But their luck tanked a quarter-mile from Kirsten’s boyfriend’s place, taking a blind corner and finding a Metro Police car parked at the kerb while a bulky officer pissed in a storm drain.
‘I’d hit the accelerator if I was in my Porsche,’ Harry joked nervously as a female officer stepped into the road, raising a gloved hand.
‘What’s going on, kids?’ she yelled through her mask, making a lower-the-window gesture as she crouched down. ‘I need four hands where I can see ’em.’
The other officer shone a flashlight as he approached the rear of the car.
Harry had put some thought into how he’d act if he was stopped. ‘Good evening, officer,’ Harry said, laying on his politest English accent. ‘Is there a problem?’
The officer acted sarcastic. ‘Did you happen to notice a quarantine going down?’
‘My girlfriend and I were at a friend’s house. But there isn’t enough food there, so I’m driving home to my aunt’s.’
‘You got a transit authorisation code?’
‘Did we need one?’ Harry asked innocently.
Charlie got goose bumps as the male officer shone his flashlight through the back window. Cops were trained to recognise gene-modding equipment, and the gear in the back wasn’t even covered.
‘We had a huge row with the guys we were staying with,’ Charlie told the officer, trying to sound upset. ‘I yelled at Harry to get in the car and leave. Are we in a lot of trouble?’
‘Calm down, sweetheart,’ the female cop said. ‘You shouldn’t have driven off without seeking authorisation. I’ll need to take details of where you’re from and where you’re heading, and we’ll sort it from there.’
But while the female officer bought the story of the teen couple leaving their friend’s house after a row, her partner wasn’t so sure.
‘How come you’re skulking down back streets at ten miles per hour?’ he asked.
‘I took a wrong turn,’ Harry said. ‘Shoulda pulled over and set the navigation, but I thought I knew where I was at.’
‘What’s that gear piled in the trunk?’ the officer asked.
Charlie thought about the gun bulging inside her hoodie as Harry shuddered and thought about hitting the accelerator.
‘Random junk,’ Harry said.
The cop rocked his head knowingly. ‘Mind if I look?’
‘Sure,’ Harry said, glancing anxiously across at Charlie. ‘It’s just school books, and a few clothes …’
‘I’ll need you both to step out of the car, keeping your hands visible at all times.’
Charlie knew they’d see her bulging gun as she stepped out, but as Harry opened the driver’s door, the radios on the officers’ lapels burst to life.
‘All units, all units, we have a report of youths looting at the Fashion Show Mall. If anyone is in the area, proceed immediately.’
The woman snatched her radio, ‘Car four-forty-one responding. We can be on scene in three to four minutes, over.’
The male cop scowled at his partner. ‘There’s more than school books in the back of this car.’
‘Give me a break,’ the woman yelled back, then looked in at Harry, wagging a stern finger. ‘I’m gonna log an authorisation for your licence plate. You got one hour to get where you’re going. If you’re on the road after that, both your asses go to jail.’
‘Thank you, ma’am,’ Harry gasped, then spoke through gritted teeth as he put the window up. ‘That was too close.’
‘I feel so sick,’ Charlie said, clutching her belly. ‘But we’ve got an hour now. That’s easily enough to get to Kirsten’s place and drive on to yours.’
• • •
Kirsten’s boyfriend was suspicious when Harry buzzed the intercom, and Kirsten reacted furiously when they reached the door of apartment 4C. She told Harry that they were crazy to be taking risks during quarantine, before shepherding them into the hallway.
‘I don’t care if you write me out of your will and never want to see me again,’ Harry told his aunt when she finally stopped yelling. ‘Just promise you’ll use this vaccine.’
Harry hadn’t realised Kirsten’s boyfriend had a six-year-old son, which took care of his spare dose.
‘I could make dinner,’ Kirsten suggested diplomatically, once she’d calmed down. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you, Charlie.’
‘We’ve only got twenty minutes left on my travel permit,’ Harry said. ‘We want to get a dose to Matt as soon as possible.’
There were tears from the six-year-old as Charlie administered the jabs, then Kirsten gave Harry a stack of meals from her freezer and they hugged before jogging downstairs to the VW.
