Page 5 (1/2)

BY TIM LEBBON

We should have known that one day they&039;d refuse to let us leave

I&039;d already seen the fresh s from the cremation pits, and a sensation of cold dread had settled in my stomach But I chose not to mention it to the others Jamie&039;s bluff and bluster would only piss e If in the end events drove her to madness or suicide, I didn&039;t want to be the catalyst

So it wasn&039;t until we reached the old stone river bridge that the truth began to dawn

&039;What the fuck?&039; Jao of the cart and grabbed ue, we&039;d only known each other in passing, and there was nothing sexual here, but contact helped her cope As for meit only made e,&039; I said

&039;And they&039;re burning soed off ahead of us, approaching the barrier of roughly laid concrete block and barbed wire they&039;d built while we&039;d been searching

&039;Toby?&039; Bindy said again, her hand squeezing hard

&039;It&039;s okay,&039; I said, squeezing back Though I kneas not

I looked down at the cart we&039;d been pushing The body of a s the initial outbreak and had been e three weeks earlier, but her eyes still held a gli life That was always the worst thing for me - not that they&039;d ristly hearts of the living, but that in their eyes they looked so alive

The girl stared back atI looked away

&039;Hey!&039; Jamie shouted &039;Coo up there,&039; Bindy said

&039;Then stay with her,&039; I said, letting go and walking after Jamie I heard Bindy&039;s sharp intake of breath and knew that I could be cruel But she eak, and sometimes I lost patience with her

I reached the block wall and clih the swirls of razor wire topping it I could still s&039;s happened,&039; he said For once, his understate

There had been an are For three weeks, the three of us had been bringing bodies out of Usk, back over the bridge and delivering them into the hands of the scientists We each had different reasons for doing so, and all of them involved dead people We had found Jaarden, her chest opened and heart ripped out There had been a squirrel feeding on her eyes, and I&039;d been shocked, because I never knew a squirrel would eat meat Bindy&039;s parents were two of the infected killed during the Purge, and we&039;d brought the the second week Her mother had been covered with dried blood, and in her father&039;s hand was the re, glittering eyes, wet and knowing, even in true death

My own dear Fiona eluded me still

Now the camp was abandoned There were still a few of the prefab huts they&039;d used, and a tent flapped in the lonely breeze The field was churned up, and the old cottage they&039;d requisitioned as a command post was empty Its s and door had been left open, and that just seehed softly

&039;What is it?&039; Ja&039;

&039;So where the fuck have they gone?&039;

I shrugged, butfrom the pyres, the fires and pits hidden beyond a thick copse of trees After we brought the bodies out and they&039;d done their tests, that here they disposed of thereasy, the s

&039;Moved back,&039; I said &039;Pulled the perie&039;

&039;Why?&039; he asked, but I could see hi at the smoke as well &039;Fuckers,&039; he said softly

I turned and looked back down the curve of the bridge at Bindy She&039;d stepped in front of the trailer so she did not have to look at the little dead girl, and she was staring up at us, eyes wide and hands clasped between her breasts When she saw my expression, she looked at the road surface

&039;They should tell us what they found, shouldn&039;t they?&039; Jamie asked

&039;So ask them&039;

&039;What do you mean?&039;

I nodded across at the torn-up field Birds were flocking across it, exploring for worms where the soil had been recently turned &039;You don&039;t think they&039;d leave us alone, do you? We could climb the wall, swi the landscape as I spoke, searching for ht on binoculars or rifle scopes I could see nothing, but that didn&039;t mean they were not there &039;They&039;ll be there toto try,&039; Jamie said

&039;Don&039;t be a fool&039;

&039;Fool?&039; He turned to , and the fear beneath his constant outrage was patent &039;You&039;ve been treating me like a kid ever since we started this, and I&039;er than you, so I can take that But I&039;h&039;

He turned back to the view, scanning the hedgerows and hillside beyond, as I had

&039;They&039;ll let us out, Toby, won&039;t they?&039; Bindy said behind us

&039;No,&039; I said It was so quiet that she didn&039;t hear, but Jaain as he jumped down fro to swiet out of this shit- hole later&039;

