by C C Roth
Our jeep pulled into Frank’s lot and parked next to a couple of pickup trucks. There was only one tent out which belonged to a middle-aged couple who was selling fresh vegetables. They lived nearby like us, but they had their own greenhouse which explained all their amazing veggies. I stood silently behind my parents as they chatted for a while and talked about planting. Dad was getting some good advice for his tomatoes and how to fertilize them. Judging by the beautiful crop sitting out on the table the two obviously knew what they were talking about.
A voice from the door stole our attention. “Well, look here. You came back after all.” Frank sounded genuinely happy to see us and the warmth in his voice made me smile despite my seriously crappy mood.
“Frank, how are you?” My dad walked over and waved, still no handshakes even with gloves on.
“I was hoping to see you all again. You have time for a visit? Come and sit for a bit.” He gestured to a rickety picnic table with an umbrella protruding from its middle. He leaned against the wall and yelled over his shoulder for Ellen to grab some drinks and snacks.
We all took a seat, but I was careful to position myself on the opposite end from my mother. Yes, the sun was too hot on my back in the spot I’d chosen but I didn’t care, I was not going to sit next to her.
Frank looked us all over, head to toe. “Well you all seem healthy and fit. How have you been holding up?”
“We’re doing well,” Dad said. “But we needed some new faces for a change. I think we are way past cabin fever right now.”
Frank chuckled. “That’ll happen from time to time. It’s not natural for folks to be cooped up together for too long. Just try to be patient with each other and keep busy. Otherwise you’ll end up in a good ole’ fashioned family feud.”
I audibly snorted behind my mask. The time for patience had come and gone as far I was concerned. I was cooped up with a complete stranger that called herself my mother.
Ellen emerged from the door doing her best zombie impression, carrying a basket loaded with juice boxes and assorted snack bags. She had the same scowl beset on her face and barely nodded to anyone before she turned and sulked back into the store. I jumped up and grabbed the Chex Mix bag before anyone else could get it, earning a chuckle from Frank.
“Sorry, seems like we’ve forgotten our manners too.” Dad gave me an annoyed face.
“Don’t apologize. These days if you see something you want you need to take it.” He nodded at me, “You go ahead.”
I smiled sheepishly, a little embarrassed, but ripped into the bag anyway. It had been almost a year since I’d had the addictive salty goodness of Chex Mix and I wasn’t about to let the chance slip away.
“So what’s the latest news you have, Frank? Surely you must hear a lot.”
“I do. I make a point to talk to everyone I see so I can keep up on things around here, but I watch the same news as you. I got a friend in Bloomfield that I talk with too and things are still a mess over there. The militia is running everything and they seem to be getting more aggressive, if that’s possible. There have been a few more attacks in the area and more people going missing. I don’t know much more about it other than they’re taking people. Claiming they’re recruiting for the army.”
Mike perked up. “Who’s taking people? Taking them where?” he asked concerned.
“I don’t know, wish I did. All I know is you all need to stay away from them. I suppose staying away from most people now is the smart thing.” His gentle face grew heavy and he looked down at his calloused hands for a minute.
I knew the story running through his mind was about how he lost his son and judging by his expression it did not have a happy ending. I wanted to know more but he was just trying to keep it together.
Mom broke the silence, “Are they taking orders from someone or just taking advantage?”
“Hard to say. They act like military still but who knows if they’re acting on orders or not. You don’t want to mess with them though. That’s really all I can say.”
Dad pinched my arm a little. “Oh, we’ll be fine. We’ve got our little Sharp-Shooter here if someone tries to mess with us.” He was trying to lighten the mood again which was annoying but dammit, that was an awesome nickname.
“Is that right?” Frank sounded surprised and studied my face. “And I would have taken you for the class clown. Guess it goes to show you never can tell.”
I shrugged it off, uncomfortable with the attention and Frank politely changed the subject.
“Well I suppose you heard the latest on the virus?”
“No, I don’t think so. Has something changed?” Mom asked surprised.
“As of this morning most stations are reporting a significant drop in the number of infected which means that maybe this thing might be slowing down. They aren’t too sure about anything these days, but it sounds promising anyway.”
I couldn’t hide my excitement, regardless of how pissed off I was. “Is it real? Does that mean it’s over?”
Mom’s eyes darted nervously to Dad then back to me. She raised her hands up as if to slow me down. “It’s great news, Sam but it’s far from over.”
Typical. I ignored her completely. “What station were you listening to?” I asked excitedly.
“Go on in and ask Ellen. There’s a TV behind the counter she can turn on for you.”
“A TV!” I jumped up and ran inside. Mike was right behind me. The cabin still didn’t have one so we hadn’t watched TV since we’d left home. Maybe Frank had an extra one buried in all his piles of junk we could take.
Mike and I must’ve startled Ellen as we blew through the door because her hand flew up from under the counter with a shotgun pointed right at us. Her eyes were crazy and bugging out of her head.
