The Weak Shall Die: Complete Collection (Four Volume Set)

by Taylor Michaels

  Afterwards, when they got back to the lodge, Marceau broke out several bottles of wine and everyone ended up sobbing.

  Chapter 56 - The Virus

  John, Fred and Charles had just returned from a scavenging mission in the Dark Defender and were climbing up into the lodge from the tunnel. John was carrying a bag of cans he had found at a house in the northern part of town. Fred and Charles each followed, carrying bags also. They entered the kitchen, where Pierre was pouring hot water into a teacup.

  "Hello, Pierre. Good morning. You're up early. Couldn't sleep?"

  "John, I will not mince the words. Cho is sick. I think it began when she went into the smoke. Her lungs were damaged. I have been watching her for the last few days."

  "You think it's smoke damage? She'll be better, won't she? It's just temporary, right? You gave her some antibiotics. She showed me the pills."

  "I did everything I could. I think she has the virus. Her lungs were badly damaged by the smoke. The virus had a chance to attack and it did."

  Fear filled John's eyes. "I don't know what that means. So, you're saying we all have the virus? Or are you saying I have the virus?"

  "I do not know, mon amie. She and you may have been immune, but if her system was weakened enough … If it is as contagious as we think, then we all have it, now. You are much stronger. Also, Cho, Fred, George, and Charles. I think that means it was in you. You just resisted the worst effects."

  "I thought we were immune, at least Cho and I. We were in the middle of it. I was six feet from the children of the Bug City scientists less than six months ago. I was across the street … Poor Cho." John put his head down.

  "Many viruses only attack the weak. The old and the young because their immune system is weak. She was not old or young, but she was weak. Her lungs were in terrible shape."

  "Yes. I just thought she was tired. We've been through a lot and she was always on the front line. Always ready to help. Always there for me."

  John sat down at the old table, tears in his eyes, and stared straight ahead. George and Fred had followed John into the kitchen and had heard the story.

  "Hey, good buddy. We're here for you. Anything you need. Just say the word."

  "Yeah," said Fred. "What he said." Fred looked at George. Both, with wrinkled brows, had concerned looks on their faces.

  "Is she upstairs?"

  "Yes, Jean. But she was in serious pain and I had to give her some strong drugs. She is asleep. I do not think she will wake up."

  "I think I just need to see her," said John, standing up and walking toward the living room. His heavy footsteps could be heard on the stairs.

  "Not a good time for relationships, is it, Fred?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "You know what I mean. You and Masako have been on the outs for the last few weeks. Now she's back to sleeping in her old room in the lodge."

  "We're not on the outs. She's been having a hard time dealing with all this. You know. The virus. She thinks we've been more violent that we had to. She was upset about Harry and about Sarah. She just wanted some time alone to think about it. Figure out what her place in all this was. This problem with Cho could be the last straw."

  "She thinking about leavin'?"

  "Honestly, I don't know. Every other day, she wants to leave. She was driving me crazy. Frankly, I'm glad she moved out. Her emotions were too much for me."

  "She just needs to get her head on straight. She'll be alright. Down deep she's strong."

  "I hope so, for her sake. I don't want to be around if she comes apart at the seams."

  * * *

  Cho's funeral was held two days later. She was buried in the clearing beside Sarah, Elspeth, Tom, Joe and Harry. No eyes were dry. Not much was said.

  John stood by the grave, long after everyone had left, or so he thought. His memories were on happy times with Cho in China. He thought he could hear her in her pidgin English tell him that she had a message. However, when he turned around it was Pierre he saw.

  "Jean, I have something to tell you. Something that Cho wanted me to tell you before she died."

  The two lines between John's eyes deepened. "You couldn't tell me before now?"

  "I promised her, mon amie, that I would not tell you until she was buried."

  John hunched forward, waiting for message.

  "If I can remember her exact words. She made me promise to tell you in her exact words. Here it is. "John no mourn Cho. Cho see Mama soon. Cho no worry about John. Cho know John be protected."

