Blood Water

EPILOGUE

The study centre was quiet when morning finally came. The birds had emerged from hiding and were filling the air with their raucous song. The electricity was still working and the two brothers were able to find a couple of heaters to warm themselves and dry their clothes. They’d bandaged Waites’s foot as best they could, but it was in a terrible state. James was no expert but he thought the teacher might have to lose it. They’d given him painkillers, fed him, washed him and put him to bed. Then they’d showered and found some food in the canteen. Their fatigue got the better of them: even though they had intended to leave the centre at first light, they soon collapsed on a bed, drifting very quickly into a deep sleep.

When they woke it was almost lunch time. They ate again, then agreed that they should wait until the waters had receded significantly before trying to get back into town. The land lines weren’t working, and James’s mobile phone showed only a very weak signal, but he had managed to send his mother a text before he lost it altogether. As long as their parents knew they were safe, they could stay at the centre for a while longer if necessary.

Incredibly, by late afternoon the water level had dropped dramatically and though most of the surrounding fields were still waterlogged, the roads looked passable. Sean and James gazed out at the landscape from the first-floor windows before deciding it was worth a try.

James went to check on the patient. Before his mobile signal had disappeared, he’d wanted to call for an ambulance, but Sean quite rightly pointed out that even if one were available, it would never have been able to cross the bridge in town. Waites was still asleep. They didn’t like the idea of leaving him in the centre on his own, but moving him sounded like a worse idea. The salt water seemed to have banished the infection left behind by the creature, but he’d been in serious pain, and his ankle would get infected if it wasn’t treated quickly. They would contact the police as soon as they got home and make sure Waites received medical help. If the emergency services were too busy, then they would return themselves.

‘What’s it going to be like down there in town?’ James asked as they got into the study centre car.

‘I don’t know,’ Sean replied. ‘Wet?’ They both smiled.

‘I wonder where that dog got to,’ Sean said, looking around.

‘Don’t know,’ James replied, easing the car towards the road. ‘No idea where he came from either but I’d like to shake his paw.’

Even though the floodwater had receded, there were still large stretches of water across the road, and James had to drive slowly and carefully through each one. By the time they reached the school, still quiet and abandoned, it felt like they’d been driving for hours. James took it steadily down the steep hill towards the town. A roadblock had been set up near the market place, and a stern-looking police officer told James he could drive no further, then immediately went off on other urgent business. James decided to park the car by the nearby supermarket.

The town seemed so different now. Everything was darker, dirtier than they remembered. The trees by the river seemed to have lost their lustre, and one or two of the buildings looked like they were on the verge of collapse.

They stopped by the bridge and were disheartened to find the river still surging just below the road itself. Police tape had cordoned off the bridge, but there were no officers around, so the two brothers slipped under the flimsy barrier and ran across. Once on the other side, Sean glanced back across the water to see the drenched, dishevelled figure of Mrs Rees being comforted and guided towards the high street by two police officers from the direction of the park. She had clearly survived: if she had been infected, she would have been dead by now. The two brothers smiled as the poor woman was helped along, clearly the worse for her ordeal but alive. They headed away from the bridge and in no more than ten minutes they were home.

They phoned the police and tried to explain about Waites and what had happened, and why he was in the study centre on his own. There was a lot more explaining to do, but that could come later. Right now there were urgent problems to deal with. Several people were still missing since the start of the flooding. Three buildings had collapsed into the river, and many more were swamped by the filthy floodwater.

Sean’s mum stroked his cheek before he turned to go up to his room. Even though both he and James were sure that the creature’s infection wouldn’t do any lasting damage, they would have to get themselves checked out at the hospital as soon as possible. They both had an odd red rash that must be a side-effect – though it caused no pain or discomfort.

‘What on earth happened to you, Sean?’ his mum asked as he started up the stairs. ‘Are you still ill?’

‘I don’t know,’ he replied, stopping halfway up and thinking for a second. ‘I think there might have been something in the water.’