Alien Virus (21 page)

“It’s okay, you’ll see him again – one day.”
If Sandi wanted to get Sara’s full attention, she had it now.

“What do you mean?”

“I.. I don’t know exactly. But I do believe
it.”

“Do you think we’re reborn?” asked Sara. For
a moment Sandi didn’t know what she believed. Did she believe that
Steve Saunders was Frank? No, definitely not. Did she believe that
aliens were inhabiting the Earth? No, not really. Did she believe a
deadly, alien virus was rife throughout the Earth – and would
destroy Man? Well, possibly. But what about after death? What
happens to you, to your Soul, when you die? Where is her mother
now? Certainly not in the soil she had just visited. “Sandi?”

“Oh, sorry – I was miles away. I was
thinking about Orkney…”

“You’ve been to Orkney?” Sara asked suddenly
excited.

“Yes… have you been there?”

“No, but I’ve always wanted to. John and I
planned a trip to the islands, and then… well, you know… Tell me
what it’s like.” Sandi described everything she could remember
about her trip to Orkney. The treeless green landscape, the grey
stone buildings, the beautiful sunsets over the islands, the old
worldly Stromness, and the capital city Kirkwall. Then the short
trip to Papay, and finally the island of Eday. “I’d love to go,”
said Sara with a heartfelt sigh.

“Then come with me…”

“What? You’re going back?” Sara couldn’t
believe her luck. Sandi nodded.

“Yep – as soon as I’ve sorted my things out.
I know a couple of people who are driving back next week – they’re
giving me a lift in their Landrover. There’s plenty of room for one
more.”

“Are you sure they won’t mind?”

“No, it’ll be fine. Here…” Sandi filled both
their glasses. “To Orkney and us.” They chinked glasses.

“Orkney and us,” repeated Sara, “and a new
found serial killer.”

“I’ll drink to that!” Sandi laughed.

***

Twenty
-
Nine

Jo stared out of the window as men in white
uniforms and matching facemasks lifted the stretcher into the
ambulance. Val had gone home. Harry hugged Jo warmly.

“She’s gone to a better place now love.” Jo
nodded between the tears. She felt guilt, terrible guilt, for
moving away up to Orkney and leaving Val. It wasn’t rational, but
still she felt it. Her mind was full of ‘if onlys’. “There’s
nothing more we could have done,” Harry added. Again Jo nodded. Her
rational half knew this was correct; but her emotional side just
felt remorse. “Come and sit down,” said Harry softly. She did as he
directed, and he poured her a large brandy and a mug of coffee. Her
mind was spinning, stomach churning. She didn’t want the drinks –
she wanted to be sick. But Harry lifted the glass to her lips and
she sipped the fiery liquid. In a few seconds, it began to numb the
mental pain. Harry sipped his own drink, then looked at her
squarely. She was still looking out of the window.

“Jo, look at me. I know this has only just
happened – but it’s been coming for weeks. She wasn’t getting any
better, you know that. I think that now she’s gone, we should go
back to Orkney – as soon as possible. Jo looked away from the
window, and stared at Harry. Her expression said ‘it was too soon.’
“I know what you’re thinking,” he continued, “But it’s for the
best. We need to get back to Orkney – it’s where we belong, and
where we’re needed now. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have come down
to London – we had to do that. Val will never forget you for coming
back. But now, it’s time to return.” Jo knew Harry was right. He
was always right. She nodded and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. She
took a deep breath.

“Okay,” she said, grabbing his hand and
squeezing it firmly. “Thanks Harry – thanks for coming down with
me. I know it wasn’t easy for you – I know you wanted to stay with
the others; but I really appreciated it.”

“I’ll do anything for you Jo,” he said. And
she knew he meant it.

*

The next morning, Harry phoned Sandi to see
if she was ready to return to Orkney.

“Yes, it’s good for me... I’ve pretty much
done everything here.”

“How about Sunday? Or tomorrow even, if you
could be ready?”

“I can manage Sunday. Oh, can you take one
more?”

“I don’t see why not…what’s his name?”

“Why does everyone always assume I’m picking
up men!” She’s called Sara, and she’s very nice. We met in a
cemetery.”

“You met where?”

