Endurance (10 page)

The door
opened and a young man entered. He wore black shoes, trousers,
blazer and tie, with a white shirt and identification badge on his
right pocket on the blazer. His blonde hair was spiked at the
front. His shoulders were wide and sloped, his arms hung loose as
he swaggered toward the bed. A gun was strapped to his
waist.

‘
Mr.
Williams, this is Agent Smith. He’ll be coming to London with us. I
trust that you’ll be on your best behaviour, but rules are rules.
You’re a danger to the public, so we have to take precautions, I’m
afraid.’

Smith folded
his arms, revealing bulging biceps. ‘Good to meet you, Mr.
Williams. If you decide to make a run for it, I will not hesitate
to shoot you, and these are not rubber bullets,
understood?’

‘
Understood,’
Tom said sarcastically.

‘
Good to see
you two getting on so well already. Agent Smith and I will leave
you to get ready now. I have left you some normal clothes to wear
while in London. I’m assuming you don’t want to wear that white,
unflattering all in-one paper suit,’ Miller chuckled.

Miller and
Smith left the room and shut the door. A faint locking sound could
be heard after the door closed.

Tom walked
toward the chest of drawers opposite his bed. There were clothes
folded on the top of it. Tom took the clothes and placed them on
his bed.

The clothes
Miller left him were identical to the clothes Tom wore at Jubilee
Gardens with Anna. Tom thought of the sun shining into his eyes,
Anna’s eyes sparkling, the deep blue water full of energy, he
remembered the breeze blowing across his skin.

These are
memories; they are not hallucinations. How could I have been
fooled! They must be covering up what happened. I cannot be the
only one to be alive after it. I need to get out of
here.

Tom unzipped
his jumpsuit and let it drop onto the ground. It gathered at his
feet and he kicked it aside. He quickly grabbed the shirt and blue
jeans and got dressed.

He looked at
himself; he imagined the grass stains from Jubilee Gardens on his
knees, the loose grass on his shirt and bits of grass floating to
the ground from his hair as he wiped his head.

Tom looked at
the drawers where his clothes were. Next to the drawers were a pair
of white Nike trainers and a pair of socks. Tom picked them up and
sat on his bed. He put on the socks and forced on the white,
undersized Nike trainers.

‘
Mr.
Williams, are you okay?’ Miller’s voice sounded muffled from behind
the door.

‘
Yes, I’m
ready now.’ Tom said confidently.

As the door
unlocked and swung open, Smith walked into the room. Tom launched
himself at him and swung his fist. Smith ducked under Tom’s arm and
grabbed his torso, lifted him up, and slammed Tom down onto the
ground. Tom let out a grunt as he landed hard on his back. Tom
grabbed Smith by the collar and threw another punch toward him. His
knuckles dug into Smith’s eye, forcing Smith to lose his grip. Tom
kicked Smith’s face over and over; Smith covered his face with his
hands.

Smith held
his eye in agony. Tom turned to the exit, but was confronted by
Miller, holding a rifle. He fired at Tom, who felt a sharp pain in
his neck. Feeling drowsy, Tom slid his fingertips down his neck,
grasping something pointy and sharp.

He attempted
to pull it out, but the room became dark, and his eyelids felt
heavier and heavier before he finished. Tom lost all feeling and
thumped to the floor.

13

Miller’s
voice faded in and out. The words were unclear.

Tom began to
regain his senses. A cooling breeze caressed his body; he heard a
light drone of traffic and children’s laughter nearby. The sun
began to touch his skin; he smelled hot dogs and
sunscreen.

Tom opened
his eyes and sat up. As his sight improved, he recognised the
sounds and smells of the location; he knew exactly where he
was.

‘
Hello, Tom,
nice of you to join us, finally,’ Miller said smugly.

He looked
around Jubilee Gardens, looking at the grass, the trees, the birds,
the River Thames and, of course, the London Eye.

How can this
be? I saw all this; it was mud and was completely fucked. Maybe I
did dream it, and I’m really ill. There’s no way I could see the
Eye destroyed like it was and it still be here now.

