The Final Outbreak

by M. L. Banner

  “Watch out. She has sharp claws and—are you all right?”

  She held the cat under her chin, like she was using it as a chin-rest. She stared at Flavio, tears flowing from her eyes. “How did you know I missed my kitty so much? I think I mentioned her only once to you.”

  He just smiled, remembering when she had told him how much she missed her cat. Why spoil it with words, his mother used to tell him.

  “Flavio Petrovich, I think I may be in love with you.” She leaned over to him and kissed him softly.

  “Where did you find her?” She sniffled.

  “It followed me inside, after climbing up my leg.”

  She sniffled some more. “Look at me, blubbering like a baby.”

  She put Cat back into its box and looked up at him, her face serious. “Okay, so tell me you’ll be safe?”

  “I will.”

  She hugged him, unwilling to let go.

  “I promise,” he said, meaning it.

  “And thank you, Flavio.”

  He felt like fist-pumping right now, but he knew that would be a little much. So he offered a simple “You’re welcome,” kissed her again, and walked out the door. Then once it closed, he dashed down the hallway and up the stairwell. He was going to be late for a private meeting with the captain, if he didn’t hurry. He smiled the whole way.

  He made it to cabin 8000 with a minute to spare and reached to knock on the door, just as Mrs. TJ Williams was coming out. She glanced up at him, surprised he was there, tears streaking her face. She hesitated in between him and the doorway, as if she was shell-shocked. She looked completely unsure of what she was supposed to do next.

  “Mrs. Villiams, are you okay?”

  She remained that way, not responding. And Flavio had no idea what he could do to help or comfort her. Unlike Vicki crying tears of joy, this woman was very upset about something she heard or saw.

  “I...” Her gaze fell back down, like the words were stuck behind her tongue and she couldn’t figure out how to unstick them. She looked up again. “I’m sorry.” She then turned and walked off, dragging her crutch behind her.

  He watched her move away, shocked himself at what he saw. This woman was one of the strongest he’d ever met, but at that moment, she looked helpless.

  Flavio now considered the fact that he was meeting the captain next and he was likely to hear whatever the captain had told Mrs. Williams, and the reason for her distress.

  Flavio was rarely nervous about anything. But at this moment, he felt his stomach turn loops.

  He knocked. “Captain? It’s Flavio Petrovich.”

  “Please come in, Flavio.”

  He did.

  “Flavio, please sit down. I need to tell you something that only three other people currently know, but it will affect everyone on this ship.”

  117

  The Island

  Less than an hour later, TJ, Flavio and Wasano left on the P114 military craft, piloted by Mr. Novo, to the other side of the island to inspect Layes military base. Ted didn’t know this at first, only that TJ never showed up for their breakfast date at 8AM. He asked around and no one knew where she was. When he went to her cabin, she didn’t answer. The only person who had seen her was Jaga, their room attendant when they first boarded, and now in a cabin next to TJ’s temporary cabin on deck 3. Jaga said only that she seemed upset and was limping away as fast as she could and didn’t hear him calling her. Jaga also said he was sure that TJ had gone “downstairs.”

  There were only two destinations she’d have any business with downstairs: deck 2’s exits or deck 1 and the RE Medical clinic. He had heard the military boat leave, but she didn’t indicate anything about being on it, so he concluded she must have gone to the clinic. And Jaga said that she looked upset and in a hurry. Maybe she was sick. That’s when he became worried.

  Now Ted was dashing down the stairs and through the small deck 1 public area to see Chloe in Medical.

  Ted heard her voice when he knocked.

  “Oh Ted, I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk to you about my results for the T-Gondii blood test. Do you have a few minutes?”

  Ted watched her carefully, not answering right away. He had been working with her regarding the parasitics, running ideas and theories back and forth. She was incredibly bright and would have made a brilliant doctor, if their normal world hadn’t ended. Instead, this young woman was receiving one of the finest crash-course educations on medicine.

  She looked up from her notes to see why he hadn’t answered.

  “Did you see my wife today?” he asked, scrutinizing how she responded next.

  She looked down and away from him—a sure sign she was hiding something. “Ah, yes, I did. But...” She hesitated and gave him a tentative glance, “you really should talk to her.”

  “What’s wrong? Is she all right?” He was really getting worried.

  “She’s fine, just a little nausea.”

  “Nausea?” He looked up, trying to remember if other symptomatics complained of nausea, other than at the onset of a fever, and that was not good. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Okay, can you at least tell me where she is now?”

  “I only know that she went to see the captain after me. She had an appointment with him, in fact.”

  “Thank you.” Ted turned to leave.

  “Ted, what about my data on the Toxo test?”

