“Thank you…” Jane said slowly as she took the swab that Big Al offered.
Jane crouched down, looked at Danny, and forced a smile.
“Now sweetie, I need you to–”
“I know!” Danny interrupted. “Like at the doctor’s office!”
Danny opened his mouth really wide, squeezed his eyes shut, and stuck out his tongue.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!”
Jane gently and quickly swabbed the back of his mouth.
Danny pulled back in revulsion and started spitting.
“Yuck!” he exclaimed. “It tasted sour, mama!”
Big Al and Teddy chuckled.
Jane didn’t respond as she focused on the test tube in her other hand. She stood back up and anxiously slid the swab inside, screwed it shut, and waited.
Everyone was silent as all eyes were on the test tube.
After what felt much longer than thirty seconds, the fluid turned green.
Jane let out a sigh of relief and smiled down at Danny.
“Am I sick, mama?” he asked, sniffling.
“No, sweetie, you’re not sick,” Jane replied softly.
“See, I told you that there isn’t anything to worry about,” Big Al said. He crouched down in front of Danny and gave a goofy smile. “I don’t have the Benadryl yet, but I might just have something to help with the sour taste.”
Danny watched with glee as Big Al reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a wrapped lollypop.
Big Al handed him the candy and Danny snatched it up, instantly ripping off the wrapper and sticking it in his mouth.
Big Al chuckled and stood back up.
“I love kids,” Big Al told Jane. “I wish we had more in the camp to be honest.”
Jane smiled warmly and looked down at Danny.
“What do you say, sweetheart?” she pressed.
“Oh yeah…” Danny mumbled with the lollypop stuck in his mouth. “Thank you, mister.”
“You’re very welcome!”
“I have something to tell you,” Jane said to Big Al.
He looked at her and cocked a bushy brow.
“What’s that?”
“Jane,” she said with a smile. “My name is Jane. Sorry about earlier, but people have generally been pretty shitty lately.”
Big Al let out a boisterous laugh and walked back to the side of the room.
“You’ll find I don’t take things personally, Jane,” he boasted. “As many times as Mariah chewed me out or got snippy with me I think I’m used to it by now.”
Doc took another test kit out of the desk, opened it, and motioned for Jane to approach.
“Last but not least,” Doc said as he held out a swab.
Jane stepped towards the table and allowed Doc to take the sample.
As Doc waited for the results, she turned and went back to Teddy.
“So before your little run-in with the army, where were you folks headed?” Big Al asked as he crossed his arms over his chest once again.
“The stadium,” Teddy responded.
Big Al looked at him, blinked in disbelief, and then laughed.
Teddy frowned.
“Why are you laughing?” Teddy asked, annoyed.
“Because that’s about the dumbest plan I’ve heard,” Big Al answered, still chuckling and shaking his head. “Where do you think the military takes the people they scoop up during their little raids?”
“So what?” Jane asked. “Living in a stadium can’t be any worse than living in a tent inside some parking deck wondering where your next meal is going to come from.”
“At least we’re free from the eyes of Big Brother,” Big Al said defensively.
Teddy realized that Big Al talked a lot like an inmate whose mind had been fried with rehashed conspiracy theories and too many bad movies.
“People who get taken to the stadium aren’t ever seen again,” Big Al continued. “Sounds an awful lot like a prison instead of what we have here.”
Teddy looked around at the stained sheets, moldy wooden crates, and the trash on the ground with a pitying scoff.
“What exactly do you call what you have here, Al?” Teddy asked as he gestured around. “It doesn’t look like much.”
“Ah, but looks can be deceiving,” Big Al said proudly. “What we have here is a community.”
Doc held up Jane’s test result and nodded with approval as soon as he saw green.
“She’s clean,” Doc said as he tossed the test tube in the trash. He sat back down and propped his feet back on the desk.
“Excellent!” Big Al proclaimed. He stepped aside and pulled one of the draped sheets aside to reveal a way up into the second level of the deck. “Step inside and I’ll show you what I’m talking about.”
Teddy and Jane exchanged a skeptical look.
“You okay with this?” Teddy asked her.
“Only if you are,” she responded. “After everything that happened, getting some rest and some Benadryl for Danny does sound nice though.”
“Fine,” Teddy said. “We’ll stay tonight. Just until the heat dies down.”
Teddy walked past Big Al and through the opening.
Jane held Danny’s hand and followed.
They stopped walking as soon as they saw what awaited them on the other side.
Rows of multi-colored tents, camper trailers, and cardboard boxes created a makeshift city that dominated the entire second level of the garage. Extension cords and Christmas lights were strung from the ceiling along with multiple industrial box fans. Carpets of every size and color covered the floor except in the center of the deck where a miniature fire pit had been set up. Lawn chairs surrounded the fire in a rough circle. People milled about laughing and conversing, while the majority lounged around on their sleeping bags and cots enjoying the breeze from the box fans.
Danny gasped in awe at the sight of the twinkling Christmas lights.
Big Al stood between Teddy and Jane and slapped them on the back.
They jumped, startled.
“What do you all think?” Big Al asked proudly.
