Leading Aircraftman Patrick Scovell, the young Geordie from the catering section, was in the guardroom and he now poked his head out of the window. He was talking into a radio but Collins could not hear what he was saying. Then he lowered the radio and with a big grin announced in a loud voice, “Bogies inbound, ten minutes, woohoo!”
An excited buzz went up and as the time dragged by Vallage again tried to be helpful. “I know what you’re thinking my dear but I have a good feeling about all this. I’m sure that they’re all just fine, I can feel it in my bones.”
But in truth he did not know, and nor would he possibly be able to imagine, what she was actually thinking. At that moment she had been staring at the guardroom and remembering the conversation with the vampire from the night before, how surreal it all seemed now and the look of his deep, hazel eyes. She turned and smiled, feigning gratitude again.
Suddenly she heard a shout and someone pointed. At the far end of the road the leading Land Rover swung into view, followed by the second. Moments passed and there was a murmur that only two were returning, but then the third also appeared and a cheer went up. Patrick Scovell, looking smug and feeling important, ushered the small crowd back and unlocked the gates.
Collins craned her neck and tried in vain to see Wood but there was no sign. Then finally she saw him, in the front of the last vehicle, sitting and saying something to those with him as he drove through the gates.
Odd, Collins thought. She was sure he had not been the designated driver on the way out, not that it really mattered. He seemed unhurt and she was surprised by the overwhelming feeling of relief that flooded through her. Clearly she had been more concerned than even she had realised.
The cars stopped and she watched patiently as there was a flurry of activity. Lewis leapt from the vehicle and spoke quickly to Denny and Newman. Most of the soldiers climbed out and Collins noticed with a gasp a young girl clinging to Millington’s neck with an iron grip. It seemed that he was making a habit of rescuing children who seemed at ease in his protective grasp, as though they sensed innately that at last, in his arms, they were safe from harm. Singleton and Handley grabbed May Williams and, with Millington, they whisked the girl away in a Land Rover. They were driven quickly towards the medical centre followed by one of the other vehicles with Darby in the back. Beside him Collins caught a glimpse of another man, although he looked as though he was already dead. She counted those who had returned. They seemed to be one soldier short. At the moment however she was too distracted to give it any further thought.
She waited patiently to speak to Wood but finally could wait no more. Pushing her way through the milling bodies she found him. He was busy issuing orders and directing soldiers but turned to her with the most troubled expression she had ever seen on his face. His eyes were weary, his cheeks were pale and drawn, and when he saw her he forced a tired smile. On a face that was normally a mask of confidence and composure it brought a swift flow of tears to her eyes as the guilt from her distance that morning and relief besieged her on both sides.
“Hi.”
That was all he managed to get out before she threw her arms around his neck, not caring any more about being discreet, sobbing into his shirt. A chuckle and a deep, Scottish drawl sounded from somewhere behind her.
“See, I told ya lassie - he’s a survivor.”
Whilst the group had buzzed around the guardroom Vallage stood on the sidelines watching with a quiet beam of satisfaction. As the two Land Rovers sped away, Flight Lieutenant Walkden was clucking over the remaining vehicle, seemingly more interested in its condition than that of the troops. Denny had vanished without saying a word and Collins had embraced Wood in a touching display of emotion. Vallage stood back for another moment watching the snow globe settle. Having seen enough, he turned and walked hurriedly towards the mess with a tear in the corner of his eye and a smile hidden beneath his moustache. These troops were sure to be hungry and he intended to cook up a feast for them.
By the time the Land Rovers arrived at the medical centre Darby was becoming increasingly irate and inconsolable. Privates Hanson and Howes dealt with the prostrate body of the survivor while Singleton hurried Darby into the surgery. Short of cleaning the wound and applying an antiseptic dressing to it, there was not much she could do for him. He had lost quite a lot of blood but unfortunately they had no remaining supplies of plasma and so she arranged for some electrolyte solution to be made up for him to drink whilst she tried to ascertain who on base had a matching blood type. Darby lay down on a stretcher trolley and was sedated. He was already exhausted and within moments he was unconscious and more at peace than he had been for the previous few hours.
