Blue Plague The Fall

by Watson, Thomas A.

  Everyone agreed that there were no masses anywhere; it was all just weekend shoppers. There was talk about the Northeast, but everyone thought it would be brought under control when the National Guard hit the streets. Nobody even mentioned Europe or Africa. The only hostility reported were just normal people being rude, which was common now in the cities. No violence was seen or had any reports been heard down South.

  Bruce told everyone that he was proud of them, and for better or worse, they were as ready as they could get. He reminded the kids not to say anything to their friends about anything the family had or the preparations that they were making. Nothing by phone, email, or X-box live to anyone outside the family. He knew the kids knew the rules, but he wanted to remind them, and he wanted Tonya to hear it from him. Bruce was sure Steve had been going over the family rules, but he could not take that chance now. He announced that the kids would not be going to school tomorrow until they got a better feel on how the world was going to progress. He then canceled all activities outside of the farm. This did draw some criticism from the kids because of football, cheerleading, and other school activities that they liked doing. He reminded them “family first,” and they quieted down.

  Bruce said wake up tomorrow was 6 a.m. Everything had to be put up. He wanted the last two cameras put up, and that was going to take some work. Tomorrow was going to be very busy, and everyone had a lot of work to do. He told everyone goodnight and to go to bed. He would clean the kitchen and go sit in mission control tonight. Bruce just asked Jake if he could explain the system so he could at least have some power over the computer. Jake said sure and went to mission control to wait on him. Bruce hugged everyone goodnight and cleaned the kitchen. When he got to mission control, Jake was asleep in the chair. He woke him and got a crash course on the video system and hugged his son goodnight.

  Bruce set up his laptop on the desk and started surfing the Internet. He was not going to touch that computer Jake had set up unless the damn thing started blowing up. Around 2 a.m., he got an alarm and almost jumped out of his skin. It was only some deer out in the hayfield. They were going to have to get that baled up before the deer ate all the alfalfa.

  At 3 a.m., CNN reported the first confirmed case of the Congo virus was in the States. Civil unrest had now been reported in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Pittsburg. At 4 a.m., riots were being reported in Los Angeles, and several more cases of Congo virus had been confirmed in the US. The CDC was reporting that the virus was a contact virus and spread through body fluids. It could make the infected person act violently to others, and that was the end of the report. Bruce thought about Stephanie when he saw the CDC logo on the Fox Web site. He would get Debbie to call her tomorrow and see what she had to say.

  Mike walked in at 5 a.m., sitting down on the couch by the door. The desk was in the center of the room facing into the house with a window behind it. On the west wall was the large bank of monitors. Mike was staring off into space, still wearing the clothes he had on yesterday. When he spoke, it was in a flat tone, “Anything new, Bruce?”

  “Yes, a lot. Riots are now being reported in five major cities on the Eastern seaboard, and riots started last night in L.A. and Oakland. There are several cases of the Congo virus now reported in the US. The CDC put out a memo that the virus was spread through body fluids, and it could make people go crazy,” Bruce said.

  “Are you shitting me?” Mike jumped up and walked over and stood beside Bruce.

  “I wish I was, my brother, but it’s going to hell in a handbasket out there,” he replied.

  “Why don’t you go and grab some sleep? I will wake you up later today,” Mike offered.

  “No, we have a lot of work to do today, and we cannot be a person down,” Bruce told him.

  “Well, if I have the bridge Captain, go and take a shower and fix a cup of coffee,” Mike said.

  “Now that I can do,” Bruce said. He gave Mike the crash course that he received last night on the video system.

  “Why did you put on the clothes you had on yesterday?” Bruce asked.

  “Put on, hell, I never took them off. I just laid down on the bed, and I was out. Nancy did the same thing. I don’t know how she could sleep in a bra, but she is still snoring up there,” Mike said.

  “I never knew Nancy snored, and I have been around her when she was asleep,” Bruce said, stopping at the door.

