Plague Book: One Final Gasp

by Druga, Jacqueline

  It was hard to walk, to think, to breathe.

  That nightmare feeling was exacerbated the moment he pulled away from the hospital. The roads were empty. Matt made his way home. He wasn’t speeding, at least he didn’t think he was. He was surprised when he saw the police lights behind him. More than worrying him, it annoyed him. Were they serious? He thought. Were they actually pulling him over?

  Matt put on the turn signal and pulled over on the road just three miles from his home. Both hands gripped the steering wheel and his head hung low.

  He barely raised his head to the tap on the window.

  Nash was there wearing one of those masks.

  Matt wanted to laugh, did he really think that would protect him?

  The nurse at the hospital made it out as if there wasn’t a crisis in the area, yet, Matt didn’t see a car on the road.

  “Matt,” Nash said.

  “What’s up?”

  “Two things. Are you okay?”

  Matt scoffed. “No. But what can I do?”

  “I need you to go home and stay there. There is a mandatory …”

  “I know. I know. Quarantine. I just left the hospital. Okay? I just left my …” he choked on the words. “... daughter.”

  “I’m sorry. But you go home and stay put. Understand? We have a team that will be checking the houses. If you need anything, you put a towel or something on the front door. That’s what we’re telling people.”

  “Can I go?”

  “Yes. How is Emma?”

  Matt didn’t answer. He looked at Nash, pulled out and drove off. Not that he didn’t want to answer, he just didn’t know. He had been so focused on Hannah he forgot to ask about Emma. A part of him felt guilty for not going home to Emma. But Hannah was dying. Emma had Stew. Who did Hannah have? He couldn’t leave his child to die alone in a cold hospital room. He couldn’t. In a sense it was a choice between his two daughters. But how does one choose between their children?

  Matt picked his battles, and his battle was with Hannah.

  After she passed, finding out anything was a moot point. His phone had long since died. He had plenty of time to find out beforehand. Stew called constantly. The truth was, Matt didn’t want to know. He was scared to death to answer the phone and hear that his only child was sick with the flu.

  How could she not be?

  She had been with his parents and Hannah.

  So Matt took the route of avoidance, but that route was about to come to an end.

  He pulled onto his street soon enough and then into his driveway.

  Matt took a second after shutting off the truck. He took a few deep, defeated breaths then opened the truck door. He didn’t want to go into the house, he dreaded it.

  One thing he knew, sick or not, Stew was still alive.

  He walked up the walk, pausing as an ache swept over him at the sight of Hannah’s bike. He stepped to the porch and saw the paper by the screen door. At first he thought it was another foreclosure, then he noticed it was a handwritten note from Stew.

  ‘Matt, please go in the dining room doors.’

  After muttering a confused and tired, ‘what?” Matt grabbed the screen door handle and pulled. It was locked.

  “Are you kidding me?” Matt pulled again, then rang the doorbell, following that with a heavy knock. “Stew. Come on.”

  He tried it again.

  “Matt,” Stew called out.

  Matt turned his head to the sound of Stew’s voice. He came from the side of the house and wore a yellow hazmat suit they were passing out.

  “Stew, what the hell?”

  “I know … I know…” Stew held up his hands. “It’s been a really long night for you. But I need you to go around back. I have the hall and stair area sanitized. The dining room and living room are cordoned off.”

  “For what?”

  “For Emma,” Stew said. “She isn’t sick.”

  Matt breathed out a sign of relief. “Then she obviously has some sort of immunity.”

  “We can’t take that chance. Can we? I have had her upstairs. I made sure the hall is clear and safe. I have about an hour to go. I’m still not sick. I don’t think I will be. But I’ll stay in this get up and keep Emma in hers for another hour or so. It’ll take that long to get to the lake house. I figured, after you wait it out, you can join us. I left the address on the hall table. I knew you never would have bothered to come up there or find out.”

  “Wait. Wait.” Matt lifted his hand. “What are you talking about? Join you?”

