Lost Weekend
by Claire (Hindsy)
Thankfully the rain appeared to be behind them as the small Volkswagen pulled off the motorway. Rachel reached for the volume control on the radio, turning it down as she looked over her shoulder to her fellow passengers on the back seat.
“Are we betting how long the rain stays away?”
Michelle and Katrina looked at each other, smiling, “Up here, you’ll be lucky if you get half an hour without another downpour.”
Rachel turned back to Robbie who sat behind the wheel, “If you put your foot down, we might get to the cottage before it starts again.”
Robbie took his left hand off the wheel, and reached over to rest it on Rachel’s knee, “Even I can’t drive 100 miles in half an hour.”
Rachel placed her own hand over Robbie’s, squeezing it gently, “Well, maybe we’ll just outrun it then.”
As it happened, they didn’t outrun it, and an hour later as they pulled up in front of the cottage that was to be home for the next four nights, the rain was coming down so hard they were soaked through in the time it took to run to the front door.
Walter Rushton had anticipated the weather, and had left the cottage unlocked for their arrival. He was seated at the kitchen table, the kettle freshly boiled behind him on the work surface.
“I’ve left the two sets of keys on the coffee table in the living room. There are clean towels in the small cupboard outside the bathroom, and I have the boiler on now so you can all take a nice hot shower before getting unpacked.”
Rachel pulled at the shirt she was wearing; peeling it away from her stomach and wincing as the fabric made a sucking noise.
“Do you have an internet connection?” Robbie had insisted on packing his laptop and games console although the others had assured him it would be a waste of time.
Rushton shook his head, stifling a laugh, “You’re lucky we get a reception for the TV.”
Katrina gave Robbie an ‘I told you so’ look before turning back to Rushton, “The brochure said you had a lake at the bottom of the garden. We wondered if it was safe to swim?”
The grin that had been on his face evaporated instantly, replaced by a solemn look, “No, we don’t recommend swimming in any of the outdoor water around this area.”
Katrina raised an eyebrow, “Why not?”
Rushton reached for his jacket which had been hung over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, “Miss, please just take my advice. There is nothing that will ruin your weekend break quicker than the effects of the lake water.” He pulled his jacket on, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a set of keys. “I’ve left my number beside the house keys in the living room. If you have any problems at all, just phone. I’m only fifteen minutes down the road, so can be here almost immediately if you need me.”
As Rushton left the cottage, none of them could envision what he would find when he next returned.
With everyone showered and changed, Robbie offered to drive down into the village for food. The rain had been relentless since their arrival but he had found a waterproof jacket hanging in a cupboard near the back door. There were also numerous pairs of Wellington boots, but without knowing who the previous owners were, Robbie wasn’t too keen on using a pair.
“I’ll be back in half an hour.”
Katrina was bundled up in pyjamas with the duvet from her bed wrapped around her. The coal fire was lit, but hadn’t yet managed to heat the room. “Can you bring back a couple of bottles of wine?”
Robbie smiled, “The two crates of beer in the fridge not going to be enough for tonight?”
Michelle moved from the couch down onto the floor, peeling the duvet away from Katrina long enough for her to sit beside her, and re-wrap it around them both. “Beer is cold. Red wine will heat us up.”
Robbie turned to Rachel, sitting on a chair with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, “Any requests from you?”
She shook her head, “Just be careful driving in that rain.”
Robbie walked to her, kissing her on the head before moving to the door, “I’ll be back soon.”
“Eh, don’t we get kisses?” Katrina pouted.
Robbie raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know where you’ve been.”
The girls laughed as he left them to brave the elements.
By ten o’clock that night the rain was still driving against the small cottage, the wind howling down the chimney caused the flames in the fireplace to dance and jump. Katrina and Michelle were still huddled beneath their duvet, a glass of red wine in hand, while Rachel lay on the couch with her own duvet wrapped around her, her feet resting on Robbie’s knee. The picture on the TV was intermittently reduced to snow, with Robbie sighing loudly every time.
“This is pointless.” He reached for the remote, and switched the TV off. “No laptop, no TV, no console. What are we meant to do for four days in this pissing rain?”
Katrina laughed, “There is more to life than gadgets Rob.”
“If you suggest board games I’m packing up the car and going home right now.”
Rachel nudged his leg playfully with her foot, “We could just go to bed. It would be fun, and warm.”
Robbie drained the beer from the can he had been drinking, “Now that sounds like a plan.” He stood, leaving the empty can on the top of the fireplace, “Ladies, we will see you in the morning.”
Michelle stood, holding out her hand to Katrina and pulling her to her feet, “Come on you, I have to say their plan sounds good.”
Rachel looked towards the fire, “How do we put that out?”
“We don’t,” Robbie headed for the door, “It’ll die overnight, but in the mean time the heat will be spreading upstairs.”
Switching off the lights around the room, Rachel met Robbie at the door, and soon all four of them were climbing the stairs, heading to the two bedrooms on the upper level.
By the morning, the rain had at last stopped. Robbie stood at the kitchen window drinking tea, while looking out over the rear gardens of the cottage. Rachel was sitting at the table finishing a plate of cereal, dressed in her pyjamas and slippers.
“The sky looks clear; with any luck it’ll be dry all day.”
“What do you fancy doing?”
Robbie shrugged, turning to look at her, “Walking I suppose. That was the point of the trip. Some fresh air, exercise.”
Rachel moved to the sink with her now empty bowl, “I’ll go jump in the shower before the girls get up, we can head out and maybe walk down into the village.”
“Too late, the girls are already up,” Michelle came in as Rachel was leaving. “Well, we’re awake at least. Kat’s still in bed, but she’ll be up soon.”
Michelle walked to stand beside Robbie, “Looks nice out.”
He nodded, “Are you both coming with us, or are you going to hang around here?”
Michelle shrugged, “Probably just stay here. We both brought books, and to be honest just not being in the office is fine by me. I can happily spend four days on the couch reading.”
Robbie smiled, “Bit boring though.”
Michelle shook her head, “No Mr Gadget, that sounds like heaven.”
Robbie left her admiring the view.
Michelle and Katrina had spent the morning doing exactly what they had planned, but by two in the afternoon both felt a little fresh air was needed. Not wanting to venture far, they agreed a walk around the gardens would suffice. Although the grass was a little soggy, they hadn’t been as prudish as Robbie about wearing second hand boots, so dressed in rubber Wellingtons they ambled slowly down the rear path. The scenery around them was stunning, rolling snow capped hills, endless fields of green with sheep and cows dotted far off in the distance and the mirror clear lake which spread out at the bottom of the gardens.
“Why have a lake if you can’t go swimming?”
Katrina slipped her arm through Michelle’s. “You heard the old man. I don’t want to catch bubonic plague or worse.”
Michelle laughed, “I wasn’t planning on swimming, calm down. It’s too cold anyway.”
“Still, must be tempting in the summer.”
They walked right to the waters edge, and spent a few minutes studying the water.
“Can you see fish or anything?” Katrina still had a grip on Michelle’s arm, “I’d have thought with it being so big it would have a few.”
Michelle shook her head, “Don’t see anything.”
Katrina started to walk away, gently tugging Michelle as she went, “Lets walk around it, then go back inside and see if there any DVDs lying around.”
Walking at a gentle pace, it took them forty minutes to circle the calm water, and as they neared their starting point, they saw Robbie and Rachel standing where they had earlier.
“Thought you two would be out shopping for a while yet.”
Rachel shook her head, “Village consists of a Post Office, one shop, and a pub.”
Michelle laughed, “No need to ask where you’ve spent the last few hours.”
Robbie shrugged, “It’s like travelling back in time, two fifty a pint.”
Katrina raised an eyebrow, “We might need to check that out later.”
Michelle walked right to the waters edge again, leaning forward to study the water. “There must be some fish in there.”
Robbie came to stand beside her, pointing to something near the waters edge, “Isn’t that one there?”
Michelle leaned over further, following the line of his finger, “Where?”
“There,” He gestured. As Michelle leaned further in, Robbie reached out a hand, meaning to grab hold of her arm and jerk her forward. Before he managed to, the ground beneath Michelle’s feet slid out from under her, and she stumbled forward. Robbie, already reaching for her, was caught by surprise and froze, simply watching as her arms pin wheeled as she attempted to regain her balance. By the time Robbie appeared to come out of his daze, Michelle’s right foot had slid down and was now submerged in the lake water. Feeling the cold water start to fill her Wellington boot, she attempted to shift her weight onto her left foot, but this just caused her to overbalance. Within seconds she was falling sideways into the icy cold water.
“Robbie, do something.” The panic in Katrina’s voice got him acting, and he stepped forward, managing to grab hold of the collar of Michelle’s jacket for just a second before she completely lost her footing and tumbled into the water. Robbie’s fingers closed around nothing as she fell out of his reach.
From the grass, Katrina looked on in horror as she saw the scared look cross Michelle’s face. She saw Michelle’s chest hitch as the cold water took her breath away. Michelle managed to lift her left hand out of the water towards Robbie who took hold and pulled. The whole episode lasted less than two minutes, but as Michelle was pulled from the water she felt like hours had passed. Robbie immediately took off his jacket and threw it around her shoulders, lifting the hood over her head in the vain attempt at trying to maintain some of her own body heat.
“Rachel, run on and get the shower on.” Robbie had his arm around Michelle’s shoulder as he led her back up the garden towards the house.
In the bathroom, Katrina helped Michelle out of her sodden clothes, cringing as she heard teeth chattering and witnessed the shakes that ravaged her girlfriend’s body.
“Two more minutes honey and you’ll be nice and warm. I’ll be as quick as I can.” Katrina’s own heart was racing but she managed to keep her own shock from her voice.
The bathroom was steam filled as the hot water from the shower reacted with the cold air in the small room.
With Michelle now naked, Katrina quickly peeled her own clothes off, and manoeuvred them both into the shower cubicle. Michelle’s shaking subsided after a few minutes, but Katrina was concerned at the red welts that started to appear on her skin. Michelle wrapped her arms around Katrina’s shoulder, and pulled her close, rubbing a hand soothingly over the soft bare skin of her back. She rested her head on Michelle’s shoulder, and spoke into her ear, “It’s ok now. You gave me a scare, but you’re going to be fine.”
“It was so cold.”
“I know, but it’s better now. We’ll get changed into PJs and just go lie in bed.”
“Will you read to me?”
A small smile settled on Katrina’s lips, relieved to hear the request, “I’ll even read Bronte if you want.”
“I should jump in a lake more often.”
Katrina kissed her softly on the cheek, “Don’t push it.”
Robbie was sitting at the kitchen table, an almost empty beer bottle in front of him. Rachel sat beside him, her hand resting on his arm, “It was an accident.”
“She could’ve drowned.” He shook his head, “She could’ve gone into shock because of the cold, and went straight under. Who knows how deep that water is?”
“It was an accident, and she’s fine.”
“It was stupid. I just wanted to scare her.” He lifted the bottle, and drained the last of the beer, setting it back on the table. “I’ll go see how she is.”
Rachel held his arm, “Leave them. They both got a scare, they’ll be up there doing God knows what.”
Robbie shook his head, “I want to make sure she’s ok.”
Rachel let her hand drop as Robbie stood and left the kitchen.
He climbed the stairs listening intently for any indication that the girls wouldn’t want to be disturbed, but the landing was silent when he reached the top. He tapped softly on their door, and only when he heard Katrina tell him to come in did he open the door.
Katrina was half sitting up in the bed, two pillows behind her back. Michelle lay with her head resting on Katrina’s stomach, an arm thrown over her. Both appeared to be wearing long sleeved T-shirts which disappeared beneath the duvet that had been pulled up under Michelle’s chin.
Robbie felt himself blush slightly at the intimacy of their pose, but stepped into the room anyway, “I just wanted to say I’m really sorry.”
Katrina shook her head, “She’s fine Rob. It was an accident.”
“I was being a dick and I’m sorry.”
“You’re always a dick and its fine.” She smirked as she saw him first appear shocked, and then smile himself as he realised she was joking. “She’ll sleep for a while, and then we’ll both be down for dinner.”
“I’ll make whatever you guys want. I even packed that horrible cheese pasta sauce if you want that, and I’ll make it with mushrooms too.”
Katrina raised an eyebrow, “That might make her feel better.”
Robbie shifted on his feet, not sure what else to say. Katrina saved him the trouble, “Go back downstairs and have some more beer. I’m going to sleep for a while too, and then we’ll both be down.”
Robbie nodded before turning and leaving.
Katrina waited until he was gone, then shifted her position slightly so she could look at Michelle’s face. The redness caused by the hot water hitting her cold skin had mostly retreated, but Katrina still thought her face appeared slightly flushed. She lifted a hand and laid it softly against Michelle’s forehead. Hot. The arm thrown across her own stomach was generating an unnatural heat also. It’s her body’s way of fighting the cold and shock, she told herself. She settled back onto the pillows, closing her eyes. But sleep didn’t come.
As Robbie finished draining the pasta, and started to divide it between four plates, Katrina came into the kitchen still dressed in her pyjamas.
“I’m just serving, so you might want to shout on Michelle.”
Katrina shook her head as she sat at the table, “She’s not coming. She’s still out cold, and I don’t want to wake her.”
Robbie turned, concern in his eyes, “She’s not talking to me, is she? She doesn’t want to come down.”
Katrina shook her head, “Robbie, honestly, she’s still sleeping.”
Rachel stood, and went to Robbie’s side, taking the pot from his hand, and pushing him gently, towards the table, “It’s the shock. Her body is dealing with it in its own way. A good night’s sleep and she’ll be fine by the morning.”
Katrina nodded, “Exactly.” She stood again, “You know, I’m not that hungry anyway Rob, think I might just go up and read for a while.”
Robbie nodded, “Fair enough.”
Rachel watched Katrina leave, and then left the dinner preparations to come and sit with Robbie. She laid a hand on his arm, “It doesn’t mean anything. They just need some time alone, and then they’ll be fine.”
Robbie stood, walking to the fridge where he withdrew two bottles of beer. He handed one to Rachel as he sat back down, “I’m not hungry either. Let’s get totally rat-arsed instead.”
Rachel couldn’t help but smile as she unscrewed the top off her bottle.
Robbie and Rachel woke up in the early hours of the morning on the living room floor. Both fully dressed, they were huddled together against the cold. The remains of the fire in the fireplace were now cold, and had clearly gone out a few hours before. Robbie cringed as he moved to sit up, his back stiff and his joints screaming in pain at both the cold and the fact they had spent the night on the hard wooden floor. As he sat up, his stomach rolled as he took in the empty beer and wine bottles on the coffee table.
“Shit Rachel, I think my head is going to explode.”
Rachel couldn’t even speak, just groaned loudly as she too sat up, stretching to try and work out the kinks from her aching back.
“I’m going to go to bed, you coming?”
A single nod was all she could manage as she felt her head spin with the movement.
Slowly, they left the living room and climbed the stairs to their room, where they both fell into bed still fully clothed.
Next door, Katrina had spent a restless night with Michelle lying beside her. The heat Michelle was giving off was worrying her, and the fact Michelle hadn’t moved at all in the night was also cause for concern. They often joked that Michelle was like a second skin in bed; if Katrina moved and left a gap between them, Michelle unconsciously shifted position until they again maintained contact. For the last few hours, Katrina had sat on a chair in the corner of the room, simply watching over the sleeping figure in the bed. She’d heard Robbie and Rachel go to bed, and was aware of the rising sun casting shadows over the room. Her watch showed 8am but for Katrina it felt like forty eight hours had passed overnight.
Her heart skipped a beat as she watched Michelle reach an arm over the bed, covering the space where she usually lay. She was on her feet and moving to the side of the bed before she was even aware of moving.
“’Chelle, I’m here.” She took hold of Michelle’s outstretched hand. “How are you feeling?”
Michelle opened her eyes, and smiled at Katrina, “I’m thirsty.”
“Do you want water, or juice, or milk or...”
“Just water.”
“Are you hungry? You didn’t have any dinner last night, I can make you…”
Again Michelle cut her off, “Just water.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Katrina couldn’t help but sigh with relief as she left the room. The horrid flush she’d witnessed on Michelle’s cheeks last night appeared to be almost gone. The red welts on her arms had also vanished. She laughed softly to herself, chastising herself for overreacting, skipping downstairs to get Michelle’s requested water. Returning with a pint of water, she watched with wide eyes as Michelle drained the glass within seconds.
“Do you want more?”
Michelle shook her head, lying back down. “No, but I need to sleep some more.”
“Honey, you’ve been in bed for hours.”
Michelle’s eyes were already closing, “Tired.”
Within minutes Michelle’s breathing had evened out and Katrina knew she was asleep again. She leaned over, and laid a hand on her forehead. The skin beneath her hand was clammy, and hot. She gently lifted the duvet to look at the skin on Michelle’s arms. Although the overall redness had faded, Katrina could make out what looked like red spider veins just beneath the surface of the skin. She flipped the duvet off Michelle, and looked at her feet and lower legs. Her feet showed the same red veins, but it was the rash which appeared just beneath the leg of her pyjamas that drew her attention. Katrina slowly pulled the pyjamas further up and her eyes widened as she saw an ugly red rash pattern on the skin just below the knee. The rash appeared to be about three inches in diameter, and at the centre of it appeared to be a small red cut. Katrina laid her hand gently on the red area and instantly felt heat beneath her touch.
