Outbreak: Brave New World

by Van Dusen, Robert

  Adam frowned at the pills then shook one out into the palm of his hand. “Baby, wake up a minute.” he whispered as he gently shook his wife. “Got some pills for you, alright sweetie?” Laura woke and looked around as if she did not quite know what was going on. She swallowed the pill with a little water and settled back into an uneasy sleep. He glanced over at Jessica and sighed. It was plain to see that the older woman was barely keeping it together.

  “I’m sure she’ll come around soon.” Adam said with as much of a smile as he could muster. “Frays loves you guys more than just about anything. She’s just a little hardheaded is all.”

  Jessica snorted, the hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Just like her dad.” she muttered and ran her fingers through her hair. Jessie stood up and went to the young Marine’s side, gingerly running her hand along his shoulders. “I’m sorry my husband got mad at you. Are you okay?”

  “I’m alright.” he said quietly, catching the woman’s hand and holding it a second before pulling it off. “I think he could have handled it better but I understand. I mean…am a daddy too, you know.” Adam smiled over his shoulder at Mrs. Frays before turning his attention back to his wife. God, she seemed to be shriveling up right in front of him. Laura, baby, you’ve gotta get better. Lacey thought furiously. If…the worst happened…how the hell was he going to tell the kids? What was going to happen to them? Oh, God… A few tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes.

  A tentative finger of light started probing the darkness, searching its way through the gloom. Amy knocked on the door to the bedroom and gently pushed it open. “Mom, Lacey…c’mon out and get something to eat.” she said quietly. Frays’ mouth curled into a tight frown as she got closer to the bed: Lacey had fallen asleep holding his wife’s hand with his head resting on her forearm. She tapped her mother on the shoulder and shook Lacey awake. Frays smiled a little when Lacey jumped at her touch. “Hey buddy. C’mon. Breakfast. Hurry up before Carl and the kids eat it all on us.”

  The food was out on the table already when Adam and Jessica got there, blinking like moles in the early morning light. Paulie and Becca jumped up and ran to their father, wrapping their little arms around his legs. Lacey smiled and stooped to pick them up on his way to the table. There was some of the rice stuff left over from last night, along with other bits and pieces of reheated leftovers in dishes on the table as he sat down. George seemed to have been the mastermind behind the whole thing: he knew Frays could find her way around a kitchen when she had to. He smiled a little bit when he recalled the expression on the woman’s face when he asked her if she could cook while they were holed up in the country club.

  After George said the blessing Amy helped herself to some of the rice then passed the dish to Rodriguez. There was some powdered eggs and cornbread along with hot water to make instant coffee with. Frays stirred a spoonful of the precious brown granules into the steaming liquid and sighed quietly to herself.

  Rodriguez glanced at her friend sitting next to her and frowned around a mouthful of cold cornbread. “We going after that drugstore today?” she asked, glancing across the table at Lacey and his kids. Frannie felt mildly horrible when Paulie and Becca both gave their father a horrified look then sent panicky glances around the table.

  The food in Amy’s stomach turned a little sour. “Your mom is really sick. We need to see if we can find something to make her all better.” she told the children, hoping that they would understand. Frays frowned slightly hiding the expression by forking some of the a little too yellow eggs into her mouth. “There’s got to be some pills or something in town. Understand?” She glanced at her parents, frowned again and upended the salt shaker over the bland egg-like substance.

  Carl glanced at his sister. “I’m going with you.” he said quietly, a little surprised by himself. “Who else is?” He glanced around the table suddenly kind of wishing that he had kept his big mouth shut. Amy rolled her eyes and kind of shook her head a little but at least she did not yell at him or anything.

  Lacey glanced at Rodriguez and squeezed his children tightly. “You kids be good for Frannie and Mr. and Mrs. Frays, alright?” he said quietly, kissing the tops of their heads. The little ones buried their faces in their father’s chest and started to cry again.

