AFTER (Book #3)

Chapter One

Val peered into the room through a small, square window, as Max and Lizzie's peaceful chests rose up, and sank softly with every calm breath. They had been unconscious since their dramatic arrival, at first kept on a drip to rehydrate them, but for the past few hours they had been kept in a room once used to quarantine highly infectious patients.

The walls and interior were blindingly white, and clean to an obsessive standard. The grubby shoe prints left behind by the two occupant's soles bothered Val greatly, she liked everything just so, and would ensure that the room's integrity was restored as soon as Max and Lizzie were moved.

"How are we looking on that bloodwork?" Val asked the nearest white coat.

"I'll go and check right away ma'am!" the lab technician replied obediently, before pottering off in search of the results.

Val smiled and shook her head, people often misconstrued her direct approach as anger or aggression, but that wasn't the case, she just wasn't one to waste time beating around the bush. At the same time, she didn't want her people to be intimidated by her, but she would rather have an intimidated colony than a dead one.

"Okay, action stations people, looks like the little lady is waking up," Val announced, pressing her face slightly closer to the glass.  

Lizzie's eyes eased open groggily, immediately slamming shut once more as the alarmingly bright, white room flashed into focus.

"What the..."

She shielded her eyes from the worst of the glare and glanced around the room, her movements growing sharper and more agitated the more she saw.

"Max...Max!" she cried softly, roughly shaking her companion by the shoulders.

As Max began to stir, Lizzie leapt to her feet, tracing the four walls with both her eyes and her movement before settling firmly on the door. She ran towards the exit, her eyes now locked with Val's as she slammed her fist against the metal frame.

"Hey! Excuse me! Where the f**k are we? You need to let us out! There's been a mistake!"

Lizzie's thumps echoed around the room, but the face in the window never blinked, not so much as a flutter of a single eyelash.

Max had finally hauled himself to his feet, battling his own hazy mind as well as the dire situation they found themselves in. Just as Max appeared next to her shoulder, weighing in with all the hollering and pounding of the door, Lizzie stumbled backwards.

She could feel her chest tightening and it was becoming harder and harder for her to breath properly. It felt as if the four walls were slowly edging in, with the promise of crushing her to death in the centre of the room.

"Max..." she wheezed.

He swivelled instantly, spotting Lizzie on a crumbled heap on the floor.

"s**t," he exclaimed, as he leapt down next to her, rubbing her back in a panicked attempt to ease her breathing. "Look! Look what you're doing to her!" he screamed.

For the first time, Val's cool demeanour buckled, as she urgently reached for the button to control the Tannoy.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked with a mix of concern and suspicion.

"She's claustrophobic for God's sake!" Max barked, while desperately urging Lizzie to steady her breaths.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She might be, if you'd open that f*****g door! I thought this place was meant to be the damn safe haven!"

"We prefer Novus, but I'm afraid that it's that very door that is keeping our haven 'safe'," Val explained, keeping a steady eye on Lizzie's condition. If the girl showed no sign of improvement, Val wouldn't hesitate to open the door, but it had to be a last resort, risks got people killed.

"What the f**k is that supposed to mean?" Max growled.

"It means...that until you pass our tests, we have to treat you as-"

Val was cut off as the lab technician returned and whispered something into her ear, pointing down to a chart as he did so. The two engaged in a brief conversation before a soft buzzer hummed above the door, and a red light flashed as it clicked open.

Max yanked the door handle with one hand, while dragging Lizzie out into the open with the other.

"Is she having a panic attack?" Val asked, ordering the technician to fetch a glass of cold water.

"I'm fine," Lizzie coughed, raising a hand to wave away the fuss being made.

"We need to get her outside now...some fresh air!" Max demanded, linking his arms under Lizzie's to lift her up.

"Max, I said I'm fine, honestly."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she insisted. "Although I would like to know why we were locked in that tiny room in the first place..."

Val smiled apologetically, "It's procedure I'm afraid, every newcomer has to spend some time in the pod."

"Is that how you keep this place so safe?" Max accused. "Keeping everyone locked up."

"Quite the contrary," Val corrected. "Our people are free to come and go as they please, we just had to be sure that you were suitable to take up residence within our walls."

