For Those In Peril (Book 2): The Outbreak (9 page)

I
hesitated; I didn’t know Daz, or what type of person he was. He was young, but
at least he was eager, and there wouldn’t really be too much that could go
wrong. It also wouldn’t hurt to have someone else on board who knew how to drive
the boat, just in case something happened to me. I came to a decision. ‘Okay.
Come stand here and I’ll show you what to do.’

As Daz
stepped behind the wheel, I moved to the side. ‘This is the throttle here, but
you don’t really need to touch it at the moment. That’s the rev counter; it
shows how fast the engine’s turning over. You want to keep it at about 3,000.
The wheel’s just like a car’s; turn it in the direction you want to go, but try
to only make small movements, not big ones. For now, you’re just trying to keep
us going forward in a straight line. If you want to see how well you’re doing,
you can look back at the wake.’ We both looked over the stern, the wake lay in a
straight line behind us, or at least it did until the point where Daz had taken
the wheel: after that it snaked from side to side as Daz moved the wheel back
and forth, trying to keep us on course. ‘Any questions?’

Daz
glanced around nervously. ‘Where’re the brakes?’

‘Boats
don’t have breaks.’

He
frowned. ‘So how d’you stop?’

‘You
don’t, at least not quickly at any rate. That means you’ve got to look ahead and
plan your movements carefully.’

Concern spread across Daz’s face; I patted him on the shoulder. ‘Don’t worry
about that for now. Just keep us in the middle of the river and we’ll be fine.
There shouldn’t be anything you can hit out here.’ I watched him for a few
minutes, making sure he’d got the hang of it; he was learning fast and already
we were steering a much more consistent path. ‘I’m going below. Call me if you
need me.’

Before
Daz could say anything, I disappeared down the companionway and into the saloon.
The television was still on, but the sound was off. A worried-looking woman
clutched a microphone as she stood on a near-empty road. Behind her, the door of
the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street was visible. A small, but
persistent, trickle of visitors came and went as the woman spoke. I picked up
the remote and turned up the volume.

‘So
far there has been no word from the Prime Minister, but he is believed to be in
discussions with military leaders and the heads of other European states.
Meanwhile, the latest reports suggest that while the situation in Glasgow is
getting worse, the army are still managing to contain the outbreak within the
city itself. Everyone in the affected area is being told to lock their doors and
stay inside as this is their best chance of avoiding the infection. This is also
critical to the army’s strategy as it allows them to identify those infected
with the disease and neutralise them.’

‘Neutralise them? That’s a rather nice way of saying they’ve been given orders
to shoot them on sight.’ I turned and found that Claire had come into the saloon
behind me. ‘And since they can’t really tell who’s infected and who’s not, it
means that they’re just going to shoot anyone they see. It’s one way to deal
with the situation, but a lot of innocent people are going to end up dead.’

‘Surely they wouldn’t do that, would they? Just shoot anyone they see.’

‘The
soldiers are going to do what they’re told. They’ll be scared; they’ll be
panicking; they’re going to shoot first and ask questions later.’ She crossed
her arms as she stood beside me facing the screen. ‘I’ve seen it before, when I
was in Africa: when soldiers are faced with a threat like this, one where they
can’t tell the enemy from the innocent, one where they’re so heavily
outnumbered; they stop thinking and just do whatever they’ve been told to do.’

I was
about to say something when the picture on the television changed. The woman had
disappeared and instead they appeared to be showing a football match. Given the
situation, this seemed odd. I turned my attention to it as a voice-over put it
in context.

‘This
footage was recorded in Glasgow a few hours ago, at Ibrox football stadium,
where the home team was taking on its local rival. It’s still not clear quite
what happened, but it seems that somehow someone with the infection got into the
crowd. Younger viewers and those of a nervous disposition might want to look
away now.’

Suddenly, the camera shifted from following the players on the pitch and zoomed
in on an area high in one of the stands, where it looked like people had started
fighting. The commentators could be heard tutting and criticising the fans. Then
the violence started to spread, slowly at first, then faster and faster as more
and more people became infected, turned, and then passed it on. Those who could,
struggled onto the pitch, trying to escape the violence that was engulfing them.
Others, those who were already infected, pursued them, pulling them down,
tearing them apart. The camera kept having to pull further and further back to
keep all of the action in the frame. By this time, the commentators where
shouting over each other as they tried to understand what was going on. Then
there was a crash and one of them yelled. A scuffle could be heard in the
background, as well as swearing and screaming, and then the screen went blank.

A
second later this was replaced by the live feed from Downing Street and the
reporter was speaking again. ‘That was the scene at the Rangers-Celtic match
earlier today, and it shows how quickly the Haitian Rabies Virus can sweep
through a crowd. This is the justification that the army are using for their
shoot-on-sight policy for anyone who is known, or even suspected, to have the
disease. Remember, there’s no cure for rabies, no treatment once people start
showing symptoms, and they are claiming that only if the number of infected can
be kept to a minimum, can there be any hope of stopping this outbreak. A
military spokesman has already warned that if this strategy doesn’t work, more
serious measures may have to be taken. Back to you in the studio.’

A
man’s voice cut in. ‘Hold on, Michelle. “More serious measures”? Do you know
what they mean by that?’

The
woman held her finger to her ear and then glanced down at the bundle of papers
she was holding. She shuffled through these, trying to find the one she was
searching for. When she found it, she looked back at the camera. ‘All we’ve been
told is that the current strategy is to shoot any people who are infected, or
who are suspected of being infected, on sight. If it looks like this strategy is
failing, then they will reassess the situation and consider whether more serious
measures need to be implemented.’

‘That
doesn’t sound good.’ Claire turned to me. ‘How fast can this boat go?’

