She nodded, “Yes, he will”.
“Then why is he in my home, with my children?”
“Because I’m trying to see if any of the medication I have to hand can slow it down or stop it. If it can then I need to contact my people and tell them how. If not then…”
“He has to leave”.
“If he turns I will make him leave”, Rosetta said.
“No he leaves now I’m not putting my kids at risk”.
“Ned, sweetie. She’s trying to make him better”, Pippa said. “He’s not a bad person, just sick. It’s wrong to discriminate against someone who’s sick”.
“Pippa, he’s not just sick, he’s going to turn into a crazed killer and we have Daniel and Alicia to think about”. He noticed how when he said Alicia’s name that she rolled her eyes. “Pippa can I have a word in private please”.
She followed him into the living room where he closed the door, “Ned?”
“How did you react when you saw both Alicia and Daniel alive?”
“Happy of course why?”
“I’m getting the indication that you were for Daniel but not her. This needs to stop…NOW”.
“She brought that boy home, into our home”. Her distaste for Glenn was not wasted by her tone.
“And she probably has a valid reason for it”.
“Are you saying that we should let her be with him, in our home? That their relationship is… Ok?”
“They haven’t done anything wrong Pippa and considering the circumstances I think their teenage love story is the least of our problems”.
“He cheated on her”, She hissed acting like she cared but it was all that, an act.
“And maybe she forgave him. You shouldn’t be punishing her for that choice, it’s her decision and it proves that she is a better person for it. What I don’t understand is your sudden interest in her heart strings”.
“I am truly concerned, I am her mother”.
He laughed, “Pip, you always do things to punish her…Why?”
“I’m not punishing her for that”.
“Then why are you punishing her?”
“The way she is, she expects us to jump to her every need and call. She is smoking again, I can smell it on her and then she turns up in his car covered in blood”.
“Is that even the real reason Pippa? And the smoke smell? Maybe it’s because of the ash cloud. And blood? Maybe she had to do something to save Daniel”.
“So she has you fooled”, she slurred at him.
“You’ve been drinking again and on your meds, you know it’s not a great concoction. It could kill you”, he said testing her response.
She shook her head.
“Pippa I can smell it on you, I saw the empty glass on the counter and the open bottle. You are not meant to be drinking on your medication!”
“One glass won’t hurt”, she muttered.
“One glass maybe but how many have you actually had?”
“One glass”.
“The truth?”
“One glass”.
“Don’t lie to me Pippa”, he raised his voice which he rarely done in his home.
She flinched and looked away.
“How many?”
“Half the bottle”, she replied sheepishly.
“And your meds?”
She diverted her gaze away from him, scrunching her nose in annoyance, something she always done when she was lying to him and drunk.
“Pippa when did you last take your medication?”
“I don’t need them”, she finally admitted.
“To hell you don’t, Bipolar is not something to mess with. Is that why you’re funny with Alicia? Because you’re off them?”
She shrugged, “No, I haven’t missed that many, a couple”. Of months, she added but so he didn’t hear.
“You need to take them and to apologise to our daughter, your daughter”.
“Like I said Ned, she has you fooled. Lovely daddy all wrapped around her little finger, like a horrible little princess”.
“No, I think you have yourself fooled, she is your daughter and you need to treat her like it. She hasn’t really done anything wrong other than have a boyfriend and yes maybe doing a few things she shouldn’t but she is a rebellious teenager. You can’t tell me you have forgotten what you were like?”
She sighed, “No of course not, I just don’t want that for her”.
“Then don’t push her away”, he warned, “Not now, especially not now. People are dying everywhere and we don’t know if we will all survive”.
“We will, we’re a strong family”, she retorted.
“We are but viruses can be stronger. I’ve seen it remember, I see it day in and day out. Families ripped apart by death, by illnesses they cannot cure or control”.
She huffed, opened the door and walked out, pushing past Alicia and Glenn in the hallway who had been talking in hushed voices.
Ned walked over to them, “You two ok?”
They both nodded.
“I saw what you did with the car”, he said looking at them both. “I was walking home near the supermarket”.
“We were being followed by the turned”, Glenn said, “I decided it would be safer if they couldn’t follow. I want…” he lowered his eyes away from Ned, “I want Alicia to be safe and Daniel”.
“So do I Glenn, if you ever put my daughter’s life in any danger again I will make you pay for it”.
“Yes sir”, he agreed.
“Dad, I called him, I needed his help. Things changed and I was scared and you were at work”.
“I guessed as much”.
“I… Something happened at the college … I was scared”.
“You don’t have to explain to me Alicia”, he reassured her.
She smiled faintly, “Why does mum hate me?”
“She doesn’t hate you”.
“She does and you know it”, she replied, “But I guess it is ok… I hate her too”. And with that Alicia walked off upstairs with Glenn hot on her heels. He was about to call out that they shouldn’t be upstairs alone together but thought better of it. To put ideas in Alicia’s head about alone time was not what he wanted. Plus with the potential danger of the sick person in the kitchen maybe she was safer upstairs with Glenn. He felt pained for his delicate little princess, she wasn’t built for this strange ash ridden world and at least with Glenn back on the scene she had someone to watch over her. He just wished that her mother wasn’t so blinded by her own actions, so she could also see the brilliant young woman their daughter was blossoming in to.
