by Ricky Sides
“Then nothing will happen. They will remain inactive in her system. She may develop a short-lived, low grade, fever. You all could experience that side effect. Some people do, but that’s a small price to pay for immunity to the parasites.”
“And you say that will last for the rest of our lives?” Tommy asked.
“That’s what the manufacturer said,” Herb stated. “Of course, there were no long term clinical trials, so they could be wrong. Doctor Fielding, back at the refuge, routinely checks samples of several peoples’ blood to try to collect data on the longevity of the immunizations, and so far, there has been no change. The sample nanobots are as viable as the day they were administered. A chemical marker released in the bloodstream of the bitten activates them, and then they go on the offensive, cleansing the host body of the parasites.”
“So it will be okay to give my girl the shot?” Tommy asked.
“Well, it’s been my experience that toddlers don’t really like being stuck with a needle,” Herb pointed out.
“Ruth doesn’t like shots,” Ellen confirmed.
“Ed, this one’s yours,” Jason said. He handed the trained medical man the syringe. “I’m not as good at this as he is,” he explained to the concerned parents.
Ed took a few moments to speak to the child, and then he gave her the shot in a quick and efficient manner. Ruth cried for a few seconds, but Ellen was able to soothe her in short order.
Jason led the family to a set of seats behind Randy, who then took the time to brief them on what they could expect when they reached the refuge. Ellen was pleased to learn that the doctor would examine her daughter. She was less than happy to hear that any of them who tested positive for the parasites would be quarantined, but Tommy said it made sense. “Why should they let a person with the parasites contaminate the whole camp?” he asked.
“They are immune to it, so what difference would that make?” his wife asked.
“We’re trying to eradicate it from the area,” Herb answered. “That would be hard to do if our camp is swarming with the things.”
“Yeah, I suppose that makes sense,” Tommy said.
“Yes, and then there are the animals to consider.” Herb added. “Birds, squirrels, rabbits, and even insects venture onto the refuge daily. Permitting the parasites to run rampant on the property would guarantee their continued spread through animal and insect contact.”
“I’d like to talk about what we’ll do when we get out of quarantine,” Tommy said.
“Sure,” Randy replied. “What would you like to know?”
“What will we do? Where will we stay?”
“First, you’ll be living in a FEMA trailer inside a fenced in enclosure that is guarded around the clock by our defensive forces. Any decent people, who are willing to work toward our mutual survival, are welcome at the refuge. We’ll find tasks that you two can do to contribute to the refuge. It’s too late in the year for growing most food crops, but next spring that will be something everyone will need to lend a hand with accomplishing. Most men help with the defenses in one way or another. We have to keep the fences clear of vegetation. Some of the youngest people help with that. Others become guards and take turns at guard duty.”
“I was an elementary school teacher,” Ellen said.
“That’s great news!” Herb said enthusiastically. “We have one teacher at the refuge, but Mrs. Clemmons was a high school teacher. She tries with the younger children, but it’s my understanding that she feels out of her element.”
“I served a tour in the army,” Tommy said. “I could help with the defenses, though I wasn’t a Special Forces man. I was MOS 89D. Explosive Ordnance Disposal was my job. I disarmed or destroyed IEDs. Mostly, we just destroyed them.”
“Were you good at it?” Randy asked.
“Yeah, I guess I was, though toward the end of my tour, the enemy was getting tricky with those things. We lost some good men trying to disarm the damned things. After that, we just started blowing them in place.”
“I can’t say I blame you for that,” Randy said.
“Hmm, it sounds as if you’ll fit in well with us,” Herb said. “Maybe, once you three get established we can talk about you going on a run with us. And we could definitely use someone with your expertise in helping to devise countermeasures to protect the refuge from a mass attack.”
“Sure, once we get settled in and I feel comfortable being away from Ellen and Ruth for any length of time,” Tommy said.
“That’s fair enough,” Herb said as he continued to drive.
“How long will it take us to reach your refuge?” Ellen asked.
Herb glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the young strawberry blonde mother cuddling her little girl next to her. “We’ll be there in less than half an hour,” he replied.
“Wow, I expected we’d have to travel several hours at least,” Ellen said.
“We hadn’t been on the road long when we saw the smoke from the fire,” Herb explained. Then he said, “That brings up another matter. Are the people in Hunter in danger from those men?”
Tommy sighed and said, “I don’t think so. Until I was bitten today, they were always good to us. That changed after I got bitten.”
“Well, how many people live there now?” Randy asked.
“Thirty-seven men, women, and children,” Tommy answered readily.
“Thirty-four,” Ellen corrected.
Tommy nodded and said, “Yeah, we don’t live there anymore, so thirty-four.” Then he surprised Herb by asking, “Hey, do you people have enough of the immunization shots to give them all one?”
“We might,” Herb said. “But there’s a problem with doing that. If we do, what’s to keep them from spreading the word? We might soon come under attack by people who wanted to raid the refuge to get the injections, which they could use to barter for anything they wanted. We’re supposed to use them to help refugees who want to settle in the area, and I have no problem with following that protocol. Yet, we can’t travel around the country passing them out here and there. The whole idea was to create a large safe zone where humanity can survive. Small enclaves of people could be overrun and die despite their immunity to the parasites.”
