by Barry Slater
“Nice to meet you,” Kim responded.
The clothes fit loosely on Kim's petite frame. Her hair was washed and pulled back in a ponytail. Her face was clean and the early morning sunlight pouring in from bay windows illuminated her naturally beautiful features.
“This is Captain Jack Frost,” Dwayne said as Captain Jack came down from the rooftop balcony. “I'm Dwayne Ellis.”
“Oh yes,” Kim said bright eyed. “You're the composer, the violinist. My dad told me you lived near Round Hill. I remembered my dad telling me that when I saw you playing yesterday.”
“Who's your dad?” Dwayne asked.
“John Johnson,” Kim replied. “My family owns the Round Hill pharmacy. Dad wanted me to become a pharmacist also but I wasn't interested in that sort of thing. I opened an aerobics studio in South Tahoe Lake. I also taught yoga. Your wife, Jean, joined not long ago. I recognized her in the photos upstairs.”
Dwayne nodded his head. He remembered Jean going to an aerobics class on occasion.
“Is she here?” Kim asked.
Dwayne clasped his hands together then looked down at the floor. He stood up then looked out the kitchen window for a moment.
“She got the virus,” Dwayne said.
“I'm sorry,” Kim said. “Thank you for letting me wear her clothes.”
Dwayne nodded in appreciation.
“My husband worked for my dad. He wanted to be the other pharmacist in the family, before this. My God, how did all this happen?”
“We're not sure,” Doc Martin said.
“Where is your husband?” Dwayne asked.
“Rick was shot several days ago by men in military uniforms. He and Kayla both caught the virus. He picked her up from her birthday party at school the day she got it and took her to the quick care clinic but the clinic was overrun with sick people.”
Kim paused for a moment. “Rick text me at the store that he was taking Kayla home. He went by the pharmacy to pick up some medication but they never made it to our house.
“I drove to the pharmacy and found them there. By then dad and Rick were violently ill. Later that night, Kayla got worse. That's when the power and phone service went out. When I last checked on Kayla, she had passed away. By the next morning, Dad and Rick succumbed to the virus also. Then something very frightening happened. The virus had revived Kayla but she had no pulse, she was not breathing, she was cold to the touch, but she was alive.
“And it was not Kayla, not the Kayla that I knew. Her eyes were discolored and once they fixed on me she went wild. She clawed at me with her fingernails and made a guttural sound as if she was possessed by a demon or something.”
Kim looked down at the canned corn and handmade biscuits. “I tried to stop her but there wasn't much I could do. I went inside the upstairs office and locked the door. Kayla clawed at the door all night making that God-awful sound. The next morning she was gone. I went downstairs and Dad and Rick were gone. I ventured out slowly, a little at a time. I found the money you left. Dad would have thanked you for that.”
Dwayne nodded.
“I hid from the militia men,” Kim continued. “I didn't trust them, not that many men with guns.”
“You did the right thing,” Dwayne said. “We've run into them too. They don't have the best of intentions.”
“Yesterday was the first I'd seen of Kayla in several days. I heard your wonderful music and saw the effect it had on her. I thought maybe it was a cure.”
“It's only a distraction,” Dwayne said. “As far as we know there is no cure.”
“Ms. Young, do you have a cat at home?” Doc Martin asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you ever have it tested for toxoplasma?”
“No. Why?”
“Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that infects the brain. This virus is a new strand—a mutation. If your cat is infected with Toxoplasma then probably so are you.”
“Are you saying this came from cats?”
“No. Toxoplasma is everywhere, in every country. Here in the US it is most prevalent in cats. The old virus does not succumb to the new virus, not yet anyway. Having a cat probably saved your life. Not everyone that owns a cat is infected with toxoplasma but if they are then that's probably why they did not get this virus.
“Dwayne and Jack were not in direct transferable contact with the virus. We're calling it a virus but it's really an infection that spreads like a virus. I was diagnosed with toxoplasma several years ago. I was in direct transmittable contact with the new virus and did not contract it. Neither did you. It's probably because you have the old virus.
