The Infected, a PODs Novel

by Michelle K. Pickett

  “I know.”

  “See ya, Eva.” He winked and jogged down my porch steps.

  “Identification.” The officer held out his hand. I had just crossed the perimeter into District M. I rolled my eyes and slapped my ID in his palm. “You’re out of your district. Turn around and return to District E.”

  “I’m just on my way to visit—”

  “Do you have work papers?” The look he gave me told me he already knew the answer.

  “No, but—”

  “Turn around and return to your district.”

  I wanted to scream. I may have if he hadn’t been holding a gun. “It’s been a month. How long is this going to last? Why are we on lock-down and what about the curfew? What’s up with that?”

  The officer waved my ID in my face. “Turn around and return to your district before I’m forced to assist you.”

  “Ugh!” I grabbed my identification card out of his hand and turned toward home.

  Assist me my ass. There are ways to get around you and your rules, buddy.

  I wanted answers. So I did what anyone would do—took matters into my own hands.

  I knocked on David’s door. “Hey.”

  David gave me a wary look. “What’s up?”

  “I’m going to see Tiff and George tonight. Just wanted to know if you wanted to break curfew with me?”

  He chuckled. “Always.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you around nine, then.” I jogged down his porch steps and waved.

  I was at David's five minutes to nine, ready to go. But his neighbors decided to pick that night to ignore the curfew. It was too dangerous to sneak away while they were outside, wandering house to house, having their version of a block party. So, I paced, watching them through the window, picking at my nails, and chewing on my bottom lip.

  “They’ll go in soon.” David sat on his couch with his feet crossed on the coffee table reading a three-year-old edition of Car and Driver magazine. “If you don’t stop chewing on your lip, you’re not going to have one.”

  I waved off his words and paced the length of the house… again.

  It was eleven o’clock before we slipped out his back door and skirted through the backyards of his neighbors. We ran along the wood privacy fencing that lined the back of the properties, making our way to the meadow at the end of the street, and following the edge of the meadow past the center of town to the Medical District. We cut through the yards of George and Tiffany’s neighbors, dodging bicycles, and kiddie pools.

  We darted up George’s deck and David rapped on the backdoor. George opened it almost immediately, pulling us inside.

  “I knew you’d be coming. I’m surprised it took you this long,” George said looking at me.

  “Why do you look at me when you say that?” I tried to glare at George, but smiled.

  He chuckled. “Because everyone knows you’re the bad influence.”

  “Oh.” I tipped my head to the side and thought for a beat. “Okay, then.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Hey, Tiff.” I sat next to her on the couch and slipped out of my hoodie.

  She reached over and gave me a hug. “How are you doing? Okay?”

  “Yeah. You?”

  “Honestly, Eva, I’m worried,” she admitted.

  “Yeah, well, there is that. I think we all are.” I blew a piece of hair out of my eyes. “What are you doing here?” I looked at Devlin, who was sitting on the other end of the couch.

  “Just visiting,” he answered.

  “Shame, shame, you’re out after curfew.”

  One side of his mouth tipped up. “You aren’t the only one who knows how to sneak around in the middle of the night.”

  “So what’s the word?” David asked George and Devlin.

  Devlin took a deep breath and glanced at David. “There’ve been more deaths.”

  “And?” I prompted when he didn’t continue.

  He wouldn’t look at me when he answered. “Still no word on the cause.”

  Oh you’re so totally lying.

  “What’s going on?” I looked between George and Devlin.

  George shook his head. “Eva, we don’t know…”

  “And I call bullshit on both of you.” My finger pointed at George then Devlin, and back again.

  George looked at the ceiling and let out a frustrated sigh. “We can’t say,” he said so quietly I almost didn’t hear him.

  “But we can’t stop people from guessing,” Devlin whispered.

  I let out a frustrated sigh. “What is this, grade school? We have to play twenty questions?”

  “Tell us what’s going on,” David ordered.

  “It’s back. Isn’t it?” My stomach churned and blood pounded behind my ears.

  Devlin didn’t answer—just stared at me.

  And I knew. It was back.

  My stomach roiled. It twisted and turned, and squeezed the air from my lungs. I leaned forward to ease the stabbing pain, wrapping my arms around my waist. The room tilted to one side, and I grabbed the coffee table in front of the couch to steady myself.

  “Eva?” David put his hand on my shoulder.

  “I’m fine.” I focused on Devlin. “How?” I whispered. “There hasn’t been a case of the virus in months.”

  “We don’t know how, but it’s infecting animals. All the animals we’ve caught have tested positive for a strain of the virus.”

  David ran his hand down his face and paced the length of the living room. “A strain of the virus? So it’s mutated again?”

  “Yes.” George answered, sitting in a chair next to Tiffany.

  “But I didn’t think illnesses transferred from animals to humans, other than rabies?”

  Of course, I have no idea what the hell I’m talking about either.

  “This one does. Just like before, it’s mutated, adapted.” George put his elbow on the arm of the chair, resting his chin on his fist.

  “So the military have seen Infected outside the village?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. I could feel a migraine knocking around inside my skull like a Ping-Pong ball.