  Pierre stopped. John could tell Cho had told Pierre more, but Pierre was having a hard time trying to say the next words.

  "Just spit it out, Pierre. What else?" John said, his head in his hands.

  "Forgive me, Jean. 'Cho know Cho not John's first love. Cho know John love Cho. John's first love Masako. Cho see John look when think Cho not. Masako now John's protector. Cho love John.' "

  Pierre placed a light hand on John's back as he wept quietly.

  Chapter 57 - A Ride in the Country

  Two days later, just after dawn, George and Fred were sitting in the kitchen when John moseyed in.

  John hoped he didn't look as bad to his good friends as the mirror said he did. Cho's death had been hard on him, but he tried to keep his mind occupied with planning and paper work as much as he could. He had been taking his meals in his bedroom and going on long walks to avoid people. Some of his walks took him back to Cho's grave.

  "Hey, guys. Remember some time ago when we first talked about building a wood gasifier for electricity? You built the gasifier and we have more electricity than we know what to do with. At that time, you mentioned you could build an enclosed, recumbent bicycle to ride on the railroad tracks."

  "Sure. Great idea. We built it. Only took a week. We've tried it a few times. Works great. Just been waiting for the paint to dry. Right George?"

  "One of the little wheels that keeps it on the track came off. We had a slight mishap. Had to rebuild the nose. Put in a small bumper out of steel, just in case."

  "Yep. Goes like a bat on a sugar diet. What do you have in mind?"

  Fred and George gave each other a nod for their accomplishment.

  "I'm thinking of taking a little vacation."

  George looked at Fred and raised his eyebrows. Fred shook his head.

  John noticed the non-verbal communication and said, "Actually, I'm worried about infecting all of you. It really bothers me. It was bad enough to lose Cho. I don't want to kill any more of my friends. You people kept me from dying. I don't want to endanger your lives. Makes me feel bad. Pain in the chest like somebody sitting on me. Know what I mean?"

  "John, you didn't kill Cho. Nobody killed Cho. Nobody here leastwise. You said you told her to come out of the smoke. Several times. You are not responsible, ol' buddy. Stop blamin' yourself."

  "I don't know, George. I pushed so hard about getting more food. When she heard that cow, she couldn't stop herself. I do blame myself."

  "If you want to blame somebody, blame the Chinese. They invented that virus. They produced it and they let it out. We were all worried about gettin' more food and you weren't pushin' hard. Trust me. I've seen people pushin' hard. That's not what you were doin'. No way, it's your fault."

  "Yeah," said Fred. "You should have gone through boot camp. Those Drill Sergeants were good at pushing people. You've always been a teddy bear by comparison."

  "I'm worried that if I'm sick from some other cause, my system will weaken and I'll become contagious. That would be a problem."

  "Pierre thinks that not only you and Cho, but Fred and I and Charles are in the same boat. Fred and I talked about it. If you want, we'll go with you. See the country. I enjoyed cyclin' when I was a kid."

  "I appreciate that, George, but how would it work? You'd ride on the handlebars?"

  George cast a glance at Fred, who motioned for George to continue. "Actually, we brainstormed the idea for a long time and we couldn't figure out a good way to m
ake a bicycle ride on the rails. It would have to lean some to the inside and have an outrigger on the other rail. Sounded unstable. Especially if you wanted to go thirty or forty miles per hour. Seemed like there should be a better way. Also, a normal upright bicycle would be visible for a long distance and would have a high wind resistance."

  "Still concerned about snipers, I suppose."

  "Yeah, John. And, we thought that a recumbent bicycle would be more stable with less wind resistance and would be capable of more speed. You aren't interested in a holiday jog. You're going somewhere. We don't know where, but somewhere. With the rider between the rails and only a few inches off the ground, center of gravity would be lower. The thing would never turn over, even in a stiff wind. Wind resistance is lower, too. We thought about a passenger compartment between the rails with the wheels on the rails. People along the countryside wouldn't see you because it was so low. That made the most sense. We found some BMX bikes with small wheels and used skateboard wheels to keep them on the rails. That made the whole thing light, low and stable. Looks like one of those Indy cars, a two passenger model. Rides nice too."

