Base (12 page)

They all knew it was only a matter of time. Hideous. She'd never asked who speared the men once they'd turned.
Their mates.
Grief rode Vassar's expression as he stood sentinel over the young man who looked like him. Ruth swallowed and her own eyes misted over. Dear God this was too hard.

Jack gave her hand a squeeze.

Ruth gulped and bit back her grief. This was one of the most heart wrenching scenes she'd ever witnessed. ‘Vassar, can I examine your brother?'

‘You can't save him, Ruth. I know you'd like to. I've seen how great you are with patients.' Never the less, Vassar moved aside.

Ruth pulled her torch from her pocket and looked into Mike Vassar's eyes. There were no traumatised capillaries yet. His pulse raced when she checked it and his whole body was slick with fever. This was the final stage. ‘The virus hasn't destroyed his brain. How long since he stopped talking?'

‘He hasn't. He fades in and out of consciousness,' Vassar said.

Ruth frowned.

‘What is it?' Jack asked.

‘Usually with this virus when a patient loses consciousness they don't regain it.' She leaned over the patient. ‘Mike, can you hear me?'

Mike's eyelids flickered.

‘Mike,' she called again.

His eyes opened and he stared up at her. ‘Hot. Burning up. Drink.'

‘Here have some water, buddy.' Vassar lifted his brother while Ruth held a drink to his lips.

Mike gulped the fluid down then flopped back. Vassar lowered him onto the bed.

Ruth adjusted the drip she'd attached earlier to Mike's arm when she'd given him the antiviral. ‘I'll come back in an hour to check on him again.'

Ruth and Jack walked from the cells into the daylight. Vassar followed them out.

‘Ruth, do you think my brother has a chance?' There was a tiny ray of hope in Vassar's eyes.

‘I don't know. I can't be sure. Stay with him, but keep the cuffs on. I know it's horrible but sometimes it's fast.'

‘That was what took so many by surprise,' Jack added.

‘I lost a lot of colleagues at work,' Ruth said, ‘so please be careful.'

Jack looked at his watch. ‘Come on.'

‘I have to go. Jack needs to check the fences. He's taking me to Balmoral Beach to give me a 'reality check'.' As if seeing what Vassar was going through wasn't real enough.

Vassar held out his hand for her to shake. ‘Thank you. I'm sorry about what I called you today. Especially the last thing. I shouldn't have. I take it back. Your kindness means a lot. Especially now.'

Ruth shook his hand. ‘Don't worry about it. People say and do stuff they shouldn't when they're stressed.'

Jack gave Vassar's shoulder a light slap. ‘See you soon, buddy.'

When they were out of Vassar's earshot, Jack turned to Ruth. ‘What did Vassar call you?'

Ruth kept walking down the road to the main base, just glad to feel the sun on her face. ‘Opinionated,' she finally let out.

‘Well, that's true.' Jack strolled alongside her.

‘Thanks.' She didn't react. Couldn't be bothered. Instead she was running over all the braindead cases she'd attended at the hospital. Once they'd lapsed into an unconscious state, they didn't come back. Sometimes when the body fought the virus, they had a fever and lingered. Was Mike different? Was the antivirus stopping the progression of the illness? It was too early to tell. She could get more blood tests tomorrow to see if there was a difference. It would also give her an excuse to check on Lea if she didn't see her at dinner tonight.

‘Anything else?' Jack saluted the man on duty at the main base. They walked past him and down the pathway towards Balmoral Beach.

Ruth glanced over at him. He had that irritating half-smile on his face again. ‘Uptight.'

‘Yeah I can see that.' Jack laughed.

‘Shut up, Jack. No one is relaxed with the world like it is at the moment. If anyone likes order, it's you.'

‘Anything else?'

‘What do you mean is there anything else? How many insults do I have to put up with?' She walked down the concrete path towards the gate at the bottom of the base. She could see sunlight twinkling on the seawater through the fencing. A young sailor guarded the bottom gate. How easy would it be to get past him if she were alone?

‘In all the time I've served with Vassar, I've never heard him apologise. He's the man you want to watch your back in a fight but he's downright ornery.'

‘Ornery. I like that. Suits Vassar,' Ruth said. Probably suited her too.