  He would normally have been interested, but he had only one thing on his mind: his wife. Ted gave her a smile. “Sorry. Maybe later?”

  ~~~

  The P114 drafted with ease through the waves tossed up from the windward side of the island.

  Tomas drove them around a breaker wall into a small bay with a beach, but no dock. Lush trees surrounded both sides of the beach and the rest of the area was thick with vegetation growing all around multiple buildings that spread out over a large area. A giant fence appeared to bisect part of the island, separating this base from the larger section of land stretched all the way around to the other side, where they left the Intrepid anchored. Apparently, no road on the mostly rural island connected the two sides.

  Flavio looked back at Mrs. Williams, who seemed to be gazing out into nowhere.

  He thought about what the captain said and thought about her and all of the others who would be affected. He couldn’t imagine what she was thinking right now. He felt such sorrow for her and Mr. Williams.

  They beached only a couple of minutes later.

  Flavio gazed at Mrs. Williams and her leg, where he understood Wasano had shot her to keep her from attacking them. She still favored it, although less than he would have expected. But now Flavio had such empathy for her, he worried about her getting it wet.

  “Mrs. Villiams, can I help you to the—”

  She didn’t wait for him to finish, jumping off the boat into the water, which was chest-level on her. She thrust a full canvas bag above her head.

  Flavio jumped in next, holding his rifle above his head before plunging in, soaking himself up to his waist. He turned back to see his security director doing the same thing as him, only he was almost completely submerged.

  For a moment Flavio wondered if Mr. Novo was going to leave them there, stranded. But he too jumped out, carrying a rope attached to the bow. He lumbered through the water, then up to the beach and tied the line to a piling attached to a large rock, just out of the water. He’d obviously been here before, just as he had said.

  Once they were all of the water, Mrs. Williams called to them, “Come on, let’s get started.”

  The captain’s instructions were to follow her around and make sure the place was clear of parasitics or other threats and that it was securable.

  She retrieved a clipboard and pen from the top of her soft canvas bag. Immediately she started scribbling notes on the pre-printed pages.

  As they went from building to building, she furiously dashed down notes, occasionally asking one of the
m to assist her with a measurement.

  Wasano left Flavio and Mrs. Williams alone while he walked the entire fence line to make sure there were no breaches.

  For the next two hours, Flavio continued to keep an eye on their surroundings, sometimes vaulting himself into crawl spaces or inspecting dark corners and generally assisting her with whatever she asked. She seemed to know exactly what she was looking for.

  When she was done, they sat on the stoop of one of the houses nearest the beach and waited for the security director to return. Meanwhile, she examined her notes and he watched her. He couldn’t help but say something.

  “I feel such sadness for you, Mrs. Villiams.”

  She looked up at him, laying her clipboard aside. She was no longer wearing her sunglasses, either losing them or finding no more need in wearing them to hide her eyes. Besides, it was a dark and overcast day. Her reddish eyes no longer looked eerie or horrific. To Flavio, they looked beautiful but burdened.

  “Please Flavio,” she said softly. “After all we’ve been through together, would you do me the favor of calling me by my first name or just TJ?”

  He nodded.

  Ever so tenderly, she laid her hand on his. “I know you know why we’re here. And soon everyone else will know. I also suspect, by your comment, that you must know about my personal situation. I’m asking you to please say nothing to my husband. I want to tell him myself.”

  He tried to grin, but his frown didn’t want to budge. “Captain made me swear not to mention it, even to Vicki. I’ll keep your secret, Mrs... Teresa Jean.”

  “It’s better this way, you know... for everyone.”

  She smiled at him, but he knew it was covering up her own sadness.

  He wanted to comfort her. And if they had been like this any longer, he would have. But right then, he heard Wasano trudging back along the beach.

  She released her hands from his.

  Wasano signaled for them to meet him in the boat and Flavio waved back, acknowledging this.

  She watched him as he stood up and he then offered to help her up, but she shook her head.

  And then he knew.

  “You aren’t coming back with us, are you?”

  “No, I’m not, Flavio. There’s lots of preparation needed. And I want to get a head start on it.”

  Flavio looked back at the boat and then at her. “Will you be all right?”

  “Yes, I will.” She held out her hand and Flavio held out his, thinking she was going to shake his, but she pulled herself up so that she was standing toe to toe with him. She leaned up and kissed him on his cheek.

  “You’re a good man, Flavio. The ship is lucky to have you. Look after my husband, will you?”

  He gave her a weak grin and nodded.

  She sat back down on the stoop and waved at him.

  He turned back to the boat, slowly making his way through the sand and then the water.

  Taking a hand from Mr. Agarwal, he hoisted himself up onto the boat. At the same time Mr. Novo, who had already brought in the mooring line, started up the engine and reversed them back into the bay.

  As they turned in the bay to head back to their ship, Flavio watched TJ Williams—Teresa Jean, he corrected himself.

  She was still sitting on that stoop, staring out at the beach.

  It was the last time he saw her.

  118

  The Meetings

  After Flavio said goodbye to Teresa Jean, he considered what had happened to the world, in light of what that meant for Teresa Jean and Ted. He then vowed to himself to never let anything go unsaid between Vicki and him. And when he returned to the ship, he literally ran to Vicki’s cabin, proclaimed his love to her and asked her to marry him. Even though he wanted to tell her what had happened, he could not reveal the truth until after the captain’s message was delivered four days later. On that morning, everyone would know the basic truth, including Ted.