“A cemetery… I’ll tell you all about it on
Sunday.”

Harry looked to see if Jo could hear his
conversation, but she’d gone into the kitchen. He spoke close to
the telephone receiver.

“Look, I was going to wait till tomorrow
Sandi, but I’d better tell you now: Jo’s mum died yesterday.”

“Oh god, I’m sorry. How’s she taking
it?”

“She’s fine now; but cemeteries might not be
such a good topic of conversation.”

“Definitely not – I’m glad you told me.
Don’t worry – I’ll warn Sara.” Jo came back into the room. Harry
talked normally.

“Fine, well we’ll pick you up tomorrow then.
Nine o’clock okay? Good, I’ll see you then.” Harry put down the
receiver and smiled at Jo.

“Sandi wants to bring a friend – a woman she
met in Finchley. I said it was okay.”

“No problem,” Jo replied, her mind
preoccupied with other thoughts. “I did a lot of thinking last
night Harry – about life and death. I want to talk to Frank when we
get back. I’ve always said that I believed in life after death – we
both have. But what happened yesterday showed that I didn’t really
believe it – I didn’t believe that Val’s soul would be reborn in
the future…”

“She may have already been reborn…” Harry
added.

“Yes. Well, I couldn’t sleep last night. I
just lay there for ages, thinking, going over things. And then it
came to me: it’s nothing to do with me now. Val has left her body,
and whatever happens next is between Val and her higher self, or
whatever we call it. We’ll never know where, when or how she
arranges her next life. It could be here, in the same street. Or it
could be on the other side of the World.”

“Or in Orkney?” offered Harry.

“Well, you never know. But the point is that
it doesn’t matter – it’s nothing to do with us now. But I do know
one thing. I should give as much love to everyone I meet as I would
give to Val if she walked in here tomorrow. Because you just never
know who you could be talking to. The nurse who looked after mum
could have been my sister in a previous life; the man who was
begging for money in the street last week could have been my
father. We just don’t know who we’re connected to. But in the end,
aren’t we all connected to the same source?” Harry kissed Jo and
warmly embraced her.

“This is why I love you Jo.”

*

The next morning, Harry and Jo drove up to
North London to pick up Sandi and Sara from Sandi’s flat in
Finchley. Jo waited the car whilst Harry went to get the girls.

“Come in Harry – Sara shouldn’t be long,”
said Sandi. “She coming over from Highgate.

“No worries Sandi – we are a bit early
anyway. Actually, I’m glad you’re alone – there was something on my
mind this morning.”

“Take a seat,” said Jo.

“Thanks.” Harry didn’t quite know how to put
this. “It was about you leaving Orkney last time… do any of the
others know you’re coming back?” Sandi smiled.

“No – am I going to be in big trouble?” It
was Harry’s turn to smile.

“Not with me… it’s just that… I thought it
might be a good idea to warn them. I could phone Frank if you
like?”

“Orkney’s a big place Harry. What makes you
think I’m going back to Eday anyway?”

“I just assumed…”

“Dangerous thing to do, assuming. But having
said that, you’re probably right. Good idea to test the water. I
was planning on taking Sara round some of the other islands first
anyway. So if we keep in touch, you can let me know the temperature
of the Eday water before we venture over… I don’t want to be burned
at the stake.” Harry was going to tell Sandi about the others
leaving Eday, but he was interrupted by the door–bell. “That’ll be
Sara.”

After quick introductions, they got on the
road with Harry taking the first stint at driving, and Sandi and
Sara relaxing in the back. The virus had continued to spread
through Greater London, and they were quite relieved to get away.
Many streets were completely deserted, and Harry felt it might not
be long before some areas became ghost towns. The first topic of
conversation was naturally the rapid spread of the virus, though
Sandi, Harry and Jo were careful not to use the word ‘alien’.

“I think you’re right,” agreed Sara. “I’ve
lost count of the number of my friends that have gone down with
this flu thing… and two have died already.” Sara’s comment reminded
Sandi that she hadn’t warned Sara about Jo’s bereavement. She
looked at Harry, whose expression indicated that everything was all
right. Death was a difficult subject to avoid now that the virus
was so rife.

