Dale had seen Leandra and her brother, Tim, helping out at the hospital earlier so he headed there to break the awful news.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dale found them both in the same room. Leandra was changing beds while Tim cleaned the bathroom.
Leandra smiled when she saw Dale walk in.
“Hi Sheriff,” she greeted him, slightly puzzled at his unusually solemn face. Not that he was the bubbly type but he always had a pleasant expression.
“Tim, will you come in here for a moment?”
Tim obediently pulled off the gloves he was wearing and came out of the bathroom.
“I’m so sorry to have to tell you this but your family was attacked today by someone who was infected. Carson responded to a call from a neighbor who heard screams. By the time he got there your parents and James had turned also.” They loved their brother and Dale could not see the necessity or the point in telling them who the attacker was. It was bad enough to know they were no longer around.
“No, no” Leandra cried, not being able to grasp the thought of losing all three. Memories flooded her mind of the love and wonderful times that would be no more.
She was able to cope with the new world she lived in when she could go home to the safety and normalcy of her family. She always had at least one of her brothers with her so she didn’t fear an attack. She always thought that they were more than able to protect her if she was unable to. But if her dad and James could not protect her mother, then what chance did she have?
Tim tried to comfort her but his own grief made him useless. He held Leandra and then suddenly kissed her on the forehead and left, still in shock.
No matter how many times Dale made these calls, it never became easy. As much as he wanted to stay and console Leandra, he had other matters to attend to so he called Shar to come stay with her for a bit which she gladly agreed to and headed straight to the hospital.
22 JoJo
When Shar arrived, her heart broke for Leandra. Dale gently hugged Leandra then Shar.
“Thank you” he whispered in her ear as he was leaving. “We have cleared the bodies if you need to go by their house to get some clothing and necessities for Leandra. Maybe we should keep her for a few days” Dale suggested. The decision was left to Shar and she had no problem taking the poor girl in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Leandra” Shar said gently. “I’m so sorry” she comforted her, wrapping her arms around the young girl.
‘When will it ever end?’ Shar thought. It had been two years since the dusting and the effects of it had made life so much harder. Where most people lived to stay away from the Turners, everyone in Walters lived with them. It would have been better for the victims to have been terminated on infection than to live in the horrible limbo state they could not escape from. But how does one kill someone who has the spark of humanity still in them? More than half of the Walters’ residents were living in the limbo state now, neither living nor dead. Most wished they had died in the beginning rather than live the slow rotting death. Shar was grateful that if she were infected at least she would be put out of her misery.
At 16, Leandra had blossomed into a beautiful young woman under the care of her loving family. Now, all of the anchors in her life were gone and she was alone.
She could only weep and let Shar hold her. She had never lost someone she loved and that pain was unbearable.
“Where is Tim?” Shar asked her.
“I don’t know. He just left.” She sobbed.
Everyone handles grief in different ways but anger flared up in Shar at the thought of Tim abandoning his sister at a time like this. In her mind, Tim was older and should have taken on his responsibility, no matter what the circumstances or how he personally felt.
Not knowing when or if Tim would be back, Shar gently told Leandra that she would be better off staying with them for a while.
Not wanting to go back to an empty house filled with memories, Leandra accepted Shar’s kind invitation and asked her if they could find JoJo. Leandra hoped he had hid or been roaming outside when her home was invaded. She didn’t think she could bear the loss of her little companion also.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shar pulled up in front of the McCullen home cautiously. Not seeing any immediate danger, they got out of the car and went into the house.
Leandra’s tears flowed uncontrollably as she passed her parents room and smelled her mother’s perfume.
Mustering as much courage and resolve as she could, she went to her own room.
There on her bed was her JoJo with tail wagging. He jumped up the moment he saw her and ran to her open arms.
“Oh JoJo” she sobbed into his furry neck. In response, he eagerly liked the tears off her face.
Shar stood at the door, heartbroken but at the same time filled with joy that Leandra still had her little companion.
After a few minutes, Shar walked over to Leandra and put her arms around the young girl’s shoulders. “It’s time to go sweetheart.”
Leandra reluctantly put JoJo down and gathered a few necessities.
Shar put Leandra’s things into the trunk then settled herself into the driver’s seat.
As Leandra walked to the passenger side, she heard the gravel crunching behind her. Thinking it was JoJo, she didn’t bother to look back.
Everything happened so fast, there was no time to react.
The Turner who had attacked James had somehow found its way to the McCullen home. With both hands forward, it grabbed Leandra’s shirt and pulled her off balance. Thrusting its head forward, it found the mouthful it was craving. The only difference was it was flesh filed with fur. It didn’t care though because the thing in its hands bled.
Hearing JoJo yelp, Leandra turned around to see the thing with a firm hold on her precious companion. He had absorbed the bite meant for his mistress.
Shar jumped out of the car when she saw Leandra go down. She rounded the back of the car just in time to see JoJo’s heroism. She pulled Leandra out of harms’ way and grabbing the pistol she always carried in her glove box, she rushed back to the thing that had JoJo and cleanly split the its head. But it was too late. The virus had once again been passed on.
