Hood
Page 1
Hood
a Hyllis family story #7
Laurence E Dahners
Copyright 2019
Laurence E Dahners
Kindle Edition
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
Author’s Note
Though this book can “stand alone” it will be much easier to understand if read as part of the series including
“Telekinetic (a Hyllis family story #1),”
“Teleporter (a Hyllis family story #2),”
“Healers (a Hyllis family story #3),”
“Telepath (a Hyllis family story #4),”
“Psychicians (a Hyllis family story #5),” and
“Sisters (a Hyllis family story #6)”
I have minimized repetition of explanations that would be redundant to the earlier books in order to provide a better reading experience for those of you who are reading the series.
Other Books and Series
by Laurence E Dahners
Series
The Ell Donsaii series
The Vaz series
The Bonesetter series
The Blindspot series
The Proton Field series
Single books (not in series)
The Transmuter’s Daughter
Six Bits
Shy Kids Can Make Friends Too
For the most up to date information go to
Laurence E Dahners website
Or the Amazon Author page
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Preprologue
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Epilogue
Author’s Afterword
Acknowledgments
Preprologue
Mouse 101 didn’t turn out to be a very good mouse anyway, getting sick and losing weight. Russ was frustrated; thinking he’d have to find another mouse to test the safety of the viral telekinesis vector. He took the mouse down to sacrifice it. He’d intended to kill it early anyway since it needed to be excluded from Ameil’s work. As he picked it up to put it in the CO2 chamber, he took one last look at it. For a moment he wondered if it could be sick because of the DNA insertion rather than just coincidentally. Could he have made an error in one of the steps intended to be sure there was no viral DNA in the viral shells? Maybe the DNA I inserted combined with the viral DNA in some kind of…
The sick mouse sneezed…
***
The worldwide “super flu” pandemic has been traced back to a ‘case zero.’ Case zero was a Russell Phillips who worked as a research tech at the University of Pittsburgh. Although the laboratory where Phillips worked did use viral vectors for DNA insertion, Phillips apparently did not work in that part of the lab. It seems unlikely that anyone will ever determine whether Phillips might have associated with someone who actually did use viral vectors because the exceedingly high mortality of the super flu has resulted in the death of every last person who worked in that lab. Even the hospital at the University of Pittsburgh where Phillips first sought treatment is now an empty shell.
It seems a moot point as this efficient viral killer has spread extremely rapidly and, no matter where it blossoms, it seems to kill approximately 95% of its victims. Somehow the virus got loose in the CDC and decimated the scientists there before they even began working on a means to control it. Medical facilities around the world have collapsed as physicians and researchers die or flee for their own lives.
Experts predict that about half of any survivors of the virus will be killed in the oncoming collapse of civilization. If indeed the world’s population of 7 billion is reduced to 175,000,000, a population density not seen since about 1000 A.D., it seems unlikely that anyone will be interested in exactly who killed us all. They’ll just be trying to survive the end of civilization as we know it. Presumably, someday, if and when civilization reestablishes itself, someone may be interested in these words.
As I write this I’ve developed a headache and started to cough…
Prologue
“This is Kaylee’s house,” Pippa said as she pushed the door open. “They’re too sick to come to the door.
What a thoughtful child, Daussie reflected admiringly as she followed the little girl through the door. But, when she took her first breath inside the little shack, she realized someone in Kaylee’s home had died.
A couple of rats skittered behind a mattress.
The room held four people, an elderly man, a young woman, and two children, one was a little girl. Pippa spoke to her. “I brought the healers Kaylee. They’re going to fix you up.”
Kaylee wasn’t breathing. When Daussie quickly looked, none of the other three were breathing either. The woman had an arm thrown up over her head. A massive swelling filled her armpit. It’d erupted and a streak of drying purulence trailed from it.
Daussie glanced over at Jadyn. Eva’s student was there to help and learn, but probably hadn’t expected this kind of problem.
The telepath was backing toward the door, a stricken look on her face.
Daussie looked at the dead again. With horror, she thought, Plague!
Pippa was reaching out toward Kaylee, Daussie thought the girl intended to shake her unresponsive little friend.
“Pippa!” Daussie barked, unable to suppress the frantic tone in her voice. “Don’t touch her!” How’s plague transmitted? she wondered distraughtly. I should know this!
Pippa stopped, hand outstretched, and turned to look at Daussie, a mixture of fear and curiosity on her face.
Daussie crouched down and reached out for the little girl, intending to gather her in for a comforting hug, then remembering Pippa’d been over to this house before. Still unable to remember the mode of plague’s transmission, Daussie dropped her hands to her knees and said, “Kaylee’s really, really sick. We don’t want you to catch what she’s got, do we?”
Pippa slowly turned to look at her little friend, then slowly back to Daussie, “She’s dead, isn’t she?”
Simultaneously sad that a girl as young as Pippa understood death, and glad she didn’t have to explain it, Daussie nodded slowly.
