by David Achord
He paused a moment while each of us took turns making moves and swapping pieces.
“So, originally, Alpha group was to be made up of POTUS, certain members of the cabinet, and all of SCOTUS.”
“I sense something went wrong,” I said and attempted to trap a bishop. Parvis immediately saw through my ruse and countered.
“Murphy’s Law took charge. And, certain people insisted on being in the same bunker with POTUS. The entire Supreme Court judges were moved to Charlie. You can thank the esteemed Senator Polacek for that move.”
“What happened to Bravo and Charlie?” I asked.
Parvis shrugged. “Dead, most likely. Hell, we were almost killed off by people who were locked down with us and were already infected. We were lucky enough to contain it.”
Parvis won the second game and I was ready for bed, but he insisted on a third game. We played well into the night, even after everyone else had gone to bed.
“We think the first mission to Detrick was sabotaged,” he said offhandedly during the middle of the third game. I’d managed to take a knight and had his queen pinned.
“Are you making that up?” I asked. “Trying to throw me off balance?”
He smiled tightly. “Is it working?”
“Nope. I think I may have you this game.”
He grimaced as he stared at the board. “I do seem to be in a pickle at the moment.” He pushed a pawn.
“Do you know who and how?” I asked.
“What do you think about the Fosswells?” he asked offhandedly.
I gave him a look. “The Fosswells? Are you sure?”
He glanced around. “Call it a suspicion,” he said. I nodded in semi-understanding.
“The general is a highly decorated soldier,” he said. “He finished first in his class at West Point and almost every specialty school after. As a young lieutenant, he received a Silver Star in Operation Desert Storm. A definite type-A personality.”
“He doesn’t seem to think much of his son,” I said.
Parvis chuckled. “Harlan junior would have been better off as a civilian. He’s no soldier. He’s an intelligent man, but he’s always been a type-B. He blindly follows his father.”
After a series of moves, I was up three pieces. Parvis capitulated and yawned.
“Well now, that was a difficult match,” he said. “By the way, everything we’ve talked about tonight should remain between the two of us.”
“Of course.”
I watched the next morning at breakfast as the Marines were given the news. They reacted about like how I expected them to. Then, Justin finished his breakfast, wiped his mouth, and stood.
“Alright, Marines. Let’s see what this vaccine is all about.”
Without saying another word, he walked out of the cafeteria. I gave Kelly a look, stood, and caught up with him in the hallway.
“What’s the word?” I asked.
“Heading to medical,” he said.
I heard the cafeteria doors open and looked behind us. The rest of the Marines were exiting the cafeteria and catching up to us.
“You’re going to let them stick you, sir?” Sergeant Crumby asked.
“That’s affirmative, Sergeant,” Justin replied.
Sergeant Crumby got close to Justin and lowered his voice. “We don’t have to be guinea pigs, sir. We got the firepower, they don’t.”
“Not necessary, Sergeant,” Justin said, and then he stopped momentarily. “If any of you do not want to be inoculated, that’s fine. I’ll square away anyone who objects.” He began walking again.
“But, they haven’t done proper tests on that stuff,” Joker said and he looked at me. “Right, Zach?”
“They’ve done some testing,” I answered. “But I couldn’t say whether or not it’s good enough.”
“You hear that, sir?” Joker cried. “They ain’t done enough testing.”
“Well then, there’s one way to find out,” Justin replied. He stopped again. “Men, without a vaccine, my unborn child won’t stand a chance in this world. Nobody’s children will.”
“But, it might fuck you up,” Joker lamented.
Justin looked at him and gave a small smile. “Yes, it might.”
He resumed walking toward medical.
Chapter 39 – Isolation
After the announcement at breakfast, everyone’s conversation was somewhat hushed, subdued. After Justin had gone into medical, two other Marines went with him. The others refused, or as Sergeant Crumby told General Fosswell, they were declining the request, and if he didn’t like it, he could go fuck himself. Fosswell stared steadily at him for a few seconds before ordering the Marines to relieve the midnight guard shift.
