Saturday, 13
Ellen’s dream
Icy fingers seem to snake around her shoulders as she steps forwards, her feet making not a sound on the ground. Light
is escaping, slipping away from this place. A lone bulb swings from the ceiling, back and forth, back and forth. This motionless quiet prevails while in the distance shadows dance in flickering patterns up and around these decaying walls, their history flaking away like unwritten pages. Something lies there, silent as the grave, upon the rusting iron bed that fills the space between them.
Timidly, she creeps, her tiptoes not touching the floor as though she is gliding through air. Looking down she realises her feet are making contact, moving, propelling her forwards. The bed
slides closer and its occupant shifts ever so slowly as she drifts, approaching the place where the misty outlines play in the failing light. Immediately above her head, the single bulb continues to rock soundlessly, keeping time with her movements. The old, hooped chain should creak and yet all is quiet. She shivers as the temperature drops.
He sleeps, this man. His delicate features, almost beautiful, seem at peace, yet his face is so very pale, almost
ghostlike, in striking contrast to the deep ebony of his hair. She listens to his breathing, low and regular; the only thing to break this monotonous silence. Opening his eyes, he gazes upon her and she smiles, watching his full, sensual lips curve upwards. He raises his body.
As she pushes the
fine strands of her blowing hair out of her sleepy eyes, his grin widens, welcoming her, but then the perfect white teeth begin to tumble out, one by one, floating in slow motion like petals on the wind. They make not a sound. The blood rushes to her face. A wave of nausea floods over her.
So hypnotic, the man’s eyes draw her in, but they too are different. White in colour, their irises erased; translucent, staring globes of nothing, with lines of red etched across them. He offers this grim smile as bile slides o
ut from between his now cracked lips, once so full and sensual.
It drips upon
the surface of her hand, burning into the skin, searing, and she withdraws it quickly, but it remains there, stuck on top of the bed. Why doesn’t it move? She stares down at her skin, turning red from the liquid, bubbling. A stinging pain spears itself all the way through to her palm and fear grips her senses, squeezing.
Turning, she wills her body to run in the direction of the exit
, stumbling into a wild sprint, not daring to glance back. She feels the movement, slow but sure, like gliding through a thick fog, yet her body is still there; she can see it, frozen by the bed as the thing gapes at her, his eyes fixed on her face, the mouth opening wider to reveal a black endless nothing.
She screams, but its existence snaps quiet in the silence. Out of the corner of her eye she notices the tick-tock sway of the bulb flickering its last, and she senses she is doomed; knows it as surely as the fact that the rusting chain will swing again, back and forth, forever.
His face moves closer, the skin flaking like old paint curling away from a wall, the edges creeping up. Then it disintegrates altogether. Beneath, the muscles continue to ebb and flow like water as he smiles. Blood oozes, dripping.
Dread ravages her as fright caresses her body like an icy lover, passionless. Forcing herself to turn once more, she races in panic towards the exit, and yet seconds later, nonsensically, she finds h
erself in the exact same place by the bed, her feet rooted to the ground like the trunk of a tree, her arms the branches stretching out. She imagines her tussled hair as the leaves, blowing in the breath that he now turns on her, sickening in its putrid scent of death.
Flies
swarm around the bloodied mess that barely resembles a face anymore as he opens his mouth wider. The yawn seems to swallow her whole into darkness as a jagged, ripping pain overwhelms her; the sharp teeth scraping, gnawing at her neck, plucking at the strings inside the skin.
From
the far distance creeps the incongruous ripple of laughter and a man’s voice echoes all around.
“This is a
warning. This will be the last warning before the end.”
***
The scream rapped against her eardrums as her body jolted. Gasping, she opened her eyes.
“Ellen,
I am here. You are alright now, completely safe.”
Rita’s comforting smile
came into focus, gazing down, and Ellen blinked as she gradually regained her senses. She struggled to swallow.
“Don’t try to move yet
, honey,” said Rita softly as she set about removing the bands and sensors from Ellen’s body. The nurse then walked away and returned with a glass. “Water,” she stated simply.
Raising herself up in the bed, Ellen leaned back against the
headboard. Taking the glass, she sipped its contents slowly.
“What did you dream?” asked Rita.