  “Me and Emma at the lake house,” Stew said. “It’s safe. We can wait out the four weeks there …”

  Matt laughed emotionally. “You think you’re taking my daughter?”

  “Matt, it’s for the best.”

  “You’re not taking my kid.” Matt stormed down the porch stairs.

  Stew tried to block him. “It’s for the best.”

  “I need to see my daughter. I need to hold her.”

  “You can’t do that, Matt. She’s been safe.”

  “I’m not sick!” Matt shouted. “I was exposed. I should have been sick by now. I’m not.”

  “But you just left the hospital. Twenty-four hours. Is that too much to ask to keep your child safe? Stay away from her for twenty-four hours?”

  “Yeah, yeah it is.” Matt tried to brush by Stew.

  “Matt, if you go in there, stay in the areas I sealed off.”

  “I need to hold my daughter. You have no idea what I’ve been through.” He pushed by Stew.

  Stew grabbed hold of his arm. “The hell I don’t. I lost my child, too. I lost my granddaughter, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let anything happen to the only part of my child I have left. Matt, if I have to knock your ass out to keep you away from her I will.”

  Matt abruptly pulled his arm and shoved Stew.

  The ‘blip-blip’ of the police siren caused Matt to stop.

  “Fucking Nash,” Matt spat and turned around.

  Nash stepped from the police car.

  “Why are you following me?” Matt asked.

  “I was making sure you got home. I saw the scuffle,” Nash said. “Everything okay?”

  “No,” Matt answered. “He wants to take Emma.”

  “Take Emma where?” Nash asked.

  “I have kept her away from everyone, upstairs,” Stew said. “She is still not sick. I’m almost at my twenty-four hour mark. I sealed off the rooms so I could bring her downstairs, germ free. I even have her dressed to protect. I want to take her to my lake house for the quarantine. Matt can join us after he waits his twenty-four hours.”

  Nash looked at Matt. “That’s not a bad idea, Matt.”

  “I’m not sick,” Matt said.

  “I know.” Nash nodded. “But you have to start the twenty-four hour clock once you quarantine yourself. “

  “I need to see my child. I need to hold her.”

  “I know,” Nash said. “But it's only twenty-four hours.”

  “I put plastic up,” Stew said. “You can see her if you stay in the rooms I sealed off.”

  “Don't you think you went overboard?” Matt asked. “Plastic?”

  “No, I didn’t,” Stew retorted. “I’ll take no chances. The lake house is secluded and safe. The only ones that know about it are those who live in the area.”

  “You’re not taking my child.”

  “What if …” Nash interjected? “What if you waited, Stew? Stay here with Matt. Stay in the safe areas with Emma until Matt’s twenty-four hours are up.”

  Stew nodded. “I can do that.”

  “No,” Matt said abruptly. “It’s my child. I need …”

  “Matt,” Stew said. “I have been in the house. You do not have the food to last the rest of the week, let alone four. You’re not thinking clearly.”

  “You’re right. You’re right.” Matt sighed out. “I’ll wait the twenty-four hours. I’ll bring her to the lake house after that.”

  “I can stay,�
� Stew said. “I’ll be in the clear in …”

  “No. Go. I need to be alone,” Matt said. “I need to just … be alone.”

  “Will that work?” Nash asked Stew. “Can he meet you there?”

  “I guess it will have to work, won’t it.” Stew faced Matt. “You’ll not touch her or go near her, right?”

  Matt shook his head.

  “Can I go in and make sure she has what she needs?” Stew asked.

  Matt nodded.

  “Thank you.” Stew walked back toward the house.

  Matt’s knees weakened and he wanted to crumble.

  “I know this is all too much,” Nash told him. “If you don’t want to go to the lake house, Pastor Owens is setting up the community room at the church for those who waited out the twenty-four hours. Once you go in the house, I can vouch for your quarantine.”

