He gave him his thoughts again on Luke’s wellbeing. “You’re not gonna get sick, Luke. Your mom did and she caught it from Marge Hader. You should have. In fact, you should have caught it from a lot of sources. You’re one of those people who just won’t get it.”
“Maybe you are, too,” Luke said.
“Luke, I haven’t been without protective clothing. You have. I’m not so sure, that’s why I’m leaving.”
“You have people here. People who need you.”
Then the good doctor quoted a line, ironically Luke had read it in the novel, The Stand.
“I took an oath to care for my patients, not to die with them,” Doctor Christoph said, then added. “Yes, this is my home. I need to find my sister and her family. I’ll be back, when the four weeks are up.”
“What about those in town?” Luke asked.
“There’s nothing I can do for then, Luke. Neither can you. Do yourself a favor and tuck away somewhere.”
That was his advice to Luke.
Luke had nowhere to go until he was given the task of taking care of Emma.
“We’re going now. I have to stop somewhere first.” He looked in the rearview mirror at her. “Hey, I know … do you want to meet some kids?”
“Molly,” Luke called out, knocking on Molly’s apartment door.
To be safe and take precautions, he placed a paper face mask on Emma.
“Luke?” Molly replied from the other side with some excitement. “That you?”
“Yeah. Yeah it is.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yep. Not sick. Still going strong. I told you I wasn’t gonna get this. This is the day. The news said two days ago, this is the day most everyone will be sick by. Molly ... how are you and the boys?”
“Not sick. My arm’s better, too.”
“That’s good. Hey, Molly, I have a mission. A good one.”
“What’s that Luke?” she asked.
“I have little Emma Hader here with me. She’s not sick.”
“Emma … Emma Hader?” Molly asked. “Is that the daughter of …?”
“Yes ... her Dad isn’t well. He asked me to take her to her grandfather. He’s in a safe house in Dubois. It’s far away. Remember how I told you that you and the boys should leave.”
“I do.”
“Molly, I want you and the boys to go with us. I’ll take you there. I have gloves and masks. I really think it’ll be safe if we go right to the truck.”
“I’m scared, Luke,” she said.
“So am I. I have this little girl here.” Luke lowered his voice. “Molly, something I did affected her life a couple months ago and now I have a chance to do something positive to affect her life. And I’m scared. I don’t know anything about kids. She is crying. Sad and hungry. I have to feed her, Molly, she hasn’t eaten in a day or two. I don’t know how to do this. And you’re such a good mom, I need your help. You and your boys deserve to have a chance. Please, just …”
The door unlatched.
Luke stopped talking.
Slowly, the door opened. Molly peeked out, she breathed heavily, almost frightened. “You think it will be okay?”
Luke nodded. “We’ll get you out of town real fast. We won’t go near anyone.”
Molly bit her bottom lip, then crouched down to Emma. “Hey, Sweetie, you poor thing. Come here, honey. Come here.” She reached out her hand to Emma.
Emma grabbed her hand, and Molly pulled the little girl into her, giving her a hug. She looked up to Luke. “Come on in and help me get the boys ready.”
“You’re gonna go?” Luke asked.
Molly stood with Emma in her arms. “We’re gonna go.”
27 – DESTINATION
Magnificent Jewel – Cruise Ship
It was the fifth day in the cabin, and it started to look like it. The glorious, beautiful, high-priced suite looked worse for wear.
Despite how hard Eve and Silas tried to keep it tidy, lack of ambition and depression started to set in, they had just let things go.
There was nothing else to watch.
No news.
No internet.
They had made their way through the DVD collection.
There was no one throwing bodies over the railing. Bodies still lined up on the deck, but they were going nowhere.
Sometime just before noon, the power on the ship seemed to switch to half-life.
The room grew hotter, and the only relief was to sit outside on the lounge chairs, faces covered to mask the stench that carried their way.
Eve was hungry, thirsty and ready to chalk it all up, she was ready to cover her nose and mouth and look for something to eat.
“We can, you know,” Silas said. “The last we heard on the news, twenty-four hours is all the virus lives on surfaces. It’s been nearly that long since we saw anyone on deck.”
“We’ll give it until tomorrow,” she said. “Then we’ll go out.”
“Okay, agreed.”
Lack of energy taking its toll, they both just laid there.
What else was there to do?
Eve was glad they were outside or else they probably wouldn’t have heard the announcement.
“If I can have your attention, please,” A tired sounding male voice spoke over the cruise ship PA system. “My name is Lane Braunovich. I am a quartermaster on this ship. I have been quarantined with two others in the pilothouse since the onset of the crisis. I am well. I am not sick.”
Eve sat up all the way in shock, listening to his words.
