Joe nodded and started chopping up a dead tree near the hole. Cole went a little deeper into the woods and found another tree that had fallen long ago. As he swung the ax and it bit into the wood, he tried not to think of Hunter. It was so hard to cling to hope after so much death.
They set the wood and doused it with some precious gasoline. Cole piled more logs next to the dirt that had come out of the hole. He walked to the water line and squatted, rinsing his hands then scooping a handful of water to splash on his face. Joe did the same, then both men stood and looked out over the sun-kissed bay.
Cole entered the women’s side of the changing room which was now the store room for protective gear. He had kept several complete suits, including the respirator masks that offered even better protection than the hepa filter masks they had been using. All of it was left over from his days of battling Ebola but wished he had even more.
He had stockpiled the gear, more to placate Hunter than because he thought it would be needed. When Cole had gone to Africa, Hunter hadn’t taken his absence well. He’d been caught drinking and smoking some weed at a party. When Cole left, Hunter had to stay with Sean and Jenna with Sean having to take on the role of disciplinarian. It had strained the relationship between Sean and Hunter.
When he returned from Africa, Cole had a long talk with Hunter, expressing his disappointment and it was then that his son had confessed his fears that he’d had while Cole was gone. He worried about being left alone—about being left an orphan. Even though he was almost grown by then, he confessed he still needed his dad. And there was nothing Cole could say about that because there had been a risk and Hunter’s fears weren’t unfounded.
That was when he decided to retire. Hunter only had a few more years at home before college and Cole didn’t want to miss any more of it. Now, he was thankful for that time they’d had and could only pray that he’d have more time still.
In addition to the full suits, as a precaution Cole had bought several boxes of large lawn-sized trash bags and multiple rolls of duct tape. When the protective suits ran out, if they ever did, they could make suits out of bags and duct tape. It wasn’t ideal but miles better than no protection at all. They still had plenty of masks as well since Joe had added his to the stockpile. He only had two sizes of gloves, large and medium. Piper really needed small gloves, while Jenna could make do with medium, she really should have had small gloves to prevent them from slipping off.
He had already prepared several five-gallon buckets with mixtures of bleach and water. One bucket had a top and a pump with a short hose and sprayer. They’d use that bucket for spraying the ground anywhere they had walked. Another bucket was to throw the rubber boots and the heavy rubber gloves to decontaminate. They didn’t have an endless supply of them and would have to re-use them if, god forbid, they ever had to do this again.
The suits, made of plastic that was about the thickness of a tarp, would go into a trash bag Cole had rigged to stay open. There had been a wheeled trashcan cart, and he’d used the frame of it to tape two trash bags, one inside the other. That was the burn bag. Disposable inner gloves would also go in there as well as all the tape used to seal the openings around wrists, neck, and ankles.
“Here, take off your shoes and step into this.” He handed Joe a bright yellow suit with a zipper down the front. “Pull it up to your waist, but don’t zip it all the way yet. You’ll have to put on your boots and tape around them, and it’s a pain in the ass to do it with the suit already zipped.”
He showed Joe how to layer the protective gear and told him how they would remove it when they were finished. “We’ll have to watch each other to make sure we never touch any unprotected part of ourselves with the contaminated gear.” As he emphasized his points and explained the procedure, Joe crossed his arms, his expression bordering on boredom.
“Listen, Joe, you have to know how to do this, and how to do it correctly.”
“I think I can manage. I’ve been dressing and undressing myself for a long time.”
“It sounds obvious, but people screw up all the time without thinking. Their nose itches and they reach up and swipe their gloved hand across it,” Cole pantomimed the action, “and, boom. They’ve just contaminated themselves. Even when they’re paying attention, they might accidentally take the gear off in the wrong order.”
Joe waved his hands. “I got it. Sorry. Just seems so obvious.”
“Good, because not only will I be spotting you when you remove your gear, but you’ll be watching me, too. Just because I’ve done this many times doesn’t mean I don’t need a second pair of eyes. More than once, I’ve had that second pair of eyes catch me just before I contaminated myself.” In Africa, it had often been Elly who had been his buddy when he took off the gear. He hoped she was hunkered down safe somewhere.
“Elly! Wake up! Please wake up!”
Water poured on Elly’s face, and she coughed and rolled over. “Stop it!” When she tried to get to her hands and knees, the floor pitched, and she landed hard on her side. Disoriented, nauseated, and her head pounding, she struggled to her feet. A bolt of lightning dropped from the sky a hundred yards away, the thunder instantaneous. It all came back to her. One hand clenched around the grip rail and the other pressed to the side of her head, she moved to Jake’s side.
“How close are we to land?” She had to shout to make herself heard over the sound of the waves, wind, rain, and thunder. Looking left and right, she strained to see land. Just before the storm hit, it had been just off to their left. It had looked like an easy run to get back if they needed to. But now, it was impossible for her to determine in which direction the shore lay through the torrential rain. She wasn’t even sure what direction they were heading.