  Rodriguez set down her coffee cup and gave Lacey a hard look. “No, you’re staying here.” she said the woman’s dark eyes darting towards the children before meeting the Marine’s gaze. “Your kids need you, Lacey. I’ll be alright. I can at least keep an eye on the Humvee while everybody’s inside or whatever.”

  Amy frowned, obviously nonplussed. “I think Carl and me can handle it, Rodriguez.” she said quietly after she swallowed a mouthful of rice. Frays made a thoughtful face and looked at her friend. “You still can’t get around that well, can you?”

  “I can walk just fine, Frays.” Rodriguez said as she helped herself to a couple more scoops of rice. “I’m coming with you guys.” She glanced towards Carl and gave him a quick little smile. “Besides, somebody’s gonna have to help keep an eye on junior here.” Carl stuck his tongue out at her. Frannie grinned and stuffed some food into her mouth to keep from making a lewd remark in front of the kids.

  After they finished eating and had the dishes done Amy, Carl and Frannie sat at the kitchen table with a faded road atlas open between them. Lacey, George and the kids were outside checking the Humvee over to make sure the vehicle was alright before they left. Jessica was in the bedroom with Laura. “Okay, it’s about a ten or eleven mile trip one way from here to Holden.” Frays said as she ran pointed at a spot on the map and ran her finger along the page to another spot. “There’s an abandoned railroad that goes into town that crosses Old Mill Road maybe a quarter mile south of here. It’ll be bumpy, but we should be able to drive down it until we’re about a quarter mile away from the Big Y.

  “If I remember right, the tracks will take us right behind the fire hall. There might be stuff there we can use, if the place isn’t too…occupied. We should be gone only about two hours or so max, but as we all know things have a way of going sideways on us.” Frays glanced across the table at her little brother. “I was thinking that we hide the truck at the edge of town and hoof it the rest of the way. We’re mainly lookin’ for penicillin but if we find any food, water and other medical supplies don’t leave them laying there. I dunno how many Bravo Charlies might be in the area. Carl, what was it like there when you guys left?”

  Carl cleared his throat and scratched the side of his throat as he studied the map. “It was…I dunno…getting kinda crazy.” the boy mumbled, suddenly aware of Frannie looking at him with her beautiful, deep brown eyes. “There was a lot of traffic on the road. People from out of town or whatever. Somebody set fire to a car in the middle of the street down the block from the house the night we left. There were police sirens going off all hours of the day and night.” Carl frowned, sighed and shook his head. “I’d hate to say it, Aim but I think it’s a long shot that we’ll find anything.”

  Amy frowned and gave her brother a rueful smile. “Seems like all we’ve got is long shots, kiddo.” Frays said quietly as she studied the map for another few seconds. She reached across the top of her head and pulled her right ear to her shoulder, making her neck pop. Carl cringed at the noise. “Okay. I don’t think I really have to tell you guys, but risk assessment: the…the…things. Keep quiet and no shooting unless you really have to. We’re gonna hoof it the last quarter mile or so along the tracks, but we’re gonna have to cross a couple major roads and stuff like that to get there and back. Stay clear of the cars if you can. There might be Bravo Charlies in or under them or you might trip an alarm. If we’re quiet and lucky, nobody will know we were ever there. Questions?”

  Rodriguez glanced at Frays out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah.” she asked. Frannie scratched the scars on her cheek, a hint of a smirk curling the corner of her mouth. “What’s a Bravo Charlie?”

  “Um…Biologically Cha
llenged.” Frays said, glancing at the map then scowling when Rodriguez and Carl both sniggered. She grabbed up the road atlas and jammed it under her arm, giving the two of them a sour look. “Hey, I didn’t hear you guys coming up with anything. C’mon let’s get ready to roll out, guys. Hands on check in ten.”

  With that Amy crossed the room to the pile of gear and shrugged into her flak jacket, buckled on her LCS and slung her bandoleer of CS grenades across her chest. Rