Part 21 (1/2)
A series of images came back to him, vague and indistinct.
”Hana?” he asked.
”She died there on the street. Im sorry.” There was a cough that might have been a wry laugh. ”I dont know why Im apologising. I cant seem to stop. You should have seen her room. There were ledgers and books everywhere. I dont think she ever slept. She was agonising over everything. I think...” She stopped. ”It doesnt matter. Youll see for yourself.”
”Graham?” Chester managed.
”What? Yes. Well, we think it was him who shot you both. I cant imagine it was anyone else. Tuck went after him, but shes not back. I...” There was a catch in her voice, then a slow shuddering sigh. ”I did what I could. I had to use the books. It wasnt easy, and in the end we didnt do much more than stop the bleeding. The bullet skimmed the side of your head. Youve lost most of your ear. And... well, it might have done some damage to your hearing.”
Chester nodded, or tried to, but couldnt tell if hed moved his head or not. It explained why Nildas voice sounded odd. So what if hed lost the hearing in an ear? That still left him with one, and Tuck got by well enough with none.
”Does it hurt much?” Nilda asked. ”The only painkillers we had are the kind Hana used to tranquilise the animals. I had to guess at the dose, but I figured you weighed about the same as a pig. Were almost out Im afraid, though I dont suppose it matters. I mean, if the animals get sick, all we can do now is eat them.” There was another half caught wry laugh.
”What...?” Chester began, then forgot what he was going to ask.
”We got the food from the coaches,” Nilda went on. ”Jay organised that. He wanted to help me, you see. He said that hed had to operate on Stewart back when they found him. I wouldnt let him. I thought you were going to...” And again she stopped. ”So when Id finished doing what little I could, I went outside and found that hed gone out to get the food. Not just him. Nearly everyone. The way that Fogerty tells it, its turning into a saga. You know, one more tale of life in the old Tower of London.” She gave a short, brief laugh that almost turned into a sob. She took a deep breath. ”And now youre awake, itll have a happy ending.”
”Huh...” He tried to speak. He found he couldnt.
”Rest,” she said. ”Youll need your strength. Ill get you some food. Weve got lots.” And this time he heard the bitterness in her voice.
His head felt light, disconnected. He tried to line up all those things he needed to ask her, but when she returned the scent of freshly cooked vegetables suppressed all other thoughts.
”Weve got more than enough food now,” Nilda said as she spooned broth into his mouth. ”At least, weve enough to last us until Finnegan gets back.”
”Finnegan?” Chester asked. Speaking was getting easier. Thinking wasnt.
”Hes gone to Anglesey. He disappeared when everyone went to get that food from the coaches. He didnt even tell Greta that he was going, just left her a note. She was furious. He might have reached Anglesey by now. Or tomorrow maybe.”
Chester tried to shake his head. This time he managed it.
”I know, it might take him longer,” Nilda said, ”but I think h.e.l.l make it. He took all of those maps of yours. You know, the ones youd left in your room with the routes marked out.”
Chester tried to shake his head again. It just made him dizzy. He pa.s.sed out.
”Nilda?” he asked, when he woke.
”Im here.”
”Finnegan. The maps.”
”Yes, he took them,” she said. ”Hes gone to Anglesey.”
”No. The maps. They were the routes not to take. They were...” his mouth was dry. ”Water?” he croaked.
”Here. Sip. Slowly. What do you mean?”
”The horde. Those were the places the hordes had been through.”
”Does that matter?”
”The radiation. I worked it out. It wasnt the wind. The zombies. They go through the fallout zones. The...” But the effort of speaking was too much. He took a breath. It hurt. He took another, this time shallower, and tried again. ”In the books. On radiation. The impact site. Cae... Cae...” He tried to remember how to say Caesium. He gave up. ”Heavy isotopes. Last for decades. Zombies walk through it. Spread it. Destroy land. Contaminate everything.”
There was a long silence.
”Are you sure?” she asked.
He had been. He knew that. But there was something about people and a tunnel which meant he might be wrong, though he couldnt remember why.
”No,” he admitted.
”Which books?”
Chester wasnt sure. ”Textbooks.”
”The physics ones? Hang on.” He felt a weight lift from the bed. A few seconds later the door opened and then closed. It seemed like an age before it opened again.
”Okay, Ive got them,” Nilda said. ”Which one is it?”
”Dont remember.”
”This one?” she asked.
”Take off the bandage. Cant see.”
”What?” And this time there was fear in her voice. ”Chester? Can you see me?”
”Not with the bandage.”
”Its only over your right eye,” she said.
Hed never known fear like it. His hands went up to his face. The right side was bandaged. The left wasnt.
”Blind,” was all he was able to say.
”Fine. Fine,” Nilda said, almost robotically. There was the sound of books being dropped to the floor, of footsteps across the room, then of pages being turned. Another book being discarded. Then more pages being turned.
”Its temporary. Here. It says it. Cortical Blindness. Its quite common and will... right, hang on. Dont move.”
”Why? What are you doing?” Chester asked. He could sense her moving closer, standing over him.
”s.h.i.+ning a light into your eye. It says if your pupil responds to light, then its temporary. Yes. There. The pupil is constricting. Thats proof. Your sight will come back. We just have to be patient.”
He would have found it easier to believe if there wasnt so much desperation in her voice.
29th September There were no more tranquilisers. Without them, the pain was worse, but thinking was easier.
”Whats the mood like?” he asked when the door opened.
”Its okay.” It was Jay, not Nilda. ”Everyones still waiting for Tuck. I thought shed be back last night.”