The Emerald Virus

by Patrick Shea

  “He had planned on three women and three men, but one of the women didn’t show. The other guy, he’s called Red, is a real bad ass. He’s a lifelong gang banger and he immediately stepped up and claimed the other woman. They both promised me that they’d help me find a woman for myself, but I didn’t believe them. I’ve been planning on taking off on my own, but I just haven’t left yet.”

  “At the park we left the women’s RVs and taped them up and brought them here with us. The house belongs to a relative of Gus’s and he made a big deal of taking the women to Sawmill Pond to this mansion. It ain’t a mansion, but it works for the time being.”

  Jack thought all of this was pertinent, but not overly helpful, except for the verification of the number of men to deal with. One of the men must have gotten careless because one of the women had been able to send that message. Whoever it was apparently had not fessed up.

  He asked Topper if either of the guys were computer literate.

  “Red can’t even turn one on, but Gus worked in a computer store and he’s good with computers.

  Jack had brought a couple of dish towels out with the vodka and now stopped to tie one around Toppers leg to stop the seeping. Heather had missed major arteries and Jack thought Topper was lucky. He didn’t believe Heather had a clue where the arteries were located.

  “Okay Topper, that’s a nice start, now I need you to tell me about the living arrangements in the house and how they decide when to go to the RVs.”

  Topper described everything he could remember and Jack grilled him until he was sure Topper hadn’t left anything out.

  Jack asked Topper why they hadn’t seen him leave the house.

  “I walked through the backyard to pick up a car on that street. I had seen a nice sports car when I was driving around and I wanted to drive it.”

  Topper had insisted that he never called anyone about Heather, and while Jack didn’t believe him Heather showed him Topper’s cell phone and the call history which showed he hadn’t made a call in two weeks.

  An hour later the two of them were back watching the house. Topper had been left cuffed to a pipe at the dealership. Jack promised to come back for him after they had dealt with Gus and Red. Topper asked what would happen to him if Jack and Heather were killed. Jack calmly told him he would either starve to death or he could chew off his own hand to get free.

  On the drive back to the house Jack asked Heather where in the world she had learned to stab someone in the leg.

  She shyly said, “I hope that’s okay with you, I know you didn’t tell me to do it, but I thought you would be thinking of doing something to him to make him talk, and I didn’t want you to think you were always the one that had to do the hard things. I took the knife from him earlier and it had a short blade on it. I stabbed him as hard as I could because I was afraid it wasn’t sharp enough to go in.”

  Jack reached over and squeezed her shoulder and told her she had done just fine. But she didn’t have to worry about taking care of him. He was now convinced that she was everything he could have hoped for. All he could do was shake his head and quietly thank her parents for how they had raised this kid.

  Jack explained to Heather what he had in mind and what her role would be. It was now eleven o’clock and the last light in the house had gone off about ten minutes ago.

  At midnight Jack left the house by the back door and moved through backyards until he was out of sight of the house. He crossed the street and moved into and through the backyards on the opposite side of the street until he was looking at the house from the back. He watched for thirty minutes and saw no movement at all.

  Topper told them that Gus and Red usually drank themselves to sleep each evening. Jack was hoping that held true for tonight. He then moved into the front yard and looked through the front windows from between the bushes. He couldn’t see anything at all.

  He wasn’t sure where the two men were sleeping. Topper had told him they slept anywhere they wanted to. But they didn’t trust the women so they kept them locked in the RV. Topper had no idea if they were tied up or chained up or what.

  Jack walked quietly through the side yard, into the neighbors yard and out to the street. He moved quickly to the other side of the RVs and pulled out a tech lock pick set he had picked up from a police station two days ago. Fortunately, both RVs had driver-side doors. It took him a long time to figure out how to open the door to the RV, but he finally heard the thunk that told him the lock had opened.

