Clay nodded, gliding a hand over his forearm, sensing that the lesion was somehow related. He was frightened, but he couldn’t show it. “We’ll take steps to get them out of town and get Mack some actual medical attention. Imagine. I’m sure they’ve just thrown him in some kind of cage until he stops showing symptoms. That could kill a guy.”
In that moment, the door swung open, revealing the tiny, angular face of Mayor Washington. She breathed quickly, like a tiny bird. She lifted a paper into the air and flung it across Clay’s desk, pointing at the headline spread across the page.
“Meteorites and Militia: The Day Carterville Went Crazy.” Beside the headline was a photo of Colonel Wallace, his face intense and demanding, and Clay. His own presence in the photo seemed trivial in comparison—not a person you’d allow to watch over your town, let alone your dog for the weekend. Not one of Clay’s best photogenic moments.
He hadn’t expected this. “They printed a special edition in the middle of a Saturday?” he said, remembering the faces at the Carterville Gazette. They’d turned on him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lois said, her head rigid. “What matters is, we need to do something about the rumors floating around this town. People have watched too many sci-fi movies, and now they’re running rampant with all these postapocalyptic thoughts. On my walk here, I saw two mothers weeping over their strollers, like it was the end of the world. Clay, we have to do something. We can’t have the entire town go mad as we sit idle.”
Clay’s mind raced. Alayna began to stutter an answer, but he held up his hand, halting her. “Listen, Lois, I can’t control what people think. Sure, I get why they’re scared. Heck, I didn’t know how much ‘assistance’ Helen was going to send over when I requested it. They dispatched an entire military outfit.”
Lois dropped her eyes and stared at the newspaper, visibly shaking.
“But we’ll get things under control,” Clay continued. “Sure, we’ve lost a few good people today. But give my team some time to figure things out, and if we’re lucky, we won’t lose any more.” Clay wasn’t entirely sure how they’d follow through on his words, but he had confidence in each and every deputy in his department. A slight grin stretched across his face.
Lois answered immediately. “I suppose you haven’t heard about the new cases, then?”
Clay’s jaw dropped. “I’m—I’m sorry?”
“The military has quarantined five more people, all exhibiting similar symptoms. First, it’s the sweats,” Lois said, “followed closely by uncontrolled vomiting before it devolves into a kind of animalistic, crazed behavior during which they forget who they are and where they came from.”
Clay nodded, remembering the eyes of both Cliff and Mack. “So the military believes it’s all related to the meteorite?” he asked, feeling small beads of sweat form once more at his hairline. He flicked them away, hoping Lois didn’t notice.
“Sure, maybe. They don’t know its precise relation, but that whatever this ‘virus’ is, it’s contagious.”
“Isn’t this all a little premature?” Clay asked. “I know there are several cases of the flu running around town. Hell, Maia is fighting it off as we speak.”
“Right now, no one is sure.” Lois sniffed. “We have the makings of an epidemic on our hands. And if we’re not careful, it’ll overtake us all.”
Alayna gasped and tilted her head back, clearly falling into the initial levels of grief. Clay could empathize. Carterville was his town. And he felt he was watching it sink into the sea.
“That leads me to my next question,” Lois said. “Have either of you begun experiencing symptoms? I know that both of you have been around the Crawfords. Clay, you even saw the meteorite with your own damn eyes.”
Clay shook his head almost imperceptibly. He could practically feel the hair leaping from his scalp. But he took an offensive path, his voice coming out almost in a growl. “Lois, you know we wouldn’t endanger the people of this town. The moment we experience symptoms, we’ll let you know. All right?”
Lois turned toward Alayna, who shook her head as well. No symptoms.
“Well, good,” Lois said, pressing her hands together as if to break out in a prayer. “Then I suppose we all have a job to do. Keep the peace as much as possible—”
“And what about the military? Allow them to keep up this horrid ‘gathering up’ of sick people?” Clay demanded. “We need to keep our town, Lois. We can’t afford to give it up. The hospital can certainly handle whatever this it, wouldn’t you agree?”
