Influenza: Viral Virulence

by Ohliger, Steven

  “If we get some light in here, we can help you look. They may have left you a note somewhere,” Michael suggested. “I’ll go get a flashlight from the truck.”

  “No, don’t bother. We keep some battery lanterns stashed in the closet just for emergencies. I’ll go get them.” He disappeared back into the dark house.

  While Michael and Lorie waited outside on the porch, they watched the neighborhood. Soon, a faint glow came from somewhere inside the depths of the home. The light got brighter and stronger until Jeffrey, holding a lantern in front of him, appeared from around a corner. He handed Michael a second lantern, and they all entered the house together. Searching room by room, they found no sign of the parents.

  Gathering in the kitchen, Jeffrey and Liz searched for a note that their parents may have left. Scouring the table, cabinets, and refrigerator, they found nothing.

  “Do you think they’re still at Uncle Bill’s?” Jeffrey asked his sister.

  “It’s possible. But I would have thought they’d be back home by now.” Turning to Michael and Lorie, Liz explained, “Our parents were going to visit my mom’s brother over in Columbus. But that was before the virus thing exploded. I thought my parents would have come home by now, especially since they knew that Jeffrey and I were trapped at the school without any way to get home.”

  “With the gasoline shortages, they may be having difficulty making it back,” Michael said. “Just remember how many running cars we’ve seen since leaving the school. There was only the truck in Lima. Despite that, I’m sure your parents are trying their best to get back here. If I were a parent, I wouldn’t let anything stop me from getting home and making sure that my children were safe.”

  “Let’s check the bedroom once again,” Jeffrey said. He turned and led them up the stairs to the master bedroom. Opening the closet door, Jeffrey noted that his parents’ suitcases and some of their clothes were missing.

  “Yep. Looks like they’re still at Uncle Bill’s,” Liz said. “Or, at best, they’re on their way back here as we speak.”

  “I’m hungry,” Jeffrey suddenly announced from out of the blue.

  Until Jeffrey said that, Michael was unaware of just how hungry he was. Since leaving this morning, he hadn’t put anything in his stomach. No one had. As if in agreement, his stomach suddenly growled.

  Lorie tried to stifle a giggle.

  “That, I can take care of,” Liz said. “Lorie, would you like to come help me?”

  “Sure,” Lorie said and followed Liz out of the room, leaving Jeffrey and Michael alone.

  “Jeffrey, we need to talk.”

  “Okay?”

  “I don’t want to say it, but maybe your parents are…”

  “…I know, I know,” Jeffrey said, reading his thoughts. “But I have to hope that they’re coming back.”

  “You may want to think about coming with us. I’m planning on taking Lorie to her parents. Then, I’m going to go meet up with mine. If Lorie and her parents want to come with me, I’d be happy to take them. And if you and Liz want to come, you can join the party too.” Michael sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “I’ll talk to my sister about it, but right now, I think I want to stay here and wait. We’ve lived in this same house forever, and it’s the only place that I know. I feel comfortable here. I think Liz doesn’t want to leave our home either. If there’s even a chance that our parents are coming home, we should be here when they arrive.”

  “You could leave a note in case they get here and don’t find you,” Michael suggested.

  “I’ll have to talk to Liz about it,” Jeffrey repeated. “But my vote would be to stay here.”

  “Okay. I can respect that decision. But if you or Liz change your mind before we leave, the offer is still open. In the meantime, I think we need to make you as safe and secure as we can in this house. What kind of protection do you have in case the red bandana gang comes over for an uninvited visit?”

  Smiling, Jeffrey walked back over to his parent’s closet. Standing on his tiptoes, he rummaged around the top shelf until he finally found a laminated mahogany box. Placing the box on the bed next to Michael, he opened it, revealing a shiny semiautomatic pistol with a steel finish. “And there is plenty of ammunition still in the closet.”