“It’s certainly… festive,” Teddy said as he struggled to find the right wording.
Big Al laughed.
“I guess you’re not a fan of the décor,” Big Al said with a smile. “They provide light, don’t use a lot of juice, and they seem to brighten people up a little.”
Jane stared up at the tangled web of lights that spanned across the ceiling and gave Big Al a quizzical look.
“Aren’t you worried about other people seeing this from the street?” she asked. “It’s pretty much advertising.”
“Not really,” he dismissed with a shrug. “Between the black tarps and the mosquito netting we’re pretty much shielded from prying eyes at street level.”
“What about the nighttime?” Teddy asked as he looked around.
“Not a problem since we power off the lights at six every evening,” Big Al explained. “We have three big-ass generators powering the place, water filtration tablets from the old army surplus store, crates of military MREs, canned goods, and enough bottles of water to fill a small lake.”
“You have it all by the sound of it,” Jane said, genuinely impressed. “Sounds like you’re in better shape than most of the encampments I’ve stumbled across.”
“Damn right,” he responded. “We have a security detail, a fire crew, and some honest-to-goodness maintenance folks that deals with stuff like cleaning out the port-a-pots.” He started pointing out different buildings. “We have a little chapel and even a market where people can barter without fear of getting a gun pulled out on them.”
Teddy saw people gathered around some of the tents with their wares spread out across blankets on the floor. They were hollering at anybody who would stop and listen to their sales pitch.
Despite what was happening outside, people inside looked blissfully oblivious of the grisly realty everywhere else.
It was an odd but welcome
sight for Teddy.
He looked over at Jane and smiled; she seemed to be taken aback by it all but she looked happy for once.
Something about seeing her happy made him feel happy as well.
It was contagious.
Danny stood staring at the lights and colorful tents with the pure and innocent wonderment of a child. For one brief moment, he looked like how Teddy imagined a young boy would look if the world wasn’t crumbling apart.
Big Al looked over his shoulder at them and appeared pleased by their expressions.
“Come on, follow me,” Big Al said as he started walking. “I’m not as good at this hospitality thing as Mariah is, but I’ll introduce you to a few folks and then show you to your tent.”
They followed.
On the surface, Teddy knew that the place was just a ragtag tent city badly hidden inside an old parking garage. He knew that no place like that would be protected from the wolves forever no matter how many armed people they had holding up the walls. He knew that eventually the supplies would run out or the virus would slip in. He knew that the inevitable would take its course and the center would not hold.
However, on the inside, Teddy felt happy.
He felt safe.
The cynicism he lived by, the very same ideals that protected him for so long, were starting to slip away in favor of optimism. Between the flashy allure of Big Al’s promised land and Jane’s presence, his defenses tumbled down like a house of cards.
He didn’t care.
He embraced the new feelings.
They were warm.
They were comforting.
They were dangerous.
For once, Teddy broke the cardinal rule he had lived by during his many years inside USP Tucson: never let your guard down.
CHAPTER 24
Teddy leaned against one of the deck’s support pillars and watched the sunset through a narrow slit in one of the heavy tarps that obstructed the view from any potential passers-by on the ground below.
Watching the sun sink behind the skyscrapers was beautiful and strangely calming for a man who had never paid any attention to it. The Arizona sky, normally clear and blue, had been transformed into a wondrous array of every shade of red and orange imaginable.
Far behind him, somewhere in the deck, he heard someone playing a guitar and uproarious laughter that usually accompanies a good drink.
Teddy didn’t pay them any attention; he was satisfied being left alone to admire the riot of colors in the sky.
Apart from the people he had met at the communal dinner of cooked rice, cabbage, and stew, he hadn’t seen much of the other people camped there.
A few curious folks walked by just to size-up the newcomers, but except for a few pleasantries nobody had really said anything of substance.
In fact, people tended to lower their voice or stop talking altogether when he was near.
Teddy didn’t mind.
He preferred it that way.
Everyone seemed pretty nice, just guarded.
He understood.
The camp’s leader, Big Al, had given them a quick tour, set them up in a tent, handed them some bottles of water and a change of clothes, and then disappeared.
Eventually - someone else, a skinny boy whose name he had forgotten, came and got them when it was time for dinner.
That felt like it was hours ago.
Teddy’s new outfit, an oversized green polo shirt, black jeans, and scuffed cowboy boots looked like something out of a thrift store bargain bin, but there were sure as hell comfortable.
“I’d give you a penny for your thoughts, but money isn’t worth much here anymore,” a gruff voice said from behind.
Teddy looked over his shoulder half-expecting to see Big Al and his goofy grin, but instead he saw a muscular black man.
The man wore a branded t-shirt of a restaurant that Teddy didn’t recognize. He had on combat boots and sun faded cargo pants. His bald head and face were scarred with razor bumps.
Teddy turned his attention back towards the setting sun.
“Even if I had a penny, I’m not exactly in a sharing mood,” Teddy said.
“Fair enough,” the man replied. “Care enough to share a name?”
“Teddy.”
“Eddie.”
“What can I do for you, Eddie?”
Eddie held out his hands, shrugged, and chuckled.
