by James Sperl
“That’s right,” Catherine said. “If you were one of those things we’d have known immediately.”
“And trust us, it’s something you’ll never want to see,” Janet added. “Just never let one of those things touch you and you’ll be okay.”
Sean set aside his empty food container.
“These New Humans,” he started, swallowing with effort, “when they infect a person, does the infected person also react to sunlight.”
“What do you mean?” Catherine asked.
Sean adjusted himself in his chair uneasily. “I mean, if a person becomes infected, in that twenty-two to twenty-three hour incubation period you mentioned, would the infected person be affected in the same way as one of the New Humans if he or she was removed from the light?”
Catherine blinked then looked at Janet. Alvin and Oliver glanced at one another then turned to Madeline then trained their eyes back on Catherine.
“Shit,” Oliver said.
“Indeed,” Catherine agreed, chewing her thumbnail absentmindedly. She looked up at Sean. “I guess the answer is, we don’t have any idea. But I have to assume that if someone is infected they would share the same traits as a New Human, even if it’s on a much smaller scale.”
Sean leaned back and exhaled a sigh of relief. He ran a hand through greasy, tousled hair.
“Why do you ask?” Janet said, suddenly curious.
“What happened to your arm,” Tamara’s thin voice asked from behind Catherine.
Sean glanced at his raised forearm where a purple and brown bruise exposed itself just below the wrist.
“Just the result of a mild altercation that’s all. It’s fine,” Sean said, offering an unconvincing smile to Tamara.
“What altercation?” Janet asked, rising to her feet. Derrik lowered his machine gun from its resting place on his shoulder into his hands.
Sean’s eyes darted back and forth between the two. “This morning,” he began. “Leanne and I found a small town a few miles up the road. Parkersville, I think.”
Catherine subconsciously rose to her feet as well. Concern filled Sean’s eyes. Fear engulfed Leanne.
“What happened in Parkersville, Sean,” Catherine said.
“Nothing really,” Sean stammered. “We were just looking for some food. You know, going through some houses and a convenience store, trying to find something.”
Sean glanced from person to person wearing a hopeful expression that seemed to plead for an end to the interrogation. But the closed mouths and gaping eyes that met his gaze wanted more.
“We didn’t see them coming,” Leanne said, taking over. “There were two of them. One man and a woman. We were coming out of a gas station when they attacked Sean.”
Catherine stepped back at this revelation. With her arms outstretched she shuffled her children backward as she stepped.
“Did they touch you?” Catherine said pointedly.
“Sean managed to get away from them. And then we ran as fast as we could—”
“She asked if any of them touched you,” Janet demanded, her hand slowly working its way toward the nine millimeter tucked into her belt.
“It...it was really fast. I saw them out of the corner of my eye as we left the store.” Perspiration broke on Sean’s face. “The man, he reached for me and got my arm, but I pulled away in an instant and then Leanne and I ran until we couldn’t see—”
“Jesus Christ,” Janet said as she pulled the gun from her belt.
Sean sprang to his feet, hands held out in a gesture of panicked protest. But Derrik had already stepped forward, the muzzle of his weapon raised and pointed at Sean’s head.
“Whoa, whoa!” Sean yelled as he found his chair again. Leanne whimpered beside him. “Look, I know what you all think, but, but I have a long-sleeved shirt on. That man, when he grabbed me he grabbed me on my shirt. Here, like this.” Sean demonstrated by wrapping his left hand around his right wrist over the top of his cuff. “It was just like that so, please...put the guns down.”
“But they could’ve touched you,” Catherine said, sadly calm.
“I don’t know, I...I guess so, but I don’t think so,” Sean tried to defend. “It was really fast. I mean his hand was on my wrist and I yanked it away, then we were gone. You understand?”
Sean’s eyes watered, moving from person to person in a silent plea for mercy.
“Yes, Sean,” Catherine said. “I understand.” She rubbed her temples wearily and glanced over at Janet who stared back. With a subtle nod, Janet raised her weapon and pointed it at Leanne.
