Life Goes On by Tayell, Frank (large ebook reader txt) 📗

“A giraffe,” she said, which received a chuckle, but a louder laugh after the answer had been translated. “Is everything okay?”

“Absolutely,” Tess said, speaking loud enough the children could hear. “The plane should be here soon. When the kids are aboard, the convoy will go south, and the ship will depart. We’re sailing south down to Cape Town where we’ll meet the convoy and we’ll secure a safe harbour for the rescue fleet.”

“Bianca went to Rodrigues, didn’t she?” Elaina asked.

“Someone had to stay with the kids,” Tess said. “She didn’t want Mick to think it had to be him.”

“There’s a lot of children,” Elaina said.

“Quite a few of Laila’s nurses have gone to Rodrigues,” Tess said.

“It’s still a lot of children,” Elaina said. “Right now, we should be calling those nurses patients, but they’ll be stretched dealing with all the wounded. Bee’s lovely, but last week she thought, to make an omelette, you shook the egg before cracking it.”

“Really?” Tess said. “Well, now you’ve got me wanting to try it.”

“Let me go help her,” Elaina said. “Please. I’m not shirking, but I’m supposed to be looking after children. It’s what I’m good at.”

“It’s where you’re supposed to be,” Tess said. “Good on ya, and good luck. I’ll see you back in Perth.”

Laila was at the other end of the line of children, changing a bandage on a young girl’s arm.

Tess waited until she was finished, then motioned her out of earshot.

“We’re sailing to Cape Town,” Tess said. “You and your nurses should come with us.”

“No, thank you,” Laila said. “It is kind of you to make the offer, but we can’t travel with you. Do you see the cathedral?”

Tess turned. From the edge of the airport’s runway, it was just possible to make out the crumbling top of its spire. “I do.”

“My aunt had a house just behind and to the left,” Laila said. “When the zoo closed, she came here and set up a cab company for tourists and a shelter for women.”

“She’s why you came here?” Tess asked.

“When the infected reached us, we had to go somewhere. We gathered the children from the wards, and drove here. But she was dead before we arrived. Infected. Locked in her bedroom.”

“I’m sorry,” Tess said.

“We’ve all lost someone,” Laila said. “We’ve all lost nearly everyone. Most of us don’t realise it yet, but this is a new beginning. Everyone left belongs to everyone else. We are one people again, as we have not been since the very earliest days. My aunt had a saying. She was a zoologist. Trained in Cairo,” she added with a hint of pride. “She said that there is a type of man who, when cleaning an elephant’s tusks, will begin at the tail. The general is one such man.”

“The kind of bloke who doesn’t lock his car, then yells at the cops when it’s stolen, right?” Tess asked. “I know what you mean, but you’re in danger of having that bus stolen. If you are determined to travel with the convoy, go now. We’ll stay with the kids until the plane comes. Go on. We’ll see you in Cape Town.”

Part 2

A Copper Log

The Personal Journal of Tess Qwong

18th March

Chapter 13 - A Commissioner’s Diary

Journals are written by kids; I’ve read too many of them in my career. Last time I kept one, I was a teen. But Anna wanted a report on what the world was like beyond our home shores, so I’ll make some notes. Besides, for once, there are no other calls on my time. The U.S. Army Rangers weren’t in Perth, but Anna knows that. Only one warship was anchored off Mozambique, and the refugees were far from evacuated to safety. But Mick’s carried that news back to Australia.

What can I say about the ship? It floats. Beyond that, I’ll report back when I’ve seen more than the deck our cabins are on. What can I say about the crew? So far, I can name six, including the three whose names I learned before we left Inhambane yesterday.

After we came aboard, and after we’d pulled anchor, I spoke with the captain again, as did Bruce. Separately. The rest of our people were quizzed by members of the crew. Captain Adams is making sure our stories add up. Specifically, the story about the coup, Sir Malcolm Baker, and the conditions in Australia and the Pacific. I can’t blame her for being suspicious, or concerned about her own island home.

We were introduced to the crew remotely, over the address-system, as police and scientists hunting those responsible for the outbreak and looking for their lab. But the captain also said we were catching a ride with the Te Taiki only as far as Cape Town. She wants a weapon more than revenge, but understands the value in both. She wants to help us, but her crew want to go home. My impression, so far, is that she’s probing their feelings, testing whether they would accept an extension to their voyage. So it’ll come down to them, and to whether we find fuel in Cape Town. If not, then I’ll take one of the rescue ships, assuming there are enough to spare.

It’s twenty-three hours since we departed Inhambane, most of which I’ve spent asleep. Oh, it’s been glorious. Dr Avalon and Leo are sharing a cabin at the end of the corridor. I’ve assigned Zach to be their assistant. I didn’t tell him he’s spying on the scientists in case they run any practical experiments, but I’m certain he’ll tell me if they are. I don’t think the Canadians brought infected tissue samples aboard, but they’re the kind of people who’ll ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

Hawker, Oakes, Clyde, and Zach have been given a four-bunk room that had