The Lost Ones

15 - Lela

For the first time, I am seeing the world outside of the hospital. My senses are overcome with new sights and I almost can't believe my eyes. It's all real. Humanity has carried on. People have survived.

Half of the kids with us seem just as amazed as me and Adrian. I realise that most of them have never been further than the courtyard of the house.

"Wow! Wow! What's that? Is that a squirrel?! Amazing!" I hear one little girl gasp to her friend.

"Look at those beautiful flowers! Aren't they pretty?"

"I wonder what Cerise City's like? Do you think there are many people there?"

It goes on and on. The scenery flies by as we race down the road in the bus, Maisie swerving to a different lane every now and then. The sun is starting to lower in the sky; I can hardly believe it's the evening already. We really have been driving all day. I think of the house, of Josephine's grave and of all the other kids and teens that were lost at the hospital.

"Hey! Look! Is that the city?!" A girl shouts. I think her name's Thia; wasn't she at the hospital with Maisie and the other boy... Jake?

"Finally," Someone mutters, sitting down beside me. Adrian's gone to check on some little kids at the back. "I was starting to wonder if we were on an infinite trail of doom."

Will is grinning at me from the left seat. I smile back, equally grateful that our journey will end soon, hopefully for a few days. I'm not sure how much longer I can stand just travelling to random places.

"Have you ever heard of Cerise City?" I ask him, puzzled. I still don't see why everyone's acting like it's special.

"Well, duh. I lived there for ten years, didn't I? Born and raised, at least for a while." He laughs.

"What's all the fuss about? The way everyone talks about it, you'd think the streets were made of gold." I sigh. If only such a place existed.

"It's the capital city. Lots of trade, lots of people. All of them are either immune to the disease or just don't have it. Very strict border controls. Any symptoms, you're straight out. That's why Riaja couldn't bring any of her contagious patients, just the ones past the whole disease-spreading stage. Like Mindy, for example." God, Will's like a human encyclopedia.

I gesture to my stomach. "The one who's-"

"Pregnant, yeah. She's about eight months in, Riaja reckons." Will tells me. Six months? I feel weak. The child's going to be born into a world separated into the sick, the healthy and the immune. I just hope she doesn't take after her mother and get the disease, because by now I'm pretty sure there's no cure.

"But Mindy's cool. She isn't the kind that would sleep around, you know. She came to the house only a few months before you did, because her boyfriend - the one that got her pregnant - was dying from the disease and told her to run with the kid before it got too dangerous in their home town." He continues. I'm both shocked and not surprised at the same time. From the way the hospital treats their 'guests', then I doubt that all of the towns and cities are completely amicable.

So we carry on driving, slowly approaching the city. The journey seemed to take an age to get through. Though I guess that's a pretty accurate description of life.

"Ahoy maties, we are entering Cerise City! Grab your bags and whatever stuff you have: cats, turtles, porcupines..." Drew says on the speakers, and everyone laughs.

"Huh? Porcupines? Did you say porcupines? I love porcupines! Are they like hedgehogs, or is that porpoises? Or is that dolph-" Peri's a-hundred-words-a-minute voice comes in, suddenly cut off. I guess Gemma put her hand over her mouth to shut her up.

All of a sudden, I hear synchronized gasps from the back of the bus. I understand why. Cerise City, with its elegant marble buildings and its clear blue fountains, is just breathtaking. It's like seeing paradise when you've been living in hell.

Will nudges my arm playfully and winks. "Told you, didn't I? Does it live up to your expectations, madame?"

"It does. It really, really does." I say in disbelief. Is this even real? Am I dreaming? This couldn't possibly be reality... but when I pinch the back of my hand, I don't wake up on the hospital floor.

We line up in a queue of cars, coaches and vans all waiting for their turn to enter the city. I see Gemma and Drew through the window; they're walking up to the guards. They talk for about five minutes, then one guards nods and motions for us to go through.

Then we see the sign for the testing area: a red cross. Some of the younger children are still gasping at the beautiful scenery; most of the older kids are looking anxious to see if they'll pass the medical test. A guard taps on our door and Maisie opens it with the press of a button.

"Excuse me, I heard you have a healer of sorts on board? Would you kindly tell me which vehicle she is travelling in so I can speak to her? My assistants will attend to you now, if you're ready." He says.

We step out into the evening, very glad to be breathing in some fresh air at last. A doctor tells us to all get in an orderly line; once we're ready he begins checking us for all the symptoms of the disease. Nobody tests positive, thank goodness, except for the non-contagious patients in Riaja's mobile hospital (a.k.a bus number four), but the nurses say they can go as they pose no threat to the citizens of Cerise City.

"And how long are you planning on staying?" One nurse asks. Drew and Gemma glance uneasily at each other. How long were we going to stay here? A week? A month? Forever?!

Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe we could finally have a proper childhood, or at least give the younger kids a chance at one. Maybe we could settle down and find someone special and get married and have kids...

Or maybe I was getting carried away. We were probably only going to stay here until the hospital realized where we had gone. By the time I had thought through all of this Drew and Gemma had already told them how long we were staying. I didn't hear. To be honest, I wasn't sure that I really wanted to know.

"Okay then, everything seems to be in perfect order. Welcome to Cerise City, and have a pleasant evening."