“I’m sorry you guys. I really am,” Janet said.
Catherine edged her children away from the scene, beyond the perimeter of weapons and fear so only Janet and Derrik stood before Sean and Leanne.
“Wait a minute,” Sean stuttered. “Just wait! You...you can’t just kill us. My God, we could be all right. I mean, Jesus, they never even touched Leanne!”
“But have you touched her since?” Catherine asked.
Sean opened his mouth to speak, but froze. He looked at Leanne then back up at Catherine. “I...I don’t know.”
“Look, no one’s going to kill you,” Catherine said, earning a look from Janet. “But if what we think’s happened has, then...then you may prefer it.”
Leanne blubbered uncontrollably. “So what’re you going to do with us?”
“For now, you’ll be quarantined. At least until the incubation period passes.” Catherine looked at her watch. “What time did this happen today? And be as precise as you can. Every minute can matter.”
Sean searched the floor, blinking and visibly struggling to remember. “I don’t know for sure. Maybe eight. Eight-thirty.”
“Are you sure?” Janet added, her gun arm still extended.
Sean looked at Leanne’s wet face, into her moist eyes and met no contradiction. “I’m pretty sure.”
Catherine nodded, then held up her wrist to look at her watch. “Let’s play it safe and assume nine. If by eight o’clock tomorrow morning nothing’s happened, then I think we can safely assume you’re all right.”
“And if something has happened?” Leanne choked out.
“You don’t want to know, sweetie,” Catherine answered softly. “But for right now, let’s all go back topside and I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do.” Catherine turned her head and stared directly at Alvin. “And I’m sorry to say, that means you too, Alvin.”
Alvin snapped his head in Catherine’s direction so fast his bones cracked. He saw the seriousness in her features, his eyes dancing over the faces of the remaining group, coming to rest on Janet. He witnessed the initial shock in her eyes quickly transform to reluctant acceptance.
“Fuck you,” he spat. “Fuck you all.” He raised his rifle and pointed it toward Janet.
Derrik shifted his weight instantaneously, swinging his own rifle until it trained on Alvin’s sternum.
“Take it easy, Alvin,” Janet said eerily relaxed. “You don’t want to do anything stupid.”
“I’m not going up there with them. I’m not! There’s nothing wrong with me!”
“You shook his hand, Alvin,” Catherine explained. “You shook his hand.”
Alvin’s bulging eyes jittered in his skull as he looked about wildly, seeming to recall. He stared at Catherine through tear-filled eyes. Then he lowered his weapon.
Janet lowered hers as well, but Derrik maintained his stance, rock steady.
“Come on,” Catherine said in as maternal a voice as she could muster. “Let’s go wait this thing out.”
Rising to their feet, Sean and Leanne walked on shaky legs toward the stairs, the fear palpable in their faces and in their gait.
Alvin stood for a long moment staring into nothingness. When he snapped out of his trance he found Janet by his side, standing with a proximity that would cause most people to shudder. He smiled forcibly at her then trudged after the young couple already ascending the stairs.
18
&nb
sp; The Life of Sean
It was six fifteen in the morning. Everyone was dog-tired, but no one could bring themselves to sleep. Least of all the three poor souls tied to stakes in the clearing.
Madeline and Shelby had graciously offered to prepare a large meal fit for a king the night before, arguing that food was often a good distraction from crappy situations. And despite everyone’s preoccupation with the enormous elephant in the room, the meal had served as a welcome distraction even, at times, bordering on festive as everyone gathered around a warm fire and stuffed themselves silly.
Catherine felt terrible as she watched Alvin, Sean and Leanne try to eat while wearing makeshift handcuffs fashioned from heavy-duty zip-ties. She knew these restraints were necessary despite her strong intuition that these were all genuinely good and decent people. But when death portended a call, she knew, deep down, a person would do anything to evade it. And that’s a risk she wasn’t willing to take.
