Mass Extinction Event (Book 5): Days 54 to 61 Page 13

  “I really thought...” I pause for a moment, thinking back to that conversation with Thomas.

  “It's okay,” he continues. “We're safe here in Boston. Things have worked out for the best.” He heads to the door, but he seems more tired than before, as if he's weighed down by something.

  “If they'd been there,” I say after a moment, “and if they'd been healthy and okay, would you have allowed them to come and join us in Boston?”

  “They weren't healthy and okay,” he replies, opening the door.

  “But if they had been...” I pause, wondering whether I really want to know the answer. “Would you have let them come?”

  He stares at me. “Of course I would, honey,” he replies finally. “Of course.”

  As he leaves the room and pulls the door shut, I turn and look out the window. I can just about make out the next building, with moonlight shining against its edges, but after a moment an uncomfortable feeling settles in my chest. The truth is, I'm not sure I believe my father. If the people at Lake Erie had been okay, I'm not convinced he would have wanted them to come to Boston. I take a deep breath, before telling myself that I'm probably wrong. After all, he's not some kind of monster. He's a kind man, and he just wants to do what's best for all of us.

  Day 57

  Thomas

  “This is going to hurt,” I tell her, as I sit next to Melissa and examine the wound in her shoulder. “I don't even know if -”

  “Just get it out,” she replies, clearly tense. “Please.”

  Staring into the wound, I can just about make out part of the bullet. I've spent the past few minutes removing some of the dirt, and now that the first light of morning has arrived, I figure it's time to get the bullet out all the way.

  “Do you want something to bite down on?” I ask. “Like in the movies?”

  “I'll bite down on your neck if you don't hurry up,” she replies, stroking the top of Katie's head. “Sorry, I didn't mean that, just... Please get on with it.”

  “If you need to scream -”

  “I won't scream,” she replies. “Don't worry, you won't have to hear that.”

  Realizing that she's trying to be strong for Katie, I look into the wound again and realize that there's no point delaying things any further. Taking a deep breath, I start to slip the end of the tweezers into the wet, bloody mess and finally I manage to grip the side of the bullet. Glancing at Melissa's face, I can see that she's holding her breath and forcing herself not to cry out, even though the pain must be extreme.

  “Nearly there,” I whisper.

  I start pulling on the bullet, trying to wiggle it loose.

  After a moment, Melissa lets out a gasp, but she quickly holds it in again.

  “Do you want me to -”

  “Just do it!” she hisses, before holding her breath again. She's sweating now, but she clearly doesn't want to scare Katie by screaming.

  Figuring that I need to do this quickly, I adjust the tweezers' grip on the bullet and finally I slide it out, only to find that all I've managed to extract is a fragment.

  “I think I -”

  Before I can finish, she gets to her feet and rushes away. Shocked, I watch as she races between the trees and then drops to her knees, clamping her hands over her mouth and rocking back and forth, as if she's still trying to let the pain out without screaming. It's a horrific sight, and after a moment I realize I can hear the faintest of moans, despite the fact that she's covering her mouth.

  Slowly, Katie turns to look at her.

  “Hey,” I say, turning her face back so that she can't see. “Everything's okay.”

  She stares at the bloodied bullet fragment, and it's clear from the look in her eyes that she's reliving everything she saw last night in the pit. I can't even begin to imagine how she's ever going to understand, and although I want to help her, I don't know where to start. After a moment, I hear Melissa coming back over, and she quickly sits down and starts hugging Katie again.

  “Are you -” I start to ask.

  “I'm fine,” she says firmly, kissing the top of Katie's head.

  “But if -”

  “I'm fine,” she says again. “Stop asking.”

  “I didn't get all of it.”

  “The rest can wait. We'll find a doctor eventually.”

  “Where?”

  “I don't know. Somewhere.”

  I open my mouth to argue with her, but finally I realize that this isn't the right moment. Tossing the bullet fragment away, I look back between the trees. The scene seems strangely peaceful now, but I know that just a few hundred meters further off, that pit is still there, with the creatures alive at the bottom. I've been thinking all night that I should go and finish them off, but I'm not sure I can face seeing them again, especially with all the bones that must be down there. I figure they'll die within a few days anyway, now that they haven't got Mark to look after them.

  “How's your shoulder?” Melissa asks.

  “Fine.”

  “Did you get bitten?”

  I look at the wound at the top of my left arm, and it's clear that the creature's teeth got all the way through to the bone. I keep feeling flashes of pain, but I guess there's no point worrying about it just yet.

  “I'm okay,” I tell her, getting to my feet. “We need to get moving.”

  “Do you think those helicopters will be back?”

  “I doubt it. They probably figure they got most of us and the rest'll die off in the forest.”

  “Where did they come from?” she asks, standing up and looking back toward the next clearing. “They must have come from the government, right? But why would the government want to kill us?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “We should stick close to the lake,” she continues. “As long as we have a source of water and the chance to fish, we can survive.”

  “We should get moving,” I tell her.

  “And go where?”

  “Just drive. We'll find somewhere.”

