Rise of the Plague (Book 1): Endemic

by Jeannie Rae

  “Wait,” she raised her hand for him to stop. “You’re a bad liar. Ask Mattie if they have a mirror.”

  “Fine. Give me your cell phone, I’ll take a picture. Besides you would need two mirrors to see it back here.” Dave said extending his hand over her right shoulder.

  She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell phone and handed it to Dave. She heard the fake sounding click of the camera in her phone. Dave’s arm felt icy when it brushed by her shoulder as he handed the phone back. Her skin tingled at his touch, a strange sensation surging from the point where his arm grazed her flesh—running up to her neck, making her hair stand as goose bumps appeared on the surface of her skin. She turned the phone over without looking at it. She thought for a moment that maybe she didn’t want to see it after all.

  Ignorance is bliss, but either way I’ll be dead soon enough, so what does it matter?

  She felt Dave put the last of the tape over the gauze and heard him pull off the gloves, toss them and the excess bloody, gauze pads in the trash. He began putting the supplies back in the first aid kit. With a deep breath, she turned over the phone and looked at it.

  Feeling as if she may vomit right then, she immediately exited the screen, the photo saving automatically. Her view of the image lasted only a moment, but the picture haunted her. Handing the phone back to Dave, she buried her face in her hands, the picture unable to leave her mind. The top and bottom teeth marks had been clearly visible. The surrounding area glowed a fiery red, she knew what an infection looked like and this was already, definitely infected. The edges of the skin were black, like the skin had been charred and a fair sized piece of her shoulder was missing, leaving a crater of bloody tissue exposed.

  Shuffling to the bed, she sat on the edge, her mind spinning in disbelief of how things had gone so wrong, so fast. Roxy wanted so overwhelmingly to find her family, and now she knew that she would never again see them. She would never again see anyone. She would never see the sun rise or the moon light up the night sky. She wouldn’t see rain or snow or the beach again. Fire and animosity welled up inside her. Feeling a surge of strength, as if she could break her way right through the wall of the rickety old house, she realized that she needed to calm down. After taking several deep, controlled breaths, she looked down at the ladies and patted the bed. The dogs gently crept up on the bed, uncertain if they were actually allowed to get up there. Roxy began to caress her dogs with both hands. Rogue rolled over, and she rubbed her belly, as tears began drizzling down her cheeks.

  “Roxy,” Dave said softly, intruding on the moment she shared with her dogs. “I’m going to find your family and make sure they’re safe. I’ll take good care of the ladies, I promise.”

  Roxy nodded. She wanted to say so much to Dave right then, but the knot in her throat wouldn’t allow it. Whenever she felt distraught and on the verge of tears, the moment she tried to speak, she would break into sobs. Roxy usually had a firm handle on dealing with grief, always trying to prepare herself for the worst happening, so that if it did, it wouldn’t be such a hard blow. But she never saw this coming. She hated that she couldn’t say what she felt to Dave. She wanted to thank him. Thank him for finding her in the park, for finding a place for them to stay, for keeping her safe, and for being such a great, fast friend. She could only nod, as she squeezed her eyes closed and the tears flowed down her face.

  Dave came over to the bed and sat beside her. He wrapped his massive arms around her and pulled her close. “I’ll be here for you, for the rest of your life, Roxy.”

  She sighed, cracking a brief smile, slightly pulling out of Dave’s embrace. Their eyes locking for only a moment, Roxy felt alive with electricity as she carefully studied his arresting features. His dark, soulful eyes, his strong jaw line with sprigs of stubble blossoming on his chin and cheeks, the way his lips curved into a grin—all captivated her. Dave leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek, before drawing back, his eyes meeting hers once again.

  “You know, last night, in Mattie’s shop, I could have sworn that you had the most beautiful brown eyes. But now, in this light, I can see that they are actually hazel. They’re really stunning,” Dave smiled.

  “Hazel? No… my eyes are brown, you were right the first time,” she grinned, looking at him slightly confused.

