by Mark Kelly
Lucia nodded and took the lead. The dry grass crunched beneath their shoes as they snuck across the overgrown lawn towards the trees.
It’s too loud, Mei thought, cringing at the noise they made.
“Bad idea,” a man’s voice called out. “Take one more step and it’ll be your last.”
In the moonlight, she could see his outline. It was the man she knew as Baker. He was sitting on the front porch with his rifle aimed at them. He climbed to his feet and clunked down the stairs.
“Get back inside before I decide you three aren’t worth the trouble,” he said, pulling a small flashlight from his pocket and pointing the beam at them.
He marched them through the house into the kitchen. “In there,” he said, pointing at the pantry under the stairs that was barely large enough for one person to stand.
“There’s not enough room,” Mei protested.
“Make room,” he barked and pushed them inside. When he closed the door, it was as dark as the basement.
Mei heard him yell, “Taxson, get your ass down here.”
The stairs above them creaked and then there was the sound of the other man’s footsteps on the kitchen floor.
“What’s up?” Taxson asked in a weak voice.
“You don’t sound so good. Are you okay?”
“I’m just tired…a little under the weather. Probably the flu. What’s going on?”
“They’re in the pantry. I don’t know how the hell they got out of the basement, but I caught them outside. I’m going to catch a little shut-eye. You keep watch for a few hours.”
“Okay.”
Baker pounded on the door and said, “If they come out, shoot them.”
Mei was certain he didn’t mean it, but the thought didn’t give her any consolation. She heard the thud of his boots as he left the room and then the sound of a chair being dragged across the floor.
Saanvi began to quietly sob. Mei wrapped an arm around her. Soon, they all fell asleep.
19
Is he Okay?
“Get up.”
Disoriented, Mei blinked awake. It was daylight. The pantry door was open and Baker stood a few feet away with his pistol pointed at her.
“You’re a doctor, right? A real doctor?”
She tried not to stare into the black hole at the end of his gun barrel and nodded.
“My partner is sick. I need you to check him out.”
It was only then she noticed the second man, Taxson, sprawled on the floor beside the kitchen table. Baker stepped back to make room for her. She struggled to her feet using muscles that ached from hours spent in the cramped confines of the pantry.
“Don’t either of you move,” he scowled at Lucia and Saanvi, who also stood. He pushed the door closed again, leaving them in the closet.
Aware of the gun in the small of her back, Mei walked over and knelt beside the sick man. She lowered her head to his chest to listen to his lungs but couldn’t hear anything through his bullet-proof vest.
“How do I take this off,” she asked Baker.
Baker’s eyes darted between her and the closed pantry door. He reached down and unfastened the hidden velcro straps on his partner’s vest and pulled the plates apart.
Mei lowered her head. Taxson’s breathing was shallow and labored. She placed the tips of her fingers on his forehead. He was burning up.
“How long has he been sick?”
“He’s been complaining about the flu for a couple of days.”
“Has he had any diarrhea?”
Baker’s eyes grew wary. “We both had the runs a month ago, but that was just bad water. Why? Do you think he has the—”
The man on the floor groaned in pain. He curled up in a ball, clutching at his stomach. Mei gently rolled him over. The putrid smell of diarrhea smacked her in the face.
“Oh, Jesus,” Baker moaned as he jumped back from his partner. “Does he have the bug?”
A blur of movement came from behind as the pantry door slammed open against the wall. Out of the corner of her eye, Mei saw Lucia spring from the closet and charge into Baker like an enraged bull, knocking him sideways into a chair and then onto the floor. His pistol flew from his hand and came to a rest under the kitchen table. Screaming in angry Spanish, Lucia scratched at his face with blind fury. Baker raised his hands to block her and then swung a roundhouse punch that smashed into the side of her head. Dazed, she struggled to her knees.
Mei flashed back to the trailer in New Jersey. Lucia had saved her life, now she had to save Lucia’s. She saw the gun and jumped for it.
Baker saw her move. He launched himself towards the pistol. Chairs toppled as he crashed through them. A second later, he had the gun back in his possession and pointed it at Lucia.
“If you kill her, I won’t help your partner,” Mei shouted.
I should kill you both,” he shouted back.
Lucia’s eyes blazed. She was on her knees, coiled to attack again when he warned her. “If you so much as move a muscle, I will shoot you and then I will kill your friends.” He stared at her, almost daring her to make a move.
When she didn’t, he rose slowly to his feet. Blood dripped from the jagged scratches running down the side of his face. Half an inch closer and he would have lost an eye. He reached up and dabbed at the cuts. His fingers came away bloody, and the anger returned. “Maybe I should just kill you anyway,” he said, taking a menacing step towards Lucia.
“No, don’t!” Mei cried out. “If your partner is infected with the pandemic bacteria, I can treat him. But I won’t if you hurt any of us.”
“If he’s infected, he’s dead,” Baker spat back at her. “There is no cure.”
“You’re wrong,” she said defiantly. “There is a cure.”
He narrowed his eyes and stared at her. She held his gaze, reminding herself that he had no way of knowing she was telling the truth. She had to make him believe her.
