Alien Virus (12 page)

But staying in hospital for long was not on
Frank’s agenda. For one thing, the virus was rife in there, as it
was in most hospitals these days. It may go under many names: MRSA,
Staphylococcus Aureus, Salmonella, or E-Coli, but it was merely the
same virus under different guises. Now, as Steve Saunders, he had
work to do: he could not rest until the virus was defeated.

*

After our earth–shattering night in the
Bothy Bar with Tony, we couldn’t think about Frank in the same way
again. We couldn’t even call him ‘Frank’, I suppose. Who was he –
where was he? And where were the others of his kind? Tony said
there were thousands. Did he know any more of them? As I lay next
to Kate in the Kirkwall Hotel, I couldn’t get that evening out of
my mind.

“Kate – are you awake?” I whispered. It was
three am, but I had to talk.

She groaned softly, her face towards her
pillow.

“What is it? I’m so tired Kevin…”

“I’m sorry, but I need to talk, Kate. I
can’t get over last night.”

“Go ahead,” she groaned, “but you’ll have to
talk to yourself,” and with a deep sigh she tried to go back to
sleep.

“Katie – I’ve got to ask you something.” She
sighed deeply again, but didn’t answer. “I need to know if you
believed everything that Tony told us tonight.”

“No, of course not – he’s bonkers,” she
groaned. With that, she fell into a deep sleep. I nodded to myself.
Kate was a scientist – and what Tony told us that night was more
science fiction than science. But astronomers were already
admitting that life on other planets, in other galaxies or
Universes, was far more likely than not. And if life did exist
beyond our own solar system, we’re not talking about one or two
life–forms – they’d be millions. The chances of all of them being
less evolved than Man must be practically zero – when you think of
how humans have treated each other, other animals, and their planet
in general. And if there is more intelligent life than Man, it must
follow that it would achieve intergalactic travel in some form or
another eventually.

*

The next day, I was woken with a call from
Sandi: she wanted to talk to me – to find out what I thought about
Tony’s incredible revelations. So I left Kate sleeping and arranged
to meet Sandi for breakfast at Trennabies.

“Do you recall my Aunt Penny?” she asked me
as I sipped my coffee.

“You mean the one that went all religious?”
I said.

“Yes, that one. The reason she became a
Buddhist was her experience during an operation. She went in for a
hip replacement, but it went horribly wrong. Some mix–up with the
oxygen and
a
n
a
esthetic
– you know the sort of thing that can
happen in hospitals.” I nodded. “Anyway, she died on the operating
table – flat lined, as they say, for a full three minutes. Then,
miraculously, she recovered.
Brain activity
returned, heart restarted.
Fortunately she suffered no brain
damage – just a loss of feeling in her left arm for a few weeks.
But the biggest effect was on her personality. She really was a
different person after that.” I put down my coffee and thought
about this for a moment, letting it sink in.

“Are you saying that your Aunt Penny’s body
could have been taken over –
by an alien
force
?
” Sandi considered for a moment.

“No, I don’t think I’m saying that.”

“What then?”

“I don’t think we are our bodies – I think
we just inhabit them for a time on Earth, then leave to go
somewhere else. I don’t believe that once you’re dead, that’s it –
big void, no thoughts, nothing… cease to exist. There’s no point in
that – it doesn’t make sense. There’s got to be some purpose to
life, and though I can’t say I believe everything Tony told us last
night, it’s a lot more credible than what you hear from any
religion.”

“What about Tony’s story about the body in
the medical school?”

“
A good one for
Halloween!”
We both smiled. It was good to know my
friendship with Sandi had not been killed off by my closeness to
Kate.

“How did Gareth react to Tony’s ‘
Frank’s
an alien
’ story? He didn’t say much at the time.”

“I think he took it quite hard. Having spent
a few days with Gareth, I know how much he looked up to Frank. It
was always, ‘Frank said this, or Frank did that.’ It was a big
shock to find out that Frank isn’t actually Frank at all – he’s an
alien!”

Then a thought struck me. “What about
Audrey?”

“What about her?”

