This was unusual as Karen always let the residents stay in on meetings. Once the residents were out, she closed the door then turned the TV off, taking a deep breath in.
“As you know I told you I had to clarify a few things with home office,” she lowered her head putting her hand against it as if she was trying to remember what she had planned to say.
“These were about things I didn’t agree with...the email that I received and the information I was supposed to relay to you all and what was to be expected of us.”
Karen was struggling to find the words she wanted to say and looking around the room, Jake knew he wasn’t the only one noticing how difficult this seemed to be for Karen.
Karen continued “The email said that anyone sick or showing symptoms of the cold or flu were to be quarantined in their rooms and taken off all medications. Also, any staff wishing to return home and not work their schedule would be allowed to miss their shifts with no penalties and as of 8:00 pm this evening, all current care methods to our residents will cease and new routines and procedures put into place.” As Karen said this, sighs went up around the room. Karen just nodded biting her lip in obvious frustration then continued “There will be a FEMA aid station set up in the high school adjacent to this property, some of you might have noticed the trucks that have been arriving this week and parking in the school parking lot. For anyone who is still willing to work at this facility then a FEMA or CDC representative will be arriving to speak with you.”
Karen then stressed the need to keep this from the residents and confused whispers were going off all around the room. This day was just getting more and more weird, Jake thought to himself. He could see she had been crying and was clearly not happy about any of this. Karen looked around the room at what staff she had “I appreciate each and every one of you and everything you’ve done but I urge you all to return home to your families with little or no further contact with residents.” She bowed her head, nodding slightly as she tried not to cry and left the room.
The residents who were previously in the room now began returning but all the staff in the room were still in shock, just standing there confused.
Michelle spoke up “So that’s what the trucks in the school parking lot were for.” she said.
A few people headed to the big main window pushing back the curtain that gave a view of Battleground High School’s overflow car park. A fence separated that car park from the rehab center and sure enough there were several unmarked white truck trailers. Jake had noticed them pulling in, but they were just off I-205 so no one had given them any thought but now they knew they were obviously FEMA. This had clearly been planned which meant they knew something big was going to happen.
Benny got close to him “Something big is going down, man” and Jake nodded then looked at the TV which a resident had just turned back on. The scenes of rioting were still playing, the rioting and the virus were obviously connected Jake thought. Why was FEMA setting up a camp at a high school? Several nurses who were a little disturbed by Karen’s speech or after being on their phones began gathering up their belongings from the nurse’s station just outside of the dining room.
He looked at Benny who was texting on his phone “Marcus?” he asked, and Benny nodded,
“Marcus said there was fighting outside of the bar,” Benny told him looking worried,
This was definitely weird as Marcus who was Benny’s roommate worked at a bar that served mainly the older workmen crowd. So right now, it would be people on lunch from work and not the rowdy weekend crowd.
Jake looked around the room at who was still here. He wanted to get everyone’s attention “We should at least stay here till these FEMA folks come in and we fill them in on the residents conditions!” he said loudly to the room and a few of the nurses nodded in agreement but some looked lost and confused. He knew the ones looking lost were probably more concerned about family members and were overwhelmed with all of this then Benny piped up.
“What Karen just said. That’s some meteor hitting the earth type shit, something’s up and these FEMA guys might be the best chance we have of getting clear answers on just what the fuck’s going on!”
It was funny, he thought, as Benny said the weirdest farfetched funny stuff but usually always accurate and his last statement was serious and spot on. He looked at the people in the room all staring at him “Besides we owe it to some of these people, what if they were your family?” he said, hoping the added guilt would pressure them into staying. Kindness breeds kindness and some of the nurses looked like they needed something to focus on to take their mind off panicking.
“I’m going to go talk to Karan and try to get some more answers,” he said turning to Benny but as he started to walk towards the door two EMT’s ran past through the hall.
He looked back at Benny then followed them to see where they were going. They both stopped at the door to hall 3 and turned to him.
“Can you let us in? “one of them asked and Jake nodded as he walked over to the keypad
“Where’s the nurse who let you in?” he asked knowing anyone entering the facility and was headed to hall 3 had to be escorted by the nurse on duty at the front desk.
“Your front desk’s busy” the other one told him as he punched in the code.
The pad turned green and the door opened then as they entered Travis’s voice crackled across the intercom “Attention, code white in hall three, all hall 3 staff please report immediately!”
Jake hurried in beside the EMT’s with Benny, Michelle, and two nurses following them. As they entered, he saw Travis was shaking standing with the phone in his hand from just making the page.
Travis looked at them and filled them in “Room three is nonresponsive, that’s who we called about and now room ten is going into cardiac arrest!” Travis blurted out in a panic.
Both EMT’s split up with one entering room three with Travis which was just across from the nurses’ station. While the other one raced down the hall to room ten which was Ms. Long’s so Jake followed with Benny right behind him. Benny almost knocked over Mr. Jones who was wheeling his chair out of his room “Fucking retard!” he complained as Benny put his hands on the armrests to stop himself from toppling over it.
“Well, hello there, young lady” Mr. Jones said cheekily as Michelle came up behind Benny, but she just rolled her eyes following the group sprinting down the hallway and Mr. Jones let out a loud wolf whistle.