We froze, which is the only thing you can do in that situation and put our hands up in peace. “Frank said there’s a TV so we could watch the news?” I blurted it out quickly before she could shoot us.
I wasn’t completely certain Ellen was all there and I didn’t think blowing our heads off would have made her lifeless expression change in the least.
She blinked a few times and jerked her head as if to say, “C’mon back.” There was a creaky door just behind the counter that opened into a depressingly small office outfitted with an equally small TV monitor. Mike flipped it on and we huddled together almost holding our breath. The reception on the tiny old screen wasn’t perfect but it might as well have been a movie theatre to us. Months with no TV was miserable.
An anchorwoman with perfect hair was sitting behind her perfect desk in the same old newsroom she’d always sat in looking untouched by the complete breakdown of our society. There was even the same fake city skyline as the backdrop on the wall behind her. She didn’t seem to be struggling at all. Maybe not everyone was having the same survival experience or maybe it was just a good time to be in the news business. I remembered her from some of the first reports when the virus hit. Her name was Melinda or Martha or—
“Marta Cline, bringing you the very latest updates on our ever-changing world and I’ll be here with you the rest of the day as new information becomes available. I am happy to report again that the viral outbreak our country has been battling since November may now be coming to an end. We are receiving verified reports that the viral infection rate has slowed down and according to the CDC, there are currently 50 percent fewer new infections being reported. This is much welcomed news since our CDC has had little luck attacking this threat and many U.S. lives have been lost. We have suffered the greatest fatality count due to a viral outbreak since the plague and there has never been an epidemic like this on U.S. soil in our entire history. Those of us surviving are lucky and need to remain vigilant. That is what the CDC wants the public to know right now and here is a direct quote from the Director of the CDC, Terri Greene. ‘Any success in beating the virus is due to lack of human interaction so this is not an invitation to start hugging strangers or getting lazy about protecting
yourself. Please avoid handshakes, hugs or any other physical contact with any individual you have not known since the start of the spread. Wear a mask if you must leave your home and take every precaution. It is still not safe and this is not over. But we are making progress. We cannot stress enough that we do not have a vaccine for the Avian-X virus but we will continue to fight and search for solutions.’ So, an ominous message from the CDC but not without a ray of hope. I would like to echo that message and stress again that survivors should remain on alert and continue to take preventative measures. We go now live to—"
I looked at Mike and raised my eyebrows asking what he thought.
“You heard her, Sam. It’s not over. All this means is people are avoiding each other not that there is a way to save anyone who gets sick.”
I didn’t want to hear what he was saying. This was the first positive bit of news we’d had in a long time and I wanted to enjoy it. I turned back to the TV where a reporter was standing in front of a large group of people who were all wearing gloves and surgical masks and walking around in a circle yelling and chanting. Some were holding signs. There was a large white building in the far background and soldiers with guns standing guard in front of it.
“I’m here in Austin, Texas in front of the Governor’s Mansion where local citizens have gathered to have their voices heard by Governor Garcia. Some are here demanding that Texas open its borders and welcome those citizens who are fleeing from the eastern and midwestern states. Some are here to demand that the borders remain closed so as to ensure the safety of our Texas citizens. It is a tense crowd that has gathered early this morning and people are growing more agitated as the day goes on. As you know, Marta, Texas declared it was seceding from the U.S. early in January and has kept its borders closed ever since. Many have said that the secession was never legal and therefore does not have to be recognized by the rest of the country. However, so far that sentiment has fallen on deaf ears here in Texas and the state has continued to enforce complete closure to outsiders attempting to enter the state. People have been turned away, detained, and even shot upon attempting to enter checkpoints. Texas has retained one of the lowest viral infection counts across the U.S. so it is hard to argue with their decision but there are many people here who are doing just that. They want to be able to invite others in and help those in need rather than remain closed off. Let’s take a listen real quick.”
The reporter held his microphone out towards the group behind him so their chanting could be heard.
“Stay closed stay alive! Stay closed stay alive!” They were repeating the phrase over and over.
Apparently, they were some of the many that wanted to keep the virus out. The group was holding various signs reading different phrases like Open Borders = Death and Texas Lives. Some were blurred out due to profanity. Then the camera panned over to a second group of protestors separated by wooden sawhorses and caution tape.
They were chanting, “Open doors save lives!” and holding signs of their own. Some were leaning over the barriers and screaming at the other group.
“As you can see the groups are very passionate and this is not going to be resolved easily. There are people here who have lost loved ones because they were turned away when trying to seek refuge here in the Lone Star state. We are all waiting for Governor Garcia to address the crowds and give the people some guidance on what the next steps will be for this self-proclaimed seceded state. Back to you, Marta.”
“Thank you, Todd. We appreciate you being there to give us the latest and we will check back in with you soon. Stay safe.”
She started talking about updated supply locations for those in need and where people should go to seek medical help.
