Chapter 43
At the Embassy Suites, Kevin put Rob, who was still unconscious, in a bed on a first floor room, shouting orders to others as he did so. “We need to secure this hotel. Kill anything that so much as looks funny. We’re going to have to make a run for guns as soon as possible.”
His hands were already shaking from withdrawals. They’d have to make a pharmacy run as well. He had been the one having sex on the floor that Mace had confronted and he already felt like fucking again. He’d received the antidote and been bitten three days later trying to loot a liquor store for booze and cigarettes.
The product of a broken home, his mother had disappeared after the initial assault, leaving him all alone. His father had been absent most of his life, and had moved out of state anyway. He really didn’t care about either one of them. He had spent most of his time reading books on military strategy, hanging with the wrong crowd and looking for fights.
He’d never felt so much power as after he’d recovered from the attack. He loved what the anger and violence could do to him. He was sixteen and he’d had sex almost nonstop since he’d joined up with Rob. He just couldn’t get enough.
There were two girls in particular he liked having sex with who’d also been injured after receiving the antidote. They understood his needs and desire and were willing to do anything with him. They liked it when he got rough and every time they had sex, it had gotten a little crazier. He’d have to fix them up with a room before too long. He didn’t want to have to wait much longer. He’d spent the better part of his school years in trouble and found this new environment completely invigorating. He could do and be anything he wanted.
He never told Rob about the antidote or being attacked, feeling slightly ashamed at first after Rob carried on about purity and weakness, and later because he didn’t want Rob to know the secret he had discovered. He planned to take over the gang once the time was right, and now was the perfect opportunity. He’d play along for a while and slowly draw members his way before cutting Rob’s throat. It would all play into his hands. It couldn’t have worked out better if he’d planned it.
From down the hall one of the young gangsters started yelling and Kevin sprinted to find the source of the commotion. The gangster walked out of one of the rooms laughing. “There’s a fucking retard in there. He’s one of those things. He must be deaf or something cause he just keeps wiggin’ out against the wall. He don’t even know I’m yelling at him.”
Kevin entered the room and chuckled himself. The infected kid was short, couldn’t have been any older than ten, and was wiggling around as if he were doing a pee-pee dance. He leaned over to try to get a glimpse of his face and was surprised to find that the other kid may have had it right. Even with his face twisted from the infection, he still looked like he could be mentally disabled.
He yelled at him and got no response, so he went ahead and walked directly into his line of vision, just off to the side, waiting to beat him down if he turned towards him. The kid didn’t budge. “Fuck, I think he’s blind too,” he said to no one in particular.
He stood there staring at him, wondering what to do, when a cartoon character popped into his head: Butters from Southpark. He smiled and left the room. There were a dozen kids standing around the doorway when he exited, anxious to hear what was going on. He smiled, enjoying the spotlight on himself, and said, “I think we got us a little mascot. We’ll call him Butters. We can tie him up to the fountain in the lobby and play around with him.”
In the middle of the hotel was an atrium with a Koi pond, trees, and a small waterfall that cascaded down into the pond. He pointed to one of the trees in the center of the pond. “Let’s tie him up to that one. I’ll bet he’d eat the fish.”
They all started laughing as they went inside to look at their new mascot. Kevin grabbed a blanket off one of the beds and threw it over the kid. The kid thrashed around for a few seconds until Kevin grabbed him around the middle, locked his arms tight and hoisted him up, carrying him out to the pond.
The kid’s legs were kicking wildly and Kevin yelled for one of the other kids to grab them. Two of them jumped in and they lifted him up, carrying him like a captured animal to the center of the atrium. Stepping inside the pond, the infected kid let out muffled shrieks from under the blanket.
Kevin turned his head and yelled to those following. “Get some bed sheets and we’ll tie him up.” He started laughing. “Hurry up, he squirms like a worm on crack.”
A couple boys ran into the room they’d pulled him out of, emerging a few seconds later carrying the sheets from the bed. While Kevin continued to grip him around the waist, the other two boys tied half the bed sheets to his ankles, then the other half to the trees.
Kevin interrupted them. “Give him some room to move around. It’ll be funnier that way.”
They let out the sheets as much as they could then tied them back around the tree, laughing and splashing water as they scrambled out of the way, running out of the pond.
Kevin looked at everyone and once again felt the power of their full attention, relishing it as he prepared to let go and lift off the blanket. “Could we have a drum roll please,” he said, and one of the kids started drumming his hands against one of the atrium tables. “I now present to you…Butters!”
With that, he whipped off the blanket and the creature that used to be a kid stumbled forward, shrieking at a high and feverish pitch, almost instantly falling into the pond when the leg restraints tugged at his ankles. All the boy’s started laughing and Kevin kicked him in the butt trying to elicit further laughs.
Standing proud before the group, he held up his hand to quiet them down. “Okay, we’ve had our fun, but if we’re going to rule this city we’re going to need guns, power for the hotel, and a whole lot of fuckin’ attitude!”
