Red Fever (11 page)

Toby leapt on to the jetty and ran up the path to the compound. The double gates swung to and fro in the breeze. There were signs of a hasty departure: empty boxes lay strewn around and a few white feathers fluttered in the corner of the yard. That was the only sign of the chickens.

He ran inside, up the stairs and through the hatch into the kitchen. Stuff lay everywhere. Things had been pulled out of cupboards then discarded on the floor. Henry’s hutch on the top of the dresser had gone.

Toby frantically scrabbled through the papers and colouring books on the table, looking for a note from his dad to tell him where they’d gone. But all he could find was the picture of an orange clown on stilts he had drawn for Sylvie.

Dad! Why haven’t you left me a note? For God’s sake! I’ve rushed to get the antibiotics for Sylvie and she’s not here! Where are you?

A horrible thought crossed his mind. What if something terrible had happened to Sylvie? What if his dad had lost the plot and taken off in the
Lucky Lady
? What if he was too late?

Toby ran up the stone steps to his dad’s bedroom. It was in a chaotic mess, with clothes and toys littering the floor, but there was no one there.

He ran on up to the lamp room, leaping the wooden steps two at a time. The strong sunlight reflecting off the lenses made him squint and screw his eyes up. The telescope was still sitting on the tripod. He put the eyepiece to his eye, and swivelled it round 180 degrees, panning from the bay across the sea. The sea looked intensely blue in the clear, bright light. Waves foamed and broke in the mild wind. But there was no sign of the
Lucky Lady
.

Toby ran back down to the jetty where Jamie, his mum and Belle were still sitting in the cramped dinghy.

“What d’you want to do?” asked Jamie’s mum. “I don’t think we should stay here. It doesn’t feel safe. Your dad must have left for a reason and, by the looks of it, he left in a hurry.”

Toby gulped back his tears. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. He was going to return as a conquering
hero and present his dad with the medicines like a trophy from a war. Why wasn’t his dad here?

“Listen,” cried Jamie, “there’s somebody coming!” From around the headland the heavy throb of a large boat engine could be heard, and then behind it came the familiar
chug, chug
of another, smaller engine. It was too late to try and hide anyway, so Toby stood on the jetty and watched as, coming from the next bay up, sailed an old battered minesweeper. Bouncing behind on the wash of the minesweeper was the
Lucky Lady
, and standing waving out of the wheelhouse door was his dad.

“Dad!” shouted Toby, jumping into the dinghy. “Quick, Jamie, let’s get over to
Lady
.” Toby waved back, jumping up and down with excitement.

“Steady,” warned Jamie. “You’ll capsize us!”

“Hurry up!” yelled Toby. “Dad! I got it! I got the medicine!” But the sound of the boats’ engines drowned his cries.

The minesweeper shut off its engines and came to a halt outside the bay. It was too big a boat to come in close but the
Lucky Lady
swung in towards the jetty, and sidled to a halt as the dinghy pulled alongside. Toby threw the tether to his dad, and scrambled quickly on deck.

“Toby! I thought I’d never see you again!” cried his dad, hugging him. “I should be cross with you going off like that, you …”

“Dad! Dad! I got the medicine! I got it, Dad! And I got Jamie’s mum — and she’s a doctor!” squeaked Toby, as his dad’s hug squeezed all the air out of him.

“You did? Wow! I can’t believe it! I thought you were mad going off like that.”

“How’s Sylvie?” asked Toby breathlessly. “Where is she? Is she alright?”

“She’s asleep in the cabin. She’s not woken all day.” His dad’s face showed how worried he was.

“Quick,” said Toby. “We must get Jamie’s mum to look at her.

Jamie and his mum were clambering up on to the deck. Belle jumped up beside them, her tail wagging furiously.

“Hi,” said Jamie’s mum, smiling at Toby’s dad. His dad smiled tiredly back.

“Quick, through here,” he said, leading them all through to the cabin. “Sorry, my name’s Dave Tennant. I’m Toby and Sylvie’s dad,” he added, holding out his hand. Toby was surprised to see his dad blushing as Jamie’s mum took his hand and shook it firmly.

