Turners | Book 2 | 90 Degrees

by Thomas, Ellis

  With the twilight population segregated, life was decidedly easier for the healthy. At least they weren’t constantly assaulted by the sight and smells of the slowly decaying.

  On the other hand, those living in the apartments on the north end were creating their own community. They dealt with their misery and somehow, being around other people in the same condition, made it just a little easier to cope. They understood the pain and hopelessness of the twilight world and the smells weren’t an issue.

  Their contributions to Walters as a whole grew as they focused on gardening and providing produce for all the residents.

  Because the attachment of the remaining healthy residents to the infected was strong, Walters was surviving the terrible condition even though the healthy population had drastically dropped.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Carson and Dale continued to pull over anyone passing through and the toll was blood. It was one of these stops that changed Dale’s life.

  30 Dale’s Journey

  Dale got out of his cruiser, walked over to the ragged occupants and started his routine. To guarantee cooperation, he always hand cuffed someone in the car and put them in his cruiser to insure the others would follow him to the station to pay the ‘fine’. There was always so much anguish in the donors. So many ruthless people roamed about so that they never knew what was really going to happen to them. On the flip side, Dale and Carson never knew what kind of people they would encounter.

  Dale was focused on getting the job done as quickly as possible. He was just putting his prisoner in the back seat of his car when he felt a stabbing pain on the back of his shoulder.

  Reeling around, he was horrified at what had caused it and that he never even heard it coming.

  The area where he had pulled the car over was right at the edge of town and the woods were dense in that particular area. The turner was big but the soft dirt had muffled his footsteps and Dale was so focused on getting the donor into his cruiser that he had completely ignored the shouts from the other car, thinking they were just trying to distract him.

  Dale reflexively put the Turner down and jumped into the front seat before the passengers in the other car guessed what had happened. Putting on his siren to let Carson know he had someone, he pulled out and the other car obediently followed him per his earlier instructions.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Carson heard the siren before Dale pulled into the station and walked outside to assist. Dale didn’t get out but told Carson to ‘take care’ of these people. Carson took the hand cuffed passenger out and the others followed him into the station. Dale always finished booking the people he brought in so while Carson was a little puzzled by the change in routine, he didn’t question Dale.

  Not wanting to waste any time explaining what had happened and beginning to feel the pain of the infection, Dale headed straight for the hospital.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Dr. Wiggins finished cleaning and bandaging the wound.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked Dale.

  “My entire torso is on fire” he replied through gritted teeth.

  “Do you want a transfusion right now?”

  “No. I just pulled over a family and I need to get back to the station to give Carson a hand.”

  “Well, let me know when you’re ready. I’ll have Marcia set everything up so you won’t have to wait. I’ll also give you an injection for pain so you can finish up.”

  “Thanks Doc. I’m sure I’ll be back as soon as I’m done. Thanks for patching me up.”

  Dale mentally blessed the doctor when the miracle liquid rushed through his veins.

  He slowly got off the exam table and headed to his car.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  At the police station, Carson had everything under control. The two teens and their parents were all in separate cells. Dale had secured the basement in the court house to keep Jazz and any other felons who were detained permanently in order to keep the cells in the sheriff’s office free for those who would be donating and then moving on.

  Dale walked into the confinement area as Carson was finishing his explanation of what they would be doing. They wouldn’t play head games with innocent passersby. Although the parents showed concern, they weren’t fearful. The way Carson spoke to them gave them a comfort level on the blood donations. They understood this would not be done unless it was absolutely necessary. They had given blood when things were normal so why not now? The only difference between then and now was the fact that they didn’t have a choice.

  Suri prepared the meal that was brought in for them. When they had finished, Marcia arrived to start the draws being as gentle as possible. She drew one pint from the mother and teenagers and a half pint from the father. The man would need to drive and needed to be alert but the others could rest or sleep.

  When the donors had been escorted to their car and seen off and Marcia had left with her precious commodity, Carson turned to Dale.

  “Are you ok? You don’t look good at all!”

  “I was bit today.” Dale said matter-of-factly.

  Carson’s mouth dropped open.

  “I went to see Dr. Wiggins when I left here. He bandaged me up and injected a pain killer but it’s wearing off now. I’m on fire inside but I didn’t want to leave you alone to handle those people.”

  “Man” was all Carson could get out.

  “I’m going back to see Dr. Wiggins.”

  “Are you going to get transfused?” Carson felt like an idiot after he asked the question.

  “I’m going to have to in order to keep functioning. I can’t take this pain much longer. I don’t know how the others are doing it” he added, thinking of the young children who had transformed.

  He turned to leave and then said as an afterthought, “Don’t mention this to Shar if she calls Carson. I want to be the one to break the news.”

  “Oh, yea. Don’t worry about that.” Carson felt sick.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Are you comfortable?” asked Marcia, then added, “Well, at least as far as the position you’re in.”

