by Kirk Withrow
Without the limitless connections people had enjoyed for decades, John had no idea how far the rest of the world had fallen. If it was anything like the small fraction of the U.S. he had experienced, he knew mankind was standing on the edge of a mass extinction event the likes of which had not been seen since the end of the Cretaceous period. How could they possibly survive? If they did, how could they ever come back? There are places from which people do not return. Was this one of them? He had no way of knowing for certain, but he truly hoped it was not.
Despite the abundance of evil in the world, John had witnessed too many selfless acts to give up on people entirely. Nearly everyone had his or her story to tell. Plant and Animal, the two people who had very nearly killed him and Reams, rescued Ava and brought her back to him. C.J., a man whom John had never met, stopped to help a little girl in the woods and, in doing so, saved Lydia and Annalee. Annalee had risked her own life to save Ava.
It was all too complex and intertwined for John to accept it as mere random chance. He truly believed it was far more than that—it was a miracle. While John did not know exactly what that meant, he thought there had to be some higher purpose behind it all. And with purpose, there was hope.
His mind had come full circle, and he felt centered for the first time in months. He had Ava, Lin, Reams, and all the others. He had hope, and he had closure. Although he knew it might be a long shot, he had a chance and a reason to keep fighting. Despite the world around him going to hell in a hand basket, for the first time in longer than he could remember, John felt like a pretty lucky guy.
There was no denying that mankind faced a threat far greater than any it had previously faced, but John was certain the same was said of the last greatest threat before it was conquered. He had no way of knowing how things would play out this time, but as he watched his beautiful daughter sleeping, he had no doubt about where he was going to put his money. John’s thoughts drifted to something the strange, old man with the monkey had said:
“Must be something mighty important for you to knowingly face certain death.”
As that something snored softly in his arms, John Wild could not have agreed more.
POSTLUDE
Six Months Later
Atlanta Metropolitan Area
John hated going on missions outside the wall. Ever since he was reunited with Ava, he could hardly stand to be separated from her for more than an hour before his anxiety over the possibility of losing her again became too great. Even so, he knew Lin needed his help and he was not about to let her down. He also reminded himself that all of this was as much for Ava as anyone else. The single greatest thing John could do for his daughter was help Lin find a cure.
In the six months since John and the others arrived at the facility, Dr. Lin San had made several potential breakthroughs, each of which ultimately fell flat on its face. While she and her team had learned a great deal about LNV, they had yet to translate any of their research into an effective treatment for the infection. In addition to being engineered in such a way that made finding a cure extremely difficult, LNV seemed to have taken on a life of its own once it found its way into the general population. The degree in which it changed its surface covering far exceeded that exhibited by other viruses such as influenza, making it virtually impossible to get a fix on a target. They had attacked LNV from so many angles it made John’s head spin, and every new therapeutic attempt required more of the infected upon which to test it. Acquiring said infected subjects had been the objective of several previous missions, and while they had the meat runs down to a science, John hated the idea of intentionally bringing the deadly plague vectors inside the barricade. Thankfully, the objective of their current mission was different.
In light of the failure of their most recent therapeutic trials using various nucleoside analogue drugs effective in the treatment of HIV, as well as a few other known antivirals, Dr. San and Maria decided they needed to switch gears entirely if they were going to get any closer to discovering an effective treatment for LNV. Accordingly, Lin produced a list of chemicals, supplies, and reagents needed for their next set of experiments. After reviewing the list with John and Mother, they identified a chemical and scientific supply warehouse in the Atlanta area that should have most, if not all, of what they needed. That would be the target of the next mission.
Every time they ventured outside the barricade they knew they were placing themselves in harm’s way. Ice had been bitten during one of their early missions. They brought him back to the facility where Dr. San and Dr. Sodecci administered a modified version of the Banks Protocol to try to stop the spread of the virus. The original protocol developed by Dr. Banks utilized high dose anti-retroviral drugs such as those given to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to fetus, in conjunction with a modified rabies vaccine. Dr. Banks himself was proof that the treatment was marginally effective at best. With Ice, they added the induced coma that was the backbone of the Milwaukee protocol developed to treat advanced cases of rabies, as well as several other less specific antiviral drugs including interferon, ribavirin, amantadine, and acyclovir. Although delayed by a couple of days, Ice’s symptoms progressed despite their efforts. He now resided in the holding cell next to Dr. Banks.
Mother briefed the team on the details of the mission including the route to the facility, point of entry, objectives, and proposed point of extraction. Given that the collapse of the power grid had set them back at least one hundred years, the information they had to work with was far from complete. There were also innumerable variables that made it imperative that the team, led by Sergeant Garza, be able to adjust on the fly.
