Love & Decay (Season 1): Episodes 1-6

by Rachel Higginson

  I stroked her hair gently and asked in a whisper, “How are you feeling, Pagey?”

  She let out a moan of agony and put a hand to her throat.

  “Is that what hurts? Your throat?” I asked gently. A sore throat was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it was easy to check and bad because strep throat could be really dangerous if not treated. I knew this, because I had a cousin when I was growing up that didn’t get his strep treated with antibiotic and ended up in the hospital for three days because the infection had spread to the rest of his body.

  She nodded, but barely. She whimpered and leaned into my fingers that were carefully combing lines across her scalp.

  “Will you show me, sweetness? Can you open your mouth so I can see?”

  She whimpered again and shook her head.

  I turned to Vaughan and asked, “Have you checked her throat?”

  “No, this is the most she’s told us. While you guys were out checking the barn, she laid down in here to take another nap. Hendrix and I thought it was weird, but maybe stress related? We haven’t had a good place to sleep in a while. She woke up about twenty minutes ago crying and that’s when we realized she had a fever. Reagan had some Tylenol, so we gave her that. But it’s been a while now, shouldn’t it have kicked in?”

  I frowned at that. The Tylenol should have definitely brought down her fever. I found it frustrating that pain meds didn’t help. That was our best bet as far as miracle cures went.

  Damn it.

  “Does she have her tonsils?” I turned back to Page, hoping I would get her to open up. But first I needed to make sure I needed to.

  “Yep,” Vaughan answered. “Harrison, King and Page all have their tonsils.”

  “Good.”

  “What do you think it is, Hales?” Reagan asked from behind me.

  Nelson put a hand on my shoulder, standing century as I took over as medical professional. I was a little surprised the Parker brothers trusted me with this role. I assumed their protective instincts would keep Page as close to them as possible, but I also knew that helplessness could be crippling. I’m sure they loathed the feeling of not being able to do something for their cherished baby sister.

  “I’m thinking it might be strep. If her throat hurts and she still has her tonsils, then there’s a good chance it is. I just want to look down her throat to make sure.”

  Nelson knelt down next to me and reached for his sister’s hand. Holding it in his huge hand, he pressed a tender kiss to her knuckles. “Pagey, can you open your mouth wide for Haley? She wants to see why you feel so bad. She wants to make you feel better.”

  I pulled out my semi-charged iPhone and turned on the flashlight app. If this wasn’t a bright enough light I would ask one of the boys to borrow their flashlights, but this seemed easier and faster.

  Page finally opened wide enough for me to shine my light down there, but my real break came when she broke out into a yawn. The bright light from my phone illuminated her small mouth and shone light directly onto the white, pustules dotting her enlarged tonsils on either side of her throat.

  Gross.

  But at least we had a diagnosis.

  “Does anything else hurt, babe?” Reagan asked over my shoulder. “Your ears, your head?”

  “Both,” she squeaked out in reply.

  “Alright, baby girl,” I whispered while placing a kiss on her burning forehead. “Get a little sleep, alright? We’re going to make you some ice for that sore throat of yours.”

  I stood up and Nelson followed. He turned to King and asked him to stay with Page in case she woke up and wanted something and the rest of us moved into the kitchen. Hopefully Page was out of it enough so that she didn’t pick up on how dangerous her sickness could be for her.

  “What treats strep?” Vaughan asked immediately. His game face was on, tight lips, drawn eyebrows, wide stance and crossed arms. Vaughan was about to go to war and the entire idea was so familiar to me I realized how palpable his fight was. Only instead of fighting off hordes of Zombies, Vaughan was going to fight strep throat until he was the lone victor. Nothing came between him and his family.

  I cleared my throat, hating to be the bearer of bad news, “Penicillin.”

  “Ok, we don’t have penicillin,” Vaughan bit out. “What next?”

  “Amoxicillin,” I answered again- just as dismally.