  George shook his head. “No. The village was closed as a precaution. There hasn’t been a human infection, so far.”

  “But that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there,” I muttered.

  Devlin took a long swig of his lemonade and rolled the glass between his hands. “No, it doesn’t.”

  We fell silent. Each of us lost in our own thoughts. I tried to process the information. To come to terms with the idea that our world had just been turned upside down by the virus—again.

  “There is some good news. If you believe rumors.” One side of Devlin’s mouth lifted in his signature, totally kissable half-grin.

  “What?” I angled my body toward him. “I’ll take some good news, rumored or not.”

  “The government has a vaccine. Up until now the issue was how to deliver it to animals in the wild. According to rumors, a scientist not only has stumbled across the vaccine to kill the new strain of the virus, but he’s also found a delivery method.”

  I rolled my eyes when he didn’t continue. I hated when he gave half answers. “What is it?”

  Devlin took a breath and let it out slowly. “Well, there are two different delivery methods. They’ve both been used in the past and proven successful on different levels and with different viruses. One was used during the Swine Flu outbreak. The first method is to mix the antiviral with grain that’s spread in the wild for the animals to eat.

  “Pieces of feed are heated and a die used to hollow out the nugget.” Devlin used his hands to illustrate as he talked. “The antiviral is extruded into the opening, and the feed is cooled. The antiviral adheres to the piece of feed and it’s good to go. When the animals eat it, they get a dose of the antiviral medication contained in the medicated pellets. There is a problem with this method, however. The animal needs to eat enough to ensure it gets the proper dosage according to its weight. There’s no way for us to monitor that.” He shrugged
a shoulder.

  Devlin stood and walked to the window. He looked outside for a time. I watched his profile. His jaw worked as his teeth worried his bottom lip. Finally, he sighed and returned to sit next to me on the couch.

  “The second delivery method,” he continued, “relies on the same principle as the first. The feed attracts animals in the wild. But this feed will attract herbivores rather than the carnivores we’re trying to vaccinate. The antiviral is delivered the same as before, but when the herbivore—deer, squirrel, rabbit, mice, whatever—eats it, the antiviral will build-up in the animal’s tissue. The carnivore eats the herbivore, and absorbs the vaccine through their meat, and so on. A circle of life kind of thing. Between the two methods, researchers are confident the majority of wildlife will be inoculated quickly, without much impact on our day-to-day activities.”

  “So it’s like the hormones farmers were pumping into farm animals to enhance their growth. The stuff was staying in the meat when humans ate it, and the FDA had to step in and regulate it.” I looked at Devlin. He gave me a small smile.

  “Like Devlin said, it’s been done, and done successfully more than once and with more than one species, but it’s new technology. And there are concerns, even with the most brilliant scientific minds at Area-One,” George said.

  Tiffany gave a half laugh and rubbed her swollen belly. “They have the technology, and, like you said, are supposed to be the most brilliant scientific minds. That’s why the government, in all their genius, handpicked them to survive. Now they’d better step-up, and get this shit taken care of.”

  “What about the animals that are already infected?” I turned to Devlin. “How does the government plan to control them?”

  Devlin licked his lips and scratched his jaw with his thumb. “If an infected animal ingests the antiviral it will be lethal. But we have no way of knowing if an infected animal will be attracted to the feed or the inoculated animals. They may sense something different about the animals and not consume them. So that means any infected animals will have to be killed to ensure it doesn’t spread the virus.” Devlin’s lips turned down slightly.

  “And the antiviral won’t transfer from the animals to humans?” Devlin looked at me and shrugged a shoulder. “Oh. That’s comforting.” I ran my fingers through my hair, jerking them through the snarled ends.

  “It’s not supposed to have any impact on humans,” George answered. He reached for Tiffany’s hand and threaded their fingers together.

  “So when do they start delivering it to the villages?” David asked, leaning his shoulder against the wall.

  “The villages are closed, my friend. Area-One hasn’t released any official information about the vaccine. Like I said, it’s all rumors.” Devlin stood and slapped David on the back before he grabbed his jacket and slipped into it.

  Weeks went by, and food and supply shortages began. No one was allowed to hunt. The farm animals meant for slaughter were confiscated and killed by the military. The meat burned to kill any virus that may’ve been present, even though the animals showed no sign of infection.

  “What do you mean you don’t have any chicken?” a woman yelled at Junior, the grocer.

  I’d stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work. Someone walked up behind me and touched my elbow. “Hey.”

  I turned and smiled. “Hi, David. We’re having a chicken fiasco.” I nodded toward the woman yelling at Junior.

  “The chickens were confiscated and killed,” Junior said calmly.

  “Where’s the steak, the hamburger?”

  “Gone.”

  “You don’t have fresh meats? What are we supposed to eat?” the woman shouted.

  He waved his arm toward the shelves. “There are some canned meats. Fruits and vegetables. Nuts. That’s all I’m allowed to sell.”

  “Where’s the toilet paper?” The woman put her hand on her hip and leaned in toward Junior.

  “I’m out. The village is closed. There are no supplies coming in. You’ll have to make do,” Junior snapped.