"And what the hell is that sup-"

"She means they wanted to make sure we weren't infected, right?" Lizzie enquired. "I'm guessing that's our bloodwork?"

Val shook the chart slightly and smiled, "Precisely, I'm sure you understand."

Max nodded, "Maybe next time try a nice little waiting room, with fresh fruit, and a sign that says, 'please wait here while we test your blood', ay?"

Val chuckled, "I'll bring it up at our next meeting...but it the meantime, welcome to Novus!"

"We actually made it," Max whispered, gripping Lizzie's shoulder tightly with excitement.

"Did we?" Lizzie retorted.

Val clapped her hands to break the tension, "I think it's time for the grand tour, don't you think? Everyone will be so keen to meet our newest recruits, we're like one big family here at Novus-"

"I'm afraid that family time is going to have to wait. We did come here for refuge, but we also came to ask for your help," Max explained.

"Walk with me," Val ushered, leading the two of them out of the lab and into an elevator.

"The name's Max by the way, and this here is Lizzie...I'm guessing you're the one in charge...?"

"Val," she confirmed, shaking each of their hands firmly. "Now what can I help you with?"

"You see, a week ago I would have been introducing you to five more people, our friends," Max paused to compose himself. "We...we were ambushed."

"People or the others?"

"The others," Max answered.

"They're learning," Lizzie added.

Val seemed to ponder for a moment, her mind wandering elsewhere before she eventually said, "I'm sorry for your losses, everyone here has been through similar turmoil. I know that doesn't count for much now, but if you ever need anyone to talk to, there are hundreds of sets of ears here at Novus."

"That's just the thing," Max corrected. "We don't know who survived...and who..."

Max glanced at Lizzie, unable to finish his sentence in the knowledge that she was still reeling from watching JJ die. Max himself was still torn apart over losing his friend, he could only imagine what it was doing to her.

Lizzie sniffed away any sign of tears, before standing up straight and staring Val in the eye, "We saw one of our group fall, but we don't know for sure if any of the others made it out."

The lift doors slid open with a tuneful beep, and Val led them out into the main reception of what looked like a fully-functioning hospital. It lacked the usual hustle and bustle of a stereotypical patient-filled waiting room, but it served as an eerie throwback to normal times for Max and Lizzie.

A receptionist sat behind the main desk, scrawling away onto lined paper, and filing it away into the stacks of folders behind her. Doctors and nurses dressed head to toe in scrubs hurriedly patrolled the hallways behind her, seemingly undeterred by the apocalypse that had befallen around them. Men, women, and children walked in and out of the front doors, their faces plastered with smiles and laughter, with many even pausing to offer a brief 'hello' or well wishes.

Is this what safety and secure walls can do to a person? Is this the life that they could now finally have? Max thought for a second that maybe they had found the place where he and Lizzie could stop surviving, and concentrate on living, as father and daughter. But that had to wait. This wasn't a luxury just for them.

"So, you want me to send a team out with you to find these friends...who may or may not still be alive?" Val questioned, with a slight tone of sarcasm.

"We know where we were cut off from them, we just thought that maybe you could help us get back there, maybe some transport and-" Lizzie started to argue.

"You understand what you're asking me to do?" Val asked, leading them out of the front doors and into the courtyard area. "You're asking me to risk the lives of several of my people, not to mention valuable resources, all on the hunch that a couple of your friends might have survived an ambush, as you put it."

"But-" Lizzie started, before Val immediately cut her off.

"I'm sorry, I really am, I know what it's like to lose the ones you love, but I can't compromise what we've built here on a gamble."

"You know what it's like to lose people?" Lizzie reiterated.

"I do."

"Then you know that we can't just sit here and forget about them!"

"I do. And like I said, anyone is free to come and go as they please, but I simply can't help you. I'll let you get acquainted with our home, come and find me later when you've reached your decision."

And with that, Val turned around and walked back towards the main doors of the hospital, to go about her day to day duties.

"There's no decision to be made!" Max called after her, but the older woman continued her path, pushing the door open with one sure, strong hand.

"He's four years old for f**k's sake!" Max screamed.

Val stopped. She visibly sighed, and then slowly turned with small, reluctant steps.

"I'll see what I can do."