Sealed In

by Druga, Jacqueline

  Andy forced a closed-mouth smile and pointed to the computer. “I … st … st … started writing it.” He twitched his head. “I … wr … wrote a lot-lot.”

  “Send it to me, please?” Chad walked to the desk, grabbed a pen, and wrote his email address. “Please. I’m curious, and we can discuss it further later on.”

  “Yes.”

  “Excellent. I’ll leave you be. See you at pool?” Chad walked to the door.

  “May … maybe.”

  After a nod, Chad left.

  Andy settled at the computer, pulled the file, and emailed it immediately to Chad. Then following that, while he still had internet, Andy researched nuclear explosions.

  <><><><>

  Emmett Morgan staggered into the street. He was an old man and he waved his hand as best he could as he called out my name for help.

  “Andy. Andy, that you?”

  Chad read to Edward through the intercom what Andy had written.

  It was obvious that he was sick. He could barely move. I just parked my truck in front of the diner. I wanted to get to my apartment, get my gun, and head to Hartworth. There were people there I knew. People I cared about. People I had to find.

  I wanted to go to him, and I debated it. One more moment in Lincoln could cost me. Already I had walked away from someone I loved to help another. I walked away, never fully comprehending that I would possibly never see this woman again.

  I wanted to see the other people, hope that they were alive, but Emmett called for me.

  I did the best I could. I helped him back to his house, gave him water, and helped him back into bed. He was strong, very strong, but the sickness was destroying him. He had scratched his belly so badly that I could see tendons.

  The sickness eats through the skin like acid. Moreover, it drives them mad. I saw that.

  It was when I tried to make Emmet comfortable that he said something to me. He said, “Andy, don’t let me rot right here. Don’t let me be forgotten.”

  I didn’t understand that until I left his house.

  After I left Emmett, I went to a few other houses. Emmett was one of four people alive. To be in that situation, to see that, is a nightmare. It’s like a movie, and you wait for the ending. Everyone I knew and loved was dead.

  I drove to Hartworth; I specifically went to find people I knew, people whose whereabouts I wasn’t sure of.

  But all I found was death.

  I saw the makeshift hospital at the fire hall, and I knew when I walked in there that those people hadn’t died from the virus. I saw the bodies that died from the virus. The people in the fire hall weren’t all black. The heater was blasting; I shut it down and opened the doors.

  I noticed that every one of those people in there had a bracelet with their name on it.

  That’s when I realized that they would not be forgotten. One day, someone would find the town, would find the bodies, and the people that did would have to figure out who was who.

  I didn’t know all the people in Hartworth, but I knew a lot. So I went to the houses of the folks I knew; I loaded their bodies in the truck, took them to the fire hall, and put one of the bracelets on each of them. They wouldn’t be forgotten. Someone would know their names.

  I went back to Lincoln. I wanted to come up with a plan for my town. I had lived there all my life. I knew all four hundred people there. When I was in my apartment, I saw all the toys we bought for the baby.

  The presents.

  The ring I got for her. It wasn’t much, but she would never want much.

  All I wanted was to spend the rest of my life with her.

  That killed me. It killed me because we were planning on the best Christmas ever.

  But there wouldn’t be a Christmas. For me, there’d never be a Christmas again. I took care and pride in hanging the decorations around town on Black Friday, and I tore them all down that night. Every light, every tree, every bit of tinsel.

  While I did that, I came up with a plan of what to do for my town and the people that lived and died there.

  “That’s as far as he got,” Chad said. “We’ll get more.”

  “So the mystery of how the bodies got into the fire hall is now solved,” Edward stated.

  “Yes. He brought the ones he knew in there and tagged them.”

  “But one question isn’t answered,” Edward said.

  On that, Chad turned. The door behind him opened, and Andy walked in.

  “Andy,” Edward spoke. “We were just going over your story.”

  Chad said, “I asked Andy to come here so we can ask him the question, because it’s not in here.”

