Frank tried to maintain his glare, but his eyebrows quivered. “I-I had a tumour as a babby. It were on me-”
“Pituitary gland?” Kamiyo queried.
“Yes!” Frank lowered his stick for a second, then realised and thrust it out again. He squinted one eye at Kamiyo. “How could you know that?”
Kamiyo focused on Jackie, the more diplomatic of the two. “You see? I am a doctor. Not saying I’m Gregory House, but I have a medical degree, at least.”
Jackie frowned. “Who’s Gregory House?”
“It doesn’t matter. So, is it just you two here, living at this castle?”
Frank tutted. “I already told yow that no one lives here.”
“Then where?”
Frank grew tight-lipped again, but Jackie seemed happy to give an answer. “Kothal Castle sits on a hill, and at the bottom of that hill is a lake and an activity centre. That’s where we’ve been camping out this whole time.”
Kamiyo frowned. “You keep saying we. There are more people here?”
“Dow tell ‘im, Jackie!”
Jackie gave Kamiyo a wry smile and rolled her eyes. “Follow me, Doctor. Frank, will you kindly go back on guard duty? Eric shall relieve you later.”
Frank mumbled but headed back to the wall surrounding the castle’s front approach. Despite his mildly buffoonish air, the man had done his duty well—Kamiyo had never seen the guy coming—and he certainly took the job seriously.
Jackie led Kamiyo deeper into the courtyard. Against a side-wall stood a wooden snack bar, but instead of being stocked with packets and cans, it was piled with sharp sticks and other weapons.
“Nice bow and arrows,” Kamiyo said as they passed by an old stone well.
“We’ve been trying to learn how to hunt. Some of the kids have gotten rather good at it. We fish, too, of course.”
“Of course…” Kamiyo struggled to understand. The woman talked as though she were part of some medieval settlement, but where was it?
They approached the castle’s rear courtyard, and then veered towards a small rear exit on the furthest wall. A ‘sally port,’ the trivia-loving part of his brain whispered to him. A small door where troops and villagers could come and go without opening the main gate and leaving the castle vulnerable. This sally port comprised a thick oak door with iron hinges. It opened easily when Jackie pulled on it, as if it was brand-new and not some ancient relic.
“Step on through,” she said warmly, waving her arm. “Welcome to our home.”
Kamiyo felt uneasy, wondering what exactly he was heading in to. For the last several weeks, he had faced danger and death at every turn, and other than the odd lonely survivor, he’d encountered no one in weeks. The last time he’d been around a group numbering more than three was back at his apartment building. That was months ago and had ended badly. With no other plan, Kamiyo took a deep breath and stepped through the sally port into a patch of overgrown grass that fell away rapidly into a steep, almost vertical slope.
“It’s a bugger to climb,” said Jackie, “but I suppose that’s the point, to stop marauding armies marching up it. There’s a pathway nearby that’s a little less treacherous, but you might make part of the trip on your bottom.”
Kamiyo’s jaw fell open, and he had to prod himself to get his lungs working again. He crept to the edge of the slope and stared at a massive, shimmering lake below. Dusk was only minutes away, which left the sinking sun to cast its silver rays across the shimmering surface, turning the water into a giant mirror. But as breath-taking as the lake might be, it was not what had stolen his breath. It was the several-dozen bodies buzzing around industriously below, casting fishing nets into the water and bustling along with various other tasks. An immense log cabin balanced on stilts against the edge of the thick forest, and for a moment, Kamiyo felt like he was in rural Montana rather than northern England.
“Quite a sight, huh?” said Jackie proudly.
Kamiyo’s mouth went dry, and he had to rub his throat to find his voice. “H-How long have you all been here?”
“Like I said, since the gates first opened. We were here on an activity weekend.” She looked down the hill, eyes flickering as though a movie played that only she could see. She went on, “When the invasion started, we watched it on the televisions in the cabin, and on our phones—the place had WiFi back then. We watched the world die, but it felt like a soap opera. Not real, you know? This place has kept us safe the entire time. We’ve encountered none of the horror firsthand. In fact, you’re the first soul we’ve seen. If we had been anywhere else, I dare not think of what would have happened to the children.”
