“Of course, Mum! Everyone has email.”
“You didn’t tell me. I’d have forwarded you all the photos that Chris sends me. But let’s go into the lounge and sit down. It’s much more comfortable. I’ve set up the spare room, so one of you can sleep there and one on the sofa in the lounge. Your choice,” said Hilda, walking out the door.
“I’m easy,” said Marla, following close behind.
“Bugsy the bed,” remarked Ellen.
Marla turned and nudged her arm. “I could have guessed!”
“I have a bad back.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah!”
“So, what brought on this visit?” asked Hilda when they were all seated comfortably on the plush brown sofa. “It was very late notice.”
“Sorry,” Marla began.
“Oh, I don’t mind, it’s lovely to see you, but I was just surprised.”
“I missed you,” said Ellen, making up an excuse. “And I asked Marla to drive me. I’m too skint to get the train at the moment.”
“That’s a shame. But your job is going alright?”
“Yes, yes, I love it,” Ellen replied, smiling broadly. Her eyes lit up thinking about it. “I love teaching and the kids are so cool. I’m teaching primary school classes, and many of the children are bright and the ones that aren’t really try. I think I only have one naughty boy!”
“Well, that’s good. Lucky you’re not teaching teenagers,” said Hilda. “Ah, teenage girls...”
Marla laughed. “Guess we were hell on legs.”
“Something like that. Why do you think I have all these white hairs? They skipped the grey stage.”
“I thought that was only after Chris came along,” said Ellen with a cheeky smile.
“Now you might be right there... but no, he’s a good boy, Chris. I’m surprised he went travelling though. I thought he would be too shy for that kind of thing, but his friend, Alan, is very friendly and I think he convinced him. I’m glad he’s seeing the world. That’s something I wish I’d done when I was young.”
“You still could,” Marla suggested.
“Oh no, I’m far too old now. A trip to the seaside is good enough for me.”
“I was wondering,” asked Marla, changing the subject, “do you know of anyone who has come down with the flu here? We’ve kind of got an outbreak of it in London.”
“Yes, I saw that on the news. They think it’s that avian flu again. I guess it will only be the older people at risk,” Hilda replied. “You know, the very young, like babies, and the very old.”
“Well, we’re okay,” said Ellen, smiling.
“But no, come to think of it, I can’t think of anyone. I’d have noticed too, it being summer and all.”
“Well, that’s good. I was worried,” said Marla.
“Ah, don’t worry about me,” Hilda answered, getting up. “I get my regular flu jabs now. That’s one great thing about being an OAP – no winter flu – and then there’s my free bus pass. Now that’s living the dream!”
Ellen giggled.
“Would you girls like a sandwich and some cake, or I could cook something?”
“No, I’m fine, don’t worry,” said Marla. “Just a bit of cake would be great. It’s getting quite late.”
“Me, too,” Ellen agreed. “Cake with my coffee. Do you need any help?”
“No. You two sit there and make yourself at home. You’ve had a long drive. What is it? Four hours?”
“Five and a bit,” said Marla. “I’ll probably sleep like a log tonight.”
“Always do down here. I don’t know why you live in London. Too many people and everyone is always in such a rush. They’d sooner knock you over than say hello. I’ll be back in a mo.”
“Well, she seems fine,” said Ellen once Hilda had left the room.
Marla let out a breath of air. “Thank God. I was starting to really worry. That’s so funny she’s using email.”
“Yeah, I wanna see those pictures of Chris. Maybe he did the best thing in leaving the country right now.”
“Think so. Wish I was in Thailand.”
“Bit hot though.”
“Yeah, I guess,” said Marla, getting up and looking out of the window.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing in particular. Just trying to remind myself what normal looks like.”
Ellen smiled. “How long do you want to stay?”
“Maybe we should check the news tomorrow and head back late evening.”
“So soon?”
“Did you want to stay longer?”
