Ward Z: Revelation by Amy Cross

slowly seeping their contents into the environment.”
    “Blood and piss and shit,” Marlowe replied. “That's all. Perfectly natural things.”
    “Potentially contaminated by God-knows-what from the hospital.”
    “Then resign,” Marlowe continued. “Take the moral high ground, quit, report the whole thing to the authorities and walk away with your head held high, knowing you did the right thing. Meanwhile, this whole camp will get shut down, there'll be no more holidays for these poor sick children, and another ray of hope in this miserable world will have been lost.” He paused. “And good luck finding another job, by the way. Got something lined up already, have you? A man with your track-record? I've seen your employment history, it's a miracle you're not starving in the street.”
    Freeman stared at him for a moment.
    “I'm going to keep an eye on this,” he said eventually, checking his phone and seeing that he still had no signal. “As the landsman here, it's my job to look after the natural habitat and ensure that this camp respects the environment. It's kind of hard for me to do that when Crystal Wallace is cutting deals behind my back and allowing potentially toxic waste to be dumped here. I can't do my job if I don't know what's going on, and you can't just dump this crap and expect it to stay contained.”
    “Then I'm sure your letter of resignation will be on Crystal's desk first thing in the morning,” Marlowe replied. “And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm afraid I have work to do. We have twenty-four young men and women for whom this camp represents a chance, perhaps even a last chance, to forget their worries and have a good time. I, for one, do not intend to do anything that gets in their way.”
    “Good little puppy,” Freeman replied, smiling as he turned to leave. “The bitch has trained you so well...”

Chapter Ten
     
    “So you're telling me you cleaned all three of these toilets?” Crystal asked, standing in front of the cubicles. “You spent the whole afternoon on the job?”
    “I did,” Lizzie replied.
    “I helped,” Laura added.
    “Then why are they still utterly filthy?”
    “Well,” Lizzie began, “I mean...”
    “We can only assume,” Laura said, interrupting, “that in the hour since we finished, all three toilets have been used by people who, for one reason or another, chose not to follow the usual etiquette.”
    “That seems highly convenient,” Crystal said darkly. “If I didn't know better, I'd be tempted to believe that you didn't complete the task you were given.”
    “Well, I did,” Lizzie said, with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
    “Maybe you have reference photos?” Laura suggested. “Like... So you can compare the mess now to the mess before? I'm sure you'd see that there's a big difference.” She pointed into the middle cubicle. “I'm pretty sure that particular patch of smeared shit wasn't there this morning.”
    “Actually,” Crystal replied witheringly, “I do have reference photos. Or rather, Mr. Marlowe has some.” She turned to Marlowe. “Don't you?”
    He held up his phone and used a finger to swipe through a series of images.
    “You have got to be kidding,” Lizzie said, her eyes wide with surprise.
    “So nice try,” Crystal continued with a supercilious grin, “but I'm afraid you've both been caught lying, and now not only will you have to complete the work that was assigned to you, but you'll also be on toilet-cleaning duty tomorrow afternoon. That might seem harsh, but it's part of the overall experience here at Camp Everbee. I want you to learn the importance of responsibility.”
    Sighing, Lizzie looked over at the mop and bucket.
    “And when you're done,” Crystal added, “don't put the refuge bags with the normal trash. Take it further down the path until you find some large yellow industrial bags and leave everything there, okay? We don't want that sort of thing too close to the cabins, now do