Because of his scientific background, John was asked to go on the mission. Lin hated that he had to go. She knew that he was not only capable of handling himself, but he was also the only one she could count on to get everything they needed. Besides, if John went, Reams went. And if Reams was going, Animal was going as well. Knowing what Animal was capable of without someone there to keep her on a leash, Plant accompanied her almost everywhere. Lin thought those three alone were capable of fending off legions of revs. Rounding out the team was Cujo, the only female soldier at the facility and one of the toughest in Lin’s opinion. She could not imagine a group of people that could protect John better than them. She also knew that Garza was going to be in charge of the team. As hard as it was to know that the two men she cared the most about were heading into the infected zone, she was comforted by the fact that they would be there for one another.
Having managed to get the Bearcat back into usable condition, the team gathered their gear and piled into the truck. Stack turned on the distraction, and they waited for the mournful sound of old-time banjo music to draw the infected away from the gate before they fired up the engine. Judge perched atop one of the obs tower platforms, providing overwatch as Mother opened the gate to let the truck pass. Staring out the truck’s rear window, John heard the thud of the heavy gate as it slammed shut behind them.
The warehouse was less than fives miles to the south, and they knew from previous expeditions that the roads in the area were relatively passable. Lulled into a trance by the sound of the engine and the jostling of the big truck, John’s mind drifted to Ava and their current home at the CDC. Things had settled into somewhat of a routine since their arrival nearly six months ago. Everyone did their part to make things run as smoothly as possible. In all, there were twenty-one uninfected humans and one dog residing at the facility—twenty-one people out of the millions living in the United States at the time of the outbreak. He knew there had to be others out there, but he also accepted the harsh reality that LNV had all but wiped out mankind. John constantly reminded himself of the operative words all but in order to maintain the will to keep fighting. The fact that he, Ava, and the others were still alive meant the plague had not succeeded in wiping out mankind. The life they still possessed was the motivation that allowed him to persevere.
To say that life after LNV was
hard was a gross understatement; the mental and physical trauma they endured defied description. So much had changed that John often wondered if he might one day wake up and no longer recognize anything. Every time his thoughts started down that dark path, however, he witnessed countless instances of people being people just as they always had. Perhaps the strongest and most consistent of which was the vigor and vitality of the three youths that reminded him of the roots of his own strength. All in all, the three adolescents got along well, and it was readily apparent that Anthony had grown quite smitten with Annalee.
As one would expect anytime men and women find themselves together in a confined space for any length of time, there were other examples of love in bloom. John had been surprised to learn that his friend, Dr. Lin San, and Sergeant Garza had developed a romantic relationship. Even though he and Lin had lived on different continents and were not nearly as close as they had once been, John did not think he had ever seen Lin as happy as when she was with Garza—even amidst the apocalypse. With a smirk, John thought of his new friend, Reams, and the fierce Animal. Although Reams would never comment on the subject, John had a sneaking suspicion that things were heating up between them as well. While he was happy for the love they had all found, he also felt sorry for them in a way. He knew firsthand the pain that such love could bring in a world so full of death and loss.
“ETA five minutes,” Garza called from the driver’s seat.
Cujo sat in the passenger seat, scanning the surrounding area with the vigilant eye of a hawk. The other three members of the team sat next to John in the passenger compartment, stone-cold determination etched across each of their faces.
When he was not out on missions such as this, John helped Lin as much as possible, even if only as a sounding board for ideas. Thus far their efforts toward finding a cure for LNV had been disappointing, to say the least. As they were dealing with a virus, they knew they were not likely to cure someone of the infection after it was contracted. At best, they hoped to keep the viral load sufficiently low that the host would not express symptoms of the disease. Unfortunately, no drug they tested even came close. Any hope for a vaccine was also dying a quick death. Every strain of LNV they analyzed was slightly different than the last. It was like the problem with influenza, only a thousand-fold worse.
John recalled the conversation that led to them heading out on the mission in the first place. When Lt. Weaver asked her about the prospect of a vaccine for LNV during a report on the treatment efforts of the previous week, Lin replied, “Vaccines are generally targeted against the markers on the outside of the virus’ capsule. These antigens, as they are called, are what the human immune system sees, and what allows it to distinguish a virus as a foreign threat. In order for that to be maximally effective, the immune system has to have advanced knowledge of the virus—in other words, the defenses need to be in place when the virus is encountered in order to successfully protect against the threat. Unfortunately, these antigens can change over time through a phenomenon called antigenic drift.” Lin paused to ensure the group was following her. When no one appeared overly confused, she continued, “For example, the antigenic drift exhibited by the influenza virus periodically provides it with a new coat, effectively disguising it from the immune system. That’s why you have to get a flu shot every year, and the fact that scientists must accurately predict which strains are likely to be the biggest threat each year is the reason that the vaccines are all but useless some years. With LNV, this process occurs at such a high rate that we would have to get a new vaccine nearly every day.”
The meeting had ended with that sobering thought. John accompanied Lin, Maria, and Dr. Sodecci back to the lab following the briefing. Their spirits were understandably low, and John had no words of encouragement to offer. Thinking out loud, John muttered, “If there is no less variable target to exploit, it would be nice if there were broad-spectrum antivirals.”