“Well, yes, as we’re here,” Ellen replied. “It’ll be nice.”
“Okay. I haven’t really figured out what to do. My main thought was to come here and see Mum, but I don’t have a clue what to do after that. Head back, I guess. I said to Tommy about taking off on Friday, but I’m not sure where we should go. I was thinking of coming here, but we’ve come early as he wasn’t ready. We could come back, but Tommy may want to see his family first and they’re up north. So then we’d have to split up. Also, I haven’t rung in to see if there was any work for me. But then they haven’t called either...”
“You mean the agency?”
Marla nodded. “Yep.”
“My work isn’t expecting me. I took the week off and...”
“Here you go,” said Hilda, re-entering the room carrying three small plates in one hand and an assortment of cakes on a plate in the other. “Fancy watching a movie?”
“Sounds great,” Ellen answered with a smile. “But I think I’m going to get fat just from looking at those.”
Wednesday, 22
“One egg or two?” asked Hilda as Marla sauntered into the lounge looking dishevelled.
“Just one and some cereal for me,” she answered, running her hands through her matted hair. “But I’ll make it.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah, no problem, Mum. Do you want anything?”
“No, your sister and I ate a couple of hours ago,” Hilda answered, cocking an eyebrow at Ellen, who grinned.
“What time is it?” asked Marla, looking surprised.
“Nearly eleven.”
“Wow, I guess I needed some sleep. Anyway, I’ll just go eat something.” Yawning, Marla sauntered into the kitchen, pausing to stretch on the way. Outside the window a handful of starlings were flocking around the bird feeder, which was huge and many tiered, resembling a mini Mecca for the feathered variety. Standing on tiptoe, she gazed towards the pond. It still contained goldfish, so Sandy the cat hadn’t had his wicked way.
“Talk of the devil,” Marla exclaimed as something furry tickled the bottom of her leg. “How are you little boy?” she asked, bending slightly to ruffle his fur. A loud purr filled the air, sounding like the ripple of an engine. “Ah, I’m not so happy this morning. I fancy whatever you had for breakfast,” she said, noticing the cat leap on to the breakfast bar. “Now you know you’re not allowed up there, cheeky.” She waved her hand and Sandy got the idea. He landed with a small thud on the lino. “Right, egg,” she told herself, grabbing a small saucepan and filling it with water. Popping the egg inside, she placed it on the hob to boil. “Toast...”
“Marla!”
Almost dropping the bread she had just grabbed out of the toaster, she yelled back, “What do you want? Changed your mind?”
“No! Just come and see this!” Ellen replied.
“Damn it,” grumbled Marla. Hastily buttering a slice of toast, she bit the corner and headed into the lounge, trailed by Mr Furry Pants.
Hilda looked her way and muttered, “Plate!”
Marla turned tail and walked back into the kitchen. Noticing that she was being shadowed, she found a plate, buttered the other piece of toast, placed both items on the plate, and returned while trying not to trip over His Fluffy Highness, who was dead set on achieving just that she surmised by his behaviour.
Ellen glanced up. “Look! You missed the beginning, but they’ve introduced a cur
few in London. Breaking news from the government. There has been a spate of murders.”
“There must have been a lot if they’ve done that,” said Marla, sitting down on the arm of the sofa. A glance from her mother made her shift her bottom on to the seat. “It doesn’t make sense. London has always had murders.”
“Shush and listen,” informed Hilda. “It isn’t a serial killer or anything like that. The killings are unrelated and gruesome, they were saying, and they’re in different places, dotted all over London. Unusual was another word they used.”
“Shush, Mum,” Ellen mumbled.
The government has issued a warning to the people of London to take care when out and about in public places, and after dark in particular. There have been an unusual number of murders in various parts of London over the last two nights, which seem to be increasing in number and ferocity. The public has been warned not to approach anyone who is acting in an aggressive manner and to ring the police immediately. There are several offenders whom you should not approach under any circumstances. We will have artist impressions and photo-fits for you in a moment.