Pippa’s eyes turned to look over the other three members of Kaylee’s family, then back to Daussie, “They’re all dead?”
Daussie nodded again.
Pippa’s face crumpled, “I’m gonna die too, aren’t I?”
After wondering a moment whether she should lie to this little girl—despite promising herself she’d speak truth to patients—Daussie spoke in a serious tone, “I hope not. We’re going to go see my mom. She’s the best healer I know. With her taking care of you, you’ll have a better chance than anyone else.”
Pippa suddenly dashed forward, throwing her arms around Daussie’s legs and clinging tight, “No! I want you to take care of me! You saved my sister!”
Hoping Pippa’s hug hadn’t just killed her too, Daussie helplessly patted the child’s back. She said, “Okay, but we’re still going to have to talk to my mom, okay? I need her to tell me what to do for you.”
Pippa let go of Daussie’s legs but took a strong grip on her hand. “Okay. Like you did so you’d know how to take care of my sister, right?”
Daussie nodded, fear, sympathy, nausea, and horror all twisting their way through her.
Pippa said, “We’re going to the tavern?”
“Uh-huh,” Daussie croaked, leading her across the room.
With resolve, the child said “We’ve got to tell my mom where
I’m going,”.
“Okay,” Daussie said as she pushed open the door to Kaylee’s shack, “but we shouldn’t touch anyone from now on, okay? Not even your mom. We don’t want them to catch Kaylee’s sickness from us, right?”
With some relief, Daussie saw Jadyn standing about four meters outside Kaylee’s door. Daussie’d been worried that Jadyn might’ve fled. And that, even worse, Daussie wouldn’t have had any idea where Jadyn might’ve gone.
“Um,” Jadyn looked in turns horrified, frightened, and embarrassed. She started again, “Um… What do you think it is?”
Hoping Pippa wouldn’t know the word, Daussie said, “The plague.” Then, wanting Jadyn to understand she didn’t blame her for fleeing Kaylee’s house, Daussie said, “You did the right thing, getting out of there.”
A catch in her voice, Jadyn asked, “How does it get… from one patient to—”
“I don’t know,” Daussie interrupted, leading off down the path back to Pippa’s house. “We’re going to need to get back to the tavern and tell my mom what’s going on so we can figure out what to do. That’ll need a lot of reading. First, though, we’ve got to tell Pippa’s mom where we’re going.”
“Is that a good idea?” Jadyn asked nervously.
Daussie didn’t want to ask, but wondered what Jadyn was worried about:
was it that she didn’t think they should waste time getting back to Eva?
was she worried that Pippa’s house was infested with the plague as well?
was she afraid they might give the midwife and Pippa’s family the plague?
Daussie settled for saying, “We have to let them know where Pippa is. We don’t want them going to Kaylee’s house to look for her, right?”
Obviously thinking it was the third one, Pippa said a little indignantly, “We won’t touch anyone at my house.”
From the mouths of babes, Daussie thought.
~~~
At Pippa’s house, Daussie had Jadyn stop just outside the door, calling to the people inside and saying they weren’t coming in. Jadyn told them they were worried that whatever was making the people at Kaylee’s house sick might be dangerous for the baby. She told them they were taking Pippa to the tavern for a few days. At least until they could be sure the little girl hadn’t caught it and it’d be safe for her to see her baby brother.
And here I go, Daussie thought, lying, even if it’s by proxy, to patients. Despite all my promises. Is it okay to justify it by the fact it’s a means to protect others by preventing the spread of disease?
~~~
As they approached the tavern, Daussie heard Norman shout her name.
Demandingly.
Thinking, Not now! she saw him ahead of them. Doubtless, heading home from his shift. He started jogging toward them. Daussie started shaking her head, “Norman—”
“No! You’re not going to put me off again! I’m glad you’re back and I know the trip to Cooperstown must’ve been harrowing, but you’ve been back for days now. If you’re going to be my girlfriend, you’re going to have to—”
He was reaching out for her so Daussie stepped back, shouting, “STOP!”
He kept coming.
She dodged his hand, “I’VE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE PLAGUE YOU IMBECILE!”
This brought him up short. Jerking his hand back, he blinked and said, “What?”
“I’ve been exposed to the plague so you should, not, touch, me! And, I don’t want to be your girlfriend.” With some surprise, she realized just how true that was. She hadn’t given it a lot of thought, but before the trip to Cooperstown she’d been getting more and more irritated by the way Norman kept trying to tell her what to do.
Norman had turned white when Daussie said the word “plague.” Now he turned red with fury. “After all I’ve done for you…” He stomped off toward the town, calling back over his shoulder. “You’ll have to get down on your knees and beg if you ever want to see me again!”
Great! Daussie thought. It’d be awesome if I never had to see him again!