  “Maybe hazel-brown—but they are definitely not just brown. They are a dark green, surrounding a small circle of light brown,” Dave said inspecting her eyes and pointing to them.

  “I’ve had them my whole life, and they’re not green. Where—” she began softly.

  A knock sounded at the door. “Dave it’s me, can I come in?” Mattie shouted from outside the room.

  Roxy nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Dave slowly withdrew from their embrace and made his way across the tiny room in two strides to open the door.

  “Mind if I come in for a while? I think if I stay out here with Edgar any longer, I may kill him, myself.” Mattie asked.

  “Come in,” Roxy croaked, trying to force a fake smile on her swollen, feeling face.

  “Edgar’s out there talking,” Mattie said. “About how he went to the liquor store this morning and ran into some girl on a dirt bike. He says that he was trying to help her but she got spooked and left him, and those two weirdoes chased him home. What a moron…He knew we were coming and couldn’t wait until we got here? I tell you what, if I was a young lady and I ran into Edgar, I’d be scared of him too. I just can’t listen to him anymore.”

  Mattie sat in one of the chairs at the small table, while Dave took a seat in the adjacent chair.

  “Can I get you anything to eat darlin’? Lynn’s a real good cook, she’ll whip you up just about anything want,” Mattie offered a look of sympathy. “Sorry ‘bout earlier, Lynn isn’t the friendliest with strangers.”

  “Thanks Mattie,” Roxy chuckled a little between sniffles. “I’m good.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Kate sat at the table, her hands trembling as she wiped the tears from her face. Alone in the kitchen of the General Store, the only sounds were the distant, static coming from the television in the store area, and her own sobbing. She tried to calm herself, but her bawling proved uncontrollable. After each exhale, her jaw and neck muscles would tighten, as each inhale became a gasping fight for oxygen. Her mind felt overloaded. She could barely process the events of the carnival and the aftermath. Her heart ached for those people. But it was different today, she knew Jake and Mary. Not as lifelong family friends, but as survivors joining together for safety. She surprised herself by how quickly she had attached herself to them. After all, it had been Hank, Mary and Jake who rescued her and her father. If didn’t find us when they did—

  She shook her head, desperately making an effort to take her mind to another place but the aroma of Mary’s breakfast lingered in the air—as a painful reminder of what had taken place. Rising from her seat at the table, she peered out the back window. Through the hazy window, she saw her father and Hank, shovels in hand, behind the store. They placed the last of the soil on the third mound of dirt. The first mound had a makeshift cross fashioned of two old scrap pieces of wood. Across the right arm of the cross, the word MARY had been carved, using Hank's pocket knife. The second mound held a cross with the word JAKE inscribed upon it. Looking back at the men, her dad shoveled, while Hank made the third cross. He put the two pieces of wood together and secured them with a nail. Inscribed on that cross: MRS. T. Hank plunged it in the ground on the far end of the grave. Joe shoveled soil around the base, to help keep it in place.

  Reaching for a pistol that lay near Jake’s grave, Hank passed it to Joe, offering a few words and a nod. Hank pulled out a gold pocket watch from his front pocket and kissed it, before returning it to his pants pocket. From their body language, Kate guessed that they would be coming in any moment. She hurried to the sink and quickly washed her face, drying it with a paper towel. Kate sat back at the table as the men entered, and washed the clay colo
red dirt from their skin.

  “Kate, you cleaned up," Hank said looking around the kitchen. "It looks real nice in here, smells good too.”

  “I put the leftovers in the fridge and think I put the dishes where they all go,” her voice quivered softly.

  “You did good young lady,” Hank said.

  “Hey sweetie, have they said anything else on TV about what's going on?” Joe asked.

  “I haven't really been watching Dad. I think it’s the same thing over and over again,” she sniffled.

  “Alright, we’re going to get to Roxy this time no matter what it takes. Real quick, before we go, lets double check to see if there is any breaking news before we head out,” Joe said in a rush.

