‘Help us what?’
‘Find my sister.’
Travis nodded. ‘Really? And how will you do that?’
I hesitated. ‘I know which way they will be heading. I can show you.’
Travis smiled. ‘And why should we believe you?’
I looked from Travis to Jared. ‘Because you’re right. Whatever my sister was is gone. And it wasn’t people who took her, or all the rest of them, it was the Change.’
Travis laughed. ‘Clever girl,’ he said, ‘clever girl.’ Then, so fast I barely had time to react, he reached out and grabbed my hair, twisting my head down and leaning in so his face was close to my ear.
‘And why should we believe you?’
I winced, trying to twist away from him.
‘Well?’
‘Because what you said made sense: whatever she is, she’s not my sister any more.’
‘And?’
I hesitated. ‘And because I don’t want to die,’ I said. Travis snorted and released his grip. I stood up, rubbing my head with my bound hands.
‘Show her the map,’ he said.
Although my grasp of the local geography was hazy I knew there was another road to the west, and since that was where we had been heading before we were ambushed I hoped Matt would have kept going in the same direction. But yesterday we had passed a sign pointing the way to an old hiking track, so when they showed me the map I pointed to the track and told them that was where we’d been heading and that if they wanted to catch Matt and Gracie the best thing they could do would be to head north and lie in wait for them. Even as I said this I had to reassure myself I wasn’t making a mistake by assuming Matt would have stuck to our original plan.
‘You’re sure that’s the way they’ll have gone?’ Travis asked.
‘I know it,’ I said, willing my voice not to waver.
Travis stared at me, looking perhaps for some sign I was lying. I stared back, defying him to contradict me. Finally he nodded.
‘Put her in the car,’ he said to Jared.
As the utes bumped back onto the road I tried to disguise my anxiety about what came next. Because escape from the container was as good as impossible, and even if I could get out into the main compound the dogs were there, my only option had been to convince them to let me out of their own accord. But seated next to Travis in his ute it dawned on me that even if my deception had got me out of the container I was in no less danger than before.
As we drove I kept my eyes on the road and the passing scenery. Once this would have been fields and bush; now it was a mass of green grass rising waist high and higher along the roadside, lantana choking the gullies and creeks, as if the forest was trying to return, to swallow and consume all sign humans had ever been here. Once that would have made me uncomfortable, but after last night I wondered whether that mightn’t be for the best.
After ten or fifteen minutes we turned onto a second road which led westward through low hills, before turning back toward the north for several kilometres and passing over a small bridge. Once we were over the bridge Travis swung his ute onto a dirt track and Jared pulled in after him.
Travis climbed out and exchanged a few words with Jared. Then he opened the door and told me to get out, grabbing my arm to make sure I didn’t make a run for it. By the other ute Ryan was pulling on a pack while Jared unloaded the dogs; as they snapped and snarled I felt my terror of them behind me in the bush rise up unbidden. Closing my eyes I fought down the feeling that what I was about to attempt was naïve, laughable.
Once they were ready Travis stepped toward me. ‘Here’s how this is going to work,’ he said. ‘We’re going to walk back to the bridge and you’re going to find somewhere to sit down while we take up positions out of sight. When your friends arrive you give them a wave and call them over, then we’ll come out and take over. You try and run away, or warn them, and we’ll shoot you. Is that clear?’
I forced myself to meet his eyes. Part of me wanted to leap at him, hurt him the way he planned to hurt Gracie, but I knew that if I did there was a good chance they would just get rid of me here and now.
‘Sure,’ I said.
It was hot by the bridge, and difficult not to be aware of the presence of Travis and the others in the trees, watching me. As the sun rose higher the air grew thicker, the screech of the insects rising glassily in the still air.
From where I was sitting I could see Ryan through the foliage. Unlike Travis and Jared he was close by, presumably to make it harder for me to run away. After a couple of hours I decided that if I was going to try this it needed to be now, so I stood up and stepped away from my allotted spot.
Ryan reacted exactly as I’d expected, climbing to his feet and stepping into view.
‘What are you doing?’ he demanded. Steeling myself not to look back to where Travis and Jared were concealed, I took a few steps in Ryan’s direction.
‘I need to go to the toilet.’
Ryan looked uncomfortable, just as I’d hoped.
‘Go where you are,’ he said.
I folded my arms and tried to look incredulous. ‘No.’
It took him a second or two but he picked up on the hint.
‘Jesus,’ he said, stepping forward. ‘Well you’re not going over here.’
I looked at the trees behind me. Jared nodded, hitching up his jeans. ‘Okay,’ he said.
I led him into the forest, looking around for somewhere private. Eventually I saw a clump of bushes and headed toward it.
Ryan followed, but as I went behind the bush I looked back at him and he stopped, grinning in a way that told me he’d been intending to follow me.
‘Really?’ I asked. Ryan stared at me for a moment and then backed away.
Once Ryan was gone I knelt down and looked around. I was relieved to see I was hidden from Travis and Jared here.
