Plague: Death was only the beginning! (4 page)

“Prepare today, as God doesn’t post a News announcement of coming disasters.”

-Thoughts from the Author

Chapter 8

Worldwide Deaths: 769

The quarantine zone around New York City had held for almost ten days before it was finally broken. A two-man ambulance team had finished their last drop-off at the morgue tent and had sat discussing their odds of surviving the coming week. They had made countless trips into the city, and they had not yet seen a single person come out of the hospital tents alive.

They had been given keys to a car and a pass to take twenty-four hours off. They realized that they had been given a chance to live if they just left and never came back. So, they packed up their few possessions and loaded up the rental car with MREs and bottled water that they had collected over the past week. After checking the maps in the car, they drove up to the checkpoint and showed their IDs and the pass.

“Hi guys! Finally got your day off, I see,” said the guard that they had passed countless times each day. “Just be sure to be back by tomorrow night or the captain will be on all of our asses. Also, no traveling farther than thirty miles until further notice. They don’t want anyone messing up the quarantine zone.”

“No problem, Bob! We booked a hotel downtown, and we’re planning on a steak for supper.”

“Well, enjoy it! Those damn MREs suck the big one! Later!” the guard said and motioned them through the gate with a wave of his hand. He never saw them again.

By the next morning, they were almost 400 miles away. Sam drove the whole way as his partner had slept in the back seat all night. Finally stopping at a truck stop, he parked the car next to the restaurant and turned around to wake his friend. Gordy’s eyes were wide open and blood red. He hadn’t felt the bite at his ankle the day before as they picked up a body covered in a sheet that lay in the alleyway behind a large hotel. Less than sixteen hours later, he had died of
Septicemic
plague an hour before Sam pulled into the parking lot.

Sam screamed as he realized the truth of his situation, and he got out of the car and ran into the surrounding neighborhood. Gordy’s body would sit for almost a day before the smell of decay started to warn others that something was amiss. The police were finally called, and they opened the door to a wave of decay- and plague-filled air.

Officer Grimes reached inside and pulled out Gordy’s wallet and quickly discovered that he was from New York City.

“Back! Everyone get back! They might have the plague!” he shouted to the small group that had gathered to see the sights. Unknowingly, they were all exposed as the warm air of the car had acted like an incubator and the disease spread rapidly.

Sam had found a hotel nearby and stayed in his room until fate caught up with him. The hotel maid service found him at about the same time that the police officer had opened the car door. In both cases, the exposed air helped spread the disease into the crowd that formed around each location. As the travelers and truckers were already racing toward distant locations when death interrupted this journey, the carriers spread it across the country in a matter of days.

“Beware of strangers bearing gifts as you may not want them!”

-Thoughts from the Author

Chapter 9

Worldwide Deaths: 1432

Jim and Kim Rains of Barstow, California had just finished their daily radio contact with Tom in Missouri when they received news of an outbreak of plague in both Oakland and Los Angeles, CA. The news report stated one case was a truck driver who collapsed at a restaurant and died, and the other was a young couple with a small boy who had just gotten home from a family trip to Chicago. A neighbor had reported that they had heard screaming coming from the small house and had run inside to find the husband and son both lying dead on the couch. The wife reported that they had stopped at a Motel 6 a few days before where a dead body had been found, but that they had been nowhere near the room. She was unaware that the same maid had cleaned their room after receiving a shot to ward off the plague. The illegal worker from Honduras had not changed her blue rubber gloves after stripping the dead man’s bed, as no one told her to do so. As a result, the dried plague droplets quickly spread throughout the motel and beyond.

The kindly neighbor had pulled the screaming woman out of her house and next door while she called 911 to report a death. The woman had not been following the news reports out of New York as she found it too depressing. Covering the woman’s shoulders with a quilt to control her shivering, she put her arms around the woman and waited for the police and ambulance crew to arrive.

Jim and Kim decided that they had waited long enough and began their own packing. They had debated long and hard about whether to stay in the local area around Barstow or to make the long trip to Missouri to their main retreat. Each held their own dangers. They did not have a setup for long duration survival in Barstow, but traveling over 1600 miles to Missouri would expose them to other travelers possibly carrying the plague, which could put them into the middle of the very thing they wanted to avoid.

After seeing the latest death toll worldwide, they quickly started filling up their Mountain Aire Class A motorhome and enclosed trailer with food and supplies. It had already been decided that Jim would drove the Class A and Kim would drive their Ford F-450 Super Duty truck with trailer. The trailer itself was heavily reinforced and carried over three hundred gallons of gasoline so that they could stop and refuel without exposing themselves to truck stops and convenience stores for gas. An added benefit was that both the Class A and the pickup truck had extra gas tanks to extend their reach without stopping. By stopping only to refuel and to eat a cold meal, they figured they could reach their Missouri retreat in less than two days.