  “Or we'll run out of gas in the middle of some abandoned road, with no water and no chance of food.” She pauses. “Or we'll run into more people like Mark.”

  “What do we do if we stay by the lake?” I ask, turning to her.

  “We just... live,” she replies. “Instead of heading off and trying to find someone to help us, we work on surviving. I think we can do it, and the truth is...” She looks up at the sky for a moment. “Even if we find other survivors, they might not be very helpful. I have to think about Katie. I have to protect her.”

  “Sure, but -”

  “You don't have to stay with us, though,” she continues. “I mean, I understand if you need to get going, but... I feel like we're not going to find anywhere that's much better. Sure, Mark was a psychopath, but that doesn't mean this was the wrong place to be. If you need to move on, I get it and you shouldn't feel bad. Katie and I can survive here on our own.”

  “No, you -”

  “We can,” she says firmly. “Do you really think I'm some kind of idiot who can't handle herself?”

  “Hell, no,” I reply. Pausing for a moment, I imagine how it would feel to drive off into the distance and leave them behind, and I realize that even though I have this strong urge to get moving, I can't just abandon them. Not yet, anyway. “I'll stay,” I tell her finally. “At least for now.”

  “Are you sure? If it's just because you feel sorry for us -”

  “It's not,” I continue. “You're right, there's no point just aimlessly driving off and hoping to get lucky. If I do leave eventually, I need to have some kind of plan.”

  “Then...” She pauses. “I can't deny I'm glad you're sticking around. Even if it's not permanent, we need to find somewhere to set up. I want to get away from this part of the lake, though.” She turns and looks toward the pit in the distance. “I want to get Katie to a place where maybe she won't remember what she saw.”

  “I'll help,” I tell her, “but first there's something else I hav
e to do.”

  Elizabeth

  “So this is the famous Elizabeth Marter!” says the smiling older man as he enters my father's office. He reaches out and shakes my hand. “Your father made quite a fuss about tracking you down.”

  “Lizzie,” my father says, getting up from the chair behind his desk, “I want you to meet Oliver Hardy. Mr. Hardy is one of the other members of the council.”

  I manage to smile politely, although something about this Hardy guy immediately strikes me as being a little off. For one thing, his handshake is cold and clammy, and for another he's grinning like an idiot, which seems strangely out of place at a time when so many people are still sick and dying.

  “I heard about the Lake Erie operation,” Hardy continues, turning to my father. “Apparently the -”

  “Everything's been sorted out,” my father says quickly, almost as if he wants to cut him off.

  “But the -”

  “It's fine,” my father adds firmly.

  “Oh.” Hardy glances at me with a hint of concern, before his grin returns. “This must all be a shock for you, Lizzie. How long were you out in the wilderness for?”

  “A while,” I reply cautiously.

  “My God, that must have been hard,” he continues. “You must be so glad to have returned to civilization. Well, some form of it, anyway. And being reunited with your father... Well, that's an absolute miracle, isn't it? I doubt there's another case like it in the whole country!”

  “I'm easing Lizzie into her new life gently,” my father explains. “She has a lot to get used to.”

  “I just want a job,” I reply, turning to him. “I want to help out.”

  “We'll find you something,” he tells me. “As soon as your foot is better, we -”

  “I can still do things,” I point out, interrupting him. “Please, I want to work.”

  “That's the spirit,” Hardy says, patting me on the back. Peering down at my bandaged foot, he allows himself a faint grimace. “That's Doctor Kennedy's work, is it? Well, I suppose she knew what she -”

  “Actually,” my father says, cutting him off again, “I haven't been able to speak to Doctor Kennedy yet. It seems she made a few surprising choices when she was dealing with Lizzie's condition, but now she's unfortunately unable to explain herself.”

  “Right,” Hardy replies with a frown, clearly understanding that he's not supposed to say too much. “Well, I suppose Mitchfield has been allowed to run on a loose leash for a while, it's no wonder they think they can do whatever they want without having to explain. Still, we'll be closing the place soon enough.” He turns to my father. “Actually, I've just been speaking to the other members of the council and we'd rather like to discuss something with you, if you don't mind. It's a delicate matter.”

  “Lizzie,” my father says, “will you excuse us?”

  Realizing that they want to be alone, I limp to the door. “I'll go ask around,” I mutter. “Maybe someone thinks I can help with something.”

  ***

  “It's not that,” Alison is saying as I reach the main office, “it's just -”

  She stops as soon as she hears me. With a startled look in her eyes, she gets to her feet, while Charles smiles from the chair next to her.

  “Hey, Lizzie,” she says, hurrying over to me. “What are you doing out of your wheelchair? If you put pressure on that foot -”

  “I'm not putting pressure on it,” I tell her, forcing a smile even though I hate the way she constantly fusses over me. “I just came to see if you've got anything I can do. I know I've only been here for a day, but I already feel like I'm going crazy.”

  “We're under strict orders to look after you,” Alison explains, grabbing a chair and sliding it over to me, as if she thinks I can't even stand without getting sick. “Sit, please.”

  “Did you hear the exciting news?” Charles asks. “One of the technicians received a brief signal from someone in Tokyo. It was just a burst, but it's enough to make us feel that there's someone alive over there.”