  Kate followed the men into the store area. The television had no picture again. Joe and Hank went to work at trying to get a picture, by fiddling with the tattered wires once more. Kate dutifully watched the screen to tell them when she could see a flicker of a picture appear, when she saw something pass in front of the store. It had been in her peripheral vision, so she wasn't sure what she had seen. She walked toward the front of the store, cautiously looking out the glass doors, from between crisscross of the metal grate. A cloud of dust lingered in the air, when a black hummer passed by, followed by a few black SUVs, then a train of camouflage painted vehicles.

  “How are we doing?” Joe asked. “Kate?”

  Kate watched the parade of vehicles passing by the General Store. Before long, Joe and Hank had joined her. All three stood in silence, as if hypnotized by the sight, gazing out the glass.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Mattie burst out from the guest—room door of Lynn’s house, with an intensity that he hadn’t shown in quite some time. With his heart racing, he had to tell Lynn about what he’d just seen take place.

  “Lynn! Lynn!” he yelled as he sprinted down the hall. “You are not gonna to believe this!”

  “Wow, I didn’t even hear the gunshot. Mattie, please don't get into the gruesome details,” she pleaded. “Can we leave now? I’m looking forward to getting to Roxy's beach house. I already have it figured out. We can explain to her family what happened. I just know her father will let us stay. It's getting really bad out there. I keep hearing screams down the street.”

  “Lynn, listen to me. This is important,” he said out of breath, noticing the absence of her fiancé. “Where’s Edgar?”

  “He felt just awful, so he went to lie down for a while in the bedroom. I told him to take some medicine, he looked terrible. I think he just feels so bad about what happened to Roxy. What’s so important?” Lynn asked, sucking in a drag from her cigarette.

  “You have to listen to me—” he stopped mid-sentence, as he saw a figure pass across the front window. He angled his head to the side. Before he could react, the front door burst open.

  In flooded several shadowed figures. The late morning sun shone in like a spotlight, beaming through the doorframe. The light shined on Mattie and Lynn, making the ones entering the house appear more like audience members at a play. The shadowed figures shouted all at once, making it difficult for Mattie to make out their words. They were men and weren’t infected, as far as he could tell. The last man that entered slammed the door behind him. As Mattie’s eyes began to adjust from the bright sunlight, he could see that the men were armed with assault rifles, and all but one, were dressed in black tactical uniforms and all wore cloth, face covers, hiding their identities. Mattie couldn’t be sure if they were here to help or to harm them. Instinctively, he raised his arms in submission and Lynn emulated his action.

  “Stay where you are. Are either of you bitten?” A commanding voice sounded.

  “No, we're not bitten,” Mattie declared.

  “Put your hands down,” another voice commanded. The man lowered his weapon and the others followed his lead. “We are looking for someone.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Mattie could see Dave charging down the hall. He came fast around the corner of the hallway. The group of men turned toward Dave, quickly raising their weapons at him.

  Dave lifted his hands halfway up, “Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy,” he said.

  “Dave?” The front man said, pulling down his face cover. A smile swept across his face as he lowered his gun.

  “Randy,” Dave said flatly, his face tensing up.

  “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Look Rhino, it's our ole pal Dave. What are you up to now, Dave? Was it bar tending? Pretty prestigious for a man of your caliber, from a commanding Marine Officer, to a bar maid,” Randy chuckled.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  Dave eyed the men who’d charged into Lynn’s house as though they were the Port Steward SWAT team. Although their attire and stances suggested some type of tactical unit, Dave had a feeling that they weren’t exactly what they appeared. Their covered faces and the embroidered badges on black shirts of the three up front were all wrong for the police. Then, there was the last guy, a cowboy from head to toe. Something was definitely off about these men.

  Following Randy’s action, one by one, Rhino and the rest lowered their weapons and pulled down their face covers. Dave could see that of the four men standing before him, Randy and Rhino had been in his unit in the Marines. He had heard that a few of the guys from that unit had all been recruited right after their service to some sort of security detail or something. He never dreamt that sort of job would lead these men to Port Steward.

