David Moody - Autumn 4 - The human Condition

VIP免费
2024-12-18 0 0 499.97KB 190 页 5.9玖币
侵权投诉
AUTUMN:
THE HUMAN CONDITION
DAVID MOODY
INFECTED BOOKS
www.infectedbooks.co.uk
AUTUMN:
THE HUMAN CONDITION
Published by INFECTED BOOKS
www.infectedbooks.co.uk
This edition published 2005
Copyright David Moody 2005
All rights reserved
This book is a work of fiction. The characters and situations
in this story are imaginary. No resemblance is intended between
these characters and any real persons, either living or dead.
Condition of Sale
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by
way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise
circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or
binding or cover other than that in which it is published and
without a similar condition including this condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A catalogue record for the paperback edition
of this book is available from the British Library
Paperback ISBN 0-9550051-3-2
6-3-0505-2
INTRODUCTION
AUTUMN: THE HUMAN CONDITION is a companion book which brings to an end the
AUTUMN saga. As well as presenting a number of new stories which take place in the AUTUMN
world, the book also details the advent of the infection from the perspective of a number of individual
characters who appear in AUTUMN, AUTUMN: THE CITY and AUTUMN: PURIFICATION.
An appendix at the end of this book explains each character’s involvement in the story. Earlier versions
of some of these brief background stories were originally released as AUTUMN: ECHOES.
THE HUMAN CONDITION also expands on the events of PURIFICATION. It is recommended,
therefore, that the original series of novels be read before this book.
Thanks to all the readers of the AUTUMN story for their enthusiastic and continued support.
David Moody
April 2005
CONTENTS
BEFORE
JAKE HUMPHRIES
DAY ONE
AMY STEADMAN
JIM HARPER
SHERI NEWTON
SONYA FARLEY
HARRY STAYT
JACOB FLYNN
BRIGID CULTHORPE
PETER GUEST
JACKIE SOAMES
GARY KEELE
JULIET APPLEBY
KAREN CHASE
PHILIP EVANS
DAY THREE
AMY STEADMAN
PHILIP EVANS
JACOB FLYNN
INNOCENCE
DAY FIVE
AMY STEADMAN
DUCK AND COVER
PENELOPE STREET
DAY SEVEN
AMY STEADMAN
JACKSON
OFFICE POLITICS
THE HUMAN CONDITION
DAY NINE
THE GARDEN SHED
ROBERT WOOLGRAVE
KATE JAMES
DAY SEVENTEEN
AMY STEADMAN
THE HUMAN CONDITION
DAY TWENTY-THREE
AMY STEADMAN
KILGORE
SKIN
DAY THIRTY-EIGHT
ANNIE NELSON
DAY ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN
UNDERGROUND
DAY THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY-TWO
THE LAST FLIGHT
CHARACTER REFERENCES
BEFORE
JAKE HUMPHRIES
Eight months ago Jake Humphries and his family immigrated to Canada from the United
Kingdom. A regional manager for a global finance house, Jake agreed to move his family
overseas for a well paid two year posting. His wife Lucy and their two children settled quickly into
their new surroundings. The people who found it hardest to adjust were those they left behind.
Polly Humphries – Jake’s well-meaning but highly strung and over-sensitive mother – still finds
the distance between her and her son difficult to deal with. Mrs Humphries and her husband made
their first visit to Canada several weeks ago. The trip did nothing to reassure the old lady. If
anything it has made her more neurotic. Jake has grown to dread the weekly telephone calls from
the UK. His mother usually phones on Saturdays. It is now the early hours of Tuesday morning.
‘Jake? Jake, is that you?’
‘Mum? Bloody hell, Mum, do you know what time it is?’
‘Are you okay, son?’
‘Apart from being tired because it’s gone midnight and I’d only just managed to get to sleep I’m fine.
We’re all fine. Why shouldn’t we be?’
‘Haven’t you heard?’
‘Heard what? Christ, Mum, it’s the middle of the bloody night. I haven’t heard anything.’
‘There’s no need for the language, Jake, we were just worried about you, that’s all.’
‘Why?’
‘Are you far from Vancouver ?’
‘It’s on the other side of the country. It’s thousands of kilometres away, why?’
‘Because something’s happened there.’
‘What do you mean? What’s happened?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. Your dad and I saw it on the news and…’
‘Look, Mum, I’m really tired. You’re not making any sense at all…’
‘I’m sorry, love. It’s just that you’re all so far away from us here and we worry about you.’