“I have now powered down what I could in order to conserve power,” Lane said. “I know as much as you do at this time. I have not spoken to the captain in two days. I have not seen movement or heard from anyone about any new illness reports in days. I don’t ... I don’t even know if anyone is listening to me. But if you are. Just know, I will give this five more days, at that point I will fire up the engines and we will make port. I don’t know where that will be or what will await us when we arrive, but I will bring us home. I ask you to wait. To not come to the pilothouse until I make the announcement. Hang in there. We’re almost through this.”
Five more days.
That was all he said.
“We have enough food,” Silas said. “But without power, there’s no way to cook it.”
Eve nodded. “Then we do what you said. Tomorrow we leave the room. If it’s been days since he had a report, it’s been days since anyone died.”
“It should be safe,” Silas said.
“It should be safe.” Eve repeated.
She rested back. It was the first glimmer of hope she had felt in nearly a week. There was an end in sight. Five days they’d head back to the states.
They’d finally move again.
Like the quartermaster, Eve didn’t know what would await them when they docked. For all she knew, everything back home was fine. More than likely it wasn’t. But she had to believe, to think that when they docked they would be greeted with open arms and the crisis would be over.
Eve switched to a positive attitude. She had seen so much death from the windows of the suite, there had to be something better out there. Even if it was just a fantasy, she didn’t want to think about how the rest of the world was like the ship. It was too horrifying.
They were in limbo, but it wouldn’t be for long.
In less than a week, they wouldn’t be adrift in the ocean, they’d be docked and then she would know the fate of the world.
Until then, she just had to wait.
◆◆◆
Dubois, PA
Something switched in Molly the second she and her boys got into the truck. She didn’t feel as scared. Maybe it was the fact that she didn’t see any threats. The last time she was out on the street it was chaos and now it was quiet.
Instantly, she snapped into survival mode.
“Can we stop for supplies?” she asked Luke. “Somewhere.”
“I would think the house has supplies.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“We need supplies, Luke. If the house ends up not being an option, we need to find a place to hide out and wait with the kids, so we need supplies.”
He nodded his understanding to Molly and started thinking out loud about other possible places.
Problem was, and Luke told her, he hadn’t spent much time out of Franklin.
Molly had. Together they’d figure it out.
There was one thing Luke did know. He knew what stores still had items and which ones were looted.
They had taken what they could from Molly’s, and the food items Luke left in the hall for Mrs. Carr, items she never touched. They stopped at various little stores, grabbing what they could. Even if it was only a pack of crackers or can of soup.
Two thousand people in Franklin, it was hard to believe they had taken almost everything.
“I was hoping Franklin would be an option after it is all said and done,” Molly said. “It’s such a great secluded town.”
“It is,” Luke replied. “And the food is still out there. We just have to find it. There will be a lot of homes with a lot of food left.”
“You mean of those that were sick.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be a messy process to get it back, but we will.”
Neither Molly or Luke were familiar with Dubois. There was a convenience store about a mile from there. It had been looted, but maps remained and they were able to grab a more detailed one.
They followed the directions to Trade Winds Road, then Lake Drive. There were no houses on the road, just number signs by the private driveways. They found the correct house number and turned down the tree-lined drive.
It was nearly evening, and they hoped they had the right place. With no power it was going to be dark and dangerous to drive.
The driveway was half-a-mile and led to an open area where the driveway formed a circle to the house.
It certainly was private.
“Something isn’t right,” Luke said softly and stopped the truck before getting too close.
“What is it?”
“That’s Stew’s car,” he pointed to the SUV. “I don’t know whose car that is.” He indicated to the black one.
“Maybe he has people here.”
“Why is the door open?” Luke put the truck in park. “I’ll be back. Stay here.” He opened the driver’s door and stepped out.
Molly got out of the truck as well. She was staying close to it, in case they had to leave quickly, but she wanted to see what was happening.
It didn’t feel right to Luke, maybe he was wrong, but something felt amiss. His gut swirled with worry as he approached the house. The heavy sound of buzzing flies hit him first, then the rotting smell of death.
He flinched when the odor hit him and covered his mouth and nose.
He took another step and saw dried blood on the driveway, a small puddle with trailing drops of blood. Then near the door he saw the body of a man he didn’t know.
The man was partially on his side, his face purple and body bloated.
“What is it?” Molly asked.
“It’s a body. I don’t know who.”
“Did they die of the virus?”
“No, looks like they were shot.”
“Get back here, Luke. We’ll just leave. Don’t piss around.”
Luke couldn’t agree more, but no sooner had she said that, then the front door opened startling them.
A woman stood there, a shorter and older woman, wearing a tee shirt and jeans. Her thick, dark hair was speckled with gray, and she had it pushed back with a head band. She held out a gun.
“I’m sorry.” Luke held up his hands. “I’m not here for trouble. We aren’t sick. I was just trying to find the man who owns this house. I have his granddaughter, but I …”
“You have Emma?” she asked, gushing. “Is she okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine.”
