by Ian D. Moore
Having fully undressed, he bent slightly as he lifted her and gently lowered her into the water, the bubbles crackling at the intrusion, before he stepped in behind her with his legs on either side, pulling her back so that she lay resting her head upon his chest.
The warmth of the water soothed her body; the feel of him against her took away the revulsion that had invaded her from Snape. Brian wrapped his arms around her, gently running soapy hands over her skin.
*******
Connection
The intermittent gunfire from the fences through the night reverberated around the base. Sunrise would see many more bodies littering the perimeter, with more work for the clean-up crews. By 0600 hours, the two Puma helicopters had landed, ready for the flight to Salby. They would carry the team of doctors and armed personnel for their attempt to enter the facility buried deep below the surface.
Flight crews scurried about doing checks and re-fuelling the aircraft. Those volunteering for the new daytime supply recce were also preparing; they would be going out once the helicopters returned from Salby. Guard duties changed as fresher faced soldiers and civilians ready for the day shift replaced the night watchmen. The cookhouse was a bustle of activity as the catering staff worked tirelessly to provide hot meals for the tens of thousands of base residents.
At the base medical centre, the duty doctors and nursing staff tended those who needed medication and used Land Rovers for rare “house calls” around the vast area of the base. The laundry workers loaded and unloaded the washing and drying machines, sorting and piling military and civilian kit for owners to collect. Litter pickers and cleaners kept the base in operational condition, ferrying tons of discarded boxes, paper, wrappings, bags, and other rubbish to the huge dug-out incinerator, powered by jet fuel, beyond the tree line.
The fire had been burning for days now, the bodies of the infected dead reduced to ash in a growing pile at the seat of the blaze. Situated behind a tall row of trees, as far out of sight from the civilian refugees as possible, at night, only the orange hue lighting up the sky could be seen.
Evie walked across the parade square to the dorm hangar, carefully winding her way through the slumbering bodies to the allocated bed spaces. She checked on the children, thanking the sitter kindly for taking care of them. With both children now sleeping soundly, Evie pulled the covers over them to keep out the chill of the cooler night air.
She lay on Nathan’s fold-up bed, staring at the ceiling of the huge aircraft building. She could smell his scent on the pillow and top sheet as she pulled it up under her chin. She would have an hour's sleep, that’s all, she thought. Then, it’ll be time to ready herself for the mission to the facility. She thought it would be good to see her team again and was hoping, beyond reason, that they were still alive.
Her mind wandered to Nathan, hoping that he was okay, having not heard any news from the front gate yet. She remembered their moments of intimacy; it seemed like a lifetime ago.
As she lay there in the chilly hangar, on a military base in the middle of North Yorkshire, she realised just how much she missed him. She had no idea, as sleep pulled her down, that Nathan was already back from the sortie and only a few hundred yards away.
***
Their cleaned weapons were safe in lockers within the armoury, so Nathan, Chris, and Susan made their way to the cookhouse for some much-needed food. The main bustle of people had now left, allowing them to discuss the mission.
It was always good to talk about operations with those who had actually been there at the time; nobody else would understand fully. They talked softly, making sure that no one overheard the conversation and feeling better for time to relax and unwind, before it all started again.
Nathan eventually stood, took his plate to the pot wash area, scraped it clean, and added it to the pile awaiting washing. He looked back at Chris and Susan and was grateful they had been there with him.
He headed for the dorm hangar to make sure that Tom and Holly had made it to their beds. He peeped around the corner, looking into the bed space and seeing the two small figures tucked under the sheets. He kneeled to kiss each small forehead and turned, staying low, towards his own folding bed.
He saw her hair first, draped at the edge of the pillow and barely covering her face. She looked peaceful and beautiful in her sleep. He noticed the shoes that she still wore, peeking out from under the covers. He kissed Evie's cheek softly, and she turned her head slightly, finding his lips as her arms lifted from the bed to embrace him.
She leaned out, almost falling off the bed and sending them both backwards. With his hand down to steady them, he pushed back against her kiss and wished the bed were big enough for them both. He could easily have climbed in and drifted off to sleep with her wrapped in his arms, as if everything had been perfectly normal.
Her eyes opened to look at him and she smiled, not quite fully awake. Evie brought her head forwards for another kiss, just to make sure it was him.
“Hey, how you doing, what time is it?” she whispered, mindful not to wake the children.
“Hello, beautiful you. It’s not every day a man comes home to find a beautiful doctor in his bed, now is it? It’s midnight, the witching hour.”
“Midnight? Really?” she blurted, louder than she'd meant. Evie was surprised that three hours had elapsed. She continued, “I better get going; I’ve to prep for tomorrow yet. I stopped by to see the kids to bed and it looked so inviting. I’ve missed you, Nate.”
“I've missed you too. It’s been a busy night and not pretty. It’s a story for another time perhaps. I thought of you, of what you mean to me. Afterwards, I mean, after the things we saw. I’m glad you’re here. I really needed to see you,” he said, sincerely.
