The Rabid

by Ami Urban

  Jack rolled down his window as the gates opened. A man with armor crisscrossing his chest walked out.

  "Do you know where you are?" He asked, ducking his head and checking us all out.

  "Yes. Rumor has it you have a doctor here."

  I let Jack do the talking.

  "Yup. Dr. Holmes. Someone been bitten? We have rules. No one who's been bitten is allowed inside."

  "No, none of us have been bitten. But I have something the doctor may find very interesting." I leaned over Jack to speak to the man.

  After a moment's pause, he seemed to lighten up. "You folks need a place to stay?"

  "Yes."

  "Welcome to Braycart." He stepped aside and waved to someone on top of the wall. The gates opened fully and another man ushered our truck through.

  The city was breathtaking. I had expected a desolate and run down dump of a place, but the sidewalks were neatly paved and the homes were cookie-cutter. The man who'd let us in gave us directions to the lab, and on the way there, we passed a grocery store looked to be well stocked and a working gas station.

  The lab looked more or less like a hospital. And it seemed to double as one as there were people with broken limbs emerging past us. A woman at the front desk informed us that she'd been told to let us see the doctor and instructed us to go to the fifth floor.

  Rex struggled a bit on the elevator. He was getting hungry. But after bouncing him a few times, Jack was able to quiet him.

  The elevator let us off on a quiet floor with glass doors on both sides of the hallway. Beyond them, we could see white-jacketed workers bent over steel tables littered with samples. None of us had talked since we'd been let in, but we hand't noticed until I spoke.

  "I guess we wait here." There were benches lining a wall across from an office with Dr. Holmes etched into its window. We sat and I held what was left of Gregg's leg tightly in my lap. I'd made sure to wrap it so no one could take a guess what it was.

  Finally, the door to the doctor's office opened. An older man with white hair and a beard to match stepped out.

  "You must be Dr. James." His voice was gruff with a hint of an English accent.

  I stood. "Actually it's Dr. Reynolds now. it's lovely to meet you." We shook hands as I introduced him to Jack, Alex and Rex.

  "You have a lovely family, Doctor. I hear you have something you'd like me to see?"

  "Yes." I handed him the wrapped leg. "I removed a limb from someone who'd been bitten. This is the limb."

  Behind his spectacles, the doctor's eyes widened. "May I?"

  "Absolutely."

  He walked back into his office and we followed, sitting in a few cold metal chairs across from his polished desk.

  He unwrapped the package carefully while we stayed silent. After studying the leg for a few moments, he looked up at me.

  "This is very important, Dr. Reynolds."

  "Yes, I know."

  "Did you have proper medical equipment for this job?"

  "No. I had a paring knife, dental suction, a flame torch and a binder clip."

  "These incisions are superb."

  "Thank you."

  He stopped studying the leg and gave me a hard stare. "Did the man survive?"

  "Yes."

  Dr. Holmes sat back in his chair. The leather stretched under him. "I'd like to study this specimen further. I'll give it to my assistants to dissect. Thank you very much."

  He stood to show us out, but the wheels began turning in my head. "Just a moment." I stood as he rounded his desk. "I would like to supervise the dissection."

  Dr. Holmes's eyebrows pulled together and he frowned. "I'm afraid I can't allow that. This facility is not authorized to the public."

  "But, we—"

  "I must insist that you leave now. If you have any questions, please speak to the information assistant at the front gates."

  With that, he ushered us out of his office and into the dark hallway. I was fuming. My heart was hammering in my chest and I could feel blood creeping into my cheeks. Jack laid a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  "Maybe we should go talk to the information assistant."

  December 26

  I knew Lisa was pissed, but I didn't know how pissed until we got out into the open. She hand't said a word the entire way out, but once we stepped onto the sidewalk, she let loose.

  "That was my discovery."

  "I know."

  "If they mess it up, I swear on all that is good and Holy..."

  "Yeah."

  "I will take them to court and he'll lose his license."

