The man remained warily on the porch.
“Greetings to you!” said Judy.
“And to you,” said the man cautiously as he might to a stranger.
“Care to chat for a minute?” asked Judy.
“I’d prefer to talk without the guns.” Unnoticed by Judy, the miners stood holding military rifles, appearing rather like hooligans. The cat no longer sported its colorful flags looking weather beaten.
“They’re just for our protection,” said Jack.
“I’m not armed and I’m the only one about, I can assure you,” said the man with a distinctive east coast accent. The miners shouldered, but did not put down their weapons.
The women clambered down with Darwin following silently. “I’m Judy and this is Onita. These are my friends. They won’t trouble you.”
“I’m Hirsh, but I would be better convinced of your good will without guns.”
“I’m sorry, but after all that’s happened, not even I can persuade them to put them away. They’ll remain in the cat if you wish.”
“The cat?”
“Our machine… after the manufacturer.”
“Well then… everyone come down, please. I would be delighted to talk to people again. I’m sorry, but there aren’t enough chairs on the porch for all of you. There’s a picnic table by the library if someone wants to bring more seats on the deck,” Darwin sniffed Hirsh’s pant legs while Hirsh scratched his head.
Judy pointed to each in turn and introduced everyone. Despite the weather, Hirsh was dressed in polyester slacks with suspenders, and wingtip shoes… a city boy with a neatly trimmed beard.
Six seated themselves on the porch while the miners remained standing. After a reluctant pause, Judy asked, “Hirsh, I must know… have you been sick?”
“No… any of you?”
“No, but we probably weren’t exposed.”
“How were you so fortunate?”
“We fled to a remote cabin to let that flu cool off.”
“So you’re all healthy. Remarkable! We attempted to do the same… but with the quarantine and the military, this was as far as we got. My wife didn’t make it, I’m sad to say… nor did anyone else in town except one other person as far as I’ve seen. So I sit here in the sun and read philosophy. I’m not getting any answers as to why an old codger was passed over.”
Glancing at his stack of books, Judy asked, “Where did you find so many books on philosophy of all things?”
Pointing next door, Hirsh replied, “The Copper Valley Library. Who could ask for anything better under the circumstances?”
“Have you been here the whole time? You must have found food.”
“A little… not much is left, but I just shot a caribou. I’m fine for now.”
“So you’ve been hunting?”
“Well… hardly. I put out a salt lick as a lure and waited. Many animals come to the lick now. Unfortunately, wolves have discovered the animals as well.”
“I’ll be damned,” said Jack aloud.
A city dweller who wasn’t constrained by the old rules against baiting, Mac thought. “Where did you come up with that idea?” he asked.
“Wasn’t rocket science,” chuckled Hirsh. “I’m a chemist.”
“How ‘bout that. So what’s a chemist doing way out here?” asked Jack.
“Not here… Valdez. I worked for British Petroleum… the Alyeska pipeline...”
Judy interrupted asking, “Hirsh, please… tell us what happened.”
Hirsh sighed. “I’d rather talk about something more pleasant.”
“Hirsh… we need to know. You must have heard news since we have.”
“Well… if I must go through all that, I’m going to get fortified.” Hirsh stood and waved everyone inside. “The day’s early, but anyone else drink Scotch?”
“Really! May we help?” asked Mac.
“Sure… follow me, then let’s come back outside in the sun. I’ve got the stove banked inside.”
Hirsh wasn’t a fussy housekeeper, so Mac washed glasses for the Scotch. The man was well provided, obviously having scrounged town himself. He had a cache of canned goods, flour and other staples… two cases of Scotch, an assembled, working flour mill and a myriad of hand operated gadgets, many of which were still in their original packages. He had definitely found his way around Glennallen, Mac thought… and appeared healthy despite doing so.
On the porch, Hirsh said, “Drink it neat, or there’s always the snow… and here’s another bottle.” Everyone toasted Hirsh’s continued good health which he acknowledged by smiling and then looked down reflectively until everyone was seated.
“I suppose you’re anxious to hear my story but I’m just as anxious to put all that behind me. I’ll warn you ahead of time, I’m likely to get emotional. I expect fair turnabout when I’m done, so I hope you’ll join me for dinner. I’m flush for the moment.” Tony glanced knowingly at Jack, his face clearly not enthusiastic.
“Onita and I will prepare you a fine roast for dinner!” said Judy.
“Well then… now I’m obliged to get on with my story, but I hope you won’t be disappointed. I know far less than you hoped, I’m sure. Events were all so chaotic.” He took a long sip of Scotch, savoring for a moment, looked up and continued.
“I mentioned I worked for British Petroleum. I was assigned to Valdez for a short project and in all the years of coming here, Rachael joined me for the first time. We hoped to get in a quick tour of Alaska for a short vacation. Before we left, we heard news of the influenza spreading around the world, but didn’t pay much attention… just a good time to be away from New York City. Once here, I got absorbed in my work at the lab and didn’t pay much attention to the outside world.