  “You have never been around her when she went to sleep very tired. Because she can shake the walls, son,” Mike let him know.

  “I have to remember that,” Bruce said, grinning; he was too tired to laugh. He walked to the kitchen.

  “You did not hear that from me,” Mike yelled after him.

  Bruce walked into the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, and walked upstairs. He paused before going into his room, listening for a second, and sure enough he heard Nancy snoring away. He smiled to himself, opening the door, and went in, trying not to wake Debbie. Even though he would have to wake her up in a few minutes, he would let her get every second she could. He walked into the bathroom, set his coffee on the sink, and stripped down. Turning the water on, he showered, got out, and dried off feeling a little better. When he opened the door, Debbie was sitting up in the bed as he walked to the closet to grab some clothes.

  “It’s getting worse out there,” Debbie said, looking at her iPad.

  “Yeah, it’s getting real bad, baby. I need you to get in touch with Stephanie today,” Bruce asked her.

  “I just messaged her on Facebook and asked her to call.” Debbie let him know she was a step ahead of him. “You need to take a nap, baby,” she told him.

  “No, I’m going to rake and bale the hayfield today. I watched deer out there last night eating it. Let’s get this day going, baby. I made a list for everyone to do today,” Bruce said, walking to the door.

  “I will be down in a minute. I’m taking a shower first,” she said, getting up and heading into the bathroom.

  Bruce walked back downstairs and headed to mission control to get the list he printed up last night for everyone. Sitting in the chair was Jake, typing on the video computer.

  “Where is Mike?” he asked, walking over to the printer and grabbing the list.

  “He is in the kitchen cooking something,” Jake replied.

  Bruce looked at Jake just working away on the computer, and he felt a lot of pride in his son. “We don’t need anyone in mission control today. We will all be outside today,” Bruce told him.

  “Yeah, I figured as much, so I’m going to have the computer call me on my cell phone if someone drives up to the gate,” he replied, still typing away.

  “That’s good son, but kitchen in a few minutes, okay, so we can get started,” Bruce told him.

  “Yeah, it will only take me a few more seconds, Dad,” Jake assured him.

  Bruce turned and headed to the kitchen. Mike was scrambling eggs and putting biscuits on the counter. Bruce grabbed some eggs and shoved them in a biscuit and started to eat. He set down the individualized lists with each person’s name at the top. “I’m going out to start, Mike. Get them going.”

  “Don’t worry, I woke up all the kids before I came in to see you in mission control. You be careful out on the tractor, Farmer Brown. You have not had sleep, and you are going to play with power equipment today,” Mike told him as he turned and walked down to the basement and came back up with his SCAR and a combat shoulder bag, or a man purse as he called it. He already had his pistol on as he turned to Mike and said, “I want everyone here for lunch at noon for updates, okay?”

  “Will do,” Mike assured him.

  Bruce turned and started to walk to the barn and start the day. He had only been awake for twenty-four hours, but it felt like two weeks. He climbed up on the tractor and started it up; it was going to be a long day.

  Chapter 17

  A little after noon, Nancy and Danny were getting some food ready for everyone and setting the table. The first in were Tonya and Mary; they had been i
n the basement separating food for freezing or vacuuming.

  “How is the storing going down there?” Nancy asked.

  “We still have a couple of hours left, but we will be done easily by this afternoon,” replied Tonya. “Need any help?”

  “Yes, could you get the glasses out?” Nancy asked.

  “Sure,” Tonya said, walking to the cupboard as Steve and Matt came in the back door, setting their M-4s by the door in a gun rack.

  “Hey, sexy,” Steve said to Tonya. “Whatcha doing?” He walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

  “Getting glasses out,” Tonya said, smiling at him.

  “Let me help. I want a glass the size of a bucket. The heat is ridiculous out there. If it wasn’t so humid, you could burst into flames,” Steve said.

