cloud of fine blue powder. He dropped to his knees from the impact.
Lais screamed.
‘ Tuddor! ’ she cried.
The smell was very strong. It was vaguely soapy, and a little bit herbal, with a touch of citrus thrown in. Zennor climbed to his feet again.
‘It’s all right,’ he gasped. ‘I’m fine . . .’
‘Did it get on your skin?’ Mum demanded. ‘Zennor?’
‘I – I don’t know -’
‘There’s a bit on his neck,’ Arkwright pointed out. ‘And in his hair.’
‘Wipe it off! Quick!’ said Mum.
‘It’s okay. It didn’t really hurt. It – it just pushed me over.’
‘Don’t anybody breathe it in!’ Mum cried.
We all stepped back, though the powder had pretty much settled. Most of it was on Zennor’s pressure suit: the mark looked like a big blue flower. Mum tried to dust it off, using her glove assembly. But it was faintly moist, and stuck like glue.
So did the smell.
‘You should take that suit off,’ Mum suggested. Dad, however, said, ‘Not now. We’re nearly there.’
‘It might be toxic -’
‘He’s not dead yet. Come on. He’ll need to wash it out of his hair, anyway.’
‘It must have been a clumsy pellet,’ said Dygall, in a high voice. He was worried about his father; I could tell from the way he was standing. But he didn’t want to show it. ‘Dad must have got in its way, and it smashed.’
‘I’m fine,’ Zennor repeated. Dad was already forging ahead, and Lais had started to move too. Arkwright hovered at Zennor’s elbow.
‘Can you walk?’ he inquired.
‘Yes, of course,’ Zennor replied, and began to shuffle forward. Mum told Arkwright to go on – she would stay with Zennor. She didn’t want anyone else getting too close to him.
I touched Dygall’s arm. ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We mustn’t lose Dad.’
Up at the front of the line, Dad had reached the next junction. He stopped. Cautiously, he peered around the street-corner, crying, ‘ Hello!
’ Then he jerked back, so abruptly that he trod on Lais’s foot.
‘Ow!’ she yelped.
He didn’t say sorry. I don’t think he could. He had swung around to face her, gasping, wide-eyed. As we watched, he collapsed against a wall.
But when Lais tried to pass him, his arm shot out.
‘No!’ he choked.
‘What -?’
‘Don’t. Wait. Please . . .’
Now we all knew that something was wrong. We slowed. We halted. We stared.
‘What is it?’ Lais whispered.
Dad swallowed. He seemed to have aged ten years in ten seconds.
‘An – an accident . . .’ he said hoarsely.
‘What?’
‘Don’t look down the street.’ He straightened, and addressed us all. ‘We – we have to cross this junction, and BioLab’s just four more streets away. You kids – when we cross this junction, I want you to shut your eyes . . .’
‘Why?’ Arkwright queried. Mum gave him a vicious jab, and jerked her head at Yestin. Yestin gasped.
‘It’s Mum!’ he squeaked.
‘No,’ said Dad. ‘Yestin -’
‘It is!’ Yestin cried, and surged forward. It happened so quickly that Dad wasn’t fast enough to stop him. Yestin flung himself around the corner, just behind his rodog. What he saw made him stop – but it didn’t stop Bam.
By the time I hit that junction, pulling against my mother’s grasp, Bam had reached the corpse that lay halfway down twenty-first street.
He began to bark excitedly.
CHAPTER
TEN
I’ll never forget that moment. It changed everything. I saw the body, and everything else seemed to fade into the background. I knew that things would never be all right, ever again. I knew that the old world was gone.
And I was right.
The body didn’t belong to either of Yestin’s parents. I saw that instantly, because the face was still intact. It was Haido, and she was dead. Most of her middle part was gone – burned or melted away.
You could smell it. That smell. It makes me sick, even now. Just to think of it.