  I refrained from mentioning the fact that courts and licenses no longer held much weight, because she looked like she'd bite my head off if I differed from her opinion. She continued to rant under her breath from the moment we got in the car until we stopped in front of a little strip mall. The word Information was scrawled in all capital letters above a glass door.

  I turned to her. "You okay?"

  "No."

  We were all silent until Alex spoke. "What do we do now?"

  Lisa sighed through her nose. "Maybe we should just go back to Huntington House."

  "Well...we're here. Let's just see what they can do for us."

  We stepped out of the car. I was almost worried Lisa wasn't going to budge, but she eventually unbuckled her seatbelt to join us. Inside, the office was warm, cozy and inviting. The walls were painted a dull blue as if trying to shelter people from the outside world. A woman sat at a desk in the front.

  "Can I help you?"

  I looked at Lisa, but she was still pissed off. "Yeah, we just got here and have no idea what we're doing." I figured I'd be honest.

  "I knew what I was doing..." Lisa said under her breath.

  The woman at the front desk glanced at her, then back to me. "No problem. We invite all kinds of people to our city. I'll just have one of our reps ask you a few questions and you can get settled."

  I wanted to ask, "Get settled with what," but before I could, the woman jumped out of her seat and scurried down a narrow hallway. Lisa took Rex from me. I hesitated, but she gave me a look assuring she was capable. Well, it was more of an I'll-murder-you-if-you-so-much-as-say-something look, so...

  "Hello!" A chipper dark-haired woman came down the hallway and greeted us. She introduced herself as Margaret and invited us back to her desk down the narrow hallway. I still had no idea what was going on.

  "Does that work?" I asked, nodding toward the computer monitor on the woman's desk.

  She smiled. "For Solitaire." No one laughed. "It's more for record keeping than anything else. Has anyone told you what we do?"

  "Not a word."

  "Okee dokee." She folded her hands together. "Braycart was established with one thing in mind — a cure. Dr. Holmes is a very intelligent man who was able to section off what used to be the hospital of a small town here and create a laboratory. we've had all kinds of doctors come from all around to try and help. we've gotten close, but no dice yet.

  "After the construction of the lab, the doctor decided to build up some walls to keep out the infected."

  "I call them Biters." I was trying to lighten the mood, but Lisa was still sour at the mention of the doctor's name.

  Margaret smiled. "Dr. Holmes was able to secure a HAM radio and he set about telling everyone he could to come to Braycart. Now, how it works is that we take your skills and assign you a job. In turn, this job denotes what type of housing you receive. Lower levels such as secretaries or trash collection will be granted apartment homes and higher-level jobs will be granted higher level housing."

  "Makes sense. Right, Lisa?" I elbowed her gently.

  She cleared her throat. "Yes."

  "Great! So, let me start off with a series of questions. Are you two married?"

  "Yes."

  "Are these your children?"

  "Well...kinda. This is Rex," I said gesturing to him. "And this is Alex. She's our—"

  "They adopted me." Alex finished my sentence
for me with a smile. I tossed her a thumb's up.

  "Wonderful. I love when people can help out wherever they can. You sound like great parents. What did you do before the outbreak?"

  "I was a mechanic for seventeen years," I said.

  Margaret perked up. "Oh. Wonderful! we've been needing another one. People come from all around to get repairs since this is really the only place for thousands of miles. Our system is wonderful, too. Our mechanic repairs the vehicle and we either trade something for it, or gain a new citizen. Can you start immediately?"

  I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

  "Great! And how about you, Mrs. Reynolds?"

  Lisa scooted to the edge of her seat and took a deep breath. "I graduated summa cum laude from John's Hopkins University with a bachelor"s degree in Anatomy, and three associate's degrees — one in chemistry, one in biology and another in physics. I scored a fifty-two on my MCAT while studying certifications in narcotics, microbiology, veterinary sciences and psychology. I received a Doctor of Medicine in Anatomy when I was twenty-five. After working alongside some of the best doctors in California, I scored a 270 on my USMLE. By the time I was twenty-eight, I had completed my residency at Tehachapi hospital and was attending there up until two months ago. We just returned from delivering a key piece of information that can possibly lead to a cure, but I was kicked out of Dr. Holmes's office."