As he spoke, the door burst open once more, revealing the man of the hour: Colonel Wallace. He lifted his hand into the air and began to bark his words in such a deep, terrible pitch, it took a moment for Clay to wrap his mind around his meaning.
Chapter 18
“This town is falling into chaos,” Wallace began. “We’ve picked up more locals exhibiting symptoms, fifteen in total at this point, and know that several more will fall to this illness.”
“Colonel, aren’t you exaggerating the situation just a bit?” Lois asked, straightening her posture and shifting her gaze upon the commander. “The sheriff has just informed me that there’s widespread instances of influenza running amok. How can you be certain that everyone you’ve picked up isn’t just suffering the common flu?”
Colonel Wallace blinked slowly, dramatically, showing his equivalent of rolling his eyes. “Mayor. Sheriff. My military has a plan, and this sheriff’s office is frankly unqualified. I said I would allow you to retain leadership of this town, but now, I am rescinding that offer. This is far too dangerous. We need to quarantine everyone that is showing signs of contamination. A forced evacuation is imperative, as we need to release a chemical propellant to kill this thing. We’re taking the town from you. It’s ours now,” his voice boomed.
In the brief moment of silence after Wallace’s speech, Lois stepped forward, glaring at him. In his feverish mind, Clay expected Lois to agree with the colonel. Morale was at an all-time low, and Colonel Wallace was offering ready answers.
But Lois surprised him. “You’ll take this town away from the sheriff’s office over my dead body,” she spat, stabbing her finger toward his colossal frame. “Fifteen flu-like cases is hardly an epidemic,” she said, contradicting her own words from just minutes earlier. “My medical staff and law enforcement are perfectly capable of doing their job, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Her voice hung in the air. The tension in the room was high. Clay felt an abrupt cough churning through his lungs, but he held it in, taking deep, controlled breaths. Now wasn’t the time to reveal his illness.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Lois continued. “I agree, for safety reasons, that an evacuation is necessary. But I’m not about to let you round up my residents like a pack of rabid dogs.”
“The longer you wait, the more chance this thing can spiral out of control.”
Lois lifted her chin as if in deep contemplation. “All right. How about we make this evacuation happen over the next twenty-four hours? Is that fast enough for you?”
“It’s a start. At least let us quarantine anyone showing infection. If we can curtail the spread now, the better off everyone will be.”
She turned suddenly toward Clay, her face stern, pointed. “Sheriff Dobbs, do you have any problem with that?”
Clay shook his head. He was speechless, his tongue lost somewhere in his mouth. He hoped that Maia didn’t have the full-blown flu yet, otherwise she’d be rounded up in the wrong group.
Wallace took a step back, giving the room a bit more air. “Regardless, I think you’re making a big mistake not letting my outfit take over,” he said, his voice gruff.
“I’m not,” Lois insisted. “I’ve seen my people handle some of the most dastardly situations. We’ve got this one. Now. Get back to whatever hole you crawled out of.”
“You have to let the people know what’s going on,” Wallace continued, barreling over her words. “You can’t leave them i
n the dark like this. People are sick.” His eyes roved toward Clay, assessing his complexion. “It isn’t fair. It isn’t politically sound. You, as mayor, should know that. You should let them know their options. You should let them know we can defeat this.”
Lois tilted her head, digesting each of his words. “All right,” she said. “We’ll have a town hall meeting this evening. We can address the current issues then. Explain the reality of the meteorite, and then calm everyone down. The last thing we need on our hands are several thousand people panicked and running through the streets. Don’t you agree, Colonel?”
Wallace bowed his head, tapping his boot upon the wooden floor. He seemed childlike, earnest, in that moment. “Sure, Mayor. I suppose I won’t overstep quite yet. But the moment this turns into a complete and utter—”
Lois halted him. “We’ve got this. Like I said. We’ll formulate a plan and announce it tonight.” Her voice dominated over him, causing Wallace to turn back toward the station entrance and retreat to his corps. He left Alayna, Lois, and Clay alone in the shadowed office, each spinning in a separate world of fears and anxieties.