“And if that happens, then the injections will have been wasted,” Randy added.
Everyone grew quiet and reflective for the remainder of the trip back to the refuge. As they turned onto the dirt road that led to the property, Herb sighed and said, “Ed, draw another thirty-four syringes from the clinic.”
“We’re going to give them the injections?” Randy asked.
“If they’ll let us administer them, so we know they aren’t withheld to coerce people into doing what they’re ordered to do by that crew, then yes,” Herb replied. “Although doing it goes against my better judgment. This is a humanitarian effort that could very well backfire on us, but I guess we should try to help them.”
Chapter 6
Hunter.
Herb stopped the bus and stared at the small community of Hunter, Arkansas in the distance. He noted that the fire at the Gunn residence had burned itself out, and was now reduced to smoldering in places.
“I don’t see those guys out and about,” Randy observed. “Do you think we should just start going door to door to see if the people want our help?”
“I guess we have to, but we need to get this done and get back out on the road as quickly as we can,” Herb replied.
He drove the bus to the nearest house. Randy and Jason got out of the vehicle and approached the door. Randy knocked several times, but no one answered. It occurred to Herb that the people of the community might be afraid of them. After all, they were armed to the teeth. Apparently, Randy had considered that as well, because when he got back aboard the bus, he said, “I think they may be afraid to open their door to speak to us. Armed as we are, they may think we’re raiders.”
“Well, you’re not going to walk around without the means to defend yourself,” Herb stated with an a
ir of finality.
They checked two more houses with the same results. Finally, on the fourth attempt, an older woman answered the door. Herb noted that she was thin and looked malnourished. Randy explained their presence in the town and she listened politely, but Herb could see that she appeared to doubt Randy’s claim that they had come bearing the gift of a cure that would keep them safe from the parasites.
“We don’t have time for this,” Herb reminded Randy from his seat in the bus. “Leave a syringe with her and let’s move on to the next house. If she uses it, then she’ll be immune. If she chooses not to trust us, then that’s not on our heads.”
“He’s a grouchy guy, isn’t he?” the old lady remarked to Randy.
“Normally, no, but he’s right. We interrupted a rescue mission to try to help you folks,” Randy explained as he handed the woman one of the injections.
“You did? Well, that was kind of you,” she responded. Then she said, “Look, Raman told us about a group of men in a bus stopping and leaving with the Gunns. He advised us to beware of you men.”
“We’re not a threat to you people,” Randy said indignantly. “It was him and two other men who were about to kill the Gunn family when we came along.”
“Tommy had been bitten,” the old woman said.
“Yes, ma’am, but he’ll be fine. His family already took the shots. They’re in quarantine back where we live.”
“Well, young man, I’ve already lived a full life. The people here won’t trust you unless they know someone who has taken one of these shots. You’d better give me one. You can leave them with me and I’ll see to it the others take one, assuming it doesn’t do anything bad to me,” the old lady said.
Randy was pleased by this turn of events. He gave the woman the shot, and then he said, “I’ll see if Herb wants to take you up on your offer. He’s a bit concerned about leaving the injections in anyone hands because they could be used to blackmail people.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she protested.
“No, ma’am, I don’t expect you would, but what about those men we met this morning?”
“They are good men doing a difficult job. They wouldn’t do that either.”
“I heard her,” Herb said. “I’d love to leave them with the lady. We need to get moving. However, I can’t do that. We have a responsibility to see to it that the medicine isn’t abused.”
“All right, young man, if that’s the case, then you’d better take me with you. I can get the others to open their doors, and I know which houses are occupied.”
“That would be fine,” Herb said.
The old woman introduced herself as June Simmons when she climbed aboard the bus. She gave Herb instructions on where to begin the distribution. “This time of day, most of the women will be at the Glass residence canning food and the men will be at the three fields where the community grows a few crops. We’d best go see the women first. They’ll be cleaning up the kitchen about now.”
The bus navigated a couple of turns and came up a narrow street with a small scattering of houses. Herb stopped outside the house June pointed to and saw three men standing on the front porch. He recognized them as the men he had seen earlier in the day, only this time all three were armed with rifles. The men moved down the porch steps and began to advance toward the bus slowly. Their weapons were pointed toward the ground, but held in such a manner that they could be employed in an instant if needed. For a moment, Herb thought June had led them into a trap, but then she yelled out his partially open window, shouting, “It’s okay, Raman! They brought medicine to help our community! It’s a cure for the parasites!”
The three men stopped and looked at Herb skeptically for several long seconds. “You really have a cure?” Raman asked, breaking the tense silence between the two groups of men.
“We do,” Herb said. “And we brought enough for every member of your community.”
“Why would you do that, mister?” Raman asked.
