Tunnels 04, Closer

then?"
    "Um... not quite," Drake replied, as he took the book from the bag and passed it to Will, who grabbed it and studied the cover.
    " The Highfield Mole ," Will read. " The Highfield Mole ?" he repeated several times. He flipped the book over to look at what was written on the back.
    "You see -- it's a children's book," Drake told him. "They turned your father's journal into an adventure story, for younger readers."
    Even though they were still by the lake, Chester and Elliott heard Will's scream from the top of the slope.
    "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Epilogue

    Parry's voice echoed through the house as he summoned everyone. It sounded urgent.
    "What's all the panic?" Will said, as Chester met him in the corridor outside their bedrooms.
    "Don't know," Chester shrugged, as he spotted that his friend had his new book with him. "You're actually reading it -- can I borrow it after you? Is it any good?" he asked.
    Will pulled a face in response. "It's like some weird dream. You're welcome to it when I've finished," he said.
    As the boys reached the top of the main stairs, Elliott flew out of her bedroom. She was wearing a bathrobe and a towel was wound around her head -- after a life of only the most basic of facilities, she'd decided the bathroom was her favorite place. Much like any teenage girl, she would spend hours locked away in there, relaxing in the tub, or doing her hair in the mirror.
    Now, as they trooped into the drawing room, they saw that Drake and Parry were standing in front of the television, transfixed by what they were watching. Chester peered into the hallway to see if his father was coming, but there was no sign of him. At this point Mrs. Burrows tore in.
    "Why all the commotion?" she asked, as she stopped beside Will.
    "My father just had a tip-off from a contact in the security services. Something's going down in London," Drake replied, turning up the volume with the remote. "Something big."
    "...among these initiatives was the order for the immediate closure of the three infection response departments, and the transfer of their key staff to a single 'super unit' at UniversityCollegeHospital," the new presenter was saying. "This order came straight from the top, from the Prime Minister himself, according to sources close to Number Ten."
    The Prime Minister was then shown at a packed press conference. "We're all aware, in these times of severe economic hardship, of the pressing need to trim public spending," he said. "As a result of our in-depth review of the health budget, we have identified a number of areas in our hospitals that will benefit from centralization and rationalization. These will produce substantial savings for the country, with no reduction in the very high standards of patient care and treatment we have set for ourselves."
    The news presenter's voice resumed over a clip of the Prime Minister, his face tired and drawn, as he slid into his chauffeur-driven car. "Today's announcement that such important facilities have been earmarked for closure came as a complete surprise, even to many junior level health ministers. A formal protest was lodged this morning by the British Medical Association at the lack of consultation on the Government's decision to shut, in particular, the infection response units..." There followed scenes of men carrying sealed containers from a hospital building and loading them into a lorry. "...and the speed at which the closures are already taking place."
    "I don't believe it. That's St. Edmund's," Drake realized. Then a further two hospitals were shown, their main entrances flashing up on the screen in quick succession. "Well, what do you know -- there are St. Thomas' and the London. What a coincidence!" he added, then turned to Elliott and the boys. "Why, at a time when the outbreak of a serious epidemic is so widely feared, would the Government take it upon themselves to hamstring the country's ability to deal with one? Why would they do that?"
    "But what exactly does all this mean?" Chester asked.
    "It means the Styx," Will answered.
    "Has to be," Drake agreed. "It's too much of a coincidence that this has happened to precisely the three hospitals I provided with samples of Elliott's blood, for safekeeping in their vaccine banks. The Styx are making their move and snatching back the Dominion vaccine -- you just see, no doubt those specimens will mysteriously disappear en route to the new 'super unit'."
    "But we've still got our specimen here, haven't we?" Will