The Gorging (29 page)

“Is that a school bus?” she reluctantly asked herself. “Why is there a school bus out at two o’clock in the morning.” She stood up to get a better view out of the window. The bus got closer and closer to her house and then suddenly stopped in the driveway. Nikki freaked out and ran into the kitchen to get the biggest knife she could find. She forgot about the knife she had thrown on the floor so the next largest one had only a six-inch blade. She has no idea who is outside of her home. She wished more than ever that Bobby was there with her and that he could stand between her and whoever had come to torture her in the middle of the night. Her first thought was that it could be scavengers raiding homes for food and water. Her blood pressure went through the roof as she ran to the door, holding the knife out in front of her. She could hear the wiggle of the door lock from the other side. She breathed heavier and heavier to the point she felt like her heart was going to explode, and then. The door burst open.

Nikki swung the knife, but missed. A big hand reached up and grabbed her hand and the other went around her waist. She screamed in terror and tried to break her knife hand free.

“Nikki,” said Bobby. “Nikki, it’s Bobby. Let go of the knife. It’s okay sweetheart. I’m home.”

Nikki fell to the floor and burst into tears and dropped the knife at her feet. All she could do was scream as she leaned back on her knees and stared up at Bobby. If she screamed any harder she would surely faint. They met face to face for the first time in nearly five days. The look on their face was as though it was the first time they had met or the day little Eddie had been born. Bobby knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. They held each other while Troy walked past and cleared the house with his pistol, checking for any crazy people hiding out.

“Oh my God,” said Nikki as she wept. “I’ve missed you so much. I love you so much. We stayed strong for you. I knew you would come back for us. I knew you would.” She hugged him harder. “I love you. I love you.” She kissed him all over his face.

“Where’s Eddie,” asked Bobby. “Is he okay?” Bobby let go of Nikki and looked around the house. “Where is he? Is he fine Nikki?” She kept crying and held onto him tighter. Bobby grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away. He gave her a quick shake and said, “Nikki, damn it, where’s Eddie?”

Nikki began to cry more as she pointed to the closet.

Bobby looked to the closet blocked with the chair. “Is he dead?” asked Bobby.

Nikki shook her head. Bobby pushed Nikki to the side and ran to the chair. He pushed it away from the closet and motioned for Troy to get a vaccination from the bus. Bobby took a deep breath as he slowly opened the door. He saw Eddie lying on the floor, barely alive from being starved of the blood that he had been longing for the past several days.

“Oh my God,” said Bobby as he reached down and picked up Eddie. “He’s barely breathing.” He looked at Nikki who continued to weep in the middle of the floor.

Troy returned with the vaccine and administered it in Eddie’s arm. Bobby held Eddie in front of Nikki and they hugged him. He was unresponsive at first, but after a few moments of waiting for the vaccine to work, Eddie began to come to. Nikki and Bobby were so excited they broke down in tears now that their family is back together and safe.

“Daddy,” said Eddie. “I’ve missed you and mommy.”

“I love you son,” said Bobby. He looked at Nikki and she could tell what thoughts where going through his mind. He was happy that his wife had remained strong enough for Eddie and herself. She kept the family together until the very end. She is such a wonderful mother that would do anything for her child even if it meant taking away his pain for good.

A NEW BEGINNING

A few days after Troy and Bobby arrived back to Cheyenne, others across the country became aware of the vaccine. They had succeeded in spreading the word on their two-day trip back to Cheyenne and Sampson was apparently having the same luck with his expedition. With the help of determined citizens, communications systems and power plants were quickly restored. Teams were put together to salvage what food was left in the grocery stores and the markets to ensure that everyone in town had a fair share. Anyone with medical experience was assigned to work at the hospitals and clinics in order to treat those that had been wounded by the cannibals or were hurt from some other freak accident as a result of the madness. The word spread rather quickly about how to treat those that were wounded and how to take the necessary precautions to avoid becoming infected by the recently deceased. Thanks to Agent Mike Sampson, the cause of the disease was narrowed down to a rare strand of mad cow disease that infected its human counterparts with a horrific result that would alter mankind forever. According to the government, the strand did not exist and the phenomenon was eventually ruled as an act of God that no one could have known would happen. The story that Bobby had prepared on the recent events and the information provided by Sampson were confiscated due to a supposed threat to national security.

Unfortunately, the country was not prepared to fight an epidemic of this scale that nearly wiped out the entire population. Those who have received the vaccine have returned to normal conditions and are receiving regular tests to insure there are no lasting side effects. All forms of beef have been ruled as unfit for consumption until further notice along with any and all dairy products that are retrieved from cattle. There were no ceremonies for the brave men and women that helped to return the nation to as normal of a place it could be after such a travesty. With the help of brave men such as Sergeant Carl Anderson, Trooper Jeffrey Anderson, Bobby Evans, Troy, and Mr. Sampson, the country was able to survive the worse medical epidemic in the history of mankind. They put their selfless actions ahead of themselves in order to save those that were in dire need, even when they were faced with certain death themselves.

The whereabouts of Betty are still unknown to this day.