The China Pandemic (27 page)

Both men started wrestling, just for Dalton, as they pretended to punch each other, and fell over on the beds in slow motion.

“See what I have to contend with?” Clarisse said behind him as she motioned towards the two beyond the glass window.

“Good luck,” he told her, walking towards the exit, “I’ve got a date with my pillow.”

“Sleep well, Dalton. See you later.”

Turning her attention back to the two clowns, she said, “All right, you two, you’ve got five and half now.” Looking at the log clock and before she turned off the mic, she added, “Catwoman could kick both their asses.” She hung up before they could react.

The guys looked at each other. “She’s right,” Steven said.

Rick had to agree.

“Oh, man,” Mark said, having gone outside. He saw the doe struggling, having caught her hoof on a boarded nail, and was caught between two trees. He could see the cuts in her hide with blood seeping through. Now that she saw him, she scampered, trying to free herself but only achieved twisting her own limbs even more.

He and Bang approached her from two different sides. Bang held her attention while Mark snuck around behind the doe, trying to free her from the trap, and at the same time, trying to stay clear of her other sharp hooves flailing about.

“This was a bad idea,” Bang said.

Mark wrenched the nail that tethered her, setting her free. He strategically left his hand around her ankle, a few seconds longer, until Bang cleared her path. She stood still for a few hushed seconds watching them until Bang raised his arms, shooing her to freedom. She was off like a flash through the greenery.

With that done, they began pulling up every last hidden trap so that didn’t happen again.

Graham climbed the makeshift ladder and secured the last camera at the front entrance with Ennis’s help. Even though the sharp bitter wind seeped into Graham’s jacket, he knew the old man couldn’t handle much more, even if he had gloves on.

“That’s it,” he said. “Let’s get back inside.”

He helped Ennis walk even though the old man protested. “What are we going to do if you break a hip?” he asked him.

“You’ll have one less mouth to hunt for, that’s what,” Ennis said.

“We need you, Ennis. Even if you don’t realize it,” Graham said. He searched for the boys as they went up to the cabin.

“Here, you get inside. This wind’s picking up. I’ll get the boys. It looks like a storm is coming on,” Graham said and looked up at the graying sky.

Gone were the days of TV and radio station call signs. Gone the cheerful reports of “cloudy with the chance of sprinkles,” or, “duck and cover. A category five is headed your way.” It was back to primal instincts only and Graham could tell something big was on the way. To his limited knowledge, heavy snow with wind meant blizzard time.

He picked up his pace down the cleared trail to find the boys. He’d seen them earlier, working their way through collecting the nailed boards that they’d all deemed a bad idea. He called them.

“Over here!”  Mark’s voice rose over the wind.

They were both kneeling down, looking at something in the rocky shoreline.

“What’s up?” Graham asked.

“The bear traps are missing,” Mark said.

“And there are more footprints,” Bang said.

“Graham, the sign is gone too,” Mark said, and pointed behind him.

“All right, let’s get to the cabin. There’s a storm coming,” Graham said.

The previous light mood was no longer present. The boys were worried now. Graham thought at first that any animal could have come along and maybe moved the traps but with the sign clearly torn free, it was undeniable that the intruders were sending a message. This was not good and Graham knew it.

He looked around at the waves lapping at the shore under tumultuous layers of clouds above, warring in the sky. It sent a chill through to his spine. He looked towards the intruders’ general vicinity and couldn’t imagine why they were bothering with them. Why would any human fathom committing a crime like this now? Hadn’t they all been through enough? He knew he had to be even more vigilant now. He wouldn’t let it happen again. He’d shoot them on sight, one at a time if he had to. Ennis was right. All along, the old man had echoed Graham’s dad’s attitude. So now, they had been warned. If he saw them once more, he would shoot to kill them all.

Turning his back to the lake, Graham had to pull up the collar of his coat as the wind started pelting his back with hail, prelude to the snow he’d predicted.

Once in the clearing, he could see Tala standing on the porch waiting for him. He thought she looked lovely in an old gray sweater she’d pulled tightly around her waist, watching his approach through the swirling snow, some of which stuck to her long raven hair. She was beautiful, he could see that, and he could feel it too.

Her kind eyes watched him. Covered in snow, he started up the stairs to the porch, and stopping right in front of her without losing stride, he pulled her to him. She looked up into his eyes. That was all he needed to bring his lips down onto her full ones, kissing her. She opened her dark eyes questioning and he said in a low husky voice, “There’s a storm coming.”

She nodded, uncertain what to say. He turned her around and opened the cabin door. “Everyone in the cabin?” he asked.

“All except Sheriff,” Tala said.

Graham opened the door again and whistled his call. Seconds later, the dog appeared with his brown fur turned white as the snow melted and refroze on it.