Once Jake got to the door, he could see Debbie pumping away on Ms. Long's chest. The EMT walked over to take over and moved Debbie’s hands away. Ms. Long’s eyes flashed open all milky white like no one was home and she jerked back and forth convulsing before lurching up and towards Debbie. She grasped onto Debbie’s upper body and tried to bite her. Debbie put her arm out between them to keep Ms. Long away, Ms. Long groped at the air being held back by Debbie’s arm before sinking her teeth into it.
Caleb
Caleb was standing outside in his driveway and again Victor’s Camaro was coming down his driveway. Only this time he had company and Caleb didn’t have a good feeling about who this company would be. Victor pulled up then got out smiling with his hands outstretched in his trademark air hug “Caleb! My friend! My neighbor!” Victor said smiling, “I come bearing gifts” Victor’s smile got bigger and bigger, then he clicked his fingers. The doors to the Escalade opened as if on theatrical cue. Two large men got out carrying small machine guns stepped out.
Caleb heard Janice gasp from the balcony above him. One of the men stood in front of the Escalade in a sentry pose while the other walked to the back and opened the trunk. Both men were huge, well-built guys with the same short buzz cut as Victor, dressed all in black like stereotypical Russian thugs with small machine guns slung across their torsos. He wanted to burst out laughing it was so movie stereotypical, but he could see these men meant business. Trying not to seem too nervous he watched the man at the trunk. It closed with a thump then the man who had opened it st
ood there holding three big green ammo boxes. Victor looked at the man then nodded towards the picnic bench. The man walked over to the bench setting all three boxes down then opened each one looking at Caleb as he did. All three were full to the brim with ammo.
Victor walked up to Caleb putting his arm around him to guide him over to the picnic bench.
“As promised” Victor said looking up at Janice with a smile “I have one box of twenty two for those two rifles you have, a box of nine millimeter for your wife's pistol and also some thirty eight for your pistol” Victor clearly knew what firearms Caleb’s family owned and this sent chills up his spine as alarms went off in his head.
Caleb shrugged his arm off “Why? Why would we need this much ammo?” he asked turning to face Victor.
Victor swept his arm around the property. “This! This is your home! And you will have to defend it!” Victor said firmly. Caleb just looked at Victor blankly.
“From who?” Janice asked from the balcony puzzled. Victor looked up at her smiling then sat down on the picnic bench.
Victor went on to explain that the virus that was crippling the nation in the last twenty-four hours had been crippling other countries for weeks. The virus was more than the mere common cold or Flu. Victor explained the US had just stood by instead of offering aid like the UN to other countries initially affected. The virus hadn’t just been here for twenty-four hours either, the man calmly told them.
It fact, it had been here for weeks but there had been no large outbreaks or widespread infection until this week. Victor then informed them that Amboy had been pretty much untouched until this morning but now the town was in chaos thanks to the news. It would only be a matter of time before the infected or people seeking safety arrive out at their properties.
Caleb could see his wife eyeballing the two men and their guns.
“And what do we owe you for all this, Victor?” she asked.
Victor looked back at him before answering, “we’re neighbors!” Victor said slyly with a smile then went on to justify his reason.
“My family and friends are not farmers or good with animals so when our food gets low, we would appreciate it if you could share some of yours with us,” Victor said, looking around then up at Janice. “You have plenty of vegetation and animals, in exchange I agreed with your husband to provide ammo so you can secure and defend your property” Victor finished with raised eyebrows.
Caleb had thought Victor was just high the last visit, so he hadn’t mentioned it to Janice at all. Victor nodded to the big guy by the car, who unslung his gun then tossed it to Victor. Victor stood up from the bench raising the gun at a tree then pulled the trigger. A bunch of shots rattled out loudly through the air and wood splintered from the tree in all directions.
Nate and the girls rushed out onto the balcony to see what the commotion was. Caleb raised his hand to assure them it was okay, and Victor chuckled “I know you don’t have any fully automatics so here’s an MP5, not very accurate but will do for crowd control if you get yourself in a jam or have to make a point.” Victor said, tossing the gun to Caleb.
Victor nodded to both of his men and like before, on cue, they got into their vehicles.
“Stay safe Caleb” Victor said as he walked towards his Camaro. “We’ll be in touch.” Victor said as the man lit a cigarette then got into his car. Both cars started up and pulled away sending gravel and dust into the air.
Caleb looked up at Nate who was standing on the balcony.
“Come get these locked up,” he told his son as he walked towards the house. He began wondering if Amboy was really like the rest of the places he had seen on the news.
He looked down at the gun Victor had tossed him and it scared him. He was good with guns, but he hoped he wouldn’t need this. He knew Victor wasn’t too much of a threat now because the man showed up armed with some serious muscle. Victor could easily have taken anything he wanted. So maybe if things were going the way Victor had warned him about, then this friendship with benefits would be a good thing.
Once inside the house Janice was waiting for him upstairs. She was standing in the kitchen with her arms folded. He walked towards her.
“Honey,” he started, “everything’s going to be okay,” he told her, hoping to ease her worry which he could tell she had by the look on her face.
