“Ok, ok,” Adam said, but he couldn’t help but smile.
With Adam gone, Amy turned her attention to Derek, who was more than happy to receive a hug and kiss.
“So how was it?” Amy asked.
“It was great,” Derek replied honestly. “Kinda got in touch with some deep feelings.”
“Really,” Amy said, dragging out the middle of the word. “Go on.”
“Aw, just some stuff from my past with my dad. Brought up some old wounds, but I feel better about it now. I pushed through.”
Amy put her hand on Derek’s face briefly before caressing his earlobe. She smiled.
“I’m proud of you.”
Derek turned to go put his pack in the bedroom, but Amy pulled him back.
“Have you seen the news at all?”
“No, why?”
“Border security caught five people trying to cross into the States, all showing symptoms. Some of them even have rashes. They’re all under quarantine now.”
“Oh my god. Blood pox?”
“No one knows. They’re trying a whole bunch of treatments, but it’s hard to pin down something definite. People are calling it that though.”
Derek rubbed the back of his head. He suddenly had an urge to go over his supplies again.
“How are people responding?”
“How do you think?”
Derek nodded. Diseases in particular seemed to freak people out, way more than weather events, even though people were more likely to be affected by a bad storm than a life-threatening virus.
“Well, I guess we just keep our ear to the ground,” Derek said.
It was really all he could offer. Amy went to help Adam unpack, eager to hear about his weekend. Derek went to the garage and ran his hand along the bags of rice, flour, and sugar.
Things will be ok, he told himself. It hasn’t been very long, and we’re already way more prepared than the average person.
Roadie, who had followed him into the garage, bumped his nose against Derek’s leg. Derek bent down to pet his head.
“You’ll be ok, too,” he said. “And you’ll get to help keep the zombies away.”
Roadie stuck out his tongue and panted happily. Straightening back up, Derek pushed Roadie back inside the house with his foot and followed close behind. Amy had turned the news on.
“Early reports say that the five illegals had managed to cross the border, but were apprehended immediately. All five were showing symptoms of severe illness, such as fevers, vomiting, darken skin, and a rash which closely resembles that indicative of the smallpox virus, or, as it has become unofficially known, blood pox. This is the first instance where blood pox has entered the United States.”
Derek frowned. This was big news. He picked up the house phone and dialed Buckle. After a few rings, Buckle picked up.
“Hello.”
“Hey, it’s me.
“Get home safe?”
“Yeah. Amy got some news about this blood pox thing.”
Derek heard rustling, as if Buckle was putting something away so he could concentrate on what Derek was saying.
“Ok, go ahead.”
“Five folks crossed the US-Mexico border and were nabbed by security. They all had pox symptoms and are being quarantined.”
“The guards, too?”
Derek glanced at the TV, hoping a news crawl might enlighten him.
“They should be,” Buckle continued. “This thing spreads through the air, y’know. That’s why it moves so fast. Did you know that death tolls are being suppressed in South America? So people can’t know how many are actually dying from this?”
“I did not.”
“It’s crazy. And now it’s in the freaking United States! I’m telling you, this is it, man. This is the shit that’s going to hit the fan. Go figure it’s the Mexicans.”
Derek rolled his eyes, but didn’t respond as Buckle went off on a brief tirade about lax border security and so on. Generally, Buckle was pretty neutral on politics, as was Derek, but sometimes he formed very strong opinions on random topics. Immigration was one of them.
“Anyway,” Buckle said, circling back to the point, “You should plan a bug-out to my place if it gets bad. And plan on walking it. You dunno who might jump you for your car.”
“Isn’t walking more dangerous? With infected people wandering around?”
“Yeah. But plan just in case. Multiple scenarios, man. Gotta keep an open mind.”
“Ok, ok. I’ll do it.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, promise. Relax.”
Now it was Buckle’s turn to get defensive. After wrapping up the blood pox update and thanking Buckle for the weekend, Derek hung up and turned back to the TV. It had switched to a different news show that had panelists debating the hot button issues of the day.
Huh. Media. Can’t stay on one story longer than a minute before jumping somewhere else.
Amy and Adam came down the hall as Derek turned off the TV. Adam had changed his clothes and was now wearing basketball shorts and a faded tee.
“Well, it sounds like you boys had a great time!” Amy said, putting her arm through her husband’s.
“We did. Adam’s a natural at that outdoor stuff,” Derek bragged.
Adam mumbled bashfully and beamed up at his parents. Roadie, eager to not be left out, jostled his way between everyone and wagged his tail against their legs. The whole family together, Derek felt strong and happy. There wasn’t anything that they couldn’t handle.
Chapter 6
As the next few weeks went by, Buckle became more withdrawn and radical. He called every night and updated Derek on what he’d been doing around his house or, as he called it, homebase.
“Got security film on all the windows.”
“Got my sanitation area all ready.”
“Closed out my bank accounts today.”
Derek had been following Buckle’s example in all the prepping so far, but now he got a little concerned. Buckle was absolutely convinced the blood pox would cause absolute chaos any day. He was confused, almost angry, at how Derek went to work every day. School would be starting soon for Adam, and Buckle could not understand why the Evers were planning car pools and after-school activities.
