Quaranteam - Hebridean Hame Ch. 06

---VI---

Monday, 28th September 2020

Eilean Arthriagh, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

"What the actual fuck Callum?!" Mira all but shouted - the disbelief in her voice countered by the anger. "At least I can see why you didn't answer your bloody phone. You obviously had better people to do..."

Callum lay on his side, facing the wall and attempting to hide his exposed penis from the unexpected visitors. He desperately tried to pull up his trousers and tuck himself away. But while doing this, he also registered that Mira's comment sounded angry, sarcastic, and... hurt.

Catherine remained in the doorway, not saying a word, her eyes going between Sarah and Callum.

With his ears and face burning from embarrassment, Callum made himself presentable. He hauled himself to his knees, stripping his still-damp jacket off and using it in a belated attempt to preserve at least some of Sarah's modesty by draping it over her lower back. Though the gesture was far too late to conceal anything, it at least made him feel marginally better for having at least tried.

Catherine then cleared her throat. He might have expected to be asked who this person was or why they'd had sex in the hallway, but Catherine's thought process had gone a different route.

"Mr Scott, why is this woman covered in bruises?" Her clipped Edinburgh accent cut through the momentary silence, and the accusatory tone of her question was evident.

Mira's immediate response to hearing this was one of concern, her medical training and caring nature taking over. "She is? Let me see." She squeezed past the taller woman, entered the hallway, and moved straight towards the face-down, partially covered body lying on the hall floor.

"Miss, are you okay?" Catherine called to Sarah as she moved to let Mira past her.

Sarah gave no response but continued with her chorus of 'Imprinting'.

"She's unconscious, I think." Callum offered, "I don't know what's going on with her repeating that word, though."

"Who is she?" This time, the accusatory-sounding question came from Mira, who gave him a brief but scathing look as she knelt beside the unconscious woman. Callum recognised that she wasn't accusing him of the same thing Catherine was. There was jealousy and hurt behind her anger.

Catherine's eyes remained fixed on Callum, watching him closely.

"It's Sarah," he answered Mira without looking at her. Instead, he met Catherine's gaze and assumed Mira would remember their discussion from the other day. "She told me her husband was the one who hurt her. He's a fucking cop as well, from what I remember."

"Oh, fuck." Mira's quiet response came - the words covering a variety of emotions. Partially at who she knew Sarah was to him and partially at seeing Sarah's injuries up close.

"And who is 'Sarah'?" Catherine now looked between Callum and Mira, not having been present when Callum had spoken about his past.

Before Callum could respond, an unusually flat-sounding response came from Mira. "She's the woman he loves." The anger was still there, only now more heavily mixed with sadness. The words caused Callum to turn to face her.

"Mira... It's not... That's not..." Callum stammered as he tried to find a response, though even he was unsure what he was trying to say. Her answer wasn't wrong, but it wasn't correct either.

Mira shook her head but otherwise ignored him, leaning over Sarah to check her pulse and breathing.

Realising there was nothing he could say right now, Callum tore his attention away from Mira as she lifted a hand to rub her eyes, her attention still on Sarah. Turning to Catherine, he tried to give a more helpful answer. "Sarah is Rory and Agnes' daughter."

Behind him, Mira 'shushed', interrupting any further explanation.

She gently touched Sarah's upper arm and said calmly but clearly, "Hey Sarah, I'm Mira. I see you know Callum." Mira's emphasis on the word "know" made him flinch slightly. "Do you mind if I check your injuries? I've had some medical training."

Sarah said 'Imprinting' a few more times, although this was starting to grow quieter. Otherwise, she did not indicate that she had heard Mira.

Mira shifted her attention back to Callum with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look.

"As soon as she... errr..." His embarrassed flush, which had started to fade, appeared again as he tried to find words to describe his sexual encounter.

"We heard her." Both Mira and Catherine responded simultaneously.

"We were already rushing over. Mira was concerned that you might be in trouble when you failed to respond to her messages. She put Alison to shame with how quickly she drove here. When we heard the scream, I believe the Quad went on its two rear wheels." continued Catherine.

"Nearly broke our fucking necks, only to find you were too busy fucking to fucking answer," Mira muttered while continuing to examine Sarah "instead of being murdered by some random stranger."

Callum grimaced slightly at those words before continuing. "I'm sorry, I hadn't much chance to check my phone. I didn't even know if my message had been sent." he swallowed hard, not looking forward to the next part of his explanation. "After she... screamed... She just collapsed and started saying that word. I had to catch her, or else she'd just have dropped head first. She was acting erratically before, not her usual self. I mean, I've not seen her in a long time, but it was like she wasn't in control - like the need for sex was driving her. I'd go as far as to say she was acting unnaturally. I thought she might be on drugs." He paused, his eyes going to Sarah's lean-looking ribs and face. "I've never seen her so thin. That can be a sign of addiction, can't it?" Callum's voice was strained, and his concern for her was audible to both ladies.

Mira nodded but remained focused on Sarah.

"Might be. Could be." Mira answered under her breath. "Could be any number of things. Poor mental health, eating disorder. But it might also be that the bastard who was beating her told her she was fat. Or used food to control her."

Mira gently shook Sarah's undamaged left shoulder. With no response, she checked Sarah's pulse and breathing again and repeatedly asked her to wake up in the same professional tone, gradually raising her voice. As a final step, she nipped Sarah's earlobe lightly between her fingernails. Again, without any response.

"Sorry," She told the other two, "old habit. If she'd been faking for some reason, that would have caused her to react. If she were sleeping, it would have woken her."

