‘What do you mean?’ asked Leaf. She tried to keep her face from showing anything. By any definition, everything Arthur had been involved with in recent times was strange.
‘Dad’s house is gone,’ said Major Penhaligon. ‘Not destroyed. Just plain gone. I’ve tracked down Michaeli and Eric – they’re with friends, they’re okay – but I can’t find Arthur or Emily.’
‘A lot of weird stuff has happened around here,’ offered Leaf.
‘That’s for sure,’ said Major Penhaligon. ‘Where did you see Arthur?’
‘In the hospital,’ said Leaf. She hadn’t been ready for the sudden question. ‘Friday’s hospital, I mean. With the old people. But he left.’
‘Where was he going?’
Leaf shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’
‘When was this?’
‘Friday night. Uh, after you called him.’
‘After I called him?’ asked Major Penhaligon. ‘But I called him on the home number! He wouldn’t have had time to get anywhere near here from home, and according to the neighbours the house was already gone ...’
‘The phone was switched through,’ said Leaf, which was true. She just couldn’t say that it was switched through to a telephone that materalised out of nowhere.
‘I guess that kind of explains how the house could be gone but I still spoke to Arthur.’ Major Penhaligon shook his head. ‘This just gets weirder and weirder. I don’t see how there can be an entire hospital full of patients that’s not on any database or map either. I’ll see you at Decon Four in fifteen minutes, Sergeant Chen, Miss Leaf.’
He turned around and strode away. Chen pulled lightly on Leaf’s arm, directing her towards one of the side streets.
‘This way,’ said the soldier. ‘It’s not far.’
‘Okay,’ said Leaf. She was quiet for the first few steps, just thinking about Arthur, and her family, and all the sleepers back at the hospital. There was so much to do. For a moment she wondered why she was bothering, since it seemed the whole Universe might get snuffed out by Nothing anyway.
But the Universe might not end, Leaf thought. And then where would you be? Better to do something, because it might just work out.
‘What other weird stuff is happening?’ she asked Chen.
‘Plenty,’ the soldier replied, but she didn’t elaborate. They walked another twenty yards or so, around the next street corner. Leaf saw that the whole avenue ahead was full of dozens of Army and Federal Biocontrol Authority vehicles. The parking lots for the shops and buildings on either side of the avenue were occupied by five huge pressurised tents, soon to be joined by three entire prefab structures the size of Leaf’s house, which were in the process of being off-loaded from oversize semitrailers.
Ominously, the prefab buildings had large red crosses on them, and Leaf noted that beyond the Army vehicles, there were at least twenty big, six-wheeled hazardous environment ambulances.
Everyone working wore full protective suits with masks. The whole place added up to an expectation by the authorities that they would have to deal with a very large number of dead and dying people.
Chen pointed to the closest pressurised tent, which was pitched in the parking lot of a convenience store. The tent had a newly painted sign in front of it, staked into the pavement. The sign had a cartoon picture of a smiling fat man scrubbing himself in a bubble bath, and read 11THCBRN BATTALION PRESENTS DECONTAMINATION STATION FOUR.
‘Got to have a sense of humour,’ Sergeant Chen said with a sigh as soon as she saw the sign.
‘Why?’ asked Leaf.
‘You’ll see,’ said Chen. ‘I guess a small laugh helps everyone cope with the serious stuff. Come on.’
As they walked over and Chen waved to the soldier on guard outside the big tent, Leaf asked, ‘You know the weird stuff ... does it involve anyone with ... uh ... wings?’
Chen stopped and gripped Leaf hard.
‘Who told you about the General?’
‘No one!’ said Leaf. ‘But I’ve seen ... uh ... winged people.’
Chen released Leaf.
‘General Pravuil, who was in charge of this operation, disappeared at midnight last night. The sentries outside said they saw people with wings fly him out of an upstairs window and disappear into thin air. Where did you see them?’
‘Above the private hospital,’ said Leaf. ‘On Friday.’
‘If you see them again, tell the nearest soldier,’ said Chen. ‘Or the FBA or whoever. There’s a theory going around that they’re terrorists utilising some sort of advanced genetically engineered flying system.’
‘Right,’ said Leaf. She couldn’t see any point in telling Chen that they were Denizens. She wondered if Pravuil, who Arthur had said worked for Saturday, had simply left, or if he’d been taken away by forces working for Dame Primus, or perhaps the Piper. ‘What do I do now?’
‘Go in there,’ said Chen, pointing to the air lock entrance of Decon Station Four. ‘They’ll take care of you. I’ll wait.’
Leaf went up to the door. The soldier outside keyed the outer door, which slid open. Leaf walked in and the door shut behind her. She was in a small, featureless white room.
‘Close your eyes and mouth and stay completely still,’ said a woman’s tinny, amplified voice.
Leaf obeyed. A second later, she gasped as a high-pressure shower came on, the water hitting her hard, like tiny needles pricking her everywhere, even through her doctor’s coat. This lasted for about ten seconds, then suddenly stopped.
‘Open your eyes,’ said the voice. ‘Remove all your clothing and place it in the receptacle to your left.’
Leaf slowly opened her eyes. There was a faint hiss of compressed air, and a panel slid open in the wall to her left, revealing what looked like a trash bin.
Leaf took off her clothes but left her underwear on.
‘All clothing must be removed, as it may be irradiated,’ said the woman’s voice. ‘New clothing will be issued. This is normal procedure.’
Leaf obeyed, and stood there shivering. The panel shut as soon as all her clothes were inside.
‘Close your eyes and mouth,’ said the voice. ‘Be aware there will be scrubbing, and it may be painful. Keep your mouth and eyes closed.’
The needle-jet shower came on again. It was even more painful without any clothes on. Thankfully the pressure eased off after twenty seconds, but there was no real respite, as Leaf felt herself suddenly buffeted by what felt like enormous hairbrushes, which mechanically ran up and down her whole body.
‘Extend your arms,’ said the voice.
Leaf bit her lip as the brushes ran over her arms. It wasn’t so much the pain, it was humiliating being washed and scrubbed, even if it was being done remotely. She felt like some sort of test animal.
‘Stand by for more shower,’ said the voice.
This third time the shower came on even more strongly than ever. Leaf crouched under the stinging water and fought back a sob.
I was a ship’s boy on the Flying Mantis, she told herself fiercely. I’ve been through storms at sea and battles with pirates. I can handle this. I’ve fought Denizens and murderous plants, I can handle this-
The shower stopped. There was a pinging noise like a microwave finishing, and a panel slid open on the right-hand wall.
‘Put on the clothing from the right-hand receptacle,’ said the voice.
The clothing in the right-hand receptacle was just a robe made of something like soft blue paper. Leaf put it on.
‘Walk through,’ said the voice. The inner door opened, revealing a larger room, but one that was as equally bare and white, except for a small folding table. There was a pair of scissors on the table, a portable diagnostic unit, and a medical case. A soldier stood behind the table. She was wearing a protective suit like the soldiers outside, but instead of a gas mask she wore a visored helmet like an astronaut’s, with an air tube that ran to a small backpack.
‘Hi,’ said the soldier. ‘My name’s Ellen. Leaf, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut off most of your hair. We’ll be doing some quick tests as well.’