The Other Life (23 page)

The chirping of birds and the occasional chirring of a cricket was the only sound around us.

6 days and 4 hours since the Weeper attack.

8,880 minutes – but it felt much longer.

Joshua and I had escaped to the vineyard. It had become the place where we could spend time alone, holding each other and kissing. It was our personal safe haven, though nothing was really safe
any more, least of all Safe-haven itself. We could never let our guard down. At least Dad was getting better. Karen told me he was doing fine.

Discussions about abandoning Safe-haven dominated every day and worry kept us awake at night. But where could we go? We’d found a home here and that was something hard to come by in this
world. Weepers were everywhere. Should we let them drive us away? We’d end up as nomads, travelling from one place to another, searching for safety that no longer existed.

Joshua’s arms around me tightened, bringing our bodies even closer together.

“Sherry! Joshua!” Bobby’s shout sounded in the silence.

Joshua pulled back with a groan. I opened my eyes, wanting to strangle my little brother. We had so little time alone – every minute was precious. Mom always made sure there was someone
with us. I bet she’d sent Bobby to check on us.

“Sherry! Joshua!” The shouting came closer.

“If we duck down, he won’t find us,” Joshua said with a wicked smile. It was an appealing thought.

I laughed. “You don’t know Bobby, he won’t give up.”

“Sherry!”

“We’re here!” I shouted.

“Where?”

I rolled my eyes, causing Joshua’s grin to widen. “Here!”

Bobby appeared in our row, his face alight with excitement. Then his brows furrowed. “Why are you hugging my sister?”

Joshua and I took a step back from each other and dropped our arms. Joshua handled the situation much better than I could have. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Bobby scowled and opened his mouth, but I held up a hand. “What do you want?” Annoyance crept into my voice. I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t sure when Joshua and I would be
close to each other again, and Bobby just had to come and ruin the moment.

Bobby blinked at me, then the excitement returned to his face. “Geoffrey managed to get the radio receiver going. He even managed to make it work over a longer distance. There were
voices!”

Joshua and I exchanged looks. Voices? Other survivors?

Bobby whirled around and headed back the way he’d come. Joshua and I ran after him.

I was out of breath by the time we arrived in the living room, where Geoffrey had put Dad’s radio receiver on a table.

He looked up when we burst in and smiled proudly. “It works. I pushed the buttons like I always do and suddenly there were voices, but I lost them before we could exchange information. We
just need to wait for the voices to return.” He turned the knobs, but all that came from the radio was a swishing noise.

Then suddenly warped voices rang out, overlaid by the constant hissing. I strained my ears to hear what they were saying.

“Hello?” Geoffrey said into the little microphone, moving the aerial back and forth.

“Geoffrey?” A man asked.

“Yes, it’s me. I lost you for a moment.”

“Geoffrey, this is important.” The man sounded hurried and frightened. “We must warn you. They betrayed us. There’s—” The hissing returned with full force,
cutting the words off.

Maybe Joshua was right and there was someone who didn’t want us to communicate.

Joshua looked as clueless as I felt.

“Who has betrayed us?” I asked as we sank down on the sofa, exchanging panicked looks.

Larry occupied one of the armchairs, leaning forward and watching Geoffrey with rapt attention. “Yes, what does that even mean?”

Joshua pointed at the speakers. “Who was that guy anyway?”

Geoffrey worked on the back of the radio with a screwdriver, concentration written across his face. “Simon. He told me his name is Simon. He lives with others in a safe haven in Arizona.
That’s all I know.”

I slumped against Joshua, feeling exhausted, and waited for something to happen.

I awoke with a start and my eyes fluttered open. I must have fallen asleep. My head leaned on Joshua’s shoulder. Marie and Emma sat on the ground in front of our feet,
talking quietly.

I sat up, blinking away the sleepiness. “How long have I slept?”

“An hour,” Joshua replied in a drowsy voice. “But you didn’t miss anything. Only swooshing.”

