The Abandoned Trilogy (Book 1): Twice Dead (Contagion)

by Suchitra Chatterjee

  Jasmine let out a squeal of delight, “My mum and dad took me to America once, we went to Disney World!”

  “I went to Disney World,” Cassidy said suddenly, he was still playing his game.

  “Liar,” Eden joined her friend on the blanket, flopping down beside her.

  Cassidy threw his game console at Eden, she screamed as it hit her on the side of her head. Blood spurted and Cassidy let out a bellow of murderous rage, “I’m not! I’m not!” He started to get up, intending to vent his outrage on the shrieking Eden, but Mitch was suddenly beside him, wrapping his arms around him, shouting at me to deal with Eden. Adag had dropped her knitting and joined Mitch with Cassidy who was screaming he wasn’t a liar.

  In a matter of seconds, the peaceful picnic in the woods had descended into a Cassidy meltdown. Private Jasper had grabbed a tea towel from the blanket and pressed it against Eden’s bleeding head but I swore at her, “Why the hell do you goad him Eden?” I shouted at her, “You have to spoil everything for everyone don’t you? I wish he had knocked your bloody head off you horrible little bitch!”

  Corporal Peters had jumped up from the picnic blanket and went to help Mitch and Adag whilst Stevie stood where he was for a moment and then he ran off. Seb shouted his name and followed him in his chair.

  Jasmine was crying even though she hadn’t been hurt and I turned to where an enraged Cassidy was screaming he wasn’t a liar as three people tried to hold him down.

  “I believe you Cass!” I shouted, “I believe you!” I didn’t expect my words to penetrate his rage, very little usually did, but as I shouted the words, his bright red bulging enraged face turned to mine and we looked at each other and he stopped screaming and fighting.

  Just like that. Mitch and Corporal Peters almost fell over each other, Adag ended up on her ass on the grass behind her and Cassidy hiccupped, and he said in a pitiful voice to me, “I did go to Disney World Lucy, I’ve got pictures, I met Mickey Mouse.”

  I limped over to Cassidy and he grabbed hold of my good leg and buried his face into it, his huge bulk heaving with sobs. I put my hand onto his head and stroked it gently.

  “He’s nuts!” Corporal Peters gasped as he scrambled to his feet.

  “No!” I snapped at the soldier “He’s upset, because that little cow is always taking the piss!” I turned to give Eden a venomous look.

  “He hit my head!” Eden wept.

  “She’s going to need stitches,” Private Jasper said as he pressed down on the wound, “I’ve got a dressing I can put on it, but it will need to be sewn up when we get back.”

  “Fucking good,” I snarled, “I hope they hurt!”

  “Stop it Lucy,” Adag had got up and dusted herself down, “Mitch, can you go and look for Stevie and Seb, Corporal Peters, thank you for your help, Eden, I am sorry that Cassidy threw his game at you, but Lucy does have a point about your behaviour, Jasmine, stop crying please, you’re not hurt.”

  Jasmine snorted back her tears; she patted the whimpering Eden’s hand.

  “I hate you!” Eden screamed at me as Private Jasper helped her to her feet.

  I laughed, “Do you think that bothers me?” I said in a dismissive voice, “God if it was only you that had ended up in that box as a Twice Dead instead of Gregory!”

  Eden’s mouth fell open, she only half understood what I was saying, but it was enough to silence her. I heard Adag gasp, “Lucy!”

  I refused to feel bad, I turned my attention to Cassidy, telling him to get up and that he needed to wash his face in the stream. Sniveling he obeyed me.

  Mitch came back moments later; he had Seb with him, but no Stevie.

  “I’m sorry Lucy,” Cassidy said to me and I patted his arm. I wasn’t angry at him; I was surprised no one else had thrown something at Eden’s head before now.

  “We need to find him,” Adag said her face taut with worry, and I turned to Corporal Peters.

  “You better take everyone back to the Home, it should be ok to go back now, don’t you think?”

  He nodded his head. Private Jasper was already leading Eden away, followed by a sniffing Jasmine.

  Mitch took hold of Cassidy’s arm; he hesitated and looked at me.

  “Go with Mitch Cass, I have to find Stevie.”