  “I’m ok. Just get this going.” Dale was trying hard to be civil because he knew Marcia could only work so fast. “Sorry Marcia. I don’t mean to be so testy. I just need some relief as fast as possible.”

  Marcia finished the prep and began drawing blood out as she was allowing blood to flow into Dale’s vein. It was like a narcotic. Dale could feel the fresh blood coming in and as it did, the pain began to wane. Dale needed to remain sharp as the town’s sheriff so Marcia gave more than the standard ration.

  When she was finished, Marcia told Dale to sit tight and rest for just a bit.

  “Lay there for about 15 minutes and get up slowly when you do. I’ll bring you some juice.”

  “Thanks Marcia” Dale said kindly, so appreciative of what she had done for him.

  Dale spent the next fifteen minutes trying to figure out how he was going to break the news to Shar. He knew she would not want him to go to the apartments but the thought of his decaying body touching her and the stink that would be oozing from him, defiling their home, made staying with her, in his mind, impossible. He loved her too much to do that to her.

  ‘Well’ he thought as he slowly rose from the bed. ‘Better just get it over with.’ He gathered up his things and, with the greatest burden he had ever carried, made his way home.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  With the pain now under control, Dale stood up straight when he walked through his front door. He wanted to appear as strong as he could in front of his wife.

  Shar heard her husband come in the front door and went to greet him as she always did.

  Putting her arms around him, she lifted her face, expecting a kiss but instead of feeling her husband’s gentle lips, she felt the roughness of a days’ beard growth.

  She opened her eyes and saw that he had turned his cheek to her.

  Dale’s heart broke when he saw her confusion at this break in their longt
ime routine. He couldn’t run the risk of his saliva contaminating her in any way.

  “How was your day?” she asked, truly wondering what had happened.

  Taking her hand, he only said “Come with me” and gently led her to their comfortable sofa where they had had so many serious discussions. The spots history was not lost on Shar.

  Settling down, Dale looked into his wife’s beautiful eyes.

  “Shar” he began but his voice broke with emotion.

  He cleared his throat and began again.

  “There was an accident today. A family came through that we needed to get donations from. I was going through the routine of getting them to the station when a Turner showed up out of nowhere and bit me on the back.”

  Shar gasped. She was acutely aware of the implication.

  “I’m infected.” Dale said, affirming what Shar already knew.

  She was grateful that he had them sit down to give her the news. Her legs would not have held her up. Shar wrapped her arms around the man she had spent her life with. She had seen the torment the others had gone through and it was almost unbearable to think of someone she loved so dearly enduring that.

  “How do you feel?” she asked, her throat tight with emotion.

  “Marcia gave me a transfusion so I’m doing ok right now. I tried to go as long as I could. I don’t know how the north end goes as long as they do without them.”

  Dale was so exhausted. He knew he would need more frequent treatments if he was to continue in his current capacity as sheriff.

  Touching Shar’s face, he said, “I’m going to lie down for a while. I’m so exhausted.”

  “I’ll go turn down the bed for you sweetheart.” When Dale got up, Shar reached out to him as she stood up and held him for a full minute. Words couldn’t express how grateful Dale was for that touch of reassurance. Shar knew in a very short time this would not be something easily done being all too familiar with the pattern of decay.

  She took Dale by the hand and led him to their room.

  31 New Duties

  Once again, the town leaders officially gathered in the Patel’s living room. Leo began.

  “First of all, I want to thank you, Dale, for continuing to stay in charge of our safety. I know it’s very difficult to deal with your own issues now let alone everyone else’s. We are all aware that more help is also needed.”

  Looking at the others, he went on.

  “We need to come up with a way to attract and retain more people since Dale can’t be chasing everyone down as he did before. Suggestions?”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  An hour later, after going through many scenarios and options, the small group finally decided to induce people into stopping on their own by tapping into their benevolent side. The town would track vehicles heading their way and then have a young girl appear as if she were alone walking down the street. In theory, most people would be compelled to stop and offer help. If they didn’t, Carson would go after them. If they did stop, Carson would appear and they would be asked to follow him to the police station to pay the road toll.

  Leo turned to Milly who was taking notes.

  “Milly, do you think you could speak to Leandra about being one of the ‘persuaders’?” He preferred that word to bait.

  ”I’m not sure Leo. All I can do is ask her.”

  Then Milly added, “Will Krista be asked also?” In Milly’s mind, Krista, at eleven years, was old enough to step up also.

  Caught off guard, Leo blanched at the thought of his own daughter being used this way. The look on Suri’s face told him she was thinking exactly the same thing.

  Then, almost simultaneously, they both realized they could not ask another to do something they would not.

  Leo made the decision.

  “Yes.”

  Krista was mature for her age and he knew he would never let her be too far from him.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Milly and Leandra were washing the dinner dishes that evening and Leandra noticed that Milly had been unusually quiet throughout the evening.

  When they had hung the wet dish towels to dry out, Milly broached the subject that had been on her mind.