Stowing his rifle under the bed in his RV, Jim checked to see what else they needed before they got on the road: Rifles, two each, check; handguns, personal, four each, check; and twenty full magazines for each, check and double check. Better to have extras instead of none at all, he always thought! Sitting on the bed, he turned on the shortwave radio and spent a few minutes listening to the news from the BBC.

“… and the latest reports from Number Ten Downing Street, say that the Prime Minster has been in continuous sessions with the Minster of Health, Field General Allen Marshall-St Clair, and others to discuss the future of Great Britain as we deal with the latest occurrence of the Bubonic plague that has ravaged the British isles for hundreds of years. One of the last occurrences was during the 1660s and killed thousands of people in London alone. And in other news …” Jim turned off the radio and got back to packing his belongings. After a quick night’s sleep, they would be on the road well before sunrise to beat the traffic they had seen headed inland since the news had broken hours before.

“Time is precious and should not be wasted on idle daydreams as they often turn to nightmares over time.”

-Thoughts from the Author

Chapter 10

Worldwide Deaths: 2311

Tom had just made an update to his “unofficial” record of the current events and posted it to SecureNet. The others would see it once they logged in from the different areas of the country. He picked up his cell phone to make a call to Joanne Sizemore in Arizona. He had received an email from her husband, Mike, stating that he was on a business trip and would not be home for several more days. Mike was worried that Joanne might be left alone, and he had discussed her meeting up with Jim and Kim as they traveled through her area. Locating her number in his contacts list, he hit “send,” and the phone began to ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Jo, this is Tom in Missouri. I just wanted to touch base with you and see if you might want to catch a ride with Jim and Kim tomorrow. They said they have the room and would be happy to detour your way to pick you up. What do you say?”

“I don’t know, Tom. I’d hate to put them out and the situation don’t seem that bad. Mike will be home in three or four days, and we can always leave then if need be,” she stated. “Do you really think this sickness will get worse? The President sounded so positive last night that everything was under control.”

“Jo, I’m sorry, but I don’t trust that guy. Never have. But, that is beside the case, we have all discussed this, and we all feel that it is better to spend a little time here until this blows over,” Tom replied. “Mike seemed to think it was a good idea too from what his emails said. Why don’t I just contact Jim and have them stop by tomorrow? They can help you pack up a few things. And then when Mike comes home, he can just hop in his truck and meet us all here, okay?”

“I don’t know, maybe. But, I’d rather stay right here! We have everything we need, and the neighbors are all so friendly and nice.”

Tom thought,
For how long?!

“Okay, we’ll just have them stop by and see if you might change your mind, okay? It’s no big deal as they have to drive right by you to get here. Well, goodbye. Hopefully I’ll see you in a few days.” Tom said before he hung up. At least he tried!

After plugging in his cell phone to recharge, he walked into the kitchen as Sally was fixing a snack for both of them.

“I just talked to Joanne in Arizona, and she doesn’t want to come here. She said she was happy where she was at and that Mike could always bring her out here later. I don’t think she understands how serious this could get in just a few days,” Tom said as he grabbed a plate with sandwiches and chips. “And I hate to call Mike about it as he is stuck in Seattle for several more days. What do you think? Should I just have Jim and Kim stop by anyway?”

“I would. You know how Jo is. Sometimes it takes a freight train to get her to move. And you know she’s not a prepper like the rest of us. So, I don’t think she knows how serious things can get over the next week. You heard the news; they are starting to get outbreaks all over the place. And it only takes one person on a plane to spread this disease across half the country by tomorrow,” Sally said as she got herself a glass of milk. “Have Jim and Kim pack her up and throw her in the truck. They know how she is, and they can handle her with no problem. Besides, in a week, the world could be gone. So, who’s to care?”

“My, aren’t we a little ray of sunshine today. What’s up?”

“It’s my mother; she refuses to come, and there is no one there to help change her mind. She doesn’t think this will last long, and she has to work all this week at the hotel. God, and you think Joanne is bad.”

“Well, she lives out in the boonies already. So, she should be fine if things get worse. And she has a lot of friends there to look after her,” Tom replied. “Maybe we really are taking this too seriously. Who knows, it could all blow over by next week.”

“Do you really think that is going to happen?

“No, I don’t,” he said, looking at the ground. Glancing up at Sally, he said, “I think this really is the big one and that millions of people are going to die. Jim says it has gone totally airborne, and nothing they have tried will even touch it. Something about the rats in New York has changed the genetic makeup of the bacilli and made it a thousand times worse than before. I would look to your secondary lists and see if you want to invite a handful of people into our complex. Maybe Ken, and Jerry, or even Dave, and some of the clinic staff. We could use some serious medical help very soon. Just be sure they understand that we cannot take in everyone. Our resources are strictly limited to how many we can house and feed. Only about ten to fifteen more people max.”

“I understand. I’ll make an appointment to see Dave and front him on this. Plus, maybe one or two of his nurses would be good, as most don’t have kids. I trust Ken and Jerry to keep quiet, and there are a few others who might be worth having here too.”

