“It’s lovely to see you,” Max said, as his brother’s face came into focus. “How are things?”
“Good. I’ve been working a lot of overtime because there are so many people off sick at the moment so I’m absolutely loaded, but I’ve no time to spend it.”
Max laughed. “That’d be right. So is Seb spending most of his days alone?”
Sean turned away from the webcam and reaching down, clicked his fingers. Max could hear a gentle tapping and then Sean appeared back in the screen alongside a cloth-eared furry face.
“Seb’s having the time of his life. He at least is enjoying my extra cash. I’ve enrolled him in the local doggy nursery and I’m paying the little boy across the road to walk him in the evenings.”
Max nodded his approval. “Excellent!”
“And he’s even allowed to sleep on the bed.”
“I knew you’d give in. He makes a fabulous hot water bottle.”
“Yes, well,” Sean tightened his mouth, “I’m not used to sleeping alone.”
“I was sorry to hear about you and Gina.”
“I only confessed because you kept probing.”
Max smiled.
“Well, you might as well know we never did get together for that coffee.”
“Oh?”
“And she actually left me for a soldier she met at the gym.”
“I’m sorry.” It hurt Max to think Sean had been going through this and felt unable to share it for fear he would cancel his new appointment in the Domes.
“It’s all right, I’m coming to terms with it and realised it hadn’t been right for a while. We’d been drifting apart for a few months. I’m not angry with her, in fact I feel really sorry for her.”
“Sorry. Why?”
“I saw her soon after we broke up and she seemed very happy. That’s when I realised she hadn’t been that way with me for some time. Then I saw her last week and her new boyfriend has died.”
“Oh, God!”
“She said he had been away on a search and rescue mission out in Bulvaga after that nuclear explosion and within days of him coming back he was poorly. At first he just felt sick and they thought he had the flu. Then when he started to run a temperature, it seemed to collaborate this, but by the next morning he had a high fever and was delirious. By the time she called the doctor he was coughing up blood. He was admitted to hospital where they said he had a massive viral infection, but seemed baffled as to what it was. That night he died. She was devastated. She looked utterly shell shocked and didn’t seem quite with it. To be honest, she wasn’t looking too good herself.”
“That’s terrible.”
“How are things with you? How are you finding the plastic prison?”
“It’s not that bad. Look!” Max removed the webcam from the top of his computer and slowly moved it around the room. “This is my bachelor pad.”
“Oh, very modern.”
“Here’s the living area.” Max showed a well-lit room with a large two-seater couch opposite a small table. “And this is the dining room and kitchen.”
“I’ll bet that doesn’t get much action,” Sean laughed.
Max moved the webcam back into place on top of the computer and sat down. “I’m learning how to cook.”
“Wow!” Sean was impressed. Max was notoriously impractical and Sean had spent the first week staying at his brother’s house cleaning up and organising cupboards to the point that he felt it was now livable.
“One of the nurses is teaching me.”
Sean’s eyebrows nearly shot out the top of his head, “Oh... I’m all ears.”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that. Mind you,” Max moved closer to the camera and smiled, “I wouldn’t say no if she wanted to take it further.”
Sean was pleased things seemed to be going so well for his twin. “Well, keep me posted. The apartment looks great. For some reason I thought it would be all plastic, but you wouldn’t know where you were from the look of it.”
“Before you go I’ll show you this.” Max removed the camera again and turned it around to face the wall. “This is the best.”
A heavy metal plate came into view and as Max pulled it aside, Sean realised why his brother was so delighted with the room’s unusual feature.
A circle of light rimmed the window, which looked out across the seabed below. Sand could be seen moving gently in the North Sea current and, as Max moved the camera closer to the Perspex covering, Sean realised it wasn’t just the tide moving the grains; a large crab revealed itself briefly before scuttling off in the direction of another dome which could be seen glowing softly in the distance.
“Wow! That’s amazing.”
Max returned the camera to its housing.
“You’ll not want to come back.”
“It is an amazing experience, but I couldn’t spend too long down here. I can manage the two years, but there’s no way I would want to stay down any longer. Don’t you worry, you haven’t got rid of me permanently. I have to go now,” Max informed. He was sad to break off the connection. “I’m due at work in half an hour.”
“I’ll try not to leave it so long before we speak via webcam again and I’ll keep you up to date on email.”
“Good.”
“Bye bye,” Sean lifted Seb’s paw and waved it at the camera before severing the connection.
****
“Hi Mum, it’s lovely to see you! I was getting worried when you weren’t responding to my emails.” Susan knew there was something wrong even before her mother spoke. She looked tired and drawn.
“Your Uncle Tom was away on another contract when your Aunty Mona became ill. I spent a couple of days caring for her and soon after I came back your dad’s chest started acting up.”
“Dad. Is he all right?” Susan asked, her eyes wide.
“He’s not great,” Paula sighed, “although he has been worse. I’ve just called the doctor; he’s coming round after surgery. I’ve also got some bad news.”
Susan braced herself.
“Aunty Mona died.”