“Hi, I’m Katie McTavish, Jamie’s mum. Thank you for taking care of Jamie and Belle. Let’s see about this patient then …” She crouched down at Sylvie’s bedside. “Hello, Sylvie, sweetheart … wakey-wakey. My name is Katie. I’m a doctor and I’m here to help.” She put her
hand on Sylvie’s brow. Sylvie opened her eyes blearily. “We’re terrified it could be …” whispered his dad.

“Don’t worry. I doubt it, Dave; it’s unlikely this long after the epidemic. Everyone who survived is likely to be immune,” Jamie’s mum said reassuringly. “Sylvie? Can you open your mouth for me?”

Sylvie opened up and Katie took a good look inside.

“It looks like a bad case of tonsilitis to me — and the rash is a side effect of her high temperature. You wouldn’t get enormous tonsils like that with red fever! The antibiotics we’ve brought back will take care of it, no problem.”

Toby’s dad lifted him off the floor with an enormous hug, tears welling in his eyes. “This is great news! Thank you!. Thank you so much.”

“Thank Toby. He was the one that rescued me and Jamie and Belle.
And
got the antibiotics back to you,” said Katie, patting them both on the back.

Jamie stood behind her, enthusiastically patting Belle and smiling fit to burst.

“Yes! You’re right! Well done, Toby!” cried his dad, the tears of happiness streaming down his face.

Toby laughed. “Get a grip, Dad! And anyhow, where did you disappear to? You gave me a right fright!”

“We had to leave in a hurry, as you can see.” said his dad. The dogs have been here for days, barking and
yowling. Sylvie was having nightmares, the chickens were all over the place. It was getting impossible to stay. It was more than them being after any food we might have; it was as if they were deliberately forcing us out … and then Magnus turned up.”

“Who’s Magnus?” quizzed Toby.

“Him over there.” His dad pointed across the bows to a distant figure who was standing on the deck of the minesweeper. “He got here just in time and scared the dogs off. I decided it was time to go. Besides, two boats travelling together are safer than one.”

“Where are we travelling to?” asked Toby.

“To Orkney,” said his dad. “Magnus comes from a commune that lives on the island. He’s being sailing along the north-east coast looking for survivors. We’re lucky he found us.”

Maybe the
Lucky Lady
’s not so unlucky after all. Perhaps this is the start of something new — getting away from the lighthouse with all its memories
.

Katie left to find the antibiotics that Toby had brought back in the rucksack.

“The sooner she gets some inside her, the sooner she’ll feel better,” she told Toby’s dad.

Toby and Jamie went to help her transfer the luggage from the dinghy to the deck of the
Lucky Lady
.

“Nice boat you’ve got here,” Jamie’s mum said to
Toby’s dad, as they stood on the deck watching the boys clamber into the dinghy.

“Yeah, she’s a good little runner, actually,” he replied. “Why don’t I give you a tour once we’ve sorted Sylvie’s medicine out?”

“Great!” replied Katie. “I love boats.”

“Oh, no,” groaned Toby to Jamie. “Why are parents SO embarrassing?”

Jamie giggled. “You don’t think they like each other, do you?” he asked.

“Well, I think your mum will have to ditch the badger juice first!” laughed Toby.

Later that day, they all squeezed into the cabin for a hot meal of soup and crackers, followed by tinned fruit. Sylvie was sitting up on her bed looking pale but perkier. From the boxes of medicines Toby had brought back with him, Jamie’s mum had sorted out a course of the antibiotics to treat Sylvie’s tonsillitis. Jamie and his mum had also managed to sneak up to the café while they were waiting for Toby and bring back more food that had been hidden in the roof space.

After they had cleared away the dishes, Magnus rowed across from his boat to come and talk to them. The adults went off to the wheelhouse to have a serious discussion about what to do next.

“That’s not fair,” moaned Jamie. “We should be allowed to have our say; after all, if it wasn’t for you, my mum wouldn’t be here.”

Toby didn’t mind what the adults decided. He had had enough of making decisions. It was totally overrated. He’d be quite happy for his dad to take over. He, Toby, was going to climb into his little cubbyhole in the stern, and sleep as long as he could.

When the adults trooped back into the cabin to tell them what was happening, the boys sat and listened attentively. Sylvie had gone back to sleep, with Belle cuddling up to her on the bed.

