The Alpha Plague (22 page)
Authors: Michael Robertson
Still gripped with a violent shake, Flynn stared at Vicky in the front seat. A frown crushed his features. “Where’s Mum?”
Silence filled the car and Rhys made eye contact with Vicky via the rear-view mirror.
Flynn looked from his dad to Vicky and back to his dad again. A reedy panic tightened his words. “Where’s Mum? What’s happened to her? Is she dead?”
“No, she’s not dead,” Rhys said. “She’s, um, she’s trapped.”
“Trapped?”
For the second time in as many minutes, Rhys and Vicky stared at one another. There seemed to be no point lying; he was only six, but the rules of life had changed drastically. “Those people that were trying to get at you in the trees aren’t people anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re…” how could he describe it?
“Zombies?” Flynn asked.
“How do you know about zombies?”
“Mummy lets me play
Call of Duty: Zombies
.”
“She lets you…” Rhys stopped himself. “They’re pretty much zombies, but a hell of a lot faster. They came from Summit City. There’s a science lab called The Alpha Tower where they made the virus.”
The confusion on Flynn’s face inspired Rhys to get to the point. “When the virus broke out, I was outside. Everyone who was in work still, like Mummy, got locked in their buildings. Shutters blocked every window, and they’re now trapped inside.”
“Are they safe?”
“For the time being.” He looked into his boy’s dark eyes. No lies; Flynn deserved more than that. “The thing is, mate, I’m not sure she’ll get out.”
The sound of Flynn’s rapid breaths tore at Rhys’ heart. “But they have to let her out; she’s my mum. You have to do something, Dad. Can you go and get her?” A sheen of tears glazed Flynn’s eyes. “I want my mum.”
A rock sat in Rhys’ stomach when he looked at Vicky in the rear-view mirror again. She shook her head, “No fucking way!”
“Language!”
Vicky’s gaze flicked to Flynn, and then back to Rhys again. “I’m sorry, but there ain’t no way I’m going back in there. It’s madness. Let’s just go to The Highlands and sit this out.”
“You said there’s a way to override the order to incinerate, right?”
Vicky didn’t respond.
“Does that mean there’s a way to override the shutters on the buildings too?”
“Are you insane, Rhys? If you open up the buildings, there’s no way you’re getting out of that city. There’ll be too many people getting infected.”
“Maybe I could use the chaos to get out. I’ll have a plan so I’ll be one step ahead of everyone else. I know what to expect. You’ve already said I need to get to The Alpha Tower to open the shutters, so will you tell me exactly how I do it, Vicky?”
For a moment, Vicky didn’t respond. After she’d looked out of the window to her right, she sighed. “You need to get into The Alpha Tower and get up to the top floor. There’s a room up there with a computer in it where you can turn off the incinerator. There’s another computer that will override the lockdown system. It’s pretty simple. The hard part is getting in there. My card will get you into The Alpha Tower, but once you’re in, you’ll need a scientist’s card to get to the last room. As far as I know, they’ve all been bitten. It’s a tower full of diseased now, but if you can kill one in a lab coat, you may find a card. I think it’s suicide though, Rhys.”
When Rhys looked at Flynn, the light glistened off his tear-streaked cheeks. “Can you draw me a map of the inside of The Alpha Tower?”
“And what are we going to do with, Flynn? We can’t take a boy in there with us.”
“I’m not asking you to come with me.”
“Good.”
“I need you to keep Flynn safe.”
“What?”
Rhys wiped the tears from Flynn’s face. “I want you to drop me off, take Flynn, and come back for me half an hour before the city’s supposed to get wiped out. I’ll be waiting.”
Vicky frowned in the rear-view mirror but didn’t respond.
When Rhys touched her shoulder, she flinched. “I need to do this, Vicky. It’s the right thing to do. I need to do everything I can to make sure my boy has his mum.”
Still no reply.
“Please?”
“What if you’re not back?”
“I’ll be back.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Trust me, Vicky, I’ll be back. I promise.”
The same darkness sat on her features, but something had changed. He had her; she was going to do it.
Chapter Forty-Eight
The creak of the handbrake cut through the silence after Vicky stopped the car by the drawbridge. Waves of nausea ran through Rhys as he looked over at Summit City. Panic fluttered in his chest. They had a police car, baseball bats, a full tank of petrol, and his little boy; yet he was going back into the bowels of hell. Nevertheless, it was the right thing to do, and whether Larissa was a bitch or not, he owed it to his boy.