JoJo lay on the ground, severely wounded and also infected. Leandra was holding his head in her arms, trying to comfort him as long as she could before he died or turned. Then, JoJo was still. Leandra’s grief knew no bounds and she sobbed as she lost one of her greatest loves.
When JoJo opened his eyes again, they were the eyes of something else. Anticipating the transition of JoJo, she was ready. Yelling at Leandra to move, Shar shot Leandra’s companion before he would have the chance to harm her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The short drive to the Heather’s home seemed like an eternity. Shar had not had any personal encounters with a Turner up to that point and was still shaking from the ordeal. Leandra was wrapped in her own misery and so there was no conversation.
When they finally arrived, they gathered up Leandra’s things and Shar led the way into the house.
Shar settled Leandra into the guest room and feeling the need for some normalcy, she said, “I need to start prepping for dinner. Mr. Heathers will be hungry after the long day. Take your time settling in and come out when you’re ready. I’ll have a small snack waiting for you.” She then wrapped her arms around Leandra and just held her for a few moments.
Leandra had always had such respect for the Heathers. They reminded her of her parents. They always seemed to be happy and it was evident that they loved each other deeply. Although the circumstances were horrific, she was glad that Mrs. Heathers had taken her in. She felt safe and not so desperately alone.
With those thoughts in her mind, she sat down on the comfortable bed and leaned over to lay her head on the soft pillow. She had stopped sobbing but the tears still trickled down her swollen face, wetting her pillow. The Heather’s cat, Chunks, had followed her in and sensing Leandra’s sadness, had jumped on
the bed and curled snuggly against her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tim wandered through the woods to his favorite spot by the lake where his collection of memories with his family rushed through his mind. They had been so close, he couldn’t imagine going on without them.
He thought about Leandra and knew he couldn’t abandon her but what good would protecting her do now if they were going to end up like the rest of his family? He would probably go first and she would be left alone anyway. In Tim’s mind everything was hopeless and there was no point in going on. Darkness flooded his mind and he was left in utter despair.
Contemplating all of his options for almost an hour, he made his mind up. Having been the only one in his family who never learned to swim, he made his way to a ledge overhanging a deep pool and jumped off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Leandra.” Shar was gently nudging her. “Dinner is ready if you feel up to eating.”
Leandra woke up confused at her surroundings and then everything flooded back into her mind. She wanted to start crying again but with great strength of will, held back the tears. Things were different now and she had to accept it. She yearned for comfort from Tim and wondered when he would be back.
Seeing the concern on Shar’s face, Leandra felt compelled to reassure her.
“Thank you for waking me up, Mrs. Heathers. Dinner sounds really good.”
Relieved, Shar smiled sweetly at the young girl who had lost so much.
“Let’s go then. Mr. Heathers is waiting for us.”
Leandra was so pleasant despite her tremendous losses. Dale and Shar knew Leandra and her family well and they felt the loss also. Dale had spent more days on the lake than he could remember with them. Walters never had anything more than a rowdy tourist to deal with so there had been a lot of time to bond with the permanent residents.
He watched Leandra now, wondering where her brother had run off to when his sister needed him so badly. He made a mental note to do a search the following day to see if he could find Tim.
23 Giving Up
Dr. Wiggins had spent the last 72 hours at the hospital, and he was exhausted. Doctors were in high demand everywhere so there was no one he could call on to help. Of the three practicing physicians in Walters, he was the only one left. One went to help his father in Phoenix and the other had become a Turners statistic while trying to aid someone he thought had absorbed the AT48.
Unable to push himself any further, he decided to head home and spend the night in his own bed. In consideration of her husband, Henny had moved into the guest room so Charles could sleep better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charles called out Henny’s name when he walked through the front door and, out of habit, headed to the kitchen.
Since Henny didn’t respond to his call, he assumed she was asleep.
Henny was decomposing a little more every day. So when she didn’t answer, Charles was actually relieved that he didn’t have to look on the remnants of his once lovely wife. He would just enjoy the peacefulness of his home and allow his mind to pretend that his life was still as it once was. He picked up a pad and pen and began to write a little love note to Henny as he had done so many times before.
Eyeing the pound cake on the table, he was suddenly hungry and went to the cabinet and took out a plate and a glass. Getting the prepared powdered milk and a fork, he sat down to enjoy the treat. Henny didn’t cook anymore because of the molting skin so he knew someone had brought this by, probably Suri.
Charles was just taking his third bite when he heard the all too familiar grunting and rasping sounds. Quickly swallowing the bite he had just put into his mouth, he reached for the meat cleaver in the knife block on the counter. Then he picked up his phone and dialed Dale’s number. When Dale picked up, he let the sheriff know that there was possibly a Turner in their house and hung up. Charles would need both hands free as he headed towards the sounds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the Heathers had finished dinner, Shar sent Leandra off to rest while she and Dale cleaned up.