  “How are the new storage sheds coming?” Nancy inquired.

  “Both are up, even though we lost two pounds just sweating out there. We can start putting stuff in them after lunch,” Steve let Nancy know.

  “You two are drinking enough water out there, aren’t you?” Nancy asked with concern.

  “We each drank a gallon, and it did not seem like enough. As fast as you drink it, you sweat it out. This afternoon is going to be brutal. It’s not even one o’clock, and it’s already 104 degrees out there,” Steve informed everyone.

  “It’s just August in Louisiana, baby,” Tonya reminded him.

  “I know, and for the last twelve years I have not been able to adjust, so I don’t have much hope for this year,” he told her, draining a glass of tea.

  Debbie walked in the back door, setting her AUG by the boys’ M-4s. She had been in the greenhouses and garden all morning while Nancy and Danny were tending to animals. She was covered in dirt and had taped the end of her barrel on the AUG, as everyone did on their weapons, so no dirt got in the barrel. “I know that gun is short and light, but damn does it get in the way,” she told everyone.

  “Yeah, it is a pain, but it does give a sense of security, doesn’t it?” Steve said. “Try putting up a storage shed with one strapped to your back. It makes you realize that two hands aren’t enough.”

  Mike, David, and Jake walked into the kitchen from the front door. They had been placing two more cameras overlooking the road leading to the house. The parish road that led to the house was a dead end, so only one way had to be monitored. They had placed two almost half a mile down the road, wiring them in and burying the cables. One of the cameras wasn’t on the property but on the neighbor’s property. No one lived on the property next to them; it was owned by a lumber company and was a little over four hundred acres. They did not think they would mind. As always, the family figured it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. No one lived past them on the parish road, so traffic was light. The only thing past the house was a National Forest with a parking area that was only used during hunting season.

  “Holy shit, I think we have been working on the surface of the sun,” Mike told everyone as he handed his SCAR to Jake to place their weapons in the rack by the back door.

  “Yes, and we are supposed to have eighteen more days of over one hundred-degree temperatures,” Debbie said. “The garden is taking a hit. We are going to have to increase watering it, or we are going to lose a lot.”

  “After all the work we put into it, no way,” Danny replied. “We can use the water from the swimming pool if we have to.”

  Debbie laughed, “I don’t think that will be necessary. Besides, I think everyone would collapse without a refreshing swim at the end of the day with heat like this.”

  “You can’t touch the pool,” Mike said. “It’s vital for survival in this heat. Have we heard from Bruce’s girlfriend yet?”

  “No. I checked Facebook a little while ago and still nothing,” replied Debbie. “You know that makes Bruce mad when you say that,” she said, smiling.

  “I know it chaps his ass, but it’s fun. I have to take him down a notch every now and then,” Mike admitted.

  “Well, that’s okay, then,” Debbie said.

  “Well, it’s true Mom. Every time Stephanie is here, she watches Dad like a hawk. If I did not like her so much, I would say something,” Danny told her mom.

  “Stephanie is just infatuated with Bruce; he is the first man she met that was not taken away by how beautiful she is. All the times she came out here to the farm, Bruce would put her to work and expected her to pull her weight. Remember when she caught fish for the first time? He showed her how to clean the first one and walked away for her to clean the rest,” Debbie said.

  “Yeah, that was cool, and what did she do? She picked up the knife and started cleaning fish,” Danny said. “That’s why I like her. She was raised a princess, but she likes getting her hands dirty. Plus when I’m teaching her something that Mike and Daddy taught me, she listens like I’m an adult,” Danny told Debbie.

  “Plus Stephanie would never try anything because that is not the type of person she is. She knows Daddy belongs to me. I have to say I would sleep with her, as beautiful as she is, but Bruce never even looks at her,” Debbie stated.

  “MOM,” Danny exclaimed, “that’s gross.”

  “Hell, I would, too,” Nancy stated.