Tom didn’t
speak and didn’t listen to Miller who was speaking to him. Tom
looked at Miller, he was moving his mouth, but no sound was hitting
Tom’s eardrums. Miller’s voice was overpowered by Tom’s shock and
disbelief and the noise of the laughter from the surrounding
crowds.

Smith stood
next to Tom with his arms folded, looking down at Tom.

‘
I… I cannot…
can’t hear what you’re saying Doctor.’ Tom stuttered in
disbelief.

‘
I said do
you want an ice cream?’

‘
I… I’m not
hungry.’

‘
What about
you, Smith? Want a hot dog?’ Miller looked up from where he sat,
squinting in order to see Smith.

‘
Yeah,
alright then, cheers.’

‘
Fantastic.
Get two hot dogs, then. I don’t want any sauces.
Thanks.’

Smith looked
confusingly at Miller, then pulled out a leather wallet and walked
away.

‘
Right, Mr.
Williams, do you believe me now? You told me once that you came
here and it was all dead, everything was burnt and there was no
grass and the Eye was gone. Well, here you are, at Jubilee Gardens
in the rare sunshine here in London.’ Miller looked at Tom, waiting
for a response, but Tom only stared at the green grass. Miller
continued, ‘This is the real world. The one that seemed so real to
you is not real. There is no virus or any lunatics running around
and Anna is still alive.’

‘
To me she
isn’t.’

‘
Tom, you can
move on and live a happy life. You can recuperate mentally and try
to regain your normal self and live the rest of your life. Do you
want to meet her?’

‘
Meet
who?’

‘
Anna, of
course.’

Tom turned
his head while still looking at the grass.

‘
Okay, then
whe…’

‘
Okay good.
Tom, I’d like you to meet your girlfriend, Anna.’

Tom looked
behind him and saw a brunette woman with a young boy, no older than
six. The boy held tightly to the woman’s hand.

She wore a
yellow, flower print top with denim shorts that clung to her thighs
and ended two inches above her knees. The boy wore an orange
t-shirt with a cartoon character on the front.

‘
And your
son, Jack.’ Miller said slowly.

Tom stood
hastily and turned towards them both. He took a step. Anna smiled
at him, while Jack hid behind her leg.

‘
Don’t be shy
Jack, it’s your daddy.’ Miller strained to stand.

‘
Hi, Tom.’
Anna said.

Tom stared at
her in silence. He folded his arms and turned toward the River
Thames.

This can’t be
happening. I’d remember having a kid!

‘
Why didn’t
you tell me I had a child?’ Tom turned and shouted at Miller. ‘Tom,
not now, or I’ll have to take you back. You are embarrassing
yourself by shouting out loud here.’

Tom stared at
Miller and Miller stared into Tom’s eyes.

‘
This isn’t
Anna and that’s not my son.’

‘
How can you
say that?’ Anna shouted. ‘You come here right now and say that to
his face and mine.’

Tom walked up
to Anna and looked her right in the face. She looked similar to the
way he remembered Anna. He looked at her freckly nose, as she tried
to hold back her tears; he noticed her nose crinkle as she frowned.
Tom squatted next to the child. ‘Hello. Do you know who I am?’ Tom
asked Jack.

Jack stood
there as he looked at Tom. He hesitated for a moment as he looked
up to Anna.

‘
You’re
Daddy.’

Tom looked
into Jack’s light blue eyes, as shiny as crystals. His light brown
hair was soft and neatly brushed to one side. Tom stroked Jack’s
soft and spongy cheek. Tom’s eyes began to water and the tears
dripped off his lower lashes. He stood up and stepped back from
Anna and Jack.

‘
Is that
enough, Tom?’ Miller asked.

Tom didn’t
answer as he began to sob. He put his hands over his mouth and nose
and turned again to look at the river. His crying continued as he
kept his back turned to the others.

‘
Tom please…’
Miller interrupted Anna.

‘
I think
that’s enough for today, Anna. Let him rest. We’ll see you again
soon.’

Anna stood
waiting for Tom to turn around to look at her.

