The Strain

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Technically, you didn’t have a choice but to see God in the apocalypse.”

  “My God, it’s a biblical ending?” William asked. “You know scholars have said it would take hundreds of years if not a thousand to complete. It’s probably still going on.”

  “Which … is why we’re here,” Dean said.

  “I don’t understand,” said William.

  “Why don’t we talk about this over lunch,” Frank suggested. “I’m starved.”

  “Maybe after lunch,” replied William. “I don’t think…” his eyes moved to behind Dean. “This one’s on you, Dean.”

  “What are you talking about?” Dean asked.

  “Sorry. Sorry. Sorry,” she spoke rapidly. “I wanted to get a bonus on that machine.”

  Wide eyed, Dean turned around. “Oh my God, Mom. I forgot you came on this trip.”

  “Dean? Honey.” She gasped. “What happened to you? Are you sick?”

  “No.” Dean shook his head.

  “You just …” She looked beyond Dean to Frank. “Who is this man staring at me?”

  “I’m Frank. Dean’s friend.” He reached out and shook her hand. “Ma’am.”

  “I’m Barbara and it’s nice to see that Dean is making friends finally.”

  “I am sorry for staring,” Frank said. “Dean, your mom is beautiful. Much more beautiful than any picture. She was blonde in them.”

  “It was dyed,” Dean mumbled.

  “You know …” Frank waved a finger. “I see a lot of her in Alex.”

  “Who’s Alex?” she asked.

  “Never mind,” Dean said. “Mom, there’s a lot to explain. I’m not sick. I’ve just been though a lot.”

  “Dean, you’ve aged sweetie. Not that it doesn’t work for you.” She touched his cheek. “But you must have seen something horrible.”

  “Apparently,” William said. “It was the apocalypse.”

  “I’m confused?” she said.

  “Aren’t we all,” William replied. “Let’s talk about this over lunch.”

  “Oh, yeah, buffet.” Frank clapped his hands together. “And don’t worry,” he walked forward. “I’m paying for everyone.”

  Barbara latched on to Dean’s arm as they walked. “How long are you here?”

  “Actually, we’re just passing through.”

  “Then let’s make the best of it.” She rested her head on Dean’s arm as they walked in.

  She couldn’t see it or even know it, but Dean loved it. He loved every minute of it.

  <><><><>

  “Moses,” Barbara said, setting down her plate with a slice of cake as she rejoined the table.

  “What about him?” Dean asked.

  The waiter approached and took the empty plates, then Frank sat down with a fresh one.

  “Twenty-two,” William said. “That’s is twenty-two plates of food.”

  “Billy,” Barbara shook her head. “Don’t embarrass him. He has a hearty appetite and it’s an all you can eat buffet.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” Frank replied.

  “Well he’s going to be sick as a dog,” William commented.

  “I keep telling him the same thing,” Dean said. “Mom, you were talking about Moses.”

  “Yes. Yes. Moses, he aged like forty years after speaking to God. That vision of the apocalypse that you had, bet it was a God message and that’s why you aged. There.” She took a bite of her cake. “I feel better now that I explained it.”

  “There you have it,” William said.

  “Dean?” Barbara laid her hand on his. “What time is your flight?”

  “My flight?”

  “You said you were passing through. I assumed you were on a layover. Oh, honey please don’t tell me you drove. You know how dangerous it can be with the crazy people lurking at rest stops.”

  “In white vans,” Frank added.

  “Exactly.” Barbara pointed the fork at him.

  “Soon,” Dean said. “We leave in a couple hours.”

  “Oh, good, then I won’t feel guilty.” She set her napkin on her plate. “I’m registered for three slot tournaments and I want to get to the first one. I didn’t want to leave if you weren’t here for a while. I so want to spend time with you.”

  “More than you know, Mom, I want to as well.”

  “Dad’s birthday.” She tapped his hand. “Come home for Dad’s birthday. Please?”

  “I’ll try. I will.”