I returned to the cafeteria and sat beside Kelly.
“Did he do it?” Kelly asked.
“Yeah, him and two others. The rest refused.”
“I don’t blame them,” Cutter said.
I looked over at him and was about to say something harsh, but I paused and thought about it. If I weren’t immune and was asked to be a test subject, what would I have done? Chances were, I would have refused as well. I refreshed my coffee and looked over at Fred, who’d been quiet the entire time.
“What’ve you got planned today?” I asked.
He made a small gesture toward another table. “Burt and I have farm work, but first thing in the morning, we’re going to take a ride up to Bluemont.”
“What for?” Shooter asked.
“We’re going to check on Jim and his people,” he said.
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll ride along.”
“Zach,” Kelly said. I looked at her and she shook her head slightly. I knew what she was implying.
“Yeah, I know, you don’t have to spell it out,” I said and looked at Fred. “Guess I’m not going.”
“I’d like to go,” Cutter said.
“Yeah, me too,” Shooter added.
I caught Kate giving him a look, but she didn’t say anything. I’m sure the brothers’ desire to go visit had absolutely nothing to do with Jim’s attractive daughters, but then again, I was the king of sarcasm.
Burt had apparently overheard the conversation and walked over.
“We’re riding on horseback. Do you think you two can ride all day on a horse?”
“Horseback? Why horseback?” Shooter asked. “Let’s take one of those Humvees.”
Fred ignored both of them and handed me a piece of paper. “Here’s the address where they’re staying. It’s a straight shot from here. We’re leaving at sun up and should only be gone for two days at the most.”
I looked it over before putting it in my pocket. “Alright, you two old men try not to terrorize the countryside.”
Burt chuckled and Fred gave me a micro.
Jorge and I ended up in the armory and continued the never-ending task of reloading ammo. Surprisingly, Ensign Boner pitched in and helped out. It was slow, tedious work. I grew bored after three hours and stretched.
“I need a break,” I said and stood. “I think I want to go see how it’s going in medical.”
“I thought it was quarantined?” Jorge asked.
“Not for me,” I replied. I started to explain, but he waved me off with a grin.
“Yeah, go ahead,” Jorge said. “I’m going to lunch in about an hour.”
“Alright, I’ll see you there.
“Tell Smithson he better not die before he gives me a rematch,” Boner said.
I smirked as I walked out.
In medical, they’d fashioned a makeshift isolation ward. There were a total of six people in it, including Justin. Since I was immune, and I use that label loosely, I did not have to wear a mask or anything. I walked in and looked around. A couple were playing cards, a couple were sleeping. Justin had his bed adjusted so he could sit up, but he had a couple of blankets wrapped around him.
“How’s it going?” I asked him.
He pointed over at a bed. There was a figure lying under a she
et. I thought it was someone who was sleeping.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Grippentrog,” he said.
Grippentrog. Everyone called him Grip; he was one of Justin’s Marines. He was quiet, kept to himself mostly, but seemed like a decent guy.
“It sucks man,” Joker said. He was in the next bed over, sitting up looking bored.
“What happened?”
“He went into anaphylactic shock about thirty minutes after being dosed,” Justin said. He reached under the blanket and pulled out a used epi-pen.
“They tried this, but it didn’t work. Check the expiration date.”
I looked. It expired almost two years ago. I looked back up at him and then over to the covered corpse. Standing, I walked over and slowly pulled the sheet off of Grippentrog’s head. I didn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean anything. I pulled my knife out and looked questioningly at Justin. He nodded somberly.
I shoved my knife deep into Grippentrog’s left eye socket, wiggled the blade around to cause as much destruction to the brain that I could, and then cleaned the blade off with the sheet before covering him back up.
I walked back over to them. Joker looked okay, bored in fact. Justin was shivering and his brow had beads of sweat.