I followed him back down to the street

&039;What do we do with that?&039; he said, pointing at the girl&039;s body

For a second, I was at a loss By discovering the corpse splayed on a tomb slab in the churchyard, we had effectively taken ownership of it, and the thought of si her sohter, soirl, and she deserved more than that

&039;Well, chuck her down a drain somewhere for all I care,&039; Ja the street &039;I&039; to the Queen&039;s I&039;ll be in the bar&039;

Bindy turned to me

&039;Let&039;s put her back where we found her,&039; I said, and she seemed to find that acceptable She almost smiled

Jamie was on the way to drunk by the time Bindy and I arrived at the Queen&039;s Hotel He was sitting at a table in the bar, and we arrived in tier across, lift the bar flap, pour hile whiskey, and then sway back to his seat By the tiain, he&039;d al co in the process

&039;Whadidya do with her?&039; he asked

&039;Back in the churchyard,&039; Bindy said

Jamie snorted, but I wasn&039;t sure what that et food,&039; I said &039;Then we should talk about what to do&039;

&039;Talk?&039; Jalass slipped froht without spilling a drop, and he put one hand to his forehead He sobbed, once, then looked up at us again, putting on his hard face again

&039;Jaan

&039;Fuck it!&039; he said &039;There&039;s nothing to do but get out I&039;ve done nothingnothing wrong Nor you&039; He pointed at us, and I wondered how , theet out&039;

&039;I&039; food,&039; I said I sensed Ja for days - and I had no wish to see that I went through behind the bar and into the big kitchen, glancing at the huge walk-in freezer door we hadn&039;t dared open since the power had gone off There was still enough food in the larder - tinned stuff, packets, dehydrated fruit and vegetables At lunchtihed about how disgusting it was, but knoere now trapped here with no chance of escape, laughter was distant

I knocked together sos to do I carried it back through to the bar and was a steadily, and Bindy sat at the table opposite hilasses in front of her As I sat down she poured lass Jamie stayed on the whiskey

&039;That fire,&039; she said &039;We haven&039;t taken a body out for two days Could it be that one?&039;

I ree, fat woman, naked, her breasts pawed and scratched and teeth clotted with rotting meat And those eyes, so falsely alive

&039;They burnt that one the day we took her out,&039; I said

&039;Right,&039; Jareed

&039;So there&039;s been another outbreak,&039; Bindy said She was staring into the deep violet depths of her glass The drink had already stained her lips, an effect that I had always found unbearably sexy in woh

&039;Not necessarily,&039; I said &039;If there had been, why trap us in here?&039;

&039;It&039;s in the dust,&039; Jamie said &039;I&039;ve told you, haven&039;t I? I&039;ve been saying it all along&039; He ran one finger around the inside of his glass, sue Froue - virus, bacteria, nobody yet seemed to know exactly what caused it - could be alive in the dust of the deserted town He&039;d seen dust settled on the eyes of the bodies we&039;d found, filtering the light that entered their dead eyes, and I think perhaps it had driven hihtly mad We were all allowed our own madness

We drank so like a plan Jamie was drunk and bitter and scared; Bindy was too distant; and I really had no need of a plan at all My aiht be, and only one thing really kept- the hope that she had been killed and eaten by what people had started to call zombies

The alternative was that she had beco into her dead eyes knowing that was just too terrible to bear

We took three en-suite rooms next to each other Bindy and I carried Jas and tears, and then back in the corridor I bid her good-night

&039;Toby,&039; she said, and her voice sounded different &039;I knohat you think of &039; She slurred slightly, but she was more in control than I had ever seen her She&039;d once served o - and I&039;d flirted with her &039;I keep thinking tomorroill be another day, but it won&039;t It&039;ll always be today&039; She turned to go to bed, and I reached out and held her arm She touched my hand and smiled sadly

&039;Maybe they&039;ve just upped and left&039; It was fucking stupid, and I knew that, but I couldn&039;t think of anything else to say

&039;They built a wall,&039; she said &039;And Ja&039; She went to bed then, and so did I