‘I sense your aunt isn’t my biggest fan,’ Charlie said.
Harry laughed. ‘She has this crazy idea that you’ll make me do all kinds of illegal stuff that could get me into trouble with the law.’
‘Me?’ Charlie asked, smirking. ‘I haven’t committed a major felony in over an hour.’
The car was parked in front of the apartment block.
‘These meals are freezing,’ Harry said as Charlie opened the back of her car.
‘Frozen meals are freezing,’ Charlie mocked as Harry put them inside. ‘Who’d a thought that? Kirsten offered you a cool bag …’
‘I just wanted to get out of there,’ Harry said, reaching out and dabbing two icy fingers on Charlie’s neck.
‘Buzz off!’ Charlie yelped, stepping back and catching her sneaker on a jutting drain cover.
Harry caught her as she stumbled. Charlie showed a wounded expression as she looked up into his eyes and pulled down her virus mask. Harry’s breath shuddered.
‘Are you gonna kiss me or not?’ Charlie asked.
Harry tore off his mask and closed in for a kiss. Gently at first, then pressing her against the car and sliding a hand down her back.
‘I never thought this would happen,’ Harry said hungrily.
Charlie enjoyed him kissing around her neck and biting gently on her earlobe, but pushed back when he started pulling her leggings down.
‘Not here, you horny goat,’ she said, pushing Harry away.
‘I want you so much.’
‘I’m not saying no,’ Charlie teased, ‘but what if your aunt looks out the window? And we should get Matt his vaccine.’
‘At least there’s no traffic,’ Harry said, burning with lust as he rushed round to the driver’s side. He kissed Charlie again, before reversing out of the spot.
She rubbed his thigh as they drove. A checkpoint officer scanned their licence plate and waved them through. Harry was so excited by the idea of seeing Charlie naked that he scraped her car roof on the underside of the rising barrier at his building.
‘It’s only paint,’ Harry said, pulling Charlie’s arm as she inspected the damage. ‘I’ll pay for the repair. Hell, I’ll buy you a new car!’
Charlie shoved Harry against the back of the elevator and wrapped her arms round his neck. They made out from the basement to the forty-third floor. Harry trembled with excitement, fumbling the lock and dropping his key as he tried to get into his apartment.
‘You are such a bad influence,’ he said, feeling Charlie’s hand between his legs as the pair stumbled into the hallway.
His mood was jarred by a shattered mug and coffee pooled across the lobby’s tiled floor. It seemed odd that Matt hadn’t cleared it up, but Charlie had his wrist and was leading him down the hallway.
‘Where’s your bed?’ she said, pulling off a sneaker and flicking it into the air.
‘Double doors at the end,’ Harry said, wishing he’d changed the sheets after his Saturday romp with Gemma.
But Charlie screamed sharply as she glanced through an archway.
Harry reached for her arm. ‘What’s wrong?’
Everything fell apart when he looked into the living room. A tea-coloured rug had a huge splat of bloody vomit. Dark red spots formed a trail to Matt. He’d tried to make it to the couch but had collapsed, grazing his head o
n the corner of a glass table.
‘Matt, buddy,’ Harry said, racing into the room.
‘Don’t go near him,’ Charlie shouted, the gun dropping out of her hoodie as she pulled up her virus mask.
‘Matt, can you hear me?’ Harry shouted. ‘Are you there, mate?’
Matt wore the same shorts and polo he’d been in three hours earlier. Bloody, coin-sized blisters had erupted on the back of his neck and all down his legs.
‘Stay away from him,’ Charlie warned again.
But Harry had to know if his best friend was alive. Rather than get closer, he moved round to the other side of the coffee table and squatted. Clotting blood oozed from Matt’s ear and his tongue had puffed up like a balloon.
‘I think he choked on his swollen tongue,’ Harry said. ‘I read that it killed a lot of people in England that way.’
‘Harry, please,’ Charlie begged, fighting an urge to bolt for the door. ‘It’s super contagious.’
