Zan peered through the window. It was pitch black as the wind rattled the frame with every strong gust. He saw Zami's reflection, and found it impossible to refrain from imagining such a pale imitation of the person that once was. The disease was all encompassing, and her spirit was a wisp of smoke where there’d once been a raging inferno. It didn't care who. It was indiscriminate.
Spots of rain trickled down the pane, and while following a drop meandering down to the sill he flirted with the notion that it would have been merciful if the night that had taken his family had also claimed them. But he shook his head. There had always been something about it though. It wasn't right somehow.
He'd always known how things were. It was the disease that they were trying to contain. The Zottens virus had been around for centuries, his mother had once told him, and because there was no cure they had to burn the victims to prevent the spread of it. They would inspect regularly, and often came in the night without warning to prevent any escape. A burning would be ordered on the spot if there was any evidence found.
The government saw it as the only way. But it had only given rise to an air of mistrust and secrecy in the wastelands community as people tried to protect their loved ones and their homes from being razed to the ground. All it could take would be someone with a grudge and your life could be ruined. Or ended.
The disease wasn't airborne - it was carried by tiny spider-like creatures called Zots and transmitted by their painless bite. Folk from the bowels of Vlindra referred to it only as 'The Disease'. If one family member had it, it was enough to assume all members of that household had been exposed. The problem was that symptoms developed gradually over some years, so the government killed indiscriminately.
They’d escaped the blaze, but was left to rot with his sister, and starve to death. It was only his resourcefulness and determination to survive that had led them this far. But he couldn't trust anyone. If his sister's secret was discovered, they would turn them both to ash in the blink of an eye.
He wasn't about to let that happen. He knew the dangers he faced by living with Zami. If she was infected, then maybe he was too. He felt fine though, and he wasn't about to abandon her like he had been.
Perhaps it was time to trust someone again, he thought. He had little choice.
He wrapped a blanket around Zami, and pulled a bobble hat over her hair and down to her eyebrows. His own blanket was fastened tightly around his neck, and he pulled the hood up over his head. "Let's go," he said as he held his hand out for Zami, which she dutifully took.
Zan edged the door open and scrutinised the road on the top level. The only sight was that of the black lampposts stationed at regular intervals along the edge, all holding fast in spite of a monstrous gale coming in from the sea.
"Come on," he said as he yanked Zami away from the hut and pushed her up on to the top level. After climbing up behind her, they ran along the front toward the bridge. It was closed at night and the barrier was in place, but it wasn't manned, and they both crawled beneath the white bars.
The sleety rain lashed across the bridge, carried by the storm. The water gushed along the surface like a torrent, draining over the edge.
Zan held on tightly to Zami with one arm while he used his other to grab the railings that lined the path. Every couple of steps he'd adjust his hand while dragging his sister along. She was hidden from view by the blanket that covered her as the bottom edge flapped about.
It was intolerably slow going. Each footstep was difficult; each new railing was further to grab hold of, and becoming more slippery by the second. They finally reached the mid-section where the bridge was at its highest. The wind howled between the suspension cables, and the clink of metal on metal was constant as the joining ringlet and bolts clattered together.
A wall of water suddenly plunged across the concrete, and it took Zan's feet from under him. He reached out to grab the railing with both hands, but Zami was knocked over by the force. She started sliding down the road towards the edge before grabbing onto one of the railings.
"HOLD ON!" Zan shouted. He knelt and shuffled along the road, with his arm locked around the middle rail. "I'M COMING," he cried.
Zami slipped a little further as Zan reached out and grabbed her sleeve. He hobbled further forwards and took her hand, locking his fingers around hers. He cried as he dragged her up toward him and he held her for a moment. His heart was racing and his breathing heavy, yet he heard nothing except the sound of the wind's roar.
Zan got to his feet and dragged Zami up with him, and they carried on down the other side. The southern side was easier, and the wind wasn't quite as ferocious near the bottom. They sat at the base to gather themselves and Zan looked across the river. The waves crashed against the harbour side, and further upstream there was, in the distance, the ferry house with the lampposts lighting the quayside. Rain dripped off the end of his nose and he sniffed, wiping the tip which was stone cold to touch.
This side of the bridge was Zan's native territory. It was where he'd grown up as a young boy yet it was the first time he'd been back since it happened.
He wandered down the street with his sister by his side. She was shivering and her teeth chattered, despite Zan's best efforts at keeping her warm. He felt it too, but the adrenaline had kicked in and it wasn't the prevalent thought in his mind.
An hour had passed, and they continued along the narrow passages until a crossroad lay ahead. The rain continued to lash down and the puddles of mud that lined their way underfoot grew. Each step squelched heavily and the rain had broken through the layers as Zan felt it on his skin.
"We're here," he said as he crossed the road. On the corner there was a small house of stone, with a wooden roof and door. It had a single window at the front and a small chimney to the side. An enormous antenna stuck out from the roof, swaying ominously in the storm.
Zan rapped his knuckles on the door and waited. The curtain in the window was pulled back a little and moments later the door swung open. "ZAN!" Elisa jumped across and he stumbled back with the force of her hug. "I knew it! I knew you'd come back." She let go of him. “Come inside out of the rain. Who's your friend?"
Zan beckoned her forward, and unravelled the blanket from around her head. "It can't be?" Elisa gasped. "Zami?" She looked back at him and he nodded. "Zan...she has the mark."
"You said you can help me," Zan said. "Prove it."
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