The China Pandemic (15 page)

Graham walked back into the main room and saw Sheriff waiting by the front door. “You got to go out, boy?” he asked and opened the door for the dog, saying, “Don’t go far, Sheriff.” He shut it lightly, walked over to the fire, and added a log which caused the ambient light to cast on the woman behind him.

He heard the dog pad up the wooden porch steps and walked over to open the door. Sheriff trotted right past him and into the bunkroom like he knew where he was going, so Graham shut the door and reached up to lower the original locking lever that the others had neglected to see before, guarding against any night time intruders.

Graham felt the woman’s forehead and thought her fever was probably dangerously high at this point. He removed her covers and saw that she visibly shook and was searing hot. “We’ve got to get you cooled off,” he said, not knowing if she could hear him or not.

She had a white button up lacy blouse on that was soaked through with sweat, along with denim jeans and cowboy boots. She must have had a difficult time getting herself as well as the cranky old man into the locked cabin, he thought.

Graham grabbed water and a washcloth from the bathroom and wiped her forehead, face and neck, trying to cool her off. She woke and stared at him with deep brown eyes wildly. “I’m so cold,” she said.

“Here, drink this,” he said and held a glass of water up to her chapped lips and supported her damp head. He encouraged her to sip even more. He gave her an antibiotic and two Ibuprofen to lower her temperature.

“I know you’re cold, but we need to get you cooled off more. Your fever’s too high,” he said.

She nodded her head, but he wasn’t sure if she recognized him from earlier or if she was hallucinating now. Graham began removing her boots and socks. “I’ve got to take off your pants. Are you okay with that?” he asked her.

She was shaking, but she looked up at him, nodding. He unfastened the zipper on her denim jeans, reached behind her, grabbed the loose material and tugged them down. She tried to lift to help him but was clearly too weak to offer any real assistance.

In the process, he tugged her pale pink panties down partially, exposing a bloody pad and a foul smell. He reached over and pulled them back into place. “Sorry,” he said, but wasn’t sure if she was even aware of it.

Once he got the jeans down to her knees, he pulled them off completely from her heels.

She curled up her long creamy legs and rolled to her side, trying to warm herself. Through chattering teeth, she said, trying to smile, “You’ve done that before, I think.”

Graham looked at her a little embarrassed. “I’m married. I mean, I was married. She’s gone now,” he said.

“Me too,” she said.

“You said you miscarried. How far along were you?” he asked her.

“About six weeks,” she said as a tear ran down her face. He wiped it away and tried to comfort this stranger, who was in such a private pain.

“My wife was pregnant too,” he said. He didn’t need to say any more than that. She understood and said, “I’m so sorry.”

“What’s your name?” he asked her.

“Tala,” she said.

“Tala,” he repeated. “Doesn’t that mean ‘wolf’?” he asked.

Surprised, she looked at him. “Yes, it does,” she said. “You obviously know a little about Native American culture.”

He nodded. “Yep,” he said and then covered up her lower half lightly with the blanket and saw that her shaking had subsided a little.

“So tell me how you made it here?” he asked.

“Well, I came from around Sedro-Woolley. There were a few looters going house to house. It just became too dangerous for me to stay. So, I got into my car and went to check on my nana at the home and found
him
, instead.” She smirked. “I just couldn’t leave him there in the stench. I had driven as far as my tank would allow, before the gas light came on, and then I found the dirt driveway, so I followed it and made it here. I hope you don’t mind. Maybe we can find another place to stay in the morning,” she said.

“I’m not going to kick out a sick lady and an old man, Tala. We’ll see how things work out. For now, let’s just get you better. I’m not sure about the grouchy old man, but we’ll give it some time,” Graham said.

He felt her forehead and it seemed to be a little less searing than before. “I’ll be right back,” he said and went over to the bunkroom and picked up two extra pillows and a few blankets.

He lifted up her head so that he could put a clean pillow under and made himself a pallet next to her on the floor by the fire.