  Yeah...Lisa helped me write that out.

  Margaret's smiled faded the slightest bit. "I'm sorry to hear that. Dr. Holmes takes his work very seriously. Unfortunately if he didn't invite you for a job in the hospital or lab, we'll have to find you some other work to do. Do you like gardening?"

  "I'd rather be unemployed."

  The plastic smile faded even more. "If you insist, but your housing will be minimal."

  "Uh...how minimal?" I leaned forward.

  "We'd put you in an apartment."

  And they weren't kidding. The apartment they'd put us in was one bedroom, about 600 square feet and old as hell. Lisa was even angrier than before. I didn't mind the apartment, but she'd gone from living in a very nice house in Tehachapi to a tiny apartment in the middle of Colorado. What was worse was that there was only one bed — which Rex and Alex had to share. We got the sofa. Or rather Lisa got the sofa and I got the floor.

  "This is no way for a newly married couple to live."

  I reached up to hold Lisa's hand. She sighed and rolled onto her stomach so she could look at me.

  "I know. I'm sorry."

  "I think we should go back to Huntington."

  I was quiet. There were no words that came to me in the form of a response. I wanted to make her happy more than anything, but...

  "You want that job." She already knew.

  "I've been dreaming about cars for months now."

  She reached down and touched my face. "I'll go back to the lab tomorrow and wait there. I'll wait all day if I have to."

  I smiled. "Atta girl."

  ***

  My thoughts of worry about Lisa melted almost instantly when I arrived at work the next day. The garage was perfect. The concrete floor was dirty and grimy, the shelves were lined with crap and nothing was labeled. As I drew in a deep breath, smelling the exhaust and grease, I felt good. Great, in fact.

  "Ah, shit, dude. You my replacement?" A large and intimidating blond woman approached me. And by large, I meant she was buff. Her voice was commanding as it bounced off the walls.

  "That'd be me. Jack Reynolds." I held out my hand for her to shake. She took it and practically yanked it out of my shoulder socket.

  After eyeing me for a moment, she squinted. "Reynolds, huh? Anyone ever tell you—"

  "All the time. Where should I start?" I started to walk toward one of three cars in the shop, but she held out a strong arm and stopped me.

  "Whoa, there, cowboy. I don't know nothing about you. You're too pretty. Can you even fix cars?"

  I gave a condescending chuckle. "Can I fix cars...?"

  She stood back, folding her arms. "All right. How would you fix a hard cold start?"

  "Depends," I said. "Chokes may need cleaning or I might need to replace the spring."

  She sucked her teeth. "Okay, that was an easy one. Replace an engine."

  "Really?"

  "Show me, movie boy."

  I rolled my eyes. "Mark the bolts and remove the hood. Disconnect the ground cable on your battery. Drain the coolant and disconnect the hoses. Loosen tension or alternator pullies and remove all the belts. Then take out the radiator. Disconnect the intake and fuel lines. Gotta make sure the A/C and steering hoses stay connected when you unbolt the pump. Take out the exhaust manifolds and all connects to the transmission — unless you have a four-wheel drive. Because then you have to break it out with the engine. Jack up the—"

  "I got it, I got it. You're good. Now help me figure out why this bad boy is knocking." She walked over to a 1975 blue Camaro in amazing condition. I could hardly contain my excitement as I looked under the hood.

  "How's it breathing?"

  "Fine. Dyno shows the right horsepower and all that shit. But it just fires wrong. Can't even describe it."

  "How many cars have you turned on in here today?"

  "Just this one."

  I nodded, removing myself from under the hood and rounding the back of the car. The woman asked me what I was doing, but I didn't answer straight away. Upon opening the gas cap, I took a whiff.

  "It's knocking because this dude put diesel in the fucking tank."

  "No shit." The woman came around and put a hand on her hip. "You know I've been working on this thing for three days and you just solved it in five seconds by smellin' it."

