Clifton Falls (17 page)

“Fuck off bitch, and shove the drink up your arse.” His mother couldn’t believe what she heard.

He must be kidding with me, but even so, would never use such disgusting language. He never has, so why now?
Dawn, Jason’s mother thought.

“Are you all right?”
“Didn’t you hear me before, I said fuck off,” Jason shouted. He sat crunched up inside his bedroom, his face etched with

pain as the energy seeped through the sweat that poured from his body.

His mother appeared in the doorway, ready to give him a piece of her mind for his appalling language. “How dare you speak to me with those obscenities,” she began, but stopped after seeing the condition he was in. “What’s up my baby? Are you still in pain?” Dawn needed some assistance and so shouted down to her husband. “Donald, get up here. Jason’s getting worse.”

Now Jason’s father was in his bedroom. He was equally concerned, especially as Jason was muttering to himself with tears flowing from his eyes. “All right lad, I think we’d better find you some help,” Donald said.

The man of the house now took control of the situation. He was doing his fatherly job now and needed to take his son to the hospital. Jason however had other plans, and it would take some persuading before he committed himself to the task in hand.

“You’re not taking me anywhere, you old fart. Just piss off and leave me alone.”
The married couple knew that this wasn’t their son shouting out the spiteful nonsense. It was as if a demon had entered Jason’s body, taking a swear book with it.
Jason flipped out without any prior warning, leapt from the bed, pushed his father against the bedroom door and sobbed loudly. He was in extreme pain so lashed out like a wounded animal. He wanted to escape and find a quiet spot to rest his aching body. After a crazy glare toward his father, Jason made his escape down the stairs. Dawn rushed over, placing the drink down before comforting her husband. She too was at the brink of a crying frenzy. Donald placed his arms around her, giving her a big squeeze as they watched their son nearly fall down the stairs in his pursuit to reach the outside.
Two police officers were making their way up to the house just as Jason opened the front door. Wayne grabbed onto the distressed man before his legs gave way beneath him. “Hey, calm down buddy. What’s wrong with you?”
“Get out of my fucking way, twat, and take your greasy hands off me.”
Wayne and Doug now witnessed the same verbal explosions that’d faced Dawn and Donald, but Wayne could see beyond this mask of mystery and knew Jason was frightened because he’d been infected. He was also aware that Jason knew he could soon end up like all the others who’d been attacked before him.
“Jason, mate. It’s Wayne, talk to me, please.” The grip on his colleague was released and Jason remained upright. “I know you’re worried about what might happen to you, but flipping out on everyone won’t change anything.”
“I’m scared, man, I’m so frightened and I don’t know what to do.”
Jason sobbed some more. Wayne placed a comforting arm around him while his parents watched from the bottom of the stairs. It was now mother’s turn to take her son for some consoling. “I think it’s best if we took you to the hospital. You need to be checked over,” she said, giving Jason a huge hug.
Wayne knew it would be better if he took him. Donald and Dawn’s part in their son’s welfare was over for now. Wayne took them to one side to explain the dangers of Jason’s condition. They didn’t need this right now, so Wayne promised to get in touch once Jason was checked out and felt more comfortable. Donald broke first, agreeing to do this, but it took longer to persuade his wife to let go. Eventually though she went along with the plan.
Doug walked back to the police car. Jason apologised to his parents for the abusive language and the assault on his dad, promising it would never happen again. He knew there was another war, a war that needed to be won, a war between good and evil. His parents said they would fight it with him, if they were needed.
Wayne helped Jason into the vehicle. The injured man felt the sharpness twisting his insides upon sitting down, and as each second ticked by, the pain flowed to another part of his body. He gave his parents another worried smile before the car drove off. He was last seen waving sadly from the back seat, his face now sad because he knew this could well be the last time he saw his parents again.
It was 2.15pm when the police vehicle reached hospital grounds again, but it wasn’t Hazel who greeted them this time. Instead, a blonde bombshell with curves in all the right places was in charge. Victor had drafted her in from the city. In fact, quite a few doctors and nurses had been moved from their regular positions to help out with the crisis.
“Hi, my name’s Katrina. Hazel is resting at the moment, but she filled me in on the virus that’s going around.”