  “I can’t even think right now to respond to that. I’m just … done. You know? I thought when I lost Hailey it was the worst thing ever. This … this is too much.”

  “I know.” Nash reached out and placed his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I’ll let you go. Remember, I have volunteers. You need anything. You put a towel on the door.”

  “Yeah, I got it. Thanks.” Matt felt Nash’s hand slip from him and when Nash stepped back, Matt teetered in emotional exhaustion and dropped to the yard.

  He’d head back into the house once he saw Stew leave. He didn’t care that it bothered Stew that he wanted him gone.

  Matt was devastated and in his grief he just wanted to be left alone.

  Alone in his home with the only person he had left in the world … Emma.

  ◆◆◆

  The yellow suit was awkward and moving wasn’t easy. Especially when Stew had to open things. He stopped in the kitchen and grabbed the last three juice boxes, a bottle of water, cereal and the last of the premade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

  He took the items upstairs to the baby gate.

  Emma ran to him.

  She wore her bright pink snowsuit, a scarf around her mouth and gloves. In fact, only a portion of her eyes were seen.

  “I’m hot, Pap,” she said.

  “I know. You can take that off now,” he told her.

  “We gonna go?” she asked.

  “Not yet. Daddy’s home,” he said.

  “Daddy’s home?” she asked brightly. “Is Hannah home?”

  “No. No. She’s still at the hospital.”

  “You said we’re going to the lake house.”

  “You will. Daddy’s going to bring you,” Stew said. “I brought you more food. Listen … don’t drink all the drinks at once. Okay?”

  Emma nodded.

  “You make them last. Sip them.”

  “Okay.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you. Are you leaving?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Pap’s gonna go to the lake house and make sure it’s good. Make sure we have everything.”

  “Daddy is here?”

  “He’s outside. Listen, Emma, sweetie,” Stew said. “Remember how we have been waiting to make sure Pap doesn’t get sick? Well, it’s the same thing for Daddy now. One more sleep. You cannot touch him or go near him until then.”

  “Okay.”

  “Promise me,” Stew said. “Promise you’ll stay away for one more sleep.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good girl.” Stew reached out and ran his hand over her head pulling off the hood of the snow suit. “Take this off. When I see you again, I won’t be wearing this.”

  Stew waited until Emma nodded and undid her snowsuit. He hated leaving her, but Matt didn’t want him around. Stew wasn’t trusting that Matt would bring Emma to the lake house. Stew would do as Matt requested and leave. Then he’d do as he told Emma and he’d go to the lake house making sure everything was in order. That actually wasn’t a bad thing to do considering it had been all summer since Stew had been there. However, there was no way he was staying there. Once Stew checked on their safe haven, he’d return to Franklin.

  Even if he had to park in front of Matt’s house, he would be back.

  He didn’t care how small of a town Franklin was, to Stew it wasn’t safe enough, and with Emma being all he had left he would do anything to make sure nothing happened to her and she made it through the pandemic.

  24 – SHALLOW BUT STRONG

  Franklin, PA

  Molly sat on a chair looking out at the street facing the window of her apartment. Watching out for anything happening outside, anything that could send warnings off to her. Not that she could do anything about it. Although her injury was doing much better. She expected it to hurt a lot more than it did. Other than that, she was feeling fine and grateful that she was.

  Just as she did the day before, she spotted Luke Bridges walking down the street. On this day though, he carried a can of paint and was making markings on the entrances to apartment buildings. Most of the apartment units were located above stores. Like Molly’s they were older apartments.

  She wondered if the paint and markings had anything to do with the towels that were hanging outside windows.

  She heard the police chief as he rode down the street urging people if they were sick or needed help to place a towel on the door or out their apartment window so it could be seen from the street.

  Aside from Nash, Luke seemed to be the only other person helping.

  She wondered if Luke was sick and hiding it because he didn’t wear any protective clothing at all.

