He had a family to kill.
Chapter 5
Cady
Time wasn’t moving fast enough to warrant the excruciating worry mounting in Cady. She had no idea what was going on. She had no outside eyes and that was driving her nuts. Sites on the internet were becoming more and more static. The only one with overt movement was the big social media one.
She scrolled through countless posts declaring another family member was sick, another person couldn’t get into the hospital or clinic because they were too full and understaffed. A few deaths were reported, but not enough to cause a widespread panic, just enough to warrant excessive praying and best thoughts.
People who made it to work seemed to be left out of the dark themselves as they were swamped with needs that needed to be handled right away. Mentions of the end of days seemed to be suppressed by the algorithms and there was something weird in the way ads were being displayed.
In trending topics, there was a cure reported and it was equally questioned and sought. The drug hadn’t been fully released yet, so only a few towns and cities had received shipments. Those that did have them were already out of stock, and patients were reporting immediate pain relief which created a furor to get some. If they couldn’t find any, then they were offering obscene amounts of money to those who might have some left over.
Cady wasn’t aware of any cures, chocking it up to natural medicine and more conspiracies she knew nothing about. There wasn’t enough time for anyone in the science community to develop something when the disease was striking so fast.
Frustrated with her most recent scrolling through threads, Cady closed her laptop with a click. She hadn’t heard from Scott in a few days and he should have been home by then. She ignored the hand radio she’d encouraged him to use and picked up the cell. If he were home, it would go right to voicemail and she would know to use his landline or the radios. She hoped that was the case. Even if she couldn’t see him, she would feel better knowing he was home.
Swiping to speed dial Scott’s cell, Cady leaned back on the leather couch and stared at the ceiling. She hadn’t heard from her parents in days and she tried not to worry, but with her father’s condition and their advancing ages, Cady was worried she wouldn’t hear from them again. There was too much going on and she really just needed someone to talk to.
Calling her closest friend, Beth, wasn’t an option. Cady would tell her what was going on and Beth would panic. That wouldn’t help anyone.
Scott picked up. “Yeah, Cady, what’s going on?” He sounded exhausted and out of options. Was he as optionless as Cady?
Cady dropped her gaze, sitting more at attention and staring at her knees. “Scott, you’re not home yet. Is everything okay?” Maybe they’d gotten stopped at a road block or something. She pressed her fingers over her eyes as she concentrated on the sounds coming from the other end of the line.
“Everything is as good as it’s going to get with the way things are going.” His tone was distracted and she tried to hear him over the rumble and bumping of his Ford Bronco in the background.
“How do you feel?” She didn’t want Scott to get the virus. She couldn’t imagine losing him, too, although in a moment of selfishness, she didn’t want to watch him die even more. So if he was getting sick, then it would be best for everyone, if he didn’t come back.
She blinked back tears at the possibility and the fact that she had actually thought that.
Scott sighed. “I’m fine. I’m upset that I left my N95 masks on the counter at home. That’s what I forgot. But from I’m seeing, it doesn’t matter. This… thing… is spreading so fast.” He lifted his voice, as if trying to be more cheerful. “How are the chickens? Big Red is a great rooster, but the ladies will boss him around, if you don’t stay on top of it.”
“We moved them in with ours. He’s taken over the entire chicken harem and he’s settled in fine. All of the ladies have as well.” She half-grinned, unable to keep the image of the large blue lace Wyandot as he waddled around the smaller Rhode Island Reds and Buff Orpingtons from her mind.
They fell into an odd silence that Cady didn’t’ recognize. When had they gotten to that point where they were uncomfortable with each other? She cleared her throat, picking at the edge of a blanket tossed randomly onto the couch beside her. “Are you coming back?” Not when, but a flat out are you returning.
After a drawn-out pause filled with things Cady couldn’t focus on, Scott lowered his voice. “I’m going to try. Is Bailey okay?”
Cady blinked back more tears. “She’s good. She’s mad at me, but I’m hoping she’ll get over it.” There was a lot there she couldn’t get into, but she had to tell someone that her daughter probably hated her now.
“Why is she mad?” Scott’s tone welcomed conspiratorial conversation. Without saying anything more, he urged her to confide in him.
And Cady wanted to. She needed to talk to an adult who wasn’t biased against the entire situation. But she couldn’t. Scott hadn’t known about the vaccine. He wasn’t aware of the things she fought while he was gone – mostly her guilt and the fact that she wasn’t sure she wanted him to come back. She shrugged at the empty room. “Who knows. Teenagers, right?” She rolled her eyes and tried to smile, but even she didn’t buy it.
“What’s going on, Cady? You’re not telling me something.” Scott knew her better than she wanted to admit. He’d been there after Zach died and even before when her husband had been less than anything to her.
Scott was a constant in Cady’s life when she needed more foundation than anything. If she told him, she ran the risk of losing him, and she wasn’t’ sure she was ready to cope with that kind of loss just yet.
“Honestly?” She redirected their conversation away from what she wasn’t telling him to something she shouldn’t tell him. “I’m worried about you. I’m not sure if that’s good or not, but I am.”