  “What am I supposed to use to wipe my ass?”

  “I have a few ideas,” I muttered.

  David chuckled. “I think you’d better stay out of it.”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” Junior turned and walked away to help other customers.

  “You expect us to live like animals!”

  “Look, lady, I’m only doing what the military tells me to. If you gotta problem with it, take it up with them. Otherwise, shut up already. Jeez, our ancestors lived through it—you can too,” Junior yelled. I jumped when he slammed his fist on the counter to make his point.

  “Let’s go.” David put his hand on the small of my back and guided me out of the store.

  “Things are getting bad,” I said.

  “Yeah. They’ll only get worse.”

  “I know. People like her are going to start rioting for toilet paper,” I giggled.

  David laughed. “Be serious, Eva.”

  “I am. I don’t think I should let anyone know I stocked up on Charmin. We don’t want any toilet paper looting going on.” I was only half joking.

  David looked at me and grinned. “I love that you can find something funny in just about any situation.”

  “But…”

  “What?”

  “I guess I shouldn’t joke. There really isn’t anything funny about this.” I picked at the hem of my sweatshirt.

  David looked over my head and shrugged. “It’s your coping mechanism. There’s nothing wrong with it. We all have our ways of dealing with things. Yours is snarky.”

  “Gee, I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not. Is snarky even a word?” I looked up at him. "Did you get that off the word a day toilet paper Devlin found you on his last shopping trip?”

  David laughed. “No. I don’t know if it’s a word.” He bumped his shoulder into mine. “You’re the English whiz. You tell me.”

  “I’ll have to look that one up.”

  “What district are you from?” A man in uniform barked.

  I jumped. I hadn’t heard him walk up behind us. “Educational,” I said, already digging for my ID.

  “Then why are you here?”

  “Shopping.” David held up the shopping bags thrown over his shoulder.

  “Your shopping is done. Pick up the pace and get back to your district.” The MP reached out and clasped my elbow, turning me around, and pointing me home. He gave me a little shove.

  David lost it.

  “Get your damn hands off her,” David shouted. He dropped the canvas grocery bags and fruits and vegetables rolled across the sidewalk.

  The guard grabbed his weapon. David glared at him. His nostrils flared and a vein throbbed in his neck. Every muscle in his body was taut, stretched like a rubber band ready to be snapped across the room. I knew the only thing between that man and David’s fist, was the handgun he had aimed at David’s chest.

  I bent down and grabbed the grocery bags, shoving what things I could reach back into them with shaking hands. I stood and put my hand on David’s arm, the muscles underneath were as hard as steel.

  “Let’s go.” I cupped his cheek and turned his face to me. “David, let’s go.” I looked at the MP. “We’re going.” David and I turned and quickly walked home.

  We walked into my house and I swung toward David. “You idiot!”

  “What?” David asked, his eyes wide.

  “You could have gotten yourself shot.”

  “He touched you!”

  “So? He had a gun, David! A gun!” And then I did something that could only be explained by stress or PMS, or both. I cried. And it wasn’t just a few tears leaking out of my eyes. Nope, it was snot stringing out my nose sobs.

  David pulled me into his arms. I fisted one hand around his shirt and hit him on the chest with my other fist, before grabbing his shoulder.

  “Shh, Eva, it’s okay.”

  I shook my head against him, my tears leaving
wet splotches on his shirt.

  David reached down and placed his arm under my knees and carefully picked me up, carried me into my bedroom, and put me gently on the bed. He stretched out beside me, and I rested my head on his shoulder. We lay like that for more than an hour. David dozed off. I watched the shadows play across the ceiling, while I listened to his slow, rhythmic breathing.

  I moved away slowly, trying not to wake him. I sat on the edge of the bed when his hand snaked out and grabbed my wrist. Gently he pulled me to him. Rolling to his side, he pulled me around to lie next to him, my head on his outstretched arm. Curling his arm, he brought my face close to his. His fingers threaded through my hair, and his lips touched mine. The sensation unleashed butterflies. Warmth spread through my veins as his hand moved up my leg and side to cup my cheek.

  He pulled his head back. His thumb caressed my cheek as he gazed into my eyes. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, trailing his fingers from my cheek to my lips. He slid his thumb over my bottom lip before repeating the motion with his tongue. I sucked in a breath at the heady feel of being in his arms again, after so many months alone.

  I turned from him. “David,” I whispered.

  “Yeah, well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.” He rolled upward and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, and his hands dangling between.

  I laid my hand on his arm. He brushed it away. “I’m sorry.” I sat up next to him. “I shouldn’t have… this was my fault.”

  He searched my eyes. “We’re okay, huh? We’ll work through this thing between us, one way or another. We’ll either be friends or lovers, but we’ll be in each other’s lives, right?”

  “Yeah. Always.”

  He nodded and scrubbed the side of his hand over his stubbled jaw. “We’re good then?”

  I nodded and turned away.

  “Then why aren’t you looking at me, Eva?”

  I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and rolled it, trying to keep the tears I could feel closing in at bay. But when I looked at him, it was through a watery gaze. “We’re good,” I whispered. “We’re just not us.”