Chapter 7

On Thursday morning, Mike, washing himself, noticed that his hands had red blotches all over.

This I don’t believe. I’ve had the ‘mild form’ already.

But he didn’t have a rash anywhere else, and he had neither diarrhea nor vomiting, so he thought he oughtn’t to bother the beleaguered health authorities. He was a bit worried though.

What right have I to be worried for myself? Jill’s brothers could be at death’s door for all I know.

He couldn’t stop himself thinking,

In fact, perish the thought, they could be dead. ‘Several hundred people have died, despite care’; ‘there is no cure in sight at the moment.’

But at least it’s only several hundred, and there’s probably a million or more cases by now.

That thought is worth remembering. It might come in handy for reassuring Jill.

He was just making himself his morning cup of tea when Tony knocked at the door.

‘Morning, Tony. You’re just in time for a cuppa.’

‘Thanks. I need it. Just been taking Angie and Steve down to Carr Syke first school. They look awful. I’ve brought Steve’s radio.’

‘Let’s have it on then.’

‘I’m not sure you’ll want to. The death toll at the last count was about half a million, but she said they couldn’t really say exactly because the figures from some places were several hours old.’

‘They’re not pulling any punches, are they! I’m quite surprised the government hasn’t suppressed some of that kind of information to prevent panic reactions.’

‘So am I. But I think everyone’s too stunned to know what to do.’

‘I know how they feel. I hope they find a cure soon, and I hope Jill’s brothers are all right.’

How many cases are there now, if there’s half a million dead? My reassuring thought sounds a bit hollow now.

‘Hey! Look at your hands! You’ve got it too!’

‘I don’t know. I’ve got no rash anywhere else, and I’ve not got diarrhea or vomiting. Perhaps this is the second stage of the mild version.’

‘The people who are dealing with it might have seen it before, and know if it’s serious.’

‘They don’t know much at all. They can’t cure it yet. I feel fine. I don’t want to bother them.’

‘Mmm. They’re still saying this morning that ‘there’s no cure yet’, but the Ministry of Offence labs are supposed to have isolated a virus, and they’re hoping to have a cure soon, or at least prophylaxis. It seems that quite a number of people are recovering, but that they’re keeping them in for observation at the moment.’

‘I’d like to go round and see Jill. She’ll be in a hell of a state about David and Adrian. But I’m expecting Cathie to come round sometime to pick up her clothes.’

‘I don’t know where she lives, or I’d pop them round and then join you at the Js’.’

‘I don’t know either.’

‘Pin up a note for her with the Js’ address, and we’ll take her clothes with us.’

But the Js were not at home.

‘We’d have met them if they’d been on their way to my place. They’ll have gone down to the hospital to see about the boys.’

They couldn’t see them at the hospital, but there was a fantastic confusion there, and they couldn’t be sure. There was a large circle, clear of people, around a dog that was lying in the middle of the road, coughing up blood. Great patches of its coat had fallen out as well.

‘I wonder how long before they clear that up? I wonder if there’s any evidence that it’s any more infective than the relatives and friends that many of these people were living with up to the moment they brought them into hospital?’

‘I doubt if it’s any worse. But clearing the mess up makes it look as though the authorities are doing something. It’s probably reducing a few other health hazards, too.’

‘Perhaps the Js have gone round to your place from here – they’ll surely turn up sooner or later anyway.’

There was another bit of paper pinned on the door. It was a very brief note from June saying she’d be at Auntie Alice’s. They wondered if Cathie would remember where that was. It was one thing to put up the Js’ address for all to see, but Auntie Alice might not like it.

They eventually decided to put the address but no name. You can get addresses without names by looking at street signs. But why a note just from June? Where’s Jill? Mother’s? Asking about the boys? I hope she’s not sick!

But she was. They found June glued to Auntie Alice’s telly, with a very long face.

‘Jill was red and blotchy all over this morning, and feeling sick. Then she suddenly got the runs. I practically had to carry her down to East Park Upper school. At least there wasn’t any blood, but there’s still no news of a cure. I asked the volunteer who admitted her if Jill would be able to find out how her brothers were, and he said, ‘perhaps, it depends whether anyone can find the time.’ I found out, but now I can’t get a message to her.’

‘How are they?’

‘Hopefully, recovering. They’re both on the ‘recovering’ list. No personal details, but it apparently means they’re probably very weak, but succeeding in keeping food down, no rash, pulse and temperature normal, and not suffering from dehydration. Might still have the runs a bit, but no blood in it.’

‘Well that’s some consolation anyway. It’s nice to have personal experience of someone recovering. Our circle’s luck so far has been pretty lousy, unless fifty percent is the current casualty figure. I had to take Angie and Steve in this morning, June.’