3.55pm Alicia’s room
Alicia sat on the edge of her bed, Glenn sat on her computer chair watching her. “Talk to me Alicia, what happened at the college. I meant what I said, that I want to keep you safe. I’m sorry I scared you but I am here for you… Like I should have always been”.
She looked up tears rolling down her cheeks, “I killed… Ellen”.
He got off the chair and leant down on his knees and held her hands in his, they were cold and shaking as she sobbed, “Alicia, is that why you said there was so much blood? What happened?”
So she explained, Ellen thinking the ash was snow and eating it, turning in the classroom and attacking Mr Goodyear, going to attack her but… “She was going to bite me, she wanted to infect me and I had no choice… I did the right thing… Didn’t I?”
He nodded, “Right… If you hadn’t done that then she would have infected you, then who would have saved Daniel?”
She nodded too, her dirty Chestnut coloured and ash covered hair bobbing up and down in that pretty, sexy way he liked.
He leant forward and brushed her on the lips making sure not to actually touch any of the ash on her, “I never meant to hurt you and I’m sorry”.
“I want to forgive you, I want to love you again but… It hurts inside so much”, she sobbed, “I loved you so much and you betrayed me. How can I be truly sure you mean it?”
“I’ll
prove it…I promise”, he sighed, “Why don’t you go freshen up, might make you feel better”.
She stood up and looked at herself in the tall mirror attached to her door. She was covered head to foot in ash, her hair was dull and her clothes were dusty.
“Do you think we can get infected like this?” She motioned to her clothes and hair.
He shook his head not wanting to worry her, “Nah, you gotta digest it and breathe it in”.
“What if I have or you have?”
“We would know by now”, he assured her. “Go on, wash it all off, I’m sure your feel better”.
She nodded and left him alone in her room and went to the bathroom.
~
Alicia scrambled into the bathroom, locking the door hastily and starting the shower, stripping off quickly she then threw the clothes in the wash bin wanting to get rid of the demonic ash that clung to her clothing, hoping that just by being in the clothes she wasn’t infected. She climbed in the hot shower and scrubbed at the ash making sure not to get any in her mouth, eyes or nose. She sensed the bathroom door being opened and could make out Glenn’s shape as he locked the door again. Normally it was Daniel playing tricks on her as the outside lock was easy to turn from the outside but this time it was definitely Glenn, Daniel wasn’t that tall.
Behind the shower glass she watched Glenn undress, her belly flopped as she saw he was naked. He then appeared and she pulled him in, helping him wash off all the ash. When he was clean she lunged at him, kissing his soft wet lips with a hunger that was distressed deep inside her, she had really missed him. Missed being in his arms. He kissed her back with a mimicking clear hungry passion and trailed his hands down her dripping back from her long hair. She embraced his body and let him push her against the wall, his kisses became stronger and hungrier as he explored all her mouth and then her neck. Wrapping her legs around his waist she lured him in, breathing out a sigh with the pleasure and the fear of being caught by her parents. She was hungry for him too, filling his mouth with hers and moving in rhythm with his body. She let go of his mouth and took a breath, letting him explore her neck again until the excitement became too much for them both and they just stood there holding one another, panting, breathing and wet.
“I love you”, he whispered into her hair.
But she couldn’t say it back, it was caught in her throat and stayed there. Did she love him too? Could she really love him again?
~
“Alicia, Glenn, here is some food”, Ned said knocking and opening the door to Alicia’s room and noticing Glenn sitting on the floor in ‘his’ own clothes.
“Thanks dad”, she took the plates, “Hope you don’t mind, Glenn’s clothes were all covered in ash, and I thought the infection might spread with us still dirty and…”
“Its fine”, he replied. He could see they had both showered which made him feel dirty as he was still in his old clothes that had been out in the ash, he had taken off the top half exposing his bare arms which the ash hadn’t touched but like them maybe he too needed a shower. “I’m gonna go upstairs and change too”. He then left them to it and closed the door. Whilst heading up to the attic conversion slowly he could hear them muttering to one another, pausing he listened.
“Don’t feel guilty”, Glenn told her.
“How do you get over that though? Killing a friend?”
Glenn’s voice softened, “It was self-defence and in all honesty she was pretty much already dead. The turned don’t seem like normal humans anymore”.
“I suppose”, she sighed.
“Look”, he said, “I just killed loads of people, loads of the turned… You just have to focus on those you saved”.
“Those we saved huh?” She whispered then added. “Glenn, please don’t hurt me again”.
“I won’t, I promise”.
4.30pm The Kitchen
Rosetta watched Finch’s breathing get slowly worse as it had done ever since his bite an hour and twenty minutes ago. A slick cool sweat was dripping from his brow and his eyes were red, red with blood not just blood shot. The blood seemed to irritate him more than any other symptom, he rubbed at his eyes until the blood flowed down his cheeks. She knew it wouldn’t be long now, she knew it would be mere minutes until he turned into one of the damned that roamed the outside world.