‘He was my best friend,’ Harry sobbed, finally backing away. ‘I’ve been around him all day. If he’s got it I’ve got it.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Charlie said. ‘Viruses can be weird. You’ve had the vaccine and your mods might give you some protection …’
‘What do I do now?’ Harry asked, swallowing a sob. ‘I guess I have to call quarantine to take the body away and decontaminate the apartment. And I’ll have to call Lana. And Matt’s mum and dad. He was fine when I went out. Not even a sneeze.’
Charlie felt terrified as Harry got close. Harry might be infected, but he’s taken crazy risks for me every time I’ve asked. So how can I run out on him now?
‘I’m really sorry about your friend,’ Charlie said.
The words came out stiffer than she’d expected, so she stepped up to Harry and kissed him.
‘I could be infected,’ Harry said, backing off. ‘You should get out of here.’
‘To where?’ Charlie said, looking up into Harry’s eyes. ‘I’m not going to put my foster family at risk. We’ll call quarantine control to collect Matt.’
‘Then what?’ Harry asked desperately.
Charlie looked stunned. ‘Since we’ve been exposed, they’ll take us to a quarantine centre,’ she said, then paused to think. ‘We’ll either be dead within forty-eight hours. Or the vaccine will kick in and we live to see whatever crazy virus they invent next.’
Harry pulled Charlie back in, closing his eyes and trying to imagine that her smell and her warmth were the only things in the universe. She nestled her head into his shoulder. She felt loved in Harry’s big arms, and amidst tangled thoughts one rang shockingly clear.
I’d rather die here with Harry, than go on living without him.
PART FOUR
THREE YEARS LATER
56 DEAD BUGS
Vegas Local
* * *
HAVE YOUR SAY – Should Killer-T masterminds face extradition to the US?
Killer-T and its variants have directly caused 1.6 billion deaths, including 70 million in the United States.
Millions more continue to die from global food shortages and the political and economic chaos that has followed.
The three men and two women who created Killer-T were tried in Britain and sentenced to life in prison. They are unlikely to ever be released, but the British parliament will now debate special legislation that will enable extradition of the perpetrators to the United States, where they could face the federal death penalty.
Should the Killer-T Five face execution for perpetrating the greatest genocide in human history? Or is it better that they rot in prison for the rest of their lives?
Vote in our poll and post your comments below!
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Yes – The Killer-T Five deserve to die 84%
No – Let them rot in prison 16%
There are flies.
Dead ones dotted on the hallway floor like raisins. Live ones walking over the bodies. Eating blood out of the blisters on the dead nurse’s arms. I’m getting out of bed, stepping over Stephanie in her neon top. Using the nurses’ key to unlock the kitchen and opening a big can of pineapple. Swatting flies away as I tip the can and drink the juice.
The air-con stopped working and it’s so hot. Everyone else is dead. The phone is dead. The faucets don’t work and the toilets are dry. I drink more juice, drop a pineapple ring on the floor. And look down at the rattlesnake, crawling over the bug-covered floor. Its head snaps around. Jumping up and sinking its teeth into my ankle …
‘Charlie!’ Ed shouted breathlessly as he shot up in his bed. ‘Charlie.’
Harry came into the little bedroom first, dressed in his boxers, sitting on Ed’s bed and squeezing his hand.
‘Did you have a nightmare, big guy?’ he asked.
‘A big bad one,’ Ed said, eyes glazed with tears. He was a bulky seventeen-year-old now, and his grip was close to painful.
‘You’re safe,’ Harry soothed. ‘I’m here. Charlie’s just across the hall. Breathe in through your mouth, and out through your nose, like the therapist showed you.’
‘It was Care4Kids,’ Ed said, trembling as he took a big breath. ‘Everyone was dead. The nurse left the door open and the snake got in.’
‘But me and Charlie came and found you, didn’t we?’ Harry said. ‘It was scary, but you’re safe now.’
Ed got spooked if you touched him by surprise. So Harry held his arm up, and waited for Ed to nod before wrapping it around his back.
‘You came in your orange Porsche,’ Ed said, and Harry felt him tremble. ‘There was no water, but I kept myself clean with wipes. And the snake part was only in my dream.’