“I suspect,” Doc Martin continued, “that you and I are not completely immune to the new virus but evidently we are certainly resistant to it.”
“We brought Kayla here for a reason,” Dwayne said. “We know they are attracted to sound but we think they can see heat. We have come up with a way to overcome that if that is the case.”
“That would explain why they don't attack each other,” Kim said.
“That's right,” Doc Martin said. “But we don't know for sure yet.”
“We would like to test our theory on Kayla,” Dwayne said. “We need her to be our test subject. If it works, we can move among them with no risk to ourselves.”
“And then?” Kim asked.
“We try to stop the spread of the virus,” Dwayne answered. “At least in this area, and put an end to the suffering of those already infected.”
“You're going to kill them,” Kim said.
“They are already dead Ms. Young,” Doc Martin said.
“You'll kill Kayla?”
“Like Doc said, she is already dead,” Captain Jack said. “There's nothing else we can do.”
“You will end her suffering?” Kim asked.
“Yes,” Dwayne responded. “It's entirely up to you Ms. Young,”
#
Captain Jack went up the hill to the storage shed with Dwayne and Kim while Doc Martin stood watch on the rooftop balcony.
Upon seeing them, Kayla began moaning as did all the other victims of the virus upon seeing a living person.
Kim placed her hand over her mouth. Dwayne put his arm around her.
Kayla's lips were pulled back over her teeth. Her flesh was torn by the rope. Her eyes were discolored and sunken back in blackened sockets.
“I watched Jean go through this,” Dwayne said. “It only gets worse.”
Kim turned away. Dwayne and Captain Jack followed her outside the shed.
“Kim,” Dwayne said softly. “We need to know if this will work. All we need to do is put on a thermal suit we've come up with and then see how Kayla reacts to it.”
“OK,” Kim said solemnly shaking her head.
“OK,” Dwayne said. “Captain Jack, I'll present myself to Kayla without the thermal suit as a control test. Then, I'll come back outside and put on the suit then go inside and see how Kayla responds.”
Captain Jack nodded in agreement.
“Alright,” Dwayne said with a deep breath. “Here we go. She should react to me as everyone else with the virus has so far without any music or thermal suit.”
Kayla was facing away from the shed door. Dwayne went inside then walked directly in front of Kayla. The little girl took in then pushed air out across her vocal cords with the sound of a deep wail. She grasped at Dwayne almost tipping over the hand truck.
A moment of pity became a moment of wonder. Dwayne asked himself what else besides hunger could create the basic desire to kill, unless it was the simple desire for the virus to spread?
More importantly, how can a corpse be animated?
Dwayne went back outside and the moaning stopped. He pulled on the thermal poncho and leggings.
“OK Jack,” Dwayne said as he slid on a mask Captain Jack had made from the circle he had cut out of the material for Dwayne's head.
Captain Jack gave Dwayne a thumbs-up and a nod.
The little girl reacted to the sound o
f Dwayne walking around to face her. There was no shrilling or struggling. She positioned her head like a blind person trying to hone in on something they were only hearing.
Dwayne paused for a moment to make sure the material was causing the effect then went outside and breathed out heavily.
“How did it go?” Captain Jack asked in anticipation.
Dwayne nodded. “It worked.”
“Then we've got a snowball's chance in hell to make it through this,” Captain Jack said.
“This will make it a lot easier to go to town to get supplies,” Dwayne said then turned to Captain Jack. “And anything else we may need to do.”
Dwayne took the thermal suit off then quietly walked back toward the house.
“He's hurting inside isn't he,” Kim said as she watched Dwayne go.
“He had to put his wife down,” Captain Jack said. “To end her suffering. And he had to do it alone. That was before Doc and I got here. I found him in a severely depressed state of mind. I believe he was thinking of doing himself in.”
“Captain Jack,” Kim said.
“Yeah?”