‘Bad?’

‘Typical, by the sound of it.’

‘Mike! Your hands!’

‘Yes, I know. But nowhere else, and no other symptoms. Perhaps I’ve got partial immunity from having had the mild form already.’

‘I wouldn’t take a chance on a perhaps.’

‘They haven’t got a treatment anyway. All they’re doing is taking care of people who are sick. And I’m fine. I’d feel a real fraud, especially when they’re so overstretched.’

‘Overstretched is the word. There’s two and a half million cases now, estimated...

‘So we have been pretty unlucky.’

... but it’s not quite true any more that there’s no treatment. They still can’t get rid of the disease, but there are various drugs that interfere with the some of the processes by which the damage is done. Then if you survive long enough, the disease goes away by itself.’

‘So now the big problem is supply of those drugs. Is there any progress on how it spreads, and how to avoid getting it?’

‘Not that you’d call progress. The Americans say they have evidence that it’s an accident in a Chinese biological weapons factory, and that the bug has a complex life cycle of about sixty days, and had spread all round the world before it reached the active stage. They say the Chinese should have warned everyone, to give everyone some extra time to work on counter-measures, in particular making vast quantities of these drugs.’

‘And the Chinese say, nearly right, except it was an American lab?’

‘Possibly, but the BBC aren’t reporting that. The Chinese are calling it ludicrous propaganda, and pointing to the fact that they’re no further forward in counter-measures than the Americans. They say that the British MoD labs says it’s a virus, that they’ve no reason to disbelieve it, and that viruses just don’t have complex life-cycles.’

‘And the Americans say, who says you’re no further forward in counter-measures?’

‘Exactly.’

They stayed glued to the telly for most of the day, and Auntie Alice made lunch for them and plied them with tea and cake. Mike’s hands began to itch, but otherwise he was okay.

Just like bad sunburn. I wish I could go and see Jill. I hope she’s okay.

Please be all right love.

Late in the afternoon, while Auntie Alice was in the kitchen making the hundredth pot of tea, June suggested that they should leave before Auntie Alice started thinking about what to give them for supper.

‘There’s been no sign of Cathie all day.’

‘Perhaps our note blew away. It’s been quite blowy.’

‘We’ll go to your place first and see.’

‘Then what?’

‘Jill and I have plenty of food in the house. I’ll cook for all of us.’

But the note was still pinned to the door.

‘You don’t know where she lives, do you, June?’

‘No. Pete would, of course. I wonder how he is.’

‘There’s no telling. I suppose it’s not surprising we’ve not had a card from him, in the circumstances.’

‘The post’s still working so far, they say. Not that I’ve had any mail. But he’s only been gone a week.’

‘He’s due back in three days. If he doesn’t hurry up he’ll be back before his cards get here!’

‘At the present rate, I doubt if there’ll be any flights. I wonder how he’ll cope, stuck over there? I hope the hotel don’t put him out on the street.’

‘There’ll be a whole party of them. They’ll do something for them. I just hope he doesn’t get ill. God, I wish Jill hadn’t.’

‘Mike! She’s going to be okay! Adrian and David are recovering. She’ll be okay.’

‘Sorry, June. I hope you’re right. I just wish there was something I could do. I just wish I could be with her, that’s all.’

‘Anyway, what are we going to do about Cathie?’

‘I don’t know, Tony. Have you still got your key to Pete’s flat, June?’

‘Yes, of course. But surely he’ll have taken his address book?’

‘Very likely, and if he hasn’t, I won’t be able to find it, and it won’t have Cathie’s address in it, anyway, because I bet that that’s on a scrappy bit of paper screwed up in his pocket. But let’s try.’

When they got to the house, it reminded Mike about Jill, and June could see the strain in his face again. She got him organized quickly.

‘Here’s the key. I’ll stay here and start cooking, you two go to Pete’s. Come back here, and if she’s not got here by the time we’ve finished eating, we’ll all go round there together if you can find the address.’

Pete’s address book was on the mantlepiece, and Cathie’s address was in it.

I bet he copied it in so’s he wouldn’t forget it, so he’d be sure of being able to send her a card, and then forgot to take his address book.

After they’d eaten, Mike went up to the toilet and Tony whispered to June,

‘Mike isn’t taking it so well, is he. He bottles it up, but you can see he’s pretty upset.’

‘I know. He loves Jill a great deal, you know. I don’t think we should leave him on his own tonight. What do you say to the three of us sticking together for the time being? You and Mike stay here.’