  “There must be survivors everywhere, though,” I point out, making my way over to him. “It can't just be here and Japan.”

  “That's what we were hoping,” Charles continues, “but you'd think there'd be other signals by now. We've received a few, but for the most part, the planet is silent. We're starting to wonder if the situation is much worse in the rest of the world.”

  “I'm sure it's fine,” Alison says, bringing the chair over to me. “You should sit.”

  “What about nuclear reactors?” I ask, ignoring the chair as I limp around the desk. “Isn't there a danger that they might go into meltdown?”

  “We believe one plant in California might have experienced a partial release of radioactive material,” Charles explains, “but other than that, we're hoping that safety systems kicked into place when the disaster struck. There's no sign of a serious incident, at least not yet.” He pauses for a moment. “The hardest part right now is all this waiting. There's so much we don't know, and our resources are tight.”

  “There are small improvements every day, though,” Alison adds, bringing the chair around the desk. “In fact -”

  “Hey!” I shout, as she nudges the chair against my bed leg.

  “I'm so sorry!” she replies, dropping the chair. “Did I hurt you?”

  “It's fine,” I tell her, despite the slight discomfort. “Just stop carrying that damn thing around after me everywhere I go.”

  “Sorry, I just -”

  “I need to do something,” I continue, making my way over to one of the other desks. “My father seems to think I should just sit around like some kind of princess, but I want to help out. I mean, you guys have jobs, and it's not like I'm an invalid.” Heading over to the window, I look out at the deserted street. “Anyway, working would help me get my mind off things. I visited Boston once with my parents, when I was a kid. I don't remember it very much, but I know there were thousands of people.” I turn to them. “Where are all the bodies?”

  “There was a major clean-up,” Charles replies. “You're right, there were a lot of people who had to be got out of the way. The risk of disease was huge.”

  “So where did you put them? Did you burn them?”

  “No, we...” He glances at Alison for a moment, as if he's worried about telling me the truth. Finally he looks back at me. “To be honest, we used the metro system.”

  “To move the bodies?”

  “To store them. We cleaned the central part of the city and put two hundred thousand corpses in the deepest part of the metro, and then we sealed the whole thing off. No-one's ever going to go down there again.”

  “The rest of the bodies,” Alison adds, “in the other parts of the city, we just... I mean, we had no choice.”

  “You left them there?”

  “We're safe here, though,” Charles continues. “The central three-mile area has been completely sterilized, and there's a plan to take another half-mile before the end of the year. That might not sound like much, but with just eighty-one of us, the whole thing is pretty ambitious.”

  “Especially if more people arrive to help,” I point out.

  They glance at each other, and I can immediately tell that they're troubled by something I've said.

  “What?” I ask. “Don't you want other people to come to Boston?”

  “The council has decided that this should be a closed community for now,” Charles explains cautiously. “You were the exception, because of your father, but for the most part... We're not looking to bring other people here. In fact, we're actively keeping them out.”

  “Haven't you seen the people at the barriers?” Alison adds.

  “What people?” I ask.

  “There are people out there,” she continues. “Hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. They're constantly trying to get in, half of our team-members are working as guards just to make sure that there's no contamination. People have been flocking to the city for weeks now, hoping t
o get help, but that's just not the way the world works anymore. If we open the floodgates, we'll be swamped.”

  “But if they're out there,” I reply, “they might be starving to death!”

  “Then they should go somewhere else,” Alison says, “and start their own community. They should do what we did, instead of trying to get us to just let them in. They need to prove their worth, not just beg and moan at the gates.”

  “Anyway,” Charles adds, “we have no idea how many of them are diseased. Your father says they could all be carrying the sickness, Lizzie. If we let everyone in, we might be sealing our own fate. This isn't the time to have a bleeding heart.”

  “I know, but -”

  Hearing a sound above, I realize there are helicopters approaching.

  “That'll be the team returning from Lake Erie,” Charles says, getting to his feet and heading to the door. “I have to go and debrief them. Alison will take care of you, just don't try to do too much, okay? You might feel like you're ready to run, but you're really not.”

  As he heads out of the room, I listen to the sound of three distinct thuds above, as if the helicopters are landing on this building.

  “You'll get used to it soon,” Alison says finally, with a hint of concern his her voice. “I know it's a shock, it was for all of us, but suddenly there'll come a moment when you realize that this is the only way we can survive. I know it sounds weird, but you'll start to think like us soon enough.”

  “Sure,” I mutter, lost in thought for a moment. “But if I wanted to get in touch with someone at the Mitchfield base,” I continue finally, “and I didn't want my father to know... Could you help?”

  Thomas

  There are bodies everywhere.

  Having left Melissa and Katie by the shore a little further along the lake's edge, I've made my way back to the old camp-site. Despite the carnage, there are still items that we can use, and we can't afford to throw anything away. There must be forty or fifty corpses here, having been cut down by gunfire from the helicopters, but I quickly tell myself that I just have to focus on the task at hand. Picking my way through the wreckage, I make for the main tent where Mark used to keep the most valuable supplies.