Had they made the right decision, taking this into their own hands?
Chapter 19
At eight-thirty that evening, Clay found himself standing at the entrance of the massive Protestant church on the square, where they held the occasional town meeting. He held his hands upon his waist, feeling himself waver slightly from fatigue. He’d covered his lesions with long sleeves to avoid any potential questioning. Jesus. What was he going to do?
Alayna appeared before him then. She gave him a slight smile, gesturing toward the first of many cars that meandered down Main Street. “I guess this is it, huh?” she said, her voice light. “At least I finally made it to deputy status. Although, I think I could have made a really great sheriff.” She winked.
“The beginning of an unexpected interruption? Yes. Is this the end? I don’t think so. Lois assures me that everything will be all right,” Clay said. “Besides, I think you’re just trying to angle for my job again.”
Alayna smiled before shoving her elbow into Clay’s side playfully.
They’d sent out messengers to all areas of town, along with phone alerts, ensuring that everyone knew about the town meeting. He’d called Valerie after Wallace had left his office, alerting her about it and the meteorite. Her voice had sounded so smooth, so easy in his ears.
That is, until he’d told her about the happenings from throughout the day.
“What do you mean, an epidemic?” she’d spurt into the phone.
“We’ve got it under control, honey,” Clay had sighed. “I’ll explain more at the meeting. Will you bring Maia? I want to make sure you’re both close.”
“Jesus. This is serious, isn’t it, Clay?” Valerie had whispered. “Should I pack?”
“Maybe,” Clay offered. “But don’t panic yet. We’re in the beginning stages of some very routine actions. Trust me. Just because this hasn’t happened to us before doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened to other people. Accidents and terrible events happen all the time. And people survive. They persevere.”
But Clay noted that Valerie and Maia were two of the last to arrive at the town hall meeting, causing him to miss greeting them. He gave them a slight wave as they entered the back, behind several hundred townsfolk, and crunched into small holes in the final pew. Valerie made brief eye contact with him. He could tell she’d been crying.
Mayor Washington stood at the pulpit at the front of the room and lifted her hands, almost as if she were about to direct an orchestra. The mighty chorus of townspeople died down, allowing her to speak.
“People of Carterville,” she began in her practiced, political voice—the one that had gotten her elected countless times. “It is with great sadness that I bring you together tonight. But it is with immense happiness that I can present a solution to all the terrible fears.”
“FINALLY!” someone cried out from the back, his voice guttural and strange.
“That’s right,” Lois smiled. “As many of you probably know by now, a meteorite crashed into the Crawford barn last night, killing one of our youngest and brightest. Caleb. To his mother and father, Tasha and Jim, I give you my utmost love and empathy. Caleb will be missed.”
In the front row, off to the right, a woman turned her face toward her husband’s shoulder and shook violently with tears.
But Lois continued. “As a result of this meteorite, a strange illness has begun to sweep through the town. The illness is characterized by flu-like symptoms and hot flashes, and then, ultimately, violence to both one’s self and others. Due to this illness, the military has resolved to quarantine many of the Carterville population, keeping them away from the rest of us. But ultimately, we are not safe here.
“The military, led by this man to my right, Colonel Scott Wallace, wants to do a forced evacuation and then release a chemical propellant with the intent to kill off the virus. If, of course, a virus is what this thing really is.”
Across the crowd, faces broke into panicked expressions and eyes filled with tears. Someone had brought their dog, near the back, and the hound began to howl, exhibiting the very note of despair the entire town held.
“But, of course, this ‘forced’ evacuation is incredibly outside of your rights, as people of Carterville,” Lois continued. “Any kind of force would ultimately result in violence. And for this reason, I urge for a voluntary evacuation. This is more appropriate for our small-town lifestyle. We do not force. We ask. We help. We join together.”