  “You SWAT with a lost Texas Ranger along or something?” Dave sneered, eyeing the men’s attire and equipment, taking special notice of the cowboy.

  “Something much better, but we can catch up on that another time. How do you know these people?” Randy interrogated.

  “I just met them when all this shit started. What's it to you? Why are you here?” Dave fired back.

  “Yeah, well, we're doing the questioning here,” Randy smirked. “We are looking for someone. She is infected, and we tracked her here.”

  Dave felt apprehensive about this situation, as he glared at Randy in the muggy living room. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out what would bring Randy to Lynn’s house? Why here? And who could he possibly be looking for? In all the years that Dave had known Randy, he never cared for Randy’s arrogant approach and sense of entitlement. But his disdain for Randy stemmed from a deeper seeded issue in their past.

  Rhino pulled out his cell phone, attaching a corded, rectangular box to it. The black contraption resembled a television remote control. Rhino extended an eighteen inch antenna and began pressing the buttons on what Dave recognized as a military grade device.

  “Is that the prototype PCSR? Where did you get your hands on one of those? You steal it?” Dave asked, eyeing Rhino.

  “What’s that?” Mattie whispered, nodding at Dave.

  “It’s a portable cellular signal repeater,” Dave said. “It amplifies cell phone signals within a small area. You can get repeaters pretty easily, but you need an antenna outside and a receiver inside to boost the signal. But you can’t just get a portable CSR anywhere. We used them in basic for the Marines. They were prototypes—I didn’t know that they were made commercially available yet.”

  “They aren’t—not with the power behind this one,” Randy smirked. “I work for a company that’s technology is nearly limitless. But that’s for another conversation. Are you going to answer my questions Dave? Someone here was infected—”

  “There’s no one infected here,” Dave said. “You’re in the wrong place.”

  Randy stood tall with an overconfident smirk. A faint sound of a cell phone rang. After a brief moment of silence, the phone sounded again. With reluctance, Dave pulled a pink cell phone from his pocket and silenced the ringer. No way.

  “Pink's not really your color Dave. Where'd you get the phone?” Randy asked.

  “It's a friend's. Why are you interested in this phone?” Dave questioned.

  “We are looking for the owner. She was infected. She would have turne
d around dusk last night," Randy said sternly, "So where did you get the phone?”

  The men before Dave stood smugly in the tiny living room, their feet rooted. They weren’t going anywhere, and their weapons ensured that they would not be leaving until the retrieved whatever they were after. With a leader like Randy, I don’t trust these guys for anything. What could this guy possibly want with Roxy? Randy is out of his mind if he thinks that I am going to turn her over him and his goons. Not in this lifetime.

  Dave raised an eyebrow. “I told you, it's a friend's. Why would you think she’s infected and how could you pin point exactly when she would turn? Do you know her?”

  “Listen Dave, this isn't Q and A time. I need to locate her body. Just answer my question. How did you get the phone from her and where are her remains?” Randy demanded.

  Dave looked at Randy, defiantly sliding the phone into his pocket. "I think you are in the wrong place Randy," he turned to walk into the kitchen.

  “Don't turn your back on me!” Randy growled, lowering his head, glaring at Dave.

  Dave spun around, “You tell me what I want and I'll tell you what you want,” Dave's face became rigid and furious. Dave resisted the urge to launch himself at his self-absorbed former Marine. With the armed comrades that stood at Randy’s flank, it would be a short lived fight.

  “You listen to me Dave!” Randy started to raise his weapon.

  “Wait,” Roxy said softly, stepping out from behind the wall, her arms extended in front of her with palms open.

  While disappointed that Roxy came out, Dave felt relieved that she had slipped on her brown button up blouse, from her duffle bag, covering her shoulder where she’d been bitten by the infected man in the front yard. These were the type of men to shoot first and not even bother with any questions. Glancing down the hall, he could see that the ladies were sitting about halfway down awaiting Roxy’s command.