‘I must admit I wasn’t looking forward to a house to myself tonight, myself. And I can’t see the Benefit Office hassling anyone much at the moment.’

‘I’ll ask him later on.’

Half an hour later they were knocking at Cathie’s front door. Her little brother opened it.

‘Hello. Who are you? What do you want?’

‘We’ve come to see Cathie. We’ve brought her clothes back...’

A woman’s voice, in the house, ‘That’ll be Cathie’s friends.’ Then, louder, ‘Come in, loves, and sit yourselves down.’ She sounded as though she’d been crying.

The little boy stood aside silently, and they trooped into the house. As they came into the lighted kitchen, Mrs Jordan jumped up,

‘I’m sure you’d all like a nice cup of tea, wouldn’t you? Sit yourselves down at the table, and I’ll put the kettle on.’ Too brightly.

Mr Jordan was staring into the gas fire. He looked up with a start.

‘Oh! Hello, Mike. Hello...?’

‘June, and Tony.’

O God, what’s happened? Where is Cathie?’

Silence.

Five cups of tea.

Silence.

Mrs Jordan put her elbow on the table in front of her, put her head on her fist, and fought back tears.

‘She’s dead. Our Cathie. Dead.’

I knew it. I just knew it. The moment we came in, I knew it. I’ve been thinking all afternoon, ‘I hope Cathie’s not sick; don’t be silly there’s a hundred other explanations’. But I couldn’t stop thinking she was sick. And as soon as we came in, I just knew she was dead. O God.

‘O God! I’m sorry, Mrs Jordan. I don’t know what to say.’

‘She woke up about six this morning, screaming. She was red all over, and she said the pain in her guts was killing her. Jack had to carry her down to the school like a babe in arms. Then this afternoon a policewoman came round...’

Mrs Jordan’s voice disappeared into soft sobbing, and the table shook with her erratic breathing. June pulled her chair round beside Mrs Jordan’s, and put her arm round her shoulders; Mrs Jordan pulled her close and put her head down on June’s other arm, crying.

Mike was as white as a sheet, staring through the table.

Mrs Jordan’s voice had been a trembling monotone, not apparently aimed at anyone. Mr Jordan picked up the narrative almost as tonelessly. He was staring into the fire again. ‘She says, ‘May I come in? Sit down, Mrs Jordan, may I make some tea?’, and she makes us both some sweet tea, us wondering what on earth’s going on, and half knowing, and then she tells us. After a little while she says, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to go, we’re frightfully busy at the moment.’ We’ve just been sat here ever since.’

A long silence. Tony was the only one who drank his tea. After a while Mrs Jordan stopped herself crying, sat up, and felt her cup.

‘They’ve all gone cold! Let’s have fresh ones, and drink them this time!’

‘I’ll get them.’

‘No, thank you Tony, it’s good for me.’

This time they did drink their teas. In silence. Then Mrs Jordan began again. ‘We were still up when she came in last night. We were all watching the telly. She made us laugh, wearing that get-up of yours, Mike.’

‘Last thing she said, when I put her down in the reception area in the school, was that you’d probably come round for your clothes sometime. She said to give her love to you all, and to tell you she’d see you all soon. That, she won’t.’ He was staring into the fire again.

‘She said she wished Pete were here, too, Jack.’

‘Aye, that’s right, she did. She might as well have stayed here, with us, for all the good they did her down there.’

‘Don’t, Jack.’

They stayed at the Jordan’s for about an hour and a half, most the time in silence. They said how they’d not known Cathie very long, but had taken to her immediately. They asked that they be let know when and where the funeral would be.

‘The policewoman told us we’d not be able to have a proper funeral, because with so many deaths here all at once at the moment, they’re having to dispose of bodies in a lime-pit. She said to talk to the vicar about a service.’

Mrs Jordan got Mike’s clothes for him, and they left. The clothes were freshly washed and ironed.

‘Thank you all for coming. You’re welcome here any time. We’d like to see you.’

Pete’ll be devastated. I wonder how Jill is? Oh God, I hope she’s okay.

Mike was more than glad to stay with June and Tony at the Js’ house. He slept on some cushions on the floor, and Tony slept on the sofa; but they stayed awake talking until the small hours.

‘I don’t like the sound of this lime-pit business. That sounds like the death rate is much higher than they’re letting on.’

‘I’m not sure. They were saying half a million this morning, and it’ll be more by now. When something like one percent of the population dies in a day or so, it’s not surprising they run into difficulties. It’s something like two hundred times the normal death-rate.’

‘Sometimes, Tony, you amaze me. I wouldn’t have a clue what the death-rate was.’

‘It’s only a rough guess, based on an average life-span of about seventy years.’

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