“Come on,” Joshua said. He wrapped his arm more tightly around my waist and walked me towards the door on our right. It led into a huge living room with the same flowery carpet. I hoped I wouldn’t bleed on it.
That’s your main concern? a snarky little voice in my brain asked. I shook my head to get rid of it, but that only worsened my headache. Sweat trickled into my eyes, making them sting. I blinked a few times to clear my vision.
A middle-aged woman sat in an armchair, her head leaning against the backrest and her eyes closed. A book lay open on her lap, and several piles of books and papers littered the floor beside her feet. Her short brown hair was streaked with grey. Crinkles lined the skin around her eyes and mouth. A few more armchairs and a sofa were positioned in front of a huge fireplace. The room was clean, free of dust or soot. It was obvious people lived here.
“Karen, there’s someone here who needs your help,” Joshua said, all but dragging me into the room.
Karen’s eyes shot open. They were light grey and seemed to pierce right through me. Her gaze swept over my body for a second before she got up so fast it startled me.
“Joshua!” she exclaimed. She held a hand to her cheek, her lips parted in surprise. “What happened?” She hustled over to us in a few steps. Her smile was reassuring and I tried to smile in return, but I wasn’t sure if it worked.
Together they helped me towards the sofa and made me sit down. I slumped against the soft leather of the backrest. Finally, the pain in my foot lessened.
“When I found her, two Weepers had picked her for dinner. They’d have killed her if she hadn’t fired off her gun in every direction,” Joshua told Karen with a hint of dark amusement.
I glanced at him. His eyes sparkled and his words had sounded like praise. But what did I know? My social skills had suffered during three years in the bunker.
Karen prodded a tender spot on my head, making me wince and stopping my train of thought.
She clucked her tongue in disapproval. “Lots of blood. Nasty gash. That needs stitches.”
I groaned and Joshua chuckled, earning himself a glare from me. Judging by the widening of his smile, that seemed to amuse him even more. He really had nice teeth, straight and white. I ran my tongue over my own teeth.
“Karen knows what she’s doing, don’t worry.” He winked.
Karen walked out of the room and returned with a small bag. She pulled out a needle, bandages and some thread, and placed the items on the small side table next to the sofa. It made me think of a surgeon’s theatre. Equipment in hand, she moved around the sofa and stopped behind me. “Lean forward.”
I did so without hesitation. That way, at least I wouldn’t see the needle. The movement made my temples throb and black dots danced in my vision.
“Razor.” She held a hand out and Joshua put a small razor on her palm.
I tilted my head, frowning at him. “Razor?”
“She needs to remove the hair around the wound, so she can stitch you up.”
“As long as I don’t end up with a bald head.” I’d never been too fond of my reddish-blonde hair, but I definitely preferred it to no hair at all.
“Maybe it would suit you.” Joshua smirked.
As I looked down again, the throbbing in my temples turned into a full-blown hammering, as if someone was trying to split my skull. My vision darkened and I sagged forward. Joshua moved over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders to keep me in a sitting position. His grip was strong, his body warm. He smelled of pine needles and fresh laundry. I wanted to breathe in the smell and close my eyes. Maybe it would alleviate the pain in my head.
“I’ll only shave the hair around the wound. It won’t be visible.” Karen patted my shoulder gently while she pushed my hair away, and I could feel the blade go to work on my skin.
“Now I’ll do the stitches.”
My shoulders stiffened. This wouldn’t be pleasant. Joshua held my hand. It was tan and strong, his nails cut very short. It gave me a sense of safety, like nothing could happen to me as long as Joshua was around. I sighed. A second later, he straightened up. “I’ll look for Geoffrey. I’m sure he’d want to know that there’s a new arrival. He’ll be ecstatic.”
I watched him leave the room, quelling the feeling of panic in my stomach. Without him, I felt vulnerable.
I tried not to wince when the needle pierced my skin. “Ouch.”