‘This may take a while,’ I said, giving a little groan for emphasis. Ryan made a disgusted sound and I heard him move away. Knowing I probably only had a minute or two I began to back away into the undergrowth, moving as quickly and as quietly as I could.
My breath was shallow and my hands trembled. I knew I had to put as much distance as possible between myself and the men if this was to have any hope of working, and with each passing second the chance Ryan would become suspicious of my silence grew. Thankfully the ground was damp and littered with dead ferns and leaves, meaning it was softer and less noisy than it might have been. After a few metres I turned and began to run as fast as I could, my body bent low to keep out of sight.
I was lucky, I suppose, because I’d had time to put a couple of hundred metres between Ryan and myself before I heard him call out, the sound making my heart skip. Knowing I might only have seconds until they were after me I ran faster, shoving on through the undergrowth. The dogs would be able to track me whichever way I went, but I also knew if I didn’t put enough distance between us they wouldn’t need to track me, they’d be able to see me, and if they could see me they could catch me. Or shoot me.
Behind me I heard Ryan shout to Jared, then the sound of the dogs barking and people crashing after me through the trees.
When they had put the map in front of me I had committed as much of it to memory as I could, but the detail I had been most careful to take note of was the direction of the road, which lay a few kilometres east of where I was. Earlier, by the bridge, I had tried to orient myself, but now I was amongst the trees again the best I could do was keep heading in a straight line and hope I had it at least vaguely right. Behind me the dogs were barking again, the sound sending a wave of fear racing through me: although Jared had held them back last time I knew this time I wouldn’t be so lucky, and the thought spurred me to run faster.
A few seconds later I reached a dense line of scrub and vines, its mass disguising the remains of a fence; glancing back I searched for some sign of pur
suit but for now at least there was none, so I shoved myself on and through, scratching and pulling as I struggled through the crowded branches and limbs.
On the other side there was an open space of sorts; without thinking or slowing down I flung myself out across it. The grass was waist high in places, and disturbed here and there by the shapes of fallen trees and stumps, which was perhaps why I didn’t see the water until I landed in it, my foot plunging down into black sludge so I lost my balance and went sprawling face first into a stinking bog.
Scrambling to my feet I stumbled on, my feet slipping beneath me. Now I was upright it was clear the whole space was one big marsh, the water extending a hundred metres or more toward a small rise surmounted by a line of trees. Behind me I heard the dogs again, closer now. Leaping and splashing I threw myself forward and up the slope toward the trees. But as I reached them I heard a shout behind me and turned to see Travis and Jared appear through the scrub by the fence, the dogs straining on their ropes in front of them. Travis raised his gun.
‘Stop!’ he shouted. Ignoring him I turned and charged on through the trees and down the other side of the rise. I heard them crashing through the water, then coming up the slope, gaining on me, yet it was only when I looked back that I realised how much ground they had made up. Frantic, I pushed on, stumbling and tripping through the undergrowth and down the slope, knowing even as I did that it wouldn’t be enough, that I had failed, that they were going to catch me, the thought too horrible to endure. And then all of a sudden I saw something in front of me, a road, or some kind of clearing, and as I did I realised I must have arced back and this was the road we had come in on. With one final effort I shot out onto it, almost falling as I hit the cracked asphalt, glancing up in time to see a black car swerve sideways to avoid me, the sudden rush of air and heat and noise hitting me like a physical thing. With a screech of brakes it skidded to a halt a few metres away, its shape suddenly familiar, but before I could process why, Travis emerged beside me, followed by Jared and the dogs and then Ryan. I took a step back, my eyes trained on the dogs, tensing to run, but before I could a woman’s voice cracked through the space.
‘Keep those dogs under control!’
I looked back at the car and then I realised why it looked familiar. Standing there, a gun drawn and trained on Travis, was the Quarantine officer from the bridge.
16
For several seconds nobody moved. Finally the Quarantine officer took a step forward.
‘You!’ she said, nodding at Travis. ‘I want you to take that gun and place it on the ground.’ Travis didn’t move. ‘Now,’ she said in a hard, calm voice that made it clear she meant it.
Once Travis had lowered his gun she turned to Ryan and Jared. ‘If you’ve got weapons I want them on the ground as well.’ As she finished one of the dogs barked.
‘If either of those dogs comes a step closer to us shoot them,’ she said to her fellow officer. ‘And then shoot him.’
The male officer trained his gun on Jared and the dogs. Jared stared at him and then carefully wound the dogs’ leashes around his wrists, drawing them toward him.
Finally the Quarantine officer looked at me. ‘Now,’ she said. ‘Perhaps you could tell me what’s going on.’
It took more than an hour for backup to arrive, time Travis and the others spent seated by the roadside, their hands secured behind their backs with the same sort of plastic zip ties they had used to secure me. I probably should have been pleased but instead I was numb.
It turned out the officer’s name was Kostova, something she told me just before she asked me in a careful way that made it clear it was necessary I answer truthfully whether I was all right and whether they had done anything to me. When I told her they hadn’t she nodded, then told the other officer – Egan – to get me some water.