  He shuffled alongside Mitch, his head hung low.

  I grabbed my jacket off the back of the fold up chair, “How’s Lewis’ battery, Seb?”

  “It’s OK,” he assured me, “It drains slowly.”

  “We’ll look for him,” I said.

  Adag and Mitch started to protest, but I said, “Someone has to explain what happened to Wolf, I’d rather it wasn’t me.”

  That made Adag smile tightly.

  “I’ll come with you,” Corporal Peters said to me and he slung his rifle over his shoulder, “The Colonel will have my balls if I let you go off on your own.”

  We shouted Stevie’s name until we were all nearly voiceless. There was no answer as we tramped around the woods for the next three hours, aware we could only go so far on foot.

  Finally, Seb said he had to go back because it was futile. I told him to go, that I wasn’t leaving until I had found Stevie.

  “He’s probably back at the home now,” Seb said to me as he pushed his joystick to the left and headed for the harder pathway that his tires preferred.

  I shook my head, agitated and anxious, “He hates it when people fight,” I said, “He won’t want to come home, you two go back, I’ll keep looking.”

  “Not a chance,” Corporal Peters said, “We all go back together.”

  “In less than three weeks Corporal Peters,” If my words could have dropped acid, they would have, “All of you soldiers will be leaving us cripples to our own devices, so you don’t get to tell me what to do!”

  Corporal Peters grabbed my arm, his fingers were like steel as he held on, “Don’t make me carry you,” he said in a hard voice, “Because I will.”

  He meant it. I yanked from his grip, but I didn’t try and walk away.

  We got back to the home and as I expected Stevie wasn’t there. Wolf had been briefed as to what had happened. Seb swung around to the garage saying he would put his chair on charge in there. I suspected he didn’t want to be part of the fall out that was going to happen when we had to face Wolf.

  Eden was having her head sewn up by the army medic, in the dining room. She was sitting on a dining chair crying as the young man did the gruesome task of stitching the flap of thickly ripped off skin back into place.

  Adag was holding her hands and soothing her, whilst another soldier was holding onto her shoulders to keep her in her seat. There was no sign of Cassidy, he had been sent to his room in disgrace. That, I am afraid really pissed me off.

  “You need to send that little cow to her room,” I raged at Mitch who tried to placate me, telling me to calm down. Wolf had come out of the office when he heard us clatter in, “She’s the trouble maker in all of this, not Cass!”

  This made Eden bawl even louder, “Lucy hates me!” she wailed.

  “Two fucking right I hate you…” I began and then I found myself being hauled away, Wolf had hold of my elbow, I swore at him, trying to pull free, “Let go of me you…ow!” He had dragged me outside onto the patio, increasing his grip on me before slamming me into the wall.

  His face was so close to mine I could smell his breath, mint and coffee, at least he didn’t have bad breath, “As you pointed out to me and my men, some of the people in this home have learning disabilities, so you getting angry won’t make much difference, will it?”

  I strained to push him away, but he was far stronger than me, he pressed his body against mine, holding me in place, “You don’t understand learning disabilities Colonel,” I hissed at him.

  “And you do?” he snapped at me, “Aren’t you a resident here too?”

  I laughed, not insulted by his words because they were true, “Yes, but I don’t have a learning disability, this is a mixed home, rare as r
ocking horse shit, they tend to keep the able minded cripples apart from those with learning disabilities, we have our own caste system, divide and rule and all that shit!”

  “That Cassidy is dangerous,” Wolf said.

  My eyes widened, “He is not!”

  “Private Jasper said he went nuts, that three people could barely restrain him.”

  “He was upset; Eden’s behaviour is far worse than his!”

  “Really? Let’s agree to disagree on that and no one lets a mad dog keep on biting,” Wolf said, “They put it down.”

  My stomach boiled at his words, rage surged through me, “Like you have just done with your Sergeant?” I hissed in his face and his eyes dilated, I had shocked him just as he had shocked me.

  “You little bitch,” he said.

  “And you are a son-of-bitch!” I snapped back, “So we have something in common after all, don't we?” I didn't intend to be funny but Wolf’s lips twitched, though he was still furious.

  “There’s nothing disabled about your mouth,” he snorted.