“What are you going buying books for, Derek?” Buckle asked. “Those aren’t gonna do the boy any good! Get him some Boy Scout manuals if he wants to read! Those at least will teach him something useful.”
Derek started to get frustrated with Buckle. Amy did, as well.
“Is that all he ever talks about?” she asked one night as Derek got off the phone and got into bed. “Does he even know what you do? Or what Adam’s favorite subject is? Any real life things?”
“Prepping is his life,” Derek reminded her. “It’s the only thing he cares about.”
“But he knows we care about other things. He doesn’t make any effort to connect here.”
Amy shook her head. She had been watching the blood pox story carefully, but no other major developments had emerged. She was confident Buckle was overreacting.
“He’s going to just live like society is on the verge of ruin his whole life,” Amy predicted. “I think he wants something awful to happen, just so he didn’t waste it all.”
“I don’t know. Maybe,” Derek replied.
He had had a long day at the store and didn’t feel like talking anymore. Amy always wanted to talk at night, even if she’d had a long day, whereas Derek was practically asleep when he hit the pillow. Amy’s voice turned into a series of sounds that he couldn’t understand and Derek was just about to drift off when he felt Amy touch his face.
“Huh?” he said, jolting.
“I said, we don’t need to go all crazy to be safe, right? Do that bug thing Buckle is always talking about?”
“Uh, no,” Derek said, his eyelids flickering. “We’re good.”
“Ok,” Amy said, laying back down. “You can go to sleep now.”
Derek prom
ptly obeyed. When he woke the next morning, he barely remembered the conversation. Before he left for work, he checked his email and saw he had received a message from Buckle. That was odd. Buckle rarely used a computer for anything but research; he always just called about what he found. Derek opened the email.
Derek,
Been wondering about what happened with the five illegals and guards. Did some digging and got a hold of a guy on a forum who knows a guy who works close to the border. He said that the guards were let go about a week back, but nobody knows what happened to the illegals. Officials are keeping it really quiet and saying they got sent back, but a bunch of us think they died. Makes sense to me. They don’t have a good treatment and don’t want to freak anybody out. Found out some other stuff, too. I think the government is in on all this. They’re testing biological weapons in South America and it got out of control. Now they’re trying to clean up their shit before people figure out what’s going on. It’s too late though. I’d be surprised if those guards didn’t end up mysteriously dead or disappeared. Keep your eyes open, man.
B.
It sounded too crazy to be true. Derek wasn’t a naturally paranoid person, he had never bought in on conspiracy theories, so at first glance, Buckle sounded unhinged. At the same time though, he had been right about that original story turning into something, and that was enough to make Derek a little nervous. He tried not to think about it over breakfast and goodbyes. Life wasn’t like a movie. The government didn’t just “test” diseases on people, right? Especially the US government. No, Derek wouldn’t believe it. He’d go nuts if he did. Derek decided to just go about his day and put Buckle in the back of his mind for now. Life was life, and he had to keep going at it.
Katie was noticeably anxious when she started her shift at 3:30 pm. She gave a few customers the wrong change and kept cracking her knuckles whenever her hands weren’t busy. Derek watched her from the floor.
I wonder what her deal is.
Derek waited for a lull in the line of customers before calling Katie into his office. She sat in the chair across from his desk and twisted the ring on her index finger.
“Is something bothering you? Do you need to go home?”
“No, sir,” Katie began, and then began to cry.
Derek pushed the box of tissues closer to her and waited. Katie wiped her eyes hurriedly, more red from embarrassment than the tears, and sniffed.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Evers. I just heard that my grandma is really sick. She lives in Texas, and I’m just really scared that…”
Katie choked on her words. Derek said some cliche comforting phrase - he didn’t remember what exactly - and hoped it didn’t seem trite.
“I’m scared it’s that blood pox that’s been on the news. Have you heard about it?”
“Yeah.”
“She lives real close to the border, and I know they caught those illegals, but what if others got in?”
“Unless your grandmother has had direct contact with someone who’s sick, I’m sure she’s going to be just fine, Katie.”
“Really?”
“My wife is a nurse. She knows about it a little bit.”
“Ok.”
“Do you need to go home?”
“I’ll be fine,” Katie said, taking a deep breath. “Can I just go the bathroom first? Get myself together?”
“Of course, go right ahead.”
Katie left his office, thanking him on her way out. Derek tapped his fingers on his desk for a few moments, thinking. His mind went back to Buckle’s message.
Crazy, he thought.
He opened his laptop and did a google search for “US government” and “testing biological weapons.” The results made Derek’s jaw drop.
Biological weapons tested in Okinawa. Prisoners infected with malaria. The CIA releases bacteria over Florida. Holy shit. How can this be real?
Derek rubbed his temples. How could anyone trust the government again after all this? It had done tests on American citizens! On soldiers! Derek leaned back in his chair, his brain aching.
We really are all on our own, he thought. We can’t depend on the government to take care of us. It might even be killing us.
