Eyes of the infected ✔ [COMPLETED]

Chapter one

(Thanks very much to TheresOnlySnowLeft who made the kickass cover). :)

 CHAPTER ONE


I woke up that morning in such a good mood.

There was no logical explanation – it was 7:34 in the morning, my alarm for school clearly had not roused me from sleep and it was a Monday. My seventeen year old heart was defying logic though, and as I threw my legs out of bed half tangled up in the covers, my spirits were practically soaring along with the clouds outside my window which were aching to burst and dampen them with rain. A thunderstorm looked certain; an eerie darkness filled the October sky and with it came a chill which seeped through the windows and invaded my room.

None of this, however, ruined my mood.

It was only after I had stumbled across the floor, half-heartedly yanking clothes onto my bare body that I realised something wasn't quite right. I couldn't explain it, but I put it down to the icy bite in the air which was easy enough to ignore with the white jumper which was now hugging my torso a little too comfortably.
 'Mum?' I called out, a little put off that she hadn't woken me up like she had every other morning of the week, much to her annoyance. The house sounded dead which was unusual in itself, there was always noise with my siblings running round the house - the fact that Joel was six and Lucas was eighteen didn't matter; the twelve year age gap meant nothing when they were playing one of their games together. For the most part, Lucas was the most intelligent, sensible guy I knew, but at the end of the day, he was still male which meant he didn't always practice it.
Now though, there was nothing, silence ripped through the house and I could practically hear my voice echoing as I walked from my room to the top of the stairs which seemed just that little bit more daunting than usual.


'Dad?' I tried, but once again, nobody answered. With a heavy sigh, I thudded down the stairs, my petite frame putting more pressure on the wood than needed be. It was funny but I'd never heard the stairs creaking before; the house had never been quiet enough, especially recently with my cousins coming to visit. They'd left yesterday because Uncle Gareth had managed to scare my parents with emergency surgery which he hadn't told them about, cutting the visit short.
'I'm going to school' I called, frowning when my voice was met with silence.  Lucas couldn't have left for school, despite the fact he was stupidly sensible, he never turned up on time and had more late warnings than I had hairs on my head. My Dad wasn't due at the hospital today and my mother would be helping my brother get ready – even though I was pretty sure there would be an explanation, I didn't know what it was and so it would be strange not to worry just a little. I decided to scan round for a note before I left but couldn't find one, so I slung my school bag carelessly over my shoulder and headed out the door, clicking it closed behind me. The day was young but the sky was dark and thick with condensation. Knowing it would begin to rain soon, I moved into a light jog, wishing I'd accepted the ride from Skylar she'd offered me only last night.
'It'll rain, Harley' she'd told me with a wink. She was always right.


Around five minutes had passed before I began to feel the droplets slap lightly down on my head, forcing me to break into a faster jog. Forgetting a coat had been my first mistake and didn't fancy getting soaked before a full day of Psychology, it was difficult enough without hair wet hair dripping all over my exam questions. The atmosphere outside didn't eliminate the strange feeling I harboured either – whereas my house had remained quiet, the streets were much louder than usual. At this time in the morning, I usually envied those who were in bed and unconscious, but it seemed all families were on the road or jamming bags into cars and talking over one another in heated arguments and disputes. I was yet to be let in on the secret about what all this fuss was about but with our school, secrets never stayed so for long and so anticipation sufficed while I waited for advice. Still tempted to ask the nearest woman who was launching a red duffel bag into a convertible what was going on, I was interrupted by a voice calling my name in the distance. At least I thought I heard it; I was beginning to wonder if I was going mad. I'd spent most of yesterday with Skylar which was enough to mess with your mind; the erratic and feisty redhead was like a 5 ft. 2 drug, LSD in the form of a teenage girl.
'Harley!' a voice called in the distance. I could barely hear over the commotion, but I swore I head the familiar voice once again.
'Harley!'


Almost silently, an Audi Q7 pulled up next to me, my mothers voice calling behind the window which she promptly rolled down.
'We've been looking all over!' she panted, 'Get in!'.
'Where have you been?' I asked, bemused but grateful for the car - the shouting people were beginning to freak me out. My eyes widened at the sight of my brothers in the back seat, both of whom looked far too relieved to see me and both of whom craned over to pull me into an awkward hug, even Joel with his slight arms.
'Steady on' I laughed, slamming the door shut behind me and marvelling at the sudden display of affection. My laughter was cut short when the car lurched forward and I locked eyes with Joel who was tearing up, his lip quivering.
'Joel?' I narrowed my eyes, reaching for his hand. When nobody said anything, I turned towards Lucas who was looking at me intently, his own eyes narrowed and unsure, an expression I was not used to seeing on him. The boyish grin was gone, replaced with a ghost of a smile.


