Torn (8 page)

“Put it this way,” Jesse replied. “They did find them. So I heard. Yesterday. What was left
of them
.”

Bret’s mouth dropped open, “Oh my God.”

“Sally’s husband said he’ll plan the funeral once he gets back home.”

“So you’ve talked to him. How is he?”

“Grateful for his other children to keep his mind occupied. I’ll let you know about the funeral. I know you want to be there.”

Bret sunk deeper into her chair. “That’s if they let me leave at all.”

Jesse probably knew more than Bret did. Escorted out, Bret was left alone with a ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ video in a room for hours. The t
elevision picked up no stations;
if it w
ere
n’t for the visit by her husband Bret would have been left to deduct the world had ended. Bret talked to only two nurses and Dr. Jeffers. Jeffers did, however promise that Bret could call Jesse once she was moved a last time. She
did not have
hanta
virus
.

The final move took her to an older hospital in Morgantown. Two or three days, Dr. Jeffers promised, then without a doubt, she could go home. They were just making sure that they had gotten all the eggs laid within her system. No surprises. Bret believed that she would go home on Sunday.

She was given clothes, the first non-hospital garb in days
, and escorted through the semi-
vacant building. There were some people moving around, mainly moving equipment. She walked to an elevator, then to the sixth floor.

She thought for sure
she
was
in
some
bad science fiction movie
when she saw the old and faded sign: Psychiatric Ward.

Bret resisted. “I knew it.” She fought. “I knew it.
”
She shook her head as they guided her to the locked door.

“Hush now,” t
he guard told her. “You’re over
reacting. This is just an abandoned building we’re using to keep you guys from the press and the public.”

That not only made Bret stop her resistance, but also question, “Us guys?”

The guard told her no more.

After checking
her in, giving
her
a room
and a couple
of
days
’ worth
of clothes
, Bret was told she
could freely move about the floor. Paranoid, she still wanted proof tha
t she was going to emerge alive
and that people would see her again. They let her call Jesse.

Feeling s
omewhat better,
but
not completely, she ventured out. The sound of music caught her ear and she began to follow it. The corridor was long and
hers
was the last door. She moved slow
ly
and inconspicuously
,
peeking in the rooms. The first one s
he passed was definitely vacant;
the second look
ed
as if it contained someone,
and
so did the third. As she moved onward,
a voice calling
her name made her stop.

“Bret?” he called out.

First
looking
over her shoulder
,
Bret
peeked back
, then when she saw him in the hall, she spun and raced to Chuck with a loud shriek.

He bellowed, “Oh my God” and grabbed
her
in a big hug
. “You are the last person I expected to see here.”

“I was gonna say the same thing. Were you attacked by roaches, too?” she asked.

“Roaches?” Chuck pulled from the embrace. “No, I was arrested and detained over the ant story. They just moved me here this morning. Is that why you’re here?” he
asked. “Were you attacked by roaches?”

Bret whistled. “Was I ever.”

“Oh, this is so great. Let’s go back to my room and talk.” He took hold of her arm. “You have to spill your guts, because after I’m out of here, I’m gonna spill my guts about this whole goddamn thing. My editor will love it.”

“Do you really think.…” a voice
called out from the other end of the hall. “That’s a good idea?”

As b
oth Bret and Chuck turned around, two men and a woman wearing street clothes approached them.

Darius moved closer. “It’s not, you know.”

“Who.
…” Chuck crinkled his face. “No one asked you. Why were you eavesdropping anyhow?”

“We weren’t.” Darius said. “We heard a scream. We thought the new woman was being attacked.”

“By me?” Chuck laughed.

Darius shrugged. “Hey, none of us have met you. You haven’t left the room. We don’t know.”

“Do I look like the type to attack someone?” Chuck asked.

Colin stepped forward in a lighthearted manner and spoke quickly, with a smile. “Absolutely. But we won’t hold that against you.” He extended his hand to Bret. “Colin Reye. How are you?” He then shook hands with Chuck. “And you two are?”

Bret replied innocently. “Friends.”

Darius closed his eyes and chuckled. “He meant your names.”

“Yes,” Colin said. “Names. Not that my friend was insinuating you made a dumb blonde comment or anything like that.”

Bret’s mouth dropped open and she swung a look at Darius. “That was really rude.”

“What?” Darius backhanded Colin. “Quit starting trouble.”

After a scolding glance, Bret turned pleasantly to Colin. “Brettina Long. This is Chuck Wright.”

Chuck nodded, but kept eye contact with Darius.

The qu
iet woman with long auburn hair
slipped into the pack. “I’m Virginia. Nice to meet you. I got here yesterday.”

“Are there any others?” Chuck asked.

Virginia shook her head. “Nope. We’re it. Your quarantine buddies.” She was pleasant enough.

“Nice to meet you all.” Chuck clenched Bret’s
arm. “Now if you’ll excuse us, w
e have things to discuss.”

Darius huffed.

Chuck stopped. “Man, what is your problem?”

“My problem is, that you want to get all the information you can out of this woman so you can break a story,” Darius said. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

Colin interjected. “Mr. Wright. Instead of picking only this woman’s mind, why don’t you join us in the other room, hear all of our stories. We’re all in here for similar reasons. I mean, in case you were confused, that isn’t acne on Darius’ face, those are roach bites.”