“I think it’s good.” His tone took on a plethora of underlying meaning. “I’ll check in with you again soon.” His words promised something, but the virus took his promise and drove it into the ground.
Cady hung up, clutching the phone to her chest and staring up at the ceiling. Guilt wasn’t an emotion she had imagined taking with her into the end of the world, but it rode her shoulders like a cape.
First, helping create the idea that the world didn’t need that many humans. Second, lying to Scott about all of the virus idiosyncrasies. Third, drugging her daughter to give her a vaccine that may or may not be effective. Fourth, failing to stop her parents and making them stay with her when she knew what was coming.
Was there anything she was missing? Of course there was, but that was enough incentive to wallow in guilt until the end of time.
Did she really want to drum up more?
Chapter 6
Margie
With her arm under David, bracing him up as they crept from the cabin, Margie took a deep breath and hefted the duffel bag higher on her hip. The strap crossed her chest and if anyone grabbed it, she’d be yanked off her feet. She was stronger than most women her age since she hiked and did calisthenics, but she wasn’t the best when it came to heavy lifting. Something to work on, apparently, if she ever made it out of the harbor.
“We need to get to deck four to access deck five. There’s lifeboat access there off the promenade. Can you do the stairs or do you want to try the elevators?” She knew the answer, but she wasn’t sure the elevators were working. What if they got stuck inside? There were too many possibilities and Margie would rather take her chances with the stairs, but she was already pushing David harder than he needed. They reached the elevators first. “Let’s take this down.” She grimaced when she pushed the button.
They waited for the lift to reach them, David coughing softly like he couldn’t summon enough strength to cough with results or with true intent.
They shuffled inside when the doors opened and Cady leaned David against the mirrored wall.
Panting
slightly, Cady turned and pressed the circle branded with 4. She had to get David down the stairs and then across the wide floor to get to the loading area. They’d been shown some lifeboat things when they’d boarded, like a practice drill in case of evacuation.
Margie was a fast learner, but even the quick tutorial during the drills combined with intuitive button pushing wasn’t going to be enough to get them out of there without some help.
Another deckhand stood guard. His dark skin had a yellow tinge to it, like he too was under the weather. The cruise staff must have pulled straws to see who would be working and who would get to rest with the minimal number of staff at posts. Didn’t they want to go home?
As she got closer, helping David limp nearer and nearer the lifeboats, she searched the deck for anyone else. If they could get a number of reasonable passengers to convince the deckhand to help them off the ship, the problems would be minimal. The deckhand had to know how to work the boat, wasn’t that a requirement?
The man’s nametag read, “Randy” and he folded his arms as they approached. He swallowed. “Yes, ma’am, can I help you?”
“I’m fine, thank you. I… I need to get off the ship, Randy. My husband is ill and I need to get him home.” Margie didn’t know his orders, she was hoping plain old assertiveness was enough to get him to let her off.
He held up a hand, his fingers shaking as if the movement cost him a lot more energy than he had. “I know what you’re going to say. Sick bay is full and, if you call the operator, they can send a doctor down to you when they’re available.” Randy’s tremulous smile wasn’t comforting nor was it aggressive.
“Randy, look, you don’t seem like you’re feeling very well, either.” Margie hefted the bag higher while trying not to lose David who lagged at her side. Glancing at her husband, she then turned her worried gaze back to the deckhand. She couldn’t believe Randy wanted to hold anyone hostage. He probably didn’t care what happened. “Maybe you can help us get off the ship. Then you could go home, too.”
Randy’s expression went from refusal to considering when she mentioned he could get home as well. He tilted his head to the side, taking her words and mulling them over. Margie could almost see his options and consequences play out in his mind as he considered if his job was worth sitting around feeling horrible. He probably had heard what was really happening and had more information Margie didn’t have access to.
He twisted his lips and then shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m not supposed to…”
“I’m sure you have family. Aren’t you worried that they’re sick and need you, too?” Margie wasn’t going to stop. She could be persuasive when she needed to be. Right then, she needed to be.
“I have been worried…” He caught his breath. After searching her face as if it held the answer, he finally nodded. “We should check to see if there are more who want to go. The boats are large and I’m not sure if anyone else will be willing to help run the boats.” He pointed toward the portal and opened the door. “Go ahead and board. If I’m not back, it’s really easy to work. The instructions are right there. It’s like driving a speed boat. Bathrooms are in the rear. Don’t worry. I’ll most likely be back, but I can run any of these boats. Don’t wait more than ten minutes. Shift change will be in twenty.” He turned, unconcerned if they left without him or not. And why should he be? He knew how to run the lifeboats. He was merely checking on the other passengers, probably to lessen the guilt for walking out on his job.
Margie helped David inside the spacious lifeboat. Fully enclosed and orange on all the external sides, the lifeboats gave the impression they would be straight-lined and uncomfortable from the outside. The interior, however, was anything but austere with cushioned seats that could be laid back as well as storage and multiple restrooms along the back. Extra life vests hung from a hook above each seat and the driver wasn’t separated from the rest of the holding area, giving it a very easy to maneuver look and feel.