The gang erupted in shouts of approval with a few of the boys tipping over tables to show that their attitude was in the right place. Kevin felt inspired and knew he wanted to find somebody to fuck as soon as possible, his ego soaring and sexual release a high priority.
Chapter 44
Jade sat in one of the administrative offices of the hospital. She stared at the computer before her, awed that she was able to connect online once again. Every day that she’d tried she was sure she’d get the ‘Page cannot be displayed’ message splashed across the screen, but so far every time she’d tried she’d been able to sit down and click around.
What she didn’t know is that after 9/11 the federal government had passed regulations requiring internet providers to have backup systems in place in case of terrorism attacks or widespread blackouts. The government had assisted in the funding of the project, viewing the internet as necessary to government operations, especially in times of turmoil or attack. The backups were generator and solar powered, with the regular generator’s kicking in when the solar energy ran out.
Every day Jade had found the same front page stories on her browser about the spread of the virus. Nothing new had been posted since she’d first discovered she could connect, nor did she expect to. The thought had come to her the first day and she’d logged into Yahoo chat and wrote one simple word: Hello, in the hopes that someone might respond.
No one knew of her ventures to the computer since she felt foolish for even trying, but she was continually drawn back in the hopes of hearing some word of life beyond theirs. She felt a loneliness that needed reprieve. She was going to bring a baby into the world and desperately needed to hear that there was still a world to raise one in.
She sat in front of the computer screen, staring at the emptiness of the screen except for the little ‘Hello’ in the upper left hand corner. She realized just how foolish it was to wait for a response and was about to shut the computer down when she saw the words emerge on the screen directly below hers: ‘Hello?’ There were no speakers hooked up so she couldn’t hear any of the door creaks or tingling’s of response.
Her heart immediately raced as she stared
at the words, and she sat mesmerized as more quickly followed.
‘My name’s Sarah Thompson. Who are you? We’re in Overland Park, Kansas. I can’t believe I finally found somebody out there. It’s bad here but there are a few of us left that have pulled together. How many are with you?’
As Jade read the words her heart continued to pump furiously. She started typing, going too fast, misspelling, ‘I’m Jade Hallgren and I’m in San Fracisco. We habe the antidote. We’ve connected with a few thousand so far.’
She stared at the words, trying to think what else to write, but her brain was moving a mile and minute and she couldn’t think of anything else. She bit her lip and pressed send, then looked back at the screen, waiting for a response.
A full minute passed, which felt more life ten, before she got what she was waiting for.
‘The antidote?! OMG, I didn’t know they knew what it was. Are you with the government? When will it get here?!’
Jade read the words and started typing quickly again, the patter of her fingers matching the pounding in her heart.
‘There is no government. We’re on our own. Long story, but we’ll try to organize some people to head your way.’ She stopped typing, studied her words, then smiled and added, ‘I’m from Aberdeen. I miss the Midwest. Love to come visit.’ She pressed send and felt completely alive, like a spark had just been ignited within her. Within a minute the response came.
‘Love to have you. Small community pulling together. Midwest folks at their best.’
Jade stared at the screen and paused, feeling horribly homesick. She had to tell Mace what she had found.
‘Meet on here tomorrow same time?’
She waited until the response came. ‘Look forward. Bye.’
She tore out of the office, almost plowing into Gilbert, who’d been creeping around the corner, watching her. “Sorry” she yelled back as she headed for the stairs to the second floor, where she was hoping she would find Mace.
She hit the bottom of the stairs and stopped, the thought of Gilbert lurking by the doorway suddenly giving her the creeps. “What the hell was he doing there?” The third floor should have been practically empty. She felt a flash of anger as she thought of him watching her. She’d been distrustful of him since the first time she’d seen him and his odd behavior and strange wanderings around the hospital had only cemented that impression. She knew she’d have to dig deeper, but for now was more concerned with relaying the latest information to Mace.
The hospital was fairly crowded, with a hundred or so people looking for information, giving blood or receiving the antidote. She looked around the cafeteria but couldn’t spot Mace or see anyone that might know his location. At that moment, she missed her cell phone. She hadn’t realized just how convenient it had been until it had been taken away. She hurried to the first floor chapel, hoping she might find him with Father McCann, or that Father McCann might know of his whereabouts. She saw John walking down the hall and smiled as she approached him. She could see by the look on his face that something was bothering him.
“Hey, are you okay?”
A look of distraction clearly showed on his face. “Yeah, just a few things on my mind.”
She squinted and cocked her head slightly as she stared at him, aware that there was something that he wasn’t telling her. “Have you seen Mace anywhere? I need to talk to him.”
He pointed down the hall. “I just left him. I think he’s with Father Jack.”
She smiled and touched his arm as she moved past him. “Thanks.”