“I'd like to ask you for a favor.”
“Hey, wait a minute. You're not thinking about doing yourself in are you?”
“No. Not yet anyway.”
“I'm not even going there. There's no need for that and I'm not going to be a part of that. We are all going to make it through this shit.”
“I do want you to promise me if I get the virus you won't let me suffer.”
“I copy that. Same here.”
“I don't want to let Kayla go,” Kim said as tears began to roll down her face. “She already has the virus and she is suffering. I don't want her to spread the virus more than she already has and I want her suffering to end. But, I can't do it myself. Do you understand what I'm asking you to do?”
“You want me to...” Captain Jack tilted his head toward the storage shed.
“Yes,” Kim said as she closed her eyes. “Perhaps Dwayne could play something on his violin also.”
Dwayne's handset beeped. “Yeah,” Dwayne said after finding the handset in his pocket.
“Dwayne,” Captain Jack said.
“What's up?”
“There's something we need to do,” Captain Jack said gravely.
“Kayla.”
“Yeah. You might want to bring your violin.”
“—OK,” Dwayne said. “I'll be back there in a few minutes.”
Dwayne met Kim and Captain Jack back at the storage shed. Dwayne and Captain Jack took shovels to the hill behind the house and dug a small grave next to Jean's while Doc Martin watched from the rooftop.
Kim took one last look at Kayla. Kayla bared her teeth and let out an ear piercing shrill as she struggled against the rope that bound her to the hand truck.
Captain Jack lay a saddle blanket over Kayla's head then wheeled her uphill to the edge of the grave.
Dwayne and Kim stood back behind Kayla. Dwayne played “Amazing Grace” as large, sparse snowflakes floated lazily down out of the overcast sky.
Captain Jack took his 9mm out of its holster and aimed it at the back of Kayla's head.
Kim began sobbing.
Kayla was mesmerized by the music. Images of her mother and the sound of her own voice calling out to her flashed through Kayla's broken mind.
“Mom! Look what dad got me,” Kayla heard herself say at her last birthday party. It was a Barbie bicycle with training wheels. Kayla had dreamed of taking her first ride. Her last thought before hearing Captain Jack click the safety off the 9mm was her dad letting her go, letting her ride on her own.
“Mom! Look!”
Captain Jack looked up at the moisture laden clouds. “God bless this child.”
Kayla's forehead exploded inside the blanket then her head tilted forward.
Kim wept bitterly. “My little birthday girl,” she said.
Captain Jack cut the rope and let Kayla's body fall into the grave. Dwayne put his arm around Kim and sat her on a birch stump he had cut for firewood.
Covering the body, Dwayne and Captain Jack packed and smoothed the dirt on top of the grave.
Quietly weeping, Kim slowly made her way over to, then knelt beside Kayla's grave. As she placed her hand on the fresh dirt the rays of the sun shone out from behind the broken clouds.
“Jean,” Dwayne said silently as he looked down at his wife's grave. “This is Kayla, Kim's daughter. Watch over her. She is your daughter now, until we can come to where you are.”
Dwayne played Jean's favorite song and brought everyone to tears including Doc Martin as he listened from the balcony. When he finished, Dwayne wrapped his arm around Kim's shoulder and walked her down to the house.
Kim wiped the tears from her face. “Thank you for this.”
“Captain Jack did the hard part,” Dwayne said as he opened the front door.
“I'll have to thank him for that,” Kim said. “Jean was a good person. She invited Kayla and me to come see the animals.”
“How old is—sorry—was Kayla?” Dwayne asked.
“She just turned seven in October,” Kim replied. “She got sick at her birthday party. It’s funny how things work out. We never did come to see the animals.”
Dwayne thought for a moment. “Jean wanted to start a foster home for children. She loved children and it broke her heart every time she looked into the eyes of an abused, abandoned child.
