The China Pandemic

by A. R. Shaw

All at once, the four males seemed to notice, during all the commotion, that Sheriff had not budged at all. Nor was his chest rising as it had earlier. His ears were not rotating to the obvious noises or the hidden one.

  “Oh, no,” Graham said and pushed his weight over the edge of Tala’s bed.

  The dog’s dead weight held Macy’s legs down under the covers. She wasn’t fully awake yet to comprehend what was really going on. She could only tell that everyone insisted she get up because she obviously had forgotten something important, though the group had not told her what that was yet and she was maddened by the injustice.

  Graham stroked the dog’s fur and reached his head down to listen to the dog’s heart. “He’s alive. He’s got a heartbeat. Let’s just give him time,” Graham said.

  Then, looking from one to the other, “Does anyone know what happened?” He got nothing but negative head-shakes. When he got back to Tala, she’d begun fading again, so he wrapped his arm around her waist and hauled her over to him. Ennis walked in and sat down behind Macy to help sit her up with Bang’s assistance.

  “Maybe we’re getting it,” Bang said, and everyone knew what he meant but didn’t want to acknowledge it.

  “Bang, you go get some water for the girls,” Ennis ordered.

  He ran off and Graham heard him shove a chair across the floor, then heard the water running.

  Ennis felt Macy’s forehead for a fever. “She’s not feverish,” he said.

  “How are you feeling, Ennis?” Graham asked while he rubbed his hands up and down Tala’s arms to help rouse her.

  “Drugged up, is the best way I can describe it,” Ennis said.

  “Nothing happened last night? You didn’t see anything?” Graham asked him.

  “No, I watched those deer in the yard and I don’t ‘member much after that. Musta fell asleep,” he said.

  Bang handed him a glass of water and Ennis put the rim under Macy’s lips and said, “Take a sip, girl.”

  She did and then opened her eyes a little, but closed them just as fast.

  Macy was able to blink her eyes more now so Mark reached down for the glass and Ennis handed it to him to do the same for Marcy.

  Graham continued to rub Tala’s arms to keep her awake, but she just leaned against his chest, eyes closed.

  “Tala, look at me,” Graham said and raised her chin. “You have to stay awake now, okay?” She nodded and tried to stand unsupported, but slumped. He grabbed her and thrust her toward the living area. “Walk,” he said. “We all need to move around more. That’ll help us, throw off the sleepiness we’re all feeling.

  “Ugh,” she said. “What’s wrong with me?” Tala asked, stumbling forward as Graham propelled her into motion.

  “I don’t know. We haven’t figured it out yet,” he said and guided her around the stuff on the floor. “Ennis, Mark, get those girls up and moving.”

  He took Tala into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for her to sit in and then went back into the bunkroom and grabbed the note off the pile of stuff. Ennis had Macy mostly mobile, and Graham just picked her up and carried her into the kitchen. Tala pulled the chair out for Macy and when Graham put her down, she held the girl upright.

  “Bang,” Tala called. “Can you make some coffee, like I showed you?”

  He nodded and began the work, carefully measuring coffee.

  Mark and Ennis helped Marcy down the ladder and they joined the others. She sat in a chair beside Mark and put her head on the table, falling asleep again. Mark pulled her up and slid her over to lean upright against his chest.

  The coffee aroma filled the small space, perking them all up, as Graham read the note to himself, then read it again and said, “Son of a bitch!” Hell, he hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but it sure caught everyone’s attention.

  The letter shook in Graham’s hands. “They drugged us. That’s what this is. So they could break in here and give us this,” he motioned back to the doorway to the bunkroom, to the items on the floor.

  “Your arms are sore, right?” He turned to address the rest of them. “They gave us all flu and tetanus shots and Ennis, you also got a pneumonia injection,” he added and shook his head in disbelief.

  “I don’t know about that, but my ass stings,” Ennis said and rubbed a spot just above his right cheek

  Graham lowered the letter in disgust and noticed everyone rubbed various spots.

  “I don’t know how to feel about this,” Graham said with indignation.

