four scoops of powder into the bottle…” Marshall looked up in horror. “Wait, bottles! We didn’t get bottles!”

  “I did,” said Daniel. He rummaged in a box and pulled out a pack of three plastic baby bottles. “Here.”

  “OK, so we put four scoops…” Marshall read again. “Scoops. What does it mean by ‘scoops’? How big’s a scoop?”

  Hoon set his tea down and sighed. He snatched the pack of bottles from Daniel and tore them open. “The scoop’s inside the fucking tin. You’ll need to sterilize these first.”

  Daniel blinked. “Sterilize them?”

  “Aye. To kill any germs.”

  “We didn’t get a sterilizer. Did we?” Daniel said.

  Marshall shook his head. “I didn’t know we needed one. Did they have one?”

  “Boil the kettle and fill them with hot water for a bit,” Hoon instructed. He thrust the open pack back at Daniel, who fumbled with it, then got to work filling the kettle.

  Hoon crossed to Leanne and peered down at Immy. Her eyes were puffy and her face was red from crying. “What’s that sweetheart?” Hoon whispered. “They’re a pair of useless fannies? I know.”

  He turned back to Marshall and Daniel, then jabbed a thumb in Immy’s direction. “Hear that? Out of the mouth of fucking babes.”

  “Oh, stop trying to show off!” Moira snorted. She finished polishing the end of her shotgun, then set it down on the table. She held her arms out. “Come and give your big sister a hug.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, Hoon stepped closer and embraced his sister. “By God, you’ve got fat,” she said when they stepped apart again. She placed a thumb on his cheek and pulled his bottom eyelid down. “You look awful.”

  “Aye, well, cheers for that,” said Hoon, pulling away. “It’s been a long night.”

  “What’s it like out there now?” Leanne asked.

  Hoon puffed out his acne-scarred cheeks. He’d met just one group of people on the way up the road, and had killed or maimed two thirds of them. He remembered the taste of the blood in his mouth and took another gulp of his tea.

  “It’s no’ what I was expecting,” he said. “I mean, I thought it’d be wall-to-wall wi’ violent bampots, but I didn’t really see anyone.”

  “Same here,” said Marshall. “One or two, but that was it. Hundred miles and virtually no bugger to be seen. No cars coming the opposite direction, nothing.”

  “Well, that’s to be expected,” Hoon said. “You’d have to be pretty fucking suicidal to head for the city.” He drained his mug and let out an ‘aaah’ of satisfaction.

  “Did you see any bodies?” Daniel asked.

  Hoon shook his head, pushing back the image of the teenager dying on the road in front of him with his throat ripped out. “No.”

  “Neither did we. Not one. Not on the road, in the cars… Nowhere. Isn’t that weird?” Daniel said. “We thought maybe someone had moved them all, or…” He glanced around the kitchen. “They got up and moved about by themselves.”

  “Like zombies?” said Leanne.

  “Nonsense!” scoffed Moira. “You’ve been watching too many horror movies, young man. In future, stick to the porn.”

  “OK, fine, so if not that, then where did they go?” Daniel asked.

  The kettle rolled to a boil and Immy erupted into a fresh wave of tears before anyone could answer. Leanne bounced her, but the effort of holding her for so long was starting to take its toll.

  “Fancy taking her for a bit?” she asked Hoon. “My arms are knackered.”

  “Aye, no bother,” said Hoon. He reached out for the baby, then stopped when he felt something stirring inside his head. It was barely a breath of a whisper, but it was there. “I mean, eh, no’ right now. Get one of this lot to take over for a bit. I’m away for a pish.”

  He half ran, half staggered out of the room and through the bungalow, trying to remember where the bathroom was. It had been years since he’d come up to visit, but Moira clearly hadn’t bothered her arse decorating in all that time. The carpets were worn and matted with dog hair, the whitewashed woodchip on the walls was peeling at the seams, and the whole place was in dire need of a tidy up.

  He stumbled through the only door which would make any sort of sense to be the bathroom, and found a utility room lurking behind it instead. Muttering below his breath, he turned and tried another two doors, before finally finding the one he was looking for.

  Hurrying inside, he fumbled for the lock, discovered there wasn’t one, then turned to the sink and twisted the cold tap all the way open. His hands trembled as he scooped up the water and splashed it across his face. He looked up and met his eyes in the bathroom mirror, and for a moment almost didn’t recognize them. A hairline crack on the glass distorted his face, splitting it in two from top to bottom. Hoon stared at the two halves in turn, watching as the water drip-drip-dripped from his chin and the end of his nose.

  There was a whisper, soft and faint, somewhere at the edge of his hearing. Hoon turned on the hot tap, too, trying to drown the whispers out.

  “I’m not listening to you,” he muttered, glaring at his reflection like he could overpower it through force of will alone. “I am not fucking listening.”

  There was a knocking at the door. He didn’t look. Didn’t move. “What?”

  “Uh, sir, it’s me. It’s Martin.”