  “Well, I have to go.” She stood. “This is nice. This really is. We just don’t see you as much as I want.”

  “Mom.” Dean stopped her. “Before you go. Can … can I get a picture with you and Dad.”

  Barbara smiled. “You’re going to make me cry.”

  “Don’t,” William said.

  “Billy, he has never posed for a picture with us. Ever. Absolutely, Dean. This means the world to me, Dean, thank you.”

  “Frank, can you take the picture.”

  “Sure thing.” Frank wiped his hands, pulled out his phone and stood. He waited until they were ready. Dean stood proudly in the center with William and Barbara. And Dean smiled. He genuinely smiled.

  “Make it good, Frank. I want to show Ellen.”

  “You got it. I do a couple.”

  “Dean,” his mother said coyly. “Who’s Ellen?”

  “Someone very special.”

  “Oh, Billy, maybe in the future we’ll have grandkids.”

  “I think might be a certainty.”

  Frank took the picture. Double checked to make sure they were good and even got caught up in the moment for Dean.

  Dean embraced his mother once more, holding on just a little longer.

  “I’ll walk you out,” William said. “Frank, Dean, I’ll be back.”

  “Send those to me, Frank,” Barbara told him as she walked away, looking once more over her shoulder to them.

  Dean sighed. “That meant a lot to her.”

  “It did. They’re great shots.”

  “And she won’t remember any of it.”

  “Yeah, but you will.”

  Dean forced a sad smile, then reached down to his bag and pulled out the eraser. “Hey, Frank, can you be the one?” He handed it to Frank.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Set it for ninety minutes.”

  Frank took the eraser.

  “And make sure it’s minutes and not seconds.”

  After giving a thumbs up, Frank headed from the buffet to follow William and Barbara. Even though he hated the thought of erasing a memory she would treasure, he would do it. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of the last big trip to the past. Frank didn’t want to be the one to screw things up.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat.

  Dean merely shifted his eyes from Frank’s phone back to Frank. They sat in the second floor lounge overlooking the casino. His finger swiped through the pictures Frank had taken in the short time they had been in Vegas.

  Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat.

  “You got some good shots,” Dean said.

  “Yep. I did. I could be a professional.”

  Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat.

  Dean paused on the shot of Henry and William. Before they settled into the ‘this is why we came back in time’, since Henry was still nearby and he didn’t know how long he’d get to see he his father, he invited Henry to say hello, like he promised.

  He expected Henry to be more excited. Not that he wasn’t, but Henry seemed preoccupied and rushed. Dean supposed maybe Henry was overwhelmed by the atmosphere of Vegas. But he got a picture with Henry and William. And Henry seemed genuinely grateful and happy that he saw William.

  Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat.

  “I think the shorter we wipe out the memory, the better,” Dean said. “So as soon as we know the shipment is ordered, we zap em and go.”

  “You don’t want to sightsee?” Frank asked.

  “I’d love to, but this is risky.”

/>   “I agree. We messed things up once, I don’t want to do it again.”

  “We won’t.”

  Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat.

  Dean huffed and just as he opened his mouth to say something to Frank, William returned with the drinks.

  “Nothing like a little libation to set the tone for apocalypse talk,” William passed out the drinks.

  “I agree.” Frank took the drink. “We’re all about libations in the apocalypse. And alcohol.” He downed half of it and set it down.

  Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat-pat.

  “Frank.” Dean snapped. “Seriously. That’s enough.”

  Frank’s hand paused in holding the pack of cigarettes. “I’m packing them.”

  “For ten minutes now. I think you packed them enough.”

  “Fine. It’s just fun. Do you know how long it’s been since I had a real pack of cigarettes?” Frank opened them.

  “Maybe, Frank,” William said. “It’s not a good time to start smoking again.”

  “Oh, I smoke in our time. Just not like these. And I have to smoke now. Smoking is everywhere in Vegas.”

  “Yes,” William said. “I know.”