‘I know, I know… Anyway, what time is it there?’
‘Just after seven.’
‘What are you doing up so early?’
‘Your dad couldn’t sleep. You know what he’s like, once he’s awake that’s it. And once he’s up and
about I can’t relax. He woke me up with his shuffling and his moaning so we both got up and came
downstairs. We were watching the news and…’
‘And what exactly is it that’s supposed to have happened in Vancouver ?’
‘They’re not sure. No-one’s saying very much. No-one seems to know very much yet.’
‘So you’ve woken me up to tell me that no-one knows very much about what’s happening in
Vancouver ? Come on, Mum, I’ve got an important meeting first thing tomorrow and I can’t afford
to…’
‘No. Listen, son, something’s happened there but they don’t…’
‘Well give me a clue then. Has there been an accident or a bomb or…?’
‘I don’t know. I heard something about a bomb but they’ve stopped talking about that now.’
‘So why have you phoned me in the middle of the night? This isn’t little old England , Mum. This place
is bloody huge. Just because something’s happening in the same country doesn’t mean it’s going to
affect…’
‘I’m phoning you because they’ve lost contact with the city, and all the places surrounding it.’
‘What? What do you mean, they’ve lost contact with it? Vancouver is a massive city for Christ’s
sake. There are thousands and thousands of people there. Millions. You can’t lose contact with millions
of people just like that…’
‘I know…’
‘You can’t lose contact with a whole bloody city, Mum.’
‘I know, but they have.’
‘What channel are you watching? Are you sure it’s genuine? Are you sure it’s not just a film or one of
those drama-documentaries about…’
‘Jake, your father and I may be getting on but we’re not stupid. I know what I’m watching. It’s the
news and it’s real. We’re sitting in front of the television right now. Your father’s next to me. I’m only
telling you what we’ve heard, and I’m only telling you because we’re concerned about you, Lucy and the
boys.’
‘So tell me again exactly what it is they’re saying.’
‘Your dad says put your TV on, son. You’re bound to have some news where you are. You’re much
closer than we are.’
‘Okay, give me a second.’
‘What can you see?’
‘Hold on, that’s strange.’
‘What’s strange?’
‘Can’t get a picture on some of the channels. Cable must be down. Sometimes this happens when…’
‘What about the radio? Try your computer. Try the Internet.’
‘Hang on, here’s something.’
‘What are they saying?’
‘Christ, it’s just like you said, they’ve lost contact with the area around… Hold on, you said
Vancouver, didn’t you Mum?’
‘Yes son, why?’
‘Because the station I’m watching here is talking about Winnipeg. That’s miles away. And Seattle,
and Portland. They’re talking about a massive part of the country. Bloody hell, what’s going on here…?’
‘Are they saying anything about what’s happened, Jake? Do they know why…?’
‘Christ, Mum, they’ve put a map up. It looks like it’s spreading out from the west. It looks like…’
‘Where are Lucy and the boys?’
‘Lucy’s here in bed with me, the boys are asleep…’
‘You should lock your doors. Don’t answer the door if anyone comes. Wait until we know
what’s…’
‘What’s the point of locking the door? Mum, this isn’t anything to do with…’
‘Jake…? Jake, are you still there? What’s the matter, son?’
‘Nothing. Thought I heard something, that’s all.’
‘What?’
‘Thought I could hear…’
‘Jake…? What’s happening, son?’
‘Sorry, Mum, I’m going to put the phone down. Look, I’ll call you back as soon as I…’
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Something’s happening on the other side of the river. There’s a fire. It looks like something’s gone
into the front of one of the buildings on the waterfront by the… Don’t know what’s going on. I can’t see
much from here… Hang on a second and I’ll try and… Shit, that’s all I need, the kids are awake now.
Bloody hell. Lucy, could you go and…? Lucy…? Honey, what’s wrong?’
‘What’s the matter, son?’
‘Lucy? Don’t struggle, honey, lie back and I’ll get you a…’
‘Jake? Jake… are you still there?’
Over five thousand miles away, Mrs Humphries listened helplessly to the muffled sounds of her
son, her daughter-in-law and her two grandsons choking to death.
Within hours both Mrs Humphries and her husband were dead too.
DAY ONE
AMY STEADMAN
Part i