  “What do you want?” Hoon demanded. His jaw was so tightly clamped together that the words came out as a hiss.

  “It’s the bottle. For the baby. How cool does it need to be?”

  Hoon’s fingers tightened on the edges of the sink. “What the fuck are you asking me for?”

  There was a pregnant pause from beyond the door. “Just… your sister said you had a kid. A son. Thought you might know.”

  Hoon blinked. His grip relaxed. He felt a dull ache around his back teeth as his jaw unclenched.

  “Room temperature,” he said, shutting off the taps and straightening up. “Not too hot, not too cold.”

  “Like Goldilocks,” said Marshall.

  Hoon ro
lled his eyes. “Aye. Like Goldilocks. Run it under the tap to cool it down.”

  “I think it’ll be cool enough by now,” Marshall said. Another pause. “Out of interest, are you going to be long, sir?”

  “No,” said Hoon.

  “Right. It’s just… I really need to go, and you’ve been in there twenty minutes already.”

  Hoon frowned. Twenty minutes? “Bollocks, I’m just in.”

  “Uh, no, sir. You’ve been in a while,” said Marshall. He hesitated as he waited for an answer. A moment later, Hoon heard his footsteps shuffling across the threadbare carpet.

  Twenty minutes?

  Nah. Couldn’t be.

  Could it?

  Drying his hands on a towel that looked a good decade older than Leanne, Hoon turned towards the door. As he did, he cast a final glance towards his reflection, and just for a second thought he saw one half of his face smiling back at him.

  Hoon paused outside the kitchen door, ran his fingers through his thinning hair, then stepped inside. Leanne was sitting at the table and trying to wrestle the teat of a bottle into Immy’s mouth, while everyone else stood over her, offering advice.

  “Just, I don’t know, pop it in,” Daniel suggested.

  “I’m trying, but she keeps pushing it back out,” Leanne said.

  “What if you squirted it in?” Marshall wondered.

  Moira tutted. “Oh great idea! And if we get enough in, maybe we’ll inflate a balloon on the top of her head and win a goldfish.”

  Marshall smiled weakly, silently wondering what the old bat was on about.

  “Come on, Immy, just take it,” Leanne pleaded.

  Hoon took off his overcoat and hung it over the back of a chair, then held his arms out. “Give her here.”

  Leanne stood up and carefully slid Immy into Hoon’s arms. He turned the baby and nestled her head in the crook of his arm. A smile spread across the DCI’s face. Not the smug grin he plastered on his face when he’d just proved some point, but a real smile. It wasn’t an expression Marshall had ever seen him wearing before.

  “Right, what’s all the noise about, ye wee arsehole?” Hoon cooed. “Eh? What’s all the noise about?”

  The others watched him, taken aback by the sudden gentleness that had come over him. Only Moira didn’t seem fazed by it. She was busy cranking on the gas rings, glugging some oil into a pan, and setting to work frying up some breakfast.

  Hoon took the bottle from Leanne, tipped a little on his wrist, then opened his mouth and shook a couple of drops onto his tongue.

  “Ugh,” Daniel muttered.

  “You know there’s more tea if you want it, sir, aye?” said Marshall. “No need to get desperate.”

  “I’m checking it’s OK,” Hoon said. “I mean, it’s a relatively simple procedure, but if anyone can fuck it up, it’s you pair.”

  He held the bottle up in front of Immy. “Right, you. Cut yer shite and drink this.”

  Immy opened her mouth. Hoon popped the tip of the bottle in and nodded as the baby clamped her gums around it and began to suck. “Good girl,” he said. He glanced down at her fresh white diaper. “Now, once we figure out who put your nappy on back-to-front, we’ll be all set.”

  Leanne groaned. “It’s not, is it?”

  “Unless her arse is on the wrong way round, then aye,” said Hoon, but for once there was no venom behind his words. “We’ll sort it in a minute,” he said.

  “I’m doing eggs, bacon, sausage,” Moira announced. “Anyone else have any requests?”

  “Don’t suppose you’ve got any vegetarian sausages?” Daniel asked.

  Moira frowned. “Oh! Are you a veggie?” she asked, then she made a show of very deliberately reaching for her shotgun.

  “No,” said Daniel, his eyes following her hand as it crept towards the gun. “Not really. Normal’s fine.”

  Moira gave a satisfied nod, then got back to work. Immy’s cheeks expanded and contracted as she worked to drain the bottle.

  “Did you make more?” Hoon asked, looking from Marshall to Daniel in turn.

  “More?” Marshall asked.

  “Aye. She’s no’ a fucking camel, she’ll need another one soon.”

  Marshall reached for the kettle again. “Aye. Right. Course.”

  Hoon looked across to Leanne and rolled his eyes in despair. She smiled and shrugged. “Martin and Daniel met some soldiers,” she said, trying to find a way to redeem them a little. “At the shop.”

  “Oh?”

  Immy grabbed the end of the bottle and pushed it as she turned her head away. Hoon lifted her onto his shoulder and began gently patting her back.

