by Connor Mccoy
She then started fastening clips onto the plastic. She would be back with special tape to graft the plastic onto the tent. Before long, she will have created a strong isolation ward.
“I hope we never use this.”
Cheryl looked down. Amir had spoken while working.
“Yeah,” she said, “I hope we don’t, too.”
Chapter Seven
“Here she is.” Tom motioned to his house.
“Just moved in a couple of weeks ago. We built it out of the husk of a burned-out home. Most of it is new. We rebuilt it with some help.”
Clutching his case, Tran nodded. “Impressive.”
Tom led him to the front door. After knocking, Tom was greeted with a hug and a kiss from Cheryl. Amir and Annie then emerged and welcomed their father. Tom introduced them in turn to Tran, who gave them his warm greetings. Cheryl then instructed Jackie, Kristin and Rinaldo to get some refreshments for their new guest.
Tran peered down the hallway. “Quite an impressive home you have here.”
“Yep. Home. Wife. Thirteen kids, all under the same roof.”
“Thirteen!” Tran looked at Tom. “Well I suppose your health is in no doubt.”
Tom coughed. “No, I didn’t…”
He motioned to the children who were spilling out of their rooms, excited to meet their new guest. Judging by the different ethnicities present among the kids, it was clear Tom and Cheryl couldn’t have sired all of them.
“They’re adopted. It’s a long story.”
Tran nodded. “I see.” He set his bag down on the floor. “I’d love to hear it, but I think I should get started with your neighbor right away.”
“I have some isolation gear for you.” Cheryl dashed off to the den. “I’ll bring it up for you.”
Tran emerged from Shelia’s room, dressed in a full protective suit provided to him by Cheryl. Waylon and Tom stood near the open doorway of Waylon’s house. Waylon shook as Tran approached him. As the doctor removed his head gear, Waylon erupted, “Can you help her? Will she get better?”
Tran let out a loud breath. “For the moment, she seems to be more comfortable. Giving her regular fluids helps. She has a fever, so she needs liquids and electrolyte restoration. I administered some skin cream and bandaged up the raw skin. That should cut down on the itching and give her skin a chance to heal. I gave her some vitamins to stimulate her body’s natural defenses. But until I know more about the cause of her illness, I can’t say much more on how to treat her.”
The doctor had taken a step outside into the open air. Tom and Waylon followed. “But I can’t say yet what she’s got. I was able to draw some blood samples from her. I’ll need some time to perform some tests. If it’s bacteria, she’ll need antibiotics. If it’s a virus, then I’ll need to identify it and prepare a proper treatment. Now, did you and your wife go anywhere out of the ordinary?”
“No.” Waylon shook his head. “Our routine isn’t that different from anyone else. We go to the river, we draw water, we tend to our garden, we go to the public meetings, see friends...” His voice trailed off.
Tran frowned. “Thomas, you did say your water is tested, correct?”
“Absolutely. Cheryl taught us how to do it. It’s now practically a regular thing.”
Tran took a moment to think. “Waylon, I want you to give me every scrap of information you can on your wife’s medical history. Don’t leave a thing out, even weight issues.”
Tom turned to Waylon. “Hey. Do you think you’ll be okay? We’re going to be passing out the medical supplies at the post office and they’ll need a strong hand to help out.”
Waylon nodded. “I should be. Thanks for bringing Doctor Tran to me, Tom. If he helps Shelia recover, I’ll owe you anything.”
“Forget it. As far as I’m concerned, we all have each other’s back.” Tom then hurried off to his home.
People of all ages from children to adults swarmed around the post office. This would be the new home for the town council as well as the go-to place for many public meetings. The school that the gym was a part of was being readied for the town’s first school year. The town was determined to resume a normal way of life despite the possibility of another round of hard times.
Cheryl oversaw the distribution of respirator masks. Going through the NATO troops’ cache had been a rousing success. It turned out they had stored more than enough masks for the entire population. Even if newcomers showed up to Eagleton, they would be able to get masks for themselves. People lined up to take them from Cheryl, Nadia, Lauren, or other volunteers such as Theo or Karen. In addition, bleach and soap were also on hand.