“Okay. Thanks for the sandwiches and chips. I need to call Jim and tell him to highjack Joanne tomorrow. I'll tell him to just throw her and her stuff in the truck and boogie down the road.”

“Sounds good.”

“The hand of Man lays hollow across an empty land.”

-Thoughts from the Author

Chapter 11

Worldwide Deaths: 6970

Jim Thompson sat looking at his computer screen and stared at the frightening headlines that had just appeared. “The President is ordering a complete ban on travel by 12:00
PM
EST Thursday to aid in controlling the spread of the disease. All air, train, car, and bus travel will also be restricted after that time. This extra time is being given so that travelers will have time to return home to be with their families during this terrible crisis. Anyone on the roads after that time will be subject to arrest and will be detained for the duration of the current crisis. Again, the President of the United States has issued an order banning all travel after 12:00
PM
EST Thursday and that a condition of martial law will exist across the entire fifty states from that time forward. Anyone found …”

Jim looked up from his screen and found his boss, Jed Morris, in his office. Standing, he walked over to him.

“Jed, it’s time for me to go. We lost control days ago, and I don’t see any need for me to stay here now.”

“Jim, you know me … no, I don’t. You still have time to save your family. And I can handle things for now. The military will be taking over everything from here on out, and you need to go. You have a long trip ahead of yourself. Good luck, and say hi to the wife and kids for me,” Jed replied. “Now that Mary is gone, I can best serve here for whatever time we have left. Go! Go now, before it is too late!” Jim could only stare into his friend’s eyes for a moment and turn away. Keying in a text message, he posted a draft into his email account explaining the new directive and the need for everyone to hurry. There was no more time to waste debating the possibilities of whether the plague was out of control or not. The government had already run the numbers and was heading to the bunkers.

As soon as he stepped outside, he called his wife and told her that they were leaving as soon as he could change his clothes and load up a few things. Because he was always in the midst of every event taking place, they kept their own trailer ready at all times, and they only needed to hook up and get on the road. An hour later, he was saying goodbye to his friends and neighbors and pulling out of the driveway headed west.

Tom read the notice that Jim had posted, and he forwarded an update on the SecureNet to everyone. Grabbing his cell phone, he called Mike in Seattle and warned him to fly home today before the flights were canceled on Thursday. Mike confirmed that he got the message and cut the call short to call the airlines. If he was lucky, he could get a flight home today and get on the road just behind Jim, Kim, and Joanne.

Tom made another call, one that he had been putting off for two days. Tony Maxwell owned the fifth property that surrounded Tom’s own retreat. He had gotten divorced last year and had moved on with his life by living in San Francisco California in a high-rise apartment complex. Everything at his retreat was up for sale, and he had broken all ties with the group in a fit of childish anger and opened the sale to first come, first served. This was totally without regard to the feelings of the group and their core principles and left all of them dreading complete strangers moving in. Even so, he had rights, and Tom placed the call to Tony’s office.

“Maxwell and Kirby, how may I help you?”

“This is Tom Drury in Missouri calling. It’s personal.”

No problem, Mr. Drury. Mr. Maxwell has been expecting your call. He told me to put you right through. Please hold,” the secretary said, followed by music over the phone.

“… we’ll worry about that later. Just sell everything you can right now … Hello, Tom? Sorry to keep you waiting,” Tony said, as he was directing action in his office. “I have been meaning to call you, but things have been crazy here. You are wondering what to do about my place, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Hi, Tony. I checked everything just the other day, and you are good to go if you wanted to bug out to here. Either way, if you could let us know what plans you might have for the future,” Tom asked.

“Well, I’m not sure right now. A lot is going on, and I’m not sure when I can get away. I imagine that everyone in the group is coming in right now. And I just heard about the travel ban the President will have in place on Thursday. I’m just not sure I can get away from here by then. Business is really crazy, and some of my stockholders are panicking right now,” Tony replied. “But, for now, could you go over to my place and turn everything on? That way I could walk into a warm house in case I do. I may be bringing a few friends along as well. Just some folks I know who wouldn’t mind a place to go if things get worse.”

“Well, that’s up to you, Tony. Just remember, you may be living with them for some time to come. Because from what Jim Thompson has heard, the government is dispersing as part of a ‘continuation of government’ move. That’s very serious as you know.”

“Yes, it is. I hadn’t heard that yet. That changes things a lot, doesn’t it?” Tony said with a very solemn voice. “Listen, I’ll get my shit packed and be on my personal jet later today or early tomorrow. Can you meet us at the airfield there? It should be big enough for my Gulfstream, right?” he asked.

“Yes, I think it is. And yes, I can pick you up if you let me know how many are coming. Sally should be free as well, in case you have more than my truck can hold,” Tom stated. “Just be sure that no one is infected or has a fever! We don’t need anyone to bring the damn plague with them!”