“She’s Frank’s mother. Do you think she
knows who he really is? Assuming that what Tony told us is true, of
course.” Sandi sat back in her chair.

“God – that’s a point. I hadn’t thought of
that.” We’ll have to ask Tony.

“Where is Tony, by the way?”

“Oh, he’s gone back to the Bothy bar for
another drink with Gareth. They wanted to try another Orkney beer
before we left.”

“It’s only ten in the morning!”

“That’s Gareth for you.”

*

Gareth and Tony were seating close to the
open log fire in the Bothy Bar, nursing pints of ‘Skullsplitter’.
Tony knew that Gareth always thought the world of Frank, and wanted
to help him to come to terms with the bombshell he’d dropped the
previous night.

“What do you think about it?” Tony asked,
having taken a sip of his brew. Gareth nodded slowly.

“Not bad. Not quite as smooth as the one
last night. That was fucking brilliant.”

“It didn’t leave a bitter taste?” Tony
asked.

“Now you come to mention it, it was hard to
swallow at first.”

“But at the end? Was it a beer you could
believe in?”

“Frankly speaking?” replied Gareth.

“Yes,” Tony smiled.

“Well, I’d always thought there was
something ‘other worldly’ about Frank. I put it down to him being
an Astrophysicist at the time. Did you know that I nearly followed
him down to London when he left?”

“No, I didn’t know that. What stopped
you?”

“Emily. Not that she said I shouldn’t go, or
anything like that. I mean, I didn’t even tell her about Frank. It
was just that I didn’t want to leave her. I liked her a lot,
y’know. And I thought that Frank would come back. When he didn’t, I
was very hurt. I felt like packing it all in. Then I thought of
going down to London to carry on where he left off.”

“So?”

“Well, Kevin and Sandi came up, and I
thought I was needed up here.” Gareth smiled at Tony, who smiled
back.

“I bet you did,” he replied picking up his
drink. “But seriously, how do you feel about Frank now?”

“Well, if it’s true, it’s fantastic.
Unbelievable, but bloody fantastic! And I don’t see why it
shouldn’t be true – it all makes sense... if you believe in aliens.
Where do you think he is now Tony?”

“I would guess still in London. There’s no
way of knowing who he is, or what he’s doing now though. We’ll have
to wait until he contacts us.”

“D’you think he will?”

“I hope he will.”

***

Sixteen

Audrey’s heart skipped a beat when she heard
the coded knock on the front door. She tiptoed to the entrance and
peered through the keyhole magnifier at the figure standing there.
He was about five foot nine and wore a green parker, which covered
his head. She had to be careful. She make sure the chain was in
place and opened the door, looking through the crack. He pulled
down his hood to reveal a shock of jet black hair.

“It’s me mother.” She stared into his deep
brown eyes – and she knew it was him. Removing the chain, she threw
open the door.

“Frank!” He grabbed her and they hugged like
long lost friends.

“It’s Steve now, Audrey,” he said.

“Oh, I can’t keep up with all these names –
you’ll still be Frank to me. Come on in and I’ll make us a drink.
We need to celebrate.”

Frank entered the living room he knew so
well and removed his coat. It was always strange going back to the
same old place in a different body. The first thing he always
noticed was the change in height. Frank had been two inches taller.
He looked at the photographs of himself.

“You’ll have to get some new pictures,” he
called into the kitchen.

“Couldn’t you have a face–lift,” she quipped
as she brought a pot of tea and biscuits into the lounge.

Frank sat down and relaxed. It was good to
see Audrey again.

“I tried to call Tony, but it switched over
to his voice mail.”

“Probably no reception where he is – it’s
not very good in Orkney.”

“Orkney! What’s doing there?”

“They’re all there – Tony, Kate, Gareth,
Kevin and Sandi. Oh, you won’t know Sandi. But you did meet Kevin,
didn’t you? He’s the reporter.” Frank had no trouble recalling
Kevin. His mental processes were sharp, and his mind felt fresh and
invigorated.

“Yes – I met him in a pub in London. He
wrote for a magazine…”

“Mind2Body.”

“Yes, that was it.”