Amy Steadman is a twenty-four year old graduate who is the manager of the lingerie department
in an exclusive women’s fashion boutique located in a busy out-of-town shopping mall. She lives
on her own in the town of Rowley in a small one bedroom flat above an antiques shop on a
narrow road just off the main high street.
It’s five-thirty in the morning. Amy’s alarm has gone off, and she’s just dragged herself out of
bed.
This morning Amy has to make her quarterly sales presentation to the company’s senior
management team. She dreads these presentations. She doesn’t have a problem with standing up
and talking to these self-important, vacuous, grey-suited people, she just doesn’t feel comfortable
with the way they stare back at her. They are smarmy, lecherous old men and she can feel them
undressing her with their eyes. She hates the way they don’t listen to anything she says, instead
they just watch her. She knows that they fantasise about her. She finds their unwanted interest
and their cheap, double-entendre laden conversation offensive and unnecessary but she puts up
with it. It’s all part of the job.
In Amy’s line of business appearance is absolutely everything. She walks the shop floor as a
representative of the store and the numerous expensive labels it stocks. She knows that she must
be perfectly coiffured and immaculately presented at all times. Customers directly associate her
with the products she sells. The better she looks, she often thinks, the more chance she has of
making a sale.
After a quick breakfast (she doesn’t feel like eating much this morning) and a lukewarm
shower (she needs to get a plumber in), Amy dries her hair and sits down in front of the mirror to
apply her make-up. An exercise in precision application, the make-up is crucially important to her.
Far more than just another part of her perfect appearance, it is a mask. She is painting on her
work personality and her customer-facing smile. In fifteen minutes she creates a character far
removed from the real Amy Steadman who sits in front of the television most nights, eating
chocolate and relaxing in old jeans and baggy jumpers. More importantly, perhaps, the face
becomes something she can hide behind. The senior managers who stare and leer at her see only
the fixed smile, the white teeth and the flawless complexion. They are unaware of the disinterest
and contempt she keeps hidden from them.
Less than an hour after getting out of bed, Amy is dressed, psyched-up and ready to go. She
leaves her flat and crawls through the early morning traffic, arriving at work in just under fifty
minutes.
It is almost eight o’clock, and the store is just opening its doors to the first customers of the
day.
‘These shoes are killing me,’ Lorraine moans.
‘Well what do you expect?’ I sigh. Lorraine (who’s had more nips, tucks, false tans and hairstyles
than the rest of us put together) is a total slave to fashion. ‘Bloody hell, girl, those heels would be enough
to cripple anyone. Christ, you’re virtually walking on tiptoe!’
‘You’re all right, you’ve got the height you lucky cow,’ she snaps back at me. ‘Short buggers like me
need all the help we can get.’ She stops talking and looks over my shoulder. ‘Oh, hang on, stand by your
posts everyone, here we go again. Here comes the slime…’
I turn round and see that our overpaid guests from Head Office are beginning to arrive. My heart
sinks.
‘Morning, Mr Jackson,’ I smile through gritted teeth as the area manager makes his entrance with his
entourage. What a vile and odious little shit this man is.
‘Morning, Andrea,’ he grins, getting my name wrong as he does every month. ‘Looking more
beautiful than ever!’
‘And you seem to be more of a fucking creep than ever,’ is what I want to say back to him but, of
course, I don’t. Instead I just smile politely, force out a little laugh and then relax when Maurice Green
appears at my side to take Jackson through to the back offices.
‘Excuse me, Miss,’ a quiet little voice says from behind me. I turn round and look down and see an
elderly man clutching a negligee, looking more than just a little bit uncomfortable. An odd choice of
nightwear unless he’s a transvestite or he’s married to a gold-digger. I watched a programme on
television a while back about women who marry decrepit and desperate men for their money. I can