'Harley, is your door locked?' my Dad asked, his voice a little sharper than usual.  Knitting my eyebrows together in confusion, I clicked the lock in place.
'It is now?' I said in more of a question than a statement. Already, this was fast becoming one of the strangest mornings of my life.
'Thanks honey' he sighed, catching my eye in the mirror, 'we're taking a detour, school isn't on today'.
'It's not?' I echoed, becoming more confused by the second. I stole a glance back at Joel who was staring straight ahead, his eyes blinking rapidly. I wanted to comfort him, but my heart was hammering behind my chest too unsteadily to muster comprehensive words. Through some kind of maternal miracle, my mother seemed to sense my unease as she turned around to look at me, her eyes almost as unsure as Lucas'. This time, I wasn't surprised – my mother was a worrier, the polar opposite of my calm, light hearted father who was a doctor by trade, so I suppose he had to be. Where her mouth was plump with a friendly face, my father was slightly slimmer with thick stubble and warm eyes.


She was blonde, he was brunette. She freaked out at the sign of danger, my father calmly observed. It was just the way they worked, dysfunctional, but sure. I supposed I was kind of a mix of both of them; I'd always had a naturally calm nature which meant I wasn't quite as 'blah' as Skylar or in fact, most of the people I knew. Impulsive, yes but rash, no. Emotional but level headed. My Dad always called me an 'unbalanced equation', a little 'zazzy', a little crazy and a little impulsive, but the intelligent would always be buried right in there. Other Dad's called their kids 'pumpkin' or 'Sweetheart', but not my psycho-intelligent father, he was truly different.

 'Harley', my mother pulled me back to Earth with a bump, searching my eyes for an answer I couldn't have. She seemed confused, the wicked grin she usually sported was gone from her face, and with it came a new frown which seemed alien upon her.
'Are you okay?' I asked, beginning to worry that something was seriously wrong. The only thing that sprung to mind was that a relative was ill or had even died – the thought caused me to shudder. Aunt Caitlyn had been ill for weeks, but I thought she was getting better, everybody did. It couldn't be her, it was impossible.
'I'm fine' she smiled silently, but I couldn't ignore the tears which sprung to her eyes and the swift movement of my father, his hand quickly interlocking with hers. I knew I needed to do something but I was rooted to the spot - reluctance, or fear, was holding me back.
'Diane, I'll explain, try and get some sleep, you must be knackered' my father spoke softly to her, visibly squeezing her hand before placing it back on the steering wheel and catching my eye in the rear view mirror.
'We're heading up north, Harley. Your mother and I were meant to be at the school for a meeting with Lucas' form so we took Joel with us, we thought your alarm would wake you but that's never the case' he laughed quietly.
'Are we going on holiday or something?' I frowned, glancing at the bags in the boot of the car I'd noticed as I got in, 'Cause I don't have anyth-'
'Not a holiday' he sighed, running a hand through his hair. My brothers stayed silent throughout this, Lucas simply reaching over and squeezing my leg in what I could only assume was reassurance.
'I don't want you to panic, nothing has been confirmed and we're only going away for a few days to be on the safe side, your mother insisted and I actually agree this time'.

What?


'Please just tell me what's going on' I pleaded quietly, the raw worry in my voice betraying my confident façade. My father simply sighed once more and began to speak; I almost turned my head and tried to blot his words out because I had a nasty feeling I just wouldn't want to know, he never made a big deal about anything so this had to be special. It felt so messed up already, ten minutes ago I had been on my way to school in the rain and now I was inside the family car, warmer but fifty times more confused.


'Remember the bird flu pandemic?' He asked in a rhetorical question which I couldn't find the voice to answer anyway, 'Something else seems to have cropped up fairly near us, a virus or type of disease I think. I have no idea how it's spreading or how it affects us but the news and radio reports just said that the South of England is being evacuated in about an hours' time. I tried to get in contact with my colleagues down the hospital but their phones are all off and the hospital is bolted up, which is pretty unheard of. Most people are waiting for the coaches because they're shutting down exit and entry to the town, but I'm a doctor so for that, they're letting us past the blockade'.
'Seriously?' I breathed after a long silence, suddenly feeling as though I was in the middle of a horror movie. My brain tried to catch up with his words as a wave of adrenaline surged through my body - I'd heard of diseases on the news, in other countries and with other people, but nothing that had ever affected us before, nothing had been so close to home.
'Where are we going? How long are we going for?' I asked questions as they popped into my head, all screaming at once, 'Is it serious?'