“I believe they call it ague,” he said, answering my unasked question. “I’m running a fever, but I have chills. I can’t get warm.” He emphasized it by wrapping the blankets tighter around him. I looked around the room. Out of the seven left still alive, all of them except Joker seemed to have the same symptoms.
“Yeah, that happened to me,” I said to them. “Don’t be surprised if you get delirious. Well, if you get delirious, you won’t realize what’s happening, but anyway, it could happen.”
“What do you recommend?” he asked.
“You need fluid intake and someone to watch you. My wife did it for me. My first wife. I was locked in a cage, but she took care of me. I’ll go get Ruth, if you want.”
“No,” he instantly said while shaking his head. “She’s pregnant. I don’t want her anywhere near this room.”
“No worries then,” I said. “I’ll stay with you.”
He looked at me. “Are you sure, Zach?”
I scoffed. “I’m immune, remember?”
“No,” Joker suddenly said. “I’ll take care of them. You take care of Grip.”
“I can cremate him, if that’s what you guys want.”
Joker glanced at Justin, who nodded.
“Yeah, man, but don’t do anything with the ashes. We’ll be wanting to give him a proper Marine funeral.”
I nodded in understanding and looked at him.
“You know, I’m surprised you agreed to be a part of this.”
He shrugged, but didn’t comment. I nodded at him and pushed his friend out of medical.
I rolled the gurney down the hallway to the elevator and pushed the down button. A couple of people walked out of a room, saw me and the remains of Grip, and beat a hasty exit.
The bottom level was unoccupied. I pushed the gurney toward the crematorium, and remembering the process, fired up the oven, and moved the body off of the gurney and onto the table in front of the oven door. As I pushed Grip into the oven, I heard the elevator open and soon Parvis appeared. He pointed up at the surveillance camera in explanation.
“Grippentrog,” I said, pointing at the corpse before I shut the door.
“I heard,” he said. “It’s a shame. We need trained soldiers more than anything else.”
I stood there watching him work.
“I’m sensing you have something on your mind,” Parvis said without looking at me.
“Congressman Hassburg,” I said.
He turned and faced me. “Jim Hassburg is a good man,” he said.
“I’m sensing a but in there somewhere.”
“But, he lacks vision. He’s the kind of man who believes he’s serving his constituency by cooking for them.” He gestured with a wave of a hand. “He was opposed to our future plans, but surprisingly, volunteered to occupy our first outpost.”
“What about the esteemed senator?” I asked.
Parvis chuckled. “Senator Esther Polacek. You know, back in the day, she was one of the most powerful people in the nation. She believed she still held that power and went against us, or tried to. It didn’t work.”
“So, you’re fine with Stark being sole ruler?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I was a tenured professor at MIT, did you know that?”
“Yeah, I read your bio.”
“Yes, well, they offered me the job here. I had a wife, three kids, and two grandkids. I was looking for a laid-back retirement job.”
“How’d your wife take it?”
“At first, she was all for it. I was tired of the big city life, and I assumed she was as well. We moved to Bluemont, which was a bit of a culture shock to her. She left me three months later and moved back to Boston.”
“How about your kids?”
“You’ve met two of them, Garrett and Grace.”
“Oh, yeah, the computer geeks.”
Parvis chuckled. “Yeah, that’s them. The other one, Grayson, he’s the big brother. He ran an engineering firm in Boston. He had a pretty wife and two beautiful kids. I don’t think they made it.”
His face darkened at the memory. I made myself busy by looking at the temperature gauges.
“Anyway, here I am. The twins were students at MIT and were visiting me for Thanksgiving when the balloon went up.”
“Funny how things work out,” I said.
“Yes indeed. I would’ve liked my whole family here, even my wife, who had filed divorce and was trying to take everything I owned, but it is what it is.”
“So, you’re good with the current status quo?” I asked.
