Wednesday, late afternoon
Marla rapped on the door and waited, unsure exactly of what she was going to say. When Tommy
finally opened it, he was holding a towel and his hair was sopping. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked, looking surprised to see her.
“Can I come in?”
He hesitated. “Erm, I just got back from patrol and washed, so I’m a bit…”
Marla strode past him.
“…wet,” he mumbled, closing the door. Turning, he noticed she had her hands grasped together in that way she always did when she was anxious. “What is it?” he asked, tossing the towel over the chair.
“I wanted to ask you something?”
“Sure. Fire away.”
“It’s about
Jakob. Do you hate him or something?” Marla asked bluntly.
Tommy thought for a second. “Hate is a strong word.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
He winced. “There isn’t one. He’s your boyfriend, not mine. Doesn’t mean I have to like him. I leave the liking up to you.”
“Okay, Mister Clever Arse, that’s not really answering the question. I’m asking if you have a problem with him, because whenever he’s around you get up and go, and I kind of wanted you guys to be friends.”
Tommy frowned. “He’s not my kind of guy.”
“You mean he’s not like Eric or Billy?”
“Well…”
“Why can’t you just be civil?” she asked, her temper quickly rising beyond what she’d expected. “You leave like he’s a bad smell or something.”
“Well, you said it...”
“The man’s just got out of hospital. He almost died!”
“I know, and that’s a shame, but I
couldn’t stand the guy even before that.”
Marla crossed her arms across her chest, noticing Tommy roll his eyes as she did so. “I get it,” she said.
“What?”
“You’re jealous? Is that it?”
Tommy shook his head. “Fuck that.”
“Yes, you are. You can’t even look at me.”
“I wouldn’t say jealous.”
“Then what?” Marla demanded. “
What is it
exactly
?”
He sighed.
“I just don’t like the guy.”
She
narrowed her eyes. “If you are jealous, how come you never mentioned anything to me about it?”
“About what?”
“Your feelings...”
Tommy
laughed. “I haven’t said anything about feelings. You just said…”
“Jesus. Okay. Or is it that you don’t even like me
, because you’ve been acting all weird and distant for a while now.”
He threw his hands in the air.
“Since when?”
“Since... since I started
hanging out with Jakob.”
“I think you need to go and have a lie down. You’re not thinking straight.”
“You’re such an idiot,” she retorted, opening the door to leave and slamming it behind her.
“Women,”
grumbled Tommy as he kicked the bin. Just to kick anything.
Friday, 19
Ellen’s dream
His face edges closer, the almost translucent layers of skin lifting off into the air, tearing back in slow motion to reveal the pumping blood and muscles once concealed beneath. Fear and dread rip through her mind, but she wills herself on to act, to do something before his teeth seek to rip the tendons in her neck for she senses… no, she knows this will happen; the inevitability of it.
Something shifts in the air. She feels it. So soft, so easy to miss; it is nothing really and yet it is everything. It is what gives her the power.
Peeling the soles of her feet off the ground, she takes a step backwards and then another. He is still staring at her, haunting her. The white orbs seem to flicker in his eye sockets, seeing nothing, yet seeing all, seeing her.
She steps again. In the distancing, she feels a slip in the atmosphere
, a movement. There is… she knows not what it is, but it is there, hidden, listening. She feels it.
In this
endless split second her body flees and suddenly she is with it, moving, racing down the corridor into the blackness. It waits like a sleeping animal, scooping her up inside it, willing her to follow its curve as it eels along.
In front of
her sweeps the scent of death, rotting meat, the morbidity of decay. She swallows, resisting the urge to vomit. Turning slowly, she sees him; he is there, not so far behind as to not be a constant threat. Threat: the word sticks in her mind. Its importance she cannot define, but it seems to float in the air, filling the void.
Ahead
, darkness reigns. The more she tries to focus on it, the more it appears to open like a door; the mist seeming to invite her, this secret guide.
Laughter. It rushes into the corridor like an uninvited lover, stalking, pushing around her, seeking to stroke her body, entangle her, but she will not have it. Glancing
around, she seeks the source.
“This is a warning,” a voice utters. “This
will be the last warning before the end.”