After the basic checks on Sarah were done, Mira sighed and leaned back. She then removed her wet jacket and passed it to Callum to hang up. Then, she glanced between Callum and Catherine before addressing the still pale-looking woman, who was only now starting to close the external door behind her and unzip her coat.

"Catherine, I'm going to examine her properly. She's not conscious, so she can't give consent, but we don't know what's going on, and medical treatment is in her best interests, given these visible injuries. Plus, we don't know if she'll need emergency care."

Catherine curtly nodded, accepting Mira's rationale. Callum cast a confused glance between the pair. The experienced solicitor removed her jacket and hung it by the door, then folded her arms and sighed as she noticed his look of confusion, apparently disappointed that he wasn't keeping up. "There are laws around consent. Mira checked with me before proceeding in case of any future comeback, although I do not expect there to be any. I may not be a medical professional, but I am a legal one. If this were to go to court - for example, your friend decided to press charges against whoever did this - these are issues the defence might raise. And Mira is no longer registered, so it is sensible for her to be cautious." She explained to him.

Mira was already looking over and examining with her hands some of the bruises visible on Sarah's ribs and back, carefully moving Sarah's head also to check her neck, pressing and checking bones and joints carefully.

"She is covered in bruises. Some of them are fresh - within the last day or so. Others are at least a week old, some even older. Bruises tend to heal after about two weeks." She pointed to some of the purple, black and blue marks. "These would have been within the last two days." She moved her hand to indicate some green and yellow bruises. "These are about a week old. From what I remember, they turn brown when they are over a week old."

Mira's statement caused Catherine to glance at Callum. She locked eyes with him again, but this time, a tiny tilt of her head signalled an apology for the earlier implied accusation. Catherine's following words weren't directed at anyone in particular. "So she was hurt elsewhere. She left that place and then returned somewhere she thought would be safe. Did she think her parents would be here? Though that course of events still does not explain the urgent need to have intercourse in the vestibule."

Mira examined the more recent bruises on Sarah's right shoulder and elbow before finding two badly bruised fingers wrapped together with clear medical tape. "This looks like someone at least tried to bind these fingers. That's the only sign of any injury being treated I've seen so far."

Catherine nodded, "Those are likely defensive injuries. The hand would have been damaged while trying to protect herself from a blow. Look at the other injuries on the same side. They are the same age." Catherine's tone had changed slightly, becoming more professional, if anything. Callum had begun to notice that it was common for Catherine to revert to her professional persona when she wanted to maintain emotional distance.

"I have been involved in more than enough domestic violence cases to recognise those types of injuries." She answered both of their questioning glances.

Callum grimaced, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists as the rage bubbled inside him again. He made a turning gesture with his hand towards Sarah. "There're more bruises on her front and her face."

Mira glanced at him with concern before she turned again to Catherine. "I want to get some photos of these injuries now. If she disagrees when she wakes, I'll delete them."

In response, Catherine looked pensive and let out a single tut, indicating her disagreement: "Not without consent."

Mira shrugged. "Well, think of this. What if she needs hospital treatment, and it looks like we did this to her? At least with pictures, we could show how she arrived here. Plus, we both know that every hour that passes, these will fade." As she spoke, she continued to dig her phone out of her pocket. "And if it takes her a few days to decide she wants to pursue something, some will have gone completely."

Catherine and Mira stared at each other for a moment before Catherine uncrossed her arms, sighed and took a step forward. "Yes, okay. Let me take them then. If she wants legal help divorcing the animal who did this, I would be happy to represent her for free. From an evidentiary standpoint, it would be better for her legal representative to take the pictures." She took out her mobile phone, a modern iPhone that Callum had barely seen her use.

"Callum, go fetch a blanket or some big towels," Mira instructed as she continued to check bruises, working her way down Sarah's legs.

He moved to follow Mira's instructions while Catherine crouched beside her with her phone in hand. Quickly returning with a soft woollen blanket and a selection of bath towels, he found Mira preparing to turn Sarah over. In his absence, they'd taken pictures of Sarah's back, using his coat to cover her rear.

Looking up as he returned, Mira gestured to the space beside her as Catherine moved out of the way. Thanks. Come here and help; it's been a while since I've done this." He knelt and followed Mira's instructions, observing how she positioned Sarah's arms. He assisted by carefully pulling Sarah's hip towards him, keeping his jacket in place and covering her. At the same time, Mira did the same with Sarah's shoulder and protected Sarah's head.

As Sarah rolled onto her back, her large breasts were revealed, quivering as she was moved before settling into mounds on her chest, the tissue flattening slightly as it fell to the sides, but still standing proud.

"Well, at least I know what she's got that I haven't," Mira muttered beside him before she sucked air in through her teeth as she saw the extent of Sarah's bruises. "Oh, you poor woman." All Callum could do was momentarily close his eyes and grimace, both at Mira's words and the view of Sarah's injuries. Now was not the time to challenge any physical comparisons Mira was making.

Mira gently raised Sarah's chin and tilted her head, ensuring her airway remained clear. Then, her delicate fingers checked around Sarah's eye, determining that her orbital socket was undamaged. As she took her fingers away, she rubbed her thumb over her fingertips, looking carefully at whatever was there. She commented, "Looks like she's had makeup over some of these facial bruises." Mira checked Sarah's jawline before moving down to her neck and shoulders.

While checking Sarah's arm, Mira also found a small cotton ball held in place with medical tape—something she'd previously missed when checking the back of Sarah's arms.

"Did you say you thought she was on drugs?" She asked Callum as she checked Sarah's arms for any other injections or track marks.

"Yeah, she was behaving so oddly, I asked her. I thought Steven might have given her something. She said she hadn't taken anything or been given anything but mentioned a vaccine. To be fair, she wasn't quite with it for some of the conversation." He paused momentarily, unsure whether to continue but deciding that Mira needed to know everything.