‘But that was three years ago,’ Harry soothed. ‘You live here now, with me and Charlie. And you’re safe, aren’t you?’
Ed nodded, then his head dropped. ‘I wish I didn’t get nightmares.’
‘Sounds like you had a bad one,’ Harry said as he craned his neck to look at the bedside clock. ‘Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll mix you some space food for breakfast?’
‘Peach flavour?’
‘Sure,’ Harry said. ‘Don’t use all the hot water. You know how mad Charlie gets when it runs out!’
Ed managed a smile, and he got off the bed and grabbed his towel from a hook. Harry started to cough as he crossed the hall and stepped into the room he shared with Charlie. Ed’s nightmare had woken her too, and she sat up in bed, looking at the battered laptop Harry had bought her more than five years earlier.
‘Ed OK?’ Charlie asked as Harry gave her a good morning kiss.
‘The Care4Kids nightmare again,’ Harry sighed, hunting in a bedside drawer. ‘He’s so frightened when he wakes up like that. I told him to go shower.’
Charlie looked anxious. ‘You reminded him not to hog all the hot water?’
‘Sure,’ Harry said. He grabbed a syringe from the drawer and settled on the edge of his bed. ‘How are the threat forecasts looking?’
‘There’s a new strain of super-flu flaring in Melbourne,’ Charlie said. ‘It’s winter down there, I guess. Killer-T3B is showing vaccine resistance in the Ukraine. I’ll get you and Ed the latest vaccine shots in town today. It’s been more than a week.’
Harry pulled the cap off the needle and injected a dose of steroids into his upper arm.
‘Do you think they’re helping?’ Charlie asked. ‘You were coughing half the night.’
‘Did I keep you awake? I can always go down and sleep on the couch.’
Charlie shook her head. ‘I want you here, beside me,’ she said fondly. ‘Cough or no cough.’
Harry smiled as he crawled over the bed towards Charlie and gave her another kiss.
‘Ed woke us up early,’ Harry said. ‘You wanna fool around?’
‘Depends what you’ve got,’ Charlie teased, kissing Harry back as she set the laptop on her bedside table and kicked off the duvet.
Charlie had her legs hooked around Harry’s back when Ed burst in.
&n
bsp; ‘There’s no hot water,’ he announced, trailing damp footprints.
‘I’ve told you to knock,’ Charlie said, halfway between amused and irritated as she hurled a pillow at him.
‘Did you adjust the middle tap?’ Harry asked. ‘If you push the lever too far, you just get cold.’
‘The hot is only a dribble,’ Ed said as Harry grabbed well-worn jeans off the floor.
Harry crossed to the bathroom. Ed loomed in the background as he stepped into the shower cubicle, turned the hot to full blast and got a dribble.
‘Told you,’ Ed said. ‘I’m not stupid.’
‘You look stupid,’ Harry teased, poking his tongue childishly as he went back to the bedroom to grab a shirt.
‘You’re rude, Harry!’
Ed’s emotional age was nine and he enjoyed gentle teasing if he was in a good mood.
‘Water’s hot, but there’s no pressure,’ Harry yelled to Charlie. ‘I’ll go outside and check the pump.’
Harry stepped out after grabbing a toolbox from the garage and slipping on some work boots. The modest, wooden-framed house was on high ground with a hilly four-acre plot. On a clear day, you could see Las Vegas thirty miles south, but right now all Harry got was a face full of rising sun, and a wave from Vern, his grey-bearded neighbour.
‘Want some fresh milk?’ Vern shouted.
‘Always,’ Harry said brightly as he waved back.
‘Could Charlie pick up the latest anti-virus shots for me and Rosie if she’s going into town?’
‘No problem. She’s got to get mine and Ed’s as well.’ Harry didn’t stop because Vern would talk all day if you let him. ‘I’ve got no hot water. I think it’s the pump.’
‘Let me know if you get stuck with that,’ Vern said. ‘Drop by for tea and cake, if you like.’
‘Will do,’ Harry said, now far enough away that he had to raise his voice. ‘I’ll bring some of my tomatoes over.’
KILLER T Page 27