Karen pushed my head down. “You’ll get used to it. In the beginning Joshua always flinched when I stitched him up, but after a few dozen wounds it becomes routine.”
A few dozen wounds? I stared at the flowery design of the carpet. “Why does he need stitches all the time?”
Karen let out a sigh and paused briefly with the needle, giving me a moment to breathe deeply.
“The hunt is dangerous. I’m always relieved when he comes back with just a gash or a bruise. I worry that some day he won’t come back at all. Anyway, he won’t listen. He’s too stubborn.”
I opened my mouth to ask her about the hunt, but she kept talking.
“You know, I was a nurse in my other life.”
“Your other life?” I echoed.
“That’s what we call the time before the rabies. Better times.” She paused. When she continued, it was almost as if she was speaking to herself. “Isn’t it strange how we still call it ‘rabies’, even though this virus is so much more deadly? I treated people with the ‘old’ rabies in my other life and they didn’t try to eat me.”
I gave a nod, not quite taking in her words, then flinched as she began stitching again.
“You need to keep still.” She paused. “Joshua didn’t even tell me your name.”
“Sherry,” I said quietly. Tears prickled in my eyes from the pain in my head, and from frightening thoughts of Dad. They were never far from my mind, no matter how hard I tried to force them away.
“It’s nice to see a new face. It gives me hope.” Her voice broke slightly at the end. She cleared her throat. “Like I said, I was a nurse. Thanks to Joshua, I don’t get out of practice. My husband was a teacher.”
“Is he…?” I trailed off, uncertain how to end the question.
“He’s alive. He lives here with me.”
I was happy for her. I’d seen what losing a loved one did to people. Grandma had never been the same since Grandpa died.
“How long have you been in Safe-haven?”
Karen pursed her lips in thought. “A little over a year.”
“Over a year?” How had they survived the Weepers? Dad and I hadn’t even managed to last more than a few hours on our own.
“It isn’t easy, but we stick together,” Karen said.
It was comforting to know that they’d survived in this new world for so long. Maybe there was a chance for my family.
“How many people live here?” I managed not to move my head now as I spoke. I was a fast learner – though my homeroom teacher might have disputed that.
“There’s Joshua, my husband Larry, Geoffrey, Marie and her daughter Emma, and Tyler, though we don’t know if that’s his actual name – we call him Tyler because the name’s tattooed on his wrist.” She dropped my hair and clapped her hands. “Done.”
“Why don’t you know if it’s his real name?”
Karen walked around the sofa and sat on the armrest next to me. “Tyler doesn’t speak. I don’t think he remembers much. When Joshua found him, he was in a very bad way.” She swallowed hard and looked out of the window. The sun was setting beyond the hills.
“Do you have other wounds I need to tend to?” Her eyes searched over me.
I nodded. “I’ve got a few bruises, but they’ll probably heal. My right foot hurts though. I stepped on broken glass when I ran away.”
Guilt burned through me. If I hadn’t run away, would Dad be with me now?
Karen got down on her knees. Carefully, she slipped off my sneaker and blood-sticky sock. I winced as she pulled away the sodden cotton. She inspected the sole of my foot
with a deep frown. “More stitches,” she said with an apologetic smile. I took a deep breath through my nose and leaned my head against the backrest, my eyes squeezed shut.
Karen was careful and fast, but the stitches still hurt like hell. Much worse than the stitches in the back of my head.
“Are you the only survivors? Has the military contacted you?” I was scared of the answer.
Karen shook her head. She bandaged my foot and then lowered it gently to the ground. I relaxed.
“No, the military only sent their warnings, but we’ve had contact with two other safe havens in California. Sadly, our radio receiver didn’t allow long-distance broadcasting, so we don’t know about survivors in the rest of the country. And now that our radio has stopped working, we can’t communicate at all.”
There were other survivors. I felt my shoulders relax. “Do you know if the rabies has spread beyond North America? Is there any way for us to contact the military?”
She looked at me. “Oh, Sherry. There isn’t any military left. The rabies destroyed everything.”
Someone was shouting outside. I glanced up from my homework. More shouts. A fight. One of the voices was Bobby. What was he doing outside so close to curfew? We’d get into trouble because of him. I walked towards the window and looked out. Bobby stood on the sidewalk, surrounded by older boys. Pushing him. Laughing at him.
The tallest boy pushed Bobby’s shoulder. He lost his balance, fell to the ground. His eyes were wide, his lips trembling.
My steps resounded on the asphalt. The boys looked up. Smirks. They thought they were cool. Idiots.
“Leave him alone,” I told them.
Snickers. “The little boy needs a girl to protect him. Is she your girlfriend?”
What a dumb-ass.
Bobby’s face turned red, his eyes moist.
“I’m his sister. Now get lost.”
I pushed into their circle and stood in front of Bobby. The boys were older than me. Taller. Stupid wannabe machos. Trying to intimidate me.
“Get lost, bitch.”
I froze. My fingers curled, forming a fist.
I really liked the way my knuckles collided with his chin.
A short, thin man with shoulder-length hair stood in the doorway, smiling at me. When our eyes met, his smile widened to reveal yellowish teeth. A front tooth was missing. Streaks of grey in his black hair, and his wrinkled, worn-out clothes added to his messy look. I couldn’t help but smile back.
Joshua appeared in the background, towering over the man. He squeezed past him into the living room and sank down in an armchair. “That’s Geoffrey.” He nodded towards the door.
Geoffrey shook his head as if Joshua had committed a serious crime. “That isn’t a proper introduction,” he said as he walked towards me. Holding out his hand, he bowed his head. “Geoffrey Hall. Back in my day, men were taught proper conduct towards women.”
Joshua’s face darkened in a scowl. “Those times are over. No one cares about manners any more. They’re too busy surviving.” He swung his legs over the armrest, as if to prove a point.
Geoffrey let go of my hand as if scolded, nodding his head like a reprimanded child. “Yes, yes. They’re over, aren’t they?”
Karen frowned at Joshua before she walked out of the room, muttering under her breath. It was obvious that she found his comment unnecessary. I had to agree with her.
Geoffrey lowered himself into the armchair next to Joshua and took a piece of paper from the pocket of his khakis. He unfolded it, then put it on the table. His expression grew wistful as he smoothed the paper out almost lovingly. I glanced at Joshua for an explanation, but he was busy staring out the window.
“That’s how I looked in my other life,” Geoffrey said in a quiet voice.
I moved to the edge of the sofa to get a better look. It was a cutting from a science magazine. The paper was yellow, its edges ragged. I rested my elbows on the table and stared at it. The man in the picture was Geoffrey. And yet he wasn’t. The man in the photo was accepting a science award. He was wearing a black suit, his short, black hair slicked back. He looked proud, smug even. The Geoffrey in front of me was nothing but a shadow of that man.
“It started out innocently. When we began researching rabies, it was just out of scientific curiosity.” He looked up at me and smiled apologetically. I tried to follow his words. “Curiosity’s a good thing, isn’t it? It brought technology to mankind, it’s essential for progress.”
I wasn’t sure why he was telling me this, what he wanted me to say. But I began to feel uneasy. “You were researching rabies?”
Geoffrey stared down at his folded hands. “I explored the possibilities of the virus, its limits and usefulness.”
This new explanation seemed more confusing than the one before.
“I don’t get it. Useful for what?”
“You have to understand, I didn’t personally create the last version of the virus. But I was involved in the beginnings of the research, like so many others. None of us knew that the military planned to use the altered virus as a biological weapon. If I’d known…” He closed his eyes and shook his head.
I forced a neutral expression, though I felt sick.
I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.
I’d always thought that the mutated rabies was just a freak twist of nature – that’s what the government had said. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t just bad luck, fate or God’s punishment. It was man-made. The realization made me dizzy for a moment. The government had lied to us about the mutation. What else had they kept from us?