Vicky held up a pen and piece of paper. “I’m going to draw exactly where you need to go in The Alpha Tower, okay?”
“Thank you.” Rhys then took Flynn’s hand and unlatched the watch on his wrist. “I need to take this, mate.” It was a multi-coloured Lego watch with Superman on the strap. “I need to keep track of the time while I’m in there.”
Flynn nodded but didn’t speak.
One last hug and kiss on the top of his head, and Rhys opened the back door. “I love you, Flynn. I’ll be back with Mummy soon, okay?”
Flynn stared at him and nodded again. The same glaze returned to his brown eyes, and he didn’t look like he had the words in him. Did he want to ask Rhys to stay? It looked like it, but he undoubtedly wanted his mum alive more.
Rhys retrieved his baseball bat from the floor of the car and got out. “Now remember to do whatever Vicky says. She’ll look after you, but be good for her.”
Flynn nodded again.
With Vicky by his side, Rhys walked over to the control booth. En route, Vicky handed her card to Rhys. “That’ll get you into The Alpha Tower, even if the shutters are up.”
Once they’d reached the control booth, Rhys leaned inside and removed two walkie–talkies. The red power light showed when he turned them on. “I’d imagine these will have a good enough range if you’re close by.” He passed one to Vicky. “I’ll have mine turned off most of the time and only use it when it’s safe. You’ll need to leave yours on for the entire time, okay?”
Vicky took the walkie–talkie and slipped it into her pocket.
Rhys looked across the river into the city. “The coast looks clear.” A tremble shook both his words and his limbs.
Vicky obviously saw his doubt. “It’s not too late to change your mind, you know.”
“All I want is to go to The Highlands with you two, but I’ll never be able to look my boy in the eyes again if I don’t try to save Larissa.”
A shimmer of sadness washed across Vicky’s face. “Just don’t get yourself killed, okay? I was starting to like you.”
Rhys tugged her toward him and the pair kissed. He tasted her salty tears. After he’d pulled away, he cleared his throat and said, “With you and Flynn as my motivation, I can survive anything. I promise you, Vicky, I’m coming back.”
Heavy breaths ran through Vicky as she held the map out for him. Her hand shook. “There are two identical rooms at the end of the corridor at the top of The Alpha Tower. The controls to shut everything down are in the room on the left.”
“And the room on the right?”
“Nothing; it’s currently empty.”
Vicky then went into the control booth and tapped on the computer that controlled the bridge.
A loud click
and then a whir, and the bridge slowly lowered.
As Rhys stood and stared at it, his heart beat to the point where it felt like it would explode. What the fuck was he doing?
***
Once the bridge had been fully lowered, Rhys scanned around again for signs of the diseased. Although there were none, he could smell rotten meat and vinegar on the light breeze.
One last look over his shoulder and he saw both Vicky and Flynn staring at him through glass; Vicky, the glass of the booth, and Flynn, the glass of the car’s back window.
He then turned away from them and looked ahead. His tears returned with full force and his throat ached. Deep unease sat in his gut as if his intuition needed him to listen to it—it didn’t matter, Rhys had to do this. After one final, deep breath, he stepped onto the bridge.
Ends.
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About The Author
Michael Robertson has been a writer for many years and has had poetry and short stories published, most notably with HarperCollins. He first discovered his desire to write as a skinny weed-smoking seventeen-year-old badman who thought he could spit bars over drum and bass. Fortunately, that venture never left his best mate’s bedroom and only a few people had to endure his musical embarrassment. He hasn’t so much as looked at a microphone since. What the experience taught him was that he liked to write. So that’s what he did.
After sending poetry to countless publications and receiving MANY rejection letters, he uttered the words, “That’s it, I give up.” The very next day, his first acceptance letter arrived in the post. He saw it as a sign that he would find his way in the world as a writer.
Over a decade and a half later, he now has a young family to inspire him and has decided to follow his joy with every ounce of his being. With the support of his amazing partner, Amy, he’s managed to find the time to take the first step of what promises to be an incredible journey. Love, hope, and the need to eat get him out of bed every morning to spend a precious few hours pursuing his purpose.
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