  John was puzzled. "You said 'passenger compartment?' What did you make it from? We didn't have any plastic. Not that I saw."

  "The frame used those steel tubes you got at the tractor store for the main parts. Mostly copper pipes from houses for the rest. And for the body, some sheet metal from old carports and some paper mache for the front end, old-fashioned plastic. From some of those newspapers we keep finding and a little flour. You know, some people had stored boxes and boxes of old newspapers. Don't know why. Maybe they were thinking of recycling them one day. The glass from the windshields came from houses. Had some paint left over from the Dark Demon. Put on a dozen coats to the paper parts to avoid water damage. Two coats on the metal parts to cut down visibility. With your luck, you'll probably never ride in the rain, but I'm not so lucky."

  "It turned out well," said Fred. "Goes quick, especially with two people. Twenty or twenty-five miles per hour on level ground is easy. We didn't even break a sweat. Faster if you want to push it. We weren't tired after an hour of riding. We took the running gear from some fifteen-speed bicycles and added additional chains to power the wheels. In one day, you could be most of the way to the coast."

  "Great. So where is it?"

  "Them. There's two. Looked like another great adventure. Couldn't resist. Since the engine, the driver, is in the middle, we put a small storage compartment in the front for aerodynamics and a bigger one in the back. Should be able to carry a week's supplies with no problem. We took the parts to that factory that made carports just east of town, using the Dark Demon. They have a big building for makin' carports and a railroad track for receivin' materials. We used that railroad for launchin' and testin' the vehicles. Perfect place."

  "George wanted to add a sail on the top, but we figured it would attract too much attention. So, what's the word, Boss? When do we leave?"

  A smile crept onto John's face. "You guys are something else. As soon as possible. Pit a list together of everything we'll need and we'll talk it over. Clothing, food, camping gear and water. Don't forget weapons and ammo. I'll start packing. By the way, who's the fourth?"

  "Originally we figured it would be Cho. Sorry to bring her up. I'm sure Charles would be interested. I don't think Pierre or Marceau would want to go. Masako isn't strong. I took Iris down to look at it and she didn't think it was safe. I told her that if we met a train on the tracks, nothing would be safe. I didn't mention it to Mary or Abby. What do you think?"

  "I know Charles is the logical choice, but I'd like to keep him here, guarding the fort. We'll need a place to come home to. Having Charles and Pierre here will be good insurance. I'll talk to the ladies."

  George raised his index finger. "We have another choice, John. I just thought of it. We could put a link between the two cars and tie 'em together like cars on a train. That way it would be easier for one person to pedal and the others to rest."

  "George, innovation should be your middle name. How long will that take?"

  "I'll have it done by tomorrow. I'm surprised you didn't ask who that one person would be."

  "Yes, I know. I've gotten stronger, but you and Fred have too. What about traveling by night? We have those night vision goggles we got from those guys at the retirement home."

  "Maybe as an emergency measure," said Fred. "They run on batteries and our supply is limited. I'll bring two sets with some spare batteries, but I think we should use them only in emergencies. Somebody may have left a dark-colored car on a crossing. We wouldn't see it at night, even with the night vision goggles. One of the people in the lead car should watch with the binoculars. Twenty-five miles per hour is faster than you think, especially when your bumper is made of paper and your butt is four inches above the gravel. Would have made it lower, but we had to allow for railway switches."

  * * *

  Preparations for the trip took three days, partly because it rained two days and they didn't want to start the trip in the rain. Better to go in decent weather to become accustomed to the vehicles, which had been named the Dark Dart One and Two. All the food, water and weapons had been transported with the Dark Demon and loaded into the vehicles which had been placed onto the tracks. John talked to the women and only Masako wanted to go on the trip. Charles and Pierre repeatedly tried to talk John out of it. Charles repeatedly tried to talk John into leaving Masako and taking him, but John didn't change his mind. This wasn't going to be the trip he had originally planned. It would be exploratory. And it just might be fun. And Masako was the one, at this time in his life, that he wanted with him.