“How?” Susan gasped. She was worried about her mum and dad, but it never crossed her mind she might lose anyone else in the family in the two years she would be in the Domes. Aunty Mona was her dad’s sister and a baby born in the last flush of her grandmother’s years before menopause. She was only sixty-three and a very healthy lady at that, so news of her death was a complete shock to Susan.
“It’s this horrible illness that’s doing the rounds. The hospitals are over-stretched and I don’t know a single person that doesn’t know someone who either has it or has died from it. At first it was just the odd incident reported on the news, but you never really noticed anything. Now you go round the shops and half the shelves are empty because most of the staff are off ill and there’s no-one around to fill them. I can’t believe it’s happened so fast. I know it’s flu season, but this one seems to be really bad.”
“I’d heard things weren’t great, but we’re kept so busy down here I don’t get the chance to keep up to date much on what’s happening on the surface.” Susan suddenly looked alarmed, “This isn’t what Dad has, is it?” she blurted.
Paula shook her head. “It’s just a cold. You know how it affects his asthma.”
“Okay,” Susan said, unconvinced. “Keep me posted.”
“Yes, of course. I’ve just been so busy with your Aunt Mona and everything.”
“Give my love to Uncle Tom. Have they had the funeral?”
“No.”
“Can you send some flowers for me?”
“Yes.” Paula looked around when a doorbell chimed behind. “That’ll be the doctor. I’d better go.”
“Mum.”
Paula stopped and looked back.
“I love you and Dad very much.”
Susan was an affectionate girl, but Paula knew she was also a natural worrier. “We love you too. Now don’t worry. I must be off. I’ll keep you informed about your dad. Speak soon.”
<
br /> ****
“Joseph, come in.” William stepped back to allow his friend to enter the apartment.
Joseph Bexster had contacted William to come and see him in his office earlier that day, but when it was suggested they got together later that evening for dinner instead, he decided this would be preferable. It was not a subject he wanted to risk being overheard talking about and the privacy offered in the personal quarters would be much better than William’s office, which was a bit of a free-for-all due to his open nature as head of the complex.
William closed the door and made his way into the kitchen. “Pour yourself a glass of wine and I’ll just check on dinner.”
Joseph sat at the couch and half filled his glass. He took a sip and savoured the flavour in his mouth before swallowing it down. “What are we having?”
“Cod and roasted vegetables. All locally produced,” William laughed. “Did Hannah not want to come?”
“No, she’s got her karate class tonight.”
William removed a tray of steaming vegetables from the oven. “Karate.” Briefly, his face flushed from the rush of heat which escaped when the oven door was opened, before just as quickly he cooled again as he placed the dish on the hob.
“Yes. She decided to keep busy by enrolling in as many classes as she can whilst down here. Doctor Simon James has a black belt in karate. He started teaching self defence and Hannah is completely hooked already.”
“Well good for her,” William said, admiringly. “Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” He spooned out their meals and made his way to the table.
“I’m really concerned about what’s happening on the surface,” Joseph said as he crossed to join him, sitting opposite.
William’s face tightened. “Yes, so am I. How many deaths have been reported so far?”
“In the UK alone over ten thousand people have died in the last week. Globally, I think it’s past the million. My cousin is a doctor and he said the hospitals can’t cope. He told me confidentially they’re having to incinerate the bodies in large blast furnaces because the morgues and funeral parlours can’t get rid of them fast enough.”
“Do they know what’s caused it?”
“Some are saying it’s military because the first sicknesses seemed to have been the soldiers returning from Bulvaga. The International States are keeping quiet about it and denying everything, of course, but the World Health Organisation is on full alert.”
“Did he say whether they knew what it was?”
Joseph took a sip of wine. “They’re not sure. Apparently it has symtoms like Ebola, except it appears to be airborne.”
“Ebola!” William inhaled sharply and promptly choked on a piece of fish. Briefly, he coughed violently before he managed to shift the obstruction.
“You all right?”
“Yes,” he squeaked, his voice shrill.
Joseph crossed to the sink and returned with a glass of water.
“Thank you.” William took a long drink before he managed to croak: “Are you sure he said Ebola?”
“Unfortunately, yes. You do realise a number of people down here are starting to get restless?”
“Yes, I do.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“There’s nothing anyone can do.”
“No, but they are worried about their loved ones. Susan Jameson’s father died yesterday.”
“Oh...”
“She’s devastated and now very worried about her mother being alone.”
“I always knew it would be difficult for Susan to be away from her parents for so long, but I hoped with regular contact she’d be all right. She was adamant they were both in good health; although her father did have a few minor problems which were probably normal for a man of his age, she was determined to make it through to the end of the project. I don’t think anyone could have predicted this illness coming from nowhere and being so prolific.”
“No.”
“How are you and Hannah coping? You must be worried about the children.”
“Yes, we are, but Hilary’s a clever girl. She’s moved out of the town and is staying in a cottage in the Cumbrian Hills. She’s hoping this’ll blow over soon but, in the meantime, they’re all staying away from as many people as possible.”
