Read Online And All the Stars by Andrea K Höst - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Andrea K Höst
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this over with."
Madeleine picked up a bottle of water, on the theory that it
might make a distracting projectile, and followed Noi in. One of the smaller apartments, very neat and
tidy, with the windows wide open, sheer curtains rippling. No-one in sight. Two doors shut, one open. Competing scents: pine, and rot.
"Oh."
Noi lowered the bolt cutter, gazing into a room dominated by
a king-sized bed. A pale cream spread
had been drawn over the occupant. Two
steps and a twitch of the cloth and they had found an obvious candidate for
'him'.
"I almost wish she'd come at us yelling ' Brainnnsss !'. Then I
could justify running away."
Madeleine nodded, staring at a thick-set man in his sixties,
whose cheery strawberry-striped pyjama pants cut into a swelling stomach, the
skin unpleasantly mottled. Probably one
of those who had died the very first night.
"Could we even lift him?" she asked. "Where would we take him to ?"
"One of the other apartments?" Noi was frowning, but no longer held the bolt
cutters at ready as she worked through the problem. "I think it's doable. We'll need something to shift him with, but
I've got an idea for that. Come
on."
Calling out that they were going to get something to help,
Noi led the way down to the wharf's echoing central hall.
"You head back to the restaurant and grab a couple of
pairs of gloves. They should be in the
box in the storage room to the left in the kitchen. Meet back at the elevator."
That was easily accomplished, and Madeleine found Noi had
beaten her, and was lazily spinning a wheeled platform topped with a gilt metal
framework.
"Luggage thing from the hotel," she explained. "All we have to do is get him off the
bed."
The mystery woman hadn't shut them out. The dead man was still large and unwieldy.
"His arms and legs will trail off the sides,"
Madeleine pointed out, reluctant to touch the man even with gloves.
"How about this?"
Noi dragged the cover fully off the bed, then pulled out the
near corners of the blue bed sheet. Catching on, Madeleine lifted the section of cloth nearest her.
"Hold your side a little lower," Noi instructed,
then lifted hers, straining, and flopped the man onto his side in the very
centre of the sheet. "Now if we tie
the corners across, they'll be like handles."
It was still awkward, and moving him made the smell worse,
but they managed to haul the sheet-bag to the side of the bed, and line the
baggage cart up so the man could be pulled through the tubular metal frame to
lie more on than off. They exposed a
large stain on the mattress in the process, and Madeleine gagged at the stench
of it, and hastily followed Noi as she pushed the cart effortlessly out of the
apartment. After a moment's debate they
returned and hauled the mattress out as well
"He's gone now," Madeleine called back from the
doorway. "We...let us know if you
need anything else."
She pulled the door closed and caught up with Noi and the
cart, two doors down at one of the apartments they'd cleared already, to help
her slide the heavy bundle to the floor. After bringing the mattress, and a quick detour to the apartment
bathroom to abandon gloves and wash hands, they left the empty cart still in
the room and shut themselves outside, heading back to their trolley of
supplies.
"Time out for existential crisis," Noi said,
sitting down. The words were light, but
the girl grey, eyes squeezed shut, arms wrapped around her knees.
Madeleine sat down to wait, understanding that Noi was here
because her home was filled with the bodies of her family, her wry good humour
a façade of normality plastered over extreme grief. Madeleine's ongoing worry about her parents
was a minor thing by comparison, and had lessened after last night's rain,
though she wished she could get through to Tyler. Her phone was on its last legs, too, nearly
out of charge.
A distant shout: "Are you two okay?"
Across the central hall, standing on the matching walkway of
the parallel southern apartment building,
Madeleine picked up a bottle of water, on the theory that it
might make a distracting projectile, and followed Noi in. One of the smaller apartments, very neat and
tidy, with the windows wide open, sheer curtains rippling. No-one in sight. Two doors shut, one open. Competing scents: pine, and rot.
"Oh."
Noi lowered the bolt cutter, gazing into a room dominated by
a king-sized bed. A pale cream spread
had been drawn over the occupant. Two
steps and a twitch of the cloth and they had found an obvious candidate for
'him'.
"I almost wish she'd come at us yelling ' Brainnnsss !'. Then I
could justify running away."
Madeleine nodded, staring at a thick-set man in his sixties,
whose cheery strawberry-striped pyjama pants cut into a swelling stomach, the
skin unpleasantly mottled. Probably one
of those who had died the very first night.
"Could we even lift him?" she asked. "Where would we take him to ?"
"One of the other apartments?" Noi was frowning, but no longer held the bolt
cutters at ready as she worked through the problem. "I think it's doable. We'll need something to shift him with, but
I've got an idea for that. Come
on."
Calling out that they were going to get something to help,
Noi led the way down to the wharf's echoing central hall.
"You head back to the restaurant and grab a couple of
pairs of gloves. They should be in the
box in the storage room to the left in the kitchen. Meet back at the elevator."
That was easily accomplished, and Madeleine found Noi had
beaten her, and was lazily spinning a wheeled platform topped with a gilt metal
framework.
"Luggage thing from the hotel," she explained. "All we have to do is get him off the
bed."
The mystery woman hadn't shut them out. The dead man was still large and unwieldy.
"His arms and legs will trail off the sides,"
Madeleine pointed out, reluctant to touch the man even with gloves.
"How about this?"
Noi dragged the cover fully off the bed, then pulled out the
near corners of the blue bed sheet. Catching on, Madeleine lifted the section of cloth nearest her.
"Hold your side a little lower," Noi instructed,
then lifted hers, straining, and flopped the man onto his side in the very
centre of the sheet. "Now if we tie
the corners across, they'll be like handles."
It was still awkward, and moving him made the smell worse,
but they managed to haul the sheet-bag to the side of the bed, and line the
baggage cart up so the man could be pulled through the tubular metal frame to
lie more on than off. They exposed a
large stain on the mattress in the process, and Madeleine gagged at the stench
of it, and hastily followed Noi as she pushed the cart effortlessly out of the
apartment. After a moment's debate they
returned and hauled the mattress out as well
"He's gone now," Madeleine called back from the
doorway. "We...let us know if you
need anything else."
She pulled the door closed and caught up with Noi and the
cart, two doors down at one of the apartments they'd cleared already, to help
her slide the heavy bundle to the floor. After bringing the mattress, and a quick detour to the apartment
bathroom to abandon gloves and wash hands, they left the empty cart still in
the room and shut themselves outside, heading back to their trolley of
supplies.
"Time out for existential crisis," Noi said,
sitting down. The words were light, but
the girl grey, eyes squeezed shut, arms wrapped around her knees.
Madeleine sat down to wait, understanding that Noi was here
because her home was filled with the bodies of her family, her wry good humour
a façade of normality plastered over extreme grief. Madeleine's ongoing worry about her parents
was a minor thing by comparison, and had lessened after last night's rain,
though she wished she could get through to Tyler. Her phone was on its last legs, too, nearly
out of charge.
A distant shout: "Are you two okay?"
Across the central hall, standing on the matching walkway of
the parallel southern apartment building,
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