“Get in here, pal,” Graham said.

Tala grabbed a spare towel and wiped down the dog before he started to stink up the place. Still a bit sleepy, Sheriff lay down by the fire and quickly fell into a deep slumber.

He could hear the kids gathered in the bunkroom talking amongst themselves, and Ennis was asleep in his chair already.

Graham took it all in and wished there was a private room built off the living area. He really wanted to have some private time with Tala.
No, stop thinking that way.
It was confusing. He cared for Tala, more than he’d cared to admit this soon after the death of his wife. Something about being cooped up at the world’s end made one feel the urge to mate and that is why the thought of one of those men getting their hands on Tala or one of the twins made Graham crazy.

He reached over at the door and locked it tight to the outside world.

Tala looked up at him from the kitchen with a little smile on her face.

He took off his boots and put them by the wall, and hung up his coat so that it wouldn’t drip on the floor. With his rifle slung over his shoulder, he walked into the kitchen where no one could see them and put his hand on Tala’s waist.

“Tala are you okay?” he whispered to her.

“Yes, are you?” she asked and turned to face him full on. “Regrets?”

He answered her by brushing his lips across hers lightly. He reached his hand up to the back of her slender neck, feeling her silky hair and tangled his fingers through it. He felt her warm breath on his face and watched as she closed her eyes.

A soft snoring sound came from the living area and the children’s voices in the bunkroom sounded like they’d opted for a game of Monopoly. This was all the privacy the two shared, standing in the kitchen. Graham briefly thought of pulling her into the bathroom and then felt ashamed for the idea.

She parted her lips and then he couldn’t help it. He pulled her by the hips closer to him, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and ran his hand up her side, feeling the length of her, the shape of her before he kissed her. He felt a shudder of pleasure run through her muscles. It sent shockwaves down to his toes.

Moments later, he heard Bang speak his name.

He pulled back from Tala’s embrace. “Yeah, buddy, whatcha need?” He thought he must look guilty as hell, acting as if he’d not just been making out with Tala in the kitchen.

The boy looked confused but then said, “Do you want to play Monopoly with us?”

Though it was about the last thing he wanted to do right about then, he said, “Sure, give me a minute.”

After Bang had gone back into the other room, feeling like a heel, Graham sank onto a kitchen chair and lowered his head.

Tala massaged his shoulders. “It’s all right, he doesn’t know what he saw,” she whispered.

“I promised his mother I’d take care of him. I just hope I’m not screwing up already,” Graham said.

“Graham, she could not have chosen a better guardian than you.”

He stood, turned and faced her. “We’ll talk about this another time,” he said and pressed a quick kiss on her forehead. He told himself it was right that he spent a little time with the kids anyway. As Marcy dealt him the phony money, he could hear Tala working in the kitchen and knew they’d soon be breathing in the good aromas of her cooking. At least this storm gave them all a chance to be together and he didn’t have to worry about one of the girls being snatched.

Checking each screen and writing down in the events logs, Reuben did a double take when he noticed Graham and Tala in the kitchen. “Oh, Lord,” he said under his breath, and then turned away out of respect. All he wrote in the log was, “AIW” which translated to “All is well.”
It is, isn’t it?
he reasoned.

Then the quarantine line flashed, indicating an incoming call. Reuben picked up and Clarisse said, “We’ve got a temp.”

Reuben’s heart jumped. “Who?”

“Steven.”

“What is it?”

“Hundred and four point three.”

“Is it…?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet. Rick’s in there, too. He’s fine, right now. It’s just Steven,” she said.

“Maybe it’s something else, Clarisse.”

“Yeah, Reuben, let’s hope so.”

“I’ll let Dalton know.”

“Okay, I’ll give an update in twenty minutes, when my scan’s over,” she said, sounding nervous.

“Deal.”

He buzzed Dalton, “Sorry to wake you, man, but we have a probable positive.”

“What is it?” Dalton asked waking up out of a light sleep.

“It’s Steven, he’s showing an elevated temperature and if you didn’t already know, there’s also a blizzard coming in,” Reuben said.

“What does Clarisse say?” Dalton asked, disregarding the blizzard news.

“Twenty minutes and she’ll know more,” he said.

“Rick?” Dalton asked.

“Fine, so far,” he said.

“I’m coming in,” Dalton said and he hung up.

Reuben liked Steven. The man was quiet but amicable and he was the only one who could put up with Rick’s constant bullshit and then simply sit quietly like Sam did, without the need for conversation.

Looking up at the screen again, he noticed the little boy had caught the pair making out in the kitchen. “Oh, man,” he murmured, “better you than me.” Then he thought of why he’d been able to capture that little scene. “I sure hope this scheme didn’t cost us.”

