Salby (Book 2): Salby Evolution by Ian D. Moore Page A

doors. Clearly, Barbie liked the car and locked it as if she would be coming back for it sometime soon.
    Shut up! Shut up! Goddammit—I prefer the rock band!
    Content that her car was safely locked up, Barbie again threw her arm around my waist with mine flopped over her shoulders. She did her best to carry the bag, my weight, and herself towards the gangplank of the vessel. Twice we came close to biting tarmac, yet she held fast, determined not to let me buckle. The rust-coloured hulk of the ship was enormous, and I’d never been in such close proximity to one. At another more lucid time, it would have seen me awestruck, but now my only desire was sleep, and with it, respite from the wretched voices.
    Each step towards the deck took ever more effort, until finally I could go no farther. We collapsed in a tangle of arms, legs, and backpack just short of the top. Blackness enveloped my body and mind. My senses shut down as if someone had pulled my plug.

9 – The sum of all Fears
     
    Three months later, Tenerife, Spain, 28 th June 2014, 0600 hours
    “Honey, honey wake up. You’re dreaming, it’s okay, I’m here, right here,” Nathan whispered, calmly.
    He shook Evelyn gently to rouse her from the grip of her terrors. As she came back to the surface, he pulled her close to his chest. He could feel her tremble against his body, shrouded in a fine coat of perspiration.
    “Jesus, love. And I thought I had nightmares,” he added, without thinking.
    For what seemed like an eternity, Evelyn sobbed against him; her arms gripped around his waist as if her life depended upon it. The very thought that something could get to her that he couldn’t protect her against broke his heart as she cried.
    “Hey, hey—it’s okay. We’re here now, Tenerife, on holiday, remember?”
    “It was—they came—what if?” Evie attempted.
    “Shh… take a minute to calm down. It’s okay, I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you, Evie. You know that. It’s not real, just a bad dream. I’m here,” he assured, as he stroked the damp hair from her face.
    Nathan knew only too well what her visions had been of. He understood the fear, uncertainty and vividness of the images in his own mind. They flashed in and out, with no pattern other than that of ever more realism.
    Evie stopped shaking enough to lift her head and meet his concerned gaze. She stared into the deep, dark blue-grey of his eyes, immersed in his protection from the demons as a faint sigh escaped her.
    “I saw legions, Nate. Entire legions of infected destroying anything and everything in their paths—children too, so young, so innocent. I need to speak to Charles, get an update on the whereabouts of that boat, and sink it where it is. We can’t risk it making it to port. If there are infected aboard, they will be taken by the sea. Sink the boat, yes, that would work, we can do that, can’t we?” Evie babbled.
    “Woah there, Evie! We can’t just call the Royal Navy and tell them to sink a Russian registered vessel. Do you want to start a war? I mean, what are you going to say to Charles, let alone the Defence minister? No, it was just a very realistic dream, that’s all. Let’s calm down, get some coffee, and see how the land lies. No rash decisions that we could regret later, okay?”
    “But …”
    “There’s no ‘but’, honey. We can’t just blow a civilian boat out of the water—at least, not without solid evidence to support a theory, and that’s all you have, a theory of imminent danger. They’ll never go for it, love. Look, speak to Charles first, get the latest, and we’ll evaluate from there, okay? Right now, I need coffee. You want one?” Nathan offered.
    Evie nodded, but Nathan could tell she wasn’t going to let this go. Even before he had returned with the caffeine-laced drinks, Evie was in full flow on the phone, presumably to Charles back in the UK. After almost half an hour, Evie severed the connection and flopped into a lounge chair to