  “Who did it?” Mark asked.

  “The Preppers, the people who had you,” Graham said.

  Graham walked back into the bunkroom and looked at the stuff in the middle of the floor, then walked over to Sheriff and ran his concerned hand down the fur of the animal again. Sheriff felt warm and Graham could feel the dog’s pulse beneath. Graham scanned the room and looked for any sign of forced entrance.

  “Is the front door locked, Ennis?” Graham asked.

  “Yep, been locked,” he said.

  “The only other way in would be through the windows then,” Graham muttered and tried to open the one closest to Tala’s bunk. The lock from the inside appeared in place. He opened it, letting in some of the cold air along with its moisture. Graham reclosed it and snapped the lock tight.

  “How in the hell?” he said under his breath as he strode back to the pile of items and knelt down. Something about the window caught his eye again and then he knew what he hadn’t seen before. From this low view, he caught on right away. He got up quickly and examined the panes. Clearly, they were replacements, because the two on the bottom were newer, not with the flaws of old glass and with a new bead of off-white caulking, unlike the rest.

  “Too simple,” Graham said. Then he turned his back to the window and tried to see what the intruders would have seen in the same position.

  “They got Sheriff first. That’s why he’s still knocked out. He damned well better be okay,” Graham said with an ominous warning.

  Still holding the letter, Graham walked back in the living area doorway. He watched as Ennis carefully handed cups of coffee to the girls with Bang’s help. Coming out of the sleepy stupor proved a challenge, especially for Macy, who Tala kept jiggling to snap her out of it along with herself.

  “I’m trying,” Macy said, grumbling.

  “I know, dear. Here, try this.” Tala held up her coffee mug to Macy’s lips. She looked as worried about the girls as their own mother would have been.

  Graham watched them recover, trying to make sense of the situation. “I think they meant well,” he said with reluctance. “If they get exposed to us, they’re dead. I guess I can understand, but jeez,” he continued. “So they broke two panes out of the window. Used something to put us all to sleep. Opened the window and climbed in. Gave us all immunizations and dropped off some supplies for us to combat the intruders,” Graham said, trying to logic it out.

  “The shot fairy and Santa Claus, all in one,” Macy said, swaying back and forth with her eyes barely opened.

  They all snickered a little and Graham put his hand on her shoulder to steady her.

  “Yeah, the Prepper elves,” Mark said. “What’d they bring?” he asked. “Can we trust them?”

  Graham turned around. “Well, there’s a generator,” which was the first most obvious thing to mention.

  He left Macy’s side and went to kneel down in front of the pile and he rummaged through it. “There’s a water pump, what looks like a large can of something,” he picked it up and almost dropped it, surprised by the lightness of it. He turned it over to read the label. “Vegetable seeds, so guess we don’t have to worry about that now,” he said.

  From the table, Tala said, “Yay!”

  He picked up two large bottles. “Multi-vitamins for adults and children,” he said. Then he noticed three large boxes. “Motion detector lights, surveillance kit with cameras, radio,” Graham said, in a reluctant manner, “and a first aid kit.” He moved the first aid kit and saw last bu
t not least a large box of Oreos, hidden beneath. He took the box of cookies to the others. “Oreos,” he presented them, prompting them all to cheer.

  They tore open the package and shared the rare treat with one another, dipping them into their black coffee. The sugar rush helped to exterminate the last fleeting grogginess left behind by the injections and sleep mist.

  “Look, he’s moving,” Bang said with a mouthful of cookie. “Sheriff.”

  They all turned around to look at the beloved dog. “Let’s give him space to come out of it on his own,” Graham said. “I think if we’re hovering, he might get defensive,” he added.

  “What did the letter say exactly?” Tala asked.

  “Oh, here,” Graham handed it to her while he stood Macy up. He wrapped one of her slender arms around his waist and held her close as he walked her around the living area, trying to help the girl to come to fully as Tala read the letter out loud.