“Michelle honey, wake up for me.” She shook her gently by the shoulder, “Chelle, please honey.”
Michelle gave no indication of hearing her.
“Shit.” Katrina walked quickly from the room, barging into Robbie and Rachel’s room without stopping to even knock. “Guys, you need to come quick.”
Robbie immediately sat up in bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Rachel, not as quick to waken moaned as she rolled over to wrap herself around Robbie.
“What’s wrong?” Robbie tried to focus on Katrina.
“Something is really wrong with Michelle. I think we need to get a doctor.”
This seemed to jolt both Robbie and Rachel fully awake.
Robbie was out of bed, and following her down the hall to where Michelle lay. Taking one look at her flushed face, and noting the rash on her leg, he felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He pointed to her leg, “What is that?”
Katrina shook her head, “I don’t know. It wasn’t there last night. I saw her in the shower; there was not a mark on her.”
Rachel appeared in the doorway, carrying her mobile phone. “I’ll call Mr Rushton and see if he can send a doctor over.” She went back out into the hallway to call.
Katrina moved to sit beside Michelle, again shaking her gently by the shoulder, “Michelle, open your eyes.” She looked helplessly at Robbie when again Michelle didn’t respond. “What’s wrong with her?”
Robbie shrugged, “I have no idea.” He shook his head, “The doctor will know when he gets here.”
Rachel came back in, “Rushton said there is a doctor in the village. If he’s home then he should be here within ten minutes. If not then he’ll try to get a message to him and send him over as soon as possible.”
Katrina looked down at Michelle, “Maybe we should take her to hospital in the car.”
“Rushton said not to move her.”
Robbie looked at her, “Did he know what this is?”
Rachel shook her head, “I asked but he said no. He just said if she’s running a fever then we shouldn’t move her.”
Robbie turned to Rachel, “Lets get dressed. The doctor might want to admit her, so we should be ready to go just in case.”
Rachel and Robbie left. Katrina lay down beside Michelle, and gently rubbed her arm, “It’s going to be ok Chelle, the doctor will be here soon.”
Whether or Michelle heard her wasn’t clear, as she continued to sleep.
Doctor Hugh McKay arrived thirty five minutes later, carrying a medical bag in one hand and his mobile phone in the other, which he dropped into his pocket as he made his way inside. Robbie met him at the front door and led him upstairs to where Katrina and Rachel were standing watch over Michelle.
“How long has she been like this?”
Katrina spoke, her voice shaking, “Since yesterday I suppose. We went to bed about 5 and she’s not been up since.”
“She’s slept the whole time?”
Katrina shook her head, “She woke this morning and asked for water. She drank a pint, then went back to sleep.”
McKay moved to the side of the bed, “Did anything happen which may have triggered this? Has she eaten anything out of the ordinary or has she mentioned that she felt unwell before hand?”
Robbie waited to see what Katrina would say but when she remained quiet, he spoke up. “She fell in the lake.”
McKay spun to Robbie, “The lake? When?”
Katrina picked up the conversation again, “Yesterday afternoon about 3. It was an accident. She lost her footing and slipped in.”
“Did she swallow any of the water?”
Katrina shook her head, “She didn’t go right under. She was wet up to her shoulders, but she didn’t get her head under.”
McKay sat his bag on the bottom of the bed, and snapped the lid open. Reaching inside, he withdrew a pair of rubber gloves which he snapped on. Robbie’s eyes widened as he watched the Doctor pull on a second pair over the first.
“This is serious, isn’t it?”
McKay looked at Robbie, “Mr Rushton usually urges guests to avoid the lake water.”
Rachel nodded, “He told us not to swim. Like Katrina said, it was an accident.”
McKay moved to the side of the bed, and instantly saw the red rash on Michelle’s leg. “She had a cut on her leg?”
Rachel and Robbie both looked to Katrina, who in turn simply shrugged, “I didn’t see it before, but I suppose she could have. Maybe she cut it shaving.”
McKay withdrew a thermometer from his bag, and manoeuvred it into Michelle’s mouth. He then withdrew a syringe from the bag, and attached an empty vial to the end. Seeing the red spider veins on her arms, he located one in the crook of her elbow, and used it to withdraw a sample of blood. With that done, he withdrew the thermometer, and everyone saw his eyes widen at the reading.
“How bad is this Doctor?”
He shook his head in response to Robbie’s question. “Your friend needs urgent medical attention.”
“Then we take her to hospital.”
Again, McKay shook his head, “It’s not that easy son. What you’re looking at is a highly dangerous strain of an unknown virus. She needs to remain here, and we are now in a quarantine situation.”
Robbie laughed nervously, “You’re joking right?”
McKay peeled off his gloves, dropping them into his bag. He reached for his mobile phone, and moved towards the open door, “I wish I was. I have to make a call to try and get us some additional help, but I’m afraid I have to ask you all to remain here until I come back.”
McKay left the room, and they simply stared after him.
“Is this really happening?” Rachel looked to Robbie hoping he would tell her it really was a joke.
Robbie shrugged, unsure of what to say.
Katrina laid a hand softly on Michelle’s arm, rubbing her thumb in small circles over the flushed skin. Robbie walked to the window, watching McKay make his phone call. “He looks pretty serious.”
“He bloody better be serious, he’s got me shit scared.” Rachel came to his side, sliding her arm through his. “This is bad, isn’t it?”
Robbie put his arm around her, pulling her close. “It’ll be fine. He’ll get someone to bring antibiotics or something, and after Michelle’s better then we go home.” He kissed her softly on the head, “Nothing to worry about.”
Below them, McKay was gesturing wildly with one hand while he paced the front path.
Katrina had been reluctant to lave Michelle, but McKay had insisted that he was not going back to the room where Michelle lay. So, they found themselves sitting around the kitchen table.
“I’m expecting a delivery of antibiotics. They didn’t say when it would arrive but given the circumstances, I would expect it sooner rather than later.”
Robbie noted the worried look on the girls’ faces, “Can you tell us how bad this is, and what to expect?”
McKay shook his head, “Honestly, no I can’t. I can say that the water around here seems to house a very lethal virus that loves nothing more than to make itself at home in a warm body. However, to date we’ve only had a few cases of human contact. We usually find the odd rabbit, or even deer which shows signs of infection, but even then there are never two cases the same.”
Katrina’s voice was very quiet when she asked, “Will she die?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.” McKay ran a hand through his hair, “There have been cases of death but as I said, no two cases are the same.”
“Do we have it too, whatever it is?” Robbie’s face paled.
McKay shrugged, “Looking at you, I’d say no. But this thing has an incubation period of up to two weeks. If your friend was exposed yesterday, then there is no possible way of knowing if any of you have also contracted it.”
“We didn’t come into contact with the water.” Robbie seemed hopeful.
Katrina looked at Robbie, “I did. I hugged her, I helped her undress and I took the wet clothes out to dry.”
Robbie couldn’t meet her eye, “Sorry.”
McKay sighed, “If none of you have an open wound that could have let water in, then I’d guess you were ok. But it would only be a guess.”
Rachel rubbed her face with both hands, “So what happens now? We sit here and wait on someone brining medicine?”
McKay nodded, “That is exactly what we do.”
So the wait began.
Four hours later and they were all feeling the pressure of the unknown. Katrina had gone back upstairs to lie with Michelle and continually try to rouse her from her sleep. Rachel and Robbie sat together on the couch, both almost catatonic with worry. While McKay paced the floor in front of the window searching for any sign of the impending antibiotic delivery.
When McKay’s phone burst into song Rachel and Robbie looked like they had been electrocuted, springing apart and both holding hands to their hearts.
McKay lifted the phone, “McKay.” He stood listening for a few minutes, and then simply hung up the phone.
Robbie looked at him expectantly, “Well?”
McKay moved to the door, “Stay here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Robbie let him leave and then moved to the window. Rachel couldn’t bring herself to move but looked to Robbie, “What’s happening?”
Robbie stood watching for a few minutes before speaking, “He’s walking out towards the road.” He moved to the other side of the window to track McKay’s movements.
“Is he meeting someone?”
Robbie nodded, “Bloody hell.”
Rachel got to her feet, coming to stand beside him, “What?”
Robbie nodded to where McKay was, “That looks like an Army soldier Rachel.”
McKay had stopped in front of a man in uniform who saluted him before handing over a small black box. They appeared to talk for a few minutes before McKay turned and headed back towards their cottage.
Neither Robbie nor Rachel made any move to hide the fact they had watched the interaction, both noting McKay’s solemn look as he passed in front of the window.
The Doctor simply popped his head around the door on his return, telling them he had to go and see Michelle then he would come back to talk to them.
When McKay came back into the room, Katrina was walking behind him. She seemed to have aged ten years over the past 24 hours. McKay waited until she sat herself down before starting to speak.
“You saw who provided the medication, so you know how serious this has become.”
Katrina looked to Robbie, confusion etched on her face. Robbie spoke quietly, “Army. They dropped off whatever it was he gave Michelle.”
McKay continued, “The Army have monitoring the virus in this area for the last twenty years. They have been working with previous victims in the hope of developing some kind of cure.” He moved to a small drinks cabinet that sat in the corner. None of the guests had bothered with it, as it only contained whiskeys and liqueurs, which they didn’t appreciate. The Doctor poured himself a large measure of single malt whiskey, before continuing. “The Army have now imposed a perimeter around this cottage. They will ensure none of us leave until we are told to.”
“Jesus Christ.” Robbie’s fear was evident in his voice.
“I’m afraid even he can’t help now.” McKay took a large drink from his glass, and Rachel noted his hand shaking. “Your friend will receive the sample treatment every hour for the next six hours, and then I will provide them with fresh blood samples. These will be analysed, and a new treatment will be provided based on their results.”
“And if she doesn’t last the next six hours?” Robbie couldn’t bring himself to look at Katrina as he asked this.
McKay shook his head, “Then we better pray none of you have been infected or we are all in a lot of trouble.”
By seven o’clock that night, Katrina had withdrawn to a state that was scaring Rachel. She simply lay on the couch with her eyes open, but would not speak, and made no sign of responding to anything that was said to her. Robbie had started drinking beer at around 3, so was drunk by the time the Doctor went to Michelle’s room to take fresh blood samples. Rachel was close to tears but determined not to cry in front of McKay.
It was Rachel who stood watch at the window as the Doctor made the walk back out to the road to hand the blood samples to the Uniformed Officer. In the fading light she was disturbed to see a jeep parked further along the road and the lit tip of a cigarette bouncing around inside the cab. They were clearly under surveillance and it terrified her beyond description.
She turned to Robbie who was sitting on the floor with a number of empty bottles surrounding him, “What’s to stop us just getting in the car and leaving? We’re not under arrest, they can’t keep us here.”
Robbie laughed slowly, “I’m imagining the soldiers watching us are armed with more than mobile phones Rachel. If you want to take your chances, the car keys are in my jacket pocket. If it’s all the same to you I’ll just sit here and get pissed.”
“I’d say you were pretty much there already.”
He shrugged, “What else is there to do? Scrabble?”
A thump from upstairs brought Robbie to his feet, “What was that?”
Rachel moved to the door, pulling it open and straining to hear any signs of movement from upstairs. “Maybe Michelle fell out of bed.”
Robbie came to the door and moved past her to the hallway, “Stay here, I’ll go make sure she’s ok.”
Rachel didn’t know why but she almost told him not to go alone. She caught herself before she said anything, realising how silly it sounded in her head. She watched him make his way upstairs.
It wasn’t until she saw his ankles appear again coming back down, that she realised she’d been holding her breath. Robbie came past her, taking her by the arm and moving her away from the door before speaking. “She did fall out the bed. I got to the door just as she was climbing back into bed.”
“Was she awake?”
He shook his head, “I don’t think so, not really. Her eyes were open, but it was like she was in a daze.”
He moved to the window, checking where McKay was. Spotting the Doctor at the bottom of the path but heading back towards them, he held out a hand to Rachel. He unclenched his fist and showed her what he’d been holding. “These were on the floor where she fell.” Sitting on his palm were what looked like three or four chips of white and red plastic. It was only when Rachel really looked she saw what they were. “She’s lost at least four teeth.”
Rachel recoiled in horror, “Did she knock them out when she fell?”
He shrugged, “Maybe, but I’m not sure.”
“What do you think happened then?”
This time he just shook his head, “I don’t know.”
The front door opened and then closed. Robbie folded the teeth back into his closed fist, and stuck his hand in his pocket. McKay came back into the room and went straight to the drinks cabinet again. “We’ll get a new shipment of drugs within twenty minutes, if they are needed.”
Robbie laughed, shaking his head, “You lot don’t have a clue what you’re doing do you?”
McKay turned to him smiling, “Not a fucking clue. But at least I’ve not been told to go up there with a gun yet.” Before anyone could reply he turned back to his drink, this time filling the glass to the brim with whiskey.
When McKay’s phone rang twenty minutes later, it sang for only ten seconds, before disconnecting. McKay grudgingly got his feet, and made for the door, “I’ve been summoned. They must be changing meds.”
Robbie grabbed the Doctors now empty glass, “I’ll have a fresh one here for when you get back. I might try some of that myself.”
Rachel was huddled in the corner of the couch, wide eyed and pale faced. Katrina had gone back upstairs and was lying beside Michelle, ignoring McKay’s warning to stay as far away from her as possible until they knew what they were dealing with.
When McKay returned he went straight upstairs to administer the new drugs and returned to the living room to join Robbie in draining the drinks cabinet.
By 2am, when McKay was due to take blood samples from Michelle again, Robbie had passed out on the living room floor. Rachel had fell into a deep sleep brought on by exhaustion and stress. Katrina slept through the Doctor’s visit to the room, she too suffering from exhaustion. Her body had shut down in the hope of keeping her sane. When she awoke two hours later, sane was about to slowly slip away.
Katrina’s first thought as she came to was that Mojo, her childhood dog, must have brought his chew bone up to her room. It was only when reality swam into her mind and her eyes opened enough to confirm she wasn’t in her own bed that she realised Mojo had been dead for the last ten years. She slowly allowed her eyes to focus on the room around her and noted the fact she was alone in bed. The events of the last two days rushed back to her, and she sat up in bed. The room was dark but she again heard the sound of chewing. Trying to focus on the noise, she found her attention being drawn to the corner of the room to the right of the window. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and she was able to make out a figure in the corner of the room, standing with its back to her she thought. With her hand shaking, she reached for the lamp which sat on the bedside table to her right. She flicked the lamp on but allowed herself a few seconds before she turned back to look at the figure in the corner.
Initially she only saw Michelle. Standing with her back to Katrina, she was dressed in the same pyjamas she’d been wearing since their shower two days before. Katrina could see she had one hand hanging by her side, while the other was holding something to her mouth. This was clearly where the chewing sound was coming from. Where Katrina sat, the bottom of the bed was blocking her view of Michelle’s lower half.
“Chelle honey, how are you feeling?”
The chewing sound stopped immediately. Michelle remained standing with her back to Katrina.
“Do you want to come back to bed?”
Michelle still made no signs of moving.
Katrina threw her legs over the edge of the bed and slowly got to her feet. As she did she became aware of what looked like a bundle of clothes lying at Michelle’s feet. It was only when she noted the brown shoes to the side of the heap that she realised what she was actually looking at.
Her legs turned to jelly, and she found herself sinking back to sit on the bed.
Slowly, Michelle started to turn towards Katrina. Katrina found herself lifting her hands to her face, trying to hide her eyes, but knowing that she wouldn’t be able to not look at the sight unfolding before her.
Michelle’s eyes were blank, staring through Katrina as she looked in her direction. The skin of her face was pale, made more obvious by the shocking splash of fresh blood that covered her mouth and nose. The hand that was raised to her face appeared to be holding a piece of raw meat. It was only the white shirt sleeve that remained attached to one half that gave any indication of where the meat had come from.
Katrina opened her mouth to scream, but found no sound came out. As the world swam before her eyes, the last thing she was aware of before she passed out was the toothless grin of her girlfriend as she raised Doctor McKay’s arm to her mouth once more.
When McKay failed to respond to the 6am phone call made to his mobile, the Uniformed Officers posted to watch the cottage from the road were ordered to approach with caution. Both dressed in pressure suits, and wearing air filtration masks, they walked to the cottage with rifles raised to their shoulders. Reporting back through radio earpieces, they kept a constant narrative of their approach, both confirming no signs of movement in or around the cottage. No lights were seen inside the two storey cottage, and as they neared the front door, there were no audio signs of the occupants. With a casual glance through the downstairs window, the first officer had to stop and look again to confirm what he thought he had seen.
“Tango 2-6, Alpha 2 requesting immediate back up.”
His partner, who had been about to open the front door, withdrew his hand and stepped back towards the window, “What is it?”
A simple nod to the window was all he could manage, as he struggled to breathe through his mouth piece while holding back his urge to throw up.
Both men, now standing outside the window, were faced with a scene so horrific it froze them both in place. Blood seemed to be covering every surface within the living room and what they guessed was brain matter smeared the inside of the windows. Both were too horrified to notice the fact that the front door to the cottage had started to slowly open. Neither of them heard, nor saw, the approaching figure and when they eventually realised they were not alone, it was too late.