In this pause, she gave a bright smile to the crowd. Clay noted that she was probably honing her next campaign, ensuring that she was the one who stepped up to the plate. The people of Carterville could trust her above everything. That she would use an opportunity like this for personal gain turned Clay’s stomach over.
“I’d like to interrupt you,” Colonel Wallace boomed from the side of the room. He strode forward, demanding the eyes of everyone in the room. “You see, the small-town atmosphere here in Carterville is exactly the problem,” he said. “Everyone knows everyone else. And the spread of this virus, therefore, can escalate much quicker.”
The crowd gasped once more. Fear filled the air. Clay felt he could hardly breathe. He watched as his daughter, Maia, brought her hand up to cover her mouth, shivering with anticipation. Everything in her life had flipped upside down. What was it she’d been mad about that morning? A teenage problem, in a teenage life that had virtually no meaning anymore.
“This is a dangerous situation,” Wallace continued. “And until we understand how to stop this meteorite’s virus, my plan is far more appropriate.”
“And what, exactly, does your ‘forced evacuation’ look like?” Lois spat into the microphone. “Does it mean you go door to door with a bus and force everyone out of their homes? Because I really don’t see how that would work. Especially not here. We’re too proud a people.”
“Well, if that’s what it comes down to, yes,” Wallace answered. “We need to stop the infection in its tracks. And I’m willing to do anything and everything in my power to do that.”
The crowd erupted. Friends, relatives, and neighbors bowed their heads to each other and began saying panicked words, making terrible, earnest plans. “He’s not going to take me from my home!” several spewed. “How dare he come in here and say this to us? Doesn’t he know who we are?”
As the panic rose, Clay watched as Lois took several tentative steps back from the pulpit. Her hands shook. She’d lost her grip. She looked tiny, like a child too frightened to leap from the diving board. And Clay knew, in that moment, that he had to do something. He had to find a way to lead.
Chapter 20
He stepped toward the pulpit and tapped on the microphone, causing the sound to boom out over the heads of the Carterville townspeople. “Hello!” he cried, slicing into their harried conversations. “Hello. Please listen. I think I have a better plan.” His eyes danced across
the crowd. To his right, he heard Colonel Wallace snort.
“I think we can all agree that this is an unforeseen tragedy,” Clay said, his voice taking on a commanding tone. “But I’d like to give us all twelve hours to get out of town. Pack our bags with all our favorite belongings, make sure we have places to be, and drive our own cars out of town.”
Wallace scoffed. “You’ll have too many stragglers,” he said. “People who refuse to leave their homes. People who won’t make plans. And they won’t take to this chemical propellant well at all. You’ll be responsible for countless deaths.”
The words hung in the air for several moments. Clay pondered, unsure, until he made eye contact with Alayna. She brimmed with pride.
“My deputy, Alayna, and I will remain in town and round up the remaining stragglers until everyone—and I mean everyone—is out of danger. And then, we’ll get out ourselves, and Colonel Wallace here can release his chemical ‘bomb.’ Or whatever it is.”
“Will it destroy our town?” someone cried out from below. She bounced a baby upon her knee.
“That’s a great question. Colonel Wallace, is the bomb destructive?” Clay asked.
Wallace nodded slightly. His eyes looked far away, reluctant. “Sure. This ‘chemical bomb’, as you have erroneously quoined it, is nondestructive,” he said. “It’s a chemical propellant, as I said. The fumigation process should neutralize the virus without physically damaging any of the town’s structures. Human exposure will most certainly be fatal, however, hence the urgency of the evac. After one month’s time, everyone will be allowed back in their homes. And the town of Carterville can continue its regular, boring schedule.”
Clay swept his hands to the sky, enacting a similar pose to Lois—almost prayerful. “Now I know this is going to be difficult for us,” he began, “but I need you all to understand. We must fight for our town. We must fight to stay alive. And today, this requires us to leave. I want you all to start your journey home. Pack your bags, anything you’ll need for the next month, including any medication, and get out of here.”
Humanity's Edge- The Complete Trilogy Page 6