  “Wh ... what?” Andy asked.

  Edward had the honors. “Andy, on the night of the twentieth, you would have been at the Burton home, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “A phone call was placed to you. You were the last person to receive a call from Hartworth. What was said?” Edward questioned.

  “Goodbye,” Andy said. “He … called to say ... say good b-bye.”

  Chad looked at Edward then to Andy. “It was Lawrence Meadows. The sheriff. Why would he call you?”

  “He ... he said he d-did something. D-didn’t say wh ... what. He was f-finished. And good … goodbye.”

  Chad gave a look to Edward. “Bet that was the fire hall cleansing. Andy … but why you? Why did he call you?”

  “He ... he’s my ... uncle.”

  Chad immediately jumped to his feet. “Your uncle didn’t have the virus.”

  “I … kn… know. I saw. He k-killed himself.”

  “So we either have a family immunity or …” Chad stated. “Take off your shirt.”

  After a curious look and with some hesitation, Andy did.

  Chad looked at his shoulder. It was there, the black scar. “Your uncle had this same one.”

  Andy nodded. “My g-g-grandfather, too. It was a sp-special t-tetanus shot we all g-got.”

  “Doctor Paltrov?” Chad asked.

  Andy nodded.

  “This isn’t a special tetanus shot, Andy. He gave you an inoculation to this virus. You, your uncle, and your grandfather. The doctor inoculated you. That’s why you didn’t get sick. You had the vaccine.”

  Andy looked confused as he pulled on his shirt.

  “This means,” Chad explained, “if you and your uncle didn’t get sick, then there is a viable vaccine recipe out there somewhere. And we can stop this thing. We have a shot.”

  “We just have to find it,” Edward added. “Before it’s too late.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Atlanta, GA

  December 26th

  “Sorry about this,” Edward said as he wrote on the final tube of blood.

  “No, th… that’s fine.” Andy pulled down his sleeve. “Take what you n-need. Glad to help.”

  “I know you are; at least some one is.”

  Andy stood. “No word?”

  Andy shook his head. “Chad’s been on the phone with our director. The President had no luck. This afternoon is the day, you know. When we level Hartworth, things will heat up all over. No one is taking the virus seriously, yet we’re losing 98% of those infected. This time next week won’t be good. Air travel should be suspended. Hopefully.”

  “V-vaccine?”

  “Soviets are denying adamantly that they had any part in this, even though it is highly publicized that they did. Right now, we’re trying to find Paltrov’s colleagues. Something. I’m thinking, though, if this goes global, which it will because air travel wasn’t suspended over the holiday, then we’ll hear about a vaccine. Probably the former Soviet Union will emerge with a cure that they ‘supposedly’ just came up with. By the way … the pagoclone is working wonders on that stutter. Fast too.”

  Andy nodded. “The more c-confident I was, the less I st-stuttered. But it is like when I got high or sang, it completely l-left. So I expected it to be fast.”

  “Another day that may be close to nonexistent.”

&
nbsp; “Until I run out.”

  “Just smoke weed.”

  “I would have. But I w-worked for the city. They d-drug tested.” Andy shrugged.

  “You don’t have that worry anymore. We’re kind of hoping that if we don’t hear from the Russians regarding a vaccine, then maybe we can create something by watching your blood. Problem is, that takes time. If this moves too fast, then creating a vaccine will be in vain.”

  “Not really,” Andy said. “Even if it t … takes a lot of the population, there will be p-people who were smart. Like your wife. P-people who stayed away from others who will need it to in-integrate back into the world.”

  “That’s true.” Edward nodded. “Sort of like what you said in your book, about civilizations dying out because of stupidity. If the world hits an extinction level pandemic, it’s only stupidity that caused it, and the smart survive. I was …” He paused when he saw the crinkled nose look on Andy’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  Andy shook his head. “Thought I heard someone.”

  Chad walked in.

  Edward smiled. “I guess you did hear someone.”