And Geoffrey?
This man was responsible for the death of millions, likely billions of people. My friends were dead, my hometown destroyed. All because of a few scientists who wanted to play God? I glanced at Joshua, wondering what he was thinking. He stayed silent, but watched me with an unreadable expression.
“We thought we could handle the virus. We thought it could be destroyed. But we couldn’t stop it. Nobody could. We were powerless.” Geoffrey opened his eyes to stare at me. They were filled with horror. “Absolutely powerless.” His voice had become so quiet that I had to move closer to hear him.
I swallowed, trying to ignore the pounding in my temples. “What happened to Los Angeles? It looks like it’s been bombed.”
Geoffrey smiled, but something in his eyes changed. “The rabies virus was particularly nasty on the west coast. The infected were prowling the street – more and more every day. People in parts of the country that hadn’t been affected began to panic.” He paused and looked up at me like a beaten dog. “They screamed for the government to do something, but the government hesitated. It was only when the virus had gotten totally out of control that they chose to bombard Los Angeles and San Francisco. Their inhabitants were already in bunkers, so they couldn’t protest. The military and the government were certain that it was the only way to stop the madness. It didn’t work, though.”
“Why didn’t they broadcast a warning?”
He smiled sheepishly. “We didn’t know much about the virus and the mutation. The military was worried that the infected might be listening in. They thought they’d run for safety before they could be destroyed.”
“The Weepers behave like beasts, but they are intelligent. Very intelligent, and that makes them dangerous,” Joshua explained. He rested his head against the back of the armchair while he gazed at the ceiling.
“But if so many people died, where are their bodies? There must have been thousands of them.”
Geoffrey stared intently at the paper as he spoke. “They were burned. The military feared an epidemic. They put the bodies in a pile and burned them. The crematoriums were swamped and most of them were closed anyway. The smell of burned flesh hung over the city for days.” He closed his eyes tightly. It took him a few minutes to compose himself.
I swallowed down my nausea. “But there must be members of the government somewhere, or military,” I said.
Geoffrey
shrugged and looked away. “I’ve no idea. I’ve told you everything I know.”
His voice changed suddenly, as if he had unburdened himself. “Joshua told me that the Weepers captured your father. I hope you manage to get to him in time.” He patted my shoulder awkwardly before he rose from the armchair and excused himself.
I watched his back as he walked out – not sure if I should hate him, or feel sorry for him. My fingers traced the bloodstains on my jeans. Dad’s blood. He was all alone, probably unable to defend himself. Was he waiting for me to save him? Did he think I’d abandoned him? My stomach twisted with worry and guilt. I felt like I was going to throw up. This was all too much. When I finally looked up, Joshua was leaning forward, watching me with curiosity.
I rubbed my temples. “Does Geoffrey tell his story to every newcomer?”
“Pretty much.”
“I’d have thought that’s something he’d want to keep to himself.” By God, if I’d screwed up like that, if I’d killed so many people, I’d keep my mouth shut.
“I guess he wants to get it out of his system. Seems to weigh heavy on him. I mean it’s some really tough shit. He’d be a heartless bastard if it didn’t bother him.”
“Do you believe him?”
Joshua hesitated. “I haven’t found anything that would prove him wrong. Why would he lie?”
Yes, why?
“Don’t you blame him for everything?”
For a moment, Joshua didn’t react. He stared up at the ceiling again, as if there lay the answer to all our problems. I’d almost given up on getting a reply when he spoke in a very quiet voice. “When he first told me what he just told you…yes, I hated him. Hated him for all I’d lost, for all I’d seen.” He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, the muscles twitching beneath his tanned skin. “But then I realized that he’d lost just as much as the rest of us. More, even. And he’s tried to make up for his failure – unlike many others.” Joshua opened his eyes and turned to look at me, a vein pulsing in his forehead. I raised my eyebrows, willing him to explain.
The Other Life Page 5