It is believed that the recent outbreak of avian flu is causing some people to become aggressive and dangerous. The flu has now spread across the capital. So far we have no reports of cases in other parts of the country. There are, however, reports abroad in France, Italy and Portugal. We have unconfirmed reports in Sweden and Germany. We will turn to our scientific advisor, Dr. Archibald, for more details on this. Dr. Archibald, tell me, how is it possible for a virus to make someone violent? “David, now that is an interesting question...”
“Is the curfew for the whole of London?” Marla asked Ellen.
Her sister nodded. “They mentioned that five people were murdered the day before yesterday. It was kept out of the news. But it rose to thirty-six yesterday. Most of them were at night time. Apparently, there were eighty-nine in the whole of 2012. Anyway, the government held talks about it, and they decided to release the information today and instigate a curfew. There will be more police on the streets, patrolling, they said, and they are planning to make use of the army.”
“Have they arrested anyone?”
Ellen nodded. “But they said it was difficult. They warned the public not to approach anyone who seems dangerous or committing a crime. They said the perpetrators were, quote, ‘unnaturally aggressive’, whatever that means.”
“How long is the curfew for?”
“Didn’t say,” Ellen replied.
“When does it start?” asked Marla.
“Well, it’s summer time, so they’ve introduced it from 9 p.m. while it’s still light. And it’s in force until 6 a.m.”
“So no one can go out around those times?”
“No, unless people are working, I guess. I don’t know what’s going to happen about that,” said Ellen, thoughtfully. “They are also reducing transport during those times so that drivers can be at home.”
“Right... This is so weird.”
“It’s like being at war,” remarked Hilda, who had been listening to the scientific advisor speaking. “Even that so-called expert doesn’t really seem to know anything. Maybe you shouldn’t go back to London. Safer here.”
Marla smiled. “I was thinking of coming back, if it’s okay. I’ve left Peter and...”
“I never liked that boy,” Hilda cut in. “Too shifty looking and he seemed very self-centred.”
“Yeah, I know,” Marla remembered with a slight smile. “You were right there! Anyway, I sorted out some things from the flat, but I left most of that stuff at Tommy’s,” Marla replied. “I thought we’d drive down here at the weekend, but he wasn’t ready, so we...”
“Tommy who was in the army with you?” enquired Hilda. “Ah, fine boy he was. I always thought you two...”
“Yes, Mum,” Marla replied, rolling her eyes, “but he’s not a boy now. He’s pushing forty.”
“Very good-looking chap, if I remember rightly.”
“Still is,” said Ellen with a grin.
The two of them laughed while Marla cringed. “Oh, shit, the egg!” she blurted out before leaping off the sofa and running towards the kitchen.
“What do you want to do, Ellen?” her mother asked her.
She shook her head. “Not sure, but my things are at Tommy’s too. I guess we should go back. Once they catch the people who committed these crimes it will be safer at home. We’ll be fine. London is a big place after all.”
“Think the same people are doing this?”
“No idea, Mum. It doesn’t make any sense to me. By the way, have you been having any, erm, weird dreams lately?”
“No, dear, I can’t say that I have. Have you?”
Ellen nodded. “Yep, but it’s probably just stress,” she lied. There was no way she was going to worry her mother by telling her about her nightmares and what they had seen in the supermarket. Whatever her fears, there had to be an explanation. If the government was acting and introducing measures then surely they knew what the problem was. And if they were working on a cure for the virus, which she guessed they would be, then one would be found soon. It was probably a strain of the avian flu, as they said, and there was probably already an antidote for that.
“You okay, love?”
“Yeah, I was just thinking about stuff.”
Hilda nodded. “Maybe we should go out and get some air, petal. What do you think? Take a walk over the park?”
