Daniel Åberg - Virus - Stockholm - S2

Can I be seen here? No, he doesn’t think so, but in that same moment he sees the man in the mask coming over the top of the hill.

As the man is slithering down the slope and stops to study Dano’s footprints for a second, Dano sees that it isn’t the same man – this one’s wearing jeans and a black t-shirt and isn’t holding an automatic weapon, just a normal rifle. What happened up there? Dano heard someone shout but couldn’t understand the words and assumed it was an order for him to stop. Is that the guard he was supposed to infect? So what happened to the guy who was shooting at Dano?

His body temperature, which is already low, sinks further as he realises this may mean two people are chasing him. The fact that this guy seems to be falling for his trick and running in the direction of the footprints might not mean anything, as someone else might come running towards Dano at any moment.

But seconds pass and nothing happens apart from the first pursuer disappearing from sight. Dano heard him blow his whistle. It’s a signal that warns Dano that more people will come and join in from the farm.

He scans the area from every angle. One road leads to a promontory, where he spots a small house. It’s round with glass walls glittering in the dawn sunlight, and there’s a rowing boat bobbing up and down in the water below it.

No, not out there – it’s a dead end. But on the other hand, what’s the alternative? There’s water in one direction, open meadows in another and the last option is to follow in the tracks of the armed guard.

So either he lies here and hopes that the protection of the bushes will be enough, or he follows the sloping path out to the promontory in the hope that he gets there before the guard can get reinforcements. Could there be a guard out there too, keeping an eye on the bay? There’s a risk, but shouldn’t they have already joined in pursuing him?

Dano hears the crack of a breaking branch and turns around. He catches sight of two armed people approaching rapidly from somewhere west of the manor house.

They can’t miss me, he thinks.

As quietly as he can, he writhes out of his bush hideout, being careful not to brush against the branches so that they shake and give him away. He sinks into the water right by the mouth of the ditch, biting down on the telephone as he keeps his head above the water. It’s unexpectedly deep here. If he has to dive, the mobile phone will be trashed, but that’s better than having his head blown off.

It should be about twenty metres to the promontory. He does front crawl in as controlled a fashion as possible before turning around in the water and swimming on his back for a few metres to get a view behind him. He doesn’t see any of the military people – so they shouldn’t be able to see him? – but one second later, a loud bang ricochets around him and a hard splash sprays out a metre away from him. Someone’s shooting at him – again.

It’s strange, but he feels almost nothing but exhaustion. He can’t cope with it any more. Police have pointed their guns at him, men have beaten him unconscious and only a few minutes have passed since he was last shot at. The idea crosses his mind that whoever fired should have hit him and put an end to his misery. That’s enough now – he can’t go on.

It happens again – two shots in a row – and one hits him in the side, just under his chest.

Still desperately trying to grip Iris’s phone between his teeth, he starts to sink. He throws the phone towards the bank as the pain explodes within and he feels the taste of his own blood in the water that is gushing down his throat.

Iris throws herself onto the passenger seat. How many minutes could have passed since Dano ran off? Despite everything that’s happened, perhaps no more than three or four, she guesses. She’s surprised that reinforcements haven’t arrived. Maybe there aren’t that many of them here after all?

“Was there anyone there?” she asks Amanda, who had jumped in through the barn window to quickly check for signs of Sigrid.

She shakes her head in reply.

“Mostly old rubbish – the barn was just one large room. There was hardly anything there apart from a chair and a table by the window.”

Iris nods resolutely and hands over a dark grey jacket that was lying on the seat.

“Put this on”, she says. “And this.” She nods at the gas mask that she’s wiping clean with a tissue from a pack she found in the glove compartment.

Amanda gives her a sceptical look, but Iris isn’t going to be deterred.

“They’ll never believe I’m one of them – not with this arm. If you wear the mask and this jacket, maybe they’ll think they haven’t seen you before – they’ve only been in each other’s company a few days and can scarcely know everyone properly. Besides, the person they’re hunting down is a boy in a red t-shirt who they’ve never seen before. He wasn’t there when they took Sigrid – they don’t know he’s with us.”

“Just put the stuff on and start the car.”

Amanda stares at Iris. Iris sees confusion in her face – scepticism too – but won’t give in. Not now. They are too close and have come too far. They have to finish this, whatever happens.

Amanda shakes her head in disapproval but puts on the jacket. It’s large but not so big that it attracts attention. Before Amanda pulls the mask over her head, she glances with distaste at the bit of tissue that Iris used to clean it with. It’s sticky with red slime.

“Delightful”, she sighs, taking a deep breath and pulling the mask over her face.

It’s tight around her face and she mumbles something about pressure on her cheeks and neck; it hurts her scalp where her bun is being pressed in but soon it’s in position. As she cautiously takes her first breath, Iris hears the air filter make a wheezing sound – some of the bloody phlegm must have been left inside of it. Amanda stifles a retch and starts the car.

“I know it’s a desperate plan, but I can’t think of anything better”, says Iris. “We have to get to them immediately – perhaps the guy driving the jeep was just out on patrol and was coming back to base and didn’t know why the guard blew the alarm whistle.”

Something down by the water attracts Iris’s attention.

“Look”, she says, pointing.

Two people with weapons at the ready – they look like pistols – are rushing across the field towards the bay. From their silhouettes it looks like a man and a woman.

“Dano has quite a head start”, says Iris once they’ve got half way up the avenue towards Erstavik farm. “I don’t think there’s any risk of them catching him.”

“They won’t try to catch him”, says Amanda in annoyance. “If they see him, they’ll shoot him on the spot.”

Iris grimaces.

“I know.” She climbs over to the minimal backseat , and presses herself down on the floor behind Amanda, who continues to drive up a slight incline where the road widens. They approach the side buildings and still no people have turned up.

“What do we do now?” asks Amanda.

“Drive past the main buildings, if you can. They’re hardly holding her in there. We saw a smaller building further off – I think she’s there somewhere. What do you see now?

“The manor house is to the right; there’s a fence around it but the gate is open. Difficult to say if there’s anyone there but there are three cars up by the house, and they aren’t military or anything. Shall I drive over there or carry on? There are more buildings further on. And there…there are people there! They’re running – three of them in masks – down to the water and they’re all armed. Shall I turn around?”

Iris feels her pulse rise in her chest. She can also hear that Amanda is affected too – the wheezing through the filter is increasing. Damn it, she’s scared now.