Outbreak

by Paul Carberry

  “Eric’s here, he just pulled into the driveway,” Jack called out from somewhere in the kitchen.

  Dana felt glad that he was finally home from work. She was always glad that they lived in a town where danger was hard to find. She was happy they lived in the uneventful town of Corner Brook. Dana walked to the front of the house to look out the window into the driveway. Eric had already made his way to the back door, so she ran as fast as she could to the back of the house to greet him. Jack was basting the turkey as she passed through the kitchen. She flicked the kettle on and walked over to Eric. His lips were a shade of blue from the cold and his hair was soaking wet.

  “It’s really coming down out there, maybe snow if it gets much colder.” Eric hung his jacket up in the closet.

  “How was work, honey?”

  “I need a coffee!” Eric walked over to her and gave her a good squeeze. His hands felt like two slabs of ice.

  “Coming right up. Supper should be soon, I’ve been slaving all day.”

  A huge smile cracked over Eric’s face. He looked at his father. “I was hoping you’d be doing the cooking today.”

  They both laughed as Eric walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. “It smells good in here, Dad,” Eric called out.

  “Did you see the news Eric? A whole village was quarantined today,” Stella began to explain the whole story from the news reporter in great detail as they sat and waited for Thanksgiving supper.

  Chapter 4

  A Suspicious Turn of Events

  Jason stepped out of his work truck. The air felt damp, and his warm breath captured the moisture in the cold air, causing a thin white mist. Even though the rain had stopped, the air was heavy with dew and the clouds seemed ready to burst with more ice cold water. Jason found himself at O’Brien’s Donut Shop again for the fourth day in a row. He wouldn’t tell his wife Tracy that he had frequented that establishment so often. She wanted him to eat healthy while he was at work on the road.

  Jason noticed the ambulance pull into the parking lot. The orange stripes that ran along the sides of the vehicle had began to chip, and rust was beginning to eat away most of the bottom half of the vehicles white panels. Jason’s oldest friend stepped out of the driver’s side. Nick had only recently began to drive an ambulance, and it still surprised Jason every time he seen Nick behind the wheel. Nick had worked security most of his life, but recently with all the changes in the government he had gotten reassigned to work as an ambulance driver. Nick had often joked about being a chauffeur to the injured.

  “Hey man, what’s up?” Jason called out to Nick. It must have startled Nick because he looked around for the source of the familiar voice. Nick was easy to spot with his reflective vest over his white paramedic shirt. The reflective yellow shone brilliantly even in the absence of any real sunlight.

  Nick looked over the parking lot for a moment before he finally spotted Jason’s work truck. “Hey man, what are you doing out here? Thought you were off today?” Nick looked tired. He had heavy black bags under his eyes and a dark five o’clock shadow had grown over his face.

  “Eric asked me to come check in on something for him out near Black Duck Siding. What are you doing out this way today?” Jason noticed Henry had emerged from the back of the ambulance, and he gave a nod to him as he walked past them into the restaurant. Henry nodded back and he looked worse than Nick did. Henry’s long, straggly hair looked greasy and his patchy beard made him seem like a hippy. If he was not wearing his paramedic uniform, Henry could have easily been mistaken for a homeless person.

  “Heading back from Badger. There was an accident at the Fox Island Research Facility. So we had to bring the man to the Stephenville Hospital. I decided to stop here for a donut since you’re always raving about them.” Nick smiled and headed towards the door. Jason quickly followed.

  They ordered their coffee and breakfast sandwiches as they made small talk. Jason recognized the clerk from his visit yesterday. They both walked over and joined Henry in the booth.

  “Henry, this is Jason.”

  “Ahh, the famous Jason. Nice to finally meet you!” Henry extended his hand out to shake Jason’s.

  “Nice to meet you too, hope Nick isn’t slowing you down out there. He drives like my grandmother.” Jason and Henry shook hands, and Nick laughed at Jason’s little remark.