“Can’t a man just say hi?” Eddie asked. “People keep whispering about you so I thought I’d come over here and see what the fuss is all about.”
“Whispering about what?”
“Rumors. We have plenty of them around here. The ones I’ve heard about you have been pretty nasty. I guess that’s why people have been avoiding you like the plague, aside from your outstanding people skills.”
“Yeah? What rumors have you heard, Eddie?”
“Well, outside the rumor that the little boy you’re traveling with is sick,” Eddie hesitated. “People are saying you got Mariah and her crew killed.”
Teddy scoffed and shook his head.
“The kid passed the test. If he was sick, we wouldn’t be allowed in,” Teddy explained. “As far as this Mariah person goes, we didn’t do anything. She volunteered to stay behind and fight. For all I know, she got away.”
“You and I both know that she didn’t.”
Teddy closed his eyes, reached up, and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh.
“Look,” Teddy said. “I’m sorry about your friends. I really am. I know we are not welcome here, but after tonight we’ll all be out of your hair.”
Eddie tilted his head and raised a brow.
“Where will you go?” Eddie asked. “I’ve seen a lot of places, but this shit here is nice.”
“We’re going to the stadium.”
“Then you’re signing your own death certificates,” Eddie said matter-of-factly.
Teddy scowled and turned towards Eddie.
“You know, I’m sick and tired of people telling me how bad the stadium idea is when the truth is that they have no idea what’s over there!”
“I have some notion,” Eddie said calmly, staring at him. He reached inside the neck of his shirt and pulled out a pair of military dog tags dangling off a silver chain.
Teddy looked at the dog tags and blinked, taken aback.
“Sargent Edward Evans,” Eddie said. “153 Brigade Support Battalion stationed in Yuma, Arizona. Been in the service for eleven years but had to draw a line when they started ordering us to shoot at civilians.” He tucked the dog tags back inside his shirt. “Before you start painting us all with a broad brush, most of us left once those pricks from FEMA came in and gave us a new set of unconstitutional marching orders. I can’t say much for the sorry pieces of shit that stayed behind, but lots of us decent folks left. Those who stayed probably stayed out of sheer cowardice.”
“The stadium,” Teddy pressed. “What do you know about it?”
“At first people were desperate and went there willingly,” Eddie explained. “Eventually, I guess word got out and people started looking for shelter elsewhere. In addition to dealing with the virus, FEMA had to deal with riots, looting, and anarchy.”
“What did they expect?” Teddy asked.
Eddie just shrugged.
“I don’t know what those suits in Washington imagined, but I know that compliance and control became a problem. The 153rd was tasked with rounding up survivors and taking them to the stadium for ‘processing’ as FEMA called it. Somedays, especially in the beginning, we’d bring whole busloads in. At the time, a lot of us thought we were helping people too frightened to go get help themselves.”
“What is it like inside?”
“I’ve never been, but even from the outside I can’t begin to describe the smell… God, it stuck in your nostrils and clung to your uniform.”
They stood and stared at each other in silence for several seconds.
“I have to ask,” Teddy finally said. “What
made you walk away?”
“What was my breaking point you mean?”
“Yes.”
Eddie thought for a moment.
“We came across one camp and the people fought back,” Eddie said. “They refused to go with us. They had a bunch of kids with them and the younglings were bawling something fierce and calling us every name you can imagine. I guess my lieutenant didn’t like that very much. He shot one of the kids right in the face like it was nothing.” He fell silent and frowned. “We were all in shock. The bastard turned towards us and tried to smooth it over. He explained that he was just following the new rules of engagement passed down from HQ. The new rules stated that any form of active resistance could be met with deadly force, but it was the first time myself or any of the other guys saw someone execute the new orders.”
“Jesus Christ,” Teddy muttered, shocked. “What did you do?”
“What do you think I did?” Eddie asked. “I shot that cowardly prick right in his stupid face. It was tense and there was a standoff with some of the other guys who wasn’t sure what to do, but in the end eight of us walked away after that incident while the others drove back to the stadium.”
“You did the right thing,” Teddy said.
“No, brother,” Eddie said with a smile. “It’s not my place to take another man’s life, but I guess I have to take that up with God when it’s my turn. All I’m saying is reconsider going to that stadium.” He gestured around the camp. “I know this isn’t much, and people may have their doubts about you, but they’ll warm up to you eventually. When I first met Mariah and Al’s group I was an AWOL soldier who was still in his uniform. You can imagine how well that went. They hated me with a passion just because of what I was wearing, but in the end - they took me in as one of their own. It’ll be the same with you once everyone’s emotions settle down. Give them time, Teddy.”
Eddie walked towards Teddy and extended his hand with a smile.
Teddy reached out and grabbed his hand.
“Welcome home,” Eddie said with a smile as he shook Teddy’s hand with a firm grip.
Teddy smiled back and nodded.
“Don’t listen to him, Teddy,” Big Al said as he approached from around the corner with a grin. “Whatever he’s telling you is a lie. Trust me, I’ve played poker with him and he took me to the cleaners every time.”
H7N9- The Complete Series Page 24