Viro (Book 4): Viro

by Taylor, Barnaby

  I looked at the man.

  ‘You can’t hold us here. It’s not fair. I need to find my mum. She’s waiting at the asylum.’

  The policeman laughed at me.

  ‘I doubt it, mate. The army left days ago. They took everyone with them. Headed for Gatwick Airport, I heard.’

  This was so bad. My eyes got wet. The policeman laughed more.

  ‘Stop crying, little boy, or me and Ivor here will really give you something to cry about.’

  Maggie got upset as well.

  ‘Leave him alone, why can’t you. He’s done nothing to you.’

  The policeman pretended he was Maggie. He made a silly voice.

  ‘Ooooh, leave him alone. He’s done nothing to you.’

  PC James shouted at us.

  ‘I thought we told you to stop talking. Now shut up and wait until the others get back.’

  Maggie looked at me. She asked a question with her eyes. I nodded. I was alright.

  The policeman was lying. I knew he was being mean. We couldn’t believe his words. He was wicked. He started speaking again.

  ‘You should all be grateful that we found you when we did. We’re all going down in history as the founders of a brand-new country.’

  The policeman was showing off.

  ‘It won’t be easy. You’ll have to work really hard. We don’t have much food and drink. There will be a few bumps in the road, as they say. But I’m not worried, every new country struggles when it first gets going. It will take time for the Free State of Sussex to get established but eventually we will be building our own schools and factories. We’re even going to have our own currency, aren’t we, Ken?’

  The other policeman laughed.

  ‘We’re going to have it all, Ivor. Independence is the name of the game. You and I are going to have our very own empire.’

  Tennis

  It was later. PC James pointed Vinnie’s rifle at us.

  ‘Up you get, everyone. I’m going to show you to your new home.’

  He made us walk down a track. It was getting dark. I was cold. My tummy was empty. We stopped by a locked gate. I looked through the fence. It was a tennis court. There was a sign on the gate. It said ‘Watling Tennis Club – Members Only.’ The other policeman unlocked the gate. We went inside.

  PC James kept the gun on us. The other man handcuffed us to the fence. We each had one hand free. It was not comfy. I sat down. PC James laughed at us.

  ‘This is your new home. Eventually, you’re going to build a roof for it but until then you’ll have to hope it doesn’t rain.’

  Maggie was not happy.

  ‘You can’t do this to us, we’ve done nothing wrong.’

  PC James laughed at her.

  ‘You’re wrong, lady, you’ve done something very right by choosing to help us achieve something very important, our independence.’

  Amber was angry too.

  ‘We didn’t choose any of this, did we?’

  ‘Well, I suppose not but it doesn’t matter anyway, you’re here now.’

  He waved the rifle at us.

  ‘You should all stop talking and get some sleep. You’re going to be busy tomorrow.’

  My tummy hurt with nothing in it.

  ‘What about food? We’re starving.’

  The other policeman laughed.

  ‘Hopefully, we’ll be able to find some breakfast for you but there’s nothing for you tonight.’

  The men locked the gate as they left.

  We were stuck here. Everyone was angry. It was so bad. We were so near to the asylum. But not near enough now. We may as well be on the moon.

  Bucket

  I couldn’t sleep. My bad arm ached. The handcuff was sore. It rattled when I moved. The ground was hard. Everyone was the same as me. We didn’t say much. It was cold at night. It did not rain. Then it was light. There was nothing to do. We just waited.

  Later the gate opened. The two policemen came up to us. PC James had a cardboard box. He took out some crisps. He threw them at us.

  ‘Breakfast is served.’

  It was hard to open the packet. I used my teeth. The crisps were soft. They crumbled in my mouth. The salt made me thirsty. PC James came back with a bucket. He was laughing.

  ‘We’re all out of tea, I’m afraid.’

  The bucket was dirty. So was the water. It had leaves on top of it. I went to drink some. Maggie stopped me.

  ‘Don’t Jake, you’ll be ill if you drink that.’

  She looked at the policeman.

  ‘You can’t make us drink that, it’s disgusting.’

  The policeman shrugged.

  ‘I got it out the toilets in the clubhouse. I found the bucket in the bushes.’

  None of us had anything to drink.

  We were all thirsty.

  It was later when the policemen came back. They had driven the minibus backwards down to the gate. They both came into the court. PC James was holding a rifle. He looked angry. The other man came towards us. He did not smile.

  ‘There are loads of suitcases in the back of the minibus. There was a convoy near here that got overrun. We waited for the monsters to disperse and then took as much luggage as we could. One of you will unload them all. Once that’s done, all of you will sort through them. We’re looking for valuables.’

  He laughed at his friend.

  ‘Setting up a new country is very expensive.’

  The man pointed at me.

  ‘You’ll do, Dumbo. You can have the honour of unloading the cases.’

  Maggie was annoyed again.

  ‘Can’t you see Jake’s got a bad arm? Let me me do it instead.’

  The policeman shrugged.

  ‘What do I care? He probably hurt it being stupid. The hard work will teach him a lesson.’

  The man unlocked my hand. He made me walk to the minibus. I looked around. He saw me.

  ‘Don’t even think about it. I’ll shoot you where you stand without hesitation.’

  The policeman laughed.

  ‘It’s been a while since I shot anyone. I’m dying to have another chance to do it again.’

  Suitcases

  The cases and bags were really heavy. It took me ages. I kept banging my bad arm. I had to drag them out the minibus. They all fell on the muddy ground. Then I had to share them out with the others. PC James was mean to me.

  ‘I’m not unlocking anyone else so you’ll have to stack them near enough for everyone to reach with one hand.’

  I was finished later. It took ages. I was exhausted. We all got another packet of crisps. Vinnie was angry.

  ‘You can’t expect us to just sit here without anything to drink. It’s not right.’

  PC James was nasty. He had a bad laugh.

  ‘We gave you some water earlier but you were all too stuck-up to drink it. I guess we’ll have to wait until you’re dying of thirst.’

  Vinnie said nothing. It was no good. PC James pointed his rifle at the cases.

  ‘The sooner you get started the sooner we can think about making things more comfortable.’

  Abe spoke up.

  ‘You could at least uncuff our hands. We’d get the job done much quicker with two hands.’

  ‘And run the risk of you all running amok, I don’t think so.’

  He looked at the rest of us.

  ‘Anyone else got any other silly requests?’

  I wanted to speak.

  ‘We can’t survive here. It’s too cold. If the rain comes we’ll get wet.’

  PC James laughed.

  ‘What would you know, you little moron. I’m surprised you even know how to talk. I thought kids like you were kept locked up in special homes.’

  He looked at us all.

  ‘Anyone else?’

  No one said anything. PC James nodded.

  ‘Didn’t think so.’

  He looked at the other man.

  ‘I guess we should leave them to it. All this chatter is stopping them working.’
>
  The two men left. PC James made sure the gate was locked. They both walked away. I heard them laughing about us.

  Nappy

  It was getting night again. The wind was very cold. We had no shelter. Vinnie was trying to smash open a case. It was too hard with one hand. He didn’t stop though.

  ‘We need to get these open and find warm clothes. Otherwise, we’re going to freeze.’

  Maggie agreed.

  ‘Vinnie’s right, we need to hurry. There’s some bags with zips. We can probably get those open.’

  Amber and Ellis worked quickly. Amber opened a rucksack. It was full of dirty clothes. She rummaged inside. I watched. She stopped. She pulled her hand out. It was all dark. Amber looked sad. Ellis gagged.

  ‘Is that …?’

  Amber nodded.

  ‘I think there’s a dirty nappy in here.’

  Poor Amber. This was disgusting. Abe pulled the bucket as close as he could to her.

  ‘Use this, Sis. No-one’s drinking it anyway.’