  “You leave Cassidy alone,” I glared at Wolf, “I value him over Eden a million times; we have the same coloured arms!”

  Wolf let me go then, I exhaled, sagging against the wall and rubbing my arms, “I’ll be glad when this quarantine is over,” he said.

  “So will we,” I stepped away from the senior officer, I would make sure Cassidy was ok later, I had to find Stevie. I moved away from Wolf, my eyes on the pathway that would lead back into the woods, but Wolf barred my way when he realised that I had no intention of going back into the home.

  “Where do you think you are going?” he said.

  “You don’t give up do you?” I said incredulously, “You might not give a shit about Stevie, but I do, you look after yours like I look after mine!” A look of understanding briefly touched Wolf’s eyes. He had a job to do and so did I.

  I started to walk away, but a hand shot out, grabbing my arm yet again, “And how far do you think you will get on foot?” he said before I could pull free, “Corporal Peters! Get the jeep!”

  Corporal Peters came running out of the home, disappearing in the direction of the army vehicles. He returned moments later in the green vehicle, leapt out and Wolf swung himself into the driver’s seat.

  “Get in,” he said to me, and I looked at him blankly. He sighed, “Get into the jeep Miss Lal, we will look for him together, this vehicle can cover rough terrain, Corporal Peters, tell the Captain to set up foot patrol search parties for the front part of the wood, you stay with Private Jasper here in the home.”

  “Yes Sir,” Corporal Peters saluted his officer and I climbed into the jeep, glad that it had legroom so I could stretch out my bad leg. I rubbed it, grimacing as I did.

  Wolf glanced at me, “The medic can look at your leg when we get back,” he said.

  “I’m fine,” I said curtly.

  “I’m not arguing with you,” he said as he put the vehicle into gear and set off down the gravel path at speed, making me swear and grab hold of the dashboard.

  “Do you think he could have headed toward town?” Wolf asked the question as he put his foot down on the accelerator and swung onto the empty road.

  I hadn’t thought of that. Stevie knew the general direction of the town from the home. Via the road, it was just over 20 miles, but if you cut across the fields in mileage it was about 14 miles, but that was a long way to walk and Stevie only knew the road and I said as much.

  “We’ll stay on the road for now,” Wolf said and he partly leaned over me, one hand on the steering wheel, reaching for something under the dashboard, seconds later a Glock 17 was in my lap, “Don’t touch the trigger, it’s ready to shoot.”

  “Shit!” I said, grabbing the handle and instinctively remembering Jack’s description of how to hold it safely, “You’re the soldier, not me!”

  “You’ve just been drafted,” he said. I couldn’t help it I laughed and when I glanced at Wolf, I saw there was a half-smile on his lips, but he wouldn’t look at me. I put my free hands to my lips so he wouldn’t see I was smiling too. It didn’t mean I liked him, but I did appreciate his caustic sense of humour if nothing else.

  We followed the road steadily, it was eerie, seeing birds flying overhead, rabbits in the fields, but no cars, no sound of planes and as signs appeared on bends telling us how far we were from the town it became all the more eerie.

  My eyes took in the fields on one side, woods on the other.

  “I am assuming that the town is empty,” he said, “Word from command is that the Twice Dead are converging on bigger cities, for whatever reason they are on the move.”

  “That’s a big assumption to make,” I said and he didn’t disagree. We rounded another corner on the road and I saw him in front of us, walking slowly on the verge, heading toward the town. He must have cut across the fields, found the road, and started to follow it.

  “Stevie!” I shouted, he had turned already, saw the jeep, his eyes widened and he took off at a run. Wolf stamped on the anchors, I was ready for it, though I was thrown forward and he was out of the jeep and seconds later he had hold of Stevie who did not intend to come quietly.

  He was stronger than Wolf expected, and he sent him staggering backwards with a strong and violent push.

  “Leave me alone!” he shouted at the older man, “Go away!”

  I was out of the jeep, moving as fast as I could toward him, “Stevie!” I shouted “Stevie why did you run off?”

  His eyes met mine and he shook his fist at me, “You like Cassidy better than you like me!” he yelled at me, shocking me with his words, “You like him better than me!”