  “He does drive like an old lady but he’s doing fine.” Henry’s eyes looked very heavy. His hair was mostly black but had a touch of grey . He had put a wool knit cap on that covered his greasy hair, but a few strands fell out and danced in front of his face.

  “So, was the man ok?” Jason asked.

  “Yeah, broke his leg driving an ATV apparently but I have no idea why he would be driving one of those in a medical research lab.” Nick took a sip of coffee. “Goofing around at work if you ask me.”

  “For sure, probably trying out the drugs!” Henry weighed in on the situation. He stood up from the booth. “Nature calls.” He headed down the hallway towards the washroom.

  “So is Eric meeting you here or are you guys meeting elsewhere?” Nick sounded curious.

  “I gotta meet him shortly. He thinks there could have been an animal attack.” Jason wiped the grease from his breakfast sandwich off his face with a napkin.

  “Really, does this have anything to do with the news reports about the man from Black Duck Siding? What kind of animal do you think it was?”

  “Yeah man, it does. My guess would be coyotes but I need to go and have a look before I could say. Eric has no idea what it was. Said he couldn’t find any prints near the area. Now with all that rain yesterday I don’t say I will have much luck finding out anything, unless the animal is still in the area.” Jason was thinking about how much he wanted to head back home. Once he was done in the woods today he was going to head back for a few days. He loved being in the woods but he loved being home more. He was starting to miss home-cooked meals and he had about a week of TV to catch up on.

  “Crazy man, hopefully it’s nothing too dangerous.” Nick stood up and looked around for Henry. “Jesus he’s already back in the ambulance. I think he wants to hit the road, long night. The call came in as our shift was getting over.”

  “So that’s why you guys look like shit than,” Jason laughed. He stood up and walked outside with Nick. “See you later, bud.”

  “If you’re going to be home I’ll drop by later tonight for a drink.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll be home by dinner I’d say.” Jason opened the door to his truck and stepped up into the cab. He turned the key and the diesel engine roared. He watched Nick step up into the ambulance. Nick was a short man but he was every bit as broad as he was tall. No wonder Nick had done security all of those years, he was built for it except for the height. Jason pulled out of the parking lot and headed out the highway to meet Eric.

  ***

  Eric found it hard to believe what Amanda had told him last night. The blood that was found at the crime scene had belonged to two different people. He was not surprised when one sample belonged to Sean Bartlett. His wife had reported him missing earlier that day, and Eric had expected his name when Amanda called with the results.

  When Amanda told him that another person was involved it had already crossed his mind, but the name shocked him. It belonged to Gabe O’Brien. What was so shocking about it was his brother had reported him missing almost two years ago, and everyone had thought he had died. There was no evidence to suggest he was still alive. His bank accounts had went untouched, and no one had laid eyes on him over the last two years despite several people actively searching.

  Gabe’s brother was left to run the donut shop in Stephenville alone. The same donut shop he had visited yesterday with Jason.

  Eric had made Amanda double check her work. She even faxed him over the results but he still found it difficult to comprehend. It rested heavily on his mind as he drove out the highway to meet Jason in Black Duck Siding.

  Chapter 5<
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  Hit and Run

  “Well, do you see anything Jason?” Eric looked up at the dark clouds through the canopy that was formed by the forest ceiling. The heavy rain clouds still threatened another downpour. It seemed colder than it actually was because of the long dark shadows that were being cast by the trees all around them.

  “No bud, nothing.” Jason canvassed the forest floor but struggled to find any signs of animal prints. The ground had been softened up by the rain, so prints should have been easy to find, but there were no signs. An uneasy feeling seemed to weigh heavy in the air, some unknown force watching over them. Something evil.

  They had been to the area where the body was found, but most of that area was still flooded by the recently expanded river, surging from all the extra water added by the rain. All of the foot prints Eric had found that first day were underneath the river’s current.

