Blue Plague The Fall

by Watson, Thomas A.

  Bruce kneeled by her, showing her how to slide the bullets in from the front while pushing down. She smiled at him as the bullets started going in the magazine. Once the magazine was half full, she had some trouble pushing the spring down but was still loading the magazine. While Buffy kept loading magazines, he walked over to his pack, pulling out a roll of Para-cord––the same cord they used on parachutes. Cutting off two pieces about two feet long, he put the Para-cord back in his pack. Taking the ankle holster, he pulled out his knife, cutting two holes on the top of the holster.

  Walking back to Buffy, he saw she was working on her second magazine. He told her to stand up but to keep loading. He put the ankle holster on her right thigh. Then, running a piece of cord through each hole he had cut, he tied it to her belt making an improvised drop holster. The band of the ankle holster fit her thigh snugly. Bruce smiled at his invention then told her not to touch it until he showed her how to use it. She promised, finishing her last magazine and looking up at him.

  “I’m sure glad I have these gloves. That hurts your fingers,” she said, putting the loaded magazines in her pouch.

  “Yes, it does,” Bruce said. “I want you to carry your weapon loaded today but on safe,” he told her.

  “Yes sir,” she said with joy. Making sure her weapon was on safe, she took a magazine out of the pouch. Slapping it in her weapon and chambering a round, she again made sure it was on safe. Then she looked up at Bruce, smiling. Bruce nodded his head, smiling at her. Buffy’s smile got bigger, as she saw that he was proud of her.

  “Remember, your finger never goes on the trigger until you are ready to shoot. That is your primary safety and the only one you ever trust,” Bruce told Buffy, who gave him a thumbs-up.

  Bruce looked around and the kids were still practicing what Bruce had shown them with the staffs. He could see determination on each of their faces as they swung and jabbed their staffs in the air. Bruce hit his chest with his fist, and everyone stopped what they were doing, looking at him. He held his right arm out and made a circular motion with his hand for them to mount up. Only Mike knew what it meant. When everyone saw them grab their packs and put them on, they understood. Each one grabbed his or her pack and put it on.

  Bruce looked around to make sure they had not left anything. All he saw were some wrappers and empty MRE bags. He had told everyone to keep the empty plastic water bottles. They could refill them. Seeing they had everything of value, he led the group off through the woods.

  By ten, the clouds had cleared, and the merciless sun beat down on them. Bruce kept the pace slow and stopped every two hours for everyone to rest and drink water. During the march, Bruce would look at Buffy to make sure she had her weapon on safe and her finger was off the trigger. Each time he looked, her weapon was on safe and her little finger was laying outside the trigger well. At each stop, he taught Buffy more about her weapons.

  They stopped by a small creek at noon. Everyone was completely drenched with sweat and almost out of water. Bruce looked at each person to judge his or her status. Looking at the kids, he saw they were starting to get sunburns, as were several of the adults. He took off his pack, setting it on the ground. When everyone saw him take off his pack, they did the same in this weird game of Simon Says, or more correctly Do What Bruce Does. Buffy set her pack beside Bruce’s and watched him dig through his pack. Maria walked over to Bruce.

  “We are getting low on water,” Maria told Bruce.

  “I know, that’s why we stopped here,” Bruce said, still digging in his pack.

  Maria looked at him then the creek. “You can’t be serious. Who knows what we will catch if we drink that water,” she told him.

  Pulling out what looked like a weird bicycle pump from his pack, he looked at Maria. “Keep your voice down. This is a water filter good for a thousand gallons. We are going to refill the bottles,” he told her then handed her a bottle of sunblock.

  “Go around and put this on everyone,” Bruce told her.

  “Marty, John, Ben, Christina, Julie, come here,” Bruce said. They all jumped up and ran over, carrying their staffs.

  “Christina and Julie, get all the empty water bottles and bring them to the creek. Boys, follow me,” Bruce said.

  Leading the boys to the creek, Bruce stopped and looked down at the creek for snakes. Not seeing any, Bruce stepped down the three-foot bank into the water. It was only six inches deep. He told the boys to take off their shoes and socks. After they were barefoot, they came over to Bruce.

