by Jeff Beeman
Well the jig is up, I think to myself so I just say in a small voice, “yes” as I look down at Bouncy Bouncy being held in my right hand. Mrs. Kevins-Stahls walks over to my side of the island, gently rubs my back and says, “This is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a common challenge that a lot of people have, from CEOs to writers.”
Still looking at Bouncy Bouncy, I state, “I have been to Speech therapy classes to help me and once my teachers and parents learned about my dyslexia, they all worked to help me do better, like during one summer break, my family and I watched a Japanese anime with subtitles. During the episodes we had a rule that I could stop the episode if I had to go back to read something or if I had a question. Also my parents could stop the show if they wanted to explain to me the cultural differences between here and Japan or if Daddy knew a bit of Japanese folklore that might help things make more sense to us. Between episodes they would ask me questions about what had happened with the plot to see if I was understanding what I had read. Thanks to that summer break and two teachers, I really started liking to read. Even now, Bouncy Bouncy and I are reading Watership Down but we do it slower than others, so we are not that far into it”.
Baby Michael’s mother bends over to gently put her arms around my waist and gives me a hug. “I have spoken with Dad and we want you to come with us to Lake Ray Roberts, then back to the Fortress so we can all be a family”
I suddenly feel I have left my body. I can’t say anything for a moment but I find I want to hug her back even if it is only with my left arm, so I do.
“Why are you going to Lake Ray Roberts?” stupidly comes out of my mouth instead of something useful.
“We received a broken short wave radio message from them that they had set up a floating village on the lake and were calling out to contact any other survivors. At the time we couldn’t respond and haven’t heard anything from them since. We put together this group to make physical contact and look over the situation. Dad is familiar with how city governments work and all the logistics, Isabel is familiar with day to day policing operations, I have a master’s degree in education and sociology, and Frank is an architect specializing in electrical engineering”.
“What about Mr. Anderson?”
“He is a long haul trucker so he helped us plan how to get the items we wanted to bring to the village. Luckily he is also a good mechanic, though our luck hit a bit of a snag because some of our hoses on the bobtail truck gave out. We need to find replacements and also good radiator fluid”.
“Why did you call your home the Fortress?”
With an embarrassed smile she says, “That name started as a joke that took on a life of its own. We live at the big stadium in Arlington. There I teach other children survivors. Thanks to the various skills the other survivors have, we have been able to grow some crops, install solar panels, but there are so many things we still need and also more knowledge. Like finding untouched supplies, knowledge has great value. With your knowledge of survival, we can learn a lot. In return we can help you learn more, be safe, and have people to be with again. Would you like to come with us?”
I break the hug so I can look her in the eyes. Her eyes are wide and she seems nervous. I smile and reply, “Yes, please and thank you!” This time we both hug and it is wonderful. I feel tears forming, but before they can fall, two things happen almost at the same time.
In the space open to let the utility cord into the kitchen, B.B. has managed to put his paw in and slide the glass door wide open so he can trot in as the conquering hero. At the same time, a pale-faced Mr. Bates enters the kitchen. He is shirtless but has his left shoulder and right forearm bandaged up. There are spots where blood has stained through both bandages. He looks like he is perspiring but with all that it is the look on this face plus what he says that causes the good mood to drain away.
“I can hear John throwing up in his room!”…
Chapter 14
Buckie
Now that The Bad has covered the world, patience is more than just a virtue, it is an important survival skill. That doesn’t make it any easier to be patient though.
Everyone is in the living room waiting on Mr. Oliver to come down with his observation of Mr. Bates and Mr. Wilson. I was told that his training and role in the Guard has to do with Nuclear, Biological and Chemical situations. He is familiar with something called CONOP 8888 and is the most qualified to see what is happening to the two men in the bedrooms upstairs. It is so strange that someone throwing up would cause so much concern, maybe even fear. If the problem is that Mr. Wilson is sick, why not give him some medicine and let him ride in the big truck with the electricity and water?
