"Come on, Dan. I think Chad is upstairs." Eric said as he held the door open.
Both men walked upstairs, unsure of what would wait for them at the top. Eric had his pistol ready as Danny held his shotgun with its barrel aimed at the low ready. When they reached the top of the stairs, they could smell something.
Eric popped around the corner weapon raised. Chad walked out of his room with a bong in his hand. The bearded asian man jumped clutching his bong like a child with a stuffed animal. His eyes were red and puffy with his hair tossed in messy angles. Danny walked up behind Eric slightly confused.
"Whoa, man," Chad said in a lethargic tone.
Eric put his hands up. "What the hell’s the matter with you?"
Chad looked at Eric and then at Danny, who was splattered with brain matter. He took another hit from the bong and looked up, exhaling a cloud of smoke. He coughed heavily until regaining some composure. "What the hell happened to you guys?"
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE HOT WATER splashed on Danny’s face. He looked down noticing the sink water was dyed red. Danny quickly let all the water drain. He turned the hot water to full blast as he scrubbed away at his face.
Don’t breathe. Just get it all off. Get it off!
His skin burned now as he looked up at the mirror. Parts of him were still steaming.
I’m okay. Ken’s blood was on you, and you have no symptoms. You’ve never been better.
Danny could hear Eric and Chad talking. He walked outside to find Eric patting Chad’s back.
"Look, I don’t give a shit this time, alright?" Eric said. "Just take a hit. It’ll take the edge off a little."
Chad said nothing as he grabbed the bong. Eric stood back up ushering Danny to follow him. They walked down the stairs and into the garage.
"Alright, chief," Eric said in the darkness.
"He alright?" Danny asked.
"Eh, Franchesca posted a picture on Instagram. She is shacking up with some millionaire in Malibu. Chad is all heartbroken."
Danny laughed. "Well, that’s what happens when you date a prostitute."
"Exactly," Eric said as he walked over to a shed in the garage. He pulled out an armful of two by fours. "We need to barricade this thing so not even a fart can come in and out."
"Sounds a little problematic," Danny laughed as he picked up a hammer and a box of nails that were laid out on a workbench. "Lead the way."
They both worked diligently. All the windows were boarded up. Danny was going to put a two by four on the patio door, but both he and Eric decided that they needed an escape route in case the garage was compromised. Once all the windows were secured they turned to the front door. Eric had boarded up the windows that were on each side of the door and put three two by fours to seal the door shut. It was secure, but Eric wanted just a little more security. He motioned Danny to help him with the T.V. cabinet.
"Just stack it right behind," Eric said straining.
"You really think it will hold?" Danny said holding the T.V. cabinet
Eric poked his head over looking up at Danny. "Dan, it’s a little heavy."
"What’s the point of all that weight lifting if you can’t carry this thing down the stairs?" Danny started to ease down the steps as he clutched the cabinet.
"Bite me," Eric said, still gritting his teeth.
They finally reached the bottom and Eric slid the cabinet against the wall so it pinned the door shut.
"Works like a charm." Eric laughed as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
"We good?" Danny asked.
"Oh yeah. We are golden." Eric walked up the stairs wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"I’m gonna give Maria a call," Danny pulled out his phone and looked down to find a cracked screen. How that happened baffled him, but he couldn’t even open it to make a phone call.
Shit.
Danny walked up the stairs and met Eric in the living room. The T.V. looked awkward with all the cables exposed, but style wasn’t a high priority at the moment. Eric was seated in a blue lazy boy chair while the news played images of what reminded Danny of the migrant caravan that came up from Mexico a few years ago.
Eric was right. I’d be dead already if I left for Tahoe.
Danny tried to start his phone up, but the screen lit up and quickly shut back off.
Damn.
He threw it on the coffee table in front of him and laid back. Eric walked up behind him, his eyes peeled on the news feed.
Danny looked up at Eric. "Always enjoyed your place."
Eric looked at Danny. "Yeah well, the GI Bill pays decently." He paused for a second. "Well, did. I don't think currency carries much weight these days."
Danny laughed as he spread out on the couch. "No, I imagine all it's good for now is wiping your ass."
"Well, we are getting low on toilet paper."
"You're shitting me." Danny sat up.
Eric laughed. "I'm busting your balls. I learned my lesson from that Corona shit, but the toilet is loud. I'm thinking we have to find somewhere else to do our business, once everything starts to get quiet."
Danny didn't want to have to shit into a bucket, not yet at least. He tried to forget about the what-ifs. "Where's Chad at?"
"He is making a call to his family. He has been trying to get a hold of Franchesca, but it’s been going straight to voicemail."
"This isn’t good."
"Trust me, I know."
Danny cleared his throat before he spoke. "I need a favor, Eric."
"What's up, chief?"
"I haven't talked to Maria since last night, and well, my phone is busted." Danny's voice trailed off.
"Oh, of course! You should have asked me sooner." Eric reached into his pocket. "Here is that photo as well." He handed Danny his phone unlocking it for him and slid him the photo. He pointed down the small hall. "On the left is my bedroom. Take all the time you need."
Danny patted Eric on the shoulder, thanking him as he stood up. He walked down the hall and heard the phone start ringing. It sounded faint as Danny's ear was still ringing from the morning. It rang twice before the other line picked up.
"Hello, who is this?" Maria's accent sounded panicked on the other line.
Danny closed the door behind him. "It's Danny, hun." His voice choked up as he heard her sobbing on the other line. "Look, I'm okay...everything is okay."
"Danny, I've been calling you all day. The kids are worried sick. Susan can't stop crying. I've been watching the news." She started to sob again. "They said that the worst of it is right where you are."
"Yeah, yeah. I would be lying to you if I said it was fine down here, but Eric and I are at his place now."
"Wha—Why aren't you home?" Maria's voice raised a little.
Danny sat on the bed. "Well, something happened, babe." He looked up at the ceiling. Light tears filled his eyes. "There was an incident last night and well Ken...he—" Danny covered his eyes as he started to sob.
"Dan, what happened?" Maria asked.
Danny could imagine the look on her face over the phone. He tried holding back his unbroken stream of tears. "Ken just wouldn't stop. I told him, but he just kept coming so I had to—"
Maria sniffled heavily on the other line. "Oh God, what about Ishita and the boys?"
I killed the whole family.
Danny clenched his fist as he fell from the bed and sat on the floor. He knew Maria was piecing together what happened without him speaking.
Her voice was trembling on the other line. "Oh my God."
"I'm really trying here, Mar, but I don't know what to do. Last night I tried looking into what happened with Kevin. Before I knew it, things just got so out of hand." Danny covered his face with his hand. "Mar, I think Anna might be dead."
"What?" She screamed on the other line.
How did it come to this? HOW?
Danny sobbed heavily. "Mar, I'm at the end of my rope. I don’t know what to do."
Maria sniffle
d on the other line before she spoke. "Dan, listen to me. Sweetie, you listen to me, okay? You get to us, you understand?" Her voice was harsh now. "Danny, you do whatever you have to, but you get to me and our children. We need you."
Danny wiped the tears from his eyes. "Mar, I don't know if I can get to you. It's madness out there. We had a rough time going a few miles down the road."
Her voice settled, and Danny could hear her gentle sobs. "I should have never taken the kids up here. That was my doing but they need their father."
"No. You were right to go up there. It’s not safe here for you and kids."
"Danny, all the things I said last night---I should have realized what was going on." She paused on the line for a moment.
"I’m sorry, Mar." Danny sobbed into the phone. "I mean, last night---"
"Dan, forget all of that. I never should have left you to fight on your own. I should have been there for you."
Tears ran down Danny’s face as he wiped them away. "Mar, it’s not your fault. It’s all going to be alright. We are gonna wait for this thing to blow over. I’m with Eric at his place now and we are safe. Is everything okay where you’re at?"
Danny could hear Susan in the background. Maria spoke over it. "We are fine up here, Dan. You know how my brother is."
"Your brother might be a prick, but Green Berets know how to handle themselves. How are the kids?"
"Lucas has locked himself away in his room. Susan is dying to talk to you though."
Danny smiled as he tried to hold back more tears. "Please put her on," he said, still smiling.
Maria's voice was directed away from the phone and Danny could hear Maria talking to Susan.
The phone ruffled, and suddenly, Susan's voice filled the speaker. "Daddy?"
Danny stared up at the ceiling as he nearly broke down in tears. "Hi, Suzzie."
"Daddy, we are all scared. Lucas hasn't said a word all day. We all miss you like crazy." She began to sob on the phone.
"I know, I know, Susan. God, I miss you like crazy, too. I want you to know that I’m coming up there okay. Me and Jazzy Bear."
The muffled sobs on the other line fell quiet.
Danny looked at the screen. It was black.
No.
He unlocked it and redialed it, but nothing rang. There was no dial tone. The signal had totally vanished.
NO!
"Come on. Not now," Danny muttered to himself. He wiped away the tears from his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Dan, you might want to get in here," Eric called out from the next room.
Pick up!
Danny tried one more time ignoring Eric. He had to hear her voice just one more time.
"Etter, come out here!" Eric commanded. His voice was stern from the other room.
Danny exhaled in defeat and walked outside in the hallway. Eric was ushering him to move faster. Chad was in the recliner now shaking his head in disgust. In a half trot, Danny came into view of the television, his eyes wide. It showed a map of the US with red shading.
"It's spreading. China has been hiding it from everyone and now it’s too late. This thing is everywhere." Eric's voice was monotone as his eyes seemed to glaze over the screen.
"My folks in New York were told to stay indoors. Apparently, all flights are shut down, and martial law was declared in Manhattan," Chad said as he took a long hit from an e-cigarette. Danny grabbed the remote and turned it off mute. He lowered the volume, so it was slightly audible.
A female newscaster sat in the center of the screen. "We have been notified that the CDC has declared REM a widespread epidemic. Martial law has been declared in all highly populated metropolitan areas. The President has advised all Americans to stay put and to secure their homes. The CDC believes that Los Angeles was where REM originated. Chuck Steeples, our chief correspondent, was able to interview Marsha Ingram, the head investigator from the CDC. We are turning to that interview now."
