Mass Extinction Event: The Complete Fourth Series (Days 54 to 61) Read Online Free PDF

seems hard to believe,” I tell him.
    “There's a gel pack on it at the moment, something to help new connections form. It's an advanced method developed for soldiers who...” He pauses for a moment. “You know, I'm not a doctor. You'll need to speak to Doctor Kennedy about your foot, I'm just... Well, I'm General Bill Patterson and I was the second-in-command here at Mitchfield until my superior was killed about two months ago. Now I'm in charge. Like a lot of people, I've received a very sudden rise in rank.”
    “Patterson?” I reply. “That name seems familiar.”
    “You're probably wondering how you ended up here.”
    “Your men shot me and kidnapped me?”
    “Well...” He pauses, before a faint smile crosses his face. “That is one way of looking at it.”
    “Why?”
    “Why what?”
    “Why did they shoot me?”
    “It was a very confusing -”
    “Where are Toad and Rachel?”
    “Who?”
    “Rachel's the baby who was in the farmhouse with me,” I continue, starting to let my frustration show. My mind is racing, and I feel as if I have a million questions. “What have you done with her?”
    “She's not your child, is she?”
    “Her mother's dead,” I tell him.
    “We've determined that she seems to be approximately one month old.”
    “That's about right.”
    “She's safe,” he continues. “She's here at the base, and she's getting all the attention she needs.”
    “I want to see her.”
    “I'll get someone to take you to her.”
    “What about Toad?” I can immediately see from the look in his eyes that he has no idea what I'm talking about. “He was with me until the day before your men showed up,” I continue. “He went out in the storm -”
    “Then he's dead,” Patterson replies.
    I shake my head.
    “That was a massive storm,” he continues. “There were huge mudslides in the valley, enough to catch out even the most experienced people. Some of my men had trouble.”
    “He's not dead.”
    “Well he certainly wasn't with you when we found you.”
    “That's because he hadn't come back yet!”
    “And how long had he been gone?”
    “A day,” I reply, before realizing that he might be right after all. Still, I can't accept it, not yet. “He's really good at living off the land,” I continue, stammering slightly. “He... He knows how to look after himself.”
    “Well...” He pauses for a moment, and I can tell that I haven't changed his mind at all. “There's always hope, isn't there?” he continues. “My men haven't encountered anyone else out there, but if they do, they'll bring him here. I should warn you, though, that the terrain in these parts has become extremely difficult. It's changing constantly as more bad weather hits, and in some areas it's completely impassable. The fact that your friend didn't return to you in the first place is -”
    “He's alive,” I say firmly.
    “But -”
    “He just is,” I continue, even though I know how desperate I must sound, almost like a complete idiot. “He's alive,” I add. “I know it.”
    “I'm sure you're -”
    “There's no sign of her,” a voice calls from outside the cabin. “Sir, should we send out the men with dogs?”
    Patterson stares at me for a moment, before turning as another soldier joins him in the doorway. “Actually,” he explains, “she's right here. I told you she wouldn't have got far on that leg.”
    “Yes, Sir,” the soldier replies, clearly surprised to see me. “I'll tell the other men to stand down. Should I inform her -”
    “No,” Patterson says firmly, interrupting him. “I'll deal with things from this point on. Tell everyone to get back to their duties. This little crisis is over.”
    He pauses as the soldier leaves, almost as if he doesn't want us to be overheard, and then he steps further into the room and shuts the door.
    “You must have a lot of questions,” he continues.
    “What happened?” I ask. “To the world, I mean.”
    “How much do you know already? From what I