“Well Sandi works with Kevin in London – or
used to. After your accident, they got into a bit of bother and
came up here.” Audrey filled Frank in on what had happened in
Edinburgh whilst he’d been away. He listened intently.

“It sounds like a good move up to Orkney. I
was listening to the news today, and the virus is pulling out all
the stops.”

“Fighting for its life,” observed
Audrey.

“Yes, could be. Anyway, we’ve got to act
soon. I’ll travel up to Orkney as soon as I can.”

“Why don’t you stay down here for a few
days. Give them time to settle in – and make an old woman very
happy.” He smiled and hugged her, and she kissed him on the
cheek.

*

The next day, we took the morning ferry over
to Eday. It didn’t take Tony long to realize the potential of the
island. It could easily be our home – just about the perfect
retreat. After a good drive around the island looking for property,
we stopped off at one of the long sandy beaches on the west side
and took out the sandwiches we’d brought with us.

“So what do you think Tony. Possibilities?”
I asked.

“Absolutely,” he replied enthusiastically.
Then as an afterthought, “What are the natives like?”

I was about to admit we hadn’t met any yet,
when a couple arrived in their Landrover and parked close to our
vehicle on the beach.

“Well, why don’t you ask them yourself?” I
said, waving to the couple. They waved back, and walked over to
where we were encamped.

“Hi,” the woman said, “Enjoying the sun?” We
all nodded.

“And the sea air, the view, the atmosphere…
and now the natives,” I replied.

“So you’ve met the locals?” the man
enquired.

“Well, I think Kevin was referring to you
two,” Sandi added. We all laughed and introduced each other.

“Just visiting, or something more
permanent?” the man asked, whom we discovered was called Harry. His
partner was Joanne.

“Possibly the latter,” replied Tony. “Do you
know of anywhere available?” The couple looked at each other, and
then Jo said:

“We’ve got some self–catering chalets for
rent at the north end. You’re welcome to stay there whilst you’re
looking around. You really need a week or so to find out about
property up here – who owns it, where the solicitor is…”

“That sounds great,” I said. Can you
accommodate us all?”

“There’s six chalets, and five are free at
the moment – so yes,” replied Harry. “We can give you a group
discount.”

After leaving the beach, we followed Harry
and Jo to their chalets at the far end of Eday. They were hardly
visible from the main road, which explained how Kate and I had
missed them the previous time we came over to the island. Down a
rough track, we turned into a car park, and there was the
accommodation in front of us.

“Cool!” exclaimed Kate. “Right next to the
sea – and so private.”

“A little oasis,” remarked Sandi. “What a
find!”

“I hope you’re comfortable here,” said
Harry. We all expressed our satisfaction, as Jo whispered something
in Harry’s ear. He then added, “Why don’t you come over to our
place for dinner tonight? We stay near Millbay, the other side of
the airport – you’ll be very welcome.” We all looked to Tony.

“That would be very kind of you,” he said.
“What time would you like us there?”

“We usually eat at seven. Say six
thirty?”

“That’ll be lovely,” replied Sandi.

*

Harry and Jo showed us our chalets,
explaining how everything worked, then left us to settle in. The
rooms were bright and clean, and made us feel very comfortable
straight away. Kate and I shared one Chalet, Sandi and Gareth
another, and Tony had another to himself.

When we were on our own, Kate jumped on the
kingsize bed and smiled wickedly.

“Mmm… a lovely big bed for me… where are you
going to sleep Kevin?”

“I’ll show you,” I said tying her down to
the covers with a bit of arm–wrestling. “But I wasn’t thinking of
sleeping
…”

*

Harry and Jo lived in a two–storey house
next to Millbay on the east side of the island. The house lay in a
slight valley and had views across the bay to
neighbouring
Sanday. The couple grew their own
vegetables in poly–tunnels adjoining the house, and seemed to be
pretty self–sufficient.

The house was beautifully kept and they
obviously took great pride in everything they did. Despite the
rough and ruggedness of island life, they maintained a very
civilized standard of life and obviously loved Eday.

“It’s great here – we love it,” said Harry
as we sat in their lounge–cum–dining room overlooking Millbay. “We
both worked our arses off for twenty years in London. Made loads of
money…”