“You’ve seen the symptoms before, haven’t you?” she asked him. “Do you believe he’s infected?”
Baker glanced at his partner and nodded.
She looked Baker directly in the eye. “You’re right. He is, and so are you if you’ve been anywhere near him. You’re both going to die within a week, but I’m not.”
Ignoring the hard stare he gave her, she casually knelt down and took the sick man’s hand in hers, pretending to check his pulse. She looked up at Baker and said, “You know the bacteria spreads through its spores, right? Your partner’s hands are covered with them, but I’m not afraid. Do you know why?”
Baker just stared at her.
“Because I’m immune. And so are they,” Mei said, looking over her shoulder at Lucia and Saanvi, who stared back wide-eyed, presumably wondering what she was doing.
Baker blinked.
She knew what he was thinking. No one was immune.
“How is that possible?” he asked after a moment, hope in his voice.
Mei felt a surge of relief. She took a deep breath and said, “Tony thinks—”
“Tony Simmons?” Baker’s lip curled back in anger. “He’s a mass murderer—”
Anger replaced fear as Mei jumped indignantly to her feet and glared at him. “You’ve been lied to. I know you think Tony’s responsible for the pandemic, but he isn’t, it was John Raine and a woman named Alice Mayer. They created and released the bacteria as part of a CIA operation to start a war with North Korea.”
Baker’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know all of this?”
She recounted what Gong, the Chinese agent, had told them before he died. As she talked, she could see Baker’s confidence in whatever he had been told fading. She was telling him things she shouldn’t have known, things that no one outside of a privileged few would have been aware of.
“Were you with the group that attacked us at the Indian Reserve,” she asked, feeling a surge of anger at the memory of Gong’s death.
“No, we were brought in after that to find you and…”
&n
bsp; His voice trailed off.
“To kill us?”
He just stared back at her.
“Well, you found us, congratulations,” she said sarcastically. “Now, you have a decision to make. Do you want to watch your partner die while you sit here waiting for Tony to return, or do you want to take a chance that I’m right and you’ve been lied to?”
“I don’t know who is telling the truth,” Baker said cautiously, “but if you treat Taxson and he recovers, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“Don’t trust him!” Lucia hissed. “El está mintiendo.”
“What?”
“She said, I am lying.”
“Are you?”
He shook his head.
Taxson groaned in pain and Mei knelt down beside him. “If I don’t get started immediately, your partner is going to die.” He might die anyway, she thought to herself, but at this point, all she could do was hope it wasn’t too late.
“Then you should get started,” Baker said. “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing. I’m going to perform a procedure called an FMT and I’m going to need her,” she said pointing at Saanvi.
“Why?”
“Saanvi is special. She has natural immunity to the pandemic bacteria. She’s going to provide the material we need.”
Baker raised an eyebrow. “Provide what material?”
Saanvi blushed and looked away as Mei explained the procedure. Baker appeared almost as embarrassed as Saanvi and stammered, “W-What about her?” Do you need her for anything?” He looked at Lucia who glared back at him.
“No.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tie-wrap and tossed it to Mei. “Then put that on her and make sure it’s tight.”
“Is that necessary?”
He snorted and tenderly ran a finger along the side of his face where Lucia had scratched him. “Considering you were all tied up a few hours ago, and I almost lost an eye, yes—I would say it’s necessary.”
Mei frowned. “I’m sorry,” she said, cinching the tie-wrap around Lucia’s wrists.
Lucia ignored her and cursed angrily at Baker in Spanish. He tore off a piece of duct tape from a roll on the counter and taped it over her mouth. Then he pushed her back into the pantry and closed the door.
“Help me move that against the door,” he said to Mei, pointing at the heavy oak kitchen table.
Mei raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. Your friend is crazy.”
After Lucia was locked up, Mei knelt down beside Taxson. He was even hotter than before. She glanced at Baker. “We need to get him off the floor and into a bed. Can you bring a mattress from upstairs down here?”
Minutes later he was back, dragging a mattress behind him.
“Where do you want it?”
“In the dining room, over there,” she said, jumping up and opening a door to a room off the kitchen.
He lay the mattress on the dining room floor and then returned with his partner slung over his shoulder like a bag of flour.
“Put him on the floor next to the mattress,” Mei said. “I need to clean him first.”
She ran to the kitchen for a pot of water and washcloths. When she returned, she removed Taxson’s soiled clothing and began to wash him. She had just finished when there was a knock on the front door.
Baker jumped to his feet and peered down the hallway. The pistol was back in his hands. He shot her a warning look.
“Quiet. Don’t do anything stupid.”
When the knocking continued, even more insistent, Mei said, “Let me answer it. Our truck is in the laneway, and the bicycles are laying against the garage. There’s nowhere else we could be. If I don’t answer, whoever it is will be suspicious.”
Baker nodded.
“Get rid of them, but no whispering, and she’s going to stay right here beside me.” He reached over and grabbed Saanvi, pulling her closer.
Saanvi cowered and whimpered, “Don’t hurt me.”