  “That seems strange, no prints at all?” It was unfortunate because now they had no leads. No way of finding where the bodies may have ended up. Eric was worried that the body had fallen into the river, which was now much too dangerous to search.

  “It is very strange. Something must have spooked the animals out here. I can’t even find moose prints out here. Let’s keep walking this way.” Jason pointed away from the river. They moved away from the river and the sounds of the rushing water slowly faded away behind them. It was eerily silent in the woods, not even a bird could be heard. “I don’t even hear the birds chirping. Must be all the rain, got them looking for shelter.”

  All of the tree branches were heavy with rain, sagging down towards the ground. The earth was very soft, and every step they took was difficult. Their feet sunk into the earth and made a sickening, sucking sound as they wrestled their boots out of the mud.

  “Well, it looks like the only hope of finding a body will be in the river because it looks like I am not going to find any evidence out here.” Jason noticed the disappointed look on Eric’s face. It must be bothering him that he couldn’t solve this case. Jason’s leg muscles were getting sore from pulling them out of the muck with every step. The soil further away from the river was getting easier to walk over as it was not so wet.

  “Fucking Jesus! My feet are soaking wet!” The frustration in Eric’s voice was clear.

  “You need a good pair of rubber boats like mine.” Jason was well prepared to be out in the woods. All of a sudden Jason could hear a bird chirping in the distance. “Do you hear that?”

  “Yeah, a bird. At least we know we are not alone out here.” Eric looked up into the trees. Jason felt a strange sense of relief. Maybe the sound of the gushing water was masking the songs of the birds earlier.

  “Look, tracks right here. Moose tracks heading up the hill over there.” Jason pointed towards the hill. They went over and sure enough, deep imprints of tracks. They were laid out in front of them almost too easy to find. The tracks would lead them away from the river bank and much deeper into the woods. “Well, let’s keep looking for some more tracks.”

  “Eric, come in. Deputy Jones,” Eric’s walkie talkie interrupted Jason.

  “Deputy Jones here, go ahead.” Eric turned his back to Jason.

  “Eric, Frank needs you now!”

  “I’ll be one minute.” Eric clicked the walkie talkie receiver back to his belt. “Jason I need to head back. You coming with me or you staying out here?”

  “If you’re done, I’m done. If there are tracks out here they’re not close enough to town to warrant concern.” Jason was anxious to get home. Ethan would be on duty out here later this week. He could search the area just as well as he could. “Let’s head back in.” Jason gave Eric a sly glance. “We’ll get you a pair of rubber boots out of the truck.”

  “You had an extra pair of boots?” Eric stared at Jason, trying his best to hold back a smile before he started to laugh. “You prick!”

  Jason laughed too. “Well, I guess you’ll know better next time, hey bud?” They walked back to their vehicles. Jason got into the back of his truck and rummaged through his gear and found an old pair of rubber boots. Jason threw them at Eric. “Here you go. I’m going to get Ethan to have a look out here, see if he can find the animal prints we are looking for. I’ll let you know if he finds anything.”

  “Thanks man.” Jason watched Eric as he pitched the boots in the trunk of his car. A loud clunk echoed as Eric slammed the trunk closed, trying his best to seem pissed off. “Now I just need some dry socks.”

  Jason stepped up into the cab of his truck and the diesel engine rumbled loudly in the quiet forest. He could not wait to get home. It had been a long week at work.

  ***

  Eric felt uncomfortable as he sat in his squad car, wishing that he had brought a pair of dry socks. He was bothered by the inability to make any progress in finding Mr. Bartlett. Eric picked up the receiver in his car and turned the dials on his radio to call Frank.

  “Eric you need to get your ass to Burgeo right away.” Frank’s voice was clearly shaken. Whatever Frank wanted him for, it was urgent.

  “What is it Frank?” Eric could sense something was very wrong. Frank was not the type of man who could be easily shaken.

  “Phillip has been in an accident. It appears it was a hit and run.”