  “Leandra” she began. “Can I talk to you about an issue that has come up?”

  “Sure.” The tone of Milly’s voice aroused Leandra’s curiosity and also her full attention.

  “You’re aware of our dangerously low blood supply. Well, the town council has decided we must have more frequent draws.” Milly hesitated then went on.

  “Carson is the only one available to stake out potential donors but he can’t be everywhere. Because of that, we are missing quite a few, uh, ‘opportunities’ to get donors.”

  Milly was clearly struggling with getting to the point.

  “Well, straight up, the council has decided to try to bait travelers into pulling over.”

  ‘There’ thought Milly, watching Leandra’s reaction.

  Leandra still didn’t understand what she was talking about so Milly was point blank even though she hated being the one to have to ask.

  “The town council would like you, along with Leah, Krista and Joyce, to start acting as bait to attract cars into stopping so Carson won’t have to chase people down. Main Street is pretty empty now but it’s the road everyone must go through. Old Joe will be lookout and let us know when someone is coming. One of you girls will go to the middle of the street and get the car to pullover. Because you’re young, people may think you are alone and in need of help. When they approach you, you will get them to get out of their car. Once they’re outside, we’ll have people standing by to ‘encourage’ them to comply with our toll fee.”

  Leandra was shocked that they would want to trick people and be so deceitful but, at the same time, she knew there was no way out. All of the city council had family or friends that were in that horrible limbo state and they were getting desperate. Leandra always stayed as far from the north end as she could but the times she had gone near the apartments, it had filled her with fear. She always heard children crying because of the morphing process they were going through and if anything motivated her to go along with the councils plan, it was that. An entire family of seven lived there. They had become infected when the brother killed himself, reanimated and went after his unsuspecting parents and siblings. By the time Dale and Carson pulled up, the teenager had managed to scrape or bite every member of his family.

  Resignation and despondency filled Leandra. Saying ‘no’ would not put her in any ones good graces. Like it or not, she was part of the town and everyone was expected to do their part.

  “Ok Aunt Milly. I’ll help.”

  The relief on Milly’s face told Leandra how difficult this had been for her. She wondered how the other girls were taking the news and if they had given in so quickly. They were a bit younger but there were no children anymore. The struggle and hopelessness of their lives made them all grow up fast.

  Leandra resolved to see them as soon as possible.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  That same evening, Leo and Suri sat down with their daughter, Krista. When Leo had finished giving her the details of the new plan they had come up with, he asked if she would be part of it.

  “If you stay close by Papa, I’ll do it.” She loved her father so much and knew he would not ask her if he thought any harm would come to her.

  Leo’s heart swelled with pride and tenderness toward his daughter who was showing so much courage.

  “I won’t let you out of my sight” he promised.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The next afternoon, Leandra met up with the other girls at the large pergola in the town square. Sitting down at one of the picnic tables, Leah began to reminisce.

  “Remember the parades and the picnics here? I thought it would always be like that.”

  “Life seemed so lazy and peaceful. There was never a sense of urgency for anything” said Joyce, missing those days.

  Thinking of the good times only
made Leandra aware of how bad things were now. She preferred somewhere far from Walters and this plague. Books were her ticket for that trip.

  “Yeah, well, thinking about things that were, only makes now, worse.” She bit her lip for coming off so sharp. Changing the subject, she asked “How do you guys feel about this whole baiting thing?”

  Leah looked at Leandra with surprise at the question.

  “I don’t feel anything. We all have a duty and a job to do and this is simply my new job.”

  “Aren’t you worried that someone might kidnap you?”

  “What can be worse than this?” thirteen year old Joyce asked. “The way I look at it, at least I would have a ride away from here! At any rate, it beats walking from here.”

  “Well, that’s a point worth considering but at least we know this ‘bad’. We might be taken somewhere where there’s no food or we have to stay inside of a building. At least the Twilighters can help garden so we have food and the lake and we can freely come and go” said Leandra.

  “My Papa will be near, so we’ll be ok” said Krista with such conviction, it sent a pang of grief through Leandra at the memory of her own father.

  Leandra softened at her courage and trust when she knew her father was there to protect her. She couldn’t help remembering her father couldn’t even protect himself, let alone her family.

  ‘She’ll grow up fast enough’ thought Leandra. ‘Let her dream while she can.’

  “It is what it is” said Joyce tiring of the debate. “We should be heading over to the station for the briefing on just how we’re supposed to ‘bait’ people.”

  None of the girls were in any hurry to start their new assignments but they dutifully got up and headed to their appointment with Dale.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  When they walked into the station, Carson met them. He was used to seeing Dale everyday so Dale’s transformation didn’t shock him the way it did others. He had become the buffer for Dale.

  Carson greeted the girls and then led them to Dale’s office. Thankfully the windows were open and a breeze blowing so they wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the smell.

  The shocked look on the girl’s faces was not lost on Dale as they sat down across from him.