by L. T. Ryan
“Where are we?” she asked.
Neither man spoke. Ralph opened his door and slipped out while aiming the rifle at her. He reached in and grabbed her bag. Then he motioned for Addison to get out. She glanced over at Phil, who nodded. Addison slid across the tattered vinyl seat and turned sideways to hop down. Ralph backed up while she did so. Her feet hit the ground. She turned her head left and right, but the darkness made it near impossible to see past the glow the truck’s dome light provided.
She heard Phil’s door open and then close. Leaves crunched under his feet as he circled around the back of the truck. He stopped a few feet short of her. His heavy breathing drowned out all other sounds. She flinched when his hand wrapped around her forearm.
“This way,” he said, pulling her forward. And, as if on cue, Ralph jammed the rifle into her back again.
They walked toward the flickers of light she saw through the leaves. What was out there? A house or a cabin? A house in the foothills well away from the road would fit either of the men. They looked the part.
Phil aimed a flashlight at the ground. They pushed forward, finally coming to a clearing after an estimated half-mile or so.
As Addison’s eyes adjusted to the sight before her, she realized that her chances of escape were much less than she anticipated. There were four rows of tents, six tents to a row. Some were lit up, some were darkened. Four men stood watch. They were stationed north, south, west and east. A bit further away, behind the campsite, was a house, perhaps a log cabin. She couldn’t tell in the dark. She thought she saw the skeletons of additional houses.
“What’s going on here?” she asked.
“Survival,” Phil said.
“What?” she said, turning toward him.
He glanced down at her. It was too dark to see his eyes. She didn’t need to, though. “Wait. What is this?”
The man walked away, and said, “Your new home.”
Chapter 17
Sean stayed away from the computer for eight painful hours. He watched recycled news feeds on the television. Several channels no longer broadcast, and the ones that did had nothing new to report. No live updates. No live reporters, for that matter.
Emma and Barbara joined him from time to time. They tried to hide their concern, but he was not fooled. He wondered why, though. Could they sense the pain and stress he felt? Eventually, they wandered off. Each returned once, but both turned in early. Marley stayed close to him. Every time Sean rose, so did the dog. He found it odd that he preferred the dog’s companionship to the others. That’d change, though. He was sure of it.
He waited until Barbara and Emma spent a solid hour in their rooms. He moved to the computer. Marley followed him over, whimpering as he sat down on the cold, bare concrete floor. Sean reached down and scratched the dog’s head between the ears. Marley rested his head against his thigh and let out a huffing sigh.
He wanted to check the house feeds and see how Kathy was doing. He pulled up the secure server instead. Turk was connected. Sean sent him a message.
“Kathy’s here.”
“10-4,” Turk replied. “Good thing, too. Couldn’t make it to the airport today. All roads were blocked. Tried to off-road it, but quickly found out that was a bad idea.”
“What do you mean blocked? How?”
“Cars, trash, bodies…” There was a long delay. “You name it, Ryder, it was out there. Half of it on fire, too.”
Sean leaned back in his chair. Marley rolled his head and looked up at him. With one hand, Sean typed, “And what about off-road?”
“That’s gonna be a bitch in any urban or suburban environment. How many backyards can you drive through, you know?”
Sean nodded, feeling foolish immediately afterward since Turk couldn’t see him make the gesture. “If the roads are blocked there, they probably are in most places. Right?”
“Suppose so.”
“How am I going to get us down there?”
“Come on, PJ. You were Special Forces. One of the elite.”
Sean hadn’t thought of himself as an Air Force Pararescueman in a long time. He no longer felt elite. “That was years ago, Turk. And a left leg ago.”
Turk messaged back, “If anyone can do it, you can. Hole up for as long as possible. I’m thinking that the longer you wait, the better. The majority of these assholes are gonna die off soon. We know what’s going to happen with some others, but you’re already aware of the signs, and you know what to do to stop them. Of the remaining, we just have to hope that most are intent on surviving together, and not in opposition of one another. I think that’s going to be the greatest danger after the initial wave of the virus. But, again, you know the signs, and you’re well trained, whereas most of them are gonna be weekend warrior types.”