Janice’s facial expression changed from worry to anger in an instant.
“Really? You think so? Our drug lord neighbor just handed you a machine gun and boxes of bullets…for what?” she blurted out angrily.
He shrugged his shoulders “I...I honestly don’t know other than the food like he said because if he wanted anything else, he could have just taken it.” He knew it but clearly had to convince his wife now.
“He doesn’t seem the type of guy to do things for himself but has others do it for him, he knows we grow vegetation and livestock,” he said hoping for her to see things from his point of view. The fact she wasn’t cutting him off and arguing back meant she was actually listening.
He looked out into the living room and saw both girls were sitting on the couch listening.
He flashed them a fake smile then moved in close to his wife and whispered, “I don’t trust him for one second, but he’s given us resources to protect ourselves, against him if we need to.” He looked into her eyes to let her know he meant it. She nodded and smiled back at him.
“Girls!” Janice barked not taking her eyes away from his. “I don’t want you going into town.” she said sternly. He could see both girls rolling their eyes, nodding, Janice looked back at him with a fiery look. “That man came onto our property and acted like he owned it,” Janice spat.
Caleb knew this pissed off his wife to no end, but he looked her in the eye and again reassured her of the facts. They had enough supplies if they were cut off from town that if what Victor was saying was true. Then they now had plenty of ammo to defend themselves from Victor if need be. He kept the most important thing that was bothering him to himself. The fact that Victor must have been watching them for a while to know what firearms they had.
Well, not all of them, he thought to himself smiling at the edge this could give him.
Nate walked into the kitchen. “Ammos in the garage, Dad, but he didn’t give us no twelve-gauge shells” Nate said, seeming ungrateful.
Caleb just nodded “He’s been watching but we haven’t used those outside for a minute.” he told his son. Nate looked puzzled and Caleb knew it was because his son was high.
“Nate, I need you to focus right now!” he told the young man “ Lay off the weed, get yourself straight, and I need you to run into town!” When he said this both Nate and Janice nodded.
If what Victor was saying was true and what was happening all over was happening in town then this could be a bad deal, but he had to know for sure. He turned towards the living room where both girls were still sitting. “You two! I know your Mother said no going into town, but you are not to leave the property either! Understood?” He said and both girls just nodded blankly again like scolded teenagers.
He stood in the kitchen while Nate disappeared downstairs and Janice headed into the living room. His wife walked through the living room and out the sliding glass doors onto the balcony.
He looked at her out there leaning on the balcony rubbing her head. He knew this was causing her a lot of stress. He walked outside to try and comfort her then stopped as something caught his eye. In the distance in the direction of town he could see two thick black plumes of smoke.
“Looks like it might be that bad,” he said more to himself quietly. Janice turned to look at him but saw that he was staring past at something else. When his wife saw what he was staring at she let out a gasp.
“We should let them come here” she blurted out and Caleb was caught off guard for a second then she continued “If it is as bad as Victor says, we should help them.” His wife’s eyes were wide and teary. He loved her and her Native American heritage traits. So, wh
en she got passionate about something her eyes got big. This let him know she was definitely serious. “If people are hurting and need help then we should let them come here, out of the way. If we can help Victor, then we can help our friends and neighbors and with numbers we don't need to worry about Victor.” she finished.
He rolled this around in his head for a few minutes and she was right. Their farm had it all with the perfect location and sustainability. Anyone in dire need of help would appreciate it as well as defend it if need be but that also arose the question of Caleb defending it. He knew if anyone was there as a guest and wanted to take it for themselves this could be problematic. Then he realized this was where the “crowd control” would come in handy. He knew if people saw he had some serious firepower they might think twice about doing something stupid.
He wasn’t as trusting as his wife of the people in town so knew he wouldn’t fully trust any stranger around his girls or his farm.
He nodded, “You're right, honey, and I think I'll go into town with Nate to get a gander at things and get a better look at what’s going on,” he said, and his wife agreed. He knew they couldn’t take Victor’s word 100 percent and Nate was still very young, hot headed, and easily distracted.
Caleb kissed his wife then headed downstairs to meet up with Nate.
As he got down into the garage Nate was trying to wake up two of his buddies. The two boys were good friends of Nate’s. Both were fast asleep on the couches they kept in the garage for the kids and friends to hang out. “Nate!” he barked as he walked in on the slumber party. Nate was startled, causing him to drop the bong he had in his hand. This startled the two boys who jumped from the couch. Caleb glared at them “You’ve got an hour to get your shit together then we’re going into town!” He said looking them in the eyes one by one. All three nodded open mouthed as if in some zombie like weed state.
Jake
Debbie was screaming and thrashing trying to pull away from Ms. Long who was clamped on her forearm hard. Blood poured out around Ms. Long’s face on the arm as the EMT grabbed her by the head trying to pry her mouth off. Ms. Long’s head jerked as the EMT yanked and she let go only to turn and launch forward and bite the EMT’s shoulder. Debbie fell to the floor clutching her forearm, screaming as blood poured from between her fingers.
When The Dead Rise (Book 1): The Outbreak Page 5