The survivor was semi-conscious when they wheeled him into the medical centre. Private Hanson helped him into a sitting position and chatted to him animatedly whilst giving him some of the electrolyte solution. They did not ask him any taxing questions. They fixed him to a drip but other than that, and silent prayers, there was little else to be done for him either.
The girl was in the best condition of all the patients. She was malnourished, dehydrated and filthy, but she must have had some access to food and drink from somewhere.
“Bring her over here and put her on the couch please,” Singleton instructed Millington.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Making quite a habit of saving children aren’t you?”
“All in a day’s work ma’am. Making mothers cry and sweethearts sigh, that’s me all over.”
Singleton looked into his big, brown eyes. He always seemed to be joking but behind his jovial attitude she saw a lot of goodness and strength. Maybe that was why the child had so readily clung to his neck, for she could see how genuine his heart was. It was hardly surprising that everybody on the station was so fond of the man.
She placed a hand briefly on his arm. “Thank you Millington. You did really well today.”
“You’re welcome ma’am. My pleasure. And so did you.”
She smiled gratefully. “Now get yourself back to the guardroom to be checked out by Newman.”
“Yes ma’am.” He left with a big grin and a wave for the girl.
Singleton tried to coax conversation out of her whilst cleaning and checking her over. “What’s your name honey?”
The girl was silent.
“My name’s Anna. I’m a doctor. I’m just going to have to make sure you're all right, is that okay poppet?”
There was still no answer so Singleton started to examine her as gently and unobtrusively as she could. Private Howes was hovering in the background, trying to help where possible. As Singleton busied herself with the girl he went to move the rucksack from her lap but she resisted and gave a little moan.
“It’s okay, I won’t hurt him," Howes said softly. "What’s his name?” he asked her with a gentle expression and playfully ruffled the fur on the dog’s head.
After a pause the girl seemed to finally engage with him. “Muffy,” she said quietly whilst staring resolutely at the floor.
“What was that? Muffy? Well hello Muffy. Shall we check you over as well?”
Singleton smiled thankfully at Howes, lifted the dog’s ears up and shone her light into them, repeating the process for its pupils. Then she pretended to put a thermometer in Muffy’s mouth and take his temperature. “Nope, nothing there, all seems quite all right. Now I’ve checked Muffy and he’s fine, can I check you too?”
Gradually the girl released the rucksack and Howes placed it on a chair beside her.
“What’s your name?” Singleton asked.
“Isabelle Alison Boxall.”
“Well hello Isabelle Alison Boxall, I’m Anna Sharon Singleton. Nice to meet you.”
She held out her hand and after an uncertain pause Isabelle took it and shook it earnestly. “Nice to meet you too.”
Singleton had an idea. She beckoned May Williams over, whispered to her and Williams went to leave. As she got to the door she turned and looked back with a
frown. “Freddie?” she asked hesitantly.
Singleton could not look her in the eye. Staring at the floor she felt herself quickly welling up. She bit her lip hard and shook her head. Slowly. Just once. Williams nodded, immediately accepting and understanding. She turned away quickly. Tears came to her too as she walked away but she brushed at them angrily. They had been colleagues for some time and she had been close to Freddie Samuels but everyone had lost loved ones. She continued walking determinedly for a few more steps, taking a deep breath, forcing herself on. The breath caught in her throat as she started to shake. She had to stop as she could no longer see where she was going. Tears now flowed freely down her cheeks as she leant back against the wall with her face in her hands, trying to stifle and hide the sobs that were filled with anguish and pain as she felt her heart ripped in two. Ever more alone in a world in which death increasingly seemed to be the easy way out.