Sean had considered this already, but had not spent a lot of time dwelling on it. Survivors would fall into different categories, with predators banding together and taking advantage of the weak. These were the types he had to avoid at all costs. Knowing himself, he had to avoid those who would be taken advantage of, too. Otherwise, he’d end up with an army of helpless survivors following him like some kind of post-apocalyptic Moses. He imagined himself parting a red sea of blood.
First and foremost, he had to get his family through the first stages of the outbreak. With Kathy being potentially sick, he felt he was already on shaky ground. Once they left the bunker, he’d be traveling with his daughter and Barbara, who wasn’t much of a survivalist. The journey would be tricky if they couldn’t rely on automobile travel. They’d be the perfect target out on the open road, a handicapped man with two women and a dog.
Fortunately, he didn’t consider himself handicapped, and he knew he could handle most anyone.
“So you think we should stay put another two or three weeks?” he asked.
“Longer if you can,” Turk replied. “I think if you can travel during winter, your chances will be better.”
“Better? The risk is magnified by ten, Turk. If we have to make the majority of this journey by foot, the sooner we leave the better.”
“Pick your poison, Ryder.”
He sat back again and contemplated the situation. He decided that now was not the time to make a decision. That would come soon enough. “What news is out there?”
“I only know what’s on TV now, man. My whole network’s gone dark.”
“All right, I’ll be in touch.”
Sean exited out of the server. The mouse pointer hovered over the minimized surveillance camera window. Sean pushed back in his chair, rose and went to the kitchen. He threw back a cool glass of water, and then moved to the far end of the room. There he waited silently, listening for any noise from behind the closed bedroom doors. Marley’s panting was the only sound he heard.
Satisfied Emma and Barbara were asleep, Sean went back to the computer. The dog’s toenails tapped against the hard floor as he followed close behind.
Sean took a deep breath and then restored the security feed. Kathy had returned to the garage. She sat facing the camera, resting against the displaced workbench. The red streaks around her eyes and the circles underneath them remained. Her forehead glistened with sweat. He wondered why she hadn’t remained inside and turned the air conditioning on. Maybe the electricity had gone out.
He reached for his headset and extended the microphone. “Kathy?”
Her eyes fluttered open. She straightened up and smiled.
“How’re you feeling?”
She shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” Her lips drew tight and her eyes bugged. She heaved up and down. Her attempts at stifling her coughing attack did not last long. She tucked her face into the crook of her arm and coughed for close to a minute. After the attack had passed, she said, “Maybe not okay.”
Sean said nothing.
“What’s going to happen to me?” she asked. “Shoot me straight, okay? I want to know what I’m dealing with here.”
He thought back to the description of the virus th
e doctor had given to him years ago inside the compound. He offered her the best explanation he could.
“The outlook is not promising,” he said. “Basically, and understand that there is a lot of scientific stuff I don’t really know how to describe, but what is happening is that your cells are at war with one another. At some point, the bad cells inside one of your organs are going to swell, explode, and kill off the others there. Eventually, you are going to die. It might take a few hours, it might take a few days. It definitely won’t last a couple weeks.”
Kathy began to cry. “So that’s it? I’m good as dead?”
Sean said nothing.
“What about those things I saw on the news? They looked human, but they acted like monsters. Is that what’s in store for me?”
“No. If that was going to happen, it would have been right away. You either get sick or you change.” He kept his eyes fixed on hers despite his lie.
She nodded and took a deep breath, seemingly accepting her fate. “Does Emma know I’m out here?”
Sean shook his head.
“Don’t let her know. Okay? Don’t tell her.”
“I won’t.” He didn’t plan on telling his daughter anyway.