As she walked on, she thought of all the secrets being kept. It seemed like it was becoming just like before: People keeping to themselves and living in a bubble. Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw Mace emerge from the Chapel. She caught his eye and smiled as she hurried to meet up with him.
“You’ll never guess what happened.” She could see the same distracted look on his face that she’d seen on John’s. “What’s wrong? What’s going on around here?”
Mace shook his head. “Nothing. What’s the news?”
She stared at him and her smile disappeared. “I don’t want to be left in the dark. I hate secrets. Tell me what’s going on.”
Mace said nothing for a second as he studied her face. “Okay.” He nodded. “You first. What happened?”
As she looked at him, her face lit up again and she smiled. “I met someone. On the internet.”
He looked at her as if she was crazy. “Internet? What are you talking about? When were you on the internet?”
She felt slightly embarrassed. “I thought it was a dumb idea so I didn’t say anything.” She motioned with her head to the ceiling. “On the third floor there are some computers in the offices. I was able to connect and I just chatted with a woman from Kansas. Isn’t that incredible?”
The look on his face hadn’t changed. “You were able to connect to the internet?”
She smiled and waved her hand across his face. “Earth to Mace. Yes, I don’t know how it’s working, but it is. Did you hear what I just said? There are people out there. We’re not all alone.”
A thought crossed his mind and he got a devilish smile. “Looks like other people are keeping secrets too.”
Jade shook her head, at first frustrated by his lack of comprehension and then regenerated by his playfulness. “A woman always has secrets. It’s her prerogative. Now, tell me what yours is, cause you’re not allowed to have any.”
His smile disappeared as he processed the latest information. “Kansas? What did you chat about? What’s going on in Kansas?”
She felt frisky and happy and took a boxers stance, jabbing him in the stomach softly. “There is a small community of people who have pulled together. Just good Midwest folk trying to survive.” She stopped playing and gave him an almost pleading look. “I realized I miss home. The thought crossed my mind that we might head that way to have the baby.”
His eyebrows raised and he took a step backwards, bringing his hands up. “Whoa, slow down. Let’s take this one step at a time.” He brought his hands back down and studied her. She grew playful again and jabbed him lightly in the chest.
“Don’t panic, I’m just bringing it up. I didn’t realize it until today.” She took a step back and gave a soft side kick to his chest.
Mace looked at her and started laughing. “Weren’t you just throwing up this morning? What’s come over you?”
She laughed back and did a spinning roundhouse, stopping a few inches from his head. She lowered her leg and he could see her beaming. “I feel incredible. I feel hopeful and happy and I can’t wait to have this baby. I just have a feeling everything will work out.” She got back in a boxer’s stance and started taunting him. “Come on, big guy. Show me what you got.”
She started dancing around him with her arms up, jabbing at him. He laughed and lunged at her, spinning her around and wrapping his arms around her. “Alright, now what are you going to do. I think you’re stuck.”
She moved her head sideways and tried to wriggle free. “Well, if I really wanted to get free I’d head butt you with the back of my head and then kick you in the shin with my heel. Would you like me to demonstrate?”
Mace laughed and let go of her, and she spun around bringing her hands back up, bobbing and weaving around him, all smiles.
He looked at her and slowly put his hands up for her to stop, not wanting the good time to end but knowing there were pressing issues to deal with. A look of sorrow etched across his face and she stopped moving, staring at him as the reality of their situation returned. “Shit. Couldn’t we just forget about it for ten minutes?”
A small smile spread across Mace’s lips. “I wish it could. There’s just too much going on right now.”
Her smile vanished as she stared at him. “What now?”
Mace relayed all the information about John and the effects on those who had received the antidote and been infected. She nodded slowly as he finished. “I could tell something was
wrong with him. What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know yet. We were thinking about giving them some drugs to counteract the effects. Any ideas?”
“Well, my first idea would be to castrate somebody if they were thinking about rape, but we’re talking about John and other previously normal people. I think we should at least isolate them until we figure something out.”
Mace nodded in agreement and grabbed her hand. “Let’s get this worked out and we’ll start making plans for the future, okay?”
She smiled, glancing at her belly, which was still completely flat. “I want to live with hope and I want to bring young Conan here into a better world than this.”
“Conan?”
Her smile grew crooked as she looked up at Mace. “Just kidding.”
Chapter 45
Later that afternoon Jade had a list of those that had been attacked and fallen ill after receiving the antidote. There were seventeen in all, and Maria had actually thought enough to take pictures of each of them with her digital camera for their files. Jade had agreed to meet Mace in the cafeteria at 4:00 pm with as much information as she could gather.
As she walked in, the cafeteria was mostly empty, and she spotted Mace at a corner table eating a dry tuna sandwich, drowning it down with a soda. She walked up, plopped the file down in front of him, and pulled up a chair.
“Mmm. Looks yummy.”
He gave her a raised eyebrow as he tried to swallow the latest bite. He choked it down and swallowed hard. He held the sandwich out for her. “You want a bite?”
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