"When she saw me, she was terrified, and she had the rifle. Then she hugged me and seemed relieved. She was very emotional but seemed otherwise fine. But after she'd hugged me for a bit and cried a lot, she started trying to kiss me. It was such a bizarre shift. I was trying to dissuade her, to get her to come inside to talk, but she jumped me when I tried to bring her out of the rain. She was... well... in a daze, I would say, I had to..."

Mira cut him off sharply, anger in her voice. "Oh, so you took advantage of her being out of it?" She looked at him, now with a disappointed and angry sneer. "Or did she just happen to fall and impale herself on you?"

He could see that he'd hurt Mira, partly causing this reaction. Mira knew he already had a history with Sarah. Some of what she said he interpreted as a deliberate attempt to hurt him, driven by her pain.

Crucially, he was very aware that he'd gone from refusing to sleep with any of the three ladies to sleeping with someone from outside their little community in a few days. And he knew his account of how that had come about was unbelievable.

"No," Callum replied gently, trying to calm his tone and avoid rising to Mira's angry barbs. "The only time she snapped out of it was when she was scared. If I showed any anger or shook her shoulder, even gently, she responded as if I would hurt her. She'd be focused and clear again, though it would fade quickly. While she was focused, she told me the vaccine meant she needed to have sex with me or... well... or she'd die. She also said she would wake up tomorrow."

Mira made a sound halfway between a laugh and a dismissive snort while behind them, Catherine tutted again.

"Oh, so you took advantage of someone who was mentally ill?" Mira seemed to be getting more angry rather than less.

Callum gave Mira a stern look and shook his head. "No, I don't think so. She believed what she was saying. She needed me to keep her safe. I got the impression she was deliberately looking for me. She said there was a vaccine, that there was some sort of time limit or it would hurt her, that she needed to have sex to make it stop and that she couldn't go to Steven. She said something about having a booklet about it." Callum looked around the hallway as he spoke, seeing no sign of anything that hadn't been there this morning.

"Oh really." Catherine's exasperated-sounding response came from behind him. Her disbelief was apparent.

Memories of others disbelieving him and the terrible price he'd had to pay because of that came to the fore. The same thing seemed to be happening here.

Again.

Callum's patience snapped as the pain and frustration of being disbelieved came to the fore.

"For fucks sake, Catherine, Yes. Really." Callum almost barked, causing both women to startle. Callum rarely raised his voice. "You don't think that if I had to make something up - if I had to lie to you - I wouldn't have come up with something slightly more fucking believable? I've known Sarah almost all her life. She looked me in the eye and told me she needed sex to stop what was happening to her. I trust her. I believed her, and whatever was happening to her seemed serious. So we had sex, and now she's unconscious and was just repeating that word over and over. Because while you might not know much about relationships with other human beings, that's not in the slightest bit fucking normal."

He stopped to take a breath, shocked by his outburst. He was back to feeling that bubble of panic at the back of his brain, spurred on by the feeling of being distrusted by people he thought trusted him. He took another breath, trying to calm himself before he continued.

"I wouldn't hurt her. I feel terrible about having had to scare her to get clear answers. I certainly wouldn't take advantage of her just for the sake of it." He turned to Mira. "You really think I would do that to someone?" His voice broke slightly at how hurt he felt.

Behind him, Catherine stood in silence. He didn't even want to turn and look at her. There would be apologies due at some point, but not now.

Mira finished checking the various injury sites and used the blanket and folded towels to cover Sarah's modesty so that more pictures could be taken. She remained silent, looking at him briefly but thoughtfully. By this point, Sarah had fallen completely quiet.

Mira's lack of response hurt him deeply. If she didn't believe him, no one would. The trickle of panic started to turn into a full-on flood. He could taste bile as a sudden feeling of nausea washed over him. His heart began to race, as did his breathing. He was rapidly beginning to feel like the situation was out of control.

Mira noticed his change in pallor and the tempo of his breathing increasing as he fidgeted and wiped his head with his sleeve. She placed a hand on his knee, looking to reassure him.

"Callum, I don't doubt that you believed you were doing the right thing, but you have to admit she could have been having a mental breakdown. I mean, look at her. The poor woman has gone through hell. And if it was some sort of breakdown, maybe she believed what she told you was true. So she was acting deliberately, in her own mind, and that was what you saw." Mira stood as she spoke, moving aside to allow Catherine to take more pictures.

Her touch had momentarily calmed him; however, her words did not. Callum clenched his fists, a lump forming in his throat, as he fought the urge to get up and run - to walk away from this whole mess.

"But..." Continued Mira. "She does have an injection site - I wouldn't expect a drug user to have cotton and medical tape on a needle mark. And that word she was saying despite her appearing to be totally out of it is just... weird. Plus, the makeup might suggest she's been somewhere public. So, she may have been given something that reacted oddly to her and had side effects. We've not heard of any vaccination programme, so maybe it's been a trial or a rushed version. Hell, maybe it was a fucking hamster tranquiliser someone was convinced would fight Covid. And you are right. I don't think that you would knowingly take advantage of her." Mira sighed and raised her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palms.

She sighed. "Could you please fetch me some warm water, soap, and a cloth, Cal? She'll need cleaning up while we figure out what to do."

****

As Callum returned to the hallway from the bathroom, where he'd taken a few moments to calm himself down and clean himself up, he could hear Mira and Catherine murmuring.

Turning the corner, the topic of conversation was easy enough for him to guess.

"...and when she returned, Cal worked in London, and she had a new guy. The guy who did all this, apparently." Explained Mira while she was examining Sarah's soaked and discarded clothing.