“Have you ever seen anyone dying of the parasites?” Herb asked. Raman shook his head, indicating that he hadn’t, so the refuge leader added, “Well, I have, and it’s a terrible thing to see. Look, we’re not here to start trouble. We brought enough injections to immunize your community. They are simple enough. Just give everyone the preloaded injections and they’ll never turn into a zombie.”
“June, you come on out of that bus, so I can see that these men aren’t holding you against your will, and then we’ll talk about this cure,” Raman said.
“Raman Chandler, don’t be so suspicious. These men are just trying to do the right thing. They already gave me one of the shots, and I feel just fine,” June said.
“Go ahead, ma’am,” Herb told the old woman as he opened the passenger door for her. “If I were him, I’d probably feel the same way.”
“Then you’d be just as foolish as he’s being right now,” June said in an exasperated tone of voice as she exited the bus.
When June reached Raman and his men, he said, “Go on in the house with the others and we’ll talk to these men. I want you safe first.”
For a moment, it appeared that the older woman was going to argue with Raman, but then she shook her head in exasperation, threw her hands up in disgust, and walked away as he had instructed.
When the door closed behind June, Raman said, “Where are the Gunns? You left with them less than two hours ago.”
“They’re safe with our people back at the refuge,” Herb responded. “The doctor was treating Tommy’s wounded arm when we left.”
“So you’re telling me this cure thing is on the level?” Raman asked.
“I am. We returned with enough of the immunizations for your community, but we can’t stay long. We’re on a rescue mission, so we can’t afford to waste time. Eight people are waiting for us to reach them and help them escape a bad situation up north.”
“North you say? There’s not much in the way of people left north of here,” Raman responded. “We’ve been as far north as Fair Oaks, and haven’t seen a live person between here and there.”
“We’ve got to go further than that and a bit to the west,” Herb responded.
Raman nodded his head in understanding. “You’re being careful about revealing your destination to us because you aren’t sure of us. I can respect that. I’d do the same thing in your position. Just know that you’ll be heading into some bad zones. There are tons of zombies up around Fair Oaks. We’ve been up that way before. We were hoping to investigate the rice mill near that town. I figured there’d be tons of rice free for the taking.”
“That wasn’t the case?” Herb asked.
“We don’t know. That area was swarming with zombies. There must have been thirty of forty in that region.”
“That’s not so many,” Randy observed.
“Yeah, well, we’re not armed with military weapons like you guys,” Raman said defensively.
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Randy said. “It would be a lot harder for you guys, armed with the weaponry you’re carrying.”
“We’d have liked to clear them out, so we could check on that rice supply. That would feed this community and a lot of others for a long time,” Raman said. Then he smiled and added, “If you really want us to trust you, you could help us secure that supply of food. We’d cut you in for a share of course.”
“Not this trip,” Herb interjected. “We’re on a rescue mission. We can’t afford to deplete our resources before we get to our destination. If we did that, then we might come up low on ammunition or supplies to see us through this mission.”
“You’re not thinking of just going after the rice on your own, are you?” asked Raman. “That wouldn’t be very friendly.”
“No. The rice has little interest for us,” Herb said honestly. “We already have plenty of it, and people need more than that to survive.” The military had left about five tons of rice at the refuge. One of the forty-foot shipping containers was filled with the stuff.
> “It must be nice not to have to worry about food,” Raman said, scowling at Herb as he said it.
“I didn’t say we don’t worry about food. We work hard to provide for ourselves. You folks could do the same. There’s plenty of good land here for growing crops,” Herb pointed out.
“Yeah, we’ve been farming, and we’ll be planting even more soon,” one of Raman’s men said.
“Shut up, Bernie,” Raman ordered his man. “Don’t talk to strangers about our plans.”
“Look, Raman, we’re in a hurry. Do you want these kits for your people or not?” Herb asked.
“What do you want for them?” Raman asked suspiciously.
“We want to show you how to administer them, and then we want you to make certain every person in this community gets one of the injections,” Herb replied.
“I’d like to get one of those shots, Raman,” one of his men said.
“Me too,” the man named Bernie added.
“There’s no way in hell we are letting these guys inject us while they are here,” Raman said, but then he added, “We’ll take the stuff and let you show us how to give the shots to the people. I can’t let you give us injections that could knock us out and leave our people without real defenders.”
Randy bristled at the man’s explanation, but Herb said, “Yes, I understand. You’re a careful man, and that’s good these days. Let’s get this done so we can leave.”
“All right, Bernie, go get two of the oldest women, besides June. She already had her shot,” Raman said.
“Jason, you and Ed get some of the kits and show them how they’re used. Randy, get topside and provide security for our guys while they are outside.”
“Wait just a minute. You didn’t say anything about having your man mounting guard,” Raman protested.
“Mister, you have no idea how many times zombies have come at us while we were in vehicles,” Randy said angrily. “Our people don’t operate outside without someone covering them.”
“Then we can provide security,” Raman argued.
“If you do that, then how are you supposed to learn to administer the vaccines?” Herb asked reasonably. He added, “Would you just relax? We’re here to help you people. Trust me when I say that you have nothing we want, with the possible exception of your friendship.”