  He was sure the interior light would come on as soon as he opened the door but there was nothing he could do about it. He pulled the door open and climbed in as quickly as he could, closing the door behind him. The light had been on for maybe five seconds, which wasn’t bad he thought, but he had made too much noise closing the door. He sat as still as he could waiting to see if anyone in the house or the RV was awake.

  All of the privacy shades were in place so he couldn’t see out, but neither could anyone see in. Heather would call him and his cell phone would vibrate if anyone came out of the house.

  Five minutes later Jack very quietly moved through the RV to the bedroom. The bedroom door was open and there was a night light shining from the bathroom. It gave enough light so he could see the bed and a person sleeping in the middle of it. She was covered with multiple blankets and Jack couldn’t tell anything about her.

  He hated to, but he got as close to her as he could and then put his hand over her mouth and held on tightly. She came awake and started to struggle, but almost immediately stopped. Jack loosened his grip as he said very softly, “I’m a friend, I’m here to help you but we have to be very quiet. Do you understand? Her head nodded a couple of times and Jack released his hand.

  He continued talking softly, trying to put her at ease, “Are you hurt so that you can’t walk or run?” She shook her head. “I’m going to take you out of here, but we will move very quietly and very slowly. I have a friend waiting to help you, just hang in there for a little longer.” She nodded, but still didn’t say anything.

  Jack continued, “My name is Jack Sweeney, what should I call you?”

  “Tammy” came the whisper.

  “Okay Tammy, there is another lady being held in another RV. If we alert those men we won’t be able to save her also, so you have to work with me.”

  “Okay, I’ll do anything you say.” She was now sobbing, but as quietly as she could.

  Jack asked, “Are you dressed, or do you have clothes in here you can wear, especially shoes?”

  “Somewhere in the RV should be the clothes I wore that first day. I had clothes and shoes then.”

  “Alright, you stay here and get your thoughts together; I’ll look for your stuff.” Jack pulled out his pen light and started by shining the tiny light around the bedroom. There was nothing on the floor so he moved to the living area. He didn’t think the men would have put the clothes away.

  He found blue jeans and a blouse thrown on the sofa. A pair of shoes had been kicked under the table.

  He went back to the bedroom and Tammy was sitting up holding the blankets up to her chin. Jack said, “Tammy, I found your jeans and blouse and a pair of running shoes. I didn’t find socks or underwear but we’ll stop and get you some once we get out of here. Can you get dressed by yourself?”

  “Yes I can, but my ankle has a chain around it. I’m chained to the bed frame, which is bolted to the floor. The chain is just long enough to let me go to the bathroom.”

  “Okay, that’s not a problem, let me look at it. Okay, just lay back and hold still while I pick the lock. Fortunately it’s a simple pin and tumbler padlock. I used to be halfway good at this.” The lock opened quickly and Jack took the chain off of Tammy’s ankle.

  She was crying again, but softly. She grabbed her clothes and let go of the blankets. Jack quickly said, “Tammy, wait a minute; let me get into the other room first. Come out when you’re ready.”

  Sixty seconds later Tammy came into the living area and sa
id, “Let’s get out of here.”

  Jack responded, “I’m going to disable the RV before we leave, it will just take a second. Jack pulled a set of wire cutters from his coat pocket and reached under the dash. He pulled down until he could see a handful of wires and cut them all. Some sparked and some didn’t. He did this until he couldn’t find any more wires.

  He said, “Okay, now we’ll go quietly out the driver’s door. I’ll go first.”

  He opened the door and stepped out quickly and helped Tammy down. They crossed the street quickly, keeping the RVs between them and the front door. He led her into the backyard and into the house. Heather was waiting for them at the front window with Jack’s M-16. She handed the rifle to Jack and took Tammy’s hand.

  She said, “Hi, I’m Heather, I’m here to help you, so tell me what you need. I’m going to take you back to our RV where we have heat and light and food and you’ll be safe.”

