Plague by Lisa Hinsley

Author:Lisa Hinsley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Star

Day Five

Liz laid Nathan on the chair, covering him with a blanket to protect him from a chill.

She worked mechanically. Change the pillowcases. Change the duvet cover. Change the sheets. She rolled up the soiled linens and tossed them in the corner. She’d put on his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine sheets. Tears threatened. She shook them away and pulled the edge of the duvet back.

“The bed’s ready for you.” She crossed the room and carefully picked up her son. “Just need to clean you up a bit first.” She sat down, a bowl of warm soapy water to her side. She rinsed the sponge and started to clean his face. Slowly, she wiped away the blood from his ears, the crusty marks around his mouth from when he vomited. She put the sponge back in the water and took off Nathan’s pajama top. “No point putting you in a clean bed when you’re all mucky.” He seemed so small, emaciated. Her fingertips brushed the swellings under his arms. “Oh, my sweet,” she said, and kissed one of his cheeks and then the other.

After waiting a moment to get her emotions under control, she sponged him down and patted his body dry with a towel. “There. All clean.” She struggled to pull a fresh top over his head. “Sorry, sweetie. Hope I didn’t get your ears.”

Liz placed a kiss on his forehead. Her baby. Her little boy.

The bed was fragrant, the pillow fluffy. She positioned him carefully and tucked the covers up around him. After a moment’s thought, she adjusted the bedding so the buboes were hardly visible. Horrible, ugly things. Then she made sure his eyelids were closed properly.

“Good night, my sweet.”

She checked for flies. Johnny had put a second sheet of paper on the wall—from the dark streaks of color, she guessed he’d covered the paper in Marmite. Both sheets were covered in dead or struggling insects. For now the walls and air were free of moving things. Good. She didn’t want those dirty bugs anywhere near her baby.

Outside, the start of another day lightened the sky. He’d almost made it. Almost saw a new day. Her son, Nathan. Born on a cold winter’s day. Dead four years later on a warm spring morning. She wished for squally winds, for wild weather to follow the Irish Sea in and batter the hell out of the house. Rip the roof off and take her as well.

A cough brought her back. That was Johnny. She heard a stumbling crash as he tripped coming out of the room, and a retching sound in the hallway. No, she thought. I can’t do this again.

* * *

“Please, Mum, answer.” Liz put the handset to her ear and waited for the rings, but she heard only a funny dull sound. “No!” She hung up and listened again. Nothing. “They’ve cut the bloody phones!” Liz hollered from the hall. She ran upstairs, peering in the bathroom before going to the bedroom. Johnny was in bed, his neck swollen and tender.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.