Huffing, Lauren hurried up to Cheryl with an empty cardboard box. “Towels!” she called between heavy breaths.
Cheryl reached behind her and grabbed a plastic bag that held a stack of towels. “Thank you, Jesus,” Lauren said as she caught her breath. “It’s funny. A few days ago, everyone I talked to wanted some new clothes from the Adelson trade. Now it’s towels and soap!”
“Amazing how danger changes your priorities, huh?” Cheryl stuck a second load into Lauren’s box.
“I want to kick off after this, just take a long nap.” Lauren shook her head.
“But I got to prep some isolation rooms at the hospital. I hope to God no one else gets sick, but we have to make sure we don’t get caught with our pants down.” She chuckled. “I hope Doctor Tran doesn’t leave too soon. There’s a lot I need to learn.”
Cheryl loaded in a third stack of towels. Lauren’s legs shook, a clear sign that the young doctor had all she could handle. “I know you’re ten tons of busy, but if you could stop by sometime, it’d be great. It’s getting dangerous to have just a few people who know what to do.”
Lauren nodded. “No kidding.” She then hurried off to rejoin a distribution point. Karen was waiting there, passing out bottles of soap.
Cheryl kept an eye on Karen as she worked. Her young friend had been isolated or with just one or two friends as she healed, though Cheryl knew the young woman would carry the scars of her rape for the rest of her life. But for Karen to be out here now among people, interacting with them, was a sign of progress.
Close by, Tom and Cheryl’s children also were helping, handing out copies of instructions prepared by Cheryl. The heaviest work was taken care of by Tom, Obadiah Stone and many other men. Cheryl’s scouts had gone through the NATO supplies and the rest of the town and produced rolls of clear 4-mil plastic to wall off a single room in a home for quarantine. People who wanted these rolls brought in wheelbarrows, hand trucks, carts, anything that possibly could carry it.
By the time late afternoon hit, Tom slumped down in a folding chair near the post office. The day’s work had been a success. Cheryl sat on the grass next to him, with their kids surrounding them, many of them sitting or lying down on the lawn that extended from the post office.
“Well, how was that for a family outing?” Tom asked with a crooked smile.
“Thomas! Thomas!”
The screams diverted Tom’s attention to his front window. Once again, Tom had woken up early, despite a busy day yesterday helping to distribute the quarantine and medical supplies to the public. And once again, Waylon had come to his door, only this time he was even more panicked than ever.
Tran emerged from the den. He quickly was pulling on a blue buttoned shirt. He still was half-dressed in night clothes. As the doctor scrambled, Tom pulled back the curtain. Waylon was outside in the middle of the street.
“My God.” Tom walked around Tran to get to the door. “I hope his wife didn’t take a bad turn.”
Tran quickly gathered his bag. As soon as Tom opened the door, Waylon backed up toward the other side of the street. He was trembling. His T-shirt was lined with sweat around the collar. His eyes were wide, crazed.
“Waylon, calm down. We’re here.” Tom hurried across the pavement with Tran trailing behind.
Waylon reached the sidewalk on the other side when he stopped
. He then held out his hands. Tom and Tran stopped short of the grass between the street and sidewalk. Waylon took his shirt and lifted it up.
His stomach was covered with dry crusts and ugly rashes. Dried blood coated the area under his belly.
“My God,” Tom whispered.
Tran’s eyes burned with intensity as he studied Waylon’s rash. “You did say his wife was the only one who was infected?”
“Yes,” Tom replied through a dry mouth.
“Well, we know one thing,” Tran said, “It’s contagious.”
Tom paced across Waylon’s front lawn, his mind afire with fresh worries. Now he knew the damn bug could spread. How far could it go? Maybe it only hit Waylon because he spent all his time with his wife. Could it go much further? How was it transmitted? He hadn’t touched Waylon at all, not even shook his hand in weeks.