The news shifted to a sit-down interview, where an older woman with black hair sat. She had square-rimmed glasses and looked slightly overweight.
"Thanks for sitting down with us, Doctor Ingram."
The woman smiled. "Thank you for having me."
The reporter leaned in. "I wanna cut to the chase because we have a lot of Americans tuning in who want to know what's going on with the REM pandemic." He cleared his throat. "The biggest question is what are the signs and symptoms of REM?"
Doctor Ingram shifted in her seat. "The symptoms are lack of sleep, extreme mood swings, mildly aggressive behavior. A few days after that, those infected become extremely aggressive and violent behavior takes over."
The camera shifted to the reporter. "The internet had exploded with theories that this is a zombie outbreak and that sort. Are these rumors true?"
Doctor Ingram shook her head. "No, the internet likes to falsify information. From our studies, those who have been bitten or scratched either get sick or they don’t get sick. It’s not some Hollywood make-believe."
"So what do we know?"
"What we know is that the spread of REM is following a bell curve like COVID-19 a year ago. The more people that interact with one other, the more that bell curve will grow. We have already learned our lesson from COVID-19 to self-quarantine and let this die out. Unfortunately, REM had such mild symptoms that we had no time to prepare. I can assure you though that the CDC will find a cure for this, but for the time being self-quarantine is a must."
The reported nodded. "So what is really going on with those who are infected?"
"We found that the patients had extremely high percentages of dopamine in their systems. From our studies, we noticed that the dopamine was never reabsorbed in infected patients. What really raises questions is that the patient's body was also producing more dopamine at the same time."
The camera cut to the reporter, who was a middle-aged man with graying hair. "Could you put that in layman’s terms for us, doctor?"
She adjusted her glasses then looked back up at the report. "That would be like taking cocaine and ecstasy at the same time. Your body just goes into utter chaos." She looked down at her hands and then back at the reporter.
"What were your findings in regard to the levels of dopamine in these patients’ systems?"
"Well, let’s put it this way. Someone on heroin has five to ten times the normal amount of dopamine in their system. What we found from the subjects we tested was that their dopamine levels were thirty, sometimes forty times more than the normal amount. The subjects that we analyzed began to stop sleeping, which further escalated that problem. They began to—" She looked down at the floor and readjusted herself in her seat. "The patients attempted autosarcophagy to free themselves from their restraints."
"Which is?" The reporter leaned forward in his chair.
"They began eating themselves to get free."
The reporter looked back at someone but then nodded and looked back at the doctor. He looked like he was perspiring slightly as he wiped his head with a rag. "Um, okay, Dr. Ingram, I just have two final questions."
She sat there with her legs crossed. Her composure was collected and calm. "By all means."
"Can it spread from animals to humans?"
"We know that this doesn’t affect any animals except for chimpanzees, but the cause of this is still unknown. What we ask from the CDC is for everyone to just remain calm and stay indoors. Make it a priority to avoid contact with humans and animals. Our government will handle this situation professionally and humanely. The last thing we want is for people to panic."
"I have one final question. Why is it called REM?"
"We originally had some long complicated name for it. REM is an acronym for rapid eye movement. What we found was the patients were entering REM when they were wide awake, causing severe hallucinations and extreme aggression. The name just stuck." She shook her head. "Not really scientific, but that’s just how some things go."
"I may have asked this before, but I want to reite
rate. How does it spread?"
"That is unknown at this time. All we can tell you is that if you are in an area that is in a red zone and you are not infected, then there is a good chance you are immune. There are a very small percentage of cases where the symptoms take longer to affect the patient, but that came from just one report from China."
"How many can expect to become infected?"
"Our studies showed that this seems to affect seventy percent of the population."
It cut to the reporter now. "There is no way to protect yourself from this?"
Doctor Ingram shook her head. "It seems that natural selection has forced its hand on all of us." She looked into the camera. "I want everyone to know that we are working around the clock and are close to solving this issue. I ask that everyone quarantine themselves and avoid all human contact. If one of your family members is infected we ask that you separate yourself from them immediately. We can and we will beat this pandemic."
The reporter swallowed heavily. "Uh, well Doctor I want to thank you for coming on."
Doctor Ingram bowed her head gracefully. "It is my pleasure."
The television cut now and an emergency broadcast started to play. Danny muted the television. All three men stared at each other in shock.
"What do we do?" Chad said looking around.
Eric stared off at the wall. "Right now, I guess we just wait."
Danny looked around at both men. The sound of sirens and helicopters started to fade out as the rest of the city roared in chaos.
This is really happening.
***
The street in front of Eric's condo was abandoned. Leaves were starting to build up near the curbs as the heavy winds began to pick up yet again. Occasionally, police vehicles would speed past or people would walk in each direction. The helicopters flying overhead became less frequent as things began to calm, but sometimes there would be gunshots. The mountains to the east looked hazy as the once small plumes of smoke had now become raging fires from the dry brush. It was thirty or so miles away, but there was an unexplained urgency now as smoke, and heavy ash could be smelled from the inside of the condo.
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