Margie settled David into a seat closest to the driver’s position. She had no problem leaving the deckhand behind, if he didn’t return in a few minutes. She needed to get them back to the storage units to retrieve their motorhome before the storage unit management was too sick to let them in.
Making the leap from sickness to epidemic to pandemic wasn’t hard as she considered the things Cady had left her messages about and the reality all around them.
The sickness was real.
If it was already causing deaths, then it was only a matter of time until the population took a turn for the worse.
Murmuring and grumbling pulled Margie’s attention to the doorway. She crept closer to the opening, placing a finger silently to her lips and looking back at David. He was already asleep on the bench, leaning back against the wall behind him.
Peeking around the corner, Margie clamped her lips tight together. A group of three men and four women approached the landing area. The leader, with his hair tousled and a pink tinge to his skin, had enough energy to demand the rest of the group look for a way to call for an employee.
A woman slumped against the railing beside the lifeboat. “I’m too tired, Tobias. I just want to go back to the cabin.” Her hair was done in a sloppy up-do and her makeup was streaked as if she’d worn it for a few days.
“No. We need to get home. This isn’t a normal flu. We need to get home before we’re left on this boat to die. Even the food isn’t being replenished.” Tobias waved his hands around outside of where Margie could see.
Margie closed her eyes and ducked back to shrink against the wall beside the door. What was she supposed to do? They would want in there. Tobias didn’t seem like he was stable enough mentally to take onto a boat. He’d probably want to control the driving mechanisms and Margie wasn’t going to consider that as an option. It was Randy or Margie. No one else was a possibility.
Loud yelling a distance away grew louder as it got closer. Margie peeked again, clenching her fingers around the edge and careful not to move too fast.
Six men and six women rushed to the railing along the edges of the lifeboats, feet from where Margie hid.
A red haired man who had spent more than his fair share of time at the buffet waved his hand at the first group. “Kick them down. You’re not going with us on this boat. You’re sick and you deserve to stay on this ship before you infect the rest of the world.”
Tobias stepped forward. “That makes you the dumbest person on the continent. You’re infected yourself, even if you aren’t yet showing the symptoms.” He coughed as if to prove a point, but it fell flat.
One man wore only his dressing robe with untied tennis shoes as he stood there with the group of newcomers. While they weren’t exhibiting any symptoms, Tobias was right, they would all get the sickness. Only time would tell who survived and who didn’t.
Movement from past the two groups pulled Margie’s gaze and her eyes widened. Randy approached from the direction of the lifts, his hands held in front of him as if he came upon a group of wild animals. A woman with three children slunk along behind him, staring wide-eyed at both groups angrily shifting into a standoff position.
Holding his hands higher, Randy pushed at the air. “It’s okay. Everyone should be able to fit. There’s plenty of room.” He glanced around, a questioning expression on his face, then spied Margie in the lifeboat. Narrowing his eyes, he opened his mouth as if to speak or acknowledge her, but he stopped when Margie backed up, shaking her head and motioning for him to not say a word.
Tobias stepped forward, raising both hands in a challenge. “Why should you get to go? You’re carrying the germ and you’re stupid. I think that’s enough justification to just let your bloodline die on the waters.”
Laughing, the opposing leader grinned. “You’re sick. You won’t make it far. It’s wasting seats to have you onboard – either boats.” The red-haired man stepped forward, pulling a steak knife from his pocket.
Both groups gasped and Randy lunged closer, perspiration spo
tting his skin. “Listen, none of this is necessary.” He moved closer to the men, his eyes wide and full of fear. “We’re all trying to get home. Let’s just get on the boat and get there in just a few minutes. Then everyone can go their separate ways. No harm. No foul. What do you say?”
“We can’t get the sickness. They can’t go on the boat. I heard people are dying on the mainland from this.” A woman pointed toward the first group, negating their argument that the disease would be spread by them getting to the land and increasing the reality that they weren’t very smart while denying they were going to get it.
Another woman from the second group, standing behind the red-head man spoke with a whine. “I heard we’ve had two deaths ourselves on the ship.”
“Actually, there have been thirty-three.” Randy spoke up, his quiet words fell flat to the floor like a crashing boulder on a bed of moss.
Panic welled in the group, overriding the disgruntled worry and anguish.
Shoved forward by someone edging closer to the boats in his group, Tobias inadvertently lurched forward. Thinking he was attacking, the red-head thrust the knife forward, into Tobias’s chest.
Tobias’s eyes widened as blood poured over his fingers but the red-head didn’t pull back or even seem startled. He set his jaw and yanked the knife from Tobias’s chest, swinging the blade in a wide arc as if to clear the area around him. Blood droplets splashed the crowd.
There would be no denying the disease now.
Randy stumbled forward, reaching for Tobias who sank slowly to the ground. “Sir, sir, are you alright?” He glared up at the knife-wielder. “You killed him.”
Shrugging, the man smirked. “One less seat to worry about. He was dead anyway.”
180 Days and Counting... Series Box Set books 1 - 3 Page 27