  After seeing the Dark Darts, both Abby and Mary thought they were death traps, especially when they found out the front was made of paper. Masako was familiar with all the things the Japanese had done with paper, including making a usable suit of armor, and had no problem with the paper mache front end.

  John was concerned about bringing Masako as he agreed with Fred that she seemed weak. Then, Fred revealed that he and Masako were no longer together. At that point, Fred decided that he didn't really want to go. The reason appeared obvious, but John didn't want to discuss it. He didn't like it, but somehow he felt that he and Masako would make good teammates as they needed each other. Both having lost someone, sort of. Then, seeing that John thought the whole venture was safe and Masako was onboard, Iris changed her mind saying it might be a nice vacation for her and George. Maybe even a honeymoon. John was glad that they had decided to bring two tents and promised himself to pitch his tent some distance away from the two.

  George and Iris took Dark Dart I and John and Masako followed in Dark Dart II. They decided they should rotate the shotgun position every hour so the constant watching for blockages wouldn't be too tiring for one person. John was beginning to question the whole trip as he thought the two women would be much less powerful than two men. He had originally wanted to go alone and his lonely journey into nowhere had now turned into a family outing to the beach. Maybe he shouldn't go. Or maybe he should turn back after a few hours. A test ride. He decided to wait and see how things went.

  As they pedaled off, Charles, Abby and Fred waved goodbye. George had installed a bubble level which indicated the track was almost flat, with only a small slope toward the coast. He also installed a wired intercom to keep anyone with a scanner from hearing their communications.

  "I'm glad you came, Masako. How are you?"

  "I'm fine. Fred and I had been growing apart. I think he believes I am too stressed out by all the deaths and other problems. He thinks I'm going to self destruct as he calls it. An odd phrase for going crazy."

  "Are you going crazy?"

  "John, you don't sugarcoat anything do you?" Masako thought that John's eyes were softer than usual. He had been quieter. It was clear to her that the loss of Cho had a giant effect on him.

  "I'm honest with everyone. I want everyone to be honest with me. So, what's the a
nswer?"

  "It has been tough. The night of the panic, I passed out while we were at that grocery store."

  "No!" he exclaimed, with a feigned expression.

  "Oh, you knew!" She wagged a finger at him. "And you didn't tell me. I thought you were always honest."

  "I define honesty as not lying. You didn't ask, and I didn't volunteer anything. That's not lying."

  Masako clenched her teeth together and then said, "John, you're pissing me off again. I won't ask how you are. I know you are all torn up inside. I also know you were going to climb into your fancy new bicycle and just ride off into the sunrise, never to be seen again. That's really why I wanted to come along. I don't care what this is all about, but I want you to come back to the lodge. I think that's where you -- and I -- belong. I think that's where we'll be happiest and the safest."

  "You may be right but I won't admit it. Lots of memories back there."

  "Many good memories. Just because you have memories of Cho doesn't mean they are bad memories. It just means they are memories. The past will always be the past. The future is what we make it. I think you told me that once. The future is what is important."

  "You should put that on a greeting card and send it to me."

  "Certainly. Pull over at the next post office and I'll drop it in the box."

  Chapter 58 - A Vacation

  An hour after they started pedaling, they reached the furthest point Fred and George had gone in their test runs. The weather was still good, warm with a blue sky and a few white puffy clouds. A few minutes later they were the farthest any of them had been from the lodge since they had arrived. They stopped and looked around, having a quick drink of water. It was only fifty miles from the lodge, but, if something went wrong, it was a hard day's trek back. At that point, they had seen no signs of people or animals. They heard nothing. All was quiet. The virus had done a terrible thing to the country.