So here we are waiting in the sunlit and dusty living room. Sergeant Kasprzak had pulled the drapes a bit closed but wide enough let in what light outside keep the room lit. As we wait for Mr. Bates, I take a look at how everyone has placed themselves in the room. Mr. Kevins, Mrs. Kevins-Stahls and Officer Salazar have taken up the area near the big entertainment center after readjusting the living room chairs and bringing one in from the kitchen. I am sitting on the floor on a couch arm cushion, B.B. is asleep on my left while Baby Michael is asleep on my right, still in his car seat. His mother is gently rocking him with her foot absent-mindedly, while not looking at anyone. Mr. Kevins is watching his grandchild with a look of concern. Officer Salazar seems to be studying everyone except the baby and me but I now know why.
The Sergeant, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Nguyen are by themselves. In the case of the Sergeant, she is at one end of the couch near the fireplace and sitting so her back is to that wall. This allows her to look either outside or into the room. At the moment she is looking outside with her tired, slightly red eyes. Mr. Nguyen is on the other side of the couch the Sergeant is on. He is sitting with his back very straight and both his feet are solidly on the floor. Since sitting down, he has looked at the palms of his interlaced hands which are on his lap. Meanwhile, Mr. Anderson is standing as he looks to be studying the grandfather clock even though it is not working. I can’t see his face but his hat isn’t in its usual spot which is more on the back of his head. Instead it is more in the front like he is trying to shield his eyes from a strong light.
No one seems to want to speak and the room has become so quiet that if the grandfather clock was working it would have been deafening. Isn’t this the part in a scary story that something happens and everyone jumps? As if on cue, the top stair step creaks loudly which does make everyone jump a little, except for Baby Michael who is still asleep and B.B. who only opens his eyes partially. As he comes down the stairs, Mr. Oliver removes his plastic gloves, puts them in a thick plastic bag he has secured to his belt. Then he uses some germ disinfectant lotion on his hands and forearms before removing his mask which also goes into the plastic bag, to which he rubs his face with the lotion. When he is at the last step, Mr. Oliver turns to face everyone in the living room. Even with the patch over his eye, I can clearly see the look of worry on his face. For a moment he seems to either be thinking of what the right words might be or to calm his east Texas accent or perhaps both before he simply says, “John seems to have the Vegas Virus”. I can feel the atmosphere of the room change among the adults and I don’t like it. B.B. has woken fully up and is now sniffing the air but doesn’t seem to be able to figure out what he smells.
“Are you sure!” asked Mr. Kevins with his announcer voice that has more emotion than I have heard before.
“He has the signs of the middle stages.” Simply replied Mr. Oliver.
“But only Tony was bitten”, stated Mr. Nguyen
“I did check John thoroughly and found no indication of him being bitten though the Boss got in hand-to- hand range. Speaking with Tony, he said from what he could remember John hadn’t come into any type of contact with the Boss’ or Associate’s blood other than what was on Tony when he helped him out of the ONCOR maintenance building from what he could recollect”.
“How did they get away from the dead?” in
quired Mr. Anderson, “I was never to clear on that part”.
Sergeant. Kasprzak replied in a way that seemed like she was sliding into the sentence, “From Specialist Wilson’s report, he was able to block the Boss with his rifle though it got up in his face a couple of times. He eventually was able to kick it back so he could get a shot off right in the sweet spot. Specialist Wilson also reported that Specialist Bates was surprised by his assailant and received two bites before he could break free and club his attacker’s skull dealing enough damage to put it down permanently. After getting Specialist Bates out of the building, he took the time to render first aid to the bites. That is all the exposure we know he had”.
“You checked out Tony also, does he show any signs of the virus?” questioned Mr. Nguyen.
“His has a fever but none of the other signs. The fever could easily be from the bites”
“Or he could be more resistant and it is taking longer like it did others. You’re not fully confident are you!” demanded Mr. Nguyen.