Evie pulled herself reluctantly away from him; her eyes alight at the affirmation of his feelings for her. She so wanted to remain there, to explore their growing relationship further, but duty called, and he needed rest.
“Get some rest now, eh? Doctor’s orders! I’ll come and get you at dawn.” With a gentle brushing of her mouth against his and a wry smile, he watched her weave her way towards the hangar doors.
***
Several hours later, youngsters began to stir, subdued but rising volumes of chatter evident as excited children awoke, full of energy from the refreshing sleep.
Parents hushed in warning as they led them to the washrooms. Others prepared the makeshift teaching areas for another day’s activities. With the coming of the sun, the day sprang into life; for many people, it had begun many hours before.
The mission teams assembled kit and supplies, loading the helicopters ready for flight and checking and double-checking inventories to ensure that all went to plan. Nathan hauled himself from his bed at the sound of Steve and Janey waking up the kids.
He nodded his appreciation as Tom and Holly came to him for a morning hug before being led to the washroom. He stood, stretching tired, aching muscles from the night before, and turned, just in time to see Evie approaching with the laundered clothes for the children draped over the crook of her arm.
A plastic cup of steaming coffee was in her other hand.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said, smiling from ear to ear.
“Good morning, Doctor,” he said and winked.
“You’ve just about got time for some food, but it’s pretty rammed in there at the moment. You look like you could use some coffee,” she added, taking a sip of the hot caffeine-laced liquid herself, before handing it to him.
“You know me so well already, love,” he said, kissing her softly.
The coffee tasted good despite the lack of sugar, and it melted away the dry feeling inside his mouth. The last lingering tendrils of sleep left as the caffeine kick-started his system.
“I’ll wait for the kids to come back and get them dressed and washed. I've time. You go get yourself ready, love,” Evie said.
“Steve and Janey will take them at the moment, and we’ll need their help for
most of the day today. What say I meet you at the helipad when we're both ready?” Evie asked.
“Sounds like a plan. I need more coffee.” He smiled with a wink to her, hauling himself from the relative comfort of the bed and watching her leave.
He stretched to loosen up his stiff joints, willing the inclination to return to his body before pulling on his boots to head to the cookhouse. As he entered, he noticed the sheer volume of people; breakfast was always the busiest time of day.
***
At the landing pad, people had assembled and kit had been loaded onto the support helicopter, the rotors of which were already beginning to turn. With both teams now ready to go, the first helicopter lifted off, sending clouds of dust outwards as the rotors fought for lift against gravity. The medical team on board watched as the ground began to recede.
The interior of the aircraft was a dull metal grey colour with the bare minimum of necessities to reduce weight. The airframe could be seen in places with smoothed rivet heads holding it all together. With such a massive engine above them, it seemed almost impossible that it could fly at all.
Moments later, the second aircraft rose into the sky, taking up a heading in line with the first, slightly off to the right, for the twenty-minute flight into the private estate near the centre of the town of Salby.
The effect of the virus on communities below was all too clear to see; bodies littered what used to be thriving villages. Looters could be seen ransacking shops, in groups of four or five. They looked like they were running from shop to shop, entering through windows only to re-appear moments later with armfuls of goods. Sometimes they fought each other for items of value to them.
Some had remained in their own homes; for them it had become a daily and deadly game of chance to survive. Occasional smoke rising from still burning chimneys sent plumes into the sky, visible from the helicopters.
In some places, entire communities had been burned to the ground and it was soul destroying to see. With no visible authorities present, here was now a land of anarchy where survival was the only game. For anyone on the outside of a secure base, life or death was a throw of the metaphorical dice
.
*******
The Facility
The helicopters approached the estate upon which Evelyn’s house had been built. Hers was the central house in a block of seven that had been erected in a semi-circle around an open courtyard enclosed by a high fence-topped wall.
There were surveillance cameras erected at intervals around the perimeter with direct feeds to the facility below. Unseen tunnels, accessible to the residents of each home only, linked all the houses.
The houses looked like any other middle-class dwelling: spacious driveways with perfectly cut and shaped lawns, sandstone-coloured brickwork, and flowerbeds with garden ornaments, even children’s bicycles left leaning against pristine white, up-and-over garage doors.
Armed units surrounded the estate now and had arrived during the early hours, meeting little resistance. After both Army pilots executed near perfect touchdowns, the passengers disembarked. The helicopters would not stay on the ground for long, as their services were needed for the day supply teams; there was a constant need for supplies.
The sheer magnitude of people now resident at the base placed a huge demand upon resources. Clear of the aircraft, the teams assembled in front of Evelyn’s home, to be greeted by the ground forces commander. He strode towards them and offered a formal salute to the commanding officer. Charles recognised the newcomer from the wellhead site a couple of days ago.
He was Captain Shaun Tate; he was in his early thirties and had an athletic build and short-cropped sandy brown hair.
“Good morning, Sir.” The captain said, addressing the C.O.
“Captain,” the colonel acknowledged, without undue preamble, “what’s the situation here. Any sign of the infection? Have there been any comms from the facility below yet?” Richard asked, eagerly.