Walter Rushton was allowed access to his cottage six months later. He received an envelope through the post containing the cottage keys and a scribbled note advising he would be advised in the near future of the cost of the ‘cleaning operation’ that had taken place.
The keys were deposited in a drawer in his study, beside the diary that contained the bookings for the upcoming year. The cottage had been out of use for six months, but he had bookings taking him into next year. Having never been involved personally in the last four ‘cleaning operations’, he had been worried that the bookings would dry up all together. With that clearly not happening, he decided against asking the local fencing firm to give him a quote to section of the lake. After all, it was an expense he could do without since he had the cleaning bill still to take care of.
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“I’ve left the two sets of keys on the coffee table in the living room. There are clean towels in the small cupboard outside the bathroom, and I have the boiler on now so you can all take a nice hot shower before getting unpacked.”
Rachel pulled at the shirt she was wearing; peeling it away from her stomach and wincing as the fabric made a sucking noise.
“Do you have an internet connection?” Robbie had insisted on packing his laptop and games console although the others had assured him it would be a waste of time.
Rushton shook his head, stifling a laugh, “You’re lucky we get a reception for the TV.”
Katrina gave Robbie an ‘I told you so’ look before turning back to Rushton, “The brochure said you had a lake at the bottom of the garden. We wondered if it was safe to swim?”
The grin that had been on his face evaporated instantly, replaced by a solemn look, “No, we don’t recommend swimming in any of the outdoor water around this area.”
Katrina raised an eyebrow, “Why not?”
Rushton reached for his jacket which had been hung over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, “Miss, please just take my advice. There is nothing that will ruin your weekend break quicker than the effects of the lake water.” He pulled his jacket on, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a set of keys. “I’ve left my number beside the house keys in the living room. If you have any problems at all, just phone. I’m only fifteen minutes down the road, so can be here almost immediately if you need me.”
As Rushton left the cottage, none of them could envision what he would find when he next returned.
With everyone showered and changed, Robbie offered to drive down into the village for food. The rain had been relentless since their arrival but he had found a waterproof jacket hanging in a cupboard near the back door. There were also numerous pairs of Wellington boots, but without knowing who the previous owners were, Robbie wasn’t too keen on using a pair.
“I’ll be back in half an hour.”
Katrina was bundled up in pyjamas with the duvet from her bed wrapped around her. The coal fire was lit, but hadn’t yet managed to heat the room. “Can you bring back a couple of bottles of wine?”
Robbie smiled, “The two crates of beer in the fridge not going to be enough for tonight?”
Michelle moved from the couch down onto the floor, peeling the duvet away from Katrina long enough for her to sit beside her, and re-wrap it around them both. “Beer is cold. Red wine will heat us up.”
Robbie turned to Rachel, sitting on a chair with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, “Any requests from you?”
She shook her head, “Just be careful driving in that rain.”
Robbie walked to her, kissing her on the head before moving to the door, “I’ll be back soon.”
“Eh, don’t we get kisses?” Katrina pouted.
Robbie raised an eyebrow, “I don’t know where you’ve been.”
The girls laughed as he left them to brave the elements.
By ten o’clock that night the rain was still driving against the small cottage, the wind howling down the chimney caused the flames in the fireplace to dance and jump. Katrina and Michelle were still huddled beneath their duvet, a glass of red wine in hand, while Rachel lay on the couch with her own duvet wrapped around her, her feet resting on Robbie’s knee. The picture on the TV was intermittently reduced to snow, with Robbie sighing loudly every time.
“This is pointless.” He reached for the remote, and switched the TV off. “No laptop, no TV, no console. What are we meant to do for four days in this pissing rain?”
Katrina laughed, “There is more to life than gadgets Rob.”
“If you suggest board games I’m packing up the car and going home right now.”
Rachel nudged his leg playfully with her foot, “We could just go to bed. It would be fun, and warm.”
Robbie drained the beer from the can he had been drinking, “Now that sounds like a plan.” He stood, leaving the empty can on the top of the fireplace, “Ladies, we will see you in the morning.”
Michelle stood, holding out her hand to Katrina and pulling her to her feet, “Come on you, I have to say their plan sounds good.”
Rachel looked towards the fire, “How do we put that out?”
“We don’t,” Robbie headed for the door, “It’ll die overnight, but in the mean time the heat will be spreading upstairs.”
Switching off the lights around the room, Rachel met Robbie at the door, and soon all four of them were climbing the stairs, heading to the two bedrooms on the upper level.
By the morning, the rain had at last stopped. Robbie stood at the kitchen window drinking tea, while looking out over the rear gardens of the cottage. Rachel was sitting at the table finishing a plate of cereal, dressed in her pyjamas and slippers.
“The sky looks clear; with any luck it’ll be dry all day.”
“What do you fancy doing?”
Robbie shrugged, turning to look at her, “Walking I suppose. That was the point of the trip. Some fresh air, exercise.”
Rachel moved to the sink with her now empty bowl, “I’ll go jump in the shower before the girls get up, we can head out and maybe walk down into the village.”
“Too late, the girls are already up,” Michelle came in as Rachel was leaving. “Well, we’re awake at least. Kat’s still in bed, but she’ll be up soon.”
Michelle walked to stand beside Robbie, “Looks nice out.”
He nodded, “Are you both coming with us, or are you going to hang around here?”
Michelle shrugged, “Probably just stay here. We both brought books, and to be honest just not being in the office is fine by me. I can happily spend four days on the couch reading.”
Robbie smiled, “Bit boring though.”
Michelle shook her head, “No Mr Gadget, that sounds like heaven.”
Robbie left her admiring the view.
Michelle and Katrina had spent the morning doing exactly what they had planned, but by two in the afternoon both felt a little fresh air was needed. Not wanting to venture far, they agreed a walk around the gardens would suffice. Although the grass was a little soggy, they hadn’t been as prudish as Robbie about wearing second hand boots, so dressed in rubber Wellingtons they ambled slowly down the rear path. The scenery around them was stunning, rolling snow capped hills, endless fields of green with sheep and cows dotted far off in the distance and the mirror clear lake which spread out at the bottom of the gardens.
“Why have a lake if you can’t go swimming?”
Katrina slipped her arm through Michelle’s. “You heard the old man. I don’t want to catch bubonic plague or worse.”
Michelle laughed, “I wasn’t planning on swimming, calm down. It’s too cold anyway.”
“Still, must be tempting in the summer.”
They walked right to the waters edge, and spent a few minutes studying the water.
“Can you see fish or anything?” Katrina still had a grip on Michelle’s arm, “I’d have thought with it being so big it would have a few.”
Michelle shook her head, “Don’t see anything.”
Katrina started to walk away, gently tugging Michelle as she went, “Lets walk around it, then go back inside and see if there any DVDs lying around.”
Walking at a gentle pace, it took them forty minutes to circle the calm water, and as they neared their starting point, they saw Robbie and Rachel standing where they had earlier.
“Thought you two would be out shopping for a while yet.”
Rachel shook her head, “Village consists of a Post Office, one shop, and a pub.”
Michelle laughed, “No need to ask where you’ve spent the last few hours.”
Robbie shrugged, “It’s like travelling back in time, two fifty a pint.”
Katrina raised an eyebrow, “We might need to check that out later.”
Michelle walked right to the waters edge again, leaning forward to study the water. “There must be some fish in there.”
Robbie came to stand beside her, pointing to something near the waters edge, “Isn’t that one there?”
Michelle leaned over further, following the line of his finger, “Where?”
“There,” He gestured. As Michelle leaned further in, Robbie reached out a hand, meaning to grab hold of her arm and jerk her forward. Before he managed to, the ground beneath Michelle’s feet slid out from under her, and she stumbled forward. Robbie, already reaching for her, was caught by surprise and froze, simply watching as her arms pin wheeled as she attempted to regain her balance. By the time Robbie appeared to come out of his daze, Michelle’s right foot had slid down and was now submerged in the lake water. Feeling the cold water start to fill her Wellington boot, she attempted to shift her weight onto her left foot, but this just caused her to overbalance. Within seconds she was falling sideways into the icy cold water.
“Robbie, do something.” The panic in Katrina’s voice got him acting, and he stepped forward, managing to grab hold of the collar of Michelle’s jacket for just a second before she completely lost her footing and tumbled into the water. Robbie’s fingers closed around nothing as she fell out of his reach.
From the grass, Katrina looked on in horror as she saw the scared look cross Michelle’s face. She saw Michelle’s chest hitch as the cold water took her breath away. Michelle managed to lift her left hand out of the water towards Robbie who took hold and pulled. The whole episode lasted less than two minutes, but as Michelle was pulled from the water she felt like hours had passed. Robbie immediately took off his jacket and threw it around her shoulders, lifting the hood over her head in the vain attempt at trying to maintain some of her own body heat.