  “Ben, you hold the pump with the bottom tube in the water. Make sure you keep it upstream so you don’t pull up mud that you stir up. John, you pump, and Marty, you will fill the bottles, understand?” Bruce said to them. They replied in unison, “Yes sir.”

  Bruce climbed out of the creek as the girls brought the first load of empty bottles and started passing them to the boys. Maria walked over to the creek and stood watching the kids with Bruce. Bruce looked back at the group and saw several of them rubbing lotion on their bodies. Mike was behind them keeping guard. Bruce pulled off his boonie hat and glasses, wiping the sweat off of his face with his sleeve. Buffy reached over, taking them out of his hand and holding them for Bruce. He looked at Buffy and told her to take some of the bottles that had already been filled and fill up his Camelback in his pack, then do the same for Mike and take the empty bottles back to be refilled. Setting Bruce’s hat and Oakley’s on his pack, Buffy took off as Maria turned to Bruce.

  “How can you, Mike, and the young couple walk around with your shirts buttoned up and your sleeves down? It’s over a hundred easy,” Maria asked.

  Bruce turned and looked at Maria. Her Battle Dress Uniform top was unbuttoned, and her sleeves were rolled up. Her t-shirt underneath her BDU top was soaked. Glancing back, he saw Lynn had her BDU top tied around her waist.

  “It’s 109 to be exact. These shirts may only be cotton, but it may save us from a bite,” Bruce told her.

  Maria just stared at him with a look of shock. She put the sunblock on the ground and buttoned up her shirt and pulled her sleeves down. She picked up the sunblock, waiting on the kids to finish so she could coat them in sunblock. Bruce told her to put the bottle in her pack; it was now her responsibility. She said she would.

  It only took the kids fifteen minutes to fill up the forty-five bottles after Buffy had filled Mike’s and Bruce’s Camelbacks. Then Buffy filled up Alex’s and Angela’s. Finished, the boys climbed out of the creek as Bruce told them not to put their socks and shoes on until their feet dried. Smiling, Bruce patted each one on the shoulder, telling them they had done a good job. Then Bruce took the filter pump from Ben. All five smiled at the compliment as they grabbed staffs, socks, shoes, and bottles of water, returning to the group. Maria chased each of the five down, covering exposed skin with sunblock.

  They all sat down, pulling out food, and started eating. Voices were kept low as they talked with each other. Bruce did not say anything, letting them talk as long as they kept their voices down. When he and Buffy finished eating, they went over to relieve Mike so he could eat. Bruce and Buffy stood watch as Mike sat down and ate.

  “Well, how are we doing, Bruce?” Mike asked between bites.

  “We will average about eight to ten miles a day. Since we are going cross-country and have people that are not prepared for a hike, I can live with that. Since the farm is only sixty miles away now, we should make it in six days. I don’t think we will make Lake Bistineau Dam before nightfall. If we do, we will still camp on this side before crossing the bayou below the dam,” Bruce told him.

  “Bayou, my ass. That is a full-fledged swamp, and it’s at least two miles wide. That’s if we could just go straight across, but we will have to weave around deep parts. So in actuality I put it at four miles. Why not just try the road on top of the dam?” Mike wanted to know.

  “Too risky. That road is straight and over two miles long with nowhere to hide,” Bruce told him.

  “The lake is low
now so we could go down into it if we had to,” Mike pointed out.

  “Then we would be stuck with a plain of mud and water on one side and the dam on the other with nowhere to go. With the lake low, the bayou will be, too,” Bruce replied.

  “But the bayou will be full of that mud you were talking about. We have more than just me and you here,” Mike said.

  “Mike, quit being a pussy. If we don’t go through the bayou then we have to walk twenty miles to Highway 71. Use the bridge to cross over it, which poses the same problem as with the road across the dam––we would be exposed and in a choke point. Then have to walk twenty miles back, adding at least four more days to our trip, which the supplies cannot take,” Bruce said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “I’m not a pussy,” Mike said, irritated.

  “I know that, Mike,” Bruce shot back.

  “I was just playing the devil’s advocate,” Mike said.

  “The devil can suck my ass,” Bruce said. “Who would have thought a plague like this could break out this fast? Turning people into blue speed demons that want to kill you.”

  “It could be worse; they could be zombies. And very few are speed demons,” Mike replied.