Singleton dabbed at her own eyes and tried to force a smile. She turned back to her young patient who was becoming ever more responsive. Several minutes passed before Williams returned to the medical centre with her eyes now red and blotchy. She led Corporal Pethard into the room. He nodded politely at Singleton and then spoke to the girl.
“Hi Isabelle, my name's Reggie. This is Josh.”
Josh looked embarrassed but stepped forwards from behind Pethard and held out his hand clumsily, but before he could speak Isabelle jumped up and grasped it eagerly.
“Nice to meet you too,” she said with great enthusiasm. The greeting was awkward but immediately broke the tension and brought a huge smile to the faces of all the adults, and this time Williams made no effort at wiping away the tears.
Pethard went to move Muffy as he sat down and Isabelle reacted immediately, grabbing it from him. Pethard looked apologetic. “What is it?” he asked Isabelle.
“That’s Muffy.”
“Oh right, silly me. And what’s inside Muffy?”
Singleton looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. Muffy came with Isabelle.”
She reached for the rucksack but Isabelle held tightly to it. “It’s mine,” she squawked, backing away.
“It’s okay honey, I won’t take it. I just wondered, what’s so important?”
“Daddy told me I mustn’t let anyone have this. He made me promise, before he went away.”
“Who's your father, sweetheart?”
Isabelle squirmed and looked uncomfortable but did not answer.
Singleton’s interest was piqued now. Nobody moved in the little room. Everyone stared at Singleton as she got down on her haunches and came closer to Isabelle. She started to have a feeling that was somewhere between fear and excitement. She could feel the hair on her neck bristling. There was just something she could not put her finger on, as Isabelle backed into a corner. “Please, let me just have a quick look inside. I promise you can have it straight back.”
Isabelle stared at her for a long moment that seemed to stretch indefinitely. Eventually, reluctantly, she held out the rucksack. Singleton reached inside and pulled out a laptop. “What’s this?”
Isabelle just shrugged.
“Who’s your father?" Singleton asked quickly, trying to control her rising excitement. "What's his name?” She put down the stethoscope and pen that she had been holding and turned her focus entirely on the girl.
Isabelle shrugged again but answered somewhat coyly. “Jason Boxall.”
“Aha,” Singleton shouted as the realization dawned on her. For a moment it was just Isabelle and herself in the room. For a moment she felt herself almost swoon as she sagged back on her heels.
“What?” Williams was alarmed.
“I remember now. There was an office in the labs. Dr Jason Boxall, he’s some kind of neuro-surgeon. Is that your father? Dr Jason Boxall?” She leant forwards now eagerly, nearly falling over in her excitement.
Isabelle nodded.
Singleton continued talking to the others, getting animated and very enthusiastic. “I remembered the name as I had read about him before in a medical journal. He was quite instrumental with the development of the Dem-buster apparently. The initials after his name and the office itself suggested he was rather important. He may well have been involved at a high level with the drug but there was nothing of interest in his office except for the evidence that there'd been a survivor. And I guess now we’ve found you haven’t we.” She ruffled Isabelle’s hair.
“So I wonder what’s on the computer,” Pethard mused.
“Exactly. And why our Dr Boxall told Isabelle not to let it out of her grasp.” Her eyes were positively shining now and her hands had started to tremble as she held the laptop almost reverently. She was absolutely beside herself, so much so that Handley heard the commotion from the other room and came to see what was going on. When Singleton told him the news he collapsed into a chair.
“Thank God, oh thank God,” he started to sob, holding his head in his hands. Beyond their wildest dreams, this computer might just possibly contain the information they had so desperately wanted to find.
Suddenly Singleton had a thought and turned back to Isabelle, who was still standing in the corner looking confused. “Do you know who that is in there poppet?”
Isabelle nodded. “That’s Mr Bennett. He works with Daddy.”
Handley and Singleton exchanged a glance. Singleton raised her eyebrows, not wanting to say too much in front of the girl but Handley slowly shook his head.
“Not responding as I would have hoped.”