‘So what else did he call you?' Jack started to whistle.

‘Mind your own business.'

‘I don't think he called you that. Come on, fess up.' Jack's green eyes gleamed with amusement.

Ruth raised her eyebrows. ‘He called me frigid.'

Jack licked his bottom lip, looking at her with the hunger of a wolf. ‘You're not with me.'

Ruth stared at him alarmed by the possession in his gaze. ‘Forget it, Jack. The way I respond to you. It doesn't mean anything. You're forcing me to stay here and one day you'll regret it.'

Jack quit walking, turned and gripped her by the shoulders. ‘Is that a threat?'

‘Wouldn't you like that? All you know is how to respond to threats with aggression. I'm saying what you're doing is wrong. You don't get to own me. I'm not planning to stay.'

‘I'm saving your life.'

From the hurt in his gaze, she realised he may have more feelings for her than he would admit. ‘I'm not asking you to.'

She pushed his hands away and strode towards the bottom gate, which opened on to the beach. In the distance she could hear moaning and despite her brave front, she shivered. Balmoral Beach usually had a fresh salty smell, but the overwhelming stink of death permeated her nostrils.

Jack saluted the young sailor, who had the name Hunter printed on his uniform.

Hunter saluted him and opened the gate for them. In the middle of the water Ruth could see several naval vessels with guns on the backs of the boats.

‘What are they doing?' she asked Jack.

‘Preparing to make war on the braindeads. We had trouble on the fence closest to Balmoral Oval. Too many braindeads pressing against it. They're emptying out of the apartment blocks and houses onto the slopes.' Jack took her elbow. ‘Turn right. We're going onto the navy finger wharf. It's well behind the firing line.'

‘I thought you were thinning them out. I couldn't see any on Middle Head Road this afternoon.' Ruth concentrated on keeping her footing on the slippery foreshore. She couldn't afford to injure herself.

Jack moved his arm to her waist so she didn't and led her onto the pier. ‘Look to the shoreline and at The Esplanade. You need to see this.'

Ruth reeled. A strangled noise left her throat. Oh God she hadn't expected this. Thousands of braindeads lined the shore. The roads leading up the hill were jammed with shambling bodies trying to make their way down towards the sea. Her hand went to her mouth. Her throat dried and she could barely get any words out. ‘Why?'

‘Why are they heading down this way?' Jack finished her sentence for her. ‘The more they decay the more uncoordinated they become. I have barriers along every uphill exit to force them downhill. But hell, it's not like we can ask them.'

She nodded, too horrified to speak. Her eyes bugged out on stalks. No wonder Jack hadn't let her and her friends take a car down to The Esplanade. They would have been torn apart. There were braindeads packing the horse-shoe shaped boardwalk that framed the saltwater swimming pool. On the pier of the fancy cafe she caught the flash of a man with long blond hair and a tall man with curly hair swaying next to him. She'd known the kids who worked there. How many times had she caught the tender boat driven by the sweet Aussie uni kids out to her yacht? It hit home hard how many had stayed in their homes only to be attacked and turn. So many that they were forced into the ocean from the approaching horde behind. ‘Thank God they can't swim.'

‘Hordes have an energy of their own. I placed barriers on every street from Spit Junction along Military Road all the way to the exit to the Harbour Bridge. That stopped the horde from the city and the horde from the north. See all the apartments on the slopes? That's where this horde is coming from.' He put his arm around her shoulders.

The wet slap of her heart beat in her chest. ‘There really is no hope.' Her voice seemed small. A choking rising panic made her feel her throat was closing over.

Jack hugged her to him. ‘There's hope. If they can't eat, they decay. Every day they grow weaker. I have men stationed at all the major barriers to check the hordes don't break through. Damn it, Ruth, I've given my men orders to blow up the Harbour Bridge, the tunnel and every major arterial road if we're threatened.'

‘Without you, I'd be dead.' The shock of the horde made her cling to him. The fact slammed into her. It was an awkward sensation owing him, something she wasn't used to.

‘Yeah, but you needed to see it to believe it.'

‘You can't possibly have the firepower to contain this. You'll run out of bullets eventually. The only safe place is an island or the sea.'