  “You’re really good with her,” Leanne said. “I’d have no idea what to do.”

  “Bob’s done it all before, haven’t you, Bob?” Moira said, as she placed long strips of bacon into a cast iron pan, making them sizzle and spit. “He has a son. My nephew. Grown-up now, of course.”

  “Oh. Right. Yeah,” Leanne said. “What’s his name?”

  Immy let out a burp so loud it practically echoed around the kitchen.

  “Doesn’t matter,” said Hoon. “Tell me about these soldiers.”

  He listened as Daniel and Marshall told him about their encounter with the army outside the shop. They told him about the castle, and the other troops already waiting there. Marshall went to great lengths to emphasize the safety Lieutenant Sweeney had promised, drawing meaningful looks at Immy as he spoke.

  When they’d finished, Hoon nodded, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Never liked the fucking army,” he muttered.

  “It’s a castle,” said Daniel. “With armed guards. It makes sense.”

  “Aye,” Hoon admitted. “Aye. Suppose.” He turned to his sister. “Here, Moi?”

  “Hmm?” said Moira, raising a grey eyebrow.

  “Don’t suppose you’ve still got them guns, have you?”

  Moira looked offended. “What do you take me for?” she sniffed. “Of course I still have them!”

  “Good stuff,” said Hoon. “Can you bring some in?”

  Moira beamed and straightened her shoulders, like this was her moment to shine. “How many?”

  Hoon thought for a moment. He rubbed his tongue across the front of his teeth. “All of them,” he said.

  FRANKLIN, MASSACHUSETTS

  May 25th, 1:42 AM

  Jaden stood at the bottom of the stairs and peered up into the gloom. They’d agreed to keep most of the lights off, but a faint glow spilled out across the ceiling from one of the rooms upstairs. “Mom?” he said. “Are you up there?”

  “Well, she’s not down here,” said Col, joining him. “Amy and I checked everywhere.”

  “She came inside, right?” Jaden asked. “She definitely came inside?”

  “Yes, of course she came inside,” said Amy. “She was in the kitchen, like, five minutes ago. You were talking to her.”

  Jaden nodded. “Right. Yeah. Well… maybe she’s taking a dump,” he said. “Mom? You taking a dump?”

  “She’s hardly going to answer if she is, is she?” said Col.

  “Why not?”

  “Well, you don’t talk when you’re taking a dump, do you?” Col said.

  Jaden looked confused. “Why not? Hell, I sing when I’m doing it.”

  “Look, let’s just go up and look,” snapped Amy.

  Jaden recoiled in horror. “I’m not watching my mom taking a shit!”

  “No! Jesus! I mean let’s check if the bathroom door’s closed,” Amy said.

  “Oh,” said Jaden. “Oh. Yeah. Let’s do that.”

  The stairs creaked and groaned as they all crept up. Jaden began to hum quietly. Col recognized the tune as the theme to a horror movie, but couldn’t place which one.

  Jaden stopped humming when he reached the top of the stairs. His mom was standing halfway along the landing, gazing down at the floor of the room that had the light on. She didn’t react when Jaden and the others arrived at the top of t
he stairs. Instead, she just stared into the room. And stared. And stared.

  “Hey. Mom.”

  Amanda’s lips moved a fraction, like there were words inside her somewhere, but they weren’t yet ready to come out.

  “She’s shaking,” said Amy.

  “What’s she looking at?” Col wondered.

  “Don’t know. Seems to be pretty damn interesting, though,” Jaden said. “Mom? What you looking at?”

  Sighing, Amy pushed past the boys and marched along the landing. “Hey, uh, Amanda?” she said. “What’s the matter with…?”

  Amy glanced into the room and the rest of the sentence dried up in her throat. She tried to shout – to scream – but her lungs didn’t want to push any air out.

  She stumbled back towards the stairs, not daring to turn away from the bathroom door and the horrors that lurked just beyond. She’d killed her own parents – driven the handle of a ladle right through her mom’s throat – but this… This was something else entirely.

  “What is it?” Col asked, glancing from Amy to Amanda to the bathroom door. “What’s she looking at.”

  Amy shook her head. There were no words she could find to describe it. “G-go look,” was all she managed.

  Col looked at her for several long seconds as his brain tried to come up with a plausible reason why his taking a look was a bad idea. Nothing was immediately springing to mind, though. “Yeah,” he croaked. He took hold of Jaden’s sleeve. “We should take a look.”

  “Fine, yeah, I’ll come. Whatever,” said Jaden, less confidently than he’d intended. “Sure thing. It’s not a problem.”

  He and Col crept incredibly slowly towards the door. Jaden kept his gaze fixed on his mom, feeling his heart rate increase as the space between them grew smaller.

  Col looked back over his shoulder at Amy, searching for some clue as to what they were about to see, but she didn’t meet his eye, just kept staring at the doorway, her head shaking ever so slightly from side to side.

  “Jesus. What is it?” he muttered. He and Jaden stopped outside the bathroom. It took a moment to figure out what they were looking at.