Rise From The Ashes: The Rebirth of San Antonio (Countdown to Armageddon Book 3) (9 page)

     “The city counsel has created a program called ‘Houses for Hours’ for city employees. Since money doesn’t exist anymore, they saw a need for a means to pay workers for their trouble. The city has seized thousands of homes from people who have committed suicide or disappeared. Any city employee who works forty hours per week for a year gets their choice of the available houses, no strings attached. And a guarantee that they won’t have to pay property taxes for ten years.

     “Here’s the biggie, Scott. I know you already have a home outside the city. You may not need or want another home. And you may not be willing to commit for a year with us. You may want to run home to your family the moment the CDC gives the all clear and says the plague is through with us.

     “And I wouldn’t blame you for that. Hell, I’d do the same thing. But if you’re the kind of man I think you are,
you’ll figure that since you’re going to be here anyway, you’ll want to help wherever you can. If you’re the kind of man I think you are, you’ll realize that you can help a lot more people riding around with John Castro than you would sitting in your house waiting for the plague to go away.”

     Nurse Becky walked into the room to record Scott’s vitals, and put an old fashioned thermometer
in his mouth.

     Chief
Martinez said, “Hey, that reminds me of an old joke. Do you know the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer?”

     Scott, unable to speak with the thermometer under his tongue, merely shrugged.

     “The taste.”

     The chief laughed. Scott suddenly looked panicked. Robbie grinned and Nurse Becky just rolled her eyes.

     Scott decided at that point he liked Chief Martinez. They had the same sense of humor.

    
Martinez said, “Well, think about it. Let Officer Benton or Officer Castro know if you want to join us, and I’ll bring you a badge and swear you in. If you choose not to, then I wish you well and thank you for everything you’ve already done, on behalf of our great city.”

     He held out his hand and Scot
t took it.

    
Martinez turned on his heels and headed for the door, but Scott stopped him.

     “Chief?”

     Martinez turned and said, “Yes?”

     “
I’ve already been thinking about it. Count me in.”

     “I’m confident you’ll be a fine officer. The doctor told me you’ll be out of here in a couple of days. I’ll be back to see you before then.”

     Nurse Becky waited until Martinez and Robbie were gone before she smiled and commented, “You’re a sucker for punishment, aren’t you, Mr. Harter?”

     Scott asked, “How so?”

     “You’ve just survived an ordeal that would have killed most men. And now you’re volunteering to off on another dangerous adventure.”

     “And you think I’m crazy?”

     “Crazy? No. But I think it’s very admirable of you. And maybe a little heroic too. I know those guys are working hard to save this city, and I know they need all the help they can muster to get it. Good for you, for volunteering to help them.”

     “Doc didn’t tell me I’d be out of here in a couple of days. It seems the chief knows something I don’t.”

     “Doctor Joco left orders to remove your Foley tube and waste bag today. You’ll get your last bag of saline tomorrow. Once you’re peeing 300 milliliters a day and your waste is solid, we’ll let you go home. But I have to warn you, that won’t happen unless you eat all the food we’re giving you and drink plenty of water on your own. You’ve been leaving some of the food on your tray. That’s a no no if you want to get out of here.”

     “How come
?”

     “Two ways, actually. Your body is a lot smarter than you give it credit for. If it thinks you’re not getting enough nourishment, it’ll digest your food slower, so it can get as many nutrients from it as possible. That will make it longer before your waste is solid, and can lead to constipation. Secondly, the doctor won’t release you if he doesn’t think you’re strong enough to take care of yourself. And you’ll need nutrients to do that. Nutrients that come from food. The smart thing to do, from your perspective, is to eat
whatever we bring you, whether you like it or not.

     “In fact, since you’re going to be a cop when you get out, you should ask for seconds. You’re going to need to be strong to do what those guys do.”

     “Oh, well in that case, please bring me extra of everything.”

     “Even the green
Jell-O you’re always complaining about?”

     “Yes. Even that.”

     She finished making annotations on his chart and looked out the window.

     “It’s cold outside today, and a bit stormy. Do you want the shades open or closed?”

     “Open, please. I was watching the storm clouds roll by before everyone came in. I’ve always liked thunderstorms, and the way they wash away so much of the dirt and grime.”

     “Well, I guess from that perspective, you’re right. They’re a good thing. There’s a lot of ugliness out there now that I’d like to see washed away.”

     She headed toward the door, then had an afterthought and turned back toward him.

     “You asked if I thought it was crazy for you to accept a job as a policeman, after all you’ve been through. The truth is, I do. Think you’re a little bit crazy. But
I’m glad you’re doing it. The chief was right. They do need more men like you. I’ll pray for your continued safety when you leave us and start your new journey.”

     “Thank you.”

-16-

     Robbie walked Chief Martinez back to his car and returned to Scott’s room. He walked in with a broad smile on his face and said, “All right! I’m looking forward to working with you, my new friend. I think you’ll love it!”

     “Robbie, are you in a hurry to go somewhere?”

     “Not really. I was heading over to John and Hannah’s house so I could call your people and give them their update. I can wait a little longer to tell your boys their old man’s gonna be a cop. What’s up?”

     “Sit down for a minute, will you? I want you to tell me a l
ittle about what we’ll be doing.”

     Robbie pulled a chair over to the side of the bed.

     “Well, it’s nothing like what you saw on the old reality shows like
Cops
. No high speed police chases and slapping the cuffs on people. I haven’t made an arrest in a month.”