  “I’m on my way now!” Eric slammed the receiver down and started the car’s engine. With the flick of a switch the siren blared. A hit and run on a police officer did not sit well with Eric. His anger was like a slow burning fuse. It would not become a problem until there was no fuse to burn. When he found who did this, the explosion of rage would be like an inferno that would burn whoever was responsible.

  ***

  Nick had just taken his jacket off when his pager buzzed. He looked at the number, it was work of course. Apparently there had been an accident out near Badger. It was involving a police officer. Shit was going to hit the fan. Nick called into work but the dispatcher said that one of the other drivers in the area had already responded to the scene. Nick was glad that someone else had gotten the call because he was just too tired to be any help to anybody right now. Weary with the burden of having kept his eyes open for so long, he staggered around his apartment. He could have easily been mistaken for a zombie, dead on the inside but subconsciously awake.

  Nick walked into his living room, which screamed bachelorhood. Everything in the room served a purpose, and there was nothing in the room that was decorative. He sat down on his old, worn leather couch that he had got from his parents and flicked the TV on the news channel. Before he drifted off to sleep the reporter was talking about some quarantined village in Africa. Apparently this was the fourth village in the last two days. Nick did not know what was harder to believe. The fact that he had not seen a TV for two days, or that he worked two days straight without causing some major catastrophe. There must be some strange new virus spreading around down there. It scared Nick to think that if they didn’t get this virus under control soon, the next thing you would see on the news is that the virus was here, in Newfoundland. Nick began to doze off, the news still playing in the background. The last thing Nick heard before he fell asleep was how the Pharmakon Medical Research company was working diligently, trying to develop a cure for this new, highly contagious disease.

  ***

  Eric arrived at the scene of the accident. It was an awful sight to see, and hard to believe that Phillip could have possibly survived such a terrible accident. Phillip’s squad car was overturned in the ditch along the side of the road. The roof of his police car was caved in, all of the windows shattered. The ambulance lights were flashing on the side of the road.

  Eric noticed Phillip was already secured on the stretcher. The paramedic was pushing it towards the back of the ambulance. Eric ran over to Phillip before they put him in the back.

  “Is he ok?” Eric called out to the paramedic.

  “I’ll live, pretty banged up though.” Eric was relieved to hear Phillip’s voice. He looked down at Phillip, and saw he
had a large bump on his forehead. There were cuts and bruises all over his face, and his left eye had swollen completely shut. His jacket was tattered and torn from the shards of glass, the fabric stained with tiny specks of his blood.

  “Do you know what happened?” Eric looked over at Phillip’s squad car. The front window was completely smashed in, and sharp shards of glass littered the roadside. They shimmered as the ambulance lights flashed over them. A million reflective lights made it seem like some strange roadside disco.

  “I don’t remember. I was driving home one minute, and the next thing I know I’m waking up, strapped into this stretcher.” Phillip’s voice was weak. His right arm was laid across his chest and it was clearly broken.

  “What are you doing out here anyway?”

  “Two missing teens, apparently they were last seen near Fox Island. I was heading back to get a warrant to search the island. You know the Chief won’t just let us poke around over there.” Eric felt his stomach turn with the mention of Fox Island. He knew whatever happened over there would probably just get swept under the rug because of the Pharmakon Research Facility. With all of their money invested into the government, they would be damn near untouchable. They had roots that stretched all the way to the top of the chain of authority.

  “Alright, we gotta get this man to the hospital, he most likely suffered a concussion and who knows what else.” The paramedic loaded the stretcher into the back of the ambulance and closed the doors.

  Eric watched as the ambulance drove down the highway and quickly disappeared around the bend in the road. All he could see was the flashing lights illuminate over the top of the trees as the night sky was quickly darkening. Eric walked over to look at the skid marks on the road. It was strange but they seemed to be going sideways. They were sudden and it was as if something had pushed the car across both lanes of the road.