They sat in silence, staring at each other. The dog whined as he nudged Sean’s hand with his cold, wet nose. Sean wondered if the dog could catch the virus. That’d be ironic, he thought. To build an underground bunker only to have it infiltrated by a virus-carrying dog.
“Sean?”
He straightened up in his seat. “Yeah?”
“Can you come see me?”
He hesitated before answering. “It’s not possible. I don’t know… I’m not sure how long the incubation period on this virus is once it hits you. I know they were working on making it fast acting, so it could, you know, be targeted at communities and not spread. But they obviously never got there.”
Kathy looked away and said nothing.
“I want to, Kathy. I do. But I can’t risk getting sick now. I’ve got Emma and Barbara to take care of.”
“What about me?” Emma said.
Sean locked the computer, set his headphones on the desk and spun around in his chair. Emma stood across the room, a few feet from her open door. “Em, what are you doing up?”
She shrugged. “Couldn’t fall back to sleep and I’m hungry. Who were you talking to and what did you say about me?”
Sean rose and met her by the sink. “Turk, the man we’re going to meet up with soon. We’re trying to figure out the best time for us to leave. If it were just me, any time would be fine, but I’ve got to keep you and Barbara in mind.”
“You don’t have to worry about me, Dad.”
“Yes, I do. We don’t know what we’re going to face out there.”
“I remember everything you taught me,” she said. “I can handle myself. Together we can get Barbara through this.”
Sean smiled at his daughter and took note of how mature her words made her sound. He admired her bravery. He nodded and said, “I agree. Now, hurry up and get back to your room. I need to finish my conversation and get to bed too.”
Emma quickly made a sandwich and took it back to her room. Sean waited until she closed the door, then he went back to the computer. He pulled up the security feed as he put on his headphones. Kathy was not anywhere to be found, though. He pulled up the multi-window view and checked each feed in the house. Every room appeared to be empty.
“Where are you?” he muttered, switching to the outside cameras. He scanned them quickly at first, nearly missing the image of who he assumed was his wife, walking toward the barn. He cursed as he realized he hadn’t reset the password for the lock to the tunnel entrance under the barn. He watched on as Kathy entered the building, then he switched to the camera feed from within the structure. Kathy immediately went to the hidden hatch in the floor and lifted it. In a few minutes she’d be heading toward them.
Chapter 18
Sean rose and went to the gun cabinet. He retrieved an M9 and two spare clips. A bit much, given the circumstances, but he had no idea who was watching and who might have followed Kathy. He also retrieved one of the six gas masks he had stored in the cabinet. He went to the front door, stopped, turned and walked back to Emma’s room. He tapped against the door.
“Yeah?” she said.
“I have to check something in the tunnel. One of the cameras is acting up.”
The door swung open and a concerned Emma stepped out from the shadows. She glanced at the gas mask in his hand. “Don’t go, Dad.”
“Em, it’s okay. I’ll only be gone for a few minutes. Bring Marley in the room with you and I’ll come get him when I’m done.”
She stood motionless for a minute, as if the words had not registered. Finally, she nodded and called for the dog to join her. Marley ran into her room with his tail wagging. Sean pulled the door shut and exhaled.
He checked the computer one last time, switching to the camera at the entrance. No one was there, but the screen indicated that the door had been opened. Kathy was underground. Before locking the system, he shut off the emergency lights that lined the passage. He hoped the sickness didn’t make her any more adapted to the dark than him.
Sean exited the bunker and made his way toward the barn. He slipped the gas mask over his face. In his right hand, he held an M9. In his left was a flashlight. He extended both, aiming them into the darkness. The gas mask dulled his senses, but he couldn’t take the risk of contracting the virus when he found his wife.
Shadows jumped out at him every step he took. His heart raced. It felt like a ton of bricks rested atop his chest. He used to live for excitement and danger and the rush of adrenaline. Now he wondered how the hell he’d get by in this new world.