“Well, boys,” said Magnus, scratching his white beard. “Looks like you’ll all have to come and stay with us in Orkney, at least for the time being.” Toby liked the look of Magnus. He looked like Toby imagined a sailor should, with a weather-beaten, tanned face, a shock of white hair and a beard to match. He wore a thick Guernsey jumper and a red cotton cravat round his neck.

“It’s not safe around here with Cerberus and his packs of dogs. I’ve been analysing their behaviour and how they’re developing,” said Katie. “They know what they’re doing — they’re forcing people out and taking everything they can. And who knows what they’re planning next. The pirates won’t keep them away for long.”

“We don’t have the same problem in Orkney,” said Magnus. “Smaller population meant fewer stray dogs left after the red fever.”

No more dogs, no more nightmares!

“Sounds great to me!” cried Toby. “When can we go?”

“Well, I was going to take my boat down as far as Aberdeen on this trip, but from what you’ve told us about the pirates blowing up the place, perhaps it would be best to keep away. So, we’ll set sail right away,” Magnus told them

“Magnus says he’s plenty of fuel, as the oil refinery at Scapa Flow has still got loads. So he’s going to tow the
Lucky Lady
all the way. That will save our fuel and means that I can have a nice long nap!” Toby’s dad grinned. Toby hadn’t seen his dad so positive for ages.

“You can all come and stay with me on the HMS Kirkwall. Mrs McTavish can even have her own cabin,” said Magnus.

“Cool,” said Jamie’s mum.

“What about me? Can I have a cabin?” Sylvie’s croaky voice squeaked out. Everyone laughed.

“Yes,” replied Magnus, “as long as you promise to keep that rabbit hutch clean!”

“You don’t have a telly and a DVD of
The Little Mermaid
, do you?” Sylvie asked sleepily.

“No, I’m sorry, lass, I don’t,” said Magnus. Toby went
and gave Sylvie a hug.

“Don’t worry, Sylvie,” he said. “I promise that one day you and I will watch
The Little Mermaid
again, together.”

“Thanks, Tobes, I love you too,” yawned Sylvie, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

The sun was dipping down behind the rolling fields beyond the cliffs, as the two boats pulled away from the north-east coast and headed out into the open seas. As Toby looked back, a solitary black dog appeared, watching them leave. Cerberus, guarding his territory. In a way, he had won: he had forced them out. But they were alive and safe, which was all that mattered. And they were on their way to a new life. Toby shuddered, breathed a sigh of relief, and looked away.

The workmanlike minesweeper dwarfed the
Lucky Lady
as she waggled behind it, like a duckling in the wake of its mother. Toby was sitting in front of the minesweeper’s wheelhouse, leaning against the long shaft of a gun.

“That’s a Bofor canon, is that,” said his dad, sitting down to join him.

Toby looked up and smiled. “I’ve seen enough guns to last me a lifetime,” he said. “My ears are still ringing with all those explosions.”

“That must have been scary, Toby. I wanted to say how proud I am of you, and that I’m sorry, really sorry
about …”

“You don’t have to say, Dad. I know,” interrupted Toby.

“No, I do have to say it. I blamed you for Mum’s death, and that was wrong of me. I see that now. I’m so sorry,” said his dad. Toby lent over and squeezed his dad’s hand.

“Dad, I understand. It was a horrible time for all of us.” His dad put his arm around him and hugged him close.

“Thanks, Toby. It’s time to put that behind us now, and look to the future. Thank god, Sylvie’s going to be OK, and that’s all down to you, Toby. We’ll start a new life in Orkney.”

“Just one thing, Dad. What happened to the chickens?” asked Toby. His dad smiled.

“Don’t worry about them,” he said. “They’re all as cosy as could be in
Lady
’s engine room. I wasn’t going to leave them behind for the dogs!”

“Well, I’m not offering to muck them out!” Toby said. His dad laughed and Toby laughed too.

Everything’s going to be OK. Things are going to be different. All I’ve got to do now is find a DVD of
The Little Mermaid
for Sylvie. Oh, and find some way of playing it. After this mission, that’s got to be a doddle!

Read on for the thrilling first chapter of
Black Tide
, the sequel to
Red Fever
, where wolves, wild dogs and pirates fight to survive in this terrifying post-apocalyptic world.