  Each day since Flavio’s return, two tenders of men—all of whom only knew a little of the truth, but were all sworn to secrecy—along with food, bulk materials and other supplies were transported to the island. Each day, the tenders would return with just the men.

  Each man, upon return to the ship, was escorted back to their cabins on deck 2, where they ate and slept, isolated from the rest of the ship, and under the watch of armed guards. The only other crew member allowed into that section of the ship was Buzz at the same time the first tenders were sent out, only so that the monitor cameras could be disconnected. Their mission was kept hidden from everyone.

  Meanwhile, the Intrepid was slowly being cleaned and fixed up as teams of crew members worked tirelessly to bring her back to full functionality. Everyone was working on something, night and day, so that there was little time for anything but eating and sleeping.

  Flavio was tasked during the day with training new recruits to become security. During the afternoons and evenings, he held personal defense classes for the whole ship. Often forty or fifty attended each of the two classes.

  He was given the freedom to teach as he wanted, but the captain had told him to focus on giving each crew member the tools to take care of themselves if a parasitic attacked. He did as instructed, using his personal knowledge of going toe-to-toe with some of those things. But he knew it probably wouldn’t do any good: as fast as they were now, Flavio was pretty sure in most every circumstance, it was a losing proposition against one. And there’d be no chance against two or more. The only tool that worked and gave you a fighting chance was an automatic weapon, like his. But since there were only three automatic weapons on the whole ship, Flavio had to do his best instructing them how to use knives and clubs.

  Still, all who attended thanked him, saying they just wanted to feel safe and in control, and he gave them that power with his instruction. Flavio had to admit that this filled him with immeasurable pride.

  Every moment Flavio wasn’t working or sleeping, he spent with Vicki, treating each like it might be their last. That was the secret gift that Teresa Jean gave him and he hoped Vicki would be the benefactor of TJ’s gift as well.

  The whole time, he thought about Ted and Teresa Jean during the quiet moments or just before sleep, when Flavio was forced to deal with his own guilt.

  Two days before the meetings was the only time he had seen Ted. They were passing along the promenade deck, going in opposite directions. Flavio watched Ted, but Ted stared into space, marching at his usual quick pace—his limp from his sprained ankle was almost imperceptible now. Flavio had to step in front of him, because Ted was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even hear his own name. Flavio wanted to let Ted be, but he needed to talk to him, even though he didn’t know what to say, because he really couldn’t say anything.

  “How are you, Mr. Villiams?”

  He gave Flavio a vacant stare. “You know... And would you please call me Ted? After all we’ve been through together.”

  Flavio smiled at the memory of being asked the same thing by Teresa Jean. “Your wife... She...” He couldn’t bear to say it. He couldn’t say it without revealing more than he should. “Please let me know if you need something, Ted.”

  Ted nodded, gave him a little smile and walked away.

  Like any known moment in the future, neither work nor joyous play could slow down the steady march of time. The day he dreaded was now. The morning of the meetings arrived.

  Flavio was to be at the meeting run by the captain. Ted was to run the other.

  The announcement came at 7:30AM, just as previous announcements and fliers had warned all crew to be prepared to listen then. The captain stated that there would be two mandatory meetings held in thirty minutes. The one held in the Wayfarer Lounge, which had been miraculously cleaned out and ready in time, was to be attended by everyone whose cabins were in the aft half of the ship, from the mid-way stairwell to the stern. The second meeting, held simultaneously, was in the Tell Tale Theatre, and was to be attended by all cabin holders from the forward stairwell
to the bow.

  No one but Flavio, Wasano, Ted, the captain and now all but five of their security personnel, which had blossomed to twenty-five, knew the content of the meetings’ message. Rumors had spread that it had something to do with the military base, especially since many could see the tenders going back and forth. And certainly those crew who saw the supplies being loaded could surmise that the men who were traveling on the tenders and kept in isolation were making the military base habitable. But for what, they didn’t know. Flavio was amazed that the captain kept this secret so under wraps.

  As the people filed into each room, his security personnel’s job was to get them to their seats quickly and quietly. Thirty minutes prior, immediately after the announcement, some of his security personnel had gone to each of the aft cabins to make sure their occupants attended the meeting in the lounge.

  Other security corralled the few stragglers into their respective rooms, so that on the hour, it appeared to Flavio, that everyone was where they should be.

  At that moment, Flavio for the captain’s meeting and Wasano for Ted’s meeting, locked the main entrance doors, so that no one could leave until it was time.

  ~~~

  Ted marched over to the lectern on the stage, taking quick measure of his audience. All looked nervous. He wasn’t. It seemed like another lifetime ago when he was often filled with overwhelming panic at having to speak to a large group. Now this felt like an old hat: snug, comfortable, ready to do its job. The speaking wasn’t the issue; it was the dread of delivering this message. He’d been dreading this since the day the captain told him what was going to happen next. At that moment, he put on his speaker’s hat and delivered.

  “Good morning.” He paused to make sure everyone was paying attention. They needed to hear what came next.

  “My name is Ted Williams and I’m here on behalf of our captain, Jean Pierre Haddock, to make a special announcement that affects everyone on this ship. At the same time I am speaking to you, the captain is delivering almost the same announcement on the other side of the ship.