To my right, Joel began to snigger, 'I said Harley would ask lots and lots of questions'. His melancholy expression broke into a smile and after a few seconds, I began to join in with him, mainly relieved at the fact he was grinning again, eyes alight with the sudden happiness only a six year old can hold.
'What can I say Joey, I'm a wimp' I chuckled, reaching over to ruffle his hair to which slapped my hand away, whining that I would mess up his hair.
'Don't call me Joey' he pouted.
'It's okay champ, Lee Lee is only playing'. Lucas raised his eyebrows towards me, using an old nickname which I hadn't heard in many years; it seemed a funny time to start using it. In a strange way, that unnerved me more than anything else.
'So where are we going?' I broke in again, realising that my father wouldn't actually tell me how serious this was when Joel could hear. If I was struggling to understand it would be near impossible to him and it would just be unfair for me to ask again.
'Far up North, probably Sunderland or somewhere near. Your mother has been there before'.
I nodded with a smile directed towards my Dad, deciding I would save the rest of my questions for later when he didn't have to twist the truth. Nervousness was bubbling up within my stomach and common sense told me that evacuation meant urgency, panic and something pretty serious, but my heart screamed to me to calm down, to wait till I knew the facts. It was all I could do, anyway.
Wait.

                                                                     ********


About an hour had passed before a bump in the road jolted me from my half-asleep state, causing me to knock heavily into Lucas who knocked Joel's elbow into his face. For only a second, we all seemed to forget what was happening as we snorted with laughter, silent tears rolling down my face. My family had a unity; we didn't fight constantly like most. Occasionally, Lucas would wander into the house at all hours of the morning and at other rare times I'd try alcohol which I clearly couldn't handle. Nothing too earth-shattering tended to happen; my brothers and I had always been close, Lucas and I took a protective role over Joel although somehow Lucas still found the time to watch over me too. Because of this, we'd developed an almost fool proof understanding of each other which is why it was so clear to me the pain in his face when he eventually stopped laughing. Not wanting to worry Joel any more than we had to, I nudged my elbow into Lucas.


'What's wrong?' I hissed, cursing my inability to whisper quietly.
'I have a bad feeling' he eventually replied, avoiding my eyes.
'Of course you do' I mumbled, 'Everyone will  panic when they don't know what's happening, but I reckon we're being evacuated to avoid another flu the big shots don't want to risk people catching. You saw what happened with Swine flu, they couldn't risk that happening again, ever' I finished, searching for his reaction. With a lot of time to think, this was the only conclusion I'd drawn which I liked even slightly. The authorities were being over cautious, over protective; we'd be back home in a few days and the threat would have disappeared.
That's what I hoped.

There was a pause as he took in my words, but he didn't look convinced. I would've felt better instantly if he'd only nodded and smiled in agreement, telling me I was right, but instead he turned towards the drivers seat, avoiding my gaze.
'I don't think that's what this is. You didn't see the news this morning, people died but they wouldn't say why, the virus is moving but they wouldn't say where to. There was no explanation, just an evacuation. It didn't sound like a 'flu', or a precaution, it sounded like the real thing'.

The real thing.
People died?
Goosebumps broke across my skin which I tried to ignore, rubbing my arms furiously to get rid of anything which would give away how scared I had suddenly become again. It all sounded far too real to me. Why hadn't we been given warning if it was serious enough that people had died, why was I only finding out now?
'Maybe it's precaution' I argued, becoming more unsure of my words as they left my mouth, 'they have to do all that to make up for not doing it properly when Bird and Swine flu hit. People just don't want it to spread like it did last time; too many young people got that flu and died' I shivered, remembering the stories on the news. I couldn't imagine ever losing Joel, yet some of the people who died were younger than him still.
They'd given plenty of warning about that, hadn't they?
Granted, as I began to recall, most of the news stories for the last few days had been about hospitals being overrun with new flu cases cropping up and my father had been rushed off of his feet, being called in for work at obscene hours. The news reporters just said it was nothing to worry about, 'a surge' of flu'. I'd avoided it, nobody I knew had come down with anything so it seemed like we'd avoided whatever it was. I thought it was okay.
Maybe it really wasn't.
'Yeah, maybe' Lucas said, leaning further back into his seat, 'but I just don't think that's it. Call me crazy, but something isn't right'.


'What are you two mumbling about?' My mother asked light heartedly, trying to bring some positivity into the now icy atmosphere.
'We're arguing over who gets the double bed wherever it is we're staying' I laughed, breaking eye contact with Lucas. We'd talk later, there had to be a good reason for this and I was sure we'd find out soon, things never stayed quiet for long.
'We do' my father called authoratively, 'We can crash in a B&B, see what things are like in the morning. This is gonna be a long, long drive though so you guys might want to get some sleep, there's a few drinks in the plastic bag under your seat, Lucas'.
'Is it definitely Sunderland we're going to then?' he asked.
'Sunderland for now, we think' Mum spoke, her voice stronger than it had been earlier, 'It's fairly near the coast so maybe we could go for a beach walk and it's full of hotels, plus it's a fair distance from home. Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll all be back in school by Wednesday' she laughed wickedly, causing us all to groan in the back seat. It was only a matter of minutes before silence once again took over and I fell into a dreamless slumber, where I must have slept for hours upon hours.

_____________________