~~~
Arriving at the tavern, Daussie led them around the back so they wouldn’t be so much in the public view. Not wanting to even knock on the back door because she didn’t know whether that might contaminate the doorframe with plague germs, she wondered, Are we going to have to stand out here by the stable until someone comes out? Someone we can send for Eva? Tarc would’ve been able to send his voice up into the clinic, she thought, but we don’t have a telekinetic with us. A couple of moments later she thought, Oh. Then she thought, KAZY! as loudly as she could. OUT BY THE STABLE!
She was just about to try it again when she saw Kazy peer out the clinic window at her. Daussie waved a hand in a “come” motion while thinking, BRING EVA!
Kazy gave her a curious look, but then disappeared out of the window. A few minutes later she and Eva came out the back door. As she approached, Eva gave Pippa and the two young women a curious look. She asked, “What’s going on?”
“I think we’ve been exposed to the plague,” Daussie said. Ignoring the alarmed looks on Eva and Kazy’s faces, she plunged ahead with a description of the circumstances in Kaylee’s house.
A puzzled look on her face, Eva said, “You didn’t touch Kaylee or her family?”
“I didn’t,” Daussie said, then took a knee to look Pippa in the eyes. “Did you touch Kaylee the last time you were over at her house?”
Pippa gave a little shrug, “I think so. We’re…,” she choked to a stop. “We were really good friends.”
Eva’s eyes looked questioningly at Jadyn. Jadyn said, “I didn’t touch anything.”
Questioningly, Eva’s eyes went to each of them, “You didn’t touch their clothes, bedding, or animals?”
Jadyn and Daussie said no, but Pippa said she’d done so the day before.
Sharply, Eva asked, “What kind of animals?”
“Oh,” Pippa said, “I didn’t touch any animals. Just Kaylee and her bed.”
“There were rats in the house,” Daussie said, thinking she remembered that rats had something to do with the plague. “Rats are a problem, right?”
Eva sighed. “Fleas are the problem. But the fleas that live on rats are famous for carrying plague.” She pointed to the bathhouse they’d recently built for the tavern. “Fleas can’t swim. Fill the big tub, get in it and submerge yourselves. Stay under as long as you can hold your breath, several times. Then spend some more time just lying in the water up to your face. That means with all your hair underwater, okay?”
Daussie nodded. “In our clothes?”
Eva shook her head, “Without any clothes. When you take them off submerge your clothes in buckets and put rocks on them to keep them under. We’ll bring you clean clothes.” She studied Pippa for a moment, then bent down, “We’ll see if we can find you some medicine to take, okay? Just in case you’ve already been bitten by some of the fleas at Kaylee’s house.”
“Okay,” the child said, continuing to surprise Daussie with her adaptability.
Eva turned to Daussie and Jadyn, “I’m going to get everyone studying this problem; trying their best to figure out what to do about it. We need to know a lot more about plague than the fact that it’s carried by fleas and that fleas can’t swim.” She made a face, “I think I remember that there’re several different kinds of plague, but what they are escapes me now. Different species of the germ? Are there other ways you can get it besides flea bites? Rrica may just be our student epidemiologist, but this is the kind of problem the ancients used to have entire departments for. She’s got her work cut out for her.”
Daussie leaned a little closer and asked quietly, “Is plague susceptible to sulfa or doxycycline?”
Eva’s shoulders slumped, “I don’t know. If it isn’t, we’ll have to hope the Gellers can figure out how to make an antibiotic that will work.”
As Eva walked away, Daussie’s scalp started itching. Psychosomatic! She thought, but couldn’t keep from scratching.
> ~~~
As they hauled in bucket after bucket of water to fill the tub, Daussie gained a lot of respect for her brother. Tarc filled the tub on a routine basis, but the buckets felt like they were about to pull her shoulders out of socket.
The water from the well was cold and Daussie realized it was going to be difficult to soak in it like Eva wanted. Daussie poured her most recent buckets in the big tank mounted on top of the stove beside the tub. She said “Jadyn, can you get a few straps of firewood? I’m going to start a fire so we can warm the tub up enough for us to actually be able to soak in it.”
Jadyn agreed so Daussie started by putting some of the kindling in the stove. Then she started looking for matches. Where in the world does Tarc keep them? she wondered, then realized he wouldn’t use expensive matches because he could start fires with telekinesis. “Damn,” she said.
Pippa’d just shown up with a half-full bucket of water—all she could carry. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
“The water’s too cold for a long soak like we need, so I’m wanting to start a fire in this stove to give us hot water, but we don’t have any matches.”
“Shall I rub sticks?”
“You know how?” Daussie asked with some surprise.
The little girl shrugged, “I know how, but when I rub sticks I usually can’t start a fire. Ma says I can’t rub hard enough.”
Kazy appeared in the door of the bathhouse with a stack of clothing. She fidgeted for a moment, then set the stack on a bench. “I’d really like to give you a hug, but Eva says not to touch you.”
“Of course not,” Daussie said. “Don’t worry, we’ll hug a bunch when this is over.” She looked at the stack of clothing. Sitting on top of it was a bar of soap, a pair of scissors, and Daum’s razor and leather strop. “Um, what’s this?”