  Gently taking the gun from the box, Michael looked it over. He ejected the magazine. It was empty. “Under normal circumstances, for safety reasons, this gun should be empty like this. But now, it would be wise to load this and have it ready at all times. Also, get all the ammo out of the closet so you have easy access to it.”

  Jeffrey returned to the closet and retrieved multiple boxes of ammunition. He placed the heavy boxes on the bed. He also found a spare magazine.

  “Great!” Michael said, seeing the extra one. “Keep both of these full. By the way, you have used this gun before, right?”

  “Yes,” Jeffrey said much to Michael’s relief. “My dad and I used to go out to the range, and he showed me how to use it. We practiced often while Liz and Mom were out at the mall. I got better over time, and I can hit the target most of the time.”

  “That’s good,” Michael said. “But you said you and your dad went to the range. What about Liz and your mom? Have they had any practice shooting the gun?”

  “I don’t think Liz knows that Dad has a gun. My mom hates guns and probably doesn’t know that Dad taught me how to use it.”

  “So Liz doesn’t know about the gun. And more importantly, Liz doesn’t know how to use the gun?”

  “I can teach her,” Jeffrey said. He took a box of cartridges and systematically started loading both pistol magazines.

  “I think it’s vital that both of you know how to use this,” Michael said, indicating the pistol. “Can you imagine if you’re caught in a desperate situation and Liz doesn’t know how to shoot? Or doesn’t even know to flip the safety off?”

  “I know.”

  “If you can teach her, you really need to. And soon,” Michael continued. “We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. My only concern with teaching her how to shoot is that you need to be careful about firing the pistol. The sound could bring unwanted company. I don’t have a solution for that right now, but I’ll think about it. In the meantime, we need to think about fortifying your home.”

  Michael and Jeffrey left the master bedroom and stopped in the kitchen. Sandy was sitting in there where all the food was located. Her tail was wagging as if expecting some tasty treat. Liz was showing Lorie the inside of the pantry, which was packed full of canned items.

  Michael couldn’t make out what some of the canned food was, but it didn’t look very appetizing to him. The girls were talking about preserving food, and Liz was giving Lorie a lesson on the proper technique of canning food. Most of it was over Michael’s head. They were talking about salt, sugar, and vinegar. What that had to do with canning food, Michael had no idea. But Lorie was completely absorbed in what Liz was saying. She was soaking up every bit of information that she could.

  Jeffrey rolled his eyes and the guys left the kitchen with the girls deep in discussion. They drove the truck into the empty garage, hiding it from view. They had to use the manual override on the garage door to open it and then close it after the truck was inside. Once that was taken care of, Michael unloaded their suitcases while Jeffrey took them inside. With the extra luggage gone, Michael put the bungee cords and ropes back into storage. The backseat was now vacant, and he was able to store all of their stuff that needed protection from the elements.

  Afterward, Michael found Jeffrey in the family room. They both sat on the sofa in front of the dead flat-screen television attached to the wall.

  “I see that you have a fireplace, which is great. Do you know how to build a fire?”

  “Yes,” Jeffrey replied.

  “Do you have firewood for the winter and for cooking?”

  “Yes. Dad and I felled an old tree in the backyard last summer, and we cut and split wood for weeks. It took
forever, and swinging that heavy splitting axe was tiring. Dad wouldn’t let me use the chainsaw. But now we have a huge pile of wood stacked up in the back. A couple of cords, I think.”

  “Then you have heat for the winter and fuel for cooking. Just be aware that the smell of smoke can attract people too. At least your wood is in the back and out of view from the street.”

  “And, as you saw, we have plenty of food.”

  “Yes, you do. But even that will eventually run out.”

  “My mom is a fanatic about canning and storing food. She always bought lots of stuff in season and spent days canning it. She said that was the way to save money.”

  Michael nodded and then turned to the windows. “We need to cover and protect the windows with something. You wouldn’t happen to have any plywood?”

  “No.”