  “Don’t let him kid you,” Dean said. “He smokes like a chimney and drinks like a fish.”

  “See, a post-apocalyptic future.” William shook his head. “With the state medicine could be, I’d take care of my organs.”

  “Oh, I do,” Frank said. “And Dean’s already taking care of another liver, lungs and heart, too. Has them freezing in the cryo chamber.”

  “Spare parts?” William asked. “And you know they will work?”

  “They’re from my clone,” Frank replied. “Dean made him. Yeah, your son is real smart. He made my clone, but he cloned the non-mutated me. I’m mutated now. Dean mutated me. I run fifty-five, miles per hour.”

  “Is he serious?” William asked Dean.

  “Unfortunately.”

  “My God, what kind of apocalypse is this that you excelled in medical technology?”

  “The kind that doesn’t have antibiotics.”

  “Dino, I find it hard to believe.”

  “Believe it.” Dean exhaled. “For most of the past ten years since everything happened, I have been the primary scientist and no matter how hard I tried, I just can’t recreate the old world antibiotics.”

  “Which most people have built immunities to,” William said.

  “It’s been ten years. They’ll work, and that’s why we’re here.”

  “What happened to the world?” William asked. “Obviously, I survive to see it. What happened?”

  “The truth?” Dean asked.

  “Why would you give me anything else?”

  “Because Dean lied to Jason.”

  “Frank,” Dean barked. “You lied to Jason. Not me. You said it was an alien invasion.”

  “No, Dean, you did.”

  “No, Frank you did. And you lied to my father and said it was biblical.”

  “I did no such thing.”

  “You said it was a God apocalypse,” Dean argued.

  “Yeah, so.”

  “God. Biblical.”

  “Your point.”

  William looked from Frank to Dean. “You two are an odd pairing. Just tell me the truth.”

  “Technically,” Frank said. “I didn’t say it was a God Apocalypse. William did.”

  “Frank!” Dean huffed, then calmed down. “You’re right. Okay. Dad, the reason we’re here has nothing to do with what happened to the world.”

  “I understand. I still would like to know,” William said. “It was war or virus.”

  “Virus,” Dean said. “It was fast, too fast, and even though they called me in, I didn’t have enough time to work on it.”

  William sat back and lifted his drink to his mouth. “So it happens some time from right now.” He sipped his drink. “Right now, as smart as you are, Dino, You aren’t ready save the world.”

  Frank scoffed a laugh. “I think it’s not too far from now that Dean creates the ultimate weapon for the Army.”

  “What?” William asked.

  “Frank. It’s still a couple years from this point in time that I join the Army.”

  “Dino, you join the army?” William asked. “How did you make it through boot camp?”

  “Yes. Thank you!” Frank said. “I have been saying that forever.”

  “Oh, stop. I was a good soldier and you know it.”

  Frank looked at William. “He’s pretty scrappy. He and I have fought. He’s tough for a little guy.”

  “You fought him?” William pointed to Frank.

  Dean nodded.

  “Yeah, he speared me so fucking hard one time.” Frank said. “I thought he was a wrestler.”

  “That’s impressive.” William patted Dean on the back. “Good boy. Now … why are you guys here? What do you need me for?”

  “Originally, we were going to get you to help us convince other doctors to get antibiotics. Bunch of prescriptions. Bunch of antibiotics,” Dean explained. “I found matches with this hotel on them. I remembered this convention.”

  “Remembered? So I did die?” William asked.

  “No. No.” Frank interrupted. “You gave us the details. We worked out the plan until Jason told us about his father.”

  “Who is this Jason?” William questioned.

  Dean answered. “He invented the time machine. His father is here, as well. A doctor, but his father is friends with the director of a hospital in Billings.”

  “So get his father to order a shipment,” William, said. “That’s actually a much better plan then getting a bunch of doctors to prescribe medication. If that’s the plan now, why need me.”

  After a silent moment, Frank snapped his finger. “Safety deposit box.”