“I called Milly earlier to give her the news. She is really hurting. She and Faye were so close. I told her Tim ran off and hadn’t been back yet.”
“Not sure what got into him to make him take off like that. He’s a good boy but even if he comes back I think we should keep her with us until things settle down a bit.”
“Agreed” said Shar, relieved to know her husband felt as she did.
Dale was just finishing up drying the dishes when the phone rang. He put down the towel and walked over to pick it up.
It was Charles’ number.
“Hey Charles” Dale greeted him. After a moment he said “I’ll be right there” and hung up.
He looked at Shar. “It’s Charles. I need to get to his house right away.” He kissed her as he went for the door.
Shar had been through this scene before. “Be careful” was all she said as Dale hurried out the door.
He got Carson on the phone on his way to the car and instructed him to meet at the doctor’s house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carson arrived at the same time as Dale. He pulled out his sidearm while Dale grabbed the shotgun off the rack in his cruiser. Charles had been watching for them and went to the front door when they drove up. He was crying but he simply said “She’s one of them”.
Confused about who ‘them’ was, Dale asked “What do you mean Charles?”
“Them, THEM!” he raised his voice on the second ‘them’. “One of the Turners!” he blurted out. A cold chill ran through Dale at the thought of the infected turning on their families.
“Where is she?” Dale asked sharply.
“I trapped her in the bedroom.”
Familiar with the homes layout, Dale led the way with Carson at his back. Charles went back to their kitchen where he sat down and wept. He knew how this would end.
Stepping up to the bedroom door, Dale could hear the familiar grunting. He turned the handle and pushed it open. Carson was standing ready for whatever was on the other side.
Henny was pushing against the bedroom window and turned when she heard the door open. She rushed at Carson but he was ready. His shot was true and Henny was put to rest.
Charles ran into the room at the sound of the shot. When he saw Henny lying on the ground, he fell to his knees. He refrained from holding her because of the condition she was in. Instead, he knelt by her with his arms wrapped around himself.
“She can’t end like this” was all he could say as his tears flowed freely.
Dale called the Patels to come and take care of the doctor, quickly explaining what had happened. His next call was to the coroner who would cremate Henny’s corpse per CDC protocol.
Earlier, at dinner, Shar had told Dale about Suri’s visit to Henny. Suri had noted a depressed attitude which was so unlike Henny and wondered at the time if she was mentally sinking.
Now, the empty bottle of painkillers he saw on the dresser, told him the story. Henny had tried to end her life but it just allowed the disease to complete its process. Kirsten needed to know this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Between dealing with Henny and everything else, Dale hadn’t had a chance to update Kirsten on the virus so the first thing he did when he got to the station the next morning was make the phone call.
Kirsten picked up on the fourth ring.
“Dr. Tsosie.”
“Kirsten, it’s Dale Heathers.”
“Dale, how are you?” Kirsten asked, surprised to hear from him.
“I’m well but we’ve had a situation here you should know about.”
Instantly focused, Kirsten encouraged Dale to continue. “Go on.”
“Henny Wiggins committed suicide. She overdosed on pain killers.”
“Oh no” was all she could say.
“Kirsten, she completely turned!”
The significance of this turn of events was not lost on Kirsten.
“How many people wer
e dusted?” She tried to recall but couldn’t.
“About two hundred.” Dale replied as faces rushed through his mind.
“When was her last transfusion?” Kirsten inquired.
“About two weeks ago. Suri said the blood bank was low so they were trying to go as long as possible between ‘treatments’.” Dale preferred the term to transfusion.
“Did you notice anything unusual in Henny’s behavior?”
“To be honest Kirsten, it’s not easy being around the infected. We have so many residents that have partially turned.
I hadn’t seen Henny in a couple of weeks but Shar did mention that Henny had seemed depressed, though I can’t imagine why, being stuck inside all day in that condition.” Dale couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
“I’d better let the home office know about this. Thanks for making the call Dale.” Kirsten then hung up so she could inform her superiors.
Carson walked in as Dale put his phone down.
“We need to get Suri, Leo and Charles together for a meeting” Dale told him. Not having to be told why, Carson picked up the phone and started making the calls.
24 The Relocation
The next afternoon, the five friends were sitting in the Patel’s living room. Suri and their oldest daughter, Krista, had just finished serving the refreshments when Dale began.
“We’re faced with a situation that has no precedence. We have a town that has an antidote in most of its residents that will create a living death for them if activated.
When an unvaccinated person dies, we know what to do with them. We bury them. If they have been infected, they are destroyed the moment they turn and it’s over.
But the inoculated people are stuck in a hellacious condition. The transfusions give then some relief but no hope. If they die, they instantly turn and become a danger to the town. A Turner straggling into town can be identified and destroyed but it’s a different story when people who live among us that always look as though they’ve turned, actually do. If they died from their own hand, an incident or the effects of the virus, they have immediate access to those around them.”
Turners | Book 2 | 90 Degrees Page 6