Echoes
thunder around this space. He is here. A man. She can sense him. But the layers of sound, they rise, so expected, one upon another of rising sound, so she cannot define any one voice, and they are sweeping upwards like an endless tide.
T
hen nothing. The nightmare is over and there is nothing but the dark.
***
Ellen woke, gasping for breath. The dream had been different, she remembered; she had managed to run.
Saturday, 20
“Dad!”
Tommy wandered towards the helicopter while Marla remained beside Ellen, holding on to Bob’s lead. As the breeze from the blades sent his hair whipping across his face, Tommy stopped and squinted in the gust as he waited for them to stop. When they did, he began to laugh. His son’s face was pressed up against the window and he was waving for all he was worth. A soldier stepped out of the passenger seat and opened the back door. Ash fired out like a rampaging bull, straight into the arms of his father. “Dad, Dad!” he cried, his words coming out muffled against Tommy’s shirt.
Tommy stroked
his son’s head. “It’s so great to see you, Ash.”
“I
didn’t think I’d see you again,” said the boy, gazing up.
Tommy bent down and hugged him.
“I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere without you again.”
“Promise?”
Tommy sighed. “Promise.”
“Hello, Tom
.”
Looking up, he recognised Hanna,
dressed in a long blue skirt, crisp white shirt and a black jacket. She was wearing trainers and her dark hair was tied back. In her hands was a suitcase.
“Let me take that,” he offered.
“Thanks,” she replied, offering a small smile.
“You look well.”
“And yourself,” Hanna answered. “I had no idea where you were. I didn’t know what to tell him or what to think.”
“Same here,” said Tommy. “But we’re all together now. I’m so relieved you’re both okay.”
Hanna smiled again and then something caught her eye behind him. “Is that Bob?”
Ash spun round, as if seeing the Labrador for
the first time. “Bob!” he yelled.
The dog bounced up, wagging his tail, and pulled forward
s on the lead. Marla gripped it tightly to stop him. Ash bent his knees. “Come on, boy!” he called, clapping his hands against his thighs.
“You can let him go,” said Tommy. “He won’t run anywhere but here.”
Marla smiled and unclipped Bob’s lead. He pelted forward and launched himself into the boy, who fell back on his haunches, giggling as he rubbed the dog’s head. Bob licked his face, making Ash giggle all the more.
“Like old times,” Hanna remarked.
Tommy grinned at his son, feeling doubly glad that he had gone back home for his dog.
“Hi,” said Marla, walking forward. “It’s nice to see you
again and this is my sister, Ellen.”
“I remember you,” Hanna replied with a sour expression on her face. “Hello, Ellen. So what is this place like?”
“Nice,” she responded. “And it feels safe.”
“It must have been scary in London.”
Ellen nodded. “Sure was.” She decided not to add any details.
“I’m going in to see if there is anyone to take back with us,” the soldier to
ld Tommy. “Can you show them inside? They’re free to move around. No quarantine needed.”
“Right, thanks for everything,” he answered.
“No problem.”
“I can show you where the administrator’s office is
, Hanna,” Tommy offered. “I guess she’s sorted out your rooms.”
She smiled.
“Great. Come on, Ash, let’s go and get settled in.”
“Cool, Mum,” he replied, jumping up. He ran to her with Bob dancing around his feet.
Tommy put his free arm around his son’s shoulders as they walked towards the entrance. “There’s a boy I want you to meet, Ash. His name is Barney, and we saved him and his sister, Ruth. His mother died.”
“That’s sad,” said Ash. “Does he like football?”
“I think so. Don’t all boys like footie?”
“She seems nice,” Ellen remarked to Marla once the
reunited family had disappeared inside the building.
Marla shrugged. “I guess, but she hates me.”
“Really? Why? Didn’t you get on?”
“She thought I was to blame for their divorce.”
“But you and Tommy were just friends, no?”
“Yeah, but she thought there was more to it. Even when I started dating Mark, she still wouldn’t talk to me.”
Ellen nudged her sister. “Maybe things will be different now. You know, everything that’s going on puts things in perspective. People settle their differences when bigger things are more important.”
Marla smiled. “Thanks, sis.”
“You’ll see.”