“Rachel, run on and get the shower on.” Robbie had his arm around Michelle’s shoulder as he led her back up the garden towards the house.
In the bathroom, Katrina helped Michelle out of her sodden clothes, cringing as she heard teeth chattering and witnessed the shakes that ravaged her girlfriend’s body.
“Two more minutes honey and you’ll be nice and warm. I’ll be as quick as I can.” Katrina’s own heart was racing but she managed to keep her own shock from her voice.
The bathroom was steam filled as the hot water from the shower reacted with the cold air in the small room.
With Michelle now naked, Katrina quickly peeled her own clothes off, and manoeuvred them both into the shower cubicle. Michelle’s shaking subsided after a few minutes, but Katrina was concerned at the red welts that started to appear on her skin. Michelle wrapped her arms around Katrina’s shoulder, and pulled her close, rubbing a hand soothingly over the soft bare skin of her back. She rested her head on Michelle’s shoulder, and spoke into her ear, “It’s ok now. You gave me a scare, but you’re going to be fine.”
“It was so cold.”
“I know, but it’s better now. We’ll get changed into PJs and just go lie in bed.”
“Will you read to me?”
A small smile settled on Katrina’s lips, relieved to hear the request, “I’ll even read Bronte if you want.”
“I should jump in a lake more often.”
Katrina kissed her softly on the cheek, “Don’t push it.”
Robbie was sitting at the kitchen table, an almost empty beer bottle in front of him. Rachel sat beside him, her hand resting on his arm, “It was an accident.”
“She could’ve drowned.” He shook his head, “She could’ve gone into shock because of the cold, and went straight under. Who knows how deep that water is?”
“It was an accident, and she’s fine.”
“It was stupid. I just wanted to scare her.” He lifted the bottle, and drained the last of the beer, setting it back on the table. “I’ll go see how she is.”
Rachel held his arm, “Leave them. They both got a scare, they’ll be up there doing God knows what.”
Robbie shook his head, “I want to make sure she’s ok.”
Rachel let her hand drop as Robbie stood and left the kitchen.
He climbed the stairs listening intently for any indication that the girls wouldn’t want to be disturbed, but the landing was silent when he reached the top. He tapped softly on their door, and only when he heard Katrina tell him to come in did he open the door.
Katrina was half sitting up in the bed, two pillows behind her back. Michelle lay with her head resting on Katrina’s stomach, an arm thrown over her. Both appeared to be wearing long sleeved T-shirts which disappeared beneath the duvet that had been pulled up under Michelle’s chin.
Robbie felt himself blush slightly at the intimacy of their pose, but stepped into the room anyway, “I just wanted to say I’m really sorry.”
Katrina shook her head, “She’s fine Rob. It was an accident.”
“I was being a dick and I’m sorry.”
“You’re always a dick and its fine.” She smirked as she saw him first appear shocked, and then smile himself as he realised she was joking. “She’ll sleep for a while, and then we’ll both be down for dinner.”
“I’ll make whatever you guys want. I even packed that horrible cheese pasta sauce if you want that, and I’ll make it with mushrooms too.”
Katrina raised an eyebrow, “That might make her feel better.”
Robbie shifted on his feet, not sure what else to say. Katrina saved him the trouble, “Go back downstairs and have some more beer. I’m going to sleep for a while too, and then we’ll both be down.”
Robbie nodded before turning and leaving.
Katrina waited until he was gone, then shifted her position slightly so she could look at Michelle’s face. The redness caused by the hot water hitting her cold skin had mostly retreated, but Katrina still thought her face appeared slightly flushed. She lifted a hand and laid it softly against Michelle’s forehead. Hot. The arm thrown across her own stomach was generating an unnatural heat also. It’s her body’s way of fighting the cold and shock, she told herself. She settled back onto the pillows, closing her eyes. But sleep didn’t come.
As Robbie finished draining the pasta, and started to divide it between four plates, Katrina came into the kitchen still dressed in her pyjamas.
“I’m just serving, so you might want to shout on Michelle.”
Katrina shook her head as she sat at the table, “She’s not coming. She’s still out cold, and I don’t want to wake her.”
Robbie turned, concern in his eyes, “She’s not talking to me, is she? She doesn’t want to come down.”
Katrina shook her head, “Robbie, honestly, she’s still sleeping.”
Rachel stood, and went to Robbie’s side, taking the pot from his hand, and pushing him gently, towards the table, “It’s the shock. Her body is dealing with it in its own way. A good night’s sleep and she’ll be fine by the morning.”
Katrina nodded, “Exactly.” She stood again, “You know, I’m not that hungry anyway Rob, think I might just go up and read for a while.”
Robbie nodded, “Fair enough.”
Rachel watched Katrina leave, and then left the dinner preparations to come and sit with Robbie. She laid a hand on his arm, “It doesn’t mean anything. They just need some time alone, and then they’ll be fine.”
Robbie stood, walking to the fridge where he withdrew two bottles of beer. He handed one to Rachel as he sat back down, “I’m not hungry either. Let’s get totally rat-arsed instead.”
Rachel couldn’t help but smile as she unscrewed the top off her bottle.
Robbie and Rachel woke up in the early hours of the morning on the living room floor. Both fully dressed, they were huddled together against the cold. The remains of the fire in the fireplace were now cold, and had clearly gone out a few hours before. Robbie cringed as he moved to sit up, his back stiff and his joints screaming in pain at both the cold and the fact they had spent the night on the hard wooden floor. As he sat up, his stomach rolled as he took in the empty beer and wine bottles on the coffee table.
“Shit Rachel, I think my head is going to explode.”
Rachel couldn’t even speak, just groaned loudly as she too sat up, stretching to try and work out the kinks from her aching back.
“I’m going to go to bed, you coming?”
A single nod was all she could manage as she felt her head spin with the movement.
Slowly, they left the living room and climbed the stairs to their room, where they both fell into bed still fully clothed.
Next door, Katrina had spent a restless night with Michelle lying beside her. The heat Michelle was giving off was worrying her, and the fact Michelle hadn’t moved at all in the night was also cause for concern. They often joked that Michelle was like a second skin in bed; if Katrina moved and left a gap between them, Michelle unconsciously shifted position until they again maintained contact. For the last few hours, Katrina had sat on a chair in the corner of the room, simply watching over the sleeping figure in the bed. She’d heard Robbie and Rachel go to bed, and was aware of the rising sun casting shadows over the room. Her watch showed 8am but for Katrina it felt like forty eight hours had passed overnight.
Her heart skipped a beat as she watched Michelle reach an arm over the bed, covering the space where she usually lay. She was on her feet and moving to the side of the bed before she was even aware of moving.
“’Chelle, I’m here.” She took hold of Michelle’s outstretched hand. “How are you feeling?”
Michelle opened her eyes, and smiled at Katrina, “I’m thirsty.”
“Do you want water, or juice, or milk or...”
“Just water.”
“Are you hungry? You didn’t have any dinner last night, I can make you…”
Again Michelle cut her off, “Just water.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Katrina couldn’t help but sigh with relief as she left the room. The horrid flush she’d witnessed on Michelle’s cheeks last night appeared to be almost gone. The red welts on her arms had also vanished. She laughed softly to herself, chastising herself for overreacting, skipping downstairs to get Michelle’s requested water. Returning with a pint of water, she watched with wide eyes as Michelle drained the glass within seconds.
“Do you want more?”
Michelle shook her head, lying back down. “No, but I need to sleep some more.”
“Honey, you’ve been in bed for hours.”
Michelle’s eyes were already closing, “Tired.”
Within minutes Michelle’s breathing had evened out and Katrina knew she was asleep again. She leaned over, and laid a hand on her forehead. The skin beneath her hand was clammy, and hot. She gently lifted the duvet to look at the skin on Michelle’s arms. Although the overall redness had faded, Katrina could make out what looked like red spider veins just beneath the surface of the skin. She flipped the duvet off Michelle, and looked at her feet and lower legs. Her feet showed the same red veins, but it was the rash which appeared just beneath the leg of her pyjamas that drew her attention. Katrina slowly pulled the pyjamas further up and her eyes widened as she saw an ugly red rash pattern on the skin just below the knee. The rash appeared to be about three inches in diameter, and at the centre of it appeared to be a small red cut. Katrina laid her hand gently on the red area and instantly felt heat beneath her touch.
“Michelle honey, wake up for me.” She shook her gently by the shoulder, “Chelle, please honey.”
Michelle gave no indication of hearing her.
“Shit.” Katrina walked quickly from the room, barging into Robbie and Rachel’s room without stopping to even knock. “Guys, you need to come quick.”
Robbie immediately sat up in bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Rachel, not as quick to waken moaned as she rolled over to wrap herself around Robbie.
“What’s wrong?” Robbie tried to focus on Katrina.