  Amber washed her hand in the bucket. Abe opened a sports bag. There was a pillow case inside. He threw it at Amber.

  ‘Dry your hand with this, Sis.’

  Amber dried her hand. Then she threw the rucksack as far as she possibly could. She was really upset. So was Abe.

  ‘This is just terrible. How could they do this to Amber, to us?’

  I was with Abe.

  ‘They’re not policemen. They’re just monsters. Actually, monsters is too good for them. The viros are monsters but they can’t help being mean. These men are just having fun by being mean.’

  We kept working. Maggie spoke to us. She tried to be our leader.

  ‘These men will get their comeuppance, evil people always do.’

  Comeuppance was a nice word. It made me smile. I liked big words. They made me happy.

  ‘I really like your big word, Maggie. Can you say some more?’

  ‘How about retribution?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Chastisement.’

  Vinnie had one too.

  ‘Castigation.’

  These word were good. It was nice to hear them. Then my arm hurt. I forgot the fun. I just had the pain.

  Thuds

  We found some blankets in a suitcase. There was one each. It felt better. I snuggled. It wasn’t my bed but it was something. I looked up. The sky was very dark. Grey clouds moved. I didn’t want there to be rain. I looked away.

  There was nothing to say. We all had our own thinking. I thought about Mum. I hoped she was still not a viro. I hoped she was warm. I hoped she could sleep. I thought she would definitely be thinking about me. That’s what I was thinking.

  I heard noises later. They woke me up. Big thuds from far away. Everyone else heard them. I looked at Maggie.

  ‘What are those noises?’

  ‘I don’t know, Jake. They sound very far away.’

  The thuds kept going. There was loads of them. We all listened. Nobody spoke. Then Vinnie looked like he understood.

  ‘Bombs. We’re listening to bombs being dropped somewhere.’

  Abe didn’t understand. Neither did I.

  ‘Bombs? Why drop bombs.’

  Vinnie and Maggie looked at each other. He nodded. She spoke to all of us.

  ‘Judging by the sound of the bombs and where they’re coming from, I reckon someone must be bombing a major city. My guess would be London.’

  I didn’t like the thought of bombing cities. People would be all killed. It was like that thing called the Blitz we heard about at school. Loads of innocent people got bombed. I said my thoughts.

  ‘Is it like the Blitz?’

  Vinnie nodded.

  ‘You mean, like World War Two?’

  ‘I guess so.’

  Vinnie thought for a moment.

  ‘It probably is, Jake, but with one big difference.’

  ‘Difference, Vinnie, what difference?’

  ‘Well, Jake, during World War Two it was someone else dropping bombs on people. This time it is probably our own people doing the bombing.’

  ‘But why bomb?’

  Vinnie didn’t answer for a second. He was deep thinking. Maggie spoke instead.

  ‘If Vinnie is right then this country has well and truly fallen apart. There must be millions of those things in places like London. Despite the horrific thought, it does make perfect sense to drop bombs on all those places where thousands of those creatures have gathered.’

  She waited for a second. Then Maggie said more.

  ‘How bad have things really got when all there is left to do is blow up your own people?’

  No one answered Maggie’s question.

  Stupid

  When I woke again it was light. I was stiff and achy. My arm was terrible. The ground was hard and wet. My trousers were soggy. My empty tummy hurt. I hated this. I wanted to die again. Abe was looking at me. He was my friend. He had good words for me to hear.

  ‘We’ll get through this, Jake. I know we will. You and me and the others, we’ll get through this.’

  I nodded. My eyes were too full to say words. Amber and Ellis were there too. Ellis spoke to me.

  ‘Don’t despair, Jake, we’ve got this. We can get out of here, I know we can.’

  I rattled my handcuffed arm.

  ‘How? Those men have me locked up. They have us all locked up.’

  I looked at the floor. My voice was small.

  ‘We’re going to die here. They’re going to leave us to rot in this stupid place.’

  Ellis was still nice.

  ‘We won’t Jake, I know we won’t.’