“I’d like that, Mum. Just let me get dressed.” Ellen stood up and walked out of the room. As she went towards the stairs, Marla waved her hand above her head. Ellen went towards her, mouthing a silent, “What?”
“What the hell’s going on?”
Ellen shrugged. “You’re asking me? You’re the one with more experience of that world. If the army is getting involved, it must be serious, right?”
Marla nodded. “I’m scared it means the government doesn’t have control of the situation, but the other half of me thinks they are behind it. Why aren’t they naming the virus or explaining exactly what it is? They say it might make people aggressive, but they don’t know, or do they? Did they make the virus?”
“Stop it, you’re scaring me. I’m going for a walk to the park with Mum. We need some air. I think Mum is stressing because she doesn’t want us to go back to London, which I can understand. Why don’t we just ask Tommy to come here?”
“Because I’m not sure if he will,” Marla replied. “He’ll want to check on his family and his kid. He can’t be in two places at once.”
“Where do they live?” asked Ellen.
“Carlisle.”
“Right… and his parents?”
“Scotland,” said Marla. “They moved there about a decade ago. His dad is Scottish.”
“Oh, yeah, Armstrong...”
“Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s making plans to go already.”
Ellen shrugged. “Okay. Well, I’m going to get dressed and head out with Mum. Come if you like, or maybe think of what you want to do. I’d rather stay here, but I want my things as well. Can’t he just post them? Box it all up.”
“That’s an idea,” added Marla, but then she remembered the guns she had requested. That left no option but to go back.
Friday, 24
Marla and Ellen collected their luggage from the back of the jeep, and headed for the entrance to Tommy Armstrong’s Cars. The ‘Closed’ sign was still up and the glass doors were not budging. “Good for him,” said Marla, changing direction and walking up to the side door, where she rang the bell.
Tommy answered the door looking uncharacteristically worried and tired. “Hey,” was all he uttered before turning and heading back up the stairs. Marla closed the door and followed him up, with Ellen trailing behind.
“How was your mum?” he asked. “I thought you might opt to stay there. Safer.”
“Yeah, like I said on the phone, I considered it, but then you’ve got the guns and ammo I asked for, and God kno
ws what else, so I didn’t want to ditch you with all that. Plus I figured I might need it,” Marla replied.
“You’ve got guns?” gasped Ellen, looking taken aback.
Marla nodded. “Safeguard. I was scared something bad was coming and I think it’s arrived.”
“Did you watch all of the news last night?” Tommy asked.
“Yep, and this morning,” she replied. “I saw the body count has gone up.”
“I’m going to lie down,” said Ellen, heading into the spare bedroom while the other two went into the lounge.
Marla dropped her backpack in a corner. “How’s your family?”
Tommy swept his hand over his forehead. “I was worried, but I spoke to them. They’re all fine. They’ve been watching the news and are more worried about me, being in London. My son doesn’t really know what’s going on – he’s been told there’s a flu outbreak, but daddy is immune!”
Marla gave a small smile. “Good for your ex. Nice story. You want to go visit them?”
“Yeah, but I’m thinking of getting some supplies in. Then, if the curfew is extended to daytime, I’ve got everything I need.”
“Good idea.”
“I’m heading out soon, so if you want to come we can head for a different supermarket than the one you went to. You’ll see police and soldiers on the streets now, and fewer regular people. It’s kind of weird.”
Marla nodded. “Yeah, I saw some driving through. Totally different atmosphere when you hit London. Things seem to be changing fast.”
“Okay, I’ll grab my keys and we’ll go. See if Ellen fancies it,” he added, ducking out of the room.
***
On the way back from the supermarket, Tommy’s phone beeped and he checked it. There was a message from his friend, Pete: “Check the TV or internet. Man, things just went mental!” He dropped the phone in his lap and glanced in the rear-view mirror.
“What’s up?” Marla questioned, noticing his expression change from alright to downright miserable.
“A mate just texted me to check the news,” he answered. “Something crap has happened.”
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