‘About
four miles an hour tops.’

Claire
considered this for a moment. ‘What are we doing now?’

‘About
three. Why? What are you thinking?’

‘I’m
thinking they aren’t going to be able to handle this just by shooting people.
There are too many already infected for that to be possible. Think about the
size of that football stadium. There had to have been tens of thousands of
people in it, and god knows how many of them are now infected.’ Claire unfolded
her arms and placed her hands on her hips. ‘I’ll bet they’re already preparing
to implement their “more serious measures” and I think the further away we are
from Glasgow when that happens, the better.’

‘Well,
we should be coming up to the bridge any time now, and once we’re under that,
we’ll be well clear of the city.’ I’d just finished speaking when there was a
shout from the deck.

‘I
guess I’d better get back up there.’ I turned and climbed through the
companionway and out into the cockpit.

Claire
clicked off the television. ‘I’ll come with you.’

Up on
deck, Sophie sat huddled in one corner, staring blankly into space. Daz was
still at the wheel; Tom was standing beside him, peering through the binoculars.
Both had concerned expressions on their faces. I looked down river, towards
where the span of the Erskine Bridge stretched across the water about a mile
ahead of us.

‘What’s up?’ I glanced at Daz, but it was Tom that replied.

‘There’s something going on … on the bridge. A lot of people moving around up
there, and ...’ He swept the binoculars from left to right. ‘And I think they’ve
got cannons or something.’

Daz
let go of the wheel and took the binoculars from Tom. ‘Those aren’t cannons;
they’re field guns an’ howitzers, an’ that sort of thing. That’s some pretty
intense hardware.’

I
looked at Daz curiously. ‘How’d you know that?’

Daz
shrugged. ‘I play a lot of computer games. Not much else to do most of the
time.’

‘What
could they do with them?’ I was concerned about what the army might be planning
to use such large weapons for.

Daz
bit his lip nervously. ‘Blow this thing to pieces for a start.’

I
assumed Daz was being flippant, but the very possibility had me worried. I took
the binoculars from him and studied the bridge myself. There were three large
guns, one at each end and one in the middle, all pointing up the river and
towards the city; and that meant they were pointing towards us.

I
handed the binoculars back to Daz, who ran them along the bridge, stopping at
each gun in turn. ‘Looks like they’re still settin’ them up. They won’t be able
to fire them yet.’

‘You
learned that from computer games, too?’ Tom sounded sceptical.

‘Nah,’
Daz shot back, ‘the Discovery Channel!’  

‘We’d
better get a move on then.’ I stepped behind the wheel and pushed the throttle
up until the revs reached 4,000. The engine was now working flat-out; if I
pushed it any harder, I’d risk damaging it.

Chapter Four

We’d
crossed about half the remaining distance to the bridge when the first shots
rang out. The sound was deep and rapid, and the bullets crashed into the water
about thirty yards in front us, each sending a small jet of water into the air.

‘Why’re they firing at us?’ Tom was crouching on the cockpit floor along with
Daz. Claire had thrown herself across Sophie, trying to protect as much of her
as possible, while I huddled behind the wheel.

I
scanned the bridge ahead of us, trying to see where the gun was being fired
from. ‘Maybe they think we’re infected. Here, Daz, take the helm. I’m going to
see if I can get them on the VHF radio, tell them we’re okay and not to shoot.’

As he
stood up, the machine gun fired again; this time the bullets were much closer.
Daz swore and threw himself onto the deck, wrapping his hands over the back of
his head.

‘Daz,
you need to get over here.’

Keeping himself as low as possible, Daz crawled over to the wheel and crouched
behind it.

‘You
can’t see anything from down there. I’m afraid you’re going to have to stand up
and do it properly.’

Daz
remained where he was. ‘Are you mad? I’ll get my fuckin’ head blown off!’

‘Don’t
worry. I think they’re just warning shots; I don’t think they’re actually trying
to hit us.’ Just as I finished speaking, the machine gun fired again. The first
bullets hit the water a few yards to our right, while the rest crashed into the
foredeck, sending splinters of fibreglass flying into the air. I pulled the
wheel sharply to the left, turning the boat as tightly as I dared. As soon as we
were facing upstream, I straightened it up and headed back the way we’d just
come. A fourth rally from the machine gun smacked into the water close enough to
the stern that I felt the spray land on the back of my neck.

I
glanced round the cockpit. ‘All of you, get inside! Get right up front; it’ll be
safest there.’

Claire
ushered Sophie down the stairs, and was closely followed by Tom; Daz didn’t
move.

‘What
about you?’ He sounded concerned.

‘Someone needs to keep us heading in the right direction.’

Daz
remained huddled by my side. ‘I’ll stay, too, then.’

‘There’s no point in two of us being out here. Just get inside. Now!’

There
was another burst of machine gunfire from the bridge. As I ducked down, I heard
the bullets whistle overhead and smack into the water about ten feet ahead of
us. It was all the encouragement Daz needed. He scuttled across the cockpit on
all fours and disappeared down the companionway just as the machine gun fired
again. I shrank down as low as I could get, trying to use the back of the boat
to give me as much cover as possible. I didn’t see where the bullets landed, but
I heard the spray they threw up hit the side of the boat. I shifted the throttle
forward causing the engine to scream as I pushed it well beyond a level that was
safe; it wouldn’t be able to run like that for long, but we needed to get as far
away from the bridge as quickly as possible. There was another volley of shots,
but they landed well short of us. I hoped this meant we were finally out of its
range.

‘Ben?’
I looked up and saw Tom standing in the companionway, trying to keep his head as
low as possible. ‘We’ve got a problem. There’s water coming in.’