“It was a catch, like everything in life. Jean wanted so much to be a mother but couldn't. She considered adoption but she couldn’t say yes to one without saying yes to all of them. She liked horses so we built this place. We bought our first horse and all the equipment before we realized we didn't even know how to ride a horse.”
Kim looked up at Dwayne with a slight smile.
“One of Jean's co-workers who trained animals offered us two llamas for the horse. We began collecting exotic animals and built habitats for them so that all the orphans could come and visit, and if they couldn’t come here then we took what animals we could to them. That's how we got into the animal business.”
Inside the house, Kim washed the fresh dirt from her face and hands.
“I'm so tired,” Kim said as she dried herself with a towel.
“Why don't you go upstairs and take a nap,” Dwayne said. “Then we'll have dinner.”
“What I would really like to do is go to sleep and just not wake up.”
“You have to keep going Kim.”
“How? I've lost everything: My family, my home.”
“You are welcome to stay here with us,” Dwayne said. “You've made life worth living again for us. Finding you was like a shot in the arm. We're a motley crew but if we stick together I think we'll make it.”
Kim looked at Dwayne with a slight smile. “Thank you.”
Colonel Tibbets
“They're using this trail to come to town,” Colonel Tibbets said. “These tracks lead in and out. It probably cuts a good two miles off the road route.”
“They must have plenty of supplies already,” Joe said. “Or they would be using their other vehicle and be in town more often.”
“It's to conserve fuel,” Colonel Tibbets said. “I'm sure they know we're still around also. They won't risk us taking it from them unless they have to.”
“What's the plan?”
“We set up an ambush here along the trail.”
“And risk more lives?”
“We'll be in our element and on our ground, and they'll be out of theirs—away from their defensive position.”
“I'm asking you about those that are going to die trying to do this, what about them? I don't know how many more of these boys are ready to die trying to take that house again.”
“Ask them Joe,” Colonel Tibbets retorted. “Go ahead and ask them what they want to do. I can't make any one do anything. The only authority I have out here is my seniority. I have no laws or courts to back me up. So go ahead and ask them. You w
ant to vote on it? You want a democracy out here? Good luck with that. Pretty soon we'll be fighting among ourselves. We need leadership if we're going to survive.
“And think about this Joe: once we're set up in that house you're going to feel a lot better about what it took to get it.”
With his eyes, Joe submitted to Colonel Tibbets' reasoning.
“Now,” Colonel Tibbets said. “If we do this right, there won't be any shots fired at all. We set up in a “V” formation pointing toward the trail. That way they are less likely to notice us until they are in the middle of the ambush site. Then, when the violin man comes along, we swarm him like flies on shit and subdue him. Nobody gets hurt.”
“If they have the thermal goggles, they'll be able to see us.”
“If they are close enough to see us with thermal goggles then we will be able to see them,” Colonel Tibbets explained not knowing about Captain Jack's ghillie suit. “Just make sure no one hurts the violin man.”
“You see,” Colonel Tibbets continued. “Then we'll have hostages that will get us into the house without a single shot fired. Stick with me my friend. We'll be sitting pretty inside that house very soon.”
#
“Do you see them?” Dwayne said into his headset.
“I've got 'em,” Captain Jack responded. Captain Jack, in his ghillie suit, had been waiting for the group of militants all morning. Correctly theorizing that they would set up an ambush somewhere along the trail, he and Dwayne had worked out a plan to counter it. “They're on the trail about a quarter of a mile this side of the pharmacy.”
“How many?”
“Looks like all of them,” Captain Jack said. “I count twenty-four in an ambush formation. I'm sure they lost two to four men during the attack on the house. A couple of them may have recovered enough to be used as scouts though.”
“Well,” Dwayne said. “We'll just have to chance it. Kim will go ahead and drop me off at the gas station. I'll gather a crowd there then come in behind the bad guys. Be careful Captain Jack. Don't let them see you. If we are successful in dealing with these guys now then we will be able to function in town with impunity.”
“Until the next group of assholes moves in.”
“Think positive Jack.”