A second nurse escorted the injured man into a wheelchair and everyone made their way inside. Wayne didn’t know how much the nurse knew about the deaths, but didn’t want to explain it again and wasn’t in the best of moods after finding out that the whole hospital had changed its staff members. Deep down though knew he was being unreasonable. “Oh right, the virus,” he said, in a ‘whatever you say’ attitude.
Katrina couldn’t work out why Wayne was acting like this when Doug had been staring at her backside since he first walked into the building, but she was a distraction that Wayne really didn’t need right now.
“I’ve been ordered to put your friend in quarantine in case the infection spreads,” she said.
“Quarantine my arse. You can’t do that to him,” snapped Wayne.
“Look it’s for his own safety as well as everyone else’s. Please, it’s for the best.”
Jason wasn’t having this. He didn’t want to be treated like a piece of meat for these two to fight over, so interrupted the squabbling pair. “Wayne, it’s all right. I do need to be put out the way.” Jason gestured that he wanted a quiet word, so Wayne wheeled him away from everyone else. “If we’re going to fight this virus then I must go. I am, as far as we know, the last to be contaminated, so if I die and return as-one-of-those-things.” The last five words seemed to have a five second gap between them as the petrified man spilled them from his mouth. He gripped Wayne’s right arm with all his strength, which wasn’t much at this time, and as Wayne stared deeply into his eyes, guessed that he wasn’t going to enjoy Jason’s next words. “I want you to kill me.” The sad, depressed, and weakened man whispered.
The words were brutal. Wayne managed to keep it together, knowing this wasn’t the time to let his guard down. “You won’t die, mate. We’ll find a cure; just wait and see.”
The words he spoke weren’t whispered and the others heard the word ‘die’. They now looked over to witness a sad moment between the two men.
Jason tried to increase his grip on Wayne’s arm, making him understand that his next words were also important. He’d something to say, but Wayne was now being sucked in by Jason’s sad, lost, and tearful eyes.
“You know and I know it’ll happen, so I’m asking you as a friend.” His pain increased. “I don’t want to be a murderer like the rest of them, so will you kill me if I change?”
Jason released the grip on Wayne’s arm and pressed his hand over the infected area. Wayne reached out, hugging Jason and pulling him close. This bonding moment was probably going to be the last time they got this intimate with each other. Wayne whispered into Jason’s right ear. “I’ll do it.”
A tiny tear rolled down the sergeant’s left cheek, but the stunned onlookers never noticed. He’d surely lose his macho image if they did. Another minute went by before Wayne released the embrace. He gave Jason a serious smile to indicate he wouldn’t let him down.
The nurses walked over to the two men. Wayne apologised to Katrina for his disagreement while the second nurse regained the role of wheelchair pusher.
“We’ll take Jason down to the isolation unit, but you guys will have to remain here until we’ve done some tests on him.”
Wayne watched as the injured constable was pushed away. Jason stared bleakly ahead, tears dropping from his eyes as he now ignored the other people.
Wayne wasn’t taking any chances. He told Doug to give a blood sample before returning to the station to let Mike know what was going on, but he would remain with Jason.
“You’re kidding me about the blood test, right?” Doug said.
“What’s up, Doug, are you scared of a little needle?”
“No, of course not, why’d you say that?”
“Nothing, just wondering that’s all.” Wayne smiled.
Blood samples were becoming more popular than a cheeseburger,
Wayne thought, as the men waited for a nurse to see Doug.
The room they were now in reminded Doug of his childhood. He was ten when he last had a test done. He remembered fainting back then. The nurse entered, and his face turned pale.
“What’s up with you?” Wayne said. “I thought you liked pricks in you.”
“Fuck off.” Doug was finding this moment hard to digest. “This isn’t funny, man, I just don’t like needles. There, I said it, are you happy now?”
“You’ll be okay.”
Doug moved closer to the nurse, but stalled. Wayne watched him closely, eagerly waiting for his fellow officer to let the nurse do her job. A step closer, then another, but Doug couldn’t maintain it. All of a sudden he was gone, fainting right next to the nurse. Wayne should’ve taken this more seriously than he did, but this was a great escape for him. It was the escape he needed, and sorrowful thoughts about Jason had been erased for this short spell of time. He laughed. Doug returned to his feet, apologizing for the recent collapse.
“It’s cool,” the nurse said. “You’re not the only person who does it.”