“No comms as yet, Sir. Bleeps … sorry, Sir, the signals, are working on it. We took air samples prior to entering the enclosed estate and all is clear. I have fire teams posted on each wall, Sir. The perimeter is secure and we have erected jenny-powered UV light stands as a precaution,” replied the captain, delivering his status report clearly.
“Excellent, Captain. Have you got a couple of spare bodies to bring up for the rear of our party?”
“Yes, Sir. Hobbs and Lewis are at your command,” he said.
He turned with a nod, indicating two uniformed and heavily armed squaddies standing just behind him, the maroon berets indicating that they served in the parachute regiment.
“They’re good lads, Sir, two of my best.”
“Thank you, Captain,” said the colonel as he saluted the officer, before turning to his team.
“Evelyn, are you ready?”
“, Sir. Ready as I’ll ever be. It’s that house there, Sir. I have the key for the front door.”
“Permit me, Sir?” Chris interjected, seeing the colonel nod an approval.
“Lieutenant, please remain behind me. Sergeant Cross and Sergeant Wilkes will be behind you. I’ll signal clearance at each stage. If we come under attack, you are to hit the floor, Ma’am. It could get feisty in there.”
“Understood, Staff Sergeant,” she said.
Flanked by armed personnel and in single file, they walked slowly up the driveway of the property to the front door. Chris raised a hand for them to stop a little way from it, while he checked to see if any forced entry had taken place prior to their arrival.
With no apparent damage to the door or frame, he stepped aside, keeping his rifle aimed at the door as Evie approached and inserted the key. The tumblers on the lock dropped with a final solid clunk as the deadbolt released. She twisted the key against the spring lock mechanism and pushed the white UPVC door inwards, remaining in place until it would open no further.
Chris took lead, sweeping the hallway, with Nathan and Susan close behind. They pushed into rooms on either side with weapons raised. Having cleared the downstairs area, Nathan signalled to Chris that they would do the upstairs, receiving an affirmative “okay” hand signal in response.
They took the stairs slowly and quietly; sometimes, the element of surprise was the deciding factor between life and death. One of the team went left and the other right to clear the bedrooms. Confident that the house had been searched for any intruders, Chris gave the all clear; Nathan and Susan concurred.
The house had been tastefully decorated in light pastel shades; feminine touches here and there betrayed the gender of the owner. Purples and light pinks added warmth, while art deco pieces adorned shelves and mantles, and an African skyline print, depicting elephants in a line at a watering hole in a sunset scene, invoked a feeling of calmness and serenity.
“It’s this way,” Evie said, indicating a back room study on the ground floor.
“We’re right behind you, Lieutenant,” the C.O. replied.
Chris took point, following Evie’s directions to a small, wood-panelled study office with book-lined walls and the biggest walk-in wardrobe Chris had ever seen. Nathan and Susan entered next, maintaining the protective triangle around Evie. The C.O. entered next, then the lab technicians and finally Hobbs and Lewis covering the rear.
Evie took a good look around; everything was where it should be, and it didn’t seem that anyone had gained entry since she had left.
Her eyes met Nathan’s for an instant, and seeing her nervous half-smile, he winked at her in silent reassurance. Evie stood in front of the huge sliding doors; they were wood panelled to match the other walls in the study. The opposite wall sported a wide window, which bathed a huge carved oak wooden desk and a tall leather chair in light from outside.
With her hands gripping the middle of the each door, she pulled them apart. With only the barest of noise from the runners, the doors disappeared into the side walls and revealed a solid wall of steel and an electronic panel at shoulder hei
ght to its right.
Evie approached the panel, running her hand over it to activate the sensor. A red hue coloured her hand briefly, confirming that it was ready to scan. First, she placed her right hand on the scanner, palm down and touching the surface. Nathan watched as the red beam of light scanned her prints top to bottom, before illuminating a green square to signal that it had verified the images.
First stage completed; now for the retinal scan. Evie pushed her hair behind her ears, bent forward, placed her right eye in line with an imprinted guideline on the face of the scanner, opened her eye, and stared. The machine scanned from top to bottom. Briefly, the light flashed green once more and an electric relay began to hum. The solid metal wall rose up through the ceiling and retracted to reveal a set of mirrored lift doors. After pushing the call button, it was just possible to hear the lift machinery spark into life as the electro-magnetic rail motors took the strain, hauling the lift car upwards.
“The lift shaft is almost a mile deep. The rest point for each car is about halfway down. It’ll take a few minutes for it to get here. When we get down there, please stick together. It’s a big facility and we’ll be entering the lift foyer first. There could be infected still alive down there and the virus may still be active. We need to suit up,” Evie said.
The message was relayed to the whole party and soon everyone had taken precautions. The three armed non-commissioned officers took position in front of the lift doors, fanning out to cover all angles when they opened.
With a final clunk, the lift reached the surface and the doors slid open to reveal the interior of an empty car. The low-level fluorescent lighting was still operational, indicating the lift, at least, had not sustained any damage.