The Fog - James Herbert [87]
‘Not to worry. Better luck next time, eh?’
Sir Keith Macklen joined them and said bluntly, ‘You have to try again. It’s absolutely vital that you bring us back some of the bloody stuff.’
‘Yes,’ said Douglas-Glyne. ‘We sent two volunteers in a couple of hours ago out of desperation. They were well protected with suits and used an army scout vehicle to go in. We lost radio contact with them about an hour ago.’
‘So it’s up to you now,’ said Sir Keith.
‘Gentlemen,’ broke in Professor Ryker’s voice as he walked over at a leisurely pace, ‘there is nothing Mr Holman can do for the moment. We do not want to stop the spraying now that it seems to be taking effect and Mr Holman could hardly walk into such a heavy concentration of calcium chloride. Unfortunately, we have not dispersed the fog as much as I thought we would and it will be dark shortly which would make his task even more hazardous.’
‘But there are thousands of lives at stake,’ said Sir Keith gruffly.
‘Precisely. That is why Mr Holman is so valuable to us. We cannot take unnecessary risks with his life – particularly now we know there are definitely two lunatics wandering around out there.’
‘But we don’t know that—’
‘Yes we do!’ Ryker said angrily. ‘It was on your insistence, Sir Keith, that they went in. I advised against it, I told you what would happen. I will not allow Mr Holman to risk his life because of your misjudgement! He means too much to the whole operation.’
‘But we can’t just stand by and do nothing,’ Douglas-Glyne fumed.
‘We are not doing nothing. We will spray the fog all night, for as long as our supplies last. By early morning it should have depleted enough for us to see the actual mycoplasma – if it is still visible without its protective mist. In the meantime, Mr Holman, I suggest you try to sleep and we’ll call you when the time is right.’
Once again, Holman found Barrow shaking him into reluctant consciousness in the early hours of the following morning. He had watched the fog for hours the previous night as the fleet of cars and army vehicles had slowly trundled after it like a funeral procession searching for a graveyard, and had finally fallen into a heavy, dreamless sleep in the back of the car he was travelling in, woken only once when shouts of alarm had passed down the convoy. The bodies of the two scientists who had gone into the fog earlier had been found; the signs indicated that they had killed each other with the guns they had carried for protection against attacks from any individuals who had not escaped the fog. Sleep had recaptured him almost immediately, but it had been filled with grotesque figures which his eyes were somehow never able to focus on.
He was confused at Barrow’s statement and had to ask him to repeat it, rubbing his eyes in an effort to become fully awake.
‘I said the fog has gone,’ said Barrow slowly, emphasizing each word. ‘It’s disappeared.’
17
Corporal Wilcox cursed as he slid down the steep incline in the dark. The damp grass increased the speed of his descent and an unseen root caught his foot, spinning his body at an awkward angle. He heard the hoots of laughter from the two soldiers who had watched his uncontrolled progress from above as he came to an abrupt halt at the foot of the embankment.
‘I’ll bloody murder you two!’ he shouted up at them as he crawled forward to retrieve his fallen torch. He shone it towards the two grinning figures. ‘Now get down ’ere, the pair of you!’
‘Comin’, Corp,’ they replied in unison and with a shout, they jumped together, switching off their torches as they did so.
He heard their crashing, giggling descent, swinging his beam away from them so they would be in complete darkness. Let the mad fuckers break their necks, he grumbled to himself.
They arrived at his feet and he had to jump back hastily to avoid being knocked over by their kicking legs. They lay on their backs, breathing hard and grinning up at him.
‘Come on, get up,’ he ordered gruffly. ‘I don’t know what’s the matter with you two. You’re like a couple of gigglin’ fairies on a night out.