I lay there for soraphy altered completely by what had happened The town square, its attractive clock tower bedecked with flower troughs, its cobble paving slippery in light summer rain, was now the place where I had found six dead zombies with the re over when the Purge came Where the old castle once stood, I could now only recall seeing the family that had fled there to die - father, led blood vented by the knife in the man&039;s hand Streets where I had walked with Fiona, pubs we had drunk in, restaurants where we had eaten and laughed and talked quietly of the possibility of children, all now tainted in some way by what had happened Some taints were simply the silence; others, blood and rot and death

I was trapped in e

As I drifted to sleep I wondered yet again what had happened to the rest of Usk&039;s residents Most of them had fled after the first few attacks, but they were soon rounded up and kept in confinement in the old military base in Glascoed The majority of those who stayed behind were killed or infected, and then cae, where the whole toas sprayed hourly for three days hat the military had called an &039;antidote&039; when Bindy, Jae; the only reason eren&039;t shot is that their solution hadn&039;t killed us

They&039;d let us stay, suggesting that we help appropriate zombie corpses for the scientists to study Every day they let us out to sleep in co, I expected it to be the day they no longer let us out I didn&039;t care, because Fiona had remained behind and had not yet been found

Faces of old friends and people I knew from the town appeared to me as I dropped into an uneasy slumber Some of theed

The sound of helicopters wokethe town At first I thought they were spraying again, but then I noticed the cameras mounted under its nose

&039;Please come out into the street where we can see you,&039; an electronic voice said &039;Stand at the road junction, and ht We&039;d been dragging corpses from the dead town for three weeks for these bastards, and they couldn&039;t even use our names

I met Bindy out in the corridor, and we knocked on Jaht, veins slashed, heart given up, brain popped with the pressure But then he opened the door, squinting in the dawn light He had a hangover I chuckled

&039;Fuck&039;s wrong with you?&039; he growled

&039;Nothing Co on&039;

Bindy and I waited at the road junction outside the hotel for several minutes before Jamie joined us In that ti to turn slightly as it went It ar, but the rotors caused a storainst s dust fro fro me,&039; I said

&039;Hey, it&039;s a free country!&039; He giggled ain and hovered a hundred feet along the street We could barely see against the dust and grit, and the sound was tremendous The speakers were even louder

&039;For your own safety, you will remain in quarantine within the town liht hours&039;

This is unfair, I thought We can&039;t ask the that time, certain ill be undertaken You must not attempt to impede or interfere in any way You must not attempt to escape&039;

&039;Try and fuckin&039; stop me, you bastards!&039; Jamie shouted I realized that he was still drunk

&039;Any escape attempt will result in the use of deadly force&039;

The sound seemed to decrease, and the three of us were trapped in a surreal bubble of shock They&039;ll shoot us, I thought, and their military-speak suddenly annoyed the hell out of lanced past Bindy at Jaed Bravado

&039;Toby Parsons, please proceed alone to the road crossing outside the priiven more instructions, and any questions will be answered&039;

I hated the sound of that voice, distorted by technology The speaker could have been laughing or crying, and we&039;d never know

The chopper lifted away quickly and disappeared over the rooftops, and Jaer

&039;What does all thatto do?&039;

&039;Hopefully I&039;ll find out,&039; I said

&039;Why just you?&039; Jamie said &039;Why the hell is it you who-&039;

&039;Jamie,&039; I said softly, quietly, and he listened Maybe I&039;d never spoken to hi tio and find out what&039;s happening&039;

I glanced at Bindy, and though she was frowning, I could see that she seee Not that I wanted to Last thing I wanted was these two hanging onI wanted

But we&039;d been looking for three weeks, and if Fiona had been a victim rather than a zombie, I was sure I&039;d have found her by then I knew all the places she knew I&039;d checked all the places we&039;d been together And if I really thought about it, I didn&039;t really want to keep looking at all

I started along the street It took me five minutes to reach the school, and all the while I could hear that chopper somewhere in the distance It was the first tie: every other tiht I&039;d be scared, or at least nervous, but I found it quite settling Most things had changed, but liking my own co by the school, I looked along the curving road at the roadblock It had been there since the first plague outbreak in the town, and I&039;d seen it a couple of ti for bodies in the school But now it looked different - larger, for a start, and it had also been added to Whereas before it had been constructed of a couple of cars turned on their sides and piles of sandbags, now there were several heavy, dark metallic structures behind that Tall fences stretched away on either side, the one on the left disappearing behind a house and heading uphill, the one leading right for field,with the woodland beyond