~ ~ ~

Dalton went directly to quarantine through the blizzard. In his mind, if this were the virus, it would be all his fault. He’d never forgive himself. He brushed off the accumulated snow and stomped as he entered the building.

“What do you have, Clarisse?” he asked, barging in without the usual pleasantries.

“Give me five more minutes,” she answered.

He walked over to the observation window. Steven lay back against his pile of crisp white sterile pillows, watching reruns of Rick’s Seinfeld episodes, occasionally laughing. When he saw Dalton standing in the window, Steven waved an arm wide in a dismissive gesture. “I’m fine, it just a little fever.”

Rick lowered his comic book gave his, ‘I don’t know’ face, before resuming his fine literary studies.

He knew they were aware of the risks. This was their way of dealing with them.

Dalton looked at the screen monitoring Rick’s vitals and they appeared fine. Steven’s temperature was now one hundred four, point four. The man looked a little glassy-eyed, but other than that, he seemed fine.

“Diarrhea? Anything like that?” Dalton asked Clarisse.

“Not so far. It’s just a fever,” she said.

The buzzer went off, breaking the trance.

She read the data.

“I don’t think that’s it,” she said after reading the printout. “It’s not viral. It’s some kind of bacterial infection!” She almost shouted for joy.

“I don’t know without examining him, but it isn’t viral,” she said again.

She went over to the mic. “Steven, the results are in. It’s not viral. It’s an infection. Do you have any pain, anywhere? Cuts, a toothache, stomachache?” she asked him.

Steven sat up. “I don’t think so. I feel kind of crummy all over though,” he said.

“Rick, get up off your ass,” Clarisse demanded. “I’m going to need your help. I know you’re not trained, but I need you to examine him.”

“Does this involve touching him?” He waved his hands. “Ooh, ick!”

“Yes, now knock it off,” Clarisse said with all seriousness. “Go wash your hands. With soap and hot water.”

He washed his hands in the steaming hot water singing “Happy Birthday to Me,” aloud, twice, just like his wife taught their kids to do. Apparently, that was the sufficient allotment of time to kill germs.

“Okay, boss, now what?” he said, holding up his clean hairy hands.

“Strip, Steven,” Clarisse said.

“Really,” Steven said, acting happy.

“Yes, and do it now. No more bullshit, you guys. Get serious, because this is serious.”

“Ah, Jesus,” Steven said, and began pulling off his t-shirt and boxers.

Steven stood there in the nude and Dalton took note as Clarisse lowered her gaze, trying to provide the man’s privacy but she needed to do her job as well.

“All right, Rick, start with his head,” she said.

They both looked at her, not willing to let it go.

“You know what I mean, goddammit,” she warned them.

Steven bent down to let Rick go through his hair, touching his scalp.

“Rick, you’re looking for any kind of sore or inflammation. Does he have any bumps anywhere?” she asked as he ran his hands through Steven’s light hair.

“I don’t see or feel anything,” Rick said.

“Okay, check behind his ears, and then look down his back,” she said.

“Sorry, dude, turn around,” Rick said to him.

“I have a headache,” Steven complained.

“Okay, but that’s not enough to go on, though,” Clarisse said.

“Steven, now raise your arms. Rick, look carefully,” she said.

Steven did with reluctance but when he raised his left arm, it took only a second for Rick to say, “There it is. It’s a tick.” Rick pointed at it.

Steven tried to see what the hell Rick was pointing at, but it was out of his range of view. “What the hell?” he asked Clarisse, turning to face the window at the same time as he tried to probe his armpit.

“Don’t touch it, dude,” Rick said.

“Oh, thank God, tick-fever.” Clarisse couldn’t have sounded happier.

“It’s red and swollen with a damn tick right in the center. Could have been there for days,” Rick said.

“Come over to the lab table, Steven,” Clarisse said.

He started to walk that way but then doubled back and put his briefs back on.

“Um, you could have more ticks. Can you examine the rest, yourself?” she asked him.

“Yes,” Steven said.

She gave him a minute to perform the procedure. Rick washed his hands again with added drama and louder birthday greetings to himself while Steven again put his shorts on and went to the examination area.

“I love you, dude, but not in that way,” Rick said, and soaped up with steam rising over the sink.

Steven lay down on the partitioned lab table. She put her hands through the gloves in the wall and prepared the instruments she needed to extract the entire parasite.

“Okay, let’s see it,” she said, as he lifted his arm for her and stepped closer so she could examine it.

She removed the parasite, cleaned the wound and gave him a fast acting antibiotic injection and a few oral anti-inflammatories for swelling and his headache.

The four of them blew huge sighs of relief, knowing in these days what a fever could mean, and the catastrophic consequences it could bring.

Steven went back to his cot and drifted off to sleep soon after.