Ellen shrugged. “Nothing new.”
Week 11
Sunday, 14
The next time Marla visited Jakob in hospital he was breathing without the aid of a machine and appeared more clear-headed. He had shown no symptoms of the virus at all. She was shocked at his rapid progress, but relieved at the same time.
“I’m glad to see you,” he
told her as she neared the side of his bed and sat down.
“Do you feel like talking today?” she asked.
“Of course. I’ve missed these chats of ours. What are you going to lecture me about today?”
Marla laughed. “Was I always so hard on you?”
“No, not really. Only when I kept stalking you.”
“What did the doctors say about your condition?”
she asked, changing the subject.
“Good things. I met
with the surgeon and he made me feel much better about… everything,” said Jakob after some hesitation. “He said they were able to reconnect the vascular and nervous systems successfully, and reinstate the blood supply quickly, and I’m responding well to antibiotics. There was no infection and they think the wound will heal. They’re not expecting to need to operate again.”
“I’m relieved. I was scared of necrosis. I used an axe. I can’t believe I did it.”
Jakob shuddered slightly. “I’m glad you did.”
“I hope you’re not in too much pain.”
“They’ve got me pumped up on a new mix of painkillers. It isn’t so bad. I’m alive and I have you to thank for that. It just itches.”
She
tried to smile.
“I had other good news,” he continued. “
One department here has been working with bionics for quite some time now and they can fit me with a new leg. That was one of the things being researched here before this virus became the main concern.”
“Are those the limbs you can control by
thinking?” asked Marla enthusiastically. “I remember reading about them in an article once. It was amazing. This patient was fitted with a bionic arm. Her brain was linked up to a machine and everyone could watch on a screen as the different areas lit up – you know, as she thought about moving different areas of her arm. You could see how her thoughts connected with each movement. I was like wow.”
“Yes, it’s like that,” Jakob replied. “I’m excited. I was thinking I would need to use
a normal prosthetic, which I will to start with, but then I can switch to a bionic limb.”
“That’s g
reat. I’m really happy for you. How long will it be until you can start using a prosthetic? I remember two to four weeks being normal, from my army days, if the tissue heals well, and then it takes a while from there to learn how to… but, anyway, I’m no expert!”
“Well, it’s all thanks to you that I’m still here,” said Jakob. “I’m embarrassed
that I was frightened and could do nothing but hide from that thing…”
Marla shrugged. “That’s normal, Jakob. I can’t imagine
what I would have done in the same position. I’m sorry all this happened,” she added. “I feel bad that I couldn’t have gotten you out of there in one piece.”
Jakob sighed. “You did better than a lot of people. I can’t believe how brave you were. And fast.
Martinez was going to shoot me.”
“He was
only doing what you’re meant to do in that situation… and he stopped as soon as I shouted at him.”
“Still, y
ou’re impressive. You’re my hero!”
Marla laughed. “It’s a strange thing to say, but thanks.”
“No, really, I know you left the army, but they were the ones who lost out, I reckon.”
“Well, I just want to help, and I never want to lose anyone on my watch again.”
“Is that what happened?” asked Jakob. “In the past?”
“Yes, a long time ago.
A friend. And it’s sure as hell never happening again. Anyway, I better go and leave you to rest. Oh, and Tommy had some good news. His ex-wife and son are moving here soon, in the next few days.”
“That’s nice for him.”
“Yeah, anyway, I don’t want to tire you out, so I’ll be back tomorrow at the same time.”
“It’s a date,” said Jakob with a wink.
“Crazy guy,” Marla replied. “They need to get you off those drugs!”
Wednesday, 17
Marla strode into the cafeteria
where a quick check revealed her sister and Tommy sitting in the middle of the room. Funny how they always chose the same place, she thought with a smile. “Hey, alligators,” she greeted them.
“Hey, yourself,” Tommy replied
, his face lighting up. “You’re looking extremely cheerful for this time of the day.”
“
Jakob is coming out of hospital today.”
“Wow,” gasped Ellen, “that’s soon. How is he doing?”
Marla grinned. “Really well. I didn’t realise, but prosthetics and bionics have come a long way. I guess if you have private healthcare, you’d know more about it, but I never knew they had such things. They’ve fixed him up with a new leg and he’s walking.”