The front door opened. Tran emerged, dressed in the full body suit Cheryl had provided. Tom almost rushed him before he calmed himself. “What’s the story?”
After putting down his bag, Tran took off his headpiece. “I collected blood, urine samples, even some of Waylon’s stool. No need to go into the gory details, but it’s enough to get started. They both have fevers, but Waylon’s wife has it worse. She’s now in a state of delirium. I don’t know if that’s a stage of the disease or simply the result of her fever getting worse. At least yesterday I could hold a coherent conversation with her.”
“It takes the better part of the day to get to the hospital,” Tom said, “but we can shuttle you back and forth if we have to.”
Tran started down the walkway with his bag and headpiece clutched under opposite arms. “I can’t afford to use up your gasoline unless it’s necessary, and so far, the only two sick people are in this area. I have a better idea. I’ll set up a small laboratory, a place where I can analyze the samples I’ve collected, identify this disease, and hopefully come up with a treatment.”
“We have a den,” Tom said.
Tran shook his head. “No, I can’t afford to contaminate your family or anyone else. Do you have a camping tent?”
“Hell yeah, we have tents galore around here. For many of us, it was the only thing we could live in.”
“Perfect. I’ll set up a tent close by. If I need anything, I’ll just ask to have it brought here.”
Tom stopped. The sight of his own house, plus the mention of the word “tent” brought him to a halt. The quarantine tent in the backyard particularly caught his interest.
“Doctor, do you have any idea how this damn thing spreads?”
Tran exhaled loudly. “No. It could be through touch, or it could ride the air from an infected person to someone else. It’s still an open question.”
“I was in his house when his wife caught it. I wasn’t protected. You know bugs don’t immediately jump out and make you sick. They can hide in your lungs or your blood for a while and then jump out and cause trouble.” He turned to Tran. “I’ve got thirteen kids in that house. I can’t take a chance that any of them or Cheryl could get sick because of me.”
Tran grimaced. “I could take your blood, but until I know what to look for, I can’t give you an immediate answer.”
Tom’s gaze shot like a laser at the tent. “Well I got one.”
“Tom, this is ridiculous. You’re not sick.”
Thomas Criver listened to the words of Mrs. Criver through the plastic. “Better safe than sorry,” he said, sitting down on the mat inside.
“I went inside his house, too.”
“Covered up. You threw that stuff back outside and washed up. I breathed in the same air they breathed in. I touched their doors. We know this thing can spread.”
“Is Daddy sick?” Kristin asked from behind Cheryl. Jackie, next to her, looked at the tent with wide eyes.
Cheryl turned around. “No, Daddy’s not sick.” She then spun around back to the tent. “Tom, you’re scaring the kids.”
Tom got up and looked through the plastic that covered the tent’s opening. “It’s all right. Look, I’m just doing this until I’m sure that I didn’t get sick. I just don’t want any of you to get sick, either.”
“Your father’s just doing this because he loves you,” Cheryl added.
That seemed to calm Kristin and Jackie. The two young girls soon left. Cheryl then muttered, “Or he’s being crazy.”
“C’mon.” Tom pressed his hand against the plastic.
“You’re the prepper. You know the risks that are out there. We have to get so many things right now because we don’t have the luxury of getting them wrong anymore. So, if I look like a total idiot in here for a few days, then so be it.”
Cheryl sighed. “I guess I taught you too well.” She paced closer to Tom. “Do you need any more food or water?”
“I’m fine for a couple of days.”
“Good. All right, you stay in there. And when you come out, perfectly healthy…” She pressed her hand on the plastic. “You’re going to wait on me hand and foot for every day you stay in there.”
Tom snickered. “Let me guess. Massaging your feet, making you breakfast in bed, washing your clothes…”
Cheryl smiled. “That, too.” She then puffed her lips and blew him a kiss.
Tom stood up. “What else did you have in mind?”
Cheryl started walking away. “Think about it for the next few days.” She walked back to the house, not answering Tom’s question.