“Something is really wrong with Michelle. I think we need to get a doctor.”
This seemed to jolt both Robbie and Rachel fully awake.
Robbie was out of bed, and following her down the hall to where Michelle lay. Taking one look at her flushed face, and noting the rash on her leg, he felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He pointed to her leg, “What is that?”
Katrina shook her head, “I don’t know. It wasn’t there last night. I saw her in the shower; there was not a mark on her.”
Rachel appeared in the doorway, carrying her mobile phone. “I’ll call Mr Rushton and see if he can send a doctor over.” She went back out into the hallway to call.
Katrina moved to sit beside Michelle, again shaking her gently by the shoulder, “Michelle, open your eyes.” She looked helplessly at Robbie when again Michelle didn’t respond. “What’s wrong with her?”
Robbie shrugged, “I have no idea.” He shook his head, “The doctor will know when he gets here.”
Rachel came back in, “Rushton said there is a doctor in the village. If he’s home then he should be here within ten minutes. If not then he’ll try to get a message to him and send him over as soon as possible.”
Katrina looked down at Michelle, “Maybe we should take her to hospital in the car.”
“Rushton said not to move her.”
Robbie looked at her, “Did he know what this is?”
Rachel shook her head, “I asked but he said no. He just said if she’s running a fever then we shouldn’t move her.”
Robbie turned to Rachel, “Lets get dressed. The doctor might want to admit her, so we should be ready to go just in case.”
Rachel and Robbie left. Katrina lay down beside Michelle, and gently rubbed her arm, “It’s going to be ok Chelle, the doctor will be here soon.”
Whether or Michelle heard her wasn’t clear, as she continued to sleep.
Doctor Hugh McKay arrived thirty five minutes later, carrying a medical bag in one hand and his mobile phone in the other, which he dropped into his pocket as he made his way inside. Robbie met him at the front door and led him upstairs to where Katrina and Rachel were standing watch over Michelle.
“How long has she been like this?”
Katrina spoke, her voice shaking, “Since yesterday I suppose. We went to bed about 5 and she’s not been up since.”
“She’s slept the whole time?”
Katrina shook her head, “She woke this morning and asked for water. She drank a pint, then went back to sleep.”
McKay moved to the side of the bed, “Did anything happen which may have triggered this? Has she eaten anything out of the ordinary or has she mentioned that she felt unwell before hand?”
Robbie waited to see what Katrina would say but when she remained quiet, he spoke up. “She fell in the lake.”
McKay spun to Robbie, “The lake? When?”
Katrina picked up the conversation again, “Yesterday afternoon about 3. It was an accident. She lost her footing and slipped in.”
“Did she swallow any of the water?”
Katrina shook her head, “She didn’t go right under. She was wet up to her shoulders, but she didn’t get her head under.”
McKay sat his bag on the bottom of the bed, and snapped the lid open. Reaching inside, he withdrew a pair of rubber gloves which he snapped on. Robbie’s eyes widened as he watched the Doctor pull on a second pair over the first.
“This is serious, isn’t it?”
McKay looked at Robbie, “Mr Rushton usually urges guests to avoid the lake water.”
Rachel nodded, “He told us not to swim. Like Katrina said, it was an accident.”
McKay moved to the side of the bed, and instantly saw the red rash on Michelle’s leg. “She had a cut on her leg?”
Rachel and Robbie both looked to Katrina, who in turn simply shrugged, “I didn’t see it before, but I suppose she could have. Maybe she cut it shaving.”
McKay withdrew a thermometer from his bag, and manoeuvred it into Michelle’s mouth. He then withdrew a syringe from the bag, and attached an empty vial to the end. Seeing the red spider veins on her arms, he located one in the crook of her elbow, and used it to withdraw a sample of blood. With that done, he withdrew the thermometer, and everyone saw his eyes widen at the reading.
“How bad is this Doctor?”
He shook his head in response to Robbie’s question. “Your friend needs urgent medical attention.”
“Then we take her to hospital.”
Again, McKay shook his head, “It’s not that easy son. What you’re looking at is a highly dangerous strain of an unknown virus. She needs to remain here, and we are now in a quarantine situation.”
Robbie laughed nervously, “You’re joking right?”
McKay peeled off his gloves, dropping them into his bag. He reached for his mobile phone, and moved towards the open door, “I wish I was. I have to make a call to try and get us some additional help, but I’m afraid I have to ask you all to remain here until I come back.”
McKay left the room, and they simply stared after him.
“Is this really happening?” Rachel looked to Robbie hoping he would tell her it really was a joke.
Robbie shrugged, unsure of what to say.
Katrina laid a hand softly on Michelle’s arm, rubbing her thumb in small circles over the flushed skin. Robbie walked to the window, watching McKay make his phone call. “He looks pretty serious.”
“He bloody better be serious, he’s got me shit scared.” Rachel came to his side, sliding her arm through his. “This is bad, isn’t it?”
Robbie put his arm around her, pulling her close. “It’ll be fine. He’ll get someone to bring antibiotics or something, and after Michelle’s better then we go home.” He kissed her softly on the head, “Nothing to worry about.”
Below them, McKay was gesturing wildly with one hand while he paced the front path.
Katrina had been reluctant to lave Michelle, but McKay had insisted that he was not going back to the room where Michelle lay. So, they found themselves sitting around the kitchen table.
“I’m expecting a delivery of antibiotics. They didn’t say when it would arrive but given the circumstances, I would expect it sooner rather than later.”
Robbie noted the worried look on the girls’ faces, “Can you tell us how bad this is, and what to expect?”
McKay shook his head, “Honestly, no I can’t. I can say that the water around here seems to house a very lethal virus that loves nothing more than to make itself at home in a warm body. However, to date we’ve only had a few cases of human contact. We usually find the odd rabbit, or even deer which shows signs of infection, but even then there are never two cases the same.”
Katrina’s voice was very quiet when she asked, “Will she die?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.” McKay ran a hand through his hair, “There have been cases of death but as I said, no two cases are the same.”
“Do we have it too, whatever it is?” Robbie’s face paled.
McKay shrugged, “Looking at you, I’d say no. But this thing has an incubation period of up to two weeks. If your friend was exposed yesterday, then there is no possible way of knowing if any of you have also contracted it.”
“We didn’t come into contact with the water.” Robbie seemed hopeful.
Katrina looked at Robbie, “I did. I hugged her, I helped her undress and I took the wet clothes out to dry.”
Robbie couldn’t meet her eye, “Sorry.”
McKay sighed, “If none of you have an open wound that could have let water in, then I’d guess you were ok. But it would only be a guess.”
Rachel rubbed her face with both hands, “So what happens now? We sit here and wait on someone brining medicine?”
McKay nodded, “That is exactly what we do.”
So the wait began.
Four hours later and they were all feeling the pressure of the unknown. Katrina had gone back upstairs to lie with Michelle and continually try to rouse her from her sleep. Rachel and Robbie sat together on the couch, both almost catatonic with worry. While McKay paced the floor in front of the window searching for any sign of the impending antibiotic delivery.
When McKay’s phone burst into song Rachel and Robbie looked like they had been electrocuted, springing apart and both holding hands to their hearts.
McKay lifted the phone, “McKay.” He stood listening for a few minutes, and then simply hung up the phone.
Robbie looked at him expectantly, “Well?”
McKay moved to the door, “Stay here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Robbie let him leave and then moved to the window. Rachel couldn’t bring herself to move but looked to Robbie, “What’s happening?”
Robbie stood watching for a few minutes before speaking, “He’s walking out towards the road.” He moved to the other side of the window to track McKay’s movements.
“Is he meeting someone?”
Robbie nodded, “Bloody hell.”
Rachel got to her feet, coming to stand beside him, “What?”
Robbie nodded to where McKay was, “That looks like an Army soldier Rachel.”
McKay had stopped in front of a man in uniform who saluted him before handing over a small black box. They appeared to talk for a few minutes before McKay turned and headed back towards their cottage.
Neither Robbie nor Rachel made any move to hide the fact they had watched the interaction, both noting McKay’s solemn look as he passed in front of the window.
The Doctor simply popped his head around the door on his return, telling them he had to go and see Michelle then he would come back to talk to them.
When McKay came back into the room, Katrina was walking behind him. She seemed to have aged ten years over the past 24 hours. McKay waited until she sat herself down before starting to speak.
“You saw who provided the medication, so you know how serious this has become.”
Katrina looked to Robbie, confusion etched on her face. Robbie spoke quietly, “Army. They dropped off whatever it was he gave Michelle.”
McKay continued, “The Army have monitoring the virus in this area for the last twenty years. They have been working with previous victims in the hope of developing some kind of cure.” He moved to a small drinks cabinet that sat in the corner. None of the guests had bothered with it, as it only contained whiskeys and liqueurs, which they didn’t appreciate. The Doctor poured himself a large measure of single malt whiskey, before continuing. “The Army have now imposed a perimeter around this cottage. They will ensure none of us leave until we are told to.”
