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Chapter 16
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Sleeper(s) Chapter 17
chapter seventeenThey were together at last.She didn’t know how it had happened, but she was delighted. Everything had changed after he’d kissed her for the first time back there. Then he’d told her he loved her and they were just sitting here on the beach, waiting for the dawn to break. It was the most romantic thing she’d ever experienced, like something out of a dream. That was it, this was her dream man. The one she’d longed for all her life.And as they held hands she knew it was going to last forever.* * *When Baker came to, it was still dark in the city.His legs were both smashed, but strangely he couldn’t feel a thing. He tried to pull the driver’s door open, but it was jammed. Hardly surprising after the crash; the last thing he remembered. He could see no sign of the case he had to deliver, and his radio was dead, so he grabbed his pistol and pulled himself along on his elbows, ou
Sleeper(s) Epilogue
epilogueSuzy woke with a jerk from the dream.Her mum was calling her anyway. ‘Get up, sleepyhead. I’ve been shouting you for quarter of an hour.’‘Whaa...?’ said Suzy, still groggy from the deep sleep. She rubbed her eyes.‘It’s Sunday, remember? Come and have breakfast, then you’ve really got to start getting ready. We want to be leaving by ten.’That’s right, she’d been looking forward to today the whole week! Sunday. Dad’s day off. He was an important person, her dad; mum too, come to think of it. She was the mayoress to his mayor. Suzanne didn’t understand exactly what that entailed, but she knew they ran the town. That they were trying to build it up, expand it, put it on the map.One day, her dad often told her, she’d be just as important—if not more so.Suzy thought about telling her mother about the dream, about how she’d been all grown up but asleep, and how there had been this strange disease that sent eve
Sleeper(s) Prologue
prologueSuzie had a recurring dream.In it she was a little girl, no more than about eight. Her parents had taken her to a country park somewhere, all trees, rolling hills and looking-glass lakes. They were having a picnic by one of those lakes, the chequered blanket spread out on the grass, and Suzie was basking in the warmth of the late August sun.Her mum and dad were smiling, laughing. It was a good time, a good dream. Suzie ate and ate until she thought she might burst: sandwiches, sausage rolls (her absolute favourite), crisps; and then ice cream, chocolates, fancy buns with icing on them her mother had made. There were birds singing, and Suzie looked up at the sky to see some of them flapping overhead—a V-like formation, like the Red Arrows had flown in at that air display her folks had taken her to.Closer to the ground, a butterfly flew past, the oranges and blacks so rich it looked like it had just been painted into
Sleeper(s) Chapter 1
chapter oneThe disorder presented itself as a mild form of fatigue at first.A Mr Norman Eley was badgered into going to his local GP by his wife, Corrine, who’d noticed his continual lack of energy over the past couple of days. She also insisted on coming along with him, to make sure the doctor got the whole picture. Corrine knew how Norman was for hiding things, especially from figures of authority.‘So, let me see if I’m understanding this correctly,’ said Dr Marsha Wray of the East Middletown Community Health Centre, sitting behind her desk and glancing up at the anxious couple in-between jotting things down on the pad in front of her. ‘You say your husband has been feeling particularly tired of late, more so than usual?’‘Definitely,’ stated Mrs Eley. ‘He’s been nodding off as soon as he gets home from work at night... well, from one of his jobs.’Dr Wray paused. ‘Did you say one of his jobs?’‘Er... yes,’ admitted Mrs Eley.
Sleeper(s) Chapter 2
chapter two‘It’s time. Come, quickly... I need you!’The words followed him, up out of unconsciousness as he was roused from his precious sleep. Precious, for him especially as an insomniac. The time he spent in a dream state—especially these days—was few and far between, and he resented anything that interrupted it.Andrew Strauss groaned as he lifted his sore head off the pillow. Had it really been worth all that booze last night to put him under? Yes, definitely, always, if it meant he spent a few hours asleep. The incessant ringing of the phone on the bedside table—not his mobile, because that was switched off—seemed to be accompanying the booms he was hearing between his ears. A symphony for the hung-over in A-Minor. He needed pills... but painkillers this time; not the sleeping ones he seemed to be increasingly immune to these days. Alcohol didn’t usually have much of an effect, so he must have really tied one on the previous evening. Mos
Sleeper(s) Chapter 3
chapter threeThe move was a risky one, but if he held his nerve he could pull it off.Sweat trickled down his brow, his breathing coming in short bursts, but he fought to control it; fought to give the impression he was cool, calm and collected. He needed to, or everything was lost. Private First Class Jackson Monks sucked on the cigar sticking out of the corner of his mouth, watching for any hint of weakness in his opponents. He glanced down at his nut-coloured hands, which were as steady as a rock. He couldn’t afford any slip ups with this operation. Not now, not when he was so close to victory.His main enemy was staring straight at him, as if demanding he make his move. Jackson attempted a smirk, but it came out more like a grimace. His foe was about to strike, anyone could see that; but would he be able to beat Jackson to the draw?The soldier sitting opposite tossed a handful of twenty pound notes into the centre of the table
Sleeper(s) Chapter 4
chapter fourThe “something” that was rustled up turned out to be an old army bus, which had already had the seats ripped out so that it could be used for cargo transportation purposes. All they needed to do was put in a couple of cots near the back, and a table along the side, bolting everything to the floor of the bus for when they were moving—not that they were intending to break any speed records.Strauss watched as a stream of men loaded everything they needed on board. ‘Wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,’ he said to his assistant, ‘but it’ll do till we can get something better here. All our resources...’ He flapped his hand. ‘I don’t know, remind me again why I’m doing this.’‘You know why,’ she said coolly.He turned to face her. They hadn’t really had much of a chance to talk since the hotel—for one thing they hadn’t been alone, for another it had taken his hangover a while to subside—but, until now, he’d been glad of the fa
Sleeper(s) Chapter 5
chapter fiveBy about three in the afternoon, they were ready to set off.Or as ready as they’d ever be. Andrew Strauss and Bridget sat on the bus which led the way through the cordon, their driver a young Scottish soldier named McBride, chosen for his experience with heavy-duty vehicles. Like them, he was wearing the Hazmat gear provided—dark green in colour, unlike some of the more vivid kinds Andrew and Bridget had grown used to in the past. The air canisters on their backs were good for a few hours and a plentiful supply of them were on board. Mikes would allow them to keep in touch with each other, and whoever was in close proximity.Strauss looked out, first through the grimy window on one side of the bus, then the other: at the armoured personnel carrier with the US soldiers inside on the left, and the two jeeps carrying the British soldiers on the right. It felt like they were going to war (thank God he’d got at least the Bri
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