‘They’re saying no one’s immune!’ the man said, and then another woman pushed through, a stewardess who had served Jayne’s supper an hour after take-off. Her presence seemed to calm the man and woman, and they relaxed a little.
‘It’s spreading fast,’ the stewardess told Sean. ‘There’s martial law across five states. I’ve got a friend who works in the NYPD and they’re getting ready to isolate Manhattan. And, from everything I’ve seen on YouTube and the news channels, it infects you in minutes.’
‘Any cases of bites not turning anyone?’ Sean asked.
‘Hey,’ the stewardess said, her smile forced, ‘that’d be good news. You think the media would want any of that right now?’
Sean glanced back at Jayne, and she saw the man tense as if ready to make a grab for the gun. She opened her eyes wider, nodded past Sean, and he turned back quickly. The tension relaxed as quickly as it had built.
‘Why are we going back?’ Sean asked. The aircraft had completed its turn – the moonlight was shining through different windows now.
The stewardess seemed uncomfortable, and Jayne realised that none of the other passengers knew either.
‘So why?’ the man prompted.
‘They won’t let us land,’ she said. ‘UK air-traffic control says they’re scrambling the RAF to turn back any North American flights.’
‘And they threatened to shoot us down if we don’t comply?’ Sean said. The stewardess didn’t answer, which was answer enough.
Sean started backing along the aisle, but the stewardess stayed where she was, watching them go and giving Jayne a half-smile.
‘A deep bite?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ Jayne said, joining the conversation for the first time.
‘It drew blood?’
Jayne nodded.
‘And you’re sure the person who bit you was . . .?’
‘I’m sure,’ Jayne said. ‘Then I shut myself in a car. She . . . it looked in. Then left.’ More pain flared through her hips, and she pulled herself upright, groaning at the effort.
‘There’s food and drink back there,’ the stewasdess said. ‘Look in compartment six. Some nice salads.’
‘Thanks,’ Sean said. ‘Will you tell us when we’re close?’
‘About three hours.’ She glanced back over her shoulder, then lowered her voice. ‘I think some of them might come for her before then.’
Sean nodded his thanks, and he and Jayne watched the stewardess disappear behind the curtain again.
‘If they come?’ Jayne asked.
‘No one’s going to walk into a bullet,’ he said.
‘You’d really shoot them?’
She saw doubt and fear in what she’d previously thought were the eyes of a strong guy. She guessed Sean was around fifty, stocky and fit, and he had scars – two parallel wounds on his left cheek, pale against his dark skin. She might ask about them, given time.
‘’S long as they think I will, we’ll be okay.’
‘I might be immune,’ she said. ‘What if I am?’
‘How rare is that disease of yours?’
Jayne nodded slowly as understanding dawned, and Sean sat in the seat across from her, leaning out so that he could see along the aisle.
‘Fuck,’ he said softly.
4
Jonah knew that this was action for the sake of it. But sitting in Secondary in the dark with nothing to do would drive him mad, so coming back down to Control was at least something to occupy his mind. Nothing will have changed, he thought. He slid the gun into his waistband and pulled back the chairs he’d propped beneath the door’s handle. As he opened the door, something whispered behind him.
Jonah whirled around and shone his torch back along the corridor. The wall was smeared with dried blood, black in the artificial light. Nothing moved.
‘Is that you?’ he said. Nothing answered. ‘Bastard!’