  “So,” Chad spoke as he entered. “How is our resident blood machine doing?”

  “Fine.” Andy replied. “Take as much as you need.”

  Chad grinned. “How do you feel about that medication? Giving you more confidence? It’s working wonderfully.”

  “Very h-happy. An occasional skip. Better than when I smoked weed.”

  “Oh. Well, I have some if you want to test the combination.”

  Andy tilted his head, conveying that it wasn’t a bad suggestion

  Edward immediately shot a stern look to Andy. “Excuse me?”

  Andy cleared his throat and shook his head. “No. But thanks.”

  “I’m sure,” Chad said. “The reason I am here isn’t just to see how your veins are holding up. We had a survivor in Hartworth. We hadn’t mentioned him by name to you, and this was for the purpose of privacy. Nor did we mention you by name to him. I think you two may know each other or know the same people. It may be good for the grieving process to talk to each other. We’ll be down here quite some time.” He reached back and looked out the open door, waving his hand. “Come on in.”

  Edward saw it. The ‘throw back’ head reaction given by Andy followed by a groan when Del walked in.

  “You have to be shitting me,” Del said. “Him. He’s the sole survivor of Lincoln?” He stepped to Andy. “How’s the s-s-stutter.”

  “G-g-gone.” Andy replied.

  “What happened to my Emma, Cody …”

  “They’re no longer with us.”

  Del huffed out emotionally. “So you were in charge of my family and you failed them.”

  “I didn’t fail them,” Andy argued.

  “You let them die.”

  “I did not let them die!” Andy yelled. “Things happened. Things out of our control.”

  “They were my family.”

  “You lost your right to call them your family the day you walked out the door,” Andy said. “Where were you if you were all that concerned?”

  Chad interjected. “He’s not immune; he just lucked out. He was arrested.”

  “I was shot,” Del said.

  Chad shook his head and spoke nonchalantly. “Minor flesh wound. Nothing to write home about.”

  “So you hid?” Andy asked.

  “I had no choice,” Del snapped. “I was trapped. You, on the other hand, had a choice and the ability to do something.”

  “Bull, I lost my choice and ability the second I watched your daughter die.”

  “You’re an asshole,” Del remarked harshly. “Really. Go ahead, lose the stutter, but you’re still the big town retard who can’t do anything. Who can’t protect an innocent baby.”

  Andy closed his eyes.

  “You know …” Chad said in a singing manner.

  “Chad," Edward warned.

  Chad held up his hand to Edward. “You know, Andy, you’re the much bigger guy. I don’t understand why you let him speak to you like that. I’d deck him. But that’s just me.”

  Edward saw the widest grin strike Andy’s face as he turned his head slowly to look at Chad.

  “Someone else once said that to me,” Andy said.

  Del held out his hands. “What the hell, Dr. Walker?”

  “Del?” Andy called his name.

  “What?”

  Andy decked him. Probably not as hard as he could have, but he nailed him anyhow, sending him spinning down to the floor. He walked to him, flipped him over, and grabbed him by the collar. “That was for Emma. Out of everyone, you don’t deserve to live. Not you. You selfish piece of sh … sh… crap.” Andy dropped him and walked out.

  Chad cleared his throat. “Was it just me, or was there a lot of hostility between the two men?”

  Edward grumbled, commented on how it was going to be a long lockdown, and pulled Del to his feet.

  <><><><>

  Andy didn’t want to be bothered. As he stretched out on the bed, he stared at the photo of Emma, grateful she had printed it. So much was in a digital world; Andy supposed that if technology shut down, so many memories would be lost.

  The photo was sealed in a bag.

  Edward knocked and then walked in. “How’s it going?”

  Andy shrugged.

  “So … wanna tell me what that was all about?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You seem so passive. I am shocked. You hit him good,” Edward said.

  “Not my best. If... if you want to kick me out. You c-can.”