Pippa had sent Daniel to his room with his new toys, Rosetta could see that Pippa was angry inside at Alicia for letting Daniel steal them from the shop but she couldn’t bring herself to take them from him, he looked so haunted by all what he had already seen today and they gave him some form of distraction from it all.
Rosetta watched Pippa as Pippa watched her and Finch from across the dining table, a large glass of red in her grasp as she took large gulps. Ned had disappeared upstairs and hadn’t come back down yet.
Rosetta shifted on her feet, the way Pippa was watching both of them made her feel uncomfortable.
“Will you kill him?” Pippa asked, “When the time comes?”
She was a little taken aback by Pippa’s abrupt question but she answered, “If it’s what he wants?”
Finch looked up at them both, crying crimson red tears that stained his ash covered cheeks, leaving trails down them, “I don’t want to be one of them, I don’t want to hurt you guys or your family”, he coughed stopping his train of thought, blood spattered on his hand before he spoke again, “That is my decision”, his voice sounded cracked and sore.
“Well I won’t allow a murder in my house”, Pippa stated with almost a pure hint of humour, like she found this all funny, Maybe it was the wine? Maybe she was just scared and cracking up like the rest of them should have been?
“I won’t murder anyone, not if you take care of me before it’s too late”, Finch gasped in pain as a fresh wave of nausea hit him.
“No…That’s not what I meant”, Pippa said her hand circling the rim of the wine glass, “I mean I want no blood spilled in my house, I will not allow it. Even though you are ill you are still human and maybe…Maybe there is a medicine that can fix this somewhere”.
“You mean you don’t want me to kill him?” Rosetta said just as Ned, Alicia and Glenn appeared in the doorway looking fresh faced from their showers.
“I… Won’t allow blood to be spilled here”, she told them. “It will curse my home and my family, how could we ever live here again knowing ‘He’ was murdered here?”
“Then what do we do with him?” Rosetta asked, “Any suggestions? Do I take him outside and do it? Round the corner in the street where all the others will smell his blood and come running?”
“I won’t allow a murderer back into my home either”, Pippa said.
Rosetta felt irritation rise in her veins, this woman was crazy! She had snuck in and watched the autopsy of the train driver, she had seen what this was all about, what it does to you inside and turns you into but won’t allow someone of sickness who wants to die by the hand of a loved one, a friend, rather than maim, kill and infect others. “Look Pippa I understand this is your home but if he turns he will infect us all or kill us outright”.
“I know that, but maybe we should all be infected… Maybe a few of us are immune somehow? Maybe the army will come with a vaccine? Maybe this is the way the world should be now, maybe we all need to accept that?”
“Pippa don’t be daft”, Ned butted in, “The army? They will kill the infected not cure them, they will be told to eradicate the infection and save the ones who are not infected. And if I’m right in thinking Rosetta is a high up Public Health doctor as I think she is then she is the one who might have a chance at finding a cure, she has tried the medicines on Finch to see if he reacts with any but he hasn’t but that isn’t to say there isn’t something out there that might. If she dies or turns then we have no hope”.
“There are other doctors”, Pippa suggested, “They too could find the cure”.
“They could… If they ain’t already… Dead”, Finch gasped, “Rosetta was the head in micr
obiology in her year at Uni… The Public Health head hunted her for her brains… She is your best and only real… Hope, she knows her shit”.
Pippa’s face at his speech soured, she then licked her lips and poured the last of her wine down her throat.
“Mum, if it’s what he wishes then shouldn’t we grant that? I would rather be killed than turn”, Alicia commented trying to get through to her mum but it was useless, Pippa wouldn’t listen to her daughter.
“So what Alicia, would you have the guts to kill him?” Her tone was like an iron grip.
Rosetta saw something like fear or remorse maybe flash over the teenagers features, her pretty face then filled with authority over her mother, “How do you think Daniel is still alive? How do you think I am still alive?”
Pippa said nothing, she just blinked at her daughter.
“I killed to survive mum, so the answer to your question is… Yes I have the guts to kill, if it means keeping my family safe”.
Pippa stood there with her nose rising into the air, looking down at the girl who could survive, Rosetta could see the word survivor etched all over her body language. “I always knew you were the wrong ’en of the family… The Black Sheep! Who did you kill? Why?”
Alicia had tears well up in her eyes as she sobbed, “I had to kill a dinner lady at Daniels school, she was going to infect me then she would have infected Daniel. I did what I had to do… If I didn’t your precious son would not be sitting upstairs playing with toys, he would be ripping out some poor souls throat!”
Rosetta watched as Ned went to his daughter and wrapped his strong arms around her sobbing body, “Its ok baby girl”.
“Ok? How is that ok? She killed a woman and stole from the shops to top it off, she is a killer and a thief”.
“To save our son”, Ned said raising his voice, completely ignoring the stealing comment because what did it matter now?
“No not to save our son, because she thought she could get away with it due to the chaos, that poor woman is now DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” Pippa shouted the last part.
The Amoeba From The Ash Page 7