  Molly felt bad for him, he kept on going. To her knowledge he hadn’t stopped once since the day before, and he told Molly that day hadn’t been all that great. He didn’t get into specifics, she didn’t ask. Their conversations were always brief when he stopped by to check on her.

  Usually they’d talk, him in the hallway, her in her apartment.

  She didn’t have much longer to go until she could touch her children, Doc Christoph told her it was unnecessary and that she more than likely wasn’t infected. She didn’t want to take a chance and she was also sure her oldest was helping out.

  She knew he grew tired of it though.

  There was a light knock at her apartment door and Molly knew who it was. She still called out, “Is that you, Luke?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. Brought some stuff. It’s outside the door. SpaghettiOs for the kids. I know how much I used to love those things. And you can eat it cold, too.”

  “Thank you,” Molly stood near the door.

  “Also cinnamon buns. Fresh too. Hervé made them.”

  “He has his shop open?” Molly asked

  “No. He’s being nice, you know how the Christophs are.”

  “I do,” Molly said. “How are they holding up?”

  “They’re doing the best they can. I don’t know how long they’re gonna stay around town though. He was talking about finding his family. He has a bunch in Kansas.”

  “I can understand that,” Molly said, “Is it real busy out there, Luke?”

  “It will be,” he said. “Yesterday he was helping the injured. Today people are coming down with the sickness. That’s why they are hanging out the towels. And some aren’t. Pretty soon I’ll have to do a door to door check on those people.”

  “Is that what you’re marking? That circle and plus sign?’

  “Yeah, it’s a way to keep track of who is sick and how many. Nash wants it done in case the National Guard or someone comes in to help.”

  “Do you think they will?” Molly asked.

  “I think everyone is going to be too busy worrying about taking care of their own to ship out,” Luke said. “Like we’re doing here.”

  “How many ... how many houses have sick?”

  “I just started, but so far twenty-seven.”

  “Oh my God, what about this building?”

  Luke hesitated, then answered. “Two. But ... see, that’s why I think this twenty-four hour thing is a great idea, and I think you made the best decision to do it. An
d to hunker down a month afterwards. But I also think that once things calm and the number of sick kinda start to drop because, well, there isn’t anyone left to get sick ... I think my mom should leave. Maybe you and the boys, you should all go somewhere else, too.”

  “Go where?” Molly asked. “Is it even gonna be safe to leave?”

  “We have those yellow suits to travel in. I think, I don’t know, away from people. Even though Franklin is small, it still has people. I’m gonna suggest my mom go camping or something. We don’t know how this is carried. I heard some guy last night on the news talk about it being part of the Hantavirus family.”

  “What’s that?” Molly asked.

  “A virus carried through rats and mice. What if this can be carried by them?”

  “Don’t scare me, Luke. I was watching the news, too, that guy that invented it didn’t say anything about it being carried by mice.”

  “He ain’t,” Luke said. “Right now he’s trying to calm people, but he knows that isn’t gonna help. That’s why he’s passing out all those facts to people about how long it takes to get it and how to avoid it.”

  “Apparently, you aren’t listening,” Molly said,

  “I’m helping out. It’s the least I can do. I have to help out.”

  “You can take precautions. Nash is. Aren’t you scared of getting sick?” Molly asked. “Scared of dying?”

  “Actually, no. After what happened a couple months ago with Mrs. Hader ... I am so not afraid of dying. Sometimes I welcome the thought.”

  “Oh, Lucas, it was an accident.”

  “I know that. It doesn’t take away the fact that I took someone’s wife, mom, child.”

  “I’m sorry you carry this,” Molly said. “But you may not worry about dying. Your mom cares if you do. As a mom, I know how much she loves you. For her, Lucas, take care of yourself.”

  “Thanks, Molly. And ... I honestly, I really don’t think I’m gonna get this flu. I don’t.”

  “Why’s that?” Molly asked.

  “I have a hefty burden to carry and amend for, I don’t think God’s letting me off that easy taking me with some bug.”