  “Eww,” cried Mary.

  Mike just looked at Nancy with a wicked grin. “Get those thoughts out of your head, Mister, before I cut you,” Nancy informed him.

  “What? I wasn’t doing anything,” Mike said innocently.

  “You are not old enough for those thoughts, Michael,” Nancy stated with a flat voice.

  “You are the only woman for me; no one else would have me,” Mike told her.

  Just then, Bruce walked in the back door barefoot, placing his weapon in the crowded rack. He looked exhausted, with bits of hay over his body, and his clothes were soaked. Walking over to his chair, Bruce just dropped into it. “I should be finished this evening. I will start baling after lunch. How is everything else coming?” he asked.

  “We love you too, dear,” Debbie said. “Why are you so wet?”

  “Stood under the water hose before I melted. My clothes are only damp; they dried out on the walk up from the barn. I love you guys, and everyone here knows that, but how is everything coming?” he asked again.

  “We will have most everything complete that was on your list done by tonight. Then we will have to move provisions around to different storage areas,” Mike informed him of the progress.

  “Heard from Stephanie yet, baby?” Bruce asked Debbie.

  “Your girlfriend has not called. I wish you would keep up with your own female contacts,” Debbie told Bruce while winking at Mike.

  “Girlfriend, hell, I have two wives and a husband that drive me crazy. I would file for a divorce, but I don’t know how to go about filing it,” Bruce said with a smile.

  “You can’t divorce this family, honey,” Nancy told him. “We would just have to kill you off,” she said, walking over and kissing him on top of his shaved head.

  “Yeah, I figured as much, besides there is no way I could afford the child support you guys would hit me with. Come on, let’s all sit down and eat before we have to go work in the heat,” Bruce said.

  They all sat at the table talking to one another as the world moved on and the Congo virus spread at an ever-increasing rate. One person could infect at least ten people, then those could infect one hundred, and it just increased exponentially. Not everyone became sick right away; they moved around the globe, continent, state, or hometown before falling to the virus to infect others. The family did not know this, and even if they did, there was nothing they could do about it. They sat enjoying each other before going out in the oppressive heat of Louisiana in the beginning of August to prepare as best they could before the tide crashed over them.

  Chapter 18

  Bruce sat in the pool trying to cool down after the day. Everyone was in the pool just lying around, exhausted. The only thing that did not get accomplished was getting the hay bales out of the field.
That could wait until tomorrow. It was seven o’clock, and the president was scheduled to make an announcement at eight that Bruce wanted to see. Just then, Debbie’s cell phone rang. She stood up and walked over to the edge of the pool to answer it. Looking at the display, she smiled and hurriedly answered, “Hey Stephanie, how are you doing?” A look of concern crossed her face. Then she just started to talk to Stephanie like it was another day.

  As Bruce watched his wife talking, he knew something was wrong by her body language. She was in a bikini sitting on the edge of the pool, and her whole body was tightening like a coil. Like she was angry and ready to run, to or from something, he could not say. He heard Debbie say, “I will get Jake to send you your program he was working on.” He did not know what that meant, but it could not be good. She hung up and asked everyone to come over to her. Questions were being fired off by everyone at the same time.

  “If everyone would be quiet, I will give a dissertation of what was said,” Debbie said somewhat loudly from her small frame. “The first thing she told me was this call was being monitored and not to ask about anything going on. Then she kept talking about all the fights Bruce had been in at the ER. The way she said it, I believe that she was telling me a fight is coming. Also, she kept referring to the hunting trip that was scheduled for next month––that we need to cancel it and just stay home,” Debbie said, turning to Jake. “What the hell kind of program was she talking about that you were working on when she was here in March? She wants a copy sent overnight to her now. So she can watch her videos. What is she talking about?” Debbie asked Jake, crossing her arms in front of her.

  “It a program I designed that lets people video chat with each other over the Internet, Mom,” Jake replied.