  I think Wolf was rather taken back by this response as much as I was.

  “Why on earth do you think that?” I said to the angry young man.

  “You do everything with him,” Stevie said and his eyes welled up with tears, “You wouldn’t let me help get the garlic, and he lifted you off the ground instead of me, and you wouldn’t let me make smoothies and…and I’m stronger than him!”

  It took me a moment to understand his distress. Wolf looked perplexed, but he didn’t try and touch Stevie again.

  “Stevie,” I said when I finally could speak, “Cassidy feels alone.”

  “So do I,” Stevie said sniffing and wiping his arm across his face.

  “I know,” I nodded my head, “But everyone likes you, not everyone likes Cassidy.”

  Stevie frowned, “Do you like him?”

  “Yes,” I said and I was surprised that I wasn’t lying, I actually did like Cassidy, “And I like you too, very much, I’m sorry if I upset you, I guess I thought you would understand why I was being extra kind to Cass.”

  “Oh,” Stevie said and I saw his tense shoulders drop, “But I am stronger than Cassidy.”

  “You are,” I agreed, “And I know you could have lifted me off the ground, but Cassidy, needs someone to stick up for him, I know he gets angry and he’s not very nice sometimes, but that is because people don’t understand him.”

  “Do you understand him?” Stevie asked me.

  “Sometimes, not always,” I said softly, “He can’t help getting angry, you don’t get angry like he does, you know it’s wrong, he doesn’t, it’s not his fault.”

  “He’s stupid!”

  “No,” I said shaking my head, “Don’t call him that Stevie, he’s not stupid, just not always sensible.”

  Stevie gave this some thought, and then he turned to Wolf and said, “I am sorry I pushed you.”

  Wolf stared at Stevie and I held my breath, praying he didn’t upset him, “You are very strong,” he said and Stevie’s face lit up and he gave Wolf one of his beautiful smiles.

  “Can I ride in your army car?” he looked at the jeep longingly.

  “Yes,” Wolf and I said simultaneously.

  I put my arm around Stevie’s shoulder as we walked back to the jeep. He scrambled into the back and I got into my seat, putting the Glock on my
lap as Wolf swung into the driver’s seat.

  “There’s smoke over there,” Stevie said suddenly and he pointed in the direction of the town, Wolf and I followed his outstretched hand and we saw the curl of smoke rising, it was far away and we would have never seen it from the Home, but here on the road we could see it.

  “What the fuck…” Wolf muttered.

  “Maybe you should get your command people to have a Drone fly over there?” I said and Wolf nodded. He then did a spectacular three point turn on the road and we headed swiftly back to the home and to a very relieved Adag who hugged Stevie and then proceeded to tell him off whilst taking him into the kitchen to give him a cup of tea.

  I was glad that Eden wasn’t anywhere to be seen; apparently, she had gone to bed as her head hurt. Jasmine had joined a search party in the woods to look for Stevie. That took me by surprise, but I was glad not to see her either for the moment.

  The search parties were called back in from the woods and then Wolf called Captain Lacks-Renton over to him and they disappeared into the office.

  “Where did you find him?” Seb was no longer in Lewis, he rolled over to us from where he had been sitting drinking a cup of tea. I told him and he raised his eyebrows.

  “On the road?” he said, “I wouldn’t have thought he would have known how to get to there!”

  “You so underestimate people in here,” I said to Seb.

  Seb laughed, “And you over estimate them Lady of Shadows,” he said.

  “Oh fuck off Seb,” I found I was irritated by his attitude, “Get over yourself, stop taking out the fact you have a disability on everyone around you, it won’t give you back your legs that is for sure.”

  “You can fucking talk,” Seb was stung by my words, “You reduced Eden to tears, taking the side of that moron Cassidy, he split her head open for fuck’s sake!”

  “Someone should have done that a long time ago,” I responded tartly, “Don’t you get holier than thou on me about sweetie pie little Eden, not one of you has cottoned on she has been thieving from all of you whenever she gets the chance, all those missing bits of pieces you think you have misplaced, you didn’t misplace them, little miss goody two shoes has helped herself to them, if anyone searched her room, they’d find it was the next Ali Baba cave!”