He wrapped his arms around her. ‘I'm not retreating. I am not giving an inch. The men have fought too damn hard to give up the base. One day it will be safe again and my men will be able to live in the fancy houses they've worked so hard to protect.'

Jack had a determination to win at all costs that didn't make sense to her. Not after seeing this. Just swimming distance away she spied her boat gently bobbing, beckoning to her. Surreptitiously, her fingers slid into her jean pocket searching out her boat key. Questions driven by panic fired in her mind. ‘What about the other side of Mosman? There are so many suburbs northwest of here. What if all those braindeads form hordes? You can't hope to stop them. They'll just keep coming.'

He put her arms on his shoulders and looked into her eyes. ‘When will you learn to trust me? There's a reason we've survived when others haven't. I told you, I've blocked every main road leading onto Military Road with buses from the depot at Neutral Bay and backed them up with concrete pylons. This base had commandos too. Some came back to fight. I've stationed commandos at every main checkpoint. They're the toughest, fittest men on the base. You'll meet them tonight when some of them come off rotation. If a horde gets through a checkpoint my men will hit them with our machine guns. They will not get to the base. Dammit, Ruth, I'll give my life to protect you.'

Ruth stepped back wanting to get away from him. ‘I don't want you to. I've never asked you to. I don't want that on my conscience.' She steeled herself not to react to the hurt in his face. This was a man who cuffed her to his bed and forced her to his will. It was a crazy situation in a city gone mad. This sight was confronting and it made her want to run. Sydney had over four and a half million people, a possible gigantic horde. Getting on her boat and motoring away from this virus-ridden city made sense. She noticed Jack studying her. Her inner struggle must have showed on her face.

‘You need a taste of how we navy men fight back.' He spun her around and positioned her in front of him, then raised his radio to his lips and gave an order.

Rock music started playing from the various navy vessels stationed evenly on the water along the sea front. Over the pulsating beat the sound of groaning intensified. The horde pushed forward with an awkward, shuffling gait so that the ones in front fell over the low concrete wall of The Esplanade and onto the sand before climbing to their feet. Arms outstretched they moved towards the shoreline until Ruth could no longer see the sand. Sickened by the horror of it, she tried to unravel Jack's arms from around her, but he stood behind her, his frame solid, his grip on her firm. ‘Patience, Ruth.'

She looked up into his face. His eyes gleamed, alive with concentration. Jack was playing war games.

Jack spoke into his radio and gave another command.

The rattle of machine guns burst into the air. Ruth held her hands to her ears. Braindeads dropped into the water, more followed until the sea bubbled with bodies. And still they came, down the wide streets that led from Military Road to the sea. Machine gun fire sounded further north and she wondered if Jack had boats stationed as far as The Spit. After some time the machine gun fire stopped but the pulsating music continued. Braindeads stumbled over other braindeads as they were drawn towards the noise. Off the boardwalk they fell, headfirst into the water below.

Ruth shuddered as she imagined them walking on the bottom of the seabed towards her. She could almost feel them dragging her down by her ankles. Panic rose in her gut. Pulling Jack's arms from her, she turned to escape and run back into the base.

Jack grabbed her elbow. ‘What's up? The music too loud for you? Don't go. You'll miss the best part.'

‘Let me go, Jack.'

‘Not yet.'

The shoreline beyond the water's edge exploded right the way along Balmoral Beach, past the island and as far as she could see. The sea surged in to fill the pits swallowing braindeads.

Ruth leapt out of her skin. ‘What the hell was that?'

‘See that vessel?' He pointed to a military grey ship. ‘That's a Huon class minehunter. We fought a shit-load of braindeads over at Waverton to get that. Saved men who knew how to run the sucker. The mine laying divers wanted a show of force.'

Ruth ran her gaze over him. He stood proud, fire blazing in his eyes. A navy man in his prime. A hot, handsome, confident fighter. ‘I'm sure the braindeads understood that.' He was enjoying this. To her, this scene was hideous. A deep sense of mourning lay in the pit of her stomach. These viral-affected people had been her friends, her patients, her work colleagues and now they were monsters. Braindeads were deadly and Jack was eradicating them, which was right, but that didn't mean she should have to stay and fight. The horror reinforced her decision to run. She wanted out of here.