Eventually a second van arrived, and once Travis and the others were loaded into it, Kostova and Egan returned to the car and climbed in, the doors clunking shut behind them. As Kostova started the car she glanced over her shoulder at me. With her helmet off she had a severe sort of beauty, the pale blonde hair she wore pulled back emphasising the cool certainty of her manner.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ she asked.
I gave a small nod. ‘What will happen to them?’
Kostova glanced at Egan and I saw something pass between them.
‘That’s not our responsibility. But you’ll need to give us a statement.’
‘And me?’
She looked away. ‘You’re in a lot of trouble, Callie.’
A minute or two later we were on the road, but although I had assumed we would be heading south, we appeared to be heading north.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked, leaning forward.
This time it was Egan who answered. ‘Our local base. You’ll be processed there and sent back south.’ He looked away then, as if I was of no further relevance.
The drive took almost an hour, the road winding north until finally we reached a wire fence behind which a group of buildings was visible. At the gate a pair of guards, their faces hidden behind goggles and masks, checked the vehicle, glancing at me in the back seat and making a note on their tablets. Inside we drove past a series of low buildings and army trucks and vehicles and then pulled into a parking bay behind a second fence.
Kostova climbed out and headed in through the doors, leaving Egan to escort me out of the car. At first I thought he might drag me out, but in fact he stood back and let me get out on my own before indicating that I should walk ahead of him through the door.
Once we were inside he directed me to sit on a bench by the wall. I was surprised: I had been expecting to be placed in a cell, yet this looked more like a hospital, right down to the white walls and lino flooring. On the other side of the corridor were two closed doors; further along a heavy door blocked my view, but if it hadn’t been for the red lights in the corners of the ceiling to remind me there were cameras watching me and the heavy thump of the door we had come through, I might easily have been in any one of the thousand anonymous government buildings.
After ten or fifteen minutes I began to wonder whether I had been forgotten, so I stood up and began to walk back toward the entrance, but as I did the door behind me clicked open and Egan appeared. I jumped, concerned I was being observed, but if his arrival was connected to my decision to get up and walk around, he gave no indication. Instead he just walked toward me and, placing a hand on my arm, indicated I should move forward again, deeper into the building.
Behind the door the corridor turned to the right, passing a series of rooms that looked more like laboratories or hospital wards than cells, their doors emblazoned with the four concentric circles in a green triangle that indicated the presence of Changed material. Once or twice I glimpsed people moving inside, or what seemed to be medical equipment of some kind, but the windows in the doors were small and the one time I caught somebody’s eye they stepped forward as if to block my view.
Eventually I was brought to a small room with a narrow bed in it. Egan directed me to lie down, and a woman in white scrubs appeared. Egan handed her a tablet and she made a few notations and handed it back to Egan, who closed the door behind himself and left me alone with her.
She was small and slim, with an odd, almost greyish tinge to her skin, and dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Although she was youngish she had an air of anger and exhaustion that made her seem older. She didn’t look at me at first. Instead, pausing by a cupboard opposite the door, she pulled on latex gloves and slipped a surgical mask over her face.
‘Lie back,’ she said as she turned to face me. I complied, lying still as she swept a scanner about the size of an old mobile telephone over me, listening to the clicking tone it emitted and pausing now and then as the sound rose in intensity. When she was done she stared at the scanner with a slightly irritated expression. Crossing to the desk she
checked something on the tablet and then picked up the scanner again.
‘Turn over,’ she said.
A few seconds later Egan reappeared.
‘How is she?’ he asked.
The woman looked at me. ‘I’m not sure. Although she’s definitely been in contact with Changed matter in the past few days, there’s no sign of any engagement at a cellular level.’
‘But?’ Egan asked.
‘I’m getting anomalous readings.’
‘Could it be the scanner?’
The woman nodded. ‘Possibly.’
‘Other injuries?’
‘I haven’t had a good look. But she’s clearly dehydrated and I think we’re going to need to stitch up some of those cuts.’
Egan glanced at me. ‘I think Kostova needs to speak to her now.’
The doctor stared at me again. ‘Make sure you bring her back. I want to run some more tests.’
Egan led me to a small room with a table and three chairs in it and directed me to sit. After a few minutes Kostova appeared at the door. Closing it behind her she glanced up at the security camera in the corner, then drew out a seat and sat down opposite me.
‘Interview with Callie Adeyemi,’ she said, the movement of her eyes behind her goggles telling me she was directing them to record our conversation. ‘Commenced at 12.19 pm.’ Her eyes focused on me. ‘Before we begin I want to be clear why you’re here. Whatever happened with those three men we arrested this morning will be dealt with in due course, but that’s a police matter. You’re here because you’ve been assisting an individual infected with the Change to evade Quarantine.’
‘My sister,’ I said.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘It wasn’t an individual I assisted, it was my sister.’
She stared at me, and for a brief moment I was acutely aware of the camera in her goggles that was no doubt recording and analysing my responses.
‘You think others haven’t lost people they’re close to?’ she said in a flat, hard voice.
The Silent Invasion Page 14