  “They might as well be zombies. You have to shoot them in the head. Enough of the infected are speed demons that they scare the shit out of me,” Bruce told Mike, looking at him eating.

  “They have a heartbeat and do breathe. You saw that at the hospital on the one that turned while he was on the cardiac monitor. They are not zombies, and if you don’t think they scare me, then you are crazy as a shithouse rat,” Mike told Bruce as he stopped eating and stared back at him.

  “Then why don’t they die when you hit them in the chest?” Bruce asked.

  “I have no idea. When I get a chance I will ask one,” Mike replied.

  “Don’t you even think about it, brother. I refuse to drag your ass across north Louisiana just because you want to talk to a blue,” Bruce told him.

  “I love you too,” Mike replied.

  “Come on old man, we need to move,” Bruce told him as he and Buffy started walking off.

  “Buffy, thank you for filling up my Camelback,” Mike told her, reaching out and rubbing her hair.

  “You are welcome, Daddy Mike. Can I ask you a question?” she said, looking up at Mike as Bruce stopped to wait on her.

  “How crazy is a shithouse rat?” Buffy asked him.

  Both Mike and Bruce busted out laughing until Lynn told them to be quiet. They stopped laughing, but the smiles remained on their faces. They were a little embarrassed about making noise. Mike turned to Buffy. “Baby, I have no idea how crazy they are, but they have to be pretty crazy to live in a shithouse,” he told her.

  “Yeah, you’re right. They have to be crazy to live in a shithouse,” she replied with a serious face, walking over to Bruce.

  Bruce tapped his chest, getting everyone’s attention. He held up his right hand with fingers extended then moved his hand in a circular motion. Then he said in a low voice, “We move out in five minutes.” He and Buffy walked to their packs, and Bruce put the pump back in his pack hoping that it had dried enough. Having water leak out in a waterproof pack was bad. He was in no mood to unpack all the shit he had in his pack to let it dry. Not much in the pack could be hurt by water, but there were some things that could.

  Bruce put on his pack, watching Buffy put her pack on then checking to make sure her weapon was still on safe. That laugh had felt so good after the last week and took a lot of tension off of Bruce. This little girl had only been in his life for a little more than forty-eight hours, and he could not see himself without her now. The constant following had gotten on his nerves at first, but if she was not under his feet now, he would wait on her. She did not like being far from him still. When she had to use the bathroom, she made him come with her, and he would turn around while she did her business. She was a good kid, and Bruce was happy to have her as a daughter.

  Seeing everyone was ready, Bruce crossed the creek and started through the woods. They walked through the woods, coming to a field. Bruce held up a fist, and everyone stopped. Jumping the fence, he motioned everyone to follow. They either went over, under, or through. Since the start of this hike, they had crossed close to a hundred fences, so everyone had practice. Bruce moved ahead, waiting until Mike gave the go ahead to move out.

  Mike called over the radio and said move out. Walking across the field, they heard gunfire coming from up ahead. It was way off in the distance, but it sounded like it was coming from where they were headed. It had been a long time since they had heard any gunfire. The gunfire continued as they crossed the field and went back into the tree line. It sounded like a full-blown battle ahead. As he walked, Bruce pulled out his map.

  From the sound, he judged it was about four or five miles away. Looking at the map, Bruce guessed that would put it on this side of the dam or on the dam itself. On the route they were taking, they would never see the dam and at the closest would be over a mile away. The gunfire stopped then they heard a few single shots, then they too stopped. They were coming up on Highway 154, which ran over the dam, but the group would cross it five miles from the dam.

  Bruce wanted to hurry and cross the road in case whoever was shooting at the dam came this way. He called Mike, telling him what he was thinking, and Mike agreed they needed to move. Mike called Alex over the radio, telling him come to the rear. Mike would give them a break in carrying Cade. A grateful Alex replied, “Okay.”

  It was a little after three when they reached the highway. It was only a two-lane blacktop, but it was heavily traveled in normal times. The tree line was twenty yards away from the road on each side. Bruce stopped several yards inside the tree line, looking at the road. He could hear heavy breathing from the group behind him. They had not stopped for a water break on the way here. Mike had moved up and down the line telling everyone why as they pushed forward.