Darius rolled his eyes.

Colin continued, “Get his story. But don’t tell it. Not yet.”

“When?” Chuck asked. “This is news. I can’t believe it’s being capped.”

“It’s being capped for a good reason,” Darius said.

“Who are you
to make that judgment call?” Chuck asked
. “You work with the government?
FEMA? What?”

“No, I’m a teacher.” Darius replied.

“Well, thank you, but your opinion
as a teacher
isn’t reason enough for me to withhold news.” Chuck began to turn Bret. “Excuse us.”

“Actually.
…” Darius called out. “I’m head of Ecological Studies at West Virginia University, and my
expert
opinion tells me that some
thing bigger is headed this way,
something w
orse than the bugs.
That
is the reason to cap the story…
for now.” Darius saw
he had Chuck’s attention. “Just…
talk with us. I think
that
after you do, you’ll see why.”

Ch
uck stared at Bret for a moment
then they moved. Not toward his room, but
in
the direction of the recreation area.

The smell of coffee was overwhelming, and while Chuck went to the small circle of chair
s
set up by the television, Bret went to the coffee pot. She grabbed a cup, poured coffee, and brought it to her nose to sniff.

“We.
…” Darius walked up to her. “We didn’t have the proper introduction. Brettina, I’m Darius Cobb.” He extended his hand to her
.

“You can call me, Bret.”

“Nice to meet you. And I wasn’t calling you a dumb blonde.” He gave a partial smile. “Colin, he just likes to instigate. It’s his way of being funny.”

“I take it you two are friends. Is this a new thing?” Bret said as she fixed her coffee.

“God, no,” Darius said. “I’ve known him since I was a teenage
r. You…
you look as lost as Virginia did yesterday.” He pointed back.

“I feel lost,” she said. “Shuffled here and there, like a refugee. Kept in the dark. Lost.”

“We all felt that way. Not too much anymore.” He ran his finger over his goatee. “If you came from the Ward. Sip that coffee. You need to. It’s Starbucks.”

Bret chuckled, sniffed, sipped, and then looked at Darius. “You were in the ward too?”

“We all were. Good
,
huh?” he referred to the coffee.

“Yes,” She nodded. “Thanks.”

“So, tell me, Bret. What do you do?”

“For a living?’

“Living, career.” He shrugged. “Some don’t make a living off of their career choice.”

She smiled. “I’m a talk show host and DJ for a Christian Radio.”

“Ah.” He nodded once, then stepped out of the way for Colin who approached the coffee pot.

Colin said as he
reach
ed for the coffee pot
, “She’s married. Look at the ring.”

Darius briefly closed his eyes. “I’m not hitting on her. I’m making conversation.”

“Uh
huh.” Colin poured. “Really, Dare-Dare, idle conversation at this point would be to ask how badly she was attacked by roaches.”

“Dare-Dare?” Bret questioned.

Darius waved off Colin. “I was getting to that.”

“Bad,” Bret said. “I had seventy bites.”

“Only
seventy?” Darius whistled. “Someone must have been helping you. Nestings?”

“Three.”

“I had fourteen.”

Colin chuckled as he stirred his coffee. “Cockroach bite competition. When do you stop?” He shook his head at Darius and walked to the chairs.

Bret laughed. “He’s funny.”

“No, he’s not.”

Smiling, Bret asked. “So with so many nestings, I take it they are watching you for hatchings?”

Darius winked. “That’s the reasoning. I think otherwise. Please. Join us. We don’t bite. No pun intended.”

Gently, he took her by the arm and led her to the circle where she took the chair next to Chuck.

“We heard they were bringing
in
two new people,” Darius said. “We were waiting.”

Chu
ck
aimed
his finger
at Darius, Colin, and Virginia. “So
,
all three of you, like Bret, were attacked by cockroaches.”

He received nods.

“Were they big?”

Virginia shook her head. “Not too much bigger than average. How many times were you bit, Bret?”

“Seventy.” Bret replied.

“What!” Chuck blasted in shock.

She lifted her sleeve. “These aren’t prong marks.
They’re roach bites. This here
l
ooks like a scratch.” She pointed to her eye. “One of the places they laid eggs.”

“Oh
,
my God!” Chuck was flabbergasted. “Virginia?”

“They counted ninety
-
five bites, ten nesting on me. I’m gonna take it Bret had help, that’s why they didn’t nest as much as
they did on
us.”

Bret nodded. “My husband was wiping them off of me.” She shuddered. “I can still feel them.”

Chuck lifted a hand. “Why and how were you attacked?”

Bret answered. “I was at a friend’s house. The exterminator uncovered them.”

“Same here,” Virginia said. “Only it was my house.”

“Did your bug guy die?” Bret asked.

“Oh, brother.” Virginia nodded. “Just dying would have been humane for him.”

“Wait,” Chuck called out. “How about you two?” he asked of Colin and Darius.

Darius ex
plained. “I was in my classroom
playing my guitar. Roaches crawled out. Now we had seen a few that day, but when they came out of my guitar, I figured I knew where they were coming from.
When I pulled out the bookshelf, bam,
I was hit.”