“Children? What do you mean?”
Jackie pointed down the hill at the human ant farm beside the lake. “There are forty-seven of us in total. Forty of which are children and teenagers. It was a Duke of Edinburgh awards weekend for the older children, but we also had younger children along as part of a junior adventure scheme some of the parents and I ran.” She let out another fraught chuckle. “It’s all very middle-class.”
Kamiyo stepped towards the edge and almost tumbled down the slope. He stopped himself just in time by digging in his heels. “I-I’m really the first person you’ve seen? No demons. None at all?”
Jackie smiled. “I’m not saying it’s been easy. We’ve lost our families, our friends, and we live in fear every day, but no, we have seen none of those… things. Only on the news.”
Kamiyo couldn’t take his eyes off the scene below. The group had butts for collecting rainwater, racks for drying fish, and even boats out on the water. “It’s unbelievable. You’ve had everything you’ve needed this whole time.”
Jackie moved up beside him and spoke earnestly. “Not everything. We haven’t had a doctor or any medicine, which is why you’re a gift from the gods. Some of us are sick. Last night, one of the children died.”
Kamiyo sighed. “How old?”
“Thirteen. His name was James.”
These people might have found themselves a sanctuary, but you couldn’t hide from disease. “I suppose some things never change,” he said. “Let me see your patients.”
9
DR KAMIYO
The slope was so long and treacherous that it was dusk by the time Kamiyo reached the bottom. Immediately upon his arrival with Jackie, the entire camp froze and stared at him. A few younger children cried, and the smattering of adults had to work to comfort them. The concern was obvious, and Kamiyo realised he truly was the first person this group had seen since the gates first opened.
Astounding.
“Don’t be alarmed!” Jackie spoke in a voice louder than any noise Kamiyo had dared make in weeks. What must it be like not to fear demons finding you? “This is Christopher,” she said. “He’s a doctor who stumbled upon us through blind luck—our luck! We’re still hidden from the outside world, and Frank has everything under control. Nobody else knows we’re here.”
“How did he get here then?” someone in the crowd demanded.
“How do we know he isn’t dangerous?” asked another.
“He’s too young to be a doctor.”
“I don’t trust him. He’s not one of us.”
Jackie leaned in to Kamiyo. “Sorry. This is a massive shock to them.”
Kamiyo understood—it was a massive shock to him too. They all looked at him like wounded barn owls, wide-eyed and skittish. The tension in the air was so thick he worried they might suddenly decide to lynch him. It worried him enough to speak out in his own defence. “Before the gates opened, I was a junior-registrar on a maternity ward. I’m not a hugely experienced doctor, but if I can help anyone here, I will. This place is amazing. The reality out there, beyond the forest, is… well, it’s horrific, which is why I’ve been travelling alone for over a month now. The roads are dangerous, so I’ve been keeping to the fields and trees. That’s how I stumbled upon the castle. I’m sorry if me being here upsets anyone, but I promise I’m not dangerous. I’m just trying to stay al
ive.”
“Bullshit,” someone shouted, and Kamiyo was sure it came from a child. More people shouted similar sentiments.
But then the mood changed.
“Thank God we’re not the only ones.”
“You’re welcome here, kidda. We’re glad to have you.”
“The lad’s a doctor? Bostin!”
“My son is poorly. Will you help him, please?”
Kamiyo homed in on the last speaker and spotted an ashen-faced gentleman wearing a bedraggled polo neck with a muddy designer logo on the breast. One lens of his thin-profile spectacles had cracked, and his brown hair was overgrown and greying at the temples. He looked at Kamiyo imploringly.
Kamiyo nodded at the man. “That is what I want to do! If you allow me to stay, I’ll do everything I can to look after your sick and injured. I can’t work miracles without medicine or equipment, but I’ll do what I can.”