understand why they do it. Most of the men I’ve been involved with over the last couple of years haven’t
had any redeeming qualities other than the size of their wallets.
‘What can I do for you, Sir?’ I ask, looking around for Lorraine who’s suddenly disappeared as she
always manages to do when customers need serving. This isn’t fair. I have to get to my meeting. I haven’t
got time to be dealing with customers today.
‘I bought this for my wife’s birthday last week and she doesn’t like it,’ he croaks.
Judging by the age of the customer in front of me, if his wife isn’t a gold-digger then she’s most
probably somewhere between sixty and eighty years old. Can’t imagine I’ll want to wear underwear like
this at that age.
‘I see,’ I say, taking the negligee from him and holding it up. There isn’t much of it. Definitely not to
be worn in the winter. ‘Didn’t she like it? Do you want a refund or…?’
He shakes his head.
‘No. Actually I was wondering whether you had it in any other colours,’ he says as his face turns
lobster pink with embarrassment. He’s taken me by surprise. ‘She doesn’t like black,’ he explains, ‘says
she’d rather have red.’
I can’t be late for the meeting so I’ll have to hand the old gent over to a colleague. Typically there’s
no-one about. I’m about to lead him over to the customer services desk when I stop. Something’s caught
my eye over by the main doors. I can see Gary Bright, the area finance director. He’s crouched down on
all fours and he looks like he’s choking or being sick. He’s dropped his briefcase and it’s open and there
are confidential papers blowing all over the shop. I run over to try and help him. I call for Jenny Clarke
who’s the duty first aid officer. Christ, someone else is down now. A woman just to the left of me has
collapsed against the customer service desk. Bloody hell, she looks like she’s suffocating. Her face is red
and her eyes are bulging. She’s holding onto her neck and… Shit, Shirley Peters from sportswear is lying
on the floor at the bottom of the escalator. She looks as if she’s just…
Oh my God. What’s that?
I can feel something at the back of my throat. It’s like I’ve got something trapped. I keep trying to
clear it but I can hardly swallow. Something’s tickling and scratching the back and sides of my throat and
I keep coughing to try and clear it away. I need to get some water. It’s still there. It won’t go. Stronger
now. Christ, it feels like someone’s got a hand round my neck. Need to get help. Jesus it hurts. It’s
stinging and burning. Bloody hell, I can’t swallow. I can’t breathe.
Slow down.
Oh God, I can taste blood in my mouth.
Don’t panic. Slow down. Try and breathe. Try and…
Starved of oxygen, Amy fell back into a rail of expensive designer dresses, pulling half of the
display down on top of her. She gagged and retched as blood seeped and dribbled down the inside
of her inflamed throat. Unable to focus, she was momentarily aware of frantic, terrified
movement all around her.
Quickly suffocating, she clawed at her neck and then began to thrash about as the remaining
oxygen in her blood stream was rapidly used up. Already numb and unresponsive, she felt no pain
when her flailing arms and legs smacked against the hard marble floor and the metal display units
around her.
Her mouth and chin now covered with blood, she tried to stand but couldn’t. The world
became dark and the screams around her became muffled and then silent. The terrifying,
claustrophobic panic which filled her mind disappeared.
Less than a minute after becoming infected, Amy Steadman was dead.
摘要：

        AUTUMN:THEHUMANCONDITION         DAVIDMOODY      INFECTEDBOOKSwww.infectedbooks.co.ukAUTUMN:THEHUMANCONDITION PublishedbyINFECTEDBOOKSwww.infectedbooks.co.uk Thiseditionpublished2005CopyrightDavidMoody2005 AllrightsreservedThisbookisaworkoffiction.Thecharactersandsituationsinthisstoryareimag...

展开>> 收起<<
David Moody - Autumn 4 - The human Condition.pdf

共190页,预览38页

还剩页未读， 继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

相关推荐

更多
立即下载
分类：外语学习 价格：5.9玖币 属性：190 页 大小：499.97KB 格式：PDF 时间：2024-12-18

开通VIP享超值会员特权

  • 多端同步记录
  • 高速下载文档
  • 免费文档工具
  • 分享文档赚钱
  • 每日登录抽奖
  • 优质衍生服务

作者详情

相关内容

更多

热门标签

人际关系 配电装置 动力学连接体 力的合成 高考理综 全宋诗作者索引 公务员考试
/ 190
评分 收藏
分享
立即下载 VIP免费下载
客服
关注