  “Jack, be careful, I’m going to get our friend settled in our RV and I’ll be back to help you.” With that she took Tammy by the hand and said, come on and we’ll get you fixed up.” And she and Tammy were gone.

  They walked the same route Jack had taken earlier, found the car, and drove to the RV. On the way, Tammy said, “Who are you guys, what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?”

  “We’ll I’m Heather, and the man that rescued you is Jack Sweeney. You might have heard of him. He used to issue bulletins to survivors.”

  Tammy sounded surprised when she said, “That Jack Sweeney! Why did he come here?”

  “He found a message on the web from you or the other lady.”

  “That can’t be, that message was only live for about three minutes before he found what I had done and deleted it.”

  “We’ll Jack found it and we’ve been checking out the areas around all of the Sawmill Ponds we could find. I’ll tell one thing, I’m glad you were here because the next stop was going to be in Maine, and I didn’t really want to fight that weather, although if Jack had gone, I would have gone with him.”

  They pulled next to the RV and Heather helped Tammy into the RV. Once Tammy was inside she looked at Heather and said, “You’re only a kid!”

  Heather smiled and said, “Yep, but I don’t always act like one, if you want to verify that you can ask the guy that I took the gun from today, or ask what he thought about me being a kid when I put the knife in his leg. But all of that aside, yes I’m very young.”

  “Now first things first, how does a hot shower sound?”

  “It sounds really good.”

  “Okay, you go take a shower. I’m going to find a pair of Jacks sweats for you. I’ll leave some of my underwear with them, but if they don’t fit don’t worry, we’ll stop first thing to get some decent stuff for you. By the way, I think you’re doing super right now. We just need you to hold up for a little while longer. While you’re in the shower I’m going to fix something for you to eat. But then I’m going to have to leave you while I go back and help Jack with the other woman.”

  Tammy’s eyes expanded and she looked scared, “What will I do if you don’t come back?”

  “Good question. If I were you I’d wait right here for two days or so just in case the bad guys are out looking for you on the freeway. Then head south as quickly as you can. There is a group of survivors in Delaware that will help you. Look, here in the center console are all of the numbers on this print out. The Delaware group is here on the third page. You’ll be alright.”

  “What about you and Jack?”

  “I don’t know. I plan on coming back for you but I’ve found in the last couple of weeks that things don’t always work like I want them to. I’m going to cook now.”

  When Tammy finished showering she found sweats, socks and underwear stacked just outside the bathroom door. A minute later she walked into the living area with her hair wrapped in a towel and found breakfast on the table.

  Heather said, “I forgot to ask what kind of food you like, but I figure everyone likes breakfast.”

  Tammy smiled and said, “I haven’t had a decent meal in weeks, this is great.”

  “I’m really sorry to do this but I’m going to leave you now. Do you know how to shoot a gun?”

  “No, I never thought I’d need to.”

  Heather went in the bedroom and came back with the shotgun. She jacked a round into the chamber and handed it to Tammy as she said, “It’s loaded and ready to shoot so be careful. We’ll knock on the door when we come back so don’t shoot us. If anyone other than Jack or I show up just point and shoot.”

  Fifteen minutes later Heather was back with Jack. She said, “I think she’s okay. I didn’t know what to say about what she’s been through so I didn’t say anything. I mostly acted like I was in a hurry, which was no act. I told her to hold herself together until we got back. I hope she can do that. It’ll be okay for her to fall apart once we’re with her again.”

  Jack said, “You did what you had to do. I’m sure she understands that. Let’s get the other victim and get out of here. Same drill as before except I’m not going to check the house this time. There’s been no movement since you left.”

  Jack walked out the back, around to the front and directly across the street to the middle RV. This was the one he had watched Red enter. He quickly picked the look on the driver’s door and entered the RV. The first thing that struck him was the awful smell. He knew that if she was alive she wouldn’t be for long.

  He walked into the bedroom using his pen light and saw the figure lying on the bed. He felt for a pulse and found none, but the body was still warm. She had died very recently.