‘
Come on
then, Jacko. Daddy’s still not well.’

‘
Sorry about
this, Anna. Sorry, Jack, but Daddy is a bit upset
today.’

Smith
returned with two hot dogs and an ice cream.

‘
Here you go
Jack, an ice cream for you.’ Miller snatched the ice cream from
Smith’s grasp and gently held it in front of Jack, who took it
slowly from Miller’s hand. Smith sighed as he began to eat his hot
dog.

‘
What do you
say, Jacko?’ Anna nudged Jack.

‘
Thank you,
Dr. Miller.’ Jack said, under his breath.

‘
That’s okay.
Me and Daddy’ll see you soon. Bye bye. Bye, Anna.’

Anna and Jack
looked at Tom before they turned and walked away.

Smith handed
Miller a hot dog and they both walked to Tom.

‘
I know that
must have been hard for you but…’ Tom interrupted
Miller.

‘
Shut the
fuck up. I have no fucking idea who they were. That was not Anna
and that was not my son.’

‘
It is.
That’s the only family you’ve got Tom. Everyone close to you is
dead and you need to realise it. Move on from this fantasy world
you created.’ Miller grabbed Tom’s shoulder and pulled Tom toward
him. ‘You need to get a grip Tom, we’ve come backwards here. You’re
ill. That was your real family. Stop focusing on that dream you had
and that fake life of yours. You’re here and you’re living right
now.’ Miller loosened his grip while Tom stared at the River
Thames.

‘
We gonna go
back soon?’ Smith mumbled with his mouthful of hotdog.

‘
Yes, I think
that may be best.’

‘
Can we walk
toward the footbridge on the main road that leads to Waterloo
station?’ Tom asked.

‘
I’m sure we
can. We can’t take too long.’ Miller replied.

Miller and
Tom led the way and Smith swaggered behind.

‘
Why do you
want to go walk here?’ Miller asked.

‘
Because I
want to see more people.’

Tom
experimented walking with his prosthetic leg. He didn’t struggle
and it felt completely natural.

‘
How does
this leg feel normal to walk on? I could run with this leg if I
wanted to.’

‘
Well, don’t
attempt it, or Smith will have to kill you. But it’s got joints
allowing you to bend and move your ankle and foot and it is linked
to your nerves so that it feels as if you have a normal human leg.
I created it myself.’

When they
reached the road, Tom breathed easier as he watched black taxis,
red buses, cars and pedestrians. The footbridge was very congested
with people and Tom began to smile.

It’s all so
normal, as if nothing happened. Maybe nothing did happen and I am
well and truly unstable.

But how could
I not remember Anna or my own son or killing a lot of people? This
still doesn’t make sense.

Tom’s
thoughts were interrupted when he saw a girl lying in the middle of
the road, her legs were missing. Blood stained the road around her.
The road began to crumble and shake. Tom felt lightheaded; he
exhaled slowly. He leaned forward clutching his knees as he bent
over. Miller looked down at Tom and moved his hotdog toward Tom’s
face.

‘
Here Tom,
eat some of this. You need energy.’ Miller said calmly.

Tom began to
stumble backward; Smith grabbed him to keep him from
falling.

‘
Jesus, what
the fuck’s up with him?’ Smith shouted at Miller.

‘
I’m not
sure. Tom?’

Tom regained
his balance, but then pretended to be off-balance. Miller began to
panic as Tom didn’t respond.

‘
Tom? Answer
me.’

As Miller
removed his phone from his blazer pocket, Tom stood upright and
elbowed Smith in the face, cracking his nose. Smith screamed out in
pain; as he reached for his gun, Tom punched Smith on his already
broken nose, unclipped the gun from Smith’s belt and threw it into
the road. Miller grabbed Tom’s shirt, but Tom simply turned and
shoved Miller to the ground. Tom didn’t hesitate; he shifted
quickly and shoved his shoulder into Smith’s face. Smith was jolted
to the side and looked back at Tom, dazed. Tom kicked Smith’s legs;
knocking his feet from under him. Smith fell, winded, flat on his
back.