She began to protest, “You should go sleep on a bed in there.”

“Shh, Tala, get some sleep. I’ll be fine and I need to keep the fire going anyway. We’ll talk more in the morning,” he said, justifying his intentions.

She allowed herself to slip away and he checked her fever once more to make sure it was continuing to subside before he finally closed his eyes on this day.

In Graham’s dream, Campos was the one who pushed the rifle down on his neck, squeezing his life out of him. He was sneering and shaking above him with a reddened mad expression and then he could hear Marcy’s screams from beyond, but this time he could not help her.

Graham woke up on the hard wood floor and sat up with a start as the old man kicked his boot again and pointed to the backroom.

“She’s having a damn nightmare. You going to do something? She scarin’ me in there.”

Graham scrambled up, threw the blanket off and grabbed his rifle. He ran to the bunkroom.

“Marcy, it’s okay. You’re fine,” Macy said to her sister as Graham rounded the corner.

Bang sat atop his mattress and leaned down from above, trying to see Marcy.

Sheriff stood on top of Macy’s bunk whining, not knowing what to do about the girl’s crying.

Macy held her sister, sobbing.

“Marcy,” he called from the doorway and his voice seemed to get through to her where her sister’s hadn’t. She stopped shrieking. “Marcy,” he said again.

She drew in several ragged breaths and finally focused. “S-s-sorry,” she said, out of breath.

He squatted beside her. “Don’t be sorry. It was just a nightmare.” He patted her golden locks and felt her for a fever, but there was none. One side of her forehead was black and blue now. He knew it would turn shades in days to come. Hopefully, her scars inside would heal soon too. “This is hard for all of us, but at least we can stay here for a while.” He didn’t know what else he could say to comfort her.

“Thanks, Graham,” Marcy said.

“Hi there, Bang, you sleep well?” he said to change the subject.

He laid the rifle up against the bed and reached to pick the boy up. Then he took him and the rifle back into the main room with Sheriff following along to give the girls some privacy.

“She woke me up with that racket,” the old man said to Graham.

“Be nice, Ennis,” said Tala, who sat with the blanket wrapped around her.

Graham watched Tala. She looked better but not out of the woods yet, he guessed. Her long glossy hair had come loose from the ribbon she’d had it tied in. It hung loosely in waves well past her shoulders, giving her a wild look. He walked over to her and put Bang down beside her.

“This is Bang. Bang, this is Tala,” he introduced them and Tala put her hand on the boy’s head.

“Hi, Tala,” Bang said, and Sheriff nosed his head between them to sniff her out.

“Be a gentleman, Sheriff,” Graham said.

“Sheriff?” the old man Ennis asked.

Bang pulled Sheriff’s collar around and showed old Ennis the star. “He’s a police dog, see?” Bang said.

“He’s a cop dog. Takes one to know one,” Ennis said and walked over to pet the dog.

“You were a policeman?” asked Graham.

“Yep, I’m retired now,” Ennis said.

Graham chuckled to himself and Tala caught on and tried to suppress her own laugh.

“Do police dogs have special commands? He doesn’t answer to ‘come’,” Graham asked him.

“K-9’s are taught in different languages than English. The ones we had were taught commands in Hebrew,” Ennis said.

Ennis tried out several words to see if the dog reacted to any of them. He didn’t.

“How’d you find him?” Graham asked Tala.

“I went to check on my nana at the nursing home but she’d passed away. They were all gone. It was terrible,” she said.

Graham noticed how she looked down to her hands, “Then I noticed several were covered in white sheets. Except him,” she said and pointed at the old man.

“He was the one who covered them up after they’d died, even the nurses,” she said.

Graham looked at the man for some explanation. “You can’t just leave them like that, starin’ at you. It ain’t right,” Ennis said.

Graham felt Tala’s forehead again and said, “You still have a fever, but it’s not as bad as last night. Let’s get some breakfast into you, and Marcy needs to take more meds too,” he said.