  “‘To: Graham’s Camp,

  ‘We wanted to extend our hand of friendship in these dark times. We’ve observed your camp and know you recently encountered a potential threat. Please accept these gifts to help defend your camp and yourselves. We suggest you use these cameras and motion detectors to help provide surveillance. We’ve also inoculated all of you from the standard flu virus, tetanus and the elderly gent from pneumonia as well as your pet against rabies. Sorry about the sleeping gas. Because you are all carriers of the virus, we had to take certain precautions to protect ourselves. We hope you can understand the risk our community is under and the necessity of these actions.

  ‘It’s in our best interest to help since we are neighbors of sorts and we would not want to see a camp of children on their own in this unforgiving environment. We commend you for taking them all on and are grateful you accepted the boy we brought to you.

  ‘Stay well,

  ‘Cascade Prepper Group.’”

  “They’ve been watching us,” Tala said, not in a surprised way, just a declaration.

  Smiling up at him sweetly, Macy said to Graham, “I think I’m okay now, Graham, you can let me go.”

  “You’re just saying that so you can curl up somewhere. I know you. You’re sneaky,” Graham said, teasing her.

  He let her go anyway when Tala stood up to start their day.

  “I call the bathroom,” Graham announced and the rest of them moaned. Living with three teenagers proved a challenge mostly with the bathroom usage. He’d learned this new maneuver from Mark, who had previously lived with two sisters. So after he observed this practice, as soon as the urge hit him, he started, ‘calling it’.

  “Well, girls, we have more meat to dry and laundry to do today,” Tala said, then added, “Ennis, can you run down to the store and pick up more detergent?”

  Laughter ensued when he said in all seriousness, “Yessum, what brand? You kids want anything else?”

  These little joking moments kept their lives sane, but they couldn’t be used more than once without falling flat. It kept the kids from dwelling on the past and the pain. They had to move forward and daily Graham and Tala, without ever having discussed it, tried in little ways to keep their focus on the kids, helping to shape them into the people they needed to be now to survive this world.

  Before the laughter faded, Graham heard Sheriff’s claws tapping on the wood floor. The dog trotted out into the middle of the living room, and then let out a big sneeze followed by three more.

  Though this caused another gale of laughter, Graham saw relief in everyone’s eyes. Like him, they’d been worried about their comrade too. He’d become more than a family pet to them. Once he finished sneezing, Sheriff leaned back, and stretched his front paws, splaying his long claws out in front of him. It was his way of dealing with the lethargy that they all still fought. He walked closer to the door and Bang opened it for him to go do his business.

  40 Containment

  Within the Prepper camp, Dalton and Sam watched the awakening of the carriers. “Graham’s going to be pissed off when he figures this out,” Sam stated the obvious and Dalton had to agree. He would be, too, in the same circumstances.

  “Yeah, if I ever get to talk to him, I’m going to tell him it was all Rick’s idea,” he said, only half-joking.

  When everyone was awake and more or less functional, Dalton focused his worried gaze on the big German Shepherd. “Dammit, come on, dog,” he urged.

  “You guys calculated the effects on the dog, right?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah, but there’s always a risk,” Dalton said. “The girls and the dog got the brunt of the mist and they’re smaller than the guys, so it’s going to be harder for them to come out of it.”

  Sam nodded. “Yeah, those twins must only weigh a hundred pounds apiece if that and the lady’s no more than one-twenty-five at the most,” Sam said and Dalton figured he was probably right. The man knew these kinds of things.

  Dalton changed to a different camera feed and adjusted the audio so that he could hear and see what exactly was going on. Even now, he wondered if it was right to have put snoop-cameras inside their dwelling. It was necessary, he told himself. Our lives depend on knowing what’s going on with this group.

  When the dog staggered out, huffed, sneezed, then went to the door to be released, Dalton felt released, too. He breathed a sigh of relief and switched to outdoor feed. “Glad that’s over.”

  “Yep.” Sam got up to go back and finish his current project while Dalton stretched back in the swivel chair reaching his hands for the tent top.

  He checked the time and figured the guys in quarantine were up for their next withdrawals so he would go over there to give them the updates he knew they were waiting for, as soon as Reuben showed up to relieve him. Just as the thought crossed his mind, the man appeared with his coffee and toast in hand. Reuben had obviously stopped at the mess tent, on his way over to relieve Dalton.

  “Hey, man, how’d it go?” he asked in his deep voice.

  “About as expected really,” Dalton said.

  Reuben gave him a once-over. “You look spent, man,”

  “Thanks,” Dalton said.

  “Everyone’s upbeat and buzzed, waiting for the details,” Reuben said.

  “They’ll just have to wait till Graham’s Camp Hour,” Dalton said smiling.

  “Okay, update me,” Reuben said, all official.

  Dalton liked Reuben. He was a tall and imposing guy of few words. He’d always chitchat a little, and then, like now, get right down to business.

  He’d served with the man in Afghanistan and come to respect his quiet, deliberate ways. He often noticed small details others missed, often helping to keep them all alive. Dalton and some of the others called him Spock behind his back. Truth was, he wrote passionate prose and other works, but he just didn’t verbalize much.

  Reuben’s dark skin saved their asses one night when they were trapped between two clusters of enemy forces, forcing them to hide in the not so abundant desert brush. The only way out was to set off a radio beacon, but their low altitude disallowed the connection. In the dead of night, Rueben calculated the risks and before anyone else could come up with a better solution, he removed his gear and his shirt. He climbed up onto the top of their enclosure with the enemy in plain sight. He was able to make contact, saving them by calling in an air strike. It worked and Dalton often imagined if someone, as lily white as his own ass, could have done the same. He would have lit up like a Christmas tree in a number of ways.

  Dalton started on the report.

  “Carrier subjects woke within safety limit allotment without incident. Graham read the letter with the anticipated result. They’re getting on with their day. No intruders spotted. So far, no sign of the China virus within ours.”

  “Sounds good, man, get some sleep,” Reuben said.

  “I will, after I go see the ladies,” Dalton said and knew that he meant Rick and Steven.

  Dalton got up, ran both hands through his already disheveled hair and took his tim
e walking through the camp, waving at those just rising to meet the day.

  Anticipation was what he saw in their eyes. In the mess tent, Kim met him with a kiss and hug. She smelled of coffee and bacon already. Everyone knew not to ask what had happened. They would learn together this evening.

  “You’re sleepy,” she said, “and you look both stressed and relieved, too.” She held up her hands. “No, no. I’m not asking. I don’t have to,” she added with a grin. “I know your expressions, and can see it all worked out. I’ll wait like the others for details tonight. You get off to bed.”

  “I’ll see you later. I’m going over to quarantine, and then I’ll hit the sack,” Dalton told her.

  He left her with a discreet tweak and grabbed a piece of buttered toast that she handed to him. He enjoyed the melted butter on homemade crunchy toast. He wondered why in the world they’d bought the stuff in the stores all those years back. The gravel crunched under his boots as he walked out in the morning light. He saw Sam already hard at work with beads of sweat dripping off his forehead, even though it was chilly out. He knew the man worked hard every day. He didn’t want to disturb him, so he just raised his hand and Sam nodded back without breaking his momentum.

  Dalton continued on to the guarded entrance where someone was always in the sentry post. Even though, they had the whole place monitored, a real eye gave them extra insurance and it kept them more vigilant and in practice anyway. Everyone took their turn, even the women and children. Kids over ten years of age were matched with an adult until they were fourteen and trained in all security protocols. So far, the rules were working out for them.

  The sentry for the day buzzed the gate open for Dalton and then reengaged the magnetic lock behind him. He waved at the guard and then continued on to the hidden quarantine bunker. Finished with his toast, he marched, swinging his arms smartly, an old habit from military training.

  He heard an eagle call, looked up, and saw the old symbol circling with obvious hunting intent. The majestic birds of prey had ample feeding grounds this year like most other wild carnivores. He imagined their numbers would also rise like all the other natural predators. He definitely smelled something decaying in the area, though that wasn’t unusual these days. Dalton estimated whatever it was it couldn’t be more than half a mile in radius.