The bedraggled man stepped forward and lunged at Kamiyo. Kamiyo nearly yelped in terror, but the man only grabbed his hand so he could shake it enthusiastically. “Thank you,” he gushed in Kamiyo’s face. “Thank you. Heaven must have sent you.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but I would like very much to see your son. What’s his name?”
“Bray. His name is Bray. He grew sick three days ago. Just the sniffles at first, but last night he got a terribly high fever. He hasn’t come out of it—doesn’t even know where he is. We already lost James last night… If my boy…” The man struggled to contain himself.
It sounded serious, and Kamiyo tried not to show concern. In the old world, the world that existed just three or four months ago, a fever was not the end of the world—most could be managed with cool baths and paracetamol—but now, and especially with delirium-level fever, there might be a battle to contain it. Kamiyo eyed the lake and its frigid waters. “Take me to your son.”
Sensing the sudden authority in his voice, Jackie stepped away and took his arm. She, along with the worried father, led Kamiyo up a series of wooden steps into the large log cabin that was deceptively framed in steel and only adorned with timber. It was a sturdy, impressive building.
Their footsteps thudded as they headed across a deck and between two large glass doors which lay open, inviting them into the warm reception area. Kamiyo took it all in quietly, not wanting to miss anything. A canoe hung from the rafters, and fishing nets lined all four walls. A wooden reception desk stood to one side, with a muscular swordfish mounted on a chestnut shield behind it. Topping things off was a quaint brass bell on top of the counter. Kamiyo had to resist tapping it.
The worried father was right behind Kamiyo and hurried to the front now. “My boy is in here.” He moved in front of a door with a plaque reading: FIRST AID.
Jackie opened the door for them.
The stench of sweat and sickness wafted out like a slap to the face. The air inside the small room was stifling and muggy. The smells oddly comforted Kamiyo, reminding him of the hospital and his days of being a simple doctor. Two children and a grown woman lay asleep on cot beds. All three of them were clearly unwell, and heat radiated off their bodies. In the flicker of nearby candles, their skin appeared grey and lifeless. “We should move them outside,” Kamiyo urged. “This room is too small. There’s no ventilation. It’s a petri-dish for whatever we’re dealing with.”
Jackie appeared disturbed by that, and she stepped back into the doorway. “Are we in danger?”
“I don’t know, but the weather’s mild at the moment so we should move the sick outside to help keep them cool.” He wiped his forehead with his forearm. “Can’t you feel how hot it is in here?”
The father didn’t seem to have been listening. He pointed at the young boy on the left, a kid just into his teens. “This is my son. This is Bray.”
Kamiyo nodded. “Any diarrhoea? Sickness?”
“No, the opposite. Just fever.”
“Same with Michael and Carol.” Jackie spoke from the doorway. “Except Carol has a rash.”
Kamiyo frowned. “Show me.”
Jackie fidgeted with herself like she didn’t want to come inside, but she summoned the courage and shuffled over to the grown woman on the right, lifting up her t-shirt. The woman was half-awake but didn’t seem to notice being interfered with. She murmured to herself and stared up at the ceiling. The rose red rash covered her entire trunk. Jackie stepped back and folded her arms. “She had a cough as well, but that’s died down.”
“A cough?”
Jackie nodded. “Before her fever got bad, Carol was hacking and coughing constantly. Had to sleep in a tent on her own to keep from waking everyone up.”
Kamiyo groaned without realising and saw the concern it caused the others.
“Oh god,” said the father, clutching at his unruly brown and grey hair. Behind his broken spectacles, his eyes were panicked. “You know what it is, don’t you?”
“I can’t be certain,” said Kamiyo, trying to keep his tone even and calm. “It could be several things, but there’s a chance it’s Typhoid Fever.”
“Oh god.”
“Now, don’t panic.” Kamiyo put a hand on the man’s arm. “Sir, can you tell me your name?”
“Philip.”
“Okay, Philip. Typhoid Fever more often than not clears up on its own. It sometimes affects adults worse, which is why Carol has more symptoms. We need to keep Bray and the others cool, so I suggest we take them outside as soon as possible. There’s a nice breeze tonight.”