“Is that one of the girls?” she asked.

“Yeah, Macy and Marcy. We ran into some trouble yesterday and Marcy got hurt,” he said. “She’s fine, but she has a deep cut and we’re trying to keep it clean,” he added.

“They’re twins?” she asked, surprised.

“Yeah, Bang and I found them walking up the highway with Sheriff here,” he said.

“He was keeping them girls safe,” Ennis speculated as he peered into the dog’s soulful eyes.

“Yeah, well, it’s a long story,” Graham said, but didn’t want to go into it. He walked over to peer out the front window, and after being sure that everything was safe, he opened the front door for Sheriff to trot out and relieve himself.

The cool autumn morning air spilled into the cabin, releasing the stuffy sour smells trapped inside. Graham scanned the area for any signs of life. The cabin was encircled by tall old growth evergreens, ever since his second great-grandfather had bought the three hundred acres it was more or less centered on.

He saw the familiar dark trail leading from the west side, meandering down to the lake below where they could fish for their dinner later today. In the meantime, Graham descended the porch steps and walked over to their newly acquired truck to bring in the supplies they brought with them.

Bang showed up beside him, so he handed the boy as much as he could carry into their new home. With six people, this meant he’d need to spread their food plan thinner and get busy hunting. It also meant he’d have to change out the compost toilet at least once a month. Although, Graham had resented the extra work it took away from his fishing last summer, the facilities upgrade was worth it—no more walking outside in the weather to use the john.

Graham heard a rustling in the brush behind him and went to bring his rifle up when he saw Sheriff dart out after a hapless brown squirrel. “At least he hunts for himself,” Graham said.

He packed up as much as he could carry into the cabin and as he passed through the front room, all eyes were on him, questioning. “What?” he asked the group.

“How do you use the bathroom?” Macy asked.

“Oh,” he said as he sat the supplies down on the rustic dining table and addressed them all. “It’s a compost toilet, designed so the liquids are filtered upfront and the solids go towards the back,” he said tactfully. “Then, there’s a canister next to the toilet and you scoop a layer of sawdust over it. There’s no flushing, it just drops down into a tank that I have to change out once a month or so. It’s pretty simple really and the venting system keep the air smelling fresh.”

“Mystery solved,” Macy said as she guided Marcy towards the throne room.

Graham and Bang separated all the food supplies on the dining table to take inventory. With six people, it wouldn’t last them more than a few weeks. In addition to hunting, he knew he’d have to make a trip into town to scout out more supplies.

“How many days do you think we have?” Tala asked. He thought she must have read the concern in his expression.

“About a week, I’d say, if we cut down to two meals a day,” he said, “for adults anyway. The kids can have a snack in between.”

Then he heard the girls come out of the bathroom.

“We need to have a group meeting after breakfast,” Graham said.

Tala started to get up and wrapped the blanket around her waist for privacy, but Graham noticed she tried to steady herself with one arm on the settee.

“Wait a second there,” he said, and walked over to her side.

“I just need to use the facilities,” she said.

“I’ll walk you over. You still have a fever, so take it easy,” he said, and grabbed her jeans before he led her there.

~ ~ ~

Tala felt weak and defenseless, which scared her in this situation. Graham opened the door for her and she leaned against the bathroom sink as he reached in a long arm and laid her jeans on the counter. “I’ll be close by,” he said softly. “So just shout if you need anything.”

She swallowed hard. “Thank you. And… thank you for taking care of me last night too,” she said.

She shut the door and took stock of herself in the little wall mirror. Her hair was a tangled mess. Her eyes looked dull and puffy and marked by dark circles. Above all, she noted how gaunt her face looked. She was much paler than her typical pallor, but her appearance in comparison to the twin she knew as Marcy, made her heart ache. The poor young girl must have gone through a rough experience to receive those kinds of injuries.