“The storm hit too fast! I couldn’t get the boat docked anywhere. I saw a dock up ahead, but lost it in the rain and had to head back out to open water.” He pushed rain out of his eyes and shook his head. “I just hope there’s no land dead ahead. I can’t see a thing.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“We’re almost out of gas.”
“Did you use the reserve?” At the last harbor, they had filled two of the gas cans to have in reserve. It was something Elly never would have recommended in normal times due to the risk and when a call to the Coast Guard was an option, but now, it was insurance against being left adrift in the middle of the lake. Or like now, with no power and dangerous conditions.
“No, I haven’t been able to let go of the wheel. The water’s too rough.”
“After the storm.” She motioned towards the cans. “So they don’t spill.” She wanted to explain how it would be futile even if she managed to get the gas into the tank because the waves were so high that they’d just waste gas trying to maintain their position. It would be better to wait and then head for shore when the water was calm again.
Letting go of the wheel for a second, he pointed left. “Rocks! I need to be able to get away if we get too close.”
He had a point. They’d be helpless, and the boat would be pummeled against the rocks if they didn’t get away from them. She held up a finger. “One can.”
Jake nodded, his expression grim.
They had used bungee cords to strap the cans down, and she was glad for that because other gear had tumbled across the boat but the cans were still where they had been secured. She fumbled for one.
It took her several tries to get the nozzle into the tank, and she spilled some, but Elly managed to empty the can.
Jake tried the engine. At first it sputtered and died, but finally, it caught. “I’m just going to keep it slow and steady until we can see better.” He looked at her, his eyes moving to her temple. “Are you okay?”
She felt her head, finding a lump, but the skin didn’t seem to be broken, and no blood stained her hand. “Yes. I’m fine.” That was mostly true.
He tilted his head towards the seats. “Sit down and hang on tight. I think the storm is dying down.”
The storm took another twenty minutes to dissipate.
“Elly, I hate to ask you, but could you take over for a minute?”
Elly turned to find Jake, his face ashen. She scrambled to her feet and took the wheel. “What’s wrong?” The danger was over, more or less.
“I just gotta sit.” He flexed his fingers, his hands shaking. “I think I lost feeling in my fingers.” He laughed, but it sounded shaky. “I’ve never done anything like that. I thought for sure we were gonna die. And then when you fell and were out of it, I thought you were dead.” He propped his elbows on his splayed knees and dug his fingers through his hair. “I was scared shitless.”
“Take all the time you need. I’m fine. Why don’t you go have a shot of that scotch?”
His head shot up. “Really? But I’m only seventeen.”
“Oh. I guess I forgot how young you are. You didn’t act like a kid, and you certainly did the job of a man. How about settling for a few cookies and some soda? I think there are still a few left.”
A grin split his face. “Aw, I was hoping for the whiskey.” But he went into the cabin and returned with a package of cookies and two cans of soda. “Here’s to storms and sugar overload.” He popped the top and tapped it to hers.
“Cheers.” She took a long drink. The stuff was terrible for her, but nothing had ever tasted so good.
They each ate a few cookies and then Jake put them away. “I can take over again.”
Elly shook her head. “That’s okay. I’m just tooling along here. I think there’s a small harbor up ahead. Do you see it?”
It took them another twenty minutes to reach the harbor, and when they did, Jake pointed to the map, now ragged but still legible. “I think this is Algoma!”
“Yeah? And…?” She looked at what she could see of the small town. “Is that important for some reason?”
“Hell, yeah it is! It’s the last small town we’ll see until we hit the shipping channel across the peninsula. It’s a shortcut to Green Bay.”
“Really? How long until we get to the shipping channel?”
Jake trailed his finger up the map and shrugged. “Probably late this evening, but we should make it before it’s too dark. It says there’s a Coast Guard station there.”
“I wonder if anyone is alive there.” What she wouldn’t give to find out what was happening across the country. Their days on the boat had been deceptively normal. They had a fridge and microwave in the cabin and even a little stove although they hadn’t been using it. But the absence of other boaters and the eerie, empty harbors, drove the truth home. This went far beyond Chicago. If she hadn’t met Jake and at least seen the one other guy in Chicago who had survived, she would have thought she was the only person still walking the face of the Earth.
25
Hunter and Sophie had to ride for over an hour before they found a suitable place to stop. The bridge had ended in a good-sized city, and they’d hurried through to avoid any contact with people. Finally, they came to a farm. There hadn’t seemed any signs of life from the house, and they didn’t need to get very close to either the barn or the house to learn that whoever and whatever had lived on the farm hadn’t made it. The now-familiar stench told the story.
Sophie nudged him. “What about down there?” She pointed to the far end of a fenced pasture.
He regarded the tree and bushes. It would provide cover if anyone was around, especially once they built a fire. He looked near the house for a woodpile. Farmhouses always had a woodpile and this one was no different. Sure enough, stacked neatly by the side was a pile high enough for many nights if they had to stay for a few days to let Princess heal. Food could become an issue, though. “Yeah, that could work.”
