Superflu - Chapter 3, Planning is Calming

When Rachel gets home to find them there, with all the food they'd hoarded, she understands. "Right, I heard about that too. Hi Jacque."

"Hi."

"I've got a couple of people coming by telling them about other things the government had hidden in the past and that the papers haven't said anything at all about it till this."

"How many?"

"Four, and they all have cars which will probably soon be filled with food and water."

"Did you say about tap water in bottles?"

"No, they just found a bottle of tap water hidden in the bottom drawer of a desk last week and still remember the smell when it was dropped and broke all over the carpet."

"Good. Well, not good that you had to put up with a honking carpet for a week."

"How did you know it was mine?"

"Because you asked why tap water went bad but bottled water didn't."

"Right. There's more stuff in my room than that, and it needs to go in my car before mum gets home."

"Thanks. We'll start that in a minute as soon as you give us the keys."

"Oh, right, here." She throws the keys over to them and Leanne misses them. Rachel disappears upstairs while they start loading the box Leanne had kept the tins in and reappears later with another box which is full of dried fruit and other packets. It's obvious she's been crying but the other two don't say anything about it. Jacque speaks first. "I'll go home and see if I can stay here tonight."

"I don't know if our mum would let you." Rachel takes out her phone and calls to ask. "She says yes as long as you don't mind pasta bake."

"Fine by me. I'll try to bring some tins or packets, and some dog food."

"Thanks for believing me."

"No problem. Is there anything else that would be particularly useful?"

"Matches, cutlery, plastic bowls or plates, spare clothes, sewing kit, hammer and nails, pretty much anything would be useful."

"Ok. We have some old picnic stuff we never used, I could bring that. Call David, he'd want to talk tonight too."

"I will. I'll see you soon." Leanne and Rachel wave till Jacque is past the end of the road and Leanne calls David. He agrees, and adds that he's going to be round after dinner so their parents didn't have to feed him.

Jacque turns up just before dinner time and apologises for being late. When they've finished eating they go straight upstairs to talk. Leanne brings out all the things she's hoarded over the year and three months since she started dreaming about the end of the world and shows Jacque why she kept those particular things. Rachel's phone rings, and is answered, when David gets there. He didn't want to ring the doorbell. He never trusted them since someone glued a pin to one. "I brought Luke too, do you mind?" The boy goes in ahead of his cousin and stops dead when he sees Leanne. She stops when she sees him too. "Lee!" He runs forward and hugs her. She recognised him too, but doesn't really know how to react. "Hi Luke. I don't think I met you before."

"I see you every night after I go to bed. You saved me and David."

"I haven't yet, but you're going to help a lot."

"Where's Bayleen?"

"I don't know her yet." He runs through to the kitchen when Leanne's mum opens the door to see who else turned up. She always gives him his favourite biscuits. David stays with them and shouts to him when they go back upstairs so he knows where they're going. Leanne packs away the food then digs out a notebook and goes through a shopping list for David. "Start with long life milk and juices. That milk bread that comes in blue bags keeps well. Lighters and bags of charcoal. Cloths, painkillers, heat pads, women's pads, tampons, that Norwegian hand stuff, various soaps, first aid kits, nail clippers, and sewing kits. Torches, batteries, wind up or solar powered stuff if you can find it. Pots and pans but not too many. Non stick where you can see it. Is there a garden bit?"

"Yeah."

"Get some bamboo canes, and if you see fruit plants, get some."

"Like raspberries and blackcurrants?"

"Yeah, and get the seeds from any fruit you have if you can."

"Luke's kept the seeds from most of the fruit he's had since he started dreaming about you. Apparently you told him it would be a good idea."

"Good. What sort of seeds has he got, by the way that's something else for the list, seeds, as varied as possible."

"He's got a bit of everything I think. Apple, pear, plum, cherry, apricot, peach, loads."

"Good boy. Fresh fruit will be appreciated, but we won't have it for long. Get under ripe stuff if you see it. Get potatoes if you want, they tend to keep for a while." Jacque starts crying again and Rachel goes over to her. "I don't know if I want to go." Leanne looks at Rachel, she'd mentioned not always seeing her in the camp, now they know why. "If it's as bad as you saw...I'll be the only one in my family left." Leanne looks down.

"I know. I didn't always see you in the dreams. Sometimes you were never there."

"But you said you always saw me."

"I want you to go, but I knew you'd probably want to stay. If you go with us you will live, and if you stay you will die. It's up to you."

"Die with family or live without."

"Yeah. Think about it?"

"Ok, I'll think about it, but I want to go to bed now." They'd set up the spare bed in Rachel's room because Leanne snored and Jacque was a light sleeper. "I'll see you in the morning then. Sleep tight."

"Thanks. I'll see you in the morning." Leanne takes a minute to calm down, then suggests that they all go to bed. They say goodnight to each other, then David goes to find Luke, who is asleep in front of a cartoon DVD. The boys sleep in Leanne's room on a pile of blankets and pillows.