Survivors

by Rich Goldhaber

  Mary took Beth’s vital signs. Her blood pressure was 140 over 86 and her pulse rate and temperature were normal. Paul found the information on Streptokinase and read the dosage information. “She should get 250,000 I.U. as a loading dose and then 100,000 I.U. per hour.”

  Mary took out another vial of the drug and reconstituted the white powder with saline. She shook it until all of the powder was dissolved. She then used a syringe to inject the contents into the I.V. bag. Then she adjusted the drip rate on the I.V. pump.

  Meanwhile, Jessie had turned on three blood analyzing machines on a back counter of the operating room. The machines began to automatically boot up and three minutes later ready messages began coming up on the systems’ computer screens.

  Mary found some blood collection tubes and drew samples of blood, each in a different colored blood collection tube. She handed them to Jessie. “The red capped tube is for the Complete Blood Count and the other two go into the two sample inputs with the same yellow and blue colors as the cap.”

  These two women were being tested as never before. Jessie was totally focused on trying to figure out how the machine worked as quickly as possible. She found several pipettes and transferred small quantities of Beth’s blood into little cuvettes and then placed the tiny plastic sample holders into the machines. She tapped the start icons on each instrument, and the machines immediately began drawing samples of the blood for analysis.

  The Complete Blood Count results began printing first. Jessie handed Mary the printed sheet. “Her platelet count is 157,000; that’s good. Everything else looks normal.

  The blood chemistry sheet was printing a minute later, and Mary studied the results. “Everything’s normal,” she said.

  The third machine printed out Beth’s clotting time. Mary said, “It’s a little high, but that’s because we’re giving her the Streptokinase.

  Mary found a small penlight and shined it into Beth’s eyes. Beth blinked and spoke coherently for the first time. “What happened?” she said.

  Mary answered her, “You had a stroke Beth, but we got you into the operating room within a few minutes, and I’m giving you a drug now to dissolve the clot. I think you’ll be okay. All your vital signs look pretty good, but we’re going to have to monitor you closely for the next few days, and you’ll be taking baby aspirin every day from now on.”

  Beth looked around the room and started to cry. “Thank you all; it’s good to have family again.” I looked around the room. There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd. Beth had hit a respondent chord. It was true, we were all family now.

  Mary stepped outside the operating room and talked to Jessie and Paul. Let’s get Phyllis here. We can start our training this afternoon. We were very lucky today. We got her the thrombolytic drug very quickly, and it dissolved the clot. Now we have to manage the drug dose. We can monitor her clotting time, and if it gets too long, we’ll lower the drip rate. If we don’t control her clotting factors, she could have an aneurism. We’ll be walking a tightrope for the next few days.”

  I walked up to our medical staff after Mary finished talking. “Thank you,” I said, “We’re lucky to have all three of you. You were all cool under pressure. I don’t think a trained medical team could have done any better.”

  Mary said, “Thank you, but we could have done a lot better. I learned something today. We need to have something like a golf cart with a stretcher on the back to get the person here quickly and with less physical trauma, and we need to have the critical equipment always warmed up and ready to go.”

  I drove the U-Haul back to the apartment complex and was immediately met by a group of concerned residents who wanted to know what happened. I explained Beth had a stroke, but she was resting now and appeared to be without longterm effects, because Mary and her support team had known exactly what to do.

  Stan was there and I explained what Mary wanted for an emergency transport vehicle to bring people to the emergency room. He left on his new assignment, and I knew he would find a solution to the problem.

  I found Blaine working on the engine to the Piper Cub. Debbie’s friend Bruce was working with him. The spreadsheet indicated Bruce was an auto mechanic, and it seemed like a natural fit for him to extend his expertise to Blaine’s aircraft. As I approached the airplane, Blaine stopped explaining the intricacies of the engine. Sorry to interrupt Blaine, but tomorrow I’d like us to fly over to MacDill Air Force Base.”

  “How many will take the trip?” “Just the two of us, I want to establish contact with any survivors.” “Only one problem,” he said, “The Piper Cub’s engine is missing a little. Why don’t Bruce, you, and I drive down to the Naples airport tomorrow morning. We’ll take my turboprop, and while we’re gone, Bruce can go about collecting all of the parts we’re going to need to service the engine. I think the problem is just a clogged fuel filter.”

  “Sounds like a plan; let’s leave at nine o’clock.” As an afterthought I said, “Let’s bring them some fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m sure they’d appreciate the gift.”

  Blaine smiled, “I guess a little bribe won’t hurt.” I was walking away when Bruce caught up to me. “Jim, I want to apologize for what happened out there. I’ve never done anything violent in my whole life. It’s just that I saw what they did to Debbie, and the big fat guy was the most brutal. The gun was sitting in the front seat. I just grabbed it and sneaked up on you guys.”

  “Bruce, we all did some bad things yesterday. I hope we all learned from what happened so it won’t happen again. By the way, how’s Debbie?”

  She’s better; we moved in together in Building F; I’m taking care of her now.” “That’s good,” I said, “I’m no psychiatrist, but I’m guessing it would be a good thing if she volunteers to do some things to take her mind off what happened.”

  Bruce nodded his head in agreement. I was walking back to my apartment when I ran into Jasmine and Hunter. I told them what had happened to Beth.

  “How was school?” I asked. They showed me their homework. Jasmine said, “It was pretty easy today. Miss Janet just wanted to find out what each of us knew. Then we all had to pick out a book to read tonight and give a report tomorrow.”

  Hunter said, “It was pretty cool, I picked out a book about astronauts. Jasmine said she’d help with some of the hard words.”

  “That’s great Hunter. Tonight you can tell me all about the book. That way you can practice for your presentation tomorrow.”

  It was close to dinner time, and Isaac had set up a table just outside the tent and was distributing phones to people. He had also typed up a phone directory, and was handing a copy to each person who registered for a phone.

  I waited in the long line. When he checked off my name and handed me my phone, I asked him if he had given phones to Mary and Jessie. He had, and he said Beth was doing better. I tried my phone, and Mary answered on the second ring. After getting her update, I asked if I could bring over dinners for everyone. I found out the surprise meal for tonight was beef tenderloin. The meat had been taken from Publix yesterday. Mary asked me to bring five servings.

  I walked into the kitchen and gave everyone an update on Beth’s condition. The kitchen staff was relieved. They prepared five individual servings of the dinner: a generous portion of tenderloin, fresh green beans, a baked potato, and some chocolate pudding for dessert. The staff packed the dinners in some empty cardboard boxes, and then they helped me bring them to my U-Haul truck.

  I arrived in our new emergency room to find Beth in good spirits. Mary explained they had hooked up vital signs monitoring to Beth more for practice than because she needed it. Phyllis, Paul, and Jessie were receiving instructions from Mary on how each of the instruments worked. I bent down and gave Beth a kiss on her cheek. “You had us worried Head Chef.”

  She smiled and answered, “I think I was more worried than you.” “By the way, your staff said they would visit you after they serve dinner, and your surprise dinner looks wonderful.”

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bsp; She answered, “We had to fix it; all the freezers at Costco and in the apartments are filled to capacity.”

  By the time I returned to the apartment complex, people were lined up to get their taste of the wonderful meal. Several bottles of wine were available at the end of the food line, and I poured myself a full glass of the red.

  I found an empty seat at Manny’s table and explained I wanted to bring a gift of fresh fruits and vegetables to the survivors at MacDill. He said he would personally prepare a few cases of fresh produce. Looking around the table, I noticed the Immokalee people were not sitting at his table. As I looked around I could see them spread out throughout the tent. They were all being accepted into our community and the sight made me feel very good.

  I spotted Brad Davis at another table with some of the same people who had been reluctant to welcome the Immokalee survivors the day they arrived. They didn’t look very happy as they ate their dinners. After clearing my plate, I took my halffinished glass of wine and sat down at their table. “What’s up guys?” I asked.

  Brad said, “I heard you’re flying over to MacDill Air Force Base tomorrow. What are you going to do there?”

  “I want to locate more survivors.”

  “Aren’t there enough people living here already?” “Brad, we have room for a lot more people, and those people are more than welcome to come live with us, but that’s for them to decide. I just want to meet with them so we can open lines of communication. I’m sure there will be thousands of communities just like ours across the whole country. Eventually we’re going to have to figure out how we can put the country back together.”

  Brad and his friends looked bitter and angry. I can’t explain why they looked that way; it had something to do with their body language. “By the way Brad, what have you been doing to volunteer?”

  Brad answered, “I’ve been checking things out; I’m still trying to decide where I can help out.” “Well Brad, if I can help, just ask; you know everyone here has to be willing to help. I’m sure you guys all have skills we can put to use.”

  As I left their table, I wondered how these characters were able to find each other so quickly. They obviously weren’t friends before the pandemic.

  Chapter 24

  The drive down to the Naples airport was uneventful. We had four large crates of fresh fruits and vegetables in the back of the U-Haul truck. We passed a few corpses along the way, and all had been picked clean. Only bones and torn clothing remained scattered alongside the road. I wondered what animals had been feasting on the human flesh.

  It took Blaine a few minutes to show Bruce where all of the parts and tools could be found, and then another thirty minutes to check out his twin engine turboprop. It was almost eleven o’clock before Blaine and I took off and headed north toward Tampa.

  An hour later we were approaching the MacDill Air Force Base. Blaine slowed down our plane and deployed the flaps. We were floating along at a little over ninety miles per hour and circling around the military field. There was no point in landing if nobody showed up to greet us, and the sound of an airplane would certainly attract attention.

  Suddenly a group of soldiers ran out of a building and began waving at us. Blaine lined up the plane with the runway closest to where the people were waving. He made a perfect landing and taxied over to the group of survivors. As soon as the propellers stopped spinning, Blaine opened the portside hatch, and we stepped down onto the tarmac.

  A dozen soldiers wearing fatigues met our plane. Blaine and I introduced ourselves, and I explained we were from the Naples area, and several hundred of us had set ourselves up at the Florida Gulf Coast University campus, and we were here to establish contact with the survivors in the Tampa area.

  A sergeant, who seemed to be the senior soldier in the group, explained there were a little less than fifty people remaining on the base. Another dozen had left during the past few weeks. I asked who the senior officer was.

  The sergeant said, “That would be Major Connors. He’s at his home right now, but I’m sure he heard your airplane and will be here in a few minutes.”

  Sure enough, I could see a car speeding on the tarmac in our direction. The bright red Chevy Camaro screeched to a stop, and a soldier dressed in army fatigues and an olive-drab t-shirt stepped out and immediately introduced himself. “Major Arnie Connors, pleased to meet you.”

  Blaine and I introduced ourselves, and then I explained where we were from. “Major, we’ve brought some fresh produce with us. We thought you might be short of food, and we have enough so we brought some for you guys.”

  Blaine opened the luggage storage hold and the soldiers smiled as they gathered around the aircraft and helped unload the fresh food. The Major thanked us. “You have no idea how much this is appreciated Jim. We’re desperate for fresh food here. We’ve been living on canned food. I’m personally getting pretty tired of canned tuna.”

  “Major,” I said, “Blaine and I want to spend today with you and your people. We need to help each other. There are some important things going on, and you need to get updated. Where’s a good place to talk?”

  The major thought for a minute. We’ve got no power. The emergency generators ran out last week. Why don’t we all go over to my house? I’ve got some shade in the backyard and we can talk there. Sergeant, please muster all of the survivors and tell them where we’re meeting, and see if you can find some refreshments for our guests.”

  Major Connors drove us over to his place, and we sat at a round patio table in his backyard under a grouping of palm trees. He offered us bottles of warm water and we sat there waiting for other people to show up.

  “Major, what’s been going on here? Why have people left?” “Please call me Arnie. I think my role as a military officer isn’t quite like it used to be. Riots started in Tampa about a month ago. Survivors weren’t just hunting for food; it was more like class-warfare. The poor survivors began attacking and killing the rest of the people. I don’t really know why; maybe it was revenge for all of the mistreatment they thought they had received over the years. As soon as it started, survivors began leaving. I guess they knew they would have to leave sooner or later. There was no electricity, no fresh water, the toilets didn’t work. The whole city was one big disaster.

  “There was plenty of food of course. You could break into anyone’s house and get a week’s supply of whatever you wanted as long as it wasn’t refrigerated. As best as we can determine, there’re about one-hundred survivors living on the outskirts of Tampa, just east of the city. They’re a bunch of drunken men along with a few women. They’re just living day to day existences. They kill anyone who won’t join their group. I’ve sent out a couple of my men as scouts, and they’re keeping track of them.”

  I asked, “Why haven’t they attacked here?” “I guess they’re afraid. They know we’re well-armed, and they don’t know how many soldiers are still here. So they leave us alone. The truth is if they attacked, our small group of soldiers would probably get overrun quickly.”

  “So why don’t you leave?” “There’s a huge armory here Jim. This base was the United States Central Command. You may recall we ran the two Gulf wars out of here. Can you imagine what would happen if these misfits captured our armory and took possession of all the weapons? They’d overrun the countryside. Someone needs to protect the armory. I’ve got the place already wired with explosives. The last man standing is under strict orders to blow everything up, but I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.”

  Blaine asked, “Where are all the aircraft? The place looks deserted.” “About two months ago, General Simmons ordered all our aircraft to redeploy. They were sent to isolated bases throughout the country. The General thought the soldiers would be protected from the pandemic. None of us realized everyone had already been infected.”

  Army jeeps and civilian cars began arriving at Major Connor’s home. The sergeant we met at the airfield reported to the major. “Sir, we’ve let everyone know. I’ve kept the
guards out on the perimeter and we’ve got two scouts out in the city. Other than that, everyone else is coming.”

  “Thank you Sergeant Gomez; were you able to find some refreshments?”

  “Yes Sir, I brought a wheel of that cheese everyone likes and some warm beers.” We waited another fifteen minutes and eventually there were almost fifty people crowded into the major’s backyard. About half were soldiers, both men and women, and the rest were civilians, men women and children, roughly the same demographics as our little community.

  The major introduced us and asked me to explain why we had come here. I stood up and addressed the crowd. I spent about thirty minutes telling them about our community, how it had started, the infrastructure we had built up, and the school we had started. Everyone listened. Their faces showed the desperation many of them felt, and the sense of relief at knowing there was still hope.

  I then offered to answer any questions and there were many. Then I got to one of the real reasons why we had come. “On several occasions our people have had run-ins with people who have chosen a life of violence. One of our women was raped; another man, who was traveling from Atlanta, ran into a bunch of them who killed an old man and abducted two women. These are bad people, and from what the major has been telling us, you folks are very aware of this problem.

  “We came here today for two purposes, first to see if any of you would like to join our community, and secondly to ask for your assistance in the protection of our community. None of us are trained in arms or know anything about how to defend ourselves. We have a dairy farm and fresh produce farms to defend, and if we can keep those places running, we can supply fresh meat and produce for everyone here.”

  “Major Connors answered for his group. “The offer of food and shelter is greatly appreciated, and our children need to live in a better environment than this one; that’s for sure. Getting rid of these vermin is something we want as well.”