His arrival seemed to startle Catherine, who was gingerly holding the rifle as if it might bite her, hands well away from the trigger. The barrel pointed inadvertently down at Sarah.

Callum was no expert on the weapons. They had always been Rory's interest, kept locked away and safe, as required by the law. Callum had shot with them, firing at static targets. He had also hunted deer with Rory a few times, but despite this, he had maintained a respectful distance from firearms. He didn't enjoy hunting, and carrying a weapon had felt unnatural. He'd been at school himself back when the Dunblane massacre happened. The resulting fallout had done much to make firearm ownership unpopular.

Still, seeing Catherine holding the rifle, with obviously no experience or knowledge, caused him to hurriedly place the basin he was carrying down and reach over to take it from her gently.

Having secured the rifle, Callum went through the steps Rory had taught him, working the bolt, finding that the gun was loaded and ejecting the bullet from the chamber. He automatically pocketed the bullet.

He was aware that the two women were looking at him with wide eyes as they suddenly realised the weapon had been loaded. Deciding they'd had enough excitement, he took the rifle the short distance into the kitchen. There, he emptied the magazine and made sure the gun was safe. The loose rounds he'd extracted were added to the one in his pocket.

When he entered the hallway again, Mira was kneeling by Sarah, carefully washing the unconscious woman's face. Catherine watched him warily as he approached, her eyes following the rifle he held in one hand as he kept it pointed at the ceiling. He passed it to her, her eyes growing even wider.

"It's unloaded now. It's only useful as a club in this state. But it still shouldn't be pointed at anyone. The gun cabinet is in the lounge if you want to put it back. I've left some stuff outside I'd better get, and I think we'll all feel safer if that thing is put away."

Catherine nodded and moved towards the lounge, carrying the rifle slightly more confidently, while Callum went out into the damp night and returned with the shopping bags. As he re-entered the house and walked past Mira and Sarah in the hall, he saw that Mira was cleaning Sarah's neck and shoulders, paying particular attention to the bruise patterns around her throat. Seeing those injuries caused a brief flare-up of that same deep anger he'd previously felt. He forced himself to swallow it down, taking the two bags to the kitchen before returning to help.

****

They knelt beside Sarah. Their usual companionable sense of togetherness was gone, replaced by an awkward and raw silence.

Mira continued wiping her way down Sarah's body, gently and professionally cleaning her chest. Callum forced himself to look away, as the sight of Mira's petite, warm, honey-coloured hands manipulating and washing Sarah's pale white chest was uncomfortably erotic.

Instead, he found himself staring at the wall opposite, trying to think of something to say.

He sighed, turning slightly towards Mira as he did so. "Alison and Emma are going to be pissed." His comment was both a statement and a question.

Much to his surprise, Mira giggled slightly beside him. "They are going to fucking kill you."

"Yeah, I thought as much." He shook his head, the impossibility of the situation starting to hit him. "I might still have some time, though. We should isolate ourselves. We've all been in contact with Sarah and don't know whether she might be carrying Covid. Or whatever else is out there." As an afterthought, he added, "You'd better let Em and Alison know we're ok."

Finishing the top half of Sarah's body, Mira rinsed out the cloth before handing it to him. "You got her bottom half messy. You can clean yourself off her while I do that." The sarcasm was there again, as was the hurt. "I'll let them know everything's ok, but we'll have to tell them what's happened. Soon. And what do you mean, whatever else is out there?"

Callum started washing Sarah's body, copying how Mira had worked over her skin with the cloth. Meanwhile, Mira had her phone out, typing a message in the ladies' group chat.

"When I got to Fort William, the army and police were there - a roadblock outside town, the works. They instructed me where to go and kept track of my time in the town. When I talked about seeing someone die the day before, the copper and the army woman practically jumped back away from me. On my way out, the same cop told me it was 'best to keep my distance if I saw anything unusual' and indicated towards the town. When I got to Nicole's, she said there had been a super spreader event in Fort William, that the hospital was full and that they'd had to bring in help."

"Shit." Was the only response Mira offered.

"The woman I saw dying at the car crash site, I think that might be whatever else is out there. I'd guess it's a mutated Covid or something. A new strain, maybe." Callum had manoeuvred his hand under the blanket, which now protected Sarah's modesty, carefully cleaning up the mess that their earlier joint orgasms had left.

"That would fit with the instructions not to go near the shipwreck as well, wouldn't it?" Mira asked while she avoided looking at what he was doing, though likely avoiding watching for very different reasons than his.

"Aye. I think that's it. Either different illnesses are going around, or COVID is worse than they tell us it is. It might also explain the oddly high death rate figures at work and Nicole's boyfriend's comments about things being worse. And also explain why no one has returned for the dogs Nicole has taken in, as well as why there are so many of them."

Beside him, Mira had screwed her eyes shut, tipping her head forward until her chin hit her chest. She let out a long breath before continuing. "From what you said, she has a lot of dogs. That would mean a lot of people have been affected."

Callum nodded. "Yep. And as she said, not everyone has a dog. Only around 40% of the population. Assuming all the dogs in the area go to her, which I doubt, those numbers work out to be a lot of people. So... Yeah, it could be much worse than we'd thought."

In the brief silence that followed, Callum did some quick calculations in his head as he rinsed the cloth into the soapy water. There were too many unknowns, but he calculated more than one hundred deaths, even with base estimates. More if Nicole received a smaller percentage of the local population's pets than he'd guessed. And this area of the West Coast wasn't particularly heavily populated.

"They couldn't hide that though, could they? If Covid were more dangerous, they'd have told us?" Mira's eyes were back on his, full of concern - and doubt. "Someone would notice. People would post online, and it would be in the news?"