“Already?” asked Tommy
. “How is that actually possible?”
“New technology
, better surgery, stronger painkillers… Jakob told me this facility was working on projects like this for the government. A lot of top-secret research was going on. Now everything is concentrated on finding a cure for the virus. This is going to help a lot of people injured in…”
“But it takes months to learn how to walk on a prosthetic limb,” said Tommy quietly.
“His injury would have to heal completely first.”
“Yeah, I know, and this is just a
week and a half. Aren’t you happy about it?”
Tommy
frowned and did not meet Marla’s gaze. “I am, yeah, but it doesn’t make any sense to me. It isn’t possible.”
“I guess he’ll be on crutches,” Marla added.
“I think it’s great,” Ellen remarked. “He’s so lucky you have quick reflexes.”
“Yeah, I’m a regular Wonder Woman. So what have you two got planned today?”
“Patrol,” Tommy replied. “I volunteered. You coming?”
Marla shook her head. “I thought I’d sit this one out and help
Jakob.”
Tommy winced. “Okay,” he
muttered before gulping down the rest of his cup of tea.
Marla watched him quietly,
muddled by his reaction.
“Hey!”
Everyone turned around to see Jakob approaching the table very carefully, supported on a pair of crutches and leaning forward slightly. Apart from a thin scar skimming the right-hand side of his face, he looked exactly the same, albeit slightly thinner.
“
Jakob!” Ellen stood up and patted his arm. “You’re looking great. Do you want me to get you a drink or something?”
“Erm, I don’t want to put you out…”
“No problem.”
“
Thanks. Can I just have a coffee then? White. Four sugars.”
“Four?!
Wow. Back in a mo,” mumbled Ellen, scurrying off.
“I wasn’t expecting you out until this afternoon,” said Marla, standing up.
“Neither was I,” Jakob replied, “but here I am, raring to go. I can’t wait to get back to work.”
“You’re a workaholic!”
“And you’re not?” he asked, playfully. Leaning in, he pecked her on the cheek.
Marla blushed and clasped her hands together awkwardly.
Seeing an opportunity to take his leave, Tommy stood up. “Okay, you lovebirds, I’m outa here,” he said. “You can have my seat, Jakob. Good to see you. See you later, Marla.”
She
pouted.
Lovebirds?
“You don’t have to go,” she began, but Tommy was too fast for her. He turned to give a wink before disappearing out the exit.
At that moment
Ellen returned to the table with a cup of coffee. “Here you go, Jakob. I can’t stay, I’m afraid. Robert said he has something important to tell me before he goes on patrol today.”
“No worries,” said Marla. “
Say hi to him for me.”
“I will. Bye,
Jakob,” Ellen told him. “Great to see you up and about, looking so well.”
“Thanks,” he replied with a grin and Ellen walked away. “Your sister is great, but he
doesn’t like me,” he added, trying his best to lower himself into the chair.
“
Jakob, let me help you. You mean Tommy? Nah, he isn’t like that,” she said, forcing a smile, although she knew he was right. “He just likes to give people space. Nice guy when you get to know him.”
“If he’ll let me. Did he volunteer for the patrol today?”
“Sure did,” Marla said. “I didn’t. I thought I’d help you out.”
“If you’re sure. I wish I could go out on patrol some time.”
“But you can’t even fire a gun.”
“Yes, but…
”
“Yeah, but
what? I said I’ll teach you, so whenever you fancy a lesson just ask me.”
“Right,” said
Jakob. “Then will you ask Caballero if I can go? When I’m on my feet, that is.”
“I don’t see why you’d want to, but I can ask. You need a lot of experience to go out there. It’s dangerous
around those dead-lookers.”
He grimaced. “How could I forget? I think it might help me
to learn about their behaviour – in time, obviously, as I’m in no fit state now.”
Marla nodded. “
You’re a strange one, asking me this now, after what happened to you.”
“So, do I get a proper kiss?”
Jakob asked, raising his eyebrows.
She laughed. “The world has turned to
shit, you almost die, and still all you can think about is sex?”
“T
hat’s a big leap from a kiss, but I’m a patient man, and if I had a pound for every time you’ve said that…”
“You’d be a rich man,
” said Marla, giving him a peck on the cheek.