by Steve Howrie
On Saturday evening, Sandi and Sara said they were not feeling well, and went to bed early. It was heartbreaking to hear this, knowing what Frank had told me. Frank suggested I have a look around the island the next day – he didn’t want me to witness what was happening to Sandi.
I had an early breakfast on Sunday morning, and took one of our ebikes on a trip around Papay, heading west. It was deadly quiet… quiet even for Papay. It wasn’t long before I came across some bodies. An old lady outside her house near an area called Holland, and a child nearby. Further along the road, another three. I checked each one for a pulse, and there was no question they were dead. Not many people kept livestock on the island, but the cows I did see all appeared to be lifeless. The population of Papay was less than one hundred before we arrived; by Monday, I could see it being less than ten. To the south, in an area known as Backaskaill, I saw two more bodies outside their homes. Looking through the window of a couple of houses, I saw more people, and no signs of life.
I returned to the Cooperative where we were staying, and stopped at Liz and Hamish’s house. My face broke into a wide smile when I saw Hamish outside cleaning his fishing gear.
“Hi Kevin… do ye notice, there’s something awful funny aboot the air t’day?”
“Yeah, strange smell to it. Could be coming over from Westray. Is your mum about?”
“Aye, she’s in the kitchen… shall I get her for you?”
“No need, thanks – just checking up on her. Well, you take care now Hamish – I’ll see you later.”
“See you Kevin.”
I was relieved to know that Hamish and Liz had survived. Back at home, things were less hopeful. Frank had gathered everyone together to tell them about the virus, the antidote and the side effects. Sandi and Sara were dead. It was a very sombre mood and Audrey could not hold back her tears and had to leave the room. Kate and Gareth were glassy–eyed.
“So as I said, eliminating the virus from this planet, has come at a cost – we always knew it would. Millions of people around the planet are now dead, including, regretfully, Sandi and Sara. This is a time to be strong; this is a time to really believe what Tony and I have been telling you about life. The death of a body is just that, nothing more. The person, the soul never dies… it goes home to its natural place, waiting be reborn. That will continue to happen on this planet, as it happens on every planet of every universe where life exists. Now the Earth’s population is a very small fraction of what it was before last Thursday. It will grow again – people will live and learn and grow again on this planet, and build a new future – one free of the alien virus we have destroyed. And in so doing, we have saved other races in other parts of the universe from the virus.
“On this amazing planet, I have had so many lives – and so have you all. But this is the last one. At the end of your natural life times, we will all return home to the planet we came from. Our mission is almost over… right Tony?”
“Yes, indeed. I would like to echo what Frank said, and add that we still have a great deal of work to do. A huge clean–up operation will soon be underway in the aftermath of the virus. Our main role, though, will be in education: helping people to get back to natural ways, showing how desert can be transformed into fertile land and food can easily be grown without chemical fertilizers; pushing renewable energy as the one and only way to go forward; harnessing the powers of the wind, waves and sun. A new era of mankind can begin, and it starts with us.”
“So, the virus is really dead… there’s nothing left of it alive anywhere on Earth?” Kate asked.
“Correct Kate,” Frank replied. “There is no possibility that any life-form on Earth could avoid the antidote; and once subjected to the antidote the virus will die. We have achieved what we set out to achieve, though not in the way we had hoped. There is nowhere on Earth, not a micron of space, where the virus can escape the antidote. The virus is no more.”
*
At precisely 14.27 GMT on Wednesday 26th October, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station, returning three cosmonauts to Earth after six months in space.
*****
Other Books by Steve Howrie
TIME LEAP (Science Fiction, Adventure)
Whilst waiting to board his plane to New York from London Heathrow, Simon Broom discovers that the mobile phone his Chinese wife Niki Ling gave him for his birthday has one function that other phones just don’t have: the ability to travel through time. Confused by finding himself in the year 2001, and astonished at becoming a real–life time traveller, he attempts to use the situation to stop the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, which is due to happen that day.
Returning to his London home in the present time, he discovers that his actions have had a far greater affect than he could ever have imagined. Not only events, but his wife’s memories have been changed to in order to accommodate the new future he has engineered. He attempts to prove to her that he can travel though time, and eventually Niki believes him. This prompts the two to embark on a series of time travelling adventures in an attempt to change the past, and thereby affect the future. Their travels inevitably bring them into contact with other versions of themselves in past and future time zones, with mind–boggling consequences.
Bucket & Broom in China (Fiction, Humour).
SYNOPSIS:
A very funny, light–hearted fictional diary, seen through the eyes of misfit twenty–something Simon Broom. After starting a microbiology course, Simon lands an English teaching job in Shanghai, China, and heads off on a life–changing adventure with quirky girlfriend Julie Bucket. The story covers eight months in the young couple's lives, as they interact with other expat teachers and strive to find themselves in an alien culture.
READER REVIEWS:
This is absolutely and utterly hilarious! I am very picky about my humor; most of what passes for it is witless and dumb. Yours is of the smart observational kind, and wickedly funny. (Andi Brown, ‘Animal Cracker’).
What madness! Is getting a job in China really that easy? Wonderfully escapist stuff with plenty of smile–raising moments. On my watchlist as we speak. (Simon Marks, ‘That English Weirdo’).
I like it! An easy read for when you need cheering up or when relaxing by a pool. (Claire Lyman, ‘Inevitable’).
A la Adrian Mole – a really humorous foray into teaching. (Sarah Churchill, UK).
Bucket & Broom Tie the Knot (Fiction, Humour).
This is the continuing story of misfit Simon Broom and his side–kick girlfriend Julie Bucket as they experience life in China, as told through Simon’s eyes, ears and everything else! In ‘Bucket & Broom Tie the Knot’, the couple have finally found their feet in Shanghai – and Simon finds that Julie really is pregnant. But who is the father? Simon is driven from pillar to post whilst he strives to answer this question – stumbling across American journalist Sam James on the way. Falling in love with Sam, Simon is more confused than ever about his life and turns, as usual, to his friend and mentor Anton for guidance. Meanwhile, we meet the Bucket family for the first time, and catch up with Simon’s father, who makes a surprising announcement. A cocktail of entertaining and interesting questions about life are humorously mixed with Bucket & Broom’s unique blend of comic rapport to produce the Bucket & Broom philosophy on life.
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