“I’m not going to hurt anyone,” he said, loosening his grip on her arm. “Not unless someone does something stupid.” He gave Mei a warning look.
“No one is going to do anything stupid,” she said and hurried down the hallway to the front door. She could tell from the outline of the figure filling the sidelight that it was Tom McNee.
“Morning, Mei,” McNee said, smiling at her when she opened the door. “Sorry to disturb you so early, but we were on our way into town and thought we stop by and see if Tony and Emma were back yet.”
Mei looked past McNee to the horse and wagon parked in the laneway. Samantha and Callie were sitting up front. They waved to her and she waved back.
“No, Tony and Emma aren’t home yet, Tom. But as soon as they are, I’ll tell them you stopped by.”
She started to shut the door, but McNee held out his arm to block her.
“Is everything all right?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” she asked nervously.
“Aren’t you worried?”
“Worried about what, Tom?”
“I thought Tony and Emma were supposed to be back a few days ago.”
“That’s Tony,” she said glibly. “He’s never on time for anything. Knowing him, he’ll be late for his own funeral.” As she spoke, she realized how stupid she sounded.
A series of dull pounding thuds came from inside the house. McNee stiffened and cocked his head to the side, looking down the hallway past Mei. Her heart raced. Lucia must have heard his voice and was trying to get his attention.
“I’m kind of busy right now, Tom,” she said, trying to hide her panic. “It’s bath day. Saanvi and Lucia are in the kitchen waiting on more hot water.”
She forced a laugh as the pounding continued. “You know Lucia, she doesn’t like to wait for anything. I’d better go before she throws a hissy-fit and marches out here with nothing on.”
McNee’s face reddened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. We’ll get going and let you get back to it.” He turned to leave and stopped.
“Oh, and be careful. Wilson told Brandon he saw a couple of tough-looking strangers drive through town a few days ago in an army jeep. They must have stolen it, but if they’ve got a working vehicle and fuel, you can be sure they’re trouble.”
Trouble for sure, she thought as Lucia started pounding on the wall again. “Gotta go…we’ll keep our eyes open. Thanks for the heads-up.”
She closed the door in his face and waited, watching as he walked back to the wagon. He climbed in and said something to Samantha. Mei ducked back out of their line of sight when the two of them took a long hard look at the house.
Just go…please just go, she thought, listening for the clip-clop of hooves. When she heard it, she peeked out and watched the wagon disappear down the laneway. Then she turned and ran to the kitchen and threw the door open.
Lucia sat in a chair with her bound hands on her lap and a look of pure hatred on her face as she glared at Baker. Baker stood in the middle of the kitchen with his gun pointed at her.
He glanced at Mei and said, “She’s feisty. I really don’t want to shoot her, but if this keeps up, I will.”
“Just don’t make a mess,” Mei said with a straight face.
Lucia’s mouth dropped open and Mei frowned. “Be nice…and no more causing problems. You’re going to get someone killed and if you’re not careful, it’s going to be you.”
She grabbed Saanvi. “Come on, we have a sick man to cure.”
Even with the two thick wool blankets covering him, Mei watched, deeply concerned, as Taxson shivered from the chills racking his body. It had been twenty-four hours since she started the treatment. She pulled the blankets down and ran her hand over his swollen abdomen.
“How is he doing?” Baker asked.
“He’s recovering from the infection but…”
Her voice trailed off as she hesitated, worried about how Baker would react to what she was about
to tell him.
“But what?”
“There’s too much swelling and it isn’t decreasing. I’m concerned he has a perforated colon, but without a CT scan I can’t be sure.”
“I thought you said you could cure him.”
“I said, I could treat him,” she replied, quibbling over semantics and instantly regretting it when she saw the worry on Baker’s face. “I’m certain the FMT stopped the spread of the infection and killed off the C. diff, but the pandemic strain produces toxins which attack the lining of the intestine. It’s possible the damage was already done before I started to treat him.”
“How bad is it?”
“It can cause peritonitis, which will probably lead to sepsis. If it’s left untreated, it will kill him.”
“Can you treat it?”
“Partially.”
“What kind of answer is that?” he asked, becoming irritated again.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be difficult. It’s complicated.”
“Then uncomplicate it for me.”
“I can give him a full course of antibiotics to treat the sepsis,” she explained, “but the antibiotics will negate some of the positive effects of the FMT, and we’ll still have the problem of the perforation in his colon.”
“How do you treat a perforated colon?”
“Usually with surgery—In a functioning operating room with a surgeon to go along with it. You didn’t happen to run into one of those in your travels, did you?” she asked sarcastically.
“I might have,” he said, stepping closer. He set his jaw. “Get him ready to travel and tell the other two. We’re leaving in fifteen minutes.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the base,” he shouted, running to the front door.
What base?
20
The Base
They had been stopped for almost twenty minutes while the soldiers manning the checkpoint waited for permission to allow them through. Mei glanced over her shoulder at Taxson who lay in the G-wagon’s cargo area wrapped in blankets. She watched his chest slowly rise and fall with each breath.