On either side of the road stood tall posts topped with cained the my approach Fifty feet away, an amplified voice said, &039;Rehed Everyone was shouting at me today

Aon a raised section on the other side He looked across the town behindon my face He appeared nervous

&039;Toby Parsons?&039;

&039;That&039;s me&039;

&039;I&039;ned to the research tea into-&039;

&039;You&039;re one of the scientists that have been cutting up the bodies I&039;ve been hauling out of here&039;

&039;Yes, if you like&039; He did not seem at all perturbed by my comment

&039;So what have you found out?&039;

He paused, but only for a second &039;I&039;hed It was the first real laughter I&039;d uttered since the plague and since losing touch with Fiona We&039;d been half aClose enough to hear each other screa!&039; I said &039;What hed some more

&039;Your help has been appreciated,&039; O&039;Driscoll said

&039;Got a medal for me?&039;

&039;No, no medal&039;

&039;So what do you want? Is there another infection? Has it spread?&039;

&039;It&039;s still contained,&039; O&039;Driscoll said &039;But there&039;s been a recurrence, yes&039;

A recurrence My blood ran cold The Purge was supposed to have been the end solution, the final cleansing of what had happened in Usk Blame went everywhere fro the channels with political and religious pundits, ex- opinion When the e would end the slaughter, such assurances were taken as an aduilt How could they kno to stop it if they claian?

&039;Where?&039; I asked And then a greater chill ran througharound The chopper, the cameras&039;In the town?&039;

&039;No, Mr Parsons Usk is clearor so we believe The recurrence was in one of the corpses you brought out&039;

&039;So the infection is still here&039;

&039;We hope not We hope it was an isolated case, and we&039;re looking into it But&039; He glanced down at so in his hand

&039;Okay,&039; I said &039;So you&039;re watching us, just in case&039;

O&039;Driscoll nodded, lips pursed &039;Just in case&039;

&039;And if we&039;re still fine a week from noeeks?&039;

He went to leave

&039;Hey!&039; I called &039;You can&039;t just go!&039;

He paused, squatting down ready to ju else to say

&039;You can&039;t just leave us in here like this We haven&039;t done anything wrong!&039;

&039;But you ht,&039; he said, and dropped back into his world

I was left staring at the roadblock while the caer It felt childish, but itto walk back into town, I felt watched every step of the way As I passed the school, I looked at the low brick building, infant-class s splashed with colorful drawings Self-portraits with big round pink faces, bright blue eyes, and smears of yellow or brown hair If I went closer I&039;d probably see the na the cartoon face of the little girl we&039;d left back in the churchyard

The chopper drifted in again, ski froer to see what they were doing, and as I passed the burned-out fire station, I saw through a gap between buildings The chopper was hovering above the four-storey block of flats - one of the tallest buildings in Usk - and twodown a rope to the rooftop

&039;What the hell&039; I muttered

Maybe they wanted us They&039;d confine us somewhere, send in their teams of doctors and scientists like O&039;Driscoll with their syringes and knives, and slice us open one by one to see if they could find out as happening Because even if they&039;d known at the beginning, I had the feeling that they were lost now The plague had progressed - evolved, perhaps - and with a recurrence so of whatever caused the plague had lessened considerably Desperate times called for desperate measures, I knew that But suddenly I was very, very afraid

We&039;re expendable, I thought At least we know the town, the streets, know the places to hideBut that was just foolish If they sent in forces to find us, ould be found

The twoThey were setting up a large tripod topped with a box, weighing down the feet, clipping some sort of cover over the box The chopper had drifted away, but it wasa circuit of the town

More cameras

Even as I realized that, the helicopter came in low and lowered a rope ladder, and the two men climbed back up

I could just see the smooth movement as the camera turned this way and that So back to the Queen&039;s Hotel, I heard and saw several s

&039;What are they doing?&039; Bindy asked as I arrived back She was sitting on one of the hotel&039;s wide stone sills, waiting for me For a hed softly and sat beside her

&039;Setting up cameras to try and keep track of us,&039; I said

&039;Why?&039;