  William looked at him.

  “Yeah, the future you forgot the safety deposit box number and…” Frank stared at him for a second. “And where you hid the key. You have a book … I think … and pictures, just stuff that’s valuable to you. You want them. We’re taking a trip to your house.”

  “Amazing.”

  “I am.”

  “No, I mean, it’s like you read my mind,” William said.

  “You’ll have that.”

  “That’s a worry of mine, that I’ll forget the number. It’s odd. As soon as I asked why you needed me, I thought, ‘watch it be something dumb like I forgot my safety deposit box number’ and then you said it.”

  “Hmm.” Frank nodded. “It is odd.”

  William reached down to the table and lifted a pack of matches. He took a pen from his pocket and wrote inside. “Here.” He handed it to Dean. “Give this to my future self.”

  “I will.” Dean placed the matches in his pocket and fumbled when the phone buzzed. He lifted it. “It’s a text from Jason. They’re ready to meet.” Dean responded to the message and set down the phone.

  “So is this it?” William asked. “Is this where we part?”

  Dean shook his head. “No, you might as well come along. The more minds on this the better. Then after we know the antibiotics are ordered, then … then we find Henry and go back.”

  “Will you take something back for me?” William asked. “Something I lost here in Vegas and never got back. My future self will be thrilled to see it.”

  “Sure.” Dean shrugged.

  “Wait here. I’ll run up to the room and we’ll go meet this Jason.” William took his drink as he left the lounge.

  Dean looked at Frank. “You read his mind on that safety deposit box stuff, didn’t you?”

  “Yep.” Frank took Dean’s drink and downed it. “I read his mind.”

  “Well, thank you. I don’t want my father thinking, even for a little that he doesn’t even have twenty-five years left.”

  “According to you, neither do I.”

  “That will change.” Dean reached down to the table and lifted his empty glass. “Funny. I don’t remember finishing this. Anyhow,
I’ll text Henry. Tell him it won’t be long.” He grabbed the phone. “I’m sure he’ll be happy about that. He’s probably bored out of his mind.”

  <><><><>

  He was like a junkie, looking for a fix. Henry couldn’t believe how fast it hit him, he didn’t want to stop. Not at all.

  It started simply enough. The first five dollars he placed in a slot machine, he got what was called a bonus round and won two hundred dollars.

  The next machine was just as profitable.

  Within an hour, that two hundred dollars Frank had given him turned into six. That was not including the money he tucked in his pocket to tip the servers who kept the drinks flowing.

  It was radical and crazy, he felt like he couldn’t get enough.

  Plus, Henry knew he wasn’t going to be there long so he wanted to get it all in.

  It was definitely something he’d talk to Danny Hoi about. Bringing back gambling. He wasn’t sure how Joe would handle it, but Henry was positive it would only be a good thing to toss a few poker machines and slots in the Social Hall and Hoi-Hoi on the Range.

  The meet up with William broke Henry’s momentum. It was so nice to see him and talk to him, but had Henry known what that momentary pause would do to his luck, he may have opted to wait until later to see William.

  The money started going fast and furious and it wasn’t as if Henry could go to an ATM.

  He had to pace himself.

  It could still be hours.

  That was when he saw the sign on the wall. It was perfect and could be a cheap way to buy time. The ten dollar entry fee was minimal enough, and Henry grabbed a drink before grabbing a chair.

  He looked up to the timer on the wall. There was ten minutes until start time. He nervously stared at the slot machine ahead of him, while tapping his foot.

  It looked weird and unlike anything he had ever played.

  Was there a trick?

  Did he have to do something different?

  “You’ll want to put that drink down before we start, trust me,” the woman’s voice said. “You’ll need both hands.”

  Henry turned his head to the woman who sat next to him. “Really?”

  “Really. One to tap the button and one hand to swipe the screen when the bonus amounts pop up. You have to be fast. Fast on the tap. Not too fast, a steady fast.”