  “Haley, if you keep naming things we don’t have I will ask you to leave the room,” Vaughan growled.

  I took a step back, hating that he intimidated me so much. But how could he not when his vision tunneled to include only his sister- only a way to fix his sister. And I wasn’t sure there was a way.

  “Vaughan, I know you’re concerned, but you need to change your attitude. I will not tell you again,” Nelson warned. “Haley’s trying to help. Do not piss all over her efforts.”

  Vaughan’s eyes snapped up to glare Nelson down, but Nelson seemed entirely unfazed. He rolled his eyes and put a comforting arm around my waist.

  Nelson’s touch gave me the courage to say what I needed to say, “Strep could go away on its own in a few days. It’s definitely not the worst thing she could have right now, even though she is absolutely miserable. That being said, it’s not the best thing she could have either. If this doesn’t go away on its own, then it’s going to get really bad for her before it gets better. If it gets better.”

  “What do you mean, if?” Hendrix demanded. He took a step towards me- no idea what he even thought he was doing- but Reagan stepped in his path and lay two hands on his biceps. They had kind of a silent conversation in which she convinced him it was better to just let me explain.

  “Well, without antibiotic, strep can clear up on its own- it is possible. Or it can get worse. It can infect the entire body. She could get really, really sick.”

  “How do you know so much about this?” Harrison asked in a strangled voice. He sounded like it would be better if I didn’t know what I was talking about. If I was just guessing, then I could be wrong- his sister might not be in danger at all.

  “My cousin had strep when I was little, it went untreated and he ended up in the hospital with a dangerously high fever and severe dehydration. It wasn’t life or death but he had the advantage of medical facilities, IVs and doctors. Page has none of those things.”

  “How old were you?” Vaughan asked, his eyes narrowed skeptically.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I replied evenly. They needed to take me seriously. Page could easily be fine in a few days- or she could not be fine. We needed to prepare for every scenario.

  Vaughan opened his mouth to ask another question when Reagan cut him off, “Vaughan, she has an almost perfect photographic memory. If she says Page could be in danger it’s because Page could be in danger. Haley’s not going to bullshit you. I promise.”

  Vaughan stared at me for a few moments as if deciding for himself whether I was making this up or not. “Alright, Haley. Worst case scenario, give it to me.”

  I took this very seriously, Vaughan’s trust very seriously. And I was worried about Page; there was nothing scarier to me than that little girl in trouble.

  “Worst case scenario, she has a high fever that could cause heart problems and even issues in her brain. Most likely this will disappear in a few days. But if not, her symptoms will get dangerous.”

  “You learned all this from when your cousin had it?” Hendrix asked skeptically.

  “No,” I confirmed. “That last part was from health class.”

  Nelson let out a chuckle from behind me that sounded like a whoosh of stress

  “Has she been sick since the infection broke out?” I asked Vaughan.

  “No, she’s been perfectly healthy.”

  “So what do we do?” Reagan asked. She was always like that- ready to act. One of the reasons we were alive was because she didn’t sit around and wait for solutions to be handed to her. She solved her own problems. She was first to act, first to jump into the fray. P
laying offense instead of defense had saved our lives on more than one occasion.

  “We get her temperature down. Keep up with the Tylenol as long as possible. We soothe her sore throat, help her get lots of rest. We search the house for antibiotics. The last owner could easily have left something behind.”

  “What about a nearby town?” Harrison asked.

  Vaughan thought about that. “There’s not enough daylight left to look today. I don’t want to create more problems than we have now. And we don’t have enough firepower to engage unnecessarily. We get through the night, and then explore that option again in the morning.”

  “Besides, we don’t know what a town would be like,” Hendrix added. “The last few settlements we’ve been to have been anything but welcoming.”

  “We have gold to barter,” Reagan offered, shooting me a nervous glance. She was right. We had been basically hoarding gold whenever we could find it. We took a lot of pieces from her mom, and over the past two years we’d been stashing it away. We weren’t like wealthy from it by any means- even in today’s non-currency, renegade standards. But we had enough for penicillin if we needed it. Well, as long as the seller was fair- which was highly doubtful.