After the dinner and late night chats that followed, the majority of the group retired to the comfort of the shelter. Only Catherine and Janet decided to stay above ground until it was all over.
They had provided the three incapacitated individuals with ample and warm sleeping gear, everything from sleeping bags to blankets and pillows to extra layers of clothing if desired.
Catherine had spent the last hour talking to Leanne in an effort to keep her awake at the girl’s request. But even though a valiant effort was made, the scared young woman finally succumbed to the crushing weight of sleep.
Sean was staring absently into the fire as the first glimpse of daybreak began to leech into the night sky behind him.
Rising from her position beside Leanne, Catherine peeked over at Alvin. Janet had stayed with him the entire time, offering him reassurances and just plain engaging him in the hopes of diverting his attention elsewhere. But deep-rooted fear was all over his face, worn like a masque during Carnivale.
Sitting herself mere feet away from Sean, Catherine outstretched her hands toward the fire. Sean regarded her for a moment then turned his gaze back to the flames.
“Aren’t you worried about catching my cooties?” he said humorlessly.
“Not really,” Catherine said.
“Those your kids down there?” Sean nodded to the stairwell.
“Yeah. They are. Tamara, she’s the smallest, Abby, every bit the teenage princess and Josh, the newly anointed man of the house.”
Sean grinned. “They seem like good kids. You must be really proud. Especially considering...”
“Yeah,” Catherine said solemnly. “I am.” She rubbed her hands together vigorously. “What about you? Any brothers and sisters?”
“One brother. Older. He’s a middle management superhero for Compaq computers tech support in Dallas. At least he was.”
“Youch. That sounds like a heck of a way to live.”
Sean nodded, his grin working into a smile. “I said the same thing. The messed up part about it is that he absolutely loves it. The monotony, the day-to-day tedium. All of it. I told him I thought it seemed boring, but he only said that what’s boring to me is dependable for him. He never did like surprises much.”
“It’s a good philosophy,” Catherine said. “If only we could all approach life with a more contented attitude like your brother.”
Sean looked over at Catherine. “Yeah.”
“Have you heard if he’s...okay?”
Sean shook his head and returned to the fire. “I haven’t seen him since the week before Leanne and I came on this camping trip from hell.” He scratched at his oily hair. “Jesus, why didn’t I bring my phone with me?”
Catherine looked to the ground, picked up a twig and tossed it into the flames. “So what’s the story with you and Leanne? She seems like a really nice girl. Told me she was studying to become a respiratory therapist.”
“That’s Leanne for you. As long as I’ve known her she’s wanted to help people. She’s always volunteering for some organization or another. Tutoring at school.” Sean peered through the fire at Leanne who slept soundly. “She’s going to be a good mother someday. I just hope she gets the chance.” He adjusted the chain wrapped around his ankle and sat forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Seems like she could learn a lot from you.”
Catherine’s eyebrows rose in an incredulous arc. “Me? That’s very sweet of you to say, but I’d hardly win any mother-of-the-year awards.”
Sean straightened. “Now why do you say that?”
Catherine glanced in the direction of the shelter as if to verify no one was within earshot then turned back to Sean.
“Let’s just say that three months ago we had a very different family dynamic.” Sean blinked, waited for Catherine to continue. “Take Josh, for instance. At the time, he was barely speaking to anyone, let alone me. Just kind of kept to himself, either locked in his room or out somewhere with the few friends he had.
“And then there’s Abby. If there were ever a poster child for teenage angst or drama queen her picture would fit prominently in the center of it all. She’d pretty much resigned herself to the notion long ago that mom was ‘stupid’ and that she knew better than anyone what was best for her. I can’t recall a day that went by that didn’t involve a fight or altercation of some kind.” Catherine stared into the glowing orange coals. “And now I’ve come to find out she’s three months pregnant.”
Sean jerked involuntarily at this.
Catherine looked at him. “Some mothering, huh?”