The officer felt less embarrassed now and finally plucked up the courage to get the test done. He sat down to let the nurse do her job. Wayne watched the many facial expressions Doug showed, but was glad that the officer never fainted again.
He clapped after the nurse placed a band aid over the needle’s entry point.
“Well done you,” Wayne said with a smile.
It was now time for Doug to leave so Wayne followed him outside, said farewell, and then phoned Jason’s parents.
Donald listened to what the sergeant told him, but the mystery of his son being put into quarantine troubled him. However, Wayne managed to put the older man’s mind at ease on that. “The room was no ordinary room because it had a thick, glass wall that separated the patient from the visitors. To communicate you used a phone. It was as simple as that.”
Wayne finished off the conversation by mentioning that no one was allowed to visit at this time, but he’d be in touch when he’d more details.
His next mission was to find the coffee machine. If he was to remain there for some time then he’d better stay awake. After finding the machine and inserting some change, Wayne punched in the required information and waited for the plastic cup to fill. He then grabbed it and sat next to some magazines. He wasn’t much of a reader, but what else was there for him to do? He now laughed to himself as he caught up on the latest gossip pages. The usual rubbish stories were printed, like alien sightings in a shopping centre, six-legged animals, and a woman who gave birth to thirty children, but was pleased that there was no story about a zombie attack occurring in a small farming town.
Two hours had drifted by before he knew it. He was so wrapped up in reading that he forgot about what was going on all around him. He sat spaced out. It was the best two hours since Tuesday, but he snapped out of this relaxed feeling when Katrina came over. “So, you’re still here,” she said.
“I’m staying for my friend. How’s he doing?”
“He’s comfortable. The wound’s been cleaned and redressed, and he’s been asking for you.”
“Can I see him?”
“Yes you can. He keeps freaking out, cursing at everyone he sees, but seems to be okay when you’re around.”
Wayne couldn’t stop himself from diving into the nurse’s eyes. She was like a magnet and he was a paper clip, the attraction couldn’t be avoided. She’d caught him at a bad time and he wasn’t quite in sergeant mode yet.
“I must have the touch,” he said with a cheeky grin.
Katrina used her charms on him, but was he strong enough to break free of them? “Really, maybe one day you could show me that touch?”
“You never know, you might get lucky, one day.”
They smiled at each other, but Wayne knew she was only flirting. It was her way of communicating with the opposite sex, so he flirted back.
Katrina led him down to the room, but they remained quiet throughout the short journey. Perhaps they were embarrassed by what’d been said a few moments earlier. Once outside, Katrina said farewell and headed back to work.
Wayne entered the isolation room, sat in a chair and picked up the communication device. Jason was sitting upright in the bed. The colour of his skin was now a mustard-yellow, but the pain shooting through his body had lessened. He felt able to talk, and so waited for Wayne to speak. Wayne tried being as sympathetic as he could, but what could he say to cheer Jason up?
“Look, mate, I’m here if you need me. You do know that don’t you?”
“I know. You’re the only one I can really talk to. You’re a great sergeant, a friend, and I wouldn’t have wished to work with anyone else.”
Wayne smiled, as the famous words flattered him, but knew that most of the waffle coming out of Jason’s mouth had something to do with the drugs being pumped into him.
“Stop it. You’re giving me a big head.”
“I…just…want…to…say…thanks,” Jason said, as his words were slowly released.
“For what...?”
“For being here now, for…everything…man, you know.” A slight pause was needed before Jason finished his sentence. “Everything...”
Wayne felt extremely emotional but wasn’t going to let this speech get to him. Jason needed him to be strong for the both of them. “Do you want me to do anything for you, like fetch anything?”
“No man. Could you tell… my… parents… to… come… see… me, and bring me some clothes?” Jason shook as he spoke, but it didn’t stop him from finishing the sentence.
“I’ll...need...to...get...changed...for...when...I...get...out...of here.”
“Will do - I’ve got to get back to work now but if you need me, call me. I’ll tell your folks.”
“I definitely will. You...get...back...to...work...before Mike sacks you.
Wayne got up, gave the ‘thumbs up’ sign and headed back out the door. He had to get out of there because he couldn’t listen to the other man going on about getting out, when he knew better. It was too upsetting to stomach.
He walked outside, re-phoned Donald and told him the news. After that he left the hospital to carry on with his job.