The woman stepped back, more than likely to place down the gun, then she opened the door wider. “I’m Marcy. I worked for Stew keeping this house for him. He said to look for a green truck. Is that Matt’s truck?”
“It is. I have Emma, two other little boys and a woman. All fine. All needing a place to wait this out.”
“Absolutely. Pull around the back,” she said with excitement. “We don’t need the children to see this.” She nodded at the body.
“No, we don’t.”
“I would have moved it, but I’m not strong enough.”
“I’ll do that for you once I get everyone inside. I’ll be back.” He stepped away and paused. “Marcy, have you been here the last couple of days?”
“I’ve been up here for the last two weeks. Before all the craziness even started. No worries, I haven’t been anywhere near an infected.”
Luke smiled. “Thank you.”
He rushed back to the truck, motioning his hand for Molly to get inside.
“Everything okay?” Molly asked, getting in. “Who was that woman?”
“She works for Stew. She’s been here for two weeks. I think whoever that was out front. I think they tried to break in.”
“Wow, goes to show you even the rich get desperate. That’s a hundred-thousand dollar car.” Molly said. “What about Stew?”
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“What if,” Elvin said from the back? “She killed everyone and is playing you?”
Luke looked to the back seat. “Seriously, dude?”
Elvin shrugged. “Could happen.”
Luke put the truck in gear. “We’re pulling around back.” He informed them and then drove to the back of the house where Marcy stood waiting at the door.
Luke got out and immediately went to the back seat. Molly undid Emma’s belt, and Luke lifted her from the seat. He wanted to say something about seeing her grandfather, but worried because he still didn’t know Stew’s fate.
When he brought the child into the house, he learned. Emma cried out, “Pap!”
Marcy spun around, scolding. “Stew, you are not to be out of bed. What are you doing?”
“Eh,” he waved out his hand. “I’m fine. I need to see my baby.”
Luke set down Emma and she ran to her grandfather.
“Don’t you hold her?” Marcy said. “I put my best cross stitch in your side.” She pulled a chair for him to sit down.
Emma immediately hugged his legs, and Stew placed his hands on her back, doing his best to hold her with gratefulness.
“You were shot?” Luke asked.
“Twice,” Stew replied. “Nothing life threatening. Just enough to keep me from leaving.”
Molly spoke up. “I was shot, too. I brought the antibiotics the doctor gave me and ointment. They’re in the truck.”
“Mr. Stew here,” Marcy said. “Had all that stuff stocked. But it never hurts to have more on hand.”
“You have Matt’s truck,” Stew said. “Where is Matt?”
Luke bit his bottom lip and slowly shook his head. “He was really sick when I left. More than likely he’s … he’s gone by now.”
Stew closed his eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that. But thank you. Thank you so much for bringing Emma.”
“I brought Molly and her boys, too, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Not one bit.”
“Good. I’m going to go now. I’ll be back in a few days,” Luke said.
“Wait. Wait.” Molly stopped him. “You’re leaving?”
“You can’t leave,” Marcy said. “We need help here. We need to clean up outside for the children. Stew is not well enough yet to keep us safe.”
“I
won’t be long. I have to go back to Franklin. I have to finish up.” Luke opened the back door.
“Luke.” Molly grabbed his arm. “We just left there. There’s nothing to finish up. You can’t help those who are sick. As sad as it is, you can’t. You need to heal and grieve, and rest. Remember I told you there was a plan for you? This was it, Luke. This was why you were meant to survive. Right here. Please don’t go.”
“I agree with her,” Stew said. “Stay. Stay here and stay alive. You want to go back to Franklin. Go after we wait it out. It’ll still be there.”
“Will it?” Luke asked.
“Nothing you can do if it’s not,” Stew answered. “Being there won’t make a difference.”
It sounded and felt selfish to Luke to not go back. He hated the thought of it. But maybe he was really needed there just as much as in Franklin. It was getting late and it would be dark, that aided in his decision to stay at the lake house.
Luke closed the back door.
He wasn’t going back.
Not yet.
PART THREE – INTERIM
28 – UP
August 9
Franklin, PA
Gasp!
Upon waking up that first breath was difficult, his mouth was so dry, his tongue seemed glued to the roof of his mouth and his throat felt like sandpaper.
He took in a breath and coughed, but after he had done so, in his mind, Matt questioned, “I’m alive?”
Was he still dying or did he, by some miracle, beat the virus that had ravaged his body?
It took everything Matt had to open his eyes, they were crusted over. But when he did, he saw that it was daylight and he was still in the same position he had been in when he collapsed. Right by the plastic wall between the living room and the entrance hallway.
He didn’t know if it was morning or afternoon, but it was hot. Blistering hot, he didn’t even know how long he had been asleep on the floor.
His left arm was crossed above his head and when he lowered it a pain shot through this shoulder. He squinted his eyes to look at his fitness band. He had been out long enough that it was dead.
Plague Book: One Final Gasp Page 17