For a moment, Mr. Oliver looked at the group then over towards where I was sitting before tiredly saying, “Without some additional items to halp me test him…no I can’t be a hundred percent shure”.
“Eric, what do we know about the virus and what can we do?” calmly asked Mr. Kevins.
Again taking a moment, Mr. Oliver collects his thoughts and himself, “We know that H8N8-Zx also known as the Vegas Virus has a near sixty percent infection rate with a fifty percent death rate. It is suspected that it is Zoonotic.”
“What the Sam Houston is Zoonotic?” snorted Mr. Anderson
“Zoonotic means that the virus has the potential to spread from an animal carrier to human. Before what was left of the military was called to Pointe Zero, we had reports that the virus was being found as far out as some remote locations like Pitcairn Island in the southern Pacific islands chain and there was a reported victim at one of the Chinese Antarctic weather survey teams. The virus was theorized to have the same transmission area of Tuberculosis and due to the Zx factor, last year’s flu shots had no way of slowing it down. As you all know when it hit, it hit fast. People who seemed healthy one day were dead in less than 100 hours from first showing signs of contracting the virus. This led many to theorize that this was due to the virus being Zoonotic but since then, I have come to agree with a small group from the World Health Organization and Centers of Disease Control who speculate that the virus really had a slow replication period from time of infection to signs of the disease. This is why it seemed to hit so unexpected and cripple the world’s societies because unlike most flu epidemics, this affected all ages equally with the standard signs of flu but there was also near the end of life a cytokine cascade also known as a cytokine storm (He holds up his hand before anyone can ask a question) which is a fatal immune reaction between cytokines, the proteins in cell signaling, and white blood cells. This in turn seemed to cause a form of blood poisoning carried by the red blood cells. It was these factors that killed the host. The Zx factor is what many believed caused a percentage of the deceased virus victims to reanimate. The United States Strategic Command’s CONOP 8888-11 ironically planned out various ways to deal with a (clears throat) Zombie threat. In this case it was thought the Vegas Virus was either what was classified as a PZ threat meaning it was a type of Zombeism created by a pathogen. From what we have seen over time and what our young friend has told us of her observations, this would seem the most likely cause. The problem is a PZ scenario would be what is considered “natural” and therefore we should have been able to monitor and predict how it would act but as we all now know wasn’t the case. There is also the possibility of this being a miscalculated use or loss of control of a bio-mechanical engineered virus. With the swiftness of the virus spread, effectiveness and range supports the alternative theory that the virus is a Weaponized Zombies virus also known as a “WZs” scenario.
“How the initial epidemic started wasn’t figured out before we lost contact with Point Zero. Closer to home, the professors, scientist and few medical personnel that survived and are at the Fortress formalized that the virus like the similar Spanish Flu of 1918-19 had burned itself out and that any potential transmission would be through bites of the Damned. As we have had few survivors of attacks, those who had been bitten and died, died of secondary infections. The current argument among our science and medical group is that the dead could not create more but now with John showing strong signs of having the Vegas Virus...I just don’t know. What we can do in the meantime is keep them in their rooms and monitor them while following strict isolation protocols which means we need more items for that. If we had antibiotics we could treat them and with some common medical equipment, I could monitor them for signs of the virus blood poisoning.”
“What we need to do is stop this mission and return to the Fortress” interjected Mr. Nguyen.
“We have to wait out thirty-five days after the death of the last person suspected of being infected with anything that can spread, and you know that, Frank” advised Mr. Kevins.
“We don’t have the supplies to do that! This was only supposed to take fifteen days to make it there, look for the survivors, make contact, deliver the goodwill packages, evaluate, and return!” pressed Mr. Nguyen, “Now we have to wait to see if they are going to die and wait thirty five days after! We won’t survive!”