  “Any wood sheets of any kind? Two-by-fours?” Michael asked.

  Jeffrey took a moment to think. “Just the firewood out back.”

  “We need to cover the windows with something heavy. Heavy enough to block any light inside from being seen from the street.”

  Getting up from the sofa, they went back into the kitchen. Jeffrey asked his sister if they had extra blankets to cover up the windows.

  “You can find extra blankets in the linen closet. And speaking of blankets…” Liz looked at Michael and Lorie. “We have our rooms, but I’m sure it would be okay if you guys wanted to crash for the night in my parents’ bedroom.”

  “I’ll be fine out on the sofa,” Michael said.

  “Oh,” Liz said, looking back and forth from Michael to Lorie. “I thought you two were…”

  “…good friends,” Michael finished her sentence.

  Turning to Lorie with a surprised look on her face, Liz said, “Girl, if you don’t snag him, I will.”

  Lorie laughed sheepishly at Liz’s comment and then looked down at the table. Her cheeks got a little red, and she avoided eye contact with Michael.

  In the meantime, Michael thought it wise to remain silent. He could feel his own face getting hot, and he asked Jeffrey to show him where the blankets were. They gathered the blankets, and with some tools and nails that Jeffrey retrieved from the garage, they spent the rest of the evening covering all the windows. Finally, they both moved the heavy living room sofa to block the front door. Wedged between the door and the wall, the sofa prevented the door from being opened easily from the outside.

  “You can use the manual override for the garage door to get in and out. It would be much more difficult for someone to kick in the garage door than the front door. If you can find a two-by-four somewhere, along with some brackets, you can also fortify the back door. Like those old medieval doors you see in movies.”

  After discussing a few more ideas, they went back to the kitchen to eat. Michael had to admit that the canned food wasn’t as bad as he had imagined. Some of it was quite tasty.

  “I’m so tired,” Jeffrey said, stretching his arms and yawning.

  Amid Lorie’s protests that he sleep in the bedroom while she took the sofa, Michael refused. He retrieved some of their necessities from the truck. Since the living room sofa was being used to block the front door, he retired to the family room. Lying down on the red plush sofa, he was exhausted. Sandy lay next to him on the floor. She gratefully accepted his petting her fur, and when he stopped, she nudged his hand with her nose until he started petting her again.

  He could not even comprehend that, just this morning, he had awakened in his college apartment. Since then, his nerves had been on high alert, and he had almost been killed…twice. Despite the constant danger outside the walls of the house, he fell into a deep sleep as soon as his eyes closed.

  He dreamed of being trapped underwater again. He was struggling against the undertow, and he could not break the surface. But this time, he could see Lorie, Liz, and Jeffrey talking on the shore above the surface. Struggling against the strong current and growing weaker, he shouted at them to get their attention.

  No one heard or noticed him. It was as if he were invisible or trapped in another dimension. He frantically tried to get their attention, but they just kept talking as if he weren’t there. Battling against sinking farther into the dark depths, he saw Sandy peer over the edge of the water. Looking at him, she barked and whined. But none of the other humans paid her any mind.

  Chapter 19

  He woke up in a cold sweat. It was completely dark in the room, but then he heard Sandy snoring softly on the floor by his side. He closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep. Listening to Sandy’s rhythmic breathing, he was finally coaxed to the unconsciousness of slumber.

  Because they had spent the majority of the evening working on protecting the house, Michael slept in late. Waking up in an unfamiliar room, he was a little disoriented when he first opened his eyes. Even though it was daytime, it was still very dark inside the house because of the thick blankets covering the windows.

  He could hear familiar voices coming from the kitchen. He got up and walked over to the window. With his finger, he moved the blanket a few inches so he could see out the front window.

  It was a little cloudy, but he could see the neighborhood more clearly today than yesterday, when they arrived in the dead of night. It was a nice middle-class neighborhood with old stoic trees lining the streets. The leaves on the trees were turning bright shades of orange and yellow, and some leaves fell to the ground and blew across the street.