“Dammit! We must do whatever we can for him,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “We can’t lose him, we just can’t.”
“I know. I have been doing everything I can already.” Handley went swiftly back to the room where Bennett lay, motionless and pale and looking very ill.
Lewis had been heading towards the medical centre to check on the progress of the new patients when he heard the shouting. His pace quickened. “Is everything okay in here?" he said as he arrived.
Singleton's expression made him feel uneasy. He allowed her to lead him out of the room before she told him the news. When she had finished Lewis was as elated as she was for a moment and then pulled distractedly at his lip. He felt a mix of emotions but said nothing. He noticed a ripple pass over Singleton's face.
“You understand how important this could be?” she said, sounding confused.
He could see that she had expected a more rapturous reaction from him. “Yes, of course. I was just thinking that the lives of two good men may not have been a total waste after all then." The responsibility for losing his soldiers weighed heavily upon him. "It’s great news, really.” His face now lit up. “Let’s hope you can save Bennett and also that the computer still works. Who knows how it’s been treated since Dr Boxall entrusted it to his daughter.”
The medical centre was busy with the new patients and Denny wandered in to check up on things. His behaviour had been so erratic lately that when he was acting normally it was actually more surprising. He ignored Isabelle completely and showed only a cursory interest in Bennett. Darby caught his attention most.
“I want him bound securely, tied to the stretcher, by his arms, legs and also by his neck. I don’t want him to be able to move a muscle.” Denny was emphatic and sounded angry.
“You can’t do that to a patient,” Singleton was aghast.
They were no longer in the field and back in the medical centre she had resumed her normal air of authority. Denny was however, in theory at least, still in overall command of the station and Lewis reluctantly agreed with him. He placed a placatory hand on Singleton’s arm.
“Anna, I think that Group Captain Denny is right. I know it may go against the grain and is not exactly normal medical practice, but Darby is sedated anyway so it won’t matter to him. And believe me, if, or when, he turns, you really don’t want him running around here unchecked.”
Grudgingly she nodded and satisfied that his orders would be obeyed Denny turned on his heel and strod
e out without saying another word. Lewis watched him leave with serious misgivings. His commanding officer was getting more remote and harder to reach. As he watched him go, Newman arrived with an expression that gave Lewis a bad feeling.
“Ah, I’m glad you’re here sir, I was looking for you.”
Singleton turned to leave them alone but Newman stopped her. “Ma’am, this may interest you too.”
“Oh?”
“It’s Bannister and that mark on his neck that he got the other day. I’ve just finished examining everyone who had been off base today. It looked as though his puncture wound was different, a lot larger than before, although I can’t be sure. I’d like a second opinion please.”
Lewis exchanged a worried look with Singleton. All sense of elation departed swiftly, leaving him with the old, familiar feeling of dread. Positive emotions were fleeting these days. The three of them found Bannister in the dining hall, sat by himself in the corner. Lewis ordered him outside and with an insolent air he shoved his chair back and stood. The sudden noise caused conversations to stop and all eyes followed him out. Lewis noted that he still had a coat on. It was wrapped tightly around him, buttoned right up.
“Yes sir?”
“It’s about this bite on your neck. Follow us.”
They led him to the ante-room next door.
“I’d like to check you over,” Singleton said. “Remove your coat.”
“Why? Newman has checked me already. I wasn’t bitten today, I’m fine.”
“I’m happy that you weren’t bitten by any of the infected; I’m concerned now with the mark you had from the other day. Show me.”
Hesitantly he unbuttoned his coat and revealed the mark. There did indeed seem to be a second puncture wound now and the bruising around it was certainly darker.
“This may sound crazy but have you been bitten again?”
“No, of course not.” Bannister was acting sullenly, like an irritated school boy.
“I’m not convinced," she replied. "The wound looks larger. Tell me again, what gave you this mark?”
The Blood of the Infected (Book 2): Once Bitten, Twice Live Page 16