“One day, Rachael came back from shopping in town… we lived in a company compound at the terminal… and was quite upset. A big auto ferry from Seattle put into port with many of its passengers deathly ill and some already deceased. They’d been at sea only three days and a single individual had brought that flu aboard, so someone said.
“The news created panic in Valdez. The company immediately sealed off its perimeter and company employees were called to a gathering in the open air. No one was to be permitted in or out of the compound for any reason. Everyone was required to submit to a physical examination on the spot. Anyone found with any ailment whatever was isolated in the infirmary.
“Once cleared, they ordered us not to leave our rooms or even talk to our neighbors except by telephone. We were told to listen to the intercom for further instructions and to call authorities if anyone became sick. You can imagine how that instruction was received; immediate banishment would be next and everyone knew it.
“Little useful information was ever forthcoming, but food was delivered to our door together with a daily news bulletin. At first, isolation wasn’t much of a hardship. We didn’t know another soul in the building, so we kept to ourselves. I had my work with me, but Rachael was glued to the television for days. I must admit that I got impatient when she tried to fill me in on morbid details and I wasn’t a good listener. I just assumed the disease would be brought under control as always in the past. Quarantine was just an inconvenience. I suppose I must sound callous after all that’s happened, but I was working on a thorny problem of my own and my mind was occupied.
“Finally, she told me in tears that the Mayor… of New York City, that is… had died and insisted that I join her in front of the set… not my favorite thing to do. I was appalled when I finally got my mind around events. Never had a pandemic affected the world in such proportions as this one. People were dying by the millions. But I’m sure you’ve all heard that by now.
“Rachael hoarded all the food she’d purchased, and set aside a portion of the meals delivered to us each day. When the f
ood deteriorated to just small frozen packaged dinners, we could save only a few.
“For the first time, I began to absorb some of the CDC reports about the disease. There wasn’t welcome news with what little I knew of respiratory disease and congestive heart failure. So I became concerned as well.
“The following morning, we received a bulletin belatedly admitting that the bat flu had made its way inside our compound. All sorts of harsh measures were announced including shutting off all ventilation in the building… which I soon realized meant heat.
“Shortly, meal deliveries ceased altogether. Cable television blacked out. We began to feel desperately isolated. The following day, power failed and we filled every container we had with water from the low pressure on the tap. We cut back food to one meager meal a day. Without power or heat we felt helpless.
“Late one evening, a bulletin was slipped under the door informing us that the pipeline had been shut down indefinitely… a troubling piece of news. But the last line was the most distressing… all services to residents were suspended. The compound gates would be opened in the morning. We were left on our own to decide to stay or leave.”
Hirsh took several sips of Scotch and continued, “I was shocked. The reality was… we were being abandoned. By then, we had only two quarts of water and four meals apiece. We packed clothes and a few possessions in case we needed to leave quickly.
“The next morning brought rain, so we held cups out the window to fill them as best we could. We became so chilled that we added only four cups to our supply before we had to quit.
“Later, when the rain quit, we noticed fires nearby. Acrid smoke penetrated our building... petroleum fires, I assumed. Even with the window open, we didn’t hear sirens… or any kind of response. So long as the fire hadn’t reached our building, we were still more frightened of the plague than the fire.”
Hirsh eyed his glass of Scotch, reflecting. “Finally, our own compound became a threat. So much smoke filled our room that we had difficulty breathing. We waited until morning to check the fires. Smoke billowed all around us but we couldn’t tell from where, so we decided to leave.
We must have been among the last to leave and encountered no one. We were distressed to find that someone had smashed a window of our car. I assumed that the thief couldn’t start the car without my key fob. We had rented a new Outback for our trip around the state, and for us, the car started normally.”
“As we left the parking lot, we could see an orange glow from the direction of the tank farm, but little more. The road to the compound bypasses Valdez…so in ten minutes we were headed toward Thompson Pass. We didn’t see another soul on the way out…
“I’m talking, so who’s pouring?” The Captain had the bottle and poured Hirsh a tipper’s double. “Ah… yes, the pass.”
“You may remember, I said it had been raining… Well, whenever it rains, the pass gets snow… and sure enough, before long, snow covered the road. There were tracks of others who plunged ahead of us, so I did as well. But soon, I was slipping all over the road. In Valdez, the rental company provided tire chains in the car, but I’d never put on chains before…”
Jack interrupted, “I thought you were from New York.”
“I am from New York… but I don’t own an automobile. I didn’t even learn to drive until I was thirty. Fortunately for us, Rachael had a notion of what to do and in due course we got them on.
“We persisted and did well at first, but as the snow got deeper, we began to encounter vehicles which had mucked down and blocked the way. Getting by them was a challenge for my clumsy driving in snow; some of them had bodies inside and one…”
Hirsh took a sip and paused... “One of them had a living man inside. As we approached, he opened the door and stepped out onto the highway and stood blocking our way, waving for us to stop. We had no choice, really, so I stopped. He stumbled towards us and as he got closer, I could see that he had bloody mucus all over his shirt. There was no doubt in my mind that he would infect us that very moment. I sounded the horn which startled him so that he slipped and fell. Fortunately for us, he landed out of our path. I’m ashamed to say that I just hurried away leaving the poor fellow prostrate in the snow. There was nothing we could do for him and well… I was just too frightened to stop.”