Yestin threw up. Right then, in front of me. I shut my eyes, but of course it was
Lais screamed.
‘ Tuddor! ’ she cried.
The smell was very strong. It was vaguely soapy, and a little bit herbal, with a touch of citrus thrown in. Zennor climbed to his feet again.
‘It’s all right,’ he gasped. ‘I’m fine . . .’
‘Did it get on your skin?’ Mum demanded. ‘Zennor?’
‘I – I don’t know -’
‘There’s a bit on his neck,’ Arkwright pointed out. ‘And in his hair.’
‘Wipe it off! Quick!’ said Mum.
‘It’s okay. It didn’t really hurt. It – it just pushed me over.’
‘Don’t anybody breathe it in!’ Mum cried.
We all stepped back, though the powder had pretty much settled. Most of it was on Zennor’s pressure suit: the mark looked like a big blue flower. Mum tried to dust it off, using her glove assembly. But it was faintly moist, and stuck like glue.
So did the smell.
‘You should take that suit off,’ Mum suggested. Dad, however, said, ‘Not now. We’re nearly there.’
‘It might be toxic -’
‘He’s not dead yet. Come on. He’ll need to wash it out of his hair, anyway.’
‘It must have been a clumsy pellet,’ said Dygall, in a high voice. He was worried about his father; I could tell from the way he was standing. But he didn’t want to show it. ‘Dad must have got in its way, and it smashed.’
‘I’m fine,’ Zennor repeated. Dad was already forging ahead, and Lais had started to move too. Arkwright hovered at Zennor’s elbow.
‘Can you walk?’ he inquired.
‘Yes, of course,’ Zennor replied, and began to shuffle forward. Mum told Arkwright to go on – she would stay with Zennor. She didn’t want anyone else getting too close to him.
I touched Dygall’s arm. ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We mustn’t lose Dad.’
Up at the front of the line, Dad had reached the next junction. He stopped. Cautiously, he peered around the street-corner, crying, ‘ Hello!
’ Then he jerked back, so abruptly that he trod on Lais’s foot.
‘Ow!’ she yelped.
He didn’t say sorry. I don’t think he could. He had swung around to face her, gasping, wide-eyed. As we watched, he collapsed against a wall.
But when Lais tried to pass him, his arm shot out.
‘No!’ he choked.
‘What -?’
‘Don’t. Wait. Please . . .’
Now we all knew that something was wrong. We slowed. We halted. We stared.
‘What is it?’ Lais whispered.
Dad swallowed. He seemed to have aged ten years in ten seconds.
‘An – an accident . . .’ he said hoarsely.
‘What?’
‘Don’t look down the street.’ He straightened, and addressed us all. ‘We – we have to cross this junction, and BioLab’s just four more streets away. You kids – when we cross this junction, I want you to shut your eyes . . .’
‘Why?’ Arkwright queried. Mum gave him a vicious jab, and jerked her head at Yestin. Yestin gasped.
‘It’s Mum!’ he squeaked.
‘No,’ said Dad. ‘Yestin -’
‘It is!’ Yestin cried, and surged forward. It happened so quickly that Dad wasn’t fast enough to stop him. Yestin flung himself around the corner, just behind his rodog. What he saw made him stop – but it didn’t stop Bam.
By the time I hit that junction, pulling against my mother’s grasp, Bam had reached the corpse that lay halfway down twenty-first street.
He began to bark excitedly.
CHAPTER
TEN
I’ll never forget that moment. It changed everything. I saw the body, and everything else seemed to fade into the background. I knew that things would never be all right, ever again. I knew that the old world was gone.
And I was right.
The body didn’t belong to either of Yestin’s parents. I saw that instantly, because the face was still intact. It was Haido, and she was dead. Most of her middle part was gone – burned or melted away.
You could smell it. That smell. It makes me sick, even now. Just to think of it.
Yestin threw up. Right then, in front of me. I shut my eyes, but of course it was
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