I rose from the sofa and stretched my tired muscles. “I’ll check on my father. If anything happens, call me.”

Joshua nodded, eyes half-closed. Larry was fast asleep in his armchair, snoring with his mouth open. I dragged myself towards the front door. Cold wind whipped against my face when I stepped
outside. It woke me up.

I crossed the courtyard with hurried steps. Even with Joshua’s sweater on, I was freezing. Where had the heat gone?

I walked into the cottage, where Karen sat on a chair, reading a book. She glanced up briefly and smiled at me before returning her attention to the pages. Mom was perched on the edge of the
bed, talking to Dad. My heart leaped – he was finally conscious!

Dad’s eyes darted towards me. A weak smile curled his lips.

“Sherry,” he said in a croaky voice. Some colour had returned to his face, but he was still on the drip. I rushed towards him and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
His touch seemed to burn my skin; his fever still hadn’t lessened. He laughed hoarsely and stroked my back. Tears prickled in my eyes. A few brimmed over and ran down my cheeks. I pulled back
and wiped off the tears with the sleeve of the hoodie. He was awake and he looked better. I was so happy.

Mom gave me a teary smile while she held Dad’s hand.

“I’m proud of you,” he said.

I stared at him. “W-why?”

Dad rolled his eyes. “And I thought you were clever,” he joked in his weak voice. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. I hadn’t noticed them a minute ago. The fever, the
sweating. Signs of rabies?

“You are very brave, Sherry,” he said in his proud-father voice. But there was no reason for him to be proud of me.

“It was my fault the Weepers captured you. I should’ve stopped them. I came with you to keep you safe and I failed.” My voice broke at the end.

“Don’t be silly, Sherry,” Mom admonished with a shake of her head.

“It wasn’t your fault. I had the shotgun and I should have defended us, but I dropped it when one of those beasts jumped in front of me.” Dad shuddered at the thought. He took
a deep breath before he continued. “I thought they’d killed you when they didn’t bring you to the harbour. I thought I’d broken the promise I’d given to your
mother.” He glanced at Mom with an apologetic look.

I gave them their moment of silent understanding and stared down at my hands. Without Joshua’s help the Weepers would have ended my life. I’d never forget it.

“How did you manage to survive? It’s a miracle,” Dad said in wonder.

I glanced up and smiled. “Joshua saved me.”

“You’re wearing his hoodie.” Mom searched my face.

I felt myself blush. “I was cold.” What a lame lie. I just liked the smell of it. Mom and Dad exchanged a look I didn’t even bother to analyse.

The door was thrown open and banged against the wall, making us all jump. I expected a Weeper to be standing in the doorway, but it was only Joshua who stepped into the room.

Karen scowled at him as she picked up her book, which she’d dropped. “For God’s sake, Joshua, do you want to give us all heart attacks?”

Joshua didn’t react. “There’s a helicopter circling over Safe-haven!”

“What?” Karen and I asked at once.

“I heard a noise and suddenly it was there!”

My heart leaped into my throat.

“Come on!” Joshua urged. He ran out of the room as if the devil was chasing him.

I sped after him, my eyes searching the sky. And then I spotted it. A black dot in the sky, growing bigger. Yes, it was coming back. It was the black dot that I’d seen several times.
Within seconds it was above us and I saw it was a military helicopter. It was flying so low I could even make out the soldiers sitting in it, their faces covered with black gas masks.

There
were
other people. Military. We were saved!

The other members of Safe-haven gathered around us, waving wildly. “We’re here!” we shouted.

Tyler’s eyes grew wide and he started to tremble. Slowly he sank to his knees.

I looked over at Rachel, who was standing next to him, but her eyes were fixed on the helicopter. Behind her, Geoffrey appeared in the doorway of the house and stood frozen in the shadows as he
stared at the sky.

“It’s not slowing down,” Larry said.