"You'd think so. I mean, I wouldn't trust the BBC as far as I could throw their studios. You saw the Independence campaign footage - thirty thousand people marched through Glasgow, and the BBC footage was of five counter-protestors. Fucking Pravda North. They can rename it however they like; it's still a government propaganda channel. But you'd think people online would be talking about it." Callum was now working his way down Sarah's legs.

Despite the heavy atmosphere caused by their recent conversation, Mira chuckled lightly. "You know, for someone who spent a lot of time working for the UK government, you're oddly pro-independence."

Callum gave her a half-shrug. "If you saw how much of a shitshow Westminster was, how much waste and grift there is baked into the system, you'd probably understand."

Silence returned as he finished washing Sarah's feet. She had no shoes on, and he couldn't remember seeing her with any when he arrived at the house.

Mira offered, "If we roll her on her side, I'll give her back a quick wipe while you hold her." He followed her instructions, and they were done in no time.

"What do we do with her now?" Callum asked. The question was somewhat rhetorical. "I'm not sure I could shift her gently enough to a bed, but leaving her on the floor here seems a bit mean."

"You should have thought about that before you fucked her in the 'vestibule'" There was less heat in the remark from Mira than there had been earlier, but not much less.

"I'm sorry." It was all Callum could think of saying, having the chance now that Catherine had gone. "This wasn't something I had planned or thought about in advance."

"Obviously not, or else you might have used protection."

Callum dipped his head in acceptance of that point. "Honestly, though, she told me she needed help and that this was how I had to help her. I know it doesn't make sense, but when she..." Callum knew this part wouldn't help. "When my best friend looked into my eyes and told me to trust her, I did. I didn't set out this morning thinking this was how my day would end. I had no intention of hurting anyone. And you're just about the last person I'd want to hurt."

Mira sighed and rolled her eyes, the sigh being a frustrated sound more than anything else. She turned, deliberately looking him in the eyes, while saying with a slight smirk, "You mean, all this time, I only had to look at you like this and tell you to fuck me?"

Callum's breath hitched in his throat slightly, his mouth working but not making noise until he managed to blurt out, "Old rules still apply, I'm afraid. But..."

He cleared his throat slightly before continuing quietly. "For the record, I'd think that the relationship you and me have is worth more than just a one-off fuck."

He left the sentence deliberately ambiguous, watching Mira's face cycle through various emotions as she tried to parse what he'd just told her. He continued with a slight grin before she could decide whether to be angry again. "At least this way, you get to be on Em and Alison's side when they come for me."

Mira looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes, noting the change in subject. Still, she nodded thoughtfully at his point. "They are going to kill you. You've just broken Alison's heart, I think. That alone will have Emma after your blood."

Callum nodded sadly. There wasn't much he could say.

The two of them remained kneeling on the floor, looking down at Sarah, both lost in thought.

Mira broke the silence again. "I'm pretty sure there will be a sheet here somewhere. Ideally, something smooth and silky."

The sudden change in direction of the conversation left Callum confused. "What?"

Mira backhanded his upper arm as she started to get herself up. "For Sarah, daftie. We can roll her onto it, then pull the sheet with her on it, sliding her along the floor. That should let us get her into a bedroom. Then we'll have to lift her, but that should be easier than carrying her."

****

A little later, Sarah was safely laid in a bed in one of the spare bedrooms.

Getting her into the room had been relatively easy. Getting her onto the bed had been a challenge, but one they had awkwardly achieved, given Sarah's total nakedness and dead weight.

"Did she have anything else with her?" Mira asked when the two of them regrouped in the kitchen, the sound of the washer-dryer running in the background as it worked on Sarah's wet clothes.

"Ah shite, the car." Callum quickly checked the time, finding he still had an hour before he'd have to set off to bring the shopping onto the island. "Phew! Yeah, she had a car. It was abandoned on the mainland side. She'd left the driver's door open in the rain. But there was a big bag of clothing in the back. I'll bring both cars over when I go to get mine. Actually, maybe not. There weren't any car keys in her clothes, were there?" Callum scanned the room, looking for anything out of place or new.

"No, nothing at all. Can't you leave her car there and bring her bag? You can get the car when she's awake? Assuming she wakes up." Mira made the last comment decidedly off-handly but immediately covered her mouth as she realised what she'd said. Callum looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "Sorry, Callum. Nurse's humour. I'm positive she'll be fine."

He drummed his fingers on the countertop. His eyebrow dropped, but his shoulders didn't, reflecting the stress he felt he was carrying. "Truth be told, I don't want her car anywhere it could be seen. Until I've had a chance to speak to her and find out the situation, at least. There's every chance half of Police fucking Scotland could show up looking for her."

Mira put her hand over his, stopping the nervous drumming. "At least if anything like that does happen, we have a Catherine."

"That's true. Her help is going to be invaluable, I think. Where is she, anyway? I thought she was only taking the gun back?"

Mira shrugged in response.

They left the kitchen and went down the corridor to the lounge, passing Sarah's and Callum's bedrooms as they went. In the lounge, they found Catherine perched on the sofa's edge. The rifle leant against the coffee table rather than being put away in the gun cabinet. The cabinet door stood open, and Rory's small selection of guns was on display.

In one hand, Catherine held a slightly damp-looking letter and envelope. In the other, open about halfway through, was an equally damp-looking booklet bearing NHS Scotland branding. Catherine looked as pale as she had when she'd entered the house earlier that evening, and the pamphlet was in front of her at eye level. Her eyes moved back and forth as she read, oblivious to having company.