Chapter Eight
After sliding the last folding chair in place at the metal table, Lauren eyed the small sorting office around her. “Well, it’s definitely cozy.”
Nadia strolled along the table. “Yeah, nothing but the best for our town’s new council.”
“Well, we were running out of places to host council meetings,” Cheryl said as she looked at the wall of the post office. “Every building in town is going back to what they were intended for.”
Nadia glanced at the mat near the opposite wall. Jamie Cooper was reclining on the cloth, reading a paperback novel. “And this place still has a squatter or two,” she said wryly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cooper said as he flipped a page. “I am this building’s private security guard.”
“In exchange for room and board.” Lauren laughed.
“But seriously, it’s good to have somebody watching this place at night. It’s not like we’ll be putting on meetings every day.” The doctor walked around the table, stopping between Nadia and Cheryl.
“Besides, there’s always work at the hospital and I really should be there more than over here.” She sighed. “You know, I’ve been thinking of resigning. The town needs a full-time doctor.
“You can do both.” Cheryl approached her. “The last thing this town needs is having its leaders quit on them.”
Lauren turned to Nadia, who was leaning against the table. “Nadia can take my place. She’s a great leader.”
“We can’t just switch you two.” Cheryl rolled her eyes. “We had this thing called an election. Besides, Eagleton needs to see that our leaders can do both. We need citizen leaders. Personally, I think our last batch was too disconnected from the people. We should try fixing that.”
Lauren nodded. “You’re right. Besides, the town still doesn’t have any reason to panic. Maybe whatever Sheila got just passed to Waylon because they lived together.”
“Well, then you need to come over and help out Doctor Tran. You’ve got a lot of workers at the hospital.” Cheryl began walking toward the door that led out to the hall containing hundreds of post office boxes. “Maybe you finally can clear Tom to come back out of quarantine.”
Nadia chuckled. “Good God…”
“I wouldn’t fuss at him too much.” Cheryl emerged into the hallway. “If you might have been exposed, going into quarantine for a while is a smart move. Besides, there’s no way in Hell he’d risk getting our kids sick.”
“Looks like Aunt Nadia is coming over again to help watch the flock?
” Nadia asked as she stepped into the hall, following behind Cheryl.
Lauren grabbed Nadia’s shoulder. “I hope she’s paying you in gold for this!” The doctor laughed.
“Hey, they give me cooked meals and I got some of my clothes washed. I might just move in!” Nadia replied. The three ladies then broke out in laughter.
“Cheryl! Cheryl!”
Sarah Shelton’s voice screamed at them through the glass of the front door. The three ladies quickly brushed aside their mirth and charged down the hall, with Cheryl slamming the door hard to get it open. Sarah was in the grass beyond the post office. Sweat trickled down her face.
“Sarah, what’s wrong?” Cheryl called to her.
She was shaking. “Simon…” She grasped her legs. “He was coming to the office, but he looked a little off. He sat down on a bench, then he fell over!” Sarah gasped before talking any more. “I didn’t touch him. I didn’t touch him. I knew that—”
“I’ve got to get the iso gear!” Lauren turned and dashed back into the post office. She emerged a moment later with a yellow isolation suit under her arm. Jamie Cooper was following her. Lauren stopped just long enough to start slipping the suit over her body.
“Where is he?” Cooper asked.
Sarah pointed to the street beyond the office. “Not far. He’s on the grass. I ran to him. I almost touched him but I remembered—”
“That’s good.” Lauren got her headgear on, with a plastic visor to show her face. “Just take us to him, but…” The young physician grimaced. “No offense, but don’t touch anybody right now until I can look at you.”
Sarah’s expression contorted in fear, but she firmed enough to nod and step back, keeping herself a good few feet from everyone.
Lauren hurried down the sidewalk until she found Simon Terrell lying on the ground near a wooden bus bench. He was on his side, sweat pouring down his head and arms. With her gloved hand, Lauren pulled up Terrell’s shirt.