Halfway between the bunker and the barn, he heard her calling out his name. She must have been a considerable distance from the tunnel entrance when he cut the lights and become had disoriented in the dark.
“Sean,” she called out repeatedly.
He continued forward, flashlight and handgun leading the way. He did not rush to find her. Deep down, Sean hoped that she’d gather her bearings and turn around. If only she knew the danger she was putting her family in. But how could she? The virus had taken hold of her. Her ability to think rationally had been swallowed by the monster that struggled to grow and overtake her.
Eventually the calls stopped. Had she found her way out? While there were cameras installed in the hallway, the entire area was not covered. She could have lain down and fallen asleep. He had to press forward and verify that she had left.
Not much further, he heard her crying. His light fell over her. She sat on the floor, her knees drawn to her chest and her face pressed against her legs. He took a few more steps forward, and then cleared his throat. She lifted her head and turned toward him.
“Sean?” She brought her hand to her face to shield her eyes. “Is that you?”
“Don’t move, Kathy.”
She pushed herself off the floor and started toward him.
“I’m armed, and I’ll shoot.”
She stopped cold and lifted her hands over her head. Her eyelids were clenched shut. Her face twisted into a pained expression.
“You don’t… you don’t have to hold your hands up. Kathy, I don’t want to do this. You’re sick. This is highly contagious. If I get sick, Emma could get sick. We could all die. I can’t let that happen.”
“Only to me.”
He lowered his weapon and walked toward her, stopping five feet away. He set the flashlight on the floor, aimed toward the ceiling. It provided enough light that they could see each other.
She wiped her upper lip and nose with the back of her hand. “So it was real.”
Sean nodded and said nothing.
“All those years, I thought you were crazy.”
“Why’d you stay around?”
“I guess because I believed that you could become the man you were.”
“Did I?”
> “Yeah,” she said, “mostly.”
He smiled. “I can live with mostly.”
“So can I. Or I could, at least. Not looking so good now, is it?”
He shook his head and cast his gaze down toward the floor.
She leaned against the wall, took a deep breath, and said, “I found a gun inside.”
“I know.”
“I’m thinking about using it on myself.”
Sean tried to reply, but it felt as though his throat had constricted to the size of a pin.
“I don’t know if I can, though. I guess I’m still holding out hope that this’ll pass. Kinda like the flu, you know?”
Sean forced himself to nod.
“That’s not going to happen, though, is it?”
“No, Kathy. It’s not.”
“Kill me, Sean.” She stepped into the middle of the hallway, arms stretched wide.
Sean had seen things he could never recount to another soul. He’d done things in battle that he wished he hadn’t. His moral boundaries had been stretched, willingly, and usually to save those he vowed to protect. But this was something he could not do, no matter who it might save, and whose pain it would end.
“Please,” she said.
“I can’t.”
She stood motionless for a long stretch. Finally, she dropped her arms to her side and took a few steps backward. “Can I stay down here?”
He nodded. “You’ll have to get what you need from the house.”
“Including a flashlight.” She smiled. He thought she looked peaceful. The moment did not last, though, as she broke into a coughing fit.
“I’ll lead you to the barn,” he said, picking the flashlight off the floor. They walked ten feet apart, Kathy in front. She slipped through the open doorway. Sean hid his displeasure at her having left it open. If anyone had followed, they could have found their way down there and already retreated to gather more manpower.
“Be back in a minute,” she said.
“I’ll be here,” he said. “Cover your tracks, okay?”
And she did. After she pulled herself through the hatch, she covered it. A few seconds later, he heard the barn door close. He counted off thirty seconds, and then he closed the tunnel door and engaged the lock. Using a screwdriver, he removed the panel from the wall, revealing another keypad. He input a master code, one that only he knew, and changed the password. Sean crouched in front of the door for a few minutes, contemplating the action he had taken. What he had done had effectively sealed his wife out, leaving her to deal with the harsh realities of her condition all by herself.