     Scott must have looked surprised, so Robbie elaborated.

     “There are very few crimes of violence any more. There were when the blackout first happened. More than we could keep up with. People with old grudges were killing each other, thinking they could finally get away with it. And to be honest, most of them did. A lot of rapists took advantage of our depleted numbers and just went crazy, raping women they’d had their eyes on for awhile. A lot of people wanted to commit suicide but didn’t have the guts. So they just started attacking people one after another, until an angry husband or boyfriend blew them away. There was a lot of violence among the looters initially. They broke into houses, shot everybody inside, and then took whatever they wanted.

     “But gradually things changed. The victims started shooting back, and many of the looters found themselves dead on somebody’s front porch. The homeowners dragged the bodies into their front yards and left them there to rot, as a warning to other looters so stay away or suffer the same fate.

     “That’s how we got rid of a lot of the looters. Most of the others finally figured out it was safer to knock on the doors and ask if there was anyone left alive inside, than to just break in. They were able to determine which houses were abandoned, or which houses were now tombs for families who’d already committed suicide. And they figured out those houses were a lot safer to loot.

     “Little by little, most of the violence went away. I’m not saying there aren’t
bad people out there. The sad fact is, there are a lot of people roaming the streets who have committed murders, assaults or rapes. But the acts themselves have mostly dissipated. And whatever crimes they’ve committed in the past, they’ll likely get away with. We don’t have enough officers to investigate homicides, or anything else for that matter. And even if we did, throwing bad guys in jail would accomplish nothing. The judicial system is no longer operating. Most of the judges are gone like everybody else. The courthouse sits abandoned, except for a bunch of homeless people who have taken up residence there because it’s the downtown drop point for the food trucks.”

     “So if I won’t be arresting bad guys, exactly what will I be doing?”

     “Mostly disgusting things that will turn your stomach. We’re trying to keep the citizens calm by making a visible presence. We stop by each of the block leaders’ houses daily, or at least every other day, just to ask if there are any problems we can quell for them. Then, in our spare time, we go from house to house, knocking on doors and hoping we don’t get shot.

     “Most of the houses no longer have survivors in them. Maybe one out of five
do, at best. Some of the others are empty, and we mark those with a big checkmark on the front door with orange spray paint.

     “
The remaining houses still have bodies inside. Suicide victims. Usually whole families who ran out of food and just couldn’t take it anymore. And sometimes murder victims, whole families just wiped out by marauders. That’s the worst part of the job. We have to drag the bodies out to the street and put them in a pile on the pavement. It’s a disgusting job, and you’ll vomit the first few times you do it. And the worst part of it is, many of the victims are children. And many of them are decayed to the point where the bodies fall apart, and you have to go back to pick up arms and legs that fall off as you drag them.”

     “Is the National Guard still coming by to pick them up?”

     “No, the National Guard’s numbers have dwindled too. Many of their members couldn’t handle the stress and just stopped reporting. Some of them committed suicide themselves. When their numbers dwindled to the point where they couldn’t keep up with the bodies, they just stopped doing it. Now they focus on food distribution only.”

     “Then who picks up the bodies?”

     “Nobody. We carry two five gallon Jerry cans in the trunks of our squad cars. We put the bodies in a pile in the street, douse it with diesel, and set it on fire. Then we move on.

     “The fires typically burn themselves out after a few hours, but the bodies don’t completely burn. So when we come to a pile that’s anything more than
ashes and bones, we douse it and start it burning again. After the second or third burn, the flesh is pretty much gone and all that’s left is a pile of ashes and bones. The winds will eventually scatter the ashes, and some day I suppose there will be enough city employees with working vehicles to gather the bones and dispose of them.”

     Robbie looked at Scott and smiled.

     “You’re turning green, my friend. Should I call a nurse? I heard a rumor that there’s a few of them running around in here.”

     “No. I’m okay. It just seems… incredibly sad, that so many people had to end up in such a way.”

     “You won’t find anyone around here who disagrees with you, Scott. If it were up to me, I’d give every last one of them a funeral and a proper burial. But when the dead bodies outnumber the living two hundred to one, there’s no other way. And the CDC says the sooner the bodies are burned, the sooner the plague will run its course. And the less chance of a second plague taking hold. So it’s got to be done.

     “And to be honest, as bad as it is, it could have been much worse. FEMA has been taking its helicopters to every city in
Texas trying to assess each city’s needs. They say that a lot of cities and towns have just ceased to exist at all. They’re just ghost towns.

     “
San Antonio may be a city of ashes and bones. But at least we’re still here.”

     Scott didn’t know what to say. He hoped he was up to the challenge.

     It was as if Robbie could read his mind.

    “Don’t worry. You’re tough. After what you’ve just survived, you’ll do fine. And if you throw up occasionally, we won’t make fun of you too much. We all do from time to time. It’s just a reminder that we’re human, that’s all.

     “Now, I’m going to go call your people and give them a report, so that I can go home and get some sleep afterwards.”

     “Do you have family at home waiting for you?”

     Robbie grew melancholy.

     “No. My family’s dead.”

     He said it with sadness. But mostly just matter-of-factly. Like he’d long ago accepted that it was what it was, and there was nothing he could do about it.

     He saw the look of horror on Scott’s face.

     “I’ve learned to deal with it, Scott. It was the only thing I
could
do. Either deal with it or blow my brains out. Then I decided that the best way to honor the memory of my wife and our baby was to save as many others as I could. So other families wouldn’t have to suffer the same fate.”