Unexpectedly, Maria stopped dead in her tracks. John bumped into her as she had been walking in front of him while he stared at the floor.
Alarmed, Lin asked, “Maria, is everything okay?”
Without turning, Maria said, “What did you say, John?”
“Huh?” he said, still confused as to why he ran into the woman in the first place.
“You said something about broad-spectrum antivirals,” Maria stated matter-of-factly. “I think that might be the answer, John,” she added excitedly.
“But we don’t have anything like that, do we? I said it would be nice if we did,” John stated with a hint of frustration.
Without responding to his query, Maria turned to Dr. Sodecci, and asked, “Do you know if Gerald Graham’s lab is accessible?”
“I think so. It should be. Why do you ask? What’s this about?” Dr. Sodecci replied, now as confused as the rest of them.
“I’m not entirely sure. Dr. Graham told me he was beginning a project involving some new therapy developed at MIT. He said it was supposed to be a broad-spectrum treatment for viruses. I don’t know much about it, and I’m not sure if he had started work on the project but it may be worth checking out,” Maria said with a gleam in her eye.
* * *
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Garza growled. He stared through the Bearcat’s windshield at the scorched shell of a building that had once been the chemical supply warehouse supposed to contain everything on Lin’s list. “What the hell are we going to do now?” he added.
With no ideas forthcoming, Garza turned the big truck around and started back toward the CDC. While they were glad not to face the danger that came with doing anything outside of their little safe haven, that consolation was offset by the fact they were going home empty-handed. They all knew that without the supplies Dr. San requested, they would be no closer to seeing an end to the blight of LNV. Crestfallen, there was little to do except stare out the window at the passing desolation. All of a sudden, John exclaimed, “Garza! Stop the truck!”
Slamming on the brakes in alarm, Garza said, “What is it, John? What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I just got an idea. Reams, will you cover me? I need to go out and get something,” John said as he stood and moved to the rear of the truck.
“Sure, John. You going out for a latte or something?” Reams asked, nodding toward the smashed and looted Starbucks just outside the vehicle.
“Close, though all that milk would just go straight to my hips,” John quipped as he hopped down onto the broken pavement. He did a quick visual sweep of the area and saw no infected. Nodding at Reams, he crept toward the demolished Starbucks. When he reached the front of the building, he stopped at the pay phone outside.
Reams looked on in bewilderment, and muttered, “What the hell is he doing? Ordering a pizza?”
When John turned around with the thick phone book in hand, Reams suddenly understood. “I didn’t know people still used pay phones, much less phonebooks,” the big man said. From behind him, he heard Animal say, “What the f…” just as John exclaimed, “Got it.”
While John was heading back to the Bearcat, Animal was heading away in the opposite direction. Turning toward the woman, Reams asked in confusion, “Now where are you going?” She kept walking, neither replying nor acknowledging he had even spoken.
Plant stared past the woman into the distance, and said, “What’s going on over there? We should probably go with her to check it out.” Although Reams did not see what captured their attention, he fully intended to follow Animal. Reams, Plant, and John set out after her while Garza and Cujo stayed with the Bearcat.
When they finally caught up to her, Animal stood staring into a space formed by four large shipping containers arranged in a square. She had opened one of the shipping container’s side doors to look inside the enclosure. The air was heavy with the coppery scent of blood and the fetid odor of decay.
John peered over Animal’s shoulder and saw at least a dozen mutilated bodies—not just the infected that had been put down, but also some that a
ppeared to have been played with or tortured. John was not even certain all of the corpses were those of the infected. Before he could divert his gaze, his stomach took over, forcing him to turn and vomit.
“Hey guys, check this shit out,” Plant said, his voice echoing as though far away.
Plant stood at the open end of one of the empty containers. When Animal asked where he was, her voice resonated through the space, sounding as clear as if she were standing directly in front of him. It was dark inside despite the light filtering in through the open doors connecting it to those of the adjacent container. They formed a narrow corridor in which one could only move into the next container or climb over the top of the doors. Plant noticed a black rectangular box with wires protruding from it located at the opposite end of the container. Intrigued, he stepped inside.
While his first heavy footstep echoed inside the empty metal container, the second was drowned out by the booming voice of a man beckoning him forward. The voice sounded garbled, drunk, and frankly evil; spewing all manner of profanity and derogations directed at the infected as a bright light flashed near the black box. Just as abruptly, the container fell dark and silent about fifteen seconds later. Glancing around tentatively as though waiting for something to jump out and grab him, Plant said, “Well, that was messed up.”
He looked down and noticed a welcome mat with wires conspicuously poking out from under it. Kicking the mat to the side, he crouched to examine the pressure switch hidden underneath it. Now more intrigued than ever, he followed the wires to the other end of the container where they led to a very crude circuit. Some of the components were soldered while others were simply twisted together. More wires connected the circuit to a small light and a handheld digital tape recorder that was plugged into the speaker he had seen from the entrance. Inside the adjacent container, Plant found a similar set up that he imagined was designed to draw the infected farther inside.