“Jesus Christ.” Robbie’s fear was evident in his voice.
“I’m afraid even he can’t help now.” McKay took a large drink from his glass, and Rachel noted his hand shaking. “Your friend will receive the sample treatment every hour for the next six hours, and then I will provide them with fresh blood samples. These will be analysed, and a new treatment will be provided based on their results.”
“And if she doesn’t last the next six hours?” Robbie couldn’t bring himself to look at Katrina as he asked this.
McKay shook his head, “Then we better pray none of you have been infected or we are all in a lot of trouble.”
By seven o’clock that night, Katrina had withdrawn to a state that was scaring Rachel. She simply lay on the couch with her eyes open, but would not speak, and made no sign of responding to anything that was said to her. Robbie had started drinking beer at around 3, so was drunk by the time the Doctor went to Michelle’s room to take fresh blood samples. Rachel was close to tears but determined not to cry in front of McKay.
It was Rachel who stood watch at the window as the Doctor made the walk back out to the road to hand the blood samples to the Uniformed Officer. In the fading light she was disturbed to see a jeep parked further along the road and the lit tip of a cigarette bouncing around inside the cab. They were clearly under surveillance and it terrified her beyond description.
She turned to Robbie who was sitting on the floor with a number of empty bottles surrounding him, “What’s to stop us just getting in the car and leaving? We’re not under arrest, they can’t keep us here.”
Robbie laughed slowly, “I’m imagining the soldiers watching us are armed with more than mobile phones Rachel. If you want to take your chances, the car keys are in my jacket pocket. If it’s all the same to you I’ll just sit here and get pissed.”
“I’d say you were pretty much there already.”
He shrugged, “What else is there to do? Scrabble?”
A thump from upstairs brought Robbie to his feet, “What was that?”
Rachel moved to the door, pulling it open and straining to hear any signs of movement from upstairs. “Maybe Michelle fell out of bed.”
Robbie came to the door and moved past her to the hallway, “Stay here, I’ll go make sure she’s ok.”
Rachel didn’t know why but she almost told him not to go alone. She caught herself before she said anything, realising how silly it sounded in her head. She watched him make his way upstairs.
It wasn’t until she saw his ankles appear again coming back down, that she realised she’d been holding her breath. Robbie came past her, taking her by the arm and moving her away from the door before speaking. “She did fall out the bed. I got to the door just as she was climbing back into bed.”
“Was she awake?”
He shook his head, “I don’t think so, not really. Her eyes were open, but it was like she was in a daze.”
He moved to the window, checking where McKay was. Spotting the Doctor at the bottom of the path but heading back towards them, he held out a hand to Rachel. He unclenched his fist and showed her what he’d been holding. “These were on the floor where she fell.” Sitting on his palm were what looked like three or four chips of white and red plastic. It was only when Rachel really looked she saw what they were. “She’s lost at least four teeth.”
Rachel recoiled in horror, “Did she knock them out when she fell?”
He shrugged, “Maybe, but I’m not sure.”
“What do you think happened then?”
This time he just shook his head, “I don’t know.”
The front door opened and then closed. Robbie folded the teeth back into his closed fist, and stuck his hand in his pocket. McKay came back into the room and went straight to the drinks cabinet again. “We’ll get a new shipment of drugs within twenty minutes, if they are needed.”
Robbie laughed, shaking his head, “You lot don’t have a clue what you’re doing do you?”
McKay turned to him smiling, “Not a fucking clue. But at least I’ve not been told to go up there with a gun yet.” Before anyone could reply he turned back to his drink, this time filling the glass to the brim with whiskey.
When McKay’s phone rang twenty minutes later, it sang for only ten seconds, before disconnecting. McKay grudgingly got his feet, and made for the door, “I’ve been summoned. They must be changing meds.”
Robbie grabbed the Doctors now empty glass, “I’ll have a fresh one here for when you get back. I might try some of that myself.”
Rachel was huddled in the corner of the couch, wide eyed and pale faced. Katrina had gone back upstairs and was lying beside Michelle, ignoring McKay’s warning to stay as far away from her as possible until they knew what they were dealing with.
When McKay returned he went straight upstairs to administer the new drugs and returned to the living room to join Robbie in draining the drinks cabinet.
By 2am, when McKay was due to take blood samples from Michelle again, Robbie had passed out on the living room floor. Rachel had fell into a deep sleep brought on by exhaustion and stress. Katrina slept through the Doctor’s visit to the room, she too suffering from exhaustion. Her body had shut down in the hope of keeping her sane. When she awoke two hours later, sane was about to slowly slip away.
Katrina’s first thought as she came to was that Mojo, her childhood dog, must have brought his chew bone up to her room. It was only when reality swam into her mind and her eyes opened enough to confirm she wasn’t in her own bed that she realised Mojo had been dead for the last ten years. She slowly allowed her eyes to focus on the room around her and noted the fact she was alone in bed. The events of the last two days rushed back to her, and she sat up in bed. The room was dark but she again heard the sound of chewing. Trying to focus on the noise, she found her attention being drawn to the corner of the room to the right of the window. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and she was able to make out a figure in the corner of the room, standing with its back to her she thought. With her hand shaking, she reached for the lamp which sat on the bedside table to her right. She flicked the lamp on but allowed herself a few seconds before she turned back to look at the figure in the corner.
Initially she only saw Michelle. Standing with her back to Katrina, she was dressed in the same pyjamas she’d been wearing since their shower two days before. Katrina could see she had one hand hanging by her side, while the other was holding something to her mouth. This was clearly where the chewing sound was coming from. Where Katrina sat, the bottom of the bed was blocking her view of Michelle’s lower half.
“Chelle honey, how are you feeling?”
The chewing sound stopped immediately. Michelle remained standing with her back to Katrina.
“Do you want to come back to bed?”
Michelle still made no signs of moving.
Katrina threw her legs over the edge of the bed and slowly got to her feet. As she did she became aware of what looked like a bundle of clothes lying at Michelle’s feet. It was only when she noted the brown shoes to the side of the heap that she realised what she was actually looking at.
Her legs turned to jelly, and she found herself sinking back to sit on the bed.
Slowly, Michelle started to turn towards Katrina. Katrina found herself lifting her hands to her face, trying to hide her eyes, but knowing that she wouldn’t be able to not look at the sight unfolding before her.
Michelle’s eyes were blank, staring through Katrina as she looked in her direction. The skin of her face was pale, made more obvious by the shocking splash of fresh blood that covered her mouth and nose. The hand that was raised to her face appeared to be holding a piece of raw meat. It was only the white shirt sleeve that remained attached to one half that gave any indication of where the meat had come from.
Katrina opened her mouth to scream, but found no sound came out. As the world swam before her eyes, the last thing she was aware of before she passed out was the toothless grin of her girlfriend as she raised Doctor McKay’s arm to her mouth once more.
When McKay failed to respond to the 6am phone call made to his mobile, the Uniformed Officers posted to watch the cottage from the road were ordered to approach with caution. Both dressed in pressure suits, and wearing air filtration masks, they walked to the cottage with rifles raised to their shoulders. Reporting back through radio earpieces, they kept a constant narrative of their approach, both confirming no signs of movement in or around the cottage. No lights were seen inside the two storey cottage, and as they neared the front door, there were no audio signs of the occupants. With a casual glance through the downstairs window, the first officer had to stop and look again to confirm what he thought he had seen.
“Tango 2-6, Alpha 2 requesting immediate back up.”
His partner, who had been about to open the front door, withdrew his hand and stepped back towards the window, “What is it?”
A simple nod to the window was all he could manage, as he struggled to breathe through his mouth piece while holding back his urge to throw up.
Both men, now standing outside the window, were faced with a scene so horrific it froze them both in place. Blood seemed to be covering every surface within the living room and what they guessed was brain matter smeared the inside of the windows. Both were too horrified to notice the fact that the front door to the cottage had started to slowly open. Neither of them heard, nor saw, the approaching figure and when they eventually realised they were not alone, it was too late.
Walter Rushton was allowed access to his cottage six months later. He received an envelope through the post containing the cottage keys and a scribbled note advising he would be advised in the near future of the cost of the ‘cleaning operation’ that had taken place.
The keys were deposited in a drawer in his study, beside the diary that contained the bookings for the upcoming year. The cottage had been out of use for six months, but he had bookings taking him into next year. Having never been involved personally in the last four ‘cleaning operations’, he had been worried that the bookings would dry up all together. With that clearly not happening, he decided against asking the local fencing firm to give him a quote to section of the lake. After all, it was an expense he could do without since he had the cleaning bill still to take care of.