The title, visible to Callum and Mira, read 'Gemivax vaccine information for healthcare practitioners'.

****

Just over an hour and a half later, Callum returned to the house, having left Catherine and Mira to scrutinise the NHS pamphlet while he brought the two cars to the island.

Thankfully, he'd earlier found Sarah's car key in the lounge, along with her shoes, a business card for a domestic abuse helpline, and a mobile phone that was off and had the SIM card removed.

Heading out to move the cars, he had some further luck as the rain had stopped. Moving both vehicles over the causeway and up to the house involved a fair amount of walking over the wet ground in the dark, so he was glad to be staying a little dryer.

That pleased feeling lasted until he sat in Sarah's car, remembering too late how sodden the driver's seat had been earlier. There was a squelch as he plopped down, intending to shift the chair forward so he could better reach the pedals. Cold water quickly soaked his jeans and boxers. He swore all the way back to the house.

This at least distracted him from the information Catherine had shared shortly before he left. She wanted Mira to look at the pamphlet to help determine whether it was genuine, so she focused on filling him in on the contents of the letter addressed to Sarah she had found. This letter dated back to when Buchanan's solicitor had been in touch with Callum, looking to find Sarah.

It seemed the letter had reached her, but it was unclear if she had acted upon it. Given that it stated he had been mentioned in the will, and he hadn't heard anything, Catherine suggested nothing had been done.

It was clear, however, that the letter would have told Sarah where he was. Why she hadn't tried to contact him until months later remained a puzzle.

Now soaked and freezing from sitting on the wet car seat, he'd hauled Sarah's bag out of her car and into the bedroom she was now using. Sarah was still asleep, not moving from where they had placed her, with a quilt over her to keep her warm.

Leaving her bag in the corner of the room, he quickly checked her temperature by placing his hand on her forehead. Even with his hand being cold from his time outside, she didn't budge or respond. Confident that she was deeply asleep, he thought about unpacking the bag for her but ultimately decided she could choose where to sleep when she woke up, depending on whether she intended to stay. He then headed to his bedroom to change out of his wet clothes.

****

Dry again, Callum checked on the food in his car. Knowing most of it could stay in the vehicle until they loaded the buggy and trailer in the morning, he'd specifically checked the frozen food and found it was still okay. Since the lockdown, the supermarket had been providing insulated packaging to keep frozen food from defrosting for at least 48 hours for those travelling long distances to collect groceries. The bulkiness of this packaging caused some of Callum's earlier issues, specifically when trying to fit all the shopping in the car.

He wasn't worried about the stuff that needed to be put in the fridge. The outside temperature was low enough for those items to be safe in the car overnight.

Realising how hungry he was as he re-entered the house, Callum went straight to the kitchen. He dug through the two bags of 'treats' he'd brought into the house earlier, gathering a selection of unhealthy snacks. Scooping them into his arms, he carried them to the ladies, still where he had left them in the lounge, both studying the pamphlet.

As he entered, he saw Mira and Catherine sitting beside each other on one of the sofas, their backs to him. Catherine's arm was around the younger woman as Mira cried. The pamphlet had been set on the coffee table while Catherine awkwardly patted Mira in what could only be described as a poor attempt at comforting her.

Callum immediately moved to drop the snacks he was carrying on the coffee table before kneeling in front of Mira and reaching for her hand. He noticed Catherine had mouthed 'thank god' as he arrived.

"What's wrong?" He asked Mira gently, with a glance at Catherine. Neither of them answered.

Instead, Catherine gently but awkwardly moved Mira away from herself, using the flats of her palms on the crying woman's shoulders to sit Mira more upright. Catherine then continued with the awkward patting on one shoulder. "Mira, I will go make us a nice cup of tea. Mr Scott will sit with you. I will just have a quick chat with him before I go. Okay?"

Through her tears, Mira nodded and let herself lean against the opposite arm of the sofa, allowing Catherine to get up more easily. Callum took the hint, frowning concernedly as he rose and walked into the corridor.

As soon as Catherine exited the lounge and pulled the door behind her half closed, he asked her softly, "What's going on?"

Catherine sighed deeply. "It seems I owe you another apology, Mr Scott. What you recounted about your conversation with Sarah matches the medical information in that document. As incredible as the information appears, Mira believes it to be an official pamphlet, and I concur. Sarah's actions and behaviours were known side effects of her vaccine. Bizarre side effects that appear to affect every woman who receives it. Recipients need to... have sexual intercourse..." Even in the poor light of the hall, Callum could see Catherine blush. "... to activate the protective qualities of the medication. During intercourse, this protection passes sexually to the male as if it were an STD. But the woman must initiate this sharing within eight to twelve hours of receiving the vaccine, or else adverse symptoms develop. If the... process... is excessively prolonged, it may even prove fatal to the vaccine recipient. However, that is not the main issue. Have you heard of DuoHalo?"

Callum, his mouth open in shock, shook his head.

"No, neither had we. It's a disease - a deadly one." She stopped for a moment, lost in thought, before continuing. "The pamphlet suggests that ten percent of infected males who receive timely medical treatment will survive. Seventy per cent of women who receive medical treatment will survive. It does not give the survival rate without any medical intervention, but I would suggest those numbers would likely be lower. This vaccine has been developed to counter this disease and protect against COVID-19. The government has been using Covid as a smokescreen to cover something far more deadly. Likely to prevent public panic."

Callum blinked a few times, trying to absorb the world-altering news he had just received. His mind immediately went to the unusual death rate Graham had recorded. Then there was the refrigerated storage at the hospital in Fort William and the 'building work,' which, in retrospect, might be mass graves. Death rates like that would explain the town's isolation by the authorities. The numbers would also fit with Nicole's busyness. However, given the survival numbers Catherine quoted, someone should have returned for their pet. It was possible survivors were being kept isolated.