Tala had always been the strong one in her family. After her mother had died, she helped raised her two younger brothers and made sure they attended college, one by one as her mother would have wanted.

Her father worked for the railroad and became quiet and distant after her mother’s death. He was the first to succumb to the virus, followed by her two brothers and then Nathan, Tala’s husband, who worked for the postal service. They had only been married a year and Tala felt they’d finally turned the corner when they found out she was pregnant and told her father she was expecting. He was overjoyed at the prospect of having his first grandchild.

Tala looked down from her reflection. It was never meant to be and in the end, she’d even lost her baby. At the thought of her loss, tears came to her eyes once again.

She turned the tap on to a trickle and splashed cold water on her face, shocking the intrusive emotions out of her consciousness.

This was a new day. At least she didn’t have to take care of the old man by herself anymore. He’d been tough to handle on her own. She counted herself fortunate having stumbled onto Graham’s cabin last night, not having any idea what she was going to do. It was a Godsend that he wasn’t dangerous as far as she could tell because she had been completely defenseless last night.

Tala used the toilet, taking care to clean herself, and wrapping her refuse in paper. She followed Graham’s directions to shovel a scoop of the sawdust and hoped it covered the foul smell of the stale blood her miscarriage had caused. She felt dirty and wondered if she could take a shower. The one provided looked different and she wasn’t sure if there would be hot water. She peeked her head out the door and asked Graham, “Is it possible to use the shower?”

He looked over at her and said, “Sorry, I don’t have it set up yet. I’ll get it going so we can have warm water later tonight for showers. There are washcloths under the sink though, so you can at least wipe down in that way.”

“That’s great. Thanks, Graham, I feel really lucky even to have a bathroom these days.

“I’m the thankful one,” he said. “I think I’ll need all the help I can get, especially with two girls.”

She smiled and closed the door.

~ ~ ~

Ennis walked into the kitchen eyeing Graham. “Where’s breakfast?” he demanded.

Graham picked up a Snickers bar and thumped it against the old man’s chest. “Here you go.”

“I can’t eat that,” Ennis said. “Don’t you know how to make bacon and eggs? I don’t know what I’m doin’ here.”

“I don’t see any pigs or chickens around here, do you?” Graham was getting a little irritated with the old man.

“Boy, you are under prepared,” Ennis declared with a chuckle.

“Look, right now we’ll have to make do with what we have and after breakfast, let’s have a meeting to discuss our situation. If you have any constructive suggestions, I’m all ears,” Graham said.

The old man looked at him and shook his head. “This is a fine mess for sure,” Ennis said.

“You got that right, but listen, Ennis, I know you’re playing the ‘cranky old man bit’ but you’re more ‘with it’ than you let on. So cut the crap. I need your help. You have any suggestions, then make them. You got away with that in a nursing home, but not anymore,” Graham said.

He heard a scratch at the door, so he opened it for Sheriff, who was waiting to come in. Sheriff sat there on the porch with two dead squirrels at his paws and looked up at him with a silly grin.

Graham reached down and petted the dog’s head. “Thanks, boy,” he said.

He bent down, picked up the offerings and brought them into the kitchen.

“Well, I’ll be,” Ennis said, “that dog is something.”

Graham retrieved the knife and took the squirrels outside to the gutting log where he and his dad performed the task on fish and game in the past, and made quick work of the two squirrels.

He knew the girls would probably be too squeamish at the prospect of eating squirrel, but Graham would just cut it up and pan fry it, making gravy with the drippings and the canned milk they had. He hoped they wouldn’t ask about the mystery meat. They needed all the protein they could get now. He’d serve it over the box of instant grits he brought in earlier. Satisfied with the idea, he set to work. He wasn’t a great cook but his mom had taught him the basics at least.

Tala had finished getting herself presentable and as she emerged, passing Graham on his way to the kitchen, he thought she looked completely worn out. Ennis had nodded off in a chair, snoring loudly with the dog by his feet, and from the bunkroom came the voices of the three children.