Lord Sunday

Those further orders had come on Saturday night, with designated aid stations to be opened the next morning to issue water, food and medication. Every household had been told to send one member, and warnings were issued about wearing gloves, a face mask of some kind and a coat that could be discarded before going back inside.

Leaf had come out to get help for the sleepers, who included her Aunt Mango. Lady Friday had never intended that her private hospital would actually cater to live patients, so there was very little food or medicine, and the only water they knew was not contaminated came from a single water cooler barrel that had been in the front office, and that had only been enough for the merest sip when shared among so many people.

Leaf ran her tongue around the inside of her dry mouth as she thought of that water barrel. She could see people ahead of her in the line coming back carrying big, sealed containers of water and Army-issue backpacks that were presumably stuffed with food and medicine.

She’d tried to explain to one of the soldiers standing guard that she wasn’t from a normal house and needed more help, but he’d refused to listen and told her to join the queue. She’d tried to argue, but he had levelled his assault rifle at her and told her again to get in line. His voice through his gas mask had sounded nervous, so she’d backed off.

It had meant an hour’s wait, but she was almost up to the desk where two more soldiers, bulky and strange in their biohazard suits, were checking people off before they got their hand-out. Two more soldiers stood nearby, with their assault rifles ready, and an armoured personnel carrier was parked so that its turret-mounted gun was aligned with the long queue of people that stretched behind Leaf. In some ways it looked like they were in enemy territory, not on a relief expedition in their own country, but then Leaf supposed the soldiers were nervous that some people would attack them because, after all, they had destroyed the hospital and irradiated the surrounding region, supposedly in order to sterilise it against further viral infection.

“Name?” asked the soldier when Leaf got to the desk. Even through the mask, she sounded kinder than the soldier Leaf had spoken to first. “How many in the family? Anyone sick?”

“My name’s Leaf, but I’m not here for my family. I’m from Friday’s private hospital three blocks away. We’ve got more than a thousand patients…and we need help.”

“Uh…a thousand patients?” asked the soldier. Leaf couldn’t see her face behind the mask, not even her eyes, as the Army masks had tinted lenses – but she sounded shocked. “A private hospital?”

“I think it’s one thousand and seven,” said Leaf. “Mostly pretty old, so quite a few are sick. I mean, not from the radiation, or not yet, but just because they were sick to start with. Or just old.”

“Um, I’m gonna have to check up on this one,” said the soldier. “Stand over there and wait, please.”

Leaf stood to one side as the soldier flicked a switch on the side of her mask and spoke on her radio. Her mask muffled her voice, but Leaf could hear a few words.

“Private hospital…thousand or more…not listed…No, sir…map…”

Leaf missed the next few words. Then the soldier was silent, listening to a reply that Leaf couldn’t hear at all. This went on for at least a minute, then the soldier turned towards Leaf and said, “OK, Major Penhaligon is coming to see you. Wait there until he arrives.”

Major Penhaligon? thought Leaf. That must be Arthur’s brother, who warned him about the nuclear strike.

She looked around while she waited. East Area Hospital was still sort of visible, about two miles away, though it was only a shell with one high wall still standing. A lot of the buildings around it had also been flattened and there were still some of the sealed fire trucks plying their water cannons on smouldering wreckage. There were also thirty or more orange armoured personnel carriers with the big black Q for Quarantine on their sides, lined up along the road that went to the hospital. The closest one had its back doors open and Leaf saw it had four shelves on each side, each holding several long orange bags. It took her a moment to comprehend that these were body bags.

Leaf got a terrible sick feeling in her stomach, looking at those body bags. As far as she knew, her parents and her brother, Ed, had left the hospital in the week when she was unconscious from the Greyspot disease, but she hadn’t been able to confirm that. She’d tried to get in touch with them at home, which was several miles away and so at least a bit safer, but all communications were down.

They must be OK, thought Leaf. They have to be all right. I’ve got to try not to think about them. I have a job to do.

She looked away from the body bags, but the sight of the people in the line was no more encouraging. Though she could only see their eyes, everyone looked frightened.