But Catherine wasn't finished.

"However," Catherine glanced back through the lounge door, only the back of Mira's head visible over the sofa. "The description of DuoHalo also states that one hundred per cent of those aged eleven to seventeen will die if infected, regardless of treatment."

Catherine turned back to him, avoiding eye contact as she continued. "Mira's family may have cut her off, but she did have some online contact with a few of her nieces and nephews via social media up until earlier this year. They were apparently much more modern in their thinking than their parents."

Callum's heart sank yet again. He felt as if he was speeding at a wall too fast to avoid it. Knowing what the answer was likely to be, he asked the question anyway.

"What age were they? Her nieces and nephews?"

Thus far, Catherine's delivery of the pamphlet's contents had been professional and unemotional, while Catherine's eyes were focused on something down the corridor behind him. It was as if she provided a dispassionate statement of facts during a trial. But she briefly made eye contact with him in response to his question. Then her gaze flicked away again as she continued - though this time with a hitch in her voice. "Mira thought the children's contact with her had been discovered by their parents, and they had been made to block her. However, on checking tonight, she found that she still has access to their social media profiles. And none of them have made any new posts in months. There were some references to family members being sick in posts from June, then nothing."

"Catherine...?" Callum gently challenged, noting how she had avoided answering his question.

"Mira did not want to accept it at first. But... the more she looked, the less hope she had. Then she started to cry."

"They were all...?"

Catherine drew herself up slightly. At the same time, her shoulders dropped. Her gaze went to the floor.

She nodded.

****

Given the late hour and Mira's emotional state, Catherine and Callum decided it would be best for her and Mira to sleep at the house rather than return to the Lodge and Boathouse.

Callum sat with Mira for another few hours, which took them into the early morning. He ensured he was present, even while they sat silently, his arm around her shoulders. From his experiences of loss, Callum had learned that he should be attentive to what she needed and felt, let her cry when she wanted to, listen when he needed to, and ask meaningful questions. He avoided platitudes, as he had grown to detest them when others had spoken them to him.

They'd spoken about her memories of the children, and he'd listened. She'd tried to show him pictures - she had many on her phone of the kids growing up, playing with her, with each other, dressed up or in nightclothes - holidays and parties, days out and evenings in. Each photo would elicit more tears, the pain evident in Mira's every word.

After a while, as she was curled against him, his stomach growled loudly, the noise causing her to pull away and look at him questioningly, wiping tears from her cheeks. He'd started to tell her not to worry when his stomach growled again, this time causing her to chuckle slightly - despite the situation. Immediately, Mira's tears were gone as she switched into nurse mode, forcing him to eat something. He'd hastily wolfed down some of the food he'd brought from the kitchen without being told twice before returning to his place beside her.

During those tear-filled hours, Callum learned that she'd had three nephews, aged seventeen, fifteen, and fourteen, and two nieces, aged thirteen and twelve. They were the children of her two older brothers. She had been heavily involved in their lives. Mira and her younger sister had vied for the position of favourite auntie. Until her marriage ended, at least. She hadn't seen them since she left her husband.

Mira had no information on any other members of her family, which was especially concerning if the children in those households had been infected. The fact they had cut her off notwithstanding, it still hurt her to know that those members of her family might be dead. The mortality rate figures given in the pamphlet and the ease of transmission of DuoHalo gave them no reason to be hopeful.

With the crackle of the log burner the only other noise, their soft conversation eventually moved on to others they had not heard from. Communication gaps that had seemed out of place but that had been attributed to people cutting time spent online or using social media less. Gradually, even this discussion stopped.

Eventually, Mira fell asleep on the sofa, exhausted by her grief.

On the other side of the room, Catherine had nodded off in one of the armchairs while re-reading the pamphlet for the fourth or fifth time. She woke with a jerk at the sound of her own slight snore before graciously covering a yawn and pretending she hadn't made any noise. Putting the pamphlet aside, she lifted herself from the deep-set armchair and stretched upwards. Callum watched, noting that she was in far better shape than when she arrived on the island; her time walking and working outside, along with Emma's cooking, had given her body more shape and tone.

When she first arrived, she had been thin - willowy would be a fitting description. Always neat, with a certain tomboyish sense of style, she'd looked more like a thin woman who was that way because she worked hard and ate little.

She'd maintained her individual fashion style while making a home here.

Today, she wore a white shirt with cuffs folded back and left loose, while her collar was unbuttoned and left unfolded and high. Her outfit was completed with a wine-coloured waistcoat, a gold pocket watch chain visible in almost Victorian style, and her signature black pinstripe trousers. When she arrived at the house earlier that night, she'd also been wearing wine-coloured, knee-length boots and a green tweed jacket that any gamekeeper would be proud to own. In this light, Callum would have been hard-pressed to guess she was any older than he was. Her dark hair, initially just to her shoulders, had grown longer over the months and was now streaked with a sprinkling of grey.

She looked, in many ways, like a city girl turned gamekeeper.

Now, with her arms lifted above her head as she stretched and rolled her neck, her eyes closed, she unintentionally gave him a pleasant profile view of her chest and rear. However, her physical appearance had never been an issue for Callum. Her odd habits and strange way of talking to him had always been the most significant barrier.

Suddenly realising what she was doing and who was watching, she quickly returned to her usual upright pose, bringing her arms down and coughing gently into a fist to hide her embarrassment.

She stood there momentarily, looking at the fire as it flickered through the glass of the log burner.

"I am sorry about earlier, Mr Scott." She eventually offered, still watching the fire.