“They have to see us. They’re so close! How can they miss us?” Karen stared at the helicopter in shock. “We’re down here!” She jumped up and down.

There had to be a way to make them see us, to attract their attention. “We need a flare gun!” I said.

Joshua bolted past Geoffrey into the house and returned a few seconds later with a boxy-looking pistol. He raised it over his head, but before he could fire it, Tyler tackled him, sending them
both flying to the ground. “Get off me! Are you crazy?” Joshua yelled. He pushed Tyler off and jumped to his feet. Tyler stayed on his back and covered his eyes with his hands. What was
the matter with him?

Joshua pulled the trigger.

A light soared into the sky, sparks of glaring red against greyish-blue. It was impossible to miss. But the helicopter didn’t change its direction, nor did it dive. It flew on as if we
weren’t there, though the soldiers must have seen us.

“Why aren’t they rescuing us?” Bobby asked, looking at me as if I knew the answer.

“Hey, you bastards!” Joshua shouted. The helicopter was becoming smaller and smaller, until it was nothing but a black dot on the horizon again.

“Maybe they’re just waiting for reinforcements,” Marie guessed, clutching Emma to her body.

Tyler cowered on the ground, his head buried in his knees. His body was shaking now and he was rocking back and forth like he’d really lost it. Rachel was behind him, her eyes wide –
whether from shock or fear, I couldn’t tell. After a moment, Tyler looked up and our eyes met. I knew instantly that something was horribly wrong.

He croaked out something, but after months of not talking, his mouth wasn’t used to forming words. It sounded like, “They won’t save us.”

The others looked at him. Shock and confusion mingled on their faces, but I felt only dread.

“What did you say?” Joshua asked.

“They won’t save us.” Tyler’s voice was deep and rough, but so quiet that I had to strain my ears.

“What do you mean, they won’t save us? How do you know? I don’t understand, Tyler.” Karen walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched as if she’d
hit him. Karen exchanged a look with Larry that made it clear she thought Tyler had lost his mind. But somehow I knew the words coming from his lips weren’t the result of madness.

“I was there, on the other side.” He pressed his cheek against his knees, his knuckles turning white from his grip on his legs. He looked lost, and so much younger than he was.

“What other side?” I asked, keeping my voice gentle so it wouldn’t upset him.

“The other side of the fence.”

Larry pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses out of the way. “Fence. I don’t get it. What fence?”

Something in Geoffrey’s face changed, as if he feared what was coming.

“There’s a fence.” Tyler sucked in a breath. It was obvious that every word was a struggle. “It keeps us and the Weepers here. It separates…separates us from the
rest of the country.” He swallowed. “There’s an entire world beyond the fence. A world where life goes on as if nothing h-has happened.” Tyler was still shaking, as if his
own words had scared him even more than the helicopter.

That didn’t make sense. How could life go on like it used to? How could anyone live a life in safety while we were fighting for survival every day?

“How do you know this?” I asked.

“After I left the public bunker, me and a few others were travelling through the country, searching for more survivors, when a helicopter appeared above us. They shot at us and a
tranquillizer dart hit me. After that, I don’t remember much. I must have lost consciousness. When I woke up I was in a laboratory, tied to a table. On the other side. Beyond the
fence.”

Part of me wanted to block my ears, so I wouldn’t hear any more. The other part wanted to learn as much as possible.

“They were using us as lab rats to test the rabies on. There was so much death.” He closed his eyes as if that would make him forget. But I knew it wouldn’t; every memory I
wanted so desperately to forget seemed even more vivid once my eyes were closed.

There was a moment of silence. I was frozen, and so were the others. My fingers felt numb and slowly the numbness spread through the rest of my body. I couldn’t believe what I was
hearing.

It was Mom who spoke first. “They’d never do that.”

Geoffrey grimaced, an odd expression on his face. “They would, believe me. I’ve seen a lot in my time as a scientist. Many things that have made me doubt humankind.”