“You can’t watch your kids every second of every day, Catherine. Eventually they will have to make decisions of their own. Even if they’re bad ones.”
Catherine nodded. “The only one that seemed to really need me was Tamara. But she’s only a couple years out from going solo herself. Not in the same way Abby did, mind you, but the end result would’ve been the same. She’s a bright little girl and her personality wins people over immediately. It would’ve just been a matter of time before I would’ve become irrelevant to her too.”
Sean rested back on his forearms. “But isn’t that the natural order of things? We all grow up. We move on and strike out on our own. It’s what’s supposed to happen.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Catherine said. “Or maybe I’m just clinging too strongly to a different time when I actually felt like I had more purpose.”
“Your children are here with you, Catherine. And everyone’s safe. If there was ever a time in your life where you served a greater purpose, seriously, I’d like to know what it was.”
Catherine gazed at Sean. “Thank you for that.”
“My pleasure.”
Sean continued to stare into the fire as Catherine scrutinized his young face. He was a boy really, not that much different from Josh. His face could barely support a beard, the sparse hair that grew in random clumps only emphasizing his youth. She imagined that he was probably a popular boy. His looks were certainly appealing, but it was his old-soul demeanor that had truly impressed Catherine. Even in the short amount of time she’d had to speak with him, she could tell he possessed keen insight and a willingness to listen and offer perspective. And this all while the looming potential of death approached with each passing minute of the rising sun.
“Can I ask you a question?” Sean said.
“Of course.”
“If something should happen, I mean, if it does, what exactly occurs?”
Catherine swallowed dryly. “Oh, sweetie, I’d really rather not—”
“Please,” Sean interrupted. “I need to know.”
Catherine stared into his eyes and saw the yearning that resided there. This was a boy—no, a man—who wanted to face his fear head on. Didn’t want to just hope for the best but prepare for the worst. And with that, Catherine’s admiration grew.
Sean turned himself to better face Catherine. She knew he deserved an answer, but desperately wanted to avoid the horrors of the truth. This was somebody’s brother, after all. Somebody’s boy
friend. A mother’s son. And, Heaven forbid, if Josh were unfortunate enough to be caught in the same situation, Catherine hoped the person that stood over him would do as she was about to do now.
And that was lie.
“It’s actually quite painless,” Catherine started, her voice catching in her throat. “You, uh, feel a sensation then you just sort of fall asleep.”
Sean’s bulging eyes remained unblinking. “A sensation? Where exactly will I feel it?”
Catherine fed the Lie Monster some more fresh meat.
“In the throat. We’ve heard it feels like a tickle then...”
Sean nodded, understanding completely. “Okay,” he said, exhaling powerfully. “Okay.”
“Why?” Catherine said, her voice rising in pitch and volume. “Is your throat bothering you?”
“No, no, it’s fine.” Sean leaned back, pushed a thumb into his sternum. “Just my gut a little. A bit of reflux from dinner is all. Must’ve had too much dehydrated apple cobbler.” He grinned earnestly.
Catherine forced a smile as a tear escaped one eye. She batted at it, feigning a flying insect. She discreetly checked her watch.
Six forty-eight.
Damn, she thought. Damn!
Sean sat up, tried to push on his chest with the end of a closed fist.
“Wow,” he said, his face squinching in clear discomfort. “This is really starting to burn. Do you have a Tums or Rolaids I could get?”
Catherine unconsciously edged away from Sean. “Sure. I’ll find you some.” But she didn’t budge.
Sean doubled over now, digging the tips of all four fingers into his stomach.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered. “Something isn’t right. I’ve never felt this before.” His eyes slammed shut as a wave of pain surged through him. “Shit. What the hell is happening? What the hell is—”
Sean wrenched his neck to look up at Catherine. And when his eyes met hers, his face dropped like a ton of bricks.
He knew.
It was a look Catherine would never forget. One of betrayal, fear, shock and absolute horror all rolled into one.