“Our journey got worse… just dreadful. We encountered dozens of people who had collapsed on the highway and died. A motor coach had slipped off the road into the drain. Deceased passengers lay beside the road and ravens were at work on them.
“We continued to struggle over the pass by following the ruts made by those who preceded us. We finally got beyond the snow, but then… the world caught up with us. At Rachael’s insistence, we stopped to take off the chains. While we were doing so, the car sputtered and died. I jumped back in and tried to get it started. It refused!”
“Rachael noticed the needle read empty. We realized the broken window wasn’t an attempt to pinch our car after all… but to release the gas filler cover. It was gas they were after. The tank had been full. Driving through the pass was so tense, I never noticed the gauge.”
“We had no way of knowing how far we were from Glennallen and didn’t want to walk the highway after dark. We slept in the car and waited until morning… a miserable night with the broken window. After having our last little meal, we walked until about noon when we heard the sound of an armed forces lift of some sort… two men in military field uniform. They stopped and asked whether we were ill. They reluctantly accepted the fact that we weren’t and granted our plea to be taken to Glennallen. Later, I remembered that one of them had a slight cough… the death knell for my dear Rachael.”
For a few moments, Hirsh couldn’t speak and fought for control of his voice. “The manner of her death was truly horrible and I won’t describe it. Suffice to say that the patrol dropped us near town behind the blockade. As we walked past the barricade, town was a shocking sight. Untended corpses lay exposed… the few accommodations were unspeakable especially the food mart. We were so frightened that we found a tool shed to sleep for the night. Before dark, Rachael became sick. In the morning, I sought assistance. I found no one to help… or even willing to talk to me. The following night, she… she passed.”
Hirsh didn’t continue. Everyone let him grieve until he recovered.
“Want another?” asked the Captain.
“No, thanks. I’ve got too much of a buzz on already.”
“Well, I’m workin’ on mine. Pass the bottle over here,” said Jack. Hirsh smiled for the first time.
“Mind a few questions?” asked Judy.
“Talking to people is a joy, despite my grim spiel,” answered Hirsh.
“How long have you been here?”
“Lost track of time… a month… perhaps more.”
“All alone?”
“Just with my books.”
“Didn’t you mention another survivor… saw someone else?” asked the Captain.
“A boy or maybe young man… but not for some time now.”
“After the calamity?” asked Mac.
“Calamity? Almost too kind a word,” said Hirsh.
“We’ve have lots of words for it,” said Mac. “That man…”
“He hung around cautiously… I saw only glimpses from a distance.”
“Sick?” asked Judy.
“Not with that respiratory illness… too active to be sick.”
“But you haven’t seen him recently?” asked the Captain,
“No.”
“How are you getting along?” asked Judy.
“I think I’m doing well for a New Yorker, considering.”
“How did you come to this place?”
“This is the only building I found without that smell… and magically next door to the library.”
&
nbsp; “Anything we can do to help?” asked Judy.
“There is one small favor… you mentioned a roast. Would you mind preparing the entire dinner? I’ve got lots of ingredients, but I’m a terrible cook.”
“We’d be delighted.”
“I hope that bottle will be included in the offer,” said Jack.
“There’s more where that came from, but the price will be your own tale.”
Hirsh possessed too little cookware for a dinner for eight. Finding more meant unpacking the camp chest. Jack discovered that Hirsh’s care of the caribou had been incompetent. The deer had been stored in a shed without fully skinning and gutting the animal, spoiling some of the meat. The miners salvaged what they could.
Jack continued drinking Scotch. Tony became concerned about Jack from past experience. He well remembered the volatility of talking about Jack’s drinking.
After butchering was properly completed, the miners joined the others inside. Tony returned to the tiny kitchenette seeking to refill his long empty glass while Jack hovered, placing his own glass on the counter. Instead, Tony replaced the bottle in the cupboard with the others without refilling Jack’s.
Jack said sharply, “Pass that bottle over here, pard!”
Placing his hand over Jack’s glass, Tony replied emphatically, “Your demons are lurking, pard!”
Jack glowered for a long while, but then nodded and left the room.
With Judy’s hors d’oeuvres and Onita’s innate charm as a fountain of youth, everyone enjoyed camaraderie before dinner. Onita had grown up the youngest and only female among five brothers. With a competitive spirit and comfortable presence among men, Onita was an inspiration to Hirsh who emerged from his shell with her teasing. Hirsh enjoyed the social gathering and poked fun at his own New York culture.
Judy presented a bottle of Brandy and Benedictine from the hotel in Talkeetna which she had squirreled away for a special occasion. When tongues seemed properly loosened, Hirsh turned to Jack and said, “Well, this is a fine time to pay the innkeeper. Out with your tale.”
Flight To Pandemonium Page 40