  Edward shook his head “Even if I wanted to, I can’t. We’re on lockdown. What’s the story?”

  “He’s the ex of the woman I was involved with. The father of her k-kids. He left a long time ago and popped back up. I g-guess it was just building.”

  “Wow, so out of all the people, the ex-husband survived?”

  Andy cracked a partial smile.

  “Can you try to get along? You both have loved and lost the same people. Make it work for you instead of against.”

  “I’ll try.” Andy kept his gaze on the picture.

  “What’s that?”

  Andy handed it to him.

  “Is this the woman you were involved with? She’s... beautiful.”

  “In every way,” Andy said sadly. “It’s all I have. It got dropped.”

  “What do you mean?” Edward asked.

  “When the sickness started, she made this b-box. In it were pictures of her life. A notebook of her history. She wanted it to remain in c-case she didn’t. So someone c-could find it in the f-future. And know her. This was on the floor.”

  “That was very smart. The box was left behind?”

  Andy nodded.

  “I’m sorry. I know it’s not there now.”

  Quickly Andy looked at him. “It’s fine. The bomb went off over Hartworth. I saw … saw Lincoln on the news. It’s f-flattened, but I know it’s safe. It’s there.”

  “You seem very certain.”

  “I am. When something means so much, you have to believe it’s okay. When I get out, I am going to get it. Trust me …” Andy returned to staring at the picture. “Nothing is stopping me from going back to Lincoln.”

  <><><><>

  “Knock, knock,” Chad called out from the other side of Del’s door.

  “Great,” Del grumbled and opened it. “Hey, Dr. Walker.”

  “Chad. Call me Chad. Thank you. I’ll come in.” He stepped into the room. “How do you like your new accommodations?”

  “Better than the hospital-style room.”

  “How’s the cheek?”

  Del touched his bruise. “Not too bad. Sore, but I have taken worse.”

  “It surprised me, too, how he just seemed to tap you. I expected more.”

  “And what happened to that stutter?” Del said.

  “Well,” Chad explained. “The emotional trauma of watching everyone he loved die snapped
it right out of him.”

  “I didn’t know that could happen.”

  “It can’t. I’m joking. He’s on medication.”

  Del shook his head in disgust. “You’re an instigator.”

  “I run this facility, and we are on lockdown so I can do whatever I want,” Chad said

  “Then let me out of here. I don’t want to be down here.”

  “Del, you’re not immune. Chances are, up there, you won’t be so lucky. And aside from that, it’s an automatic lockdown. I can’t override it. You’re not a prisoner; you can still make phone calls and go on the computer.”

  “I watched the news this morning,” Del said. “They said they think it’s under control, that after disinfecting Montana, the bug will die out.”

  Chad nodded. “I heard that, too, and my God, do I want to believe that is right. But Del, Billings was infected. The infection spread across the West Coast. The problem we have is it is highly contagious, and it’s just started to spread. Air travel wasn’t suspended over the holiday. This time next week, we’ll know.”

  Del looked away then turned back to Chad. “Can this thing do to the world what it did to Hartworth?”

  “I hope not. I am hoping for a cure or vaccine. But it isn’t the virus that will destroy us, if things fall apart. Your ‘town retard’ wrote an interesting book on why civilization died out. You should read it.”

  “Andy? Andy Jenkins wrote a book?”

  “Several. He’s quite smart; get to know him and you’ll see.” Chad walked to the door. “And Del, we are here for a while. He’s the only one you know. I’d really put forth the effort to make amends and get along. It’s for the best. You may need each other when the door to the facility opens.”

  “Yeah, he may be the only one I know down here, but when the door opens, I have my friends”

  Chad nodded. “If this virus takes a worst case scenario route, which is possible, he may not only be the only person you know down here, but the only person you have left in the world. Think about it.” Chad walked out.

  Del moved to the door and closed it. “It can’t be that bad. It can’t,” he said to himself. Then he grabbed the remote control and turned on the news. “I guess time will tell.”