The nurse in the biohazard suit tapped on the door, holding a tray of food, just as she had done the day before, and the day before that.

Already used to the routine, I moved to the back of the room and waited as she opened the door, slid the tray inside, and closed the door again. The moment I heard the handle click and the keys slide out of the lock, I grabbed the tray and carried it over to the window, tearing the bread apart and shoving it in my mouth hungrily.

With the M1 at the bottom of the ocean, taking much of the hospital supplies with it, food rationing had tightened, limiting meals to only once per day until another ship came with provisions.

I had been quarantined in the small but comfortable room on the M2 hospital carrier for near seventy-two hours.

Every twelve hours, a doctor would stand at the observation window and scrawl notes on his clipboard, watching for any signs of the virus.

I felt like an animal in a zoo, and I knew I was not infected – I still remembered what it felt like to have the virus coursing through my veins – but I understood why I needed to be there. After the outbreak on the M1, I didn’t blame the authorities for taking extra precautions to ensure nothing like that ever happened again.

But with my time under their watchful eyes almost at an end, I intended to tell them it would never have happened in the first place had they chosen not to keep zombies on the ship. Because of their great underestimation of what the infected were capable of, Joel and many others lost their lives – and an entire ship was taken down.

I had to make it clear that although the virus is minuscule in size, its consequences were not. Surely, the wasteland that was Australia was proof enough of that, and yet they still thought they knew better. Zombies were not something to be toyed with, and I hoped they had learned that lesson.

I finished my bread and moved on to the bowl of brown rice, turning to face the window and watch the Adelaide rescue unfold. The ship was too far out on the coastline to see much, but I could make out the crowd of survivors as they ran to the barges.

They looked like tiny ants swarming on a scrap of food, running in every direction to avoid danger. I couldn’t hear the gun fire, but I could see the blast flashes, erupting every few seconds to take down the infected as they hunted their prey. Even without the sound of their screams, I could see the commotion, sense the danger, and feel their terror.

I wished I could be there to help them, but a part of me also felt grateful to be stuck in that glass box with only the passing of time to set me free. With Adelaide being our last evacuation, after that day I would no longer be anywhere near that dangerous land. After that day, we could all begin the journey to our new home, to our new lives.

A clanging noise diverted my attention to the door, and I saw the nurse sliding a tray of food into Wyatt’s room across the hall. I stood up and went to the window, smiling and waving at him as he stood at his window.

“How are you?” he mouthed. We couldn’t hear each other, but we could see each other, and that was all we needed.
“Fine,” I mouthed back. “You?”
“Fine.” He picked up his tray and moved over to the bed to eat, and I went back to the window to do the same.

I wondered how Jo and Ben were coping, and hoped they were okay. We were separated into rooms immediately after exiting the rescue boat three days earlier, and I hadn’t heard or seen them since. I knew they were quarantined on that floor too, but I didn’t know where.

Seeing Wyatt in the room opposite, knowing he was there, going through exactly what I was going through, gave me comfort. I loved him more and more each day, and I felt immensely grateful that we had made it out of Australia alive. I had lost so much, I would be heartbroken if I had lost him too.

The jingling of keys at my door snapped me out of my thoughts. I glanced over expecting to see the nurse waiting to collect my tray, but I was surprised to see I had a visitor.

“Eric,” I said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. He wasn’t wearing a biohazard suit, and I wondered if that meant I had been cleared to leave.

“Eva,” he nodded before gesturing to an armchair in the corner of the room. “May I?”
“Go ahead,” I said.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he pulled the chair closer to the window where I was sitting and sat down.
“Uninfected, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Oh, I know you’re not infected,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “I mean, how are you feeling after everything you’ve been through?”

“Oh,” I said, not expecting him to care. After all, he had plenty more things to worry about than my mental or emotional wellbeing. “I’m alright. As good as anyone can be in this mess.”

He nodded as though he completely understood what I meant, which I knew he couldn’t, but I appreciated his attempt to empathize with me. “You and your friends have been cleared to leave. A boat is waiting downstairs to take you to your ship. But I would like to speak to you for a moment, if that’s okay.”

I shrugged. “Sure.”
“I wanted to thank you, Eva.”
“Thank me?” I asked. “For what?”

His eyes widened in surprise, as though it was obvious. “For your bravery, of course.” He leaned forward in his chair and looked me in the eyes to emphasize what he was about to say. “Eva, without your courage and determination in the threat of danger, Dr Desai’s research would have never made it into the hands of our researchers. Then for you to go back down to the secured floor on the M1 to retrieve it once again, even though you knew you might not make it out … Well, that shows tremendous valour. Without that research, all our efforts to deconstruct the virus and develop a treatment would have been lost. It would have set our researchers back weeks, maybe longer, and that is time we just do not have when it comes to preventing the virus from spreading to an international level. And it was not just the research you saved, but Dr Thomas, the lead scientist on the case. He told me about all you did to ensure his safety and help him get his and Dr Desai’s work off the M1 intact. I commend you for your service to the world.”

“Anyone would have done it,” I said.
“I’m not sure you understand the impact you have had, Eva. You have potentially saved the world. Twice.”

I sat on the windowsill, at a complete loss for words. He glanced out the window behind me, standing up to see the rescue operation. We stared out into the chaos for a few minutes, watching it together in silence.

“I recommended you for the Cross of Valour,” he said, his eyes still on the city. “I just received word that my recommendation has been approved, and the Queen herself will be awarding it to you once you have settled into your new life in London.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head, sure I had misheard him. “What did you say?”

“The Cross of Valour,” he repeated. “ It’s Australia’s highest bravery award for civilians. You will be the first woman to ever receive such an honor, and with the Australian government and all systems disbanded until further notice, you may very well be the last person to ever receive it.”

I stared up at him, my mouth hanging open in amazement. A part of me felt incredibly humbled to have been considered for such an honor, but I couldn’t help but think of all the people who deserved to be acknowledged much more than I did.

He shot me a knowing glance. “I have also requested that your friends Jo, Wyatt and Ben receive bravery awards for their service and courage. Dr Thomas too. Dr Priya Desai and Captain Joel Reeves will be receiving posthumous honors for their invaluable contributions.”

Before I could find the words to thank him, he turned and left the room, leaving the door open to signal my freedom to leave quarantine.

I turned back to take one last look at the evacuation, tears welling in my eyes. My first thought was that I hoped my parents would be proud of me.

“Eva,” Wyatt said, and I turned to see him standing in my doorway, his hand out waiting for me. I loved how he could convey so much love and care simply by saying my name. “You ready?”

I nodded, wiping a stray tear off my cheek before sliding off the windowsill and walking over to him, taking his hand.

As we walked down the ward to Ben and Jo, who were waiting for us at the stairs, I knew the terror was finally over for us.

______________________

FINAL CHAPTER COMING TOMORROW!

Thank you so much for reading! :D

I'll be posting an interview with Eva on Monday, answering all the questions you asked in the comments of Chapter Fifteen.

If you could ask me (Jen :)) one question, what would it be? If you have any questions to ask me (eg, about writing, about my new series, or anything at all), leave them in the comments below and I'll answer them in a new post on Tuesday :)