I’m frightened too, thought Leaf. Maybe we’re all going to die from the radiation. Look at the soldiers – they’re in complete protective gear with proper gas masks and everything. But then, if Arthur can’t stop the House and the entire Universe from getting destroyed, we’re all going to die anyway.

“Miss?”

A voice behind her made her turn round. Two soldiers stood there. They had no rank badges, but they did have name tags on their suits. One read PENHALIGON and the other read CHEN.

“I’m Major Penhaligon and this is Sergeant Chen,” said the shorter figure. “I understand you’re from a private hospital closer towards East Area?”

“Yes,” said Leaf. “I was kind of there by accident on Friday night. I know one of the…nurses, but there’s no other staff there and about a thousand old people—”

“We have no information on this hospital,” said the Major. “It’s not listed at all, anywhere, so this had better not be some sort of crazy—”

“It is there!” protested Leaf. “Come with me and I’ll show you. Then if you find out it’s not true, you can shoot me or blow me up or whatever else you’re all so good at. You’re not much good at helping people!”

A ripple of applause answered this loud speech. Leaf looked over her shoulder and saw most of the closer people in the queue were clapping, and one man was even shaking his fist in the air. A woman called out, “You tell ’em, girl! We want help, not bombs!”

“All right,” said Major Penhaligon. He clicked a switch under his chin so that his mask amplified his voice, making it loud enough for the people in the line to hear him. “We’re going to look into it. Keep in line and stay calm.”

He turned the amplification off when he spoke to Leaf. “Where is this hospital?”

“The main entrance is that way, on the corner of Grand Avenue,” said Leaf. “I’ll show you.”

“That’s on the edge of the kill zone,” said Sergeant Chen. She was considerably taller and broader than Major Penhaligon, so until Leaf heard her voice, she’d thought it was a male soldier inside the suit. “Were you inside when the strike happened, miss?”

“Yes,” answered Leaf. “Underground, with some of the patients. But a lot of them were on the ground floor. What do you mean, the ‘kill zone’?”

“If you were underground you’ll probably be OK,” said Major Penhaligon. He hesitated, then added, “The initial burst of radiation would be lethal anywhere within five hundred metres of the target point, and if there is a hospital there it would be on the edge of that. I suppose we’d better go and take a look. Chen, you better give Miss…uh, Miss…”

“My name is Leaf,” said Leaf.

“Give Miss Leaf a shot of CBL505.”

“This is an antiradiation drug,” said Chen as she slapped an auto-injector against Leaf’s neck. She felt the sting of the needle before she could flinch away. “Same as in the take-home packs we’re giving out. Uh, sir, if we’re heading closer to ground zero we should put Miss Leaf in a suit.”

“OK,” said Major Penhaligon. “You double back to…Decontamination Four is for female personnel, isn’t it? Get her cleaned and suited up and then call me. I’ve got to go take care of something anyway.”

“Yes, sir,” said Chen. She took Leaf by the arm and started to lead her away.

“Thanks,” said Leaf. Then, because she was wondering about Arthur and where he was, she added, “Are you related to Arthur Penhaligon, by the way?”

Major Penhaligon swung round. “He’s my little brother. Do you know him? Do you know where he is?”

“He’s a friend of mine,” said Leaf. “But I don’t know where he is.”

“When did you last see him?” asked Major Penhaligon.

“Er…sometime last week,” hedged Leaf.

“Did he mention anything strange?”

“What do you mean?” asked Leaf. She tried to keep her face from showing anything. By any definition, everything Arthur had been involved with in recent times was strange.

“Dad’s house is gone,” said Major Penhaligon. “Not destroyed. Just plain gone. I’ve tracked down Michaeli and Eric – they’re with friends, they’re OK – but I can’t find Arthur or Emily.”

“A lot of weird stuff has happened around here,” offered Leaf.

“That’s for sure,” said Major Penhaligon. “Where did you see Arthur?”

“In the hospital,” said Leaf. She hadn’t been ready for the sudden question. “Friday’s hospital, I mean. With the old people. But he left.”

“Where was he going?”

Leaf shook her head. “I don’t know.”