Matt called to Derek about needing help with something, so Derek’s panic attack was interrupted for the moment. He helped Matt unload some inventory, but his mind was somewhere else. He was thinking about Buckle.
Is it actually all that crazy to get away from society? Especially when the government might just release something horrible right in the middle of everyone, just to see what happens? Who’s the crazy one here?
“Hey,” Matt said, hugging a large box. “Hearing about all this blood pox stuff?”
“Yep.”
“Bet you’re glad you’ve been prepping, huh?”
Derek set down a box on the storeroom floor and frowned. He didn’t recall actually telling Matt about his plans. Buckle had said to avoid talking to people openly about it.
“Huh?”
“Well, all that stuff you’ve been buying,” Matt explained. “All the rice, cans, and shit. Looks like you’re ready to hunker down.”
“Oh, well, y’know.”
Derek didn’t really feel like going into more detail. Matt was a nice guy, but they didn’t really know each other all that well. He was just the storeroom guy: divorced, lived alone, no kids. He worked most of the time and never talked about what he did during his free time. He was kind of a loner.
“Got any plans?”
“For what?” Derek asked, feeling increasingly uneasy.
“For if this thing spreads.”
“Um, not really,” Derek lied. “Haven’t really thought about it much.”
“Well, you should,” Matt advised, taking off his hat to scratch his head. “Gotta think about the family.”
Derek excused himself to go back to the floor. Matt was being especially creepy. It felt good to be back out in the brightly-lit store bustling with customers. Katie was back to working her register and seemed back to her normal self. Derek nodded at her. As he rounded a corner to go down the cereal aisle, he paused. A man stood there, frozen in place, staring at a box of Cheerios he held in his hand. There was something off about him. His skin was a gray, sickly color and his clothes were disheveled, as if he had been wearing them for a few days or pulled them out of a pile. Derek squinted, trying to see him more clearly.
“Sir? Do you need help with anything?” Derek asked.
The man slowly looked up. Even from the short distance, Derek could see the whites of the man’s eyes had turned red. Fear shot through Derek.
“Sir? You don’t look good. Do you need me to call an ambulance?”
Almost before Derek had finished speaking, the man dropped the cereal box and vomited out a black stream. Instinctively, Derek covered his mouth with his shirt, Amy’s words about airborne viruses rushing back to him. A woman who had been pushing her cart behind Derek screamed.
“Stay back!” Derek shouted at her, as if she had planned to do anything else.
The man clutched at the shelves, knocking down box after box. He dropped to his knees.
“Help me,” he groaned.
“I’m going to call an ambulance,” Derek assured him. “Sir, just stay where you are.”
A small crowd had gathered behind Derek, gawking. There were whispers and more screams. A little girl began to cry. Derek heard scattered bits of panicked conversation.
“Is he sick?”
“Is it the blood pox?”
“Oh my god, I’m gonna lose it.”
Derek turned and held out his arms to block any eager observers. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. His hand shook as he talked to the dispatcher.
“Please,” he begged. “Hurry up.”
When he hung up, Derek ordered everyone out of the store. He ran to the PA system and made an announcement.
“You guys, too,” he told the cashiers.
Katie gave him a terrified look as
she grabbed her purse from the break room and ran. She did her best to encourage people to not trample each other out the door. Derek shouted orders from the PA, feeling strangely calm. When everyone was gone, he covered his mouth with the hem of his shirt again and went back to the cereal aisle. The man was lying down in his own vomit. Derek was afraid he might be dead.
“Hey,” Derek called, his voice muffled. “Can you hear me?”
No response. Derek hovered at the end of the aisle, unsure of what to do. He did not want to get any closer, but he also didn’t want to just leave the guy there.
“I called an ambulance. They’ll be here any minute. You’re going to be ok.”
The man shuddered. Derek hesitated. He watched as the man slowly lifted his head and looked at him with his bloody eyes.
“You gotta get out,” he groaned. “Get out of town.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’ll put you in quarantine. But they won’t be able to help you. Just get out. Before they come.”
“Am I infected?” Derek practically shouted.
The man’s eyelids flickered. He sneezed violently and Derek took a step back. He held his shirt tighter to his mouth and nose.
“Doesn’t matter,” the man muttered, his voice fading. “Get out.”
Derek heard a distant siren. He looked back at the man, but his head was bowed again. Still holding his shirt up, Derek ran out the back, through the storeroom. He had never been so happy that he had chosen to park back there this morning. Even the outside air felt diseased and humid. Derek fumbled with his car keys.
“Come on, come on.”
Got it. He started the car and pulled out of the lot. As he passed the front, he saw some people still hanging around, holding unbagged groceries they had probably just walked out with. Matt and Katie were both gone.
Smart, Derek thought.
He drove as fast as he could without getting pulled over. On his way, he called Amy, but got her voicemail. He left her what must have sounded like an insane message.
“It’s me. You gotta come home. I think a guy just died in the store. I’ll get Adam from Sammy’s. Just get home.”
Band of Preppers: A Prepper Fiction Novel (Book 1) Page 6