  They had heard another round of gunfire about an hour ago. It had lasted for half an hour and then stopped. The volume of fire they were hearing was tremendous. Bruce had been in combat before, so he knew what a firefight sounded like. It would take at least fifty to sixty guns to get up to the volume he was hearing. Whoever was shooting was going through thousands of rounds of ammunition.

  Bruce turned around, looking at the group. The kids were leaning against trees or on their staffs trying to catch their breath. The adults were no better, leaning over and breathing hard. Only Mike was walking around, moving from person to person making sure they were okay. He even stopped and asked Jim if he was all right. Jim just nodded his head. Bruce had not pushed them to a run, but they had walked very fast and everyone had kept up. Susan came up to Bruce asking if she could fix the baby a bottle.

  Bruce thumped his chest and pointed to the ground in front of him. Everyone moved to where he pointed, then he pulled them in tighter. He looked around and then laid out his plan in a whisper.

  “We are going to rest here for ten minutes. I want everyone to drink some water. Do not drink it fast, or you will get sick; take small sips. If we do not see or hear anything, we will cross here two at a time. Buffy and I will be the first then Mike will tell who to follow. If for some reason we get attacked and separated during the crossing, I will be on that side of the road and Mike on this side. Whichever side you are on, you listen to us. Mike, I will wait at the campsite I showed you earlier. I will wait for one day then move out, and you head home however you can with who you have. No noise now. Okay, we move in ten minutes,” Bruce said, completing the briefing.

  He received nods from everyone including Jim. Bruce turned back to the road and felt a tug on his pants leg. He looked down at Buffy as she pointed at the tube to the Camelback. Kneeling beside her, Bruce put the end of the tube in her hand. She started drinking, looking toward the road.

  Bruce looked at Buffy. She looked like someone had taken a water hose to her. Her clothes and gloves were soaked and sticking to her b
ody. Sweat rolled from her curls, under her glasses dripping on her shirt. Both of her arms had scratches from all the bushes they had gone through. Yet her right hand was still on her weapon, her left holding the drinking tube as she watched the area. Feeling very proud of her, Bruce reached out, pulling her head to him, and kissed her on top of the head. She turned to Bruce, smiling, with her face flushed from the heat. He smiled back at her. Buffy held out the drinking tube in front of his mouth. Bruce shook his head no, and she just pushed it in his mouth. He took several long drinks and passed it back to her. She turned to the road and put her back against his chest. With the heat radiating off her body, Bruce wanted her to move away a little. Bruce just did not have the heart to move her. He smiled to himself as he admitted to himself he loved her as his daughter. Great, he had another daughter who would drive him crazy when she became a teenager.

  The two sat watching the road. Bruce reached around her, taking the drinking tube, and took a last drink before putting it back. Bruce turned on the thermal scope; it took almost a minute to warm up, and he might need his scope. Turning to the group, Bruce thumped his chest, and everyone looked at him. He raised his arm and gave the signal to move out. He and Buffy moved to the edge of the tree line and stepped out. Bruce pulled Buffy to a kneeling position. He looked to his left down the road that led to the dam; not seeing anything, he turned to the right. The road curved away from them a quarter mile away. He grabbed Buffy’s shoulder and squeezed as he stood up, and took off running across the road. Buffy took off in a dead run, which for Bruce was a fast jog. The distance was only about fifty yards, but being exposed, it felt like miles. They ran into the tree line on the other side and stopped. Buffy leaned over with her hands on her knees.

  Bruce pulled his rifle up and looked down the road toward the dam then back the other way toward the curve, not seeing any thermal signatures except the group. He called Mike on the radio, telling him to send two. Next came Lynn and John, and he was leaving her behind. When they made it into the tree line, Bruce called Mike again and they repeated the process until it was only Mike and Jim left to cross. Scanning the road again and not seeing anything, Bruce told Mike to come on. Mike and Jim came out of the tree line. Mike took off like the demons of hell were behind him. While Jim, was doing a limp-dick sissy jog. As Mike reached the edge of the road, he turned and did not see Jim. He slowed down, looked back, and saw Jim was only halfway across the twenty-yard shoulder. Mike turned around, grabbing Jim’s shoulder, and started pulling him in a dead run. Jim had no choice but to run or fall flat on his face. As they crossed the center stripes, Bruce heard a roar coming down the road from the curve. Bruce literally felt his ass pucker.