The conversation soon turned to Orkney.
Harry and Jo told them all about giving up their jobs for the good
life and settling down on Eday, where they met Sandi, me and the
others.

“Is Kevin still up there then?” asked Sara.
“Now I’ve seen his picture, I feel I know him already.”

“Yes, he’ll be there – and his friends.”

“What are they like?”

“To be honest, I thought them a bit strange
at first. But since the virus outbreak in London, I’ve changed my
mind.”

“In what way?” Sara asked.

Sandi didn’t want to tell Sara too much, but
she also didn’t want to hide anything. “They predicted the virus –
and now they say they know how to eradicate it.”

“Does the government know?” asked Sara.
Sandi felt herself going deeper into this than she could explain,
but she was saved by Harry.

“What,
this
government? Have you ever
heard them listen to
anything
anyone else says?” Sara smiled
and nodded.

“Tell me about it.”

Despite the depressing news bulletins that
Harry put on from time to time, they had a very pleasant journey up
to Edinburgh. It seemed a good place to break their journey, and Jo
booked them into a guest house she and Harry had used before. It
was good to get away from London, and they all had an early night
ready for the drive up to Orkney the next day.

***

Thirty

Sara had planned to pay for the
accommodation – the least she could do, considering she was getting
a free ride all the way up to Orkney. But, as it often happened in
these situations, Jo beat her to it – telling Sara that the custom
was to pay the next morning, but actually giving the money to the
landlady before turning in for the night.

The next morning was a glorious, crisp
autumn day. A clear blue sky and a bright sunny day. It took them
no time at all to reach Inverness, where they stopped off for fuel.
Sara had no doubts about the system for payment this time and
virtually raced to the cash desk, with Sandi behind her.

“My turn! yelled Sandi.” But Sara was
already at the desk, clutching her credit card. “Little sod,” said
Sandi breathlessly, with a smile. “Sara grinned back in reply and
handed her card to the attendant. After punching in her PIN, Sara
received her card back – and Sandi caught a glimpse of her family
name.

“Philby – interesting name,” Sandi observed,
but thought nothing more of it.

“You probably read it in Who’s Who,” Jested
Sara.

As they drove out of Inverness and headed
North, Sandi and Sara chatted about their pasts. They felt very
comfortable with each other now, and talking about their loved ones
was something of a release.

“I feel like I’m doing this for John now…
going to Orkney I mean. His great grandfather was born on one of
the islands… he had a fishing company and travelled all over the
North Sea before moving to Edinburgh.”

“Oh, where was he born exactly?”

“On Hoy. John and I said we should go and
take a look at where he used to live. He said there are still
Philbys living there, people related to his great grandfather.”
Harry’s ears suddenly pricked up.

“Did you say your husband’s name is John
Philby Sara?”

“It was, yes. He died one year ago.”

A shiver ran down Harry’s spine.

“What did he do, if you don’t mind me
asking?”

“Oh, he was a property developer.”

Harry could not believe what he was hearing.
John Philby was the name Frank uttered when he was talking about
Kevin’s previous life!
And
he had been a
property
developer
.

*

On Papay, everything was going well. The
website had received over a hundred thousand hits since it was set
up, and we had a mailing list of nearly five thousand. The
increased activity meant more and more of our time spent updating
the site and responding to feedback and queries. As I read over the
latest emails forwarded to us from Sweden one morning, a thought
came to me.

“Frank,” I asked, “How will the virus react
to our site? I mean, will it try to shut us down?”

“Without a doubt,” he replied, not looking
up from his laptop screen.

“But how will it know about the site – and
how will it try to shut us down?”

Frank removed his reading glasses and looked
at me squarely.

“You know Kevin, the best way to get
understanding about anything is not by asking questions.” I was
going to ask him what he meant by that, but thought better of it.
“You’ve got to make some effort yourself first and look at the
possibilities. Knowledge can be given, but understanding has to be
earned.” I thought about this, and realized the sense in it. If I
want to understand how to ride a bike, it wouldn’t be any good just
reading a book about it. I’d actually have to get up on the saddle
and start peddling. I think I knew what he meant. But just then, my
mobile rang. It was Harry – he’d got my number from Sandi.