  “Thank you,” Vaughan said sincerely. He held Reagan’s gaze with this meaningful, intense emotion that caused Hendrix’s shoulders to go rigid. Reagan stared back; seemingly unaware of the tension she was creating. She offered a small smile and walked over to give him a hug.

  I could see how stiff all the boys were, and I didn’t blame her for wanting to soothe their worry in some way. Vaughan let her wrap her arms around his middle and placed his hands on her back carefully- almost humbly. He leaned into her and the tightness eased from his body like a sieve.

  Taking her cue, I stepped back into Nelson, reaching behind me and threading my fingers through his. His other hand wrapped around my middle and he held me firmly to him. He rested his chin on my shoulder and I tilted my head into his, offering him as much comfort as I was capable of.

  Even I was surprised by my tenderness. This was not me.

  It’s not like I was a purely selfish creature; but other than Reagan, and my dad when he was alive, I just never had anyone else in my life to put before myself. I didn’t try to be selfish, but there was no point to looking out for someone else’s needs when they didn’t exist.

  Now all I could think about was Page’s discomfort, the threat to her health and the agony Nelson must be in watching his little sister suffer. My heart was crumbling with the weight of my emotions, my stomach stayed tight with unease. This was worse than Zombies and fighting for my own life. This was infinitely worse and more painful.

  King appeared in the kitchen doorway, his eyes wide with panic, “She’s worse. Her head is so much hotter.”

  All eyes in the room swung to me and…. waited. Apparently I was the medical expert here? I just prayed I could help Page. That finally my overactive brain would work overtime until I came up with a solution to save her.

  Chapter Four

  I ignored the demanding stares from the Parker brothers and walked into the living room to check on Page. This house was decorated in a simple country style- lots of blue plaid, roosters, pig ceramics. And Page lay in the middle of a sea of pastel lines, tucked in with a homemade afghan.

  She looked tiny curled up on the long couch. She was on her side, her knees tucked into her chest. She was shivering but so pale, my heart ached. Her long, blonde hair was a tangled mess around her angelic face. She let out a pathetic whimper and I rushed the rest of the way to her side.

  “King,” I commanded. “Go see if there’s ice in the freezer. If there isn’t, check for something to freeze water and fill it with some of our bottled water. When you come back, please bring a wet washcloth with you. Get Reagan to help you.” He left immediately, pushing through his brothers that were all crowded around us. Reagan followed him without needing anymore direction.

  I let my fingers brush across Page’s forehead and sure enough it was hotter than before. She was burning up. I felt under her chin, searching for swelling. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I’d seen it done before and had it done to me. Her throat felt very swollen, but to be sure I tested my own throat, directly against where my jaw met my throat and felt hers again.

  They had to be swollen; her tonsils felt four times the size they should be.

  The natural light in the living room was waning. It would be dark soon and we were more or less stuck in this house. We needed to prepare for the long night ahead. And I didn’t just mean Page’s illness.

  This wasn’t exactly the safest haven from Zombies.

  “There is nothing you guys can do for her right now, except make her safe.” I was mostly a fun person. Even in the middle of the end of the world, I could recognize the need for humor. This was not one of those times where an inappropriate joke would relieve tension. And if they didn’t get their asses in gear they were about to meet my raging bitch persona- it was a little bit of no sleep, mixed in with fantastic sales but nothing in my size, topped off with a healthy dose of PMS meets I-just-stubbed-my-freaking-toe. They should be cowering in fear.

  “You’re right,” Vaughan agreed. Whether he actually did agree with me or because he saw the malicious glint in my steely green eyes, I didn’t know; but finally he got moving. “Hendrix and Harrison, walk around the house- scout it out as best as you can. Nelson, go figure out something for dinner. And I’ll check the inside of the house, make sure everything’s locked and sealed as best as possible. It’s nice to have electricity, but in about a half hour, we’re shutting everything down. These aren’t blackout drapes and I am not going to risk drawing attention to us.”