  Except for having been painted in different colors, all the houses looked identical to one another. The developer must have built the same model over and over again. How original. But the location seemed ideal. Tucked far away from any major roads, it appeared to be the perfect place to raise a family.

  The only disturbing thing about the neighborhood was that it was quiet. It was too quiet. Michael could imagine children running around and playing on the street, riding bicycles and playing games just like normal children in normal times. Maybe a neighbor or two watering the grass or raking up leaves.

  But no one was out trimming bushes or cutting grass. No one was washing their car in the driveway, and no children were laughing and playing. All the houses along the street peered at him with dark windows. Most had the shades drawn, and there were no signs of life within any of the homes.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” Lorie said from behind him. “It’s about time you got up.”

  Sandy had followed Lorie into the room. Apparently, the smell of breakfast had drawn the border collie into the kitchen, where she had spent some quality time with Lorie. Traitor, Michael thought.

  Even without a shower and makeup, Lorie looked wonderful.

  “Liz wanted to know if we wanted to stay for at least a couple of days.”

  “How do you feel about staying?” Michael asked her.

  “I’d like to stay, but I also want to get back home. I won’t be able to relax until I’m home with my parents.”

  “I think I agree with you. I’d like to get home as soon as we can.”

  “I’m not comfortable leaving them alone in this house. We’ve seen what’s going on out there,” Lorie said, tilting her head toward the window.

  “I’m not comfortable about leaving them either. I talked with Jeffrey last night. He seemed pretty adamant that they were going to stay here. He wanted to wait to see if their parents show up.”

  “‘If’ being the important word here. I don’t think they’re ever going to show up,” she said sadly. Her voice was soft enough that the others couldn’t hear her from the kitchen.

  “We’ve helped them out the best we can in the time that we’ve had. Unless we stay with them, I don’t think we can do any more for them. They seem to have enough food and water to last for a while. At this point, I think they’re safer than we are. At least they have the security of being in a home. We only have my truck until we get back to Cincinnati.”

  Liz came into the room and joined them. She was holding a book, which she handed to Lorie. �
�Here’s a little beginner’s instructional guide to what we were talking about yesterday. It’s about preserving food.”

  “Liz, I can’t take this. You might need it…” Lorie started.

  “Shh, I don’t need it. I think I have it memorized. It’s just basic stuff anyway. It’ll be a great help if you’ve never done this before.”

  “Thanks, Liz,” said Lorie, gratefully taking the book from her.

  “So, are you guys going to stay with us for a while, or are you heading out?” Liz asked, looking at both Michael and Lorie.

  “We’ve decided that we need to go. We need to make sure that our families are okay,” Michael replied. “But before we go, I’ll give you a map with directions to where I’ll be.”

  “Okay.”

  “Is Jeffrey around?” Michael asked.

  “Yes, he’s in the pantry organizing some of the canned food.”

  “Thanks,” Michael said. Then he left Lorie with Liz and went to find Jeffrey.

  Watching Michael walk toward the kitchen, Sandy followed.

  As he left the room, Michael heard Liz say to Lorie in a hushed whisper, “Girl, we need to talk…”

  Finding Jeffrey in the pantry, Michael asked him for help. He had more than enough gas left in the truck to get to Cincinnati, but yesterday had used up almost a half tank, a lot more than he had expected.

  This seemed like a safe, quiet neighborhood, and Michael wanted to try to gather some extra gas if he could. He didn’t know what conditions awaited them in the big city, so he needed to scavenge some here.

  He gave Jeffrey a short tutorial on the use of the bolt action on the rifle. Then, Jeffrey opened the garage door while Michael got the gas cans out of the truck bed. Emptying the contents of the two five-gallon cans that Brian had given him into the tank, Michael verified that the gauge now showed full. After he got the siphon pump out of his toolbox, he and Jeffrey emerged from the garage into the front yard.