  Amber agreed.

  ‘We have come so far, Jake, and we have so far with you. You are not alone. We are all here and we will get through this. Something will happen, I know it will.’

  I had bad ideas.

  ‘What if we get bombed too? What if the army think we’re viros. They will drop bombs and we will be stuck here. I don’t want to die on a tennis court.’

  Vinnie smiled.

  ‘The army don’t care about us, Jake. They’re busy bombing big cities, they haven’t got time to worry at tiny tennis courts.’

  Maggie smiled as well.

  ‘That’s a good thing and a bad thing, Vinnie.’

  Vinnie nodded.

  ‘I know Maggie, but we’ve always known that it is us against the world. We can’t rely on anybody else, yourselves excepted.’

  Abe agreed with Vinnie.

  ‘This country is nothing now. There are no rules and no regulations. It is just us against the viros. All day, every day. There will be no cure. It will just be us fighting to live until the day we die.’

  Toilet

  The policemen came back. They were laughing. They thought something was really funny. PC James unlocked the gate with his key. The other one stood guard. PC James looked at us.

  ‘Morning campers, we trust you had a good night’s sleep.’

  We didn’t answer. He carried on.

  ‘To show just how much you mean to me and Ken we’re going to let you use the toilet in the clubhouse. We’re going to do it one at a time and if there is any trouble from anyone then we’ll never do this again.’

  He laughed.

  ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime offer so make sure you make the most of it.’

  It took all morning for everyone to get their go. The policemen made me wait until last. Every time they brought someone back they would pretend to think about letting me go next but would just laugh and change their mind. This made me feel really angry. I hated them both.

  Eventually, it was my turn. PC James unlocked my handcuffs. I walked in front of them towards the clubhouse. It was dark inside. PC James pointed at a door.

  ‘The toilet is in there. You’ve got ten minutes to sort yourself out. We’ve run out of toilet paper but me and Ken found some damp newspapers in the office so at least you’ve got something to wipe yourself with.’

  I nodded. I had a plan.r />
  ‘My tummy is really bad. I don’t feel well.’

  PC James looked unhappy.

  ‘I don’t give a shit about your gippy tummy, just get on with it.’

  He and the other policeman laughed at their joke. I nodded again. Then I did a large groan. PC James pointed his gun at me.

  ‘Make your mess in there, not out here.’

  Lock

  It was dim inside the toilet. I saw three cubicles. There was a sink and a mirror. I looked at my face. I looked all tired and dirty. My hair was messy. I had great big bags under my eyes. I tried to smile. It was hard to do.

  I turned one of the taps and some water came out. It was a dribble. I tried to drink some. It tasted like metal. I spat it out. I heard the men laughing outside. I groaned again. PC James shouted at me.

  ‘I can’t bear the thought of the mess you’re about to make so we’re going to wait outside.’

  I groaned again. I made it louder. I heard the door outside close. Then I waited.

  There was a window at the end of the sink. It had rusty edges. The glass had wire inside. There was no way I could break through it. I thought I could push the lock. It looked ready to move. I went into the first cubicle. I took off the top of the toilet. It was heavy with one hand. I went to the window.

  I pushed the toilet top against the lock. It moved. I pushed again. It moved again. I pushed one more time. The window creaked open. The noise was loud. I pushed again. This time I groaned to hide the noise. I pushed one more time. The window was now open enough for me to climb through.

  I put down the toilet top. I tried to climb put the window. It was hard with one hand. I had to lean up through and tip out my head. I put out my bad arm next. Then I had to jump out. I banged my leg on the frame. It was real sore. I landed on my shoulder. My bad arm got jarred. My head was all spinny. My eyes went dark. I thought I was going to faint.

  There was shouting behind me. It was PC James.

  ‘Quick, the little bastard has got out the window.’

  I had to run. I stood up. My legs were wobbly. There was lots of trees near me. I ran towards them. I was still wobbly. I heard the policemen behind me.