  He couldn’t believe how badly she had been hurt. There were cuts and bruises over her entire body, and multiple cigarette burns on her face and breasts. She was completely naked and the chain around her ankle was covered in blood where she had tried to get away from the torturer. It was impossible to tell what she had looked like in life.

  As Jack thought about the monster that had done this to an innocent person his phone vibrated in his pocket. He didn’t hesitate; he took out his handgun and pulled back the trigger. He stood in the doorway to the bedroom and waited for the side door of the RV to open.

  Instead he heard the door to the first RV open and close. Jack left his RV quietly and waited by the door to the other one. In about ten seconds the door flew open and a man jumped out. As he stepped down Jack kicked his feet out from under him and the man did a face plant on the curb. Jack slammed the gun into the back of his head and immediately looked at the house. The light was on in the living room and Jack saw a shadow move towards the front door. He crouched next to the body and lifted his gun.

  The man called Red opened the door and took a step onto the porch. As he did so he realized something was wrong, probably the door to his RV being open. He threw himself to his left and pulled a large revolver from his belt. Jack’s first two shots missed him and he had to move to some kind of cover. The big revolver went off twice and Jack felt the slugs enter the RV behind him. He dove under the RV as he heard the M-16 open up.

  Heather was firing single shots but doing so rapidly. Red pointed his gun at the flashes caused by Heather’s shooting and fired twice. Jack stood up and took deliberate aim, when Red swiveled his gun towards Jack, Jack emptied his clip at him. Red fell heavily to the floor of the porch. Jack ran to the porch, inserting a new clip as he ran. He quickly fired two more shots into Red and turned and ran across the street.

  As he did so the front door opened and Heather came running out. Jack scooped her up and said over and over, “its okay now, he’s dead, it’s okay now, he’s dead.” Heather didn’t say anything, she just held on.

  Jack then said, “I have to go look at the other one, he might be alive still. Come with me.”

  They walked back to the RV and found that Jack had opened Gus’s skull with the gun and he was indeed dead.

  They walked back into the house they had used as a lookout post and colle
cted their gear. Fifteen minutes later they opened the front door to their RV and watched Tammy come out of a deep sleep and start to raise the gun barrel towards them.

  Jack yelled, “It’s okay Tammy, it’s just us, it’s just us.”

  Tammy took a second to remember that she was safe and lowered the gun. She said, “I’m sorry, I must have dozed off. Heather, what happened to your face?”

  Jack looked and saw that Heather had a piece of wood sticking out of her cheek and a trickle of blood had flowed down her face.

  Heather said, “Oh that must have happened when he shot at me. One of his bullets hit the frame of the window. I must have gotten a splinter.” And she smiled and said, “Boy, it just doesn’t seem that long ago when getting a splinter meant something altogether different.”

  Tammy said, “Someone was shooting at you, almost shot you, and you’re joking about it. Are you crazy?”

  “Well, before today I would have said no, now, I’m no longer sure.”

  Jack said, “Heather, you did well, but you shouldn’t have started shooting, that was a sure way to draw his fire towards you.”

  “Well I know, I thought it would give you a chance to finish the other guy and then worry about the big guy. Remember, I had no idea what was going on with Gus but I didn’t hear any shots so I thought you were still worrying about him.”

  Jack grimaced and said, “Again, you did the right thing. I think I can trust you more now.”

  Heather said, “Well you’ve taught me all this other stuff, but I wouldn’t mind lessons on how to live less dangerously.”

  Jack laughed and Tammy just shook her head.

  Tammy asked what had happened and Jack said, “We had a shoot out with the other two, they’re both dead. The other woman is also dead; she had been tortured and died shortly before I got to her. Time wouldn’t have mattered though, I don’t think she could have lived long even had we been able to rescue her. More importantly, how are you? You’ve been through a lot these past two weeks. I think you’re doing remarkably well.