“Is that all?” Jackie asked. “They’ll get better? Doesn’t Typhoid kill people? We lost James last night. He had the same symptoms as Carol.”
“In a few cases, yes, Typhoid can be fatal. It’s easily treatable with antibiotics, but I’m guessing nobody is in possession of any?” They shook their heads at him. “Okay, then we’ll have to manage them through their fevers and wait for them to fight it off on their own. In the meantime, we need to isolate them from the rest of the camp. Typhoid is bacterial in nature, and highly contagious.”
“How did my boy get it in the first place?” Philip was on the verge of tears as he spoke.
Kamiyo shrugged and sighed. “Contaminated food or dirty water, perhaps. Typhoid is uncommon in the UK, but the country has taken a step back recently in terms of health and sanitation. You need to boil any water before you drink it, even rain water, but especially if it comes from the lake.”
Jackie groaned. “In the first couple of weeks, we were a disorganised mess, as I’m sure you can imagine. Some of us wanted to leave and find our families. Others argued about who was in charge. It was a while before we reached a consensus about keeping the children safe here and staying put. While all this arguing was going on, the kids were drinking straight from the lake. Once we realised, we started collecting rainwater. Every night we build a fire and boil the water.”
“Good. What about food? What are you all eating?”
“You saw the fish drying, I assume? We’ve been catching whatever we need from the lake, drying it in the sun and smoking it over the fire at night. We also hunt birds and rabbits with our bows and arrows. Steve in our group is a butcher. He guts and skins them for us. They get eaten the same day. There are acorns and things too that we gather. There’s a poster we’ve been using to identify what we can eat.”
Kamiyo examined the three patients for a moment while he considered. “Someone may have caught it before all this started, during a trip abroad most likely. They could have been asymptomatic and passed the bacteria on accidentally. It’s probably the water though, so no more drinking from the lake. Anyone with a fever or a cough needs to be isolated right away. They can stay together, but not around healthy people. What have you done with… James, was it?”
“We buried him this morning at the edge of the forest.”
“Good. You should quarantine anyone who handled his body.”
“Right, yes, okay.” Jackie turned toward the doorway, heels clicking on the wooden floorboards. “I’
ll go, um, spread the word.”
“I need to get Bray outside,” said Philip. “I need someone to help me lift him.”
Kamiyo placed a hand on the father’s back. “I’ll help. Let’s lift the cot.”
The cot bed was a canvas spread across a small trellis, so it wasn’t difficult to lift between them. Kamiyo held the head end while Philip took his son’s legs, and together they sidled out of the first aid room and into the larger reception area. Night was only minutes away, and the cabin was cast in a featureless grey. Shadows danced near the entrance, aroused by the glow of a fire outside. Kamiyo hadn’t acknowledged it when he arrived, but there was a large pit in front of the cabin, piled high with logs and branches. An adult was lighting the whole thing with a bundle of flaming twigs. Did the group sing Kumbaya every night while roasting marshmallows? It was astounding, and Kamiyo couldn’t help but stare as he shimmied past.
“There’s a spot over here,” said Philip once they’d trekked down to the lake. “It’s a nice shady area.”
“Okay,” said Kamiyo, wheeling around with the sick teenager. “You sure it’s wise building such a big fire like that? What if the demons see the smoke?”
Philip huffed.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Demons. I saw them on the news, but I’m still not sure I believe it. We haven’t seen a single one. Whole thing could be a hoax for all I know.”
“I take it you were one of the ones who wanted to leave early on?”
Philip nodded, a bead of sweat appearing on his brow as he heaved his son. “Yes. I’m not prepared to spend the rest of my days hiding in the forest. We have no idea what’s going on in the rest of the world.”
Kamiyo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I do! There’s nothing left out there, I assure you. The demons have won. If it wasn’t for this place, you would all be…” He sighed. “You’ve been very lucky, trust me.”
Philip grunted. “You’re still alive. You can’t be the only one.”
“I’m not. There are others, but very few. Soon, there might not be anyone. You all need to stay here.”
Hell On Earth Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 88