“You know, me and Tommy had an argument the other night.”
“How come?” Ellen asked.
Marla glanced the other way.
“It was my fault really. I was annoyed at how he is with Jakob and I accused him of being jealous.”
“
Hmm, I’ve always thought he had a soft spot for you, Marl.”
“
I don’t think so. I thought we were real friends, especially after everything we went through on our way here, but he seems to have become more distant lately.”
“I think that’
s because of Jakob,” Ellen pointed out. “Honestly, Marl, I don’t think you need to worry about Tommy. I’ve often wondered how sometimes you don’t notice the things right in front of you. You’ve got a friend for life there and anything else you want.”
“
No, he said he didn’t have any feelings for me and laughed.”
“Really, you asked him?”
Marla squirmed. “Kind of.”
“
I reckon you’ve got your wires crossed. Tommy looks like he’s already forgotten about it. Let’s go inside,” Ellen suggested. “And stop pouting. I’m the one who should be sad, now that Robert doesn’t want to see me anymore.”
“I’m sorry
, little sis.”
“It’s okay.
It was the thing he wanted to tell me when I met him the other day after he’d been out on patrol. Bigger things are more important now and I get his reasons. I don’t really need to be in a relationship anyhow. I have you and my friends, and that’s enough. And I want to focus on teaching here and the sleep study. It will be so cool if my dreams help Doctor Grice in some way and even better if he can cure me.”
Week 12
Monday 22
Marla jumped at the knock upon her door. Placing her book upside down to save the page, she slid off the bed and hurried to answer it. Standing outside in the corridor was Tommy. “Oh, hi, what brings you here?” she asked.
“Do I need an excuse?” he asked,
smirking.
“I guess not! I’m sorry about the other day,” she added sheepishly.
“No worries. You’ve already apologised enough. It’s damn easy to get weirded out in this place, being all closed in all the time.”
Marla smiled. “Thanks. How’s it going with you?”
“Great. I was just with Ash.”
“How’s he settling in? You look really happy.”
Tommy’s grin widened. “I feel happier. It’s great. He’s great. And he and Barney seem to be hitting it off, which is cool as I didn’t want the kid to feel left out now that my family are here.”
Marla felt herself wince slightly at the word ‘family’ as she thought
immediately of Hanna’s scowl. “How’s your ex – you two getting on okay?” she asked warily, remembering how they had fought like cat and dog towards the end of their marriage.
He paused and seemed to consider his reply. “Yeah, it’s good. Better than I expected.”
Marla felt her stomach drop, but she forced a smile. “That’s really great.”
“Yeah, we’ve decided to let bygones be bygones. Those freaks put everything in perspective,” he added with a laugh. “I guess it’s made us grow up a bit, and we’re really chatting about stuff.”
“Great,” she mumbled.
“Anyway, that’s why I
knocked. We’re just about to go for dinner – well, the grand old cafeteria, where else? I asked Ellen and she’s coming. Billy and Eric are popping along, and Barney. Thought it would be nice if you could come. I know you and Hanna were a bit frosty in the past.”
“She hates me.
”
“I’m sure she doesn’t,
” he said.
“Well…”
“So are you coming?”
Marla bit her lip and pictured the scenario in her head: happy faces all round
, except for Hanna glaring at her. She was not quite sure how she would react around Tommy and his ex playing happy families with their son. Something about it made her feel queasy and she was not sure why. “I don’t think so, Tommy. Maybe let her settle in a bit first. We were never the best of friends.”
Tommy nodded.
“Fine, I understand. Next time?”
“Yeah,
let me know. And have a nice time.”
“Sure will. Night
.”
“Night
,” she replied.
Upon closing the door, Marla turned and rested her back against the wood. Why did she feel so odd about this? It was great her friend had been reunited with his family. He deserved it. It was what she
wished for too, with her own mother, although that would take a little longer. And Hanna was just Hanna. She was sure the two of them would not get back together again…
Marla stood up straight and scowled.
Get back together again? So what if they do? What exactly am I feeling? Jealousy for my friend, really? So stupid!
Shaking her head, she flopped down on her bed. Turning the book over, she stared at the words swimming before her eyes for a moment before
refocusing and forgetting everything but the story within.