"You were right; the situation was highly unusual. And I have never heard you say anything that might suggest you are untrustworthy - quite the opposite, in fact." She glanced over at him with a nervous and apologetic smile.

Callum responded quietly, glancing at Mira to ensure he wasn't disturbing her. "The whole thing is crazy. Who would have believed me? And I'm sorry for snapping at you, Ms Boyle-Menzies, and for my comments about you not understanding normal behaviour. That was uncalled for. I was just... remembering another time when no one believed me and retaliated for how hurt I was again."

She nodded slightly. "Well, you were right. I have had very few close relationships in my time. No real friends outside work colleagues. I always had something better to do than spend time with others." She glanced at Mira, then back to him. "Until recently, at least. Mira, Emma and Alison have become very dear to me. I think I finally realised what I was missing."

She sighed. "But I can empathise with your situation. Those you trust letting you down can be painful. Though, to be fair, it did look like you had done something truly heinous when we... found you post-coitus. Doubly shocking as it was you." She raised a hand as he frowned. "Please, that was not intended to offend. I merely mean we both hold you in high esteem and finding you like that in the hallway with a naked and badly beaten post-coitus woman was... unexpected. First impressions are the easiest to respond to. Please remember we are both women who carry our past issues with us. Mira has come to expect that the men in her life will disappoint her. I had my career stymied by the political machinations of a trusted family member. Not the same, I know, but it does breed a certain expectation that those close to you will stab you in the back."

Callum thought momentarily, suddenly aware of how little he knew about Catherine and her past. "Et Tu, Brute?" He murmured.

"Experience is the teacher of all things," Catherine chuckled in response. "Unfortunately, experience is also what we do not receive until after we most need it."

She yawned again, covering her mouth less graciously this time. "I really must retire. I will take the spare room upstairs rather than the master bedroom. Good night... Callum."

Callum raised an eyebrow at her use of his first name for the very first time. "Goodnight, Catherine."

In response, she gave a brief smile and a nod before leaving.

Feeling exhaustion catching up on him, Callum settled Mira on the sofa and went to bed himself. He gently got up while holding her in place, then laid her down, removing her boots. He lifted her feet onto the sofa before fetching her a blanket and pillow.

Before leaving the room, he added more wood to the log burner, which gave the room a warm glow and gentle heat as the new logs caught. On a whim, he softly kissed Mira's hair before taking himself to bed.

****

Callum had no idea of the time but came to semi-consciousness when he was suddenly cold. The duvet had been moved away from him, letting the cool air reach his skin.

A dark figure, barely visible in the pitch-black room, shuffled into the bed next to him and pulled the duvet back over them both.

A delicate hand, cooler than his skin, laid itself flat on his bare chest, a head resting against his shoulder.

He could smell Mira's shampoo as she cuddled beside him.

"You ok?" He whispered.

"Tired, cold, sad," came the quiet reply. Can I sleep here for a while? You're nice and warm, and... I need a cuddle." Her voice broke slightly at the last word.

Callum wordlessly shuffled himself on the bed, making more room for her. With her help, he placed an arm under her head and neck, allowing her to settle her head comfortably against his shoulder. He wrapped that arm around her, holding her against him. He could feel that she was still fully clothed but also that she was, as she had said, cold.

She sniffed quietly, and a tear or two dropped onto his skin. He laid his other hand over hers, feeling it warm slowly.

They lay like that for a while, Mira's breathing becoming slower and deeper as she drifted off. Callum found himself dozing on and off, aware of Mira's warmth and presence against and beside him.

He woke again in the pre-dawn twilight. Birds were starting to call outside. They had shifted positions at some point, with both on their sides and Mira's back now against his chest. The length of her body was pressed back against his as he took the role of the big spoon. Callum's arm remained under her head, holding her lower arm across her chest. His other arm rested on her hip.

He listened to her breathing, concluding she was still asleep. With her hair right under his nose, he couldn't help but breathe in her scent again, different from Alison's clean, fresh smell. Her much smaller stature meant she was curled up and protected by his body.

Despite himself, he felt the first stirrings of a physical reaction to her closeness as the smell and warmth of her body against his permeated his senses in the pitch-black room. Internally cursing himself, he shuffled his hips back from where they pressed against her rear - only for her to move back to maintain the contact as quickly as he tried to move away.

He was left instead to resort to other techniques, distracting himself by trying to work out how best to pack the buggy to get the supplies to the Lodge.

And how he'd break the news of tonight's events to Emma and Alison.

As his thoughts strayed, he drifted off again.

When he finally woke again, he felt more rested than he had in weeks. A warm presence remained in the bed beside but separated from him. Cracking one eye open, he saw that the sun was up, the room now lit by the sunlight emerging from around the curtains. He was particularly relieved that he hadn't woken to find his morning wood stabbing against Mira, a fear he had harboured most of the night.

As he raised his head to squint around the room, he saw a strange shape and then felt movement on the mattress beside him. As such, he wasn't surprised when a cold, wet nose made itself known as Karl stood next to him. The dog filled the space where Mira had been the night before, his tail thumping against the duvet.

"Hey Karl," Callum greeted him. In response, the cold nose came close again, threatening a lick. Pushing Karl's muzzle aside playfully, Callum sat up slightly. Piper and Skye were lying on the floor beside his bed, both getting up and stretching, their tails also wagging excitedly. Their heads appeared at the edge of the mattress in due course, wiggling in joy at seeing him.

He could hear someone working in the kitchen, pots and pans clattering aggressively and muffled conversation.

Callum dropped his head back onto the pillow as he realised why the dogs were there.

"Ah, shite." It was all he could manage.

****