  I shrugged. "What do ya know?"

  "Okay, familiarize yourself with the garage and then we'll fix more shit."

  Before I knew it, five o'clock rolled around. I was so involved in what I was doing that I didn't even notice Lisa waiting for me at the front desk. Instead, my new intimidating friend Kelli yelled it at me from across the garage.

  "Hey, Foxtrot. how'd it go with the doc?"

  She sighed. "He wouldn't see me." Her features had gone from stressed to anxious. I could tell she was worried about something. "I sat there all day, but he never came into his office. They wouldn't let me roam around because the whole damn lab is off limits."

  "Sheesh. Maybe you should go on a hunger strike."

  One corner of her mouth curved into a smile. "I might."

  "Well, if you do, wait one more day, okay? I have a surprise for you tonight and it involves dinner."

  From the Desk of Dr. Lisa James Reynolds

  December 26

  "So, the deal is that there's a watch rotation. All men in the city have to be a lookout once each month unless physically unable," Jack explained as we hiked up a long winding staircase inside what looked like a tower.

  "Okay."

  "My turn isn't for another week, but Kelli took me around at lunch today and I thought this would be the perfect spot for my surprise."

  "And what would this surprise be?" The night air felt great on my warm skin as we exited a doorway at the top of the stairs.

  "Surprises are no fun unless they're surprises." Jack tossed me a smile.

  Looking around, I noticed we were on top of the city wall. It twisted around the entire town, meeting the side of the hospital. It divided Braycart in two and we were smack in the middle. Jack took my hand and led me to a secluded corner of the wall. There were trees on both sides. Then, he spread out a blanket and we sat down to eat.

  "So, tell me about your day."

  I tossed my head back to look at the stars. "There isn't much to tell. I just sat around waiting. Alex and Rex made friends at school, though."

  "Oh, yeah?"

  I looked back at my husband. It felt so odd referring to him as such. But looking at him while he was watching me with such interest made my heart flutter.

  "Yes. They seem to be having fun."

  "Good." J
ack moved closer to me. I could smell his unique scent. It put me into a sort of numb happiness. I felt his fingertips brush my left arm. "I have something for you."

  "What is it?" My breath caught in my throat as he kissed me.

  "Look." He leaned back while holding onto my left hand. Then he brought my gaze to my own fingers where there was now a beautiful diamond ring sparkling at me.

  Feelings welled up inside me. "Oh my God. It's stunning."

  "You think so?" Jack was smiling.

  "Absolutely." I kissed him. "Where did you get it?"

  "We have a whole bin of items we trade for fixing cars. I found this and knew I wanted you to have it right away. I even used an engraving pen on the inside. It has our initials."

  "I love it. I love you."

  "Do you love me enough to have sex right here under the stars?"

  I paused. "As long as no one's around."

  "I'll take that as a yes."

  ***

  Jack had finally lifted my spirits and I felt like a teenager as we walked back to our apartment where Alex was watching Rex. He held my hand and made me laugh. It was an important few moments for me. And then I saw the woman standing outside our complex. When she saw us, she approached me.

  "Are you Lisa Reynolds?" She was pretty with light brown hair and green eyes. And while she was hugging herself — suggesting she was either anxious or cold — she held somewhat of an independence about her.

  "Yes."

  "Thank God. I've been waiting here for an hour. My name is Catherine Holmes. I'm Dr. Holmes's wife."

  "I'll take these inside." Jack excused himself and left.

  I turned back to Catherine. She seemed so much younger than Dr. Holmes. But the more important thing on my mind that moment was why she was at our home.

  "Mrs. Reynolds, it took me a whole day to find you."

  "What can I help you with?"

  "Well, in short, my husband is an idiot." She gave me a weak smile. "You were the one who brought in the leg, right?"

  "Yes."

  She looked around briefly, then jumped on me with a tight hug. My muscles wouldn't respond fast enough to push her away, so I allowed it to happen. When she pulled back, she apologized.