  “Look for some antibiotic while you’re at it, Vaughan,” I reminded him. Since I could tell this house had been occupied for quite a while after the infection I knew the chances of finding medicine here were slim, but it was worth a shot.

  Everyone jolted into action. Nelson put a comforting hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently, and then he was gone. My attention was wholly on Page and how I could help ease her discomfort.

  I stroked her forehead, lifting her hair off her face and neck. She leaned into my comfort, but seemed entirely out of it. Her skin was so hot to the touch my stomach roiled with nausea. Her eyes were too heavy with sleep; she was completely out of it.

  King returned with a few pieces of ice, but when I tried to get her to suck on them, she just rolled over and gave me her back. I made King return them to the freezer- we couldn’t waste them, even though he was making more ice even now.

  This house was not safe on a few different levels, and even more so now that we couldn’t just pile in the van and escape. But the solar paneled electricity was incredibly convenient and might turn out to be the difference between Page getting better and Page getting sicker- an example would be the working freezer.

  When Harrison and Hendrix returned from their perimeter sweep and Vaughan walked back into the living room empty handed from his medicine search, we ate a silent dinner around Page. Nelson was able to heat up baked beans, which seemed like an extravagance since we’d been eating room temperature food since Gary’s. We dipped crackers in our beans and ate it like stew. For dessert, he also heated up applesauce he found in the pantry and sprinkled cinnamon on it from the spice cabinet. We ate junk food a lot these days- mostly because it seemed to keep the best. Warm applesauce tasted deliciously healthy compared to beef jerky and candy bars. I allowed myself to relish the meal, even while we kept our rigid vigil on the floor at Page’s feet.

  “I’ll keep watch first,” Hendrix declared to Vaughan while Nelson collected everyone’s trash. “You need sleep.”

  Vaughan nodded and ran two rough hands down his scruffy face. “I do.”

  “Reagan you’re with me, first watch,” he commanded next. Reagan gave him her mildly outraged look- the one he got whenever he ordered her around. But before she could say anything, he said in a low voi
ce, “This is one of those times I need you more than you need to be independent.”

  She rolled her eyes but I watched her face soften. I could give Hendrix that; he knew exactly how to get my girl tangled up in him. At first I just wanted him to back off- I was sure she was getting ready to bolt the more intense his pursuit became. But somehow he got through to her, made her want to stick around and put up with his caveman tactics.

  Part of me wondered what their dad was like before the infection. None of them were very gentle about going after a girl- they just kind of barreled through the whole getting-to-know-you-game and went straight to “Do you take this woman?” They were too intense for their parents to have been laid back. But then again with their father ex-military, maybe this was some strategy he taught them. Instead of courting or wooing, they looked at dating with tactical analysis, deciding which strategies worked best and how to achieve love with the most efficiency.

  I wanted to scoff at that, but then again, here I was. Nelson somehow convinced me to give this whole thing a try. So clearly they were on to something.

  Harrison and King scattered off to bed- anxious to get away from their more-than-usual stressed out older brothers. Vaughan shot Nelson and me a look that was part confused, part shocked disbelief and disappeared down the hallway.

  I actually worried about Vaughan, although I would never say that out loud. He was a really strong, capable leader, but he carried a lot of weight on his shoulders. And while I knew Hendrix liked to think he carried equal parts, I could see how much more Vaughan felt his responsibility than Hendrix.

  I was pretty sure Hendrix was the front runner for Reagan’s heart, but only because Hendrix allowed himself more time to devote to convincing her she needed him. In a scenario before Zombies, Hendrix would have never stood a chance against his older, more laid back, more fun-loving brother. At one time Reagan was nothing but fun and games and Hendrix would have driven her crazy.