“Little sis has all by herself from what I can tell”, stated Sergeant Kasprzak. “And neither of my men have to die if we can get some antibiotics”
“You all know we dare not get close to any hospitals with what happened early on with the Arlington Memorial Hospital disaster.” Retorted Mr. Nguyen.
“You don’t have to remind me, I survived it unlike a lot of my brothers and sisters in arms” Sergeant Kasprzak coolly countered. “If you recall, you were one of the major backers of that planned salvage mission.”
“Enough” declared Mr. Kevins, “This is not getting us anywhere. If we have a chance to save either of those men, we need to get some type of antibiotics or at least something to ease their pain. If Eric can also get the equipment, then he can monitor them and if it comes to it, all of us.”
Everyone grew silent again. I looked back at Mrs. Kevins-Stahls, who had during the time of the discussion taken Baby Michael out of his car seat and was holding him so that his head was on her neck as he still slept. For a moment I thought she was whispering to him silently to him while her eyes were closed. It wasn’t until I could make out her saying “Amen” that I realized she had been praying. She then opened her eyes which met mine. She was on the verge of crying because she was so scared for him, like a good mother would be.
“Frank does bring out a solid point” stated Mr. Oliver, “We dare not get near hospitals or even a doctor office. With the signs of looting we have seen, pharmacies and emergency care clinics will be no good to us. There is though the possibility that we can get just about everything we need from a vet’s office. We may have to compound what we need so the vet’s office will need to be set up to handle that”.
“Won’t we need some type of information on compounding for humans?” asked Mr. Kevins.
“Yes but compounding drugs is not as common as it used to be so finding a place that did compounding of medication for both humans and animals is slim” Mr. Oliver stated.
B.B. had gotten sleepy again during all the talking, so he shifted towards me and placed his massive head on my lap. I started stroking his head as I listened. If I was truly going to be part of a family again, I had to trust people even with the knowledge of the base, “My Daddy and I went to a pharmacy that made drugs in the store. I think Daddy called it compounding. It was looted when we got there but no one took the books the old pharmacist used to refer to when he made Momma’s some special medication. He said you never knew when you would need that kind of knowledge” I simply said out loud.
Everyone looked like I had just spoken Martian.
“You’ve got one of those c
ompounding books, sis?” blurted Mr. Anderson as he raised the brim of his hat so that it sat more like it normally did.
“At the base that B.B., Bouncy Bouncy, and I live at” I slowly said. It was hard to mention the base but if it would help the two men, it had to be done.
“Hold up missy” commanded the Sergeant who fluidly got to her feet and left the room. After a bit she returned with a phone book. Sitting back down on the couch and turning so she had the best light, she filed through the book. “Haaa!” she declared and then said, “There is an animal hospital office in Hurst that does surgery, exams, and compounding.”
“Incredible” said Mr. Kevin’s with the beginning of a smile. “Where is your base, honey?”
“I have to show you” I calmly responded.
“Oh no you don’t” exclaimed Mrs. Kevins-Stahls. “You are not going back out there. You’re too hurt!”
“Then you will not get past all the Base’s defenses I put up” I explained, “Also if you are going into an unknown area you best have B.B. with you because he can smell out un-people whether they are Moaners or Statues before they notice you”. Seeing a bit of confusion on some of their faces I added, “That is Bosses and Associates. B.B. won’t do it if I don’t go”
“No!” retorted Mrs. Kevins-Sthals more directly, which made the baby wake up with a start. In a second he started crying, as she continued, “This isn’t right to have her go back out there when she is so hurt. I won’t allow it!” With that being said, she stood up and left the room.
Mr. Kevins calmly left the room following his daughter.
“She is right in a way” agreed Mr. Nguyen. “That little girl can’t be expected to protect herself while others scavenge for what we hope will be there and how do we know she really has the compounding book. She may be just saying that to win favor”
“I am not lying” I said with my quiet angry voice. B.B. raised his head up and let out a low soft growl.