William nodded. “Sensible. It’s funny, being down here felt like the oddity, but now – certainly for the time being – life is more normal here than it is on the surface.”
****
William was just pouring a coffee when he heard a brief tap on wood and the door to his office opened. He turned to find Susan, ashen faced, striding across the room towards him.
“Susan! Are you all right?”
She stopped just short of his desk, shook her head when he indicated for her to sit and chose instead to stand left of the leather wing-backed chair directly opposite. “I haven’t been able to get a hold of my mother for at least a week,” she said, her voice tight with anguish, “and now I’m past terrified.”
William nodded, he had discerned this the moment she had entered the room.
“I missed my father’s funeral – that was bad enough, but this... This is too much I can’t bear to lose my mother also. Could I please be released from my duties and returned to the surface?”
William sighed. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“I know I won’t be able to come back, but I can’t live like this, not knowing. I’m absolutely terrified.” Susan shook her head, agitated. “My mum is all alone.”
“Please, sit,” William urged softly.
Reluctantly, she pulled back the chair and slowly lowered herself down. She was unsure of what she would do if William refused to allow her to go home, but was now beginning to feel like a prisoner instead of staff. The adventure was over and a nightmare had begun.
“Do you want a drink?”
“No.”
“Under any other circumstance I would have no problem with you returning home.”
Susan held her excitement in check, sensing a ‘but’ coming.
“But... and only a few people are aware of this, we’ve lost all contact with the surface. We’ve not been able to raise anyone for the past three days.”
This was too much for Susan and she burst into tears.
“I wish I could offer you comfort, but I’m sorry, I can’t.” He opened a drawer and, retrieving a tissue, handed it to the distraught lab assistant.
“We’re hoping it’s just a technical issue, but the last time I spoke to George Percy at the Faslane Base, he said the health crisis was out of control. He was the only one left manning the station and had just sent the last of his men home because he looked like he was coming down with the disease, even though he denied it. It’s become a bit of a stigma because everyone is so terrified. George said people are pretending they aren’t ill and instead of staying home are still going on as long as possible; as a result they’re helping to spread it. It was about a week ago that we spoke and I haven’t been able to raise him since. I’ve also been unable to get through to the other military bases we were told to keep in touch with, or our sponsor, John Belvedere. You’ve beaten me to it because I was going to call a residential meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation.”
Susan sniffed and nodded, still unable to speak.
“So, as you see, in all conscience I couldn’t allow you to return to the surface until I know whether it’s safe.”
“Safe or not,” Susan blurted out, “I want to go just to know my mum is all right.”
“You were very brave carrying on when your dad died and I appreciate this must be very difficult, but your mum, I’m sure, would not want you to put yourself in any danger.”
Susan mopped her lashes. “But you said it might be a technical problem.”
“Yes, we hope that’s the case.”
“So how long do we wait?”
William thought a moment. “I’m not sure,” he confessed. “We would hope
when communication wasn’t established, someone would check it out. The disease, again, would complicate things as no one would risk contaminating the domes, so it would have to be solved without actual contact. So the timing might not be down to us.”
“I propose you allow me to return to the surface and report back on what’s going on.”
William looked shocked. “You do realise I couldn’t risk that disease spreading down here. I’ve got everyone else to think about.”
“I know,” Susan said, firmly.
William seemed to shrink in his seat. “I’ll have to think about it,” he said, quietly. He averted his eyes, unable to look at the young woman as he contemplated what she might find. “We’ll discuss it tomorrow at the meeting.”
Susan leaned forward, demanding William’s attention. She waited until he looked at her again before she spoke. “You will seriously consider it, won’t you?”
He could see how desperate and determined she was. “Yes, of course.”
****
William stepped onto the podium with a heavy heart and equally heavy eyelids, after spending most of the night staring at the ceiling or trying to make contact with anyone up on the surface.
The meeting was being held in the leisure complex, now packed to capacity. As he looked around the room, he noted there were very few children present. Some of the teenagers were there with their parents, but it was obviously widely felt that the younger members of the community should not be at a meeting which might contain distressing information.
Everyone had an idea about what they were there to discuss and, judging by the wash of worried expressions, William expected there would be very little comfort found.
He waited for silence to descend, all eyes expectantly on him, before he began. “Has anybody been able to contact anyone on the surface recently?”
A hand went up on the right of the room.
“Yes, Louise.”
“I spoke to my friend six days ago. She said so many people are ill no one is working. Nearly all the shops were closed and most of the public services have stopped. She took her brother down the hospital when he became ill. She tried to get a taxi because she doesn’t drive, but the driver took one look at Rowan and refused to take them. She tried arguing with him, but he drove off. Everyone is terrified. She was lucky because eventually a neighbour took them. She said at the hospital the corridors were packed with sick people and it took twelve hours to see anyone. By then Rowan was coughing up blood. He died the following morning, never having moved from the corridor he was put in.”
Islands - The Epidemic: An Airborne Ebola Disaster Page 7