They had made camp under the tree and had let the horses free in the fenced area. It was nice to not have to have to stake them out and worry about the stakes coming out. They didn’t find a stream, but there was a hand pump beside a trough at the other end of the pasture. He’d pumped until his arm was sore and had enough water for the horses, a bucket for Buddy, and one for him and Sophie.
Hunter ran his hand down Princess’s leg. He’d already inspected her hoof and hadn’t found anything alarming, but other than routine cleaning of hooves with a pick, he didn’t know what to look for in the way of injuries. There had been no redness, swelling or discharge around the hoof, so he took that to be a good sign.
“Easy, girl.” He wasn’t certain, but it seemed like there was a slight swelling near the back of her leg. He checked the opposite leg in the same location. The side she was favoring was definitely swollen compared to the other side. He sighed and stroked her back, and moved to her head, untying the lead rope from around the fence and unclipping it from her halter. “Go, Princess. Eat up.” He was out of the oats he’d brought, but the grass here was thick and still green.
He carried the bucket back to the camp, set it down, and flexed his hand. Sophie wasn’t there, but she had taken out the cooking kit and some ingredients. He hoped she hadn’t gone in the house. Then he spied her coming from behind the house, a bundle in her arms.
“Hunter, look what I found.” She eased down to kneel, setting her bundle on the ground. It was a faded, green, towel. Inside were dozens of ripe strawberries.
His mouth flooded. “Where did those come from?”
“There’s a garden back there. Nothing else is ripe yet, but there’s a big patch of strawberries.” She popped one in her mouth and closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, smiling. “Oh my god, they taste so good. Better than candy.”
He dropped to sit beside her and took a few. The sweet, tart, juice burst over his tongue in an explosion of goodness. “Did you see anything else?”
“Just a clothesline. That’s where I got the towel.”
Hunter froze in the act of popping a few more strawberries in his mouth. He opened his hand, examining the fruit. “What if the towel was contaminated?”
“What if it is? Then we die like everyone else, but at least we have a fabulous last meal.” She took another and bit it in half. The juice stained her lips red, reminding him of the blood he’d seen on victims’ faces.
He returned the berries to the towel and stood, wiping his hands on his jeans. “I’m going to get wood for a fire.”
He dug into his pack and pulled out a thick pair of leather gloves he’d found at the first farm and tucked them into his back pocket. They’d serve double duty—protect his hands from the sharp edge of the wood and from the virus if it still lurked on any surfaces near the house.
As he took care of the chore, he couldn’t get Sophie’s fatalistic reply out of his mind. Did she really not care if she lived or died? He wondered how he would feel if his dad wasn’t waiting like a beacon of hope out on an island. Would he just give up and not care if he lived or died? Would he become careless? Did it mean he would take risks?
He reached the woodpile and looked for a way to carry enough wood for the night. Tugging his mask up over his nose, he put the gloves on and poked around in a shed near the house. The stench was no worse near the door of the small, aluminum building and there was no lock on the door. He opened it and discovered the shed was the equivalent of a giant junk drawer.
A shelving unit on one side was stuffed full of greasy engine parts, although what model of engines they were from, Hunter had no clue. The other side of the shed contained a large red metal tool cart. Mugs on top of the cart overflowed with rusted nails, screws, washers, and drill bits. At the back of the shed was a hand-truck.
Taking the hand-truck over to the wood pile, he slipped on the gloves and loaded it with as much wood as he could. He had to go slow and pull it behind him, nearly h
orizontal to the ground to keep the wood from tumbling off. As he passed the house, he noted a flower garden with a rock border. He took eight of the rocks and added them to the pile of wood. They were all about the same size and would be perfect to lay beneath the grill.
When he reached the campsite, he parked the hand-truck beside the tree and set up the rocks, arranging the kindling flat as he’d learned in Boy Scouts. He stuffed torn paper into spaces between and under the kindling and lit them. As the kindling caught, he glanced at Sophie. “Did you mean it when you said that?” He didn’t explain what he meant. He could see in her face that she knew.
She sorted through the packets of food they had, setting aside rice and beans. Drawing a deep breath and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she shrugged. “I guess. I mean, what’s the difference? We’re all gonna die soon anyway. Either from the disease now or starve to death in the next year.”
“Starve to death? What makes you think that?”
She spread her hands, gesturing at the farm. “Who’s left to plant the food? Who’s going to truck the produce to the grocery stores?” Her eyes opened wide as she tilted her head. “Are you really this naïve, Hunter?”
He didn’t reply, just added a small log to the fire. Of course, he worried about the things she brought up, but people survived long before Walmart came into existence and he was pretty sure they’d survive long after it disappeared.
“Face it, Hunter—the world as we knew it is gone. From now on, people are going to take what they can and to hell with the rest. That’s what happened in my little town.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
Her tone alerted him that she’d hinted at something important. He slanted her a look. Maybe this was when she’d open up to him. “What happened?”
Sophie didn’t speak for a long time. Long enough that he had time to set the rack over the fire, fill the pot with water, and set it to boil.
Sympatico Syndrome Trilogy Box Set Page 23