“That’s really smart,” I said, “not letting anyone into the state.”
“Smart? It sounds like they shoot the people that don’t leave right away. Does that sound smart to you? Killing people that might not even be infected?” Mike stared at me, eyebrows raised.
“Well, yeah. It’s working isn’t it? They have the lowest infection count in the whole U.S. They’re winning.”
“Sam, those are people. Families being murdered or sent off to fend for themselves when they need help. It’s not right. You can’t think like that. There’s a better way. There always is. There’s a way to keep everyone safe. People are just too lazy or too afraid to take it.”
I studied the screen as Marta Cline talked about some charts and graphs showing our total death count. There was a comparison to several other world events with enormous death tolls and unfortunately the tallest bar on the chart belonged to Avian-X, our virus. We were losing. So no, I didn’t see what the big deal was with turning people away who could put an entire state at greater risk. It seemed pretty simple to me. If I were in Texas with my family, there’s no way I’d want to let people in. If someone even sneezed near me, I wouldn’t hesitate.
“So what would you do, Mike? If you were there and someone with a cough came up to the border checkpoint demanding that you let them in?”
“It doesn’t have to be one way or the other. They could set up another safe-zone where people could be quarantined until they knew without a doubt that they were healthy.”
“But what if they didn’t want to wait? What if they didn’t want to be quarantined? Then what would you do? And who would set it up? Who wants to sacrifice their safety to help people if they don’t have to?”
He shook his head. “You’re being difficult on purpose. People need to calm down and stop reacting so quickly to everything. Fear is making everyone crazy.”
He was right but I didn’t see it at the time. I couldn’t. I didn’t understand what he meant about people reacting out of fear, but I would soon enough.
The news anchor suddenly stopped her chart examination and urgently announced that a situation just developed in Austin.
“We are back with Todd Delaney on the ground in Austin. Todd, what is happening right now?”
The camera jumped back and forth and there was chaos all over the screen. People were running and screaming and gunshots could be heard blasting in the background.
“Jesus. Yes, I’m here, Marta. The opposing protestors have started exchanging gunfire which I’m sure you can hear. We’re trying to move to safety right now.”
The cameraman was clearly running while trying to maintain his filming, but the view was just a blur of movement. It bounced around for a minute as they ran before it briefly focused on Todd, who was now taking cover behind a tree. Then they panned right and came to rest on the scene playing out between the protestors.
“I’m not sure who fired first, Marta but there are at least three people lying on the ground severely injured or possibly dead. Tempers have been running high and finally boiled over just moments ago. As you can see most of the people have run away or are still trying to find a safe path out of the mayhem. The armed guards are making their way toward the crowd now.”
Suddenly there were several blasts as the guards took aim on the crowd of people running around. Their guns looked strange and I quickly realized they were shooting something other than bullets. People were knocked backwards by the blasts and flopped on the ground, most of them weren’t even holding weapons.
“The local military is containing the situation and I would like to point out they are using minimal force to gain control here in front of the Governor’s Mansion. I believe they are using rubber bullets which subdue their targets with minimal damage.”
“Todd, can you tell us what started this outburst of aggression?”
“I do not know who fired first but both sides of protestors have been exchanging words all morning and the mood has been very tense here. I think tempers simply pervaded over cool heads today, Marta. As I’m watching now you can see the soldiers disarming one of the citizens who was here in support of opening the state’s borders. Let’s see if we can get a word from him as he is being escorted away.”
The camera zoomed in on a man lyi
ng face down in the dirt who was being handcuffed by one of the soldiers. The soldier had his knee on the man’s back pinning him to the ground.
“Excuse me, Sir? Sir? What happened here?”
The soldier wasn’t having it and pushed the cameraman away. “Get back, now,” he yelled at the reporter. Then he turned and shoved his captive forward toward the road where a van was waiting.
The man was in his thirties with dark hair and a stocky build. He shouted over his shoulder as he was half carried away from the camera. “People need to protect each other. We’re dying out there. We need to let people in or we won’t make it.” His eyes were crazy, and he may as well have been foaming at the mouth. “Resist! Don’t let them change you! Resist!”
He was shoved into the back of the van and the doors were thrown closed before he could say anything else.
I looked at Mike confused. “What does he mean, resist? Resist what?”
He shrugged. “He means the government. He was there protesting against keeping their borders closed. He obviously doesn’t like how they’re handling things.”
“They’re not handling things, so I guess that makes sense.”
“People are doing their best, Sam.”
“No, they aren’t. This is no one’s best. Those people are alone. We all are.” I felt defeated again as I realized I wasn’t going home anytime soon. I switched off the TV and we walked back out to sit with Frank. It was such a letdown.
“I don’t need X-ray vision to tell me there’s not a smile under that mask,” Frank said as I made my way to the picnic table and flopped down. “What’s wrong, kiddo? World got you down?”