“Let’s be frank, Zach. The politicians were dragging us down. We’re behind the curve. Israel is back up and running. There are other countries as well. North Korea, for example. And we’re mostly unchanged. Can you believe it? We’ve been here, languishing in a quagmire of political rhetoric ever since we went into lockdown.”
He stared pointedly at me now. “All that is about to change. The winter is going to slow things down a bit, but you’ll see some significant progress by this time next year.”
He looked at me with a gleam in his eye. “It’ll start with the vaccine. Soon, we’ll expand the power grid, reestablish air transport, we’ll get a refinery up and running again, and soon we’ll have factories back online.”
“Lofty goals,” I said.
“Obtainable goals,” Parvis countered.
I nodded thoughtfully.
Parvis folded his arms and used one hand to rub his chin.
“Zach,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since you arrived. I’d like to mentor you.”
“You want me to be your protégé?” I asked.
“Think about it. You don’t even have a high school education and you have a tenured professor from one of the most prestigious universities in the world with more formal education than I have time to spell out offering to mentor you.”
I let out a brief chuckle. “The first thing that comes to mind is, what’s the catch?”
He looked out into space. “Well, if I was a good liar, I’d say there is no catch. I was simply identifying an intelligent young man who has a lot of potential and only needs guidance.”
“But, you’re not a good liar.”
“No, I am not.” He looked at me with a serious expression. “My kids are brilliant, but they’re not leaders. They never will be. I’m thinking of the future. Our nation’s future, Zach. My plan is to groom you to take over one day.”
I snorted. “Take over? Did I hear you correctly?”
“Yes. One day.”
“Parvis, what do you know about me?”
“I’ve read your bio, what you’ve bothered to divulge about yourself anyway. I imagine there’s a lot you’ve not told about yourself
.”
“Here’s one for you, that’s probably not in my bio. This is my first time out of Tennessee. I’ve never even seen an ocean.”
Parvis laughed.
“How are they?” Kelly asked. After leaving Parvis, I met all of the crew in the cafeteria and when Kelly asked, everyone stopped talking and waited for my response.
“One died. One of the Marines. Grip. When he was dosed, he went into anaphylactic shock.”
“Man, that sucks,” Jorge lamented. I heard someone at another table mutter an obscenity and looked over. It was the Marines.
“Yeah.”
“How’re the others?” Cutter asked.
I looked around at everyone at the table.
“Back when I got exposed, I ran a high fever for a little bit and was even delirious. There are a few who are experiencing the same symptoms.” I looked at Kelly. “Justin included.”
She looked worried and glanced over at the Marine table. They too were listening to my every word, including Ruth.
“That could be a good sign,” I hurriedly said. “Like I said, it happened to me too. I worked through it and I’m fine now.”
“How’s Joker?” Sergeant Crumby asked.
“He’s fine,” I said. “No symptoms or anything.”
“He’s like a fucking cockroach,” one of the Marines said with a clipped laugh. “You can’t kill him.”
Sergeant Crumby got up and walked over to our table. He stood in front of me and stared hard. “What are they going to do with Grip?” he asked.
“He’s being cremated,” I replied and looked at my watch. “The process should be finished in another hour.”
We watched as Sergeant Crumby looked back at his Marines.
“We’ll take it from here,” he said. I nodded in understanding. They all stood and started walking toward the door. Crumby paused a moment.
“They won’t let us in medical,” he said. “You let us know how it goes, okay?”
“Yeah, you got it, Sergeant,” I said. He stuck out his hand and we did a fist bump before he walked out.
Chapter 40 – Party Time
The ague only lasted two hours before disappearing completely. Joker never showed any deleterious effects or discomfort. When the docs started checking on him, he jumped out of bed and knocked out fifty push-ups, jumped back up, and stared at them defiantly. Even so, the docs drew blood from everyone, checked their vitals at least four times, and finally declared them infection free. They were released in time for dinner.