Дэвид Муди - Strangers

‘How?’

He couldn’t answer, but he knew he had to find a way. The carrier of the parasite was trapped here with them now, of that there was no doubt, but who was it? Probably a woman, but that barely narrowed the field. Already he could see troops dividing those people they could reach, separating them into males and females. The air was filled with screaming and crying, then with shouted warnings as brutally divided families fought not to lose sight of those they loved.

‘We’re getting out of here,’ Scott said to Tammy and Phoebe who were already on their feet. He bent down and picked up George, then turned to Phoebe. ‘We need a way out. Is there another way out of here?’

Trembling, she nodded and gestured, barely managing to lift a shaking hand and point towards the corner of the room where a fire exit had already been forced open by someone else. Scott looked back across the gym. Soldiers. Coming their way. No time to waste. But now Michelle had hold of him and was trying to pull him back the other way.

‘It’s not safe out there,’ she yelled.

‘Doesn’t look too safe in here.’ He pulled his son close, holding him so tight it clearly hurt. The boy writhed in his father’s arms. ‘George is coming with me, so I suggest you follow.’ He looked at Tammy and Phoebe. ‘Stay close.’

Gunshots.

For a heartbeat – no longer – everyone froze again. Scott spun around and from the dust and debris now falling like snow from the high ceiling, he figured they’d just been warning shots. Rather than calm the situation, though, they had the exact opposite effect. The threat of the soldier’s weapons clearly paled into insignificance alongside the horror of whatever it was that was loose in the leisure centre; the fear of the unknown far worse than the fear of being shot or beaten. Several people rushed the military lines, Sergeant Ross included, and were felled with a hail of bullets.

Enough. Scott ran for the exit which was, thankfully, being almost completely ignored by almost everyone else. ‘It’ll bring us out by the playing field,’ Phoebe said, shouting over the sudden carnage.

Another round of gunfire. George was screaming, his noise deafening Scott. Tammy winced at the echoing cacophony inside the gym and put her hands over her ears. Phoebe shoved her towards the exit and they piled through the fire door. Scott kicked it shut behind them, keen to stem the flow and mask their escape. The more people who followed, the worse their chances of getting away unnoticed.

It was cold and wet outside, and the sound immediately changed. The noise coming from the leisure centre became muffled, then was almost completely drowned out by the tumultuous soundtrack out here: the sounds of people being rounded up and fighting back. Jeeps, gunshots, warnings being shouted through loud-hailers, a helicopter drifting overhead which was clearly tracking people down with an intensely bright searchlight. Scott pressed himself against the side of the building they’d just escaped from while he considered their options. ‘We should go back,’ Michelle said. ‘What’s the point of running? They’ll know it’s not us who’s sick…’

‘Are you out of your fucking mind? You think they’re just going to give us the all clear then let us go home?’

‘Why wouldn’t they?’

He shook his head in disbelief and pointed into the chaos. ‘The world don’t work like that, Chelle. They won’t let any of us go now. They’re hunting people down… look!’

She followed his gaze down the side of the leisure centre building and saw a white-haired woman trying to get away. She’d somehow managed to escape, squeezing out through an unexpected gap in the chaos, but she was struggling to keep going. A soldier was in close pursuit, almost matching her speed even though he was only walking. Michelle looked away as he grabbed the woman by the waist and dragged her back towards the leisure centre, frail legs kicking and hoarse voice screaming for help.

Scott looked from face to face. ‘If we run now, they’ll see us and they’ll catch us. We need to lie low, then make our move when things calm down. Where do we go?’

The girls tried to think, to visualise, also trying not to panic. Tammy couldn’t get her bearings at all, but Phoebe could. ‘The temporary classrooms,’ she said, pausing mid-sentence as more gunshots echoed around them. ‘Over by the netball courts. They’re about halfway between here and the school gates.’

‘Show me.’

She crouched down and led them away from the leisure centre, taking them through a dark and narrow gap between two more buildings, then pausing to check her bearings. She took a sharp left, still crouching, half-running, only stopping when she reached the edge of the next block along. Scott looked over her head and could see across the playground to the Portakabin classrooms. It was relatively quiet there. Plenty of activity overhead and behind, but nothing in the direction they needed to go. ‘Wait here,’ he said, but none of them did. Michelle kept them moving forward together, bunched up tight. They held back slightly and ducked down as he forced the door to the nearest classroom. It flew open with barely any effort, just as flimsy as it had appeared. Still carrying George, Scott held the door and the others squeezed through. ‘Get down,’ he told them. ‘Stay low and stay away from the windows. We’ll sit tight, then get out of here.’

The five of them crammed into the corner of the room furthest from the door, hiding behind desks and chairs and holding onto each other for warmth and support, differences temporarily put to one side. ‘So what now?’ Michelle said. ‘Or didn’t you think any further forward than running out into the middle of a bloody war-zone?’

He glared at her, the anger in his face illuminated momentarily by a flash from the helicopter’s sweeping searchlight. ‘I told you, we’re getting away from here. Getting away from whatever’s doing the damage back in that place.’

‘And you think they’re going to let us get away?’ Michelle continued. ‘You think they’re just going to let us sneak out by the back door?’

‘We already have.’

‘No we haven’t. We’re still trapped, in case you hadn’t noticed, just in a different building.’ She stopped talking and held her breath as a group of soldiers thundered past the classroom. She lowered her voice again. ‘How is this helping any of us?’

‘I’m doing a damn sight more than anyone else, in case you hadn’t noticed. If it wasn’t for me we’d be—’

‘Back home in Redditch?’ Tammy said, wrong-footing him. ‘A million miles away from whatever’s going on around here.’

‘What the fuck is wrong with you lot?’ Scott said, the volume of his voice rising the angrier he became. ‘I should have just—’

The classroom door flew open again, and another group of figures crawled up the steps on their hands and knees. Scott braced himself to fight, to defend his territory and kick out these intruders. But wait… he recognised them. ‘Saw you lot gettin’ away,’ Dez said, shoving Jackie and the twins towards Michelle, the girls and George. ‘Figured you looked like you knew what you were doing.’

‘Think again,’ Michelle said.

‘We’re just trying to keep one step ahead, that’s all,’ Scott said.

‘It’s madness out there,’ Dez said, on his knees now, his eyes just above the wooden windowsill, surveying the chaos. ‘Never seen nothin’ like it.’

‘Keep your bloody head down,’ Scott yelled at him. ‘And get away from the fucking windows. You’ll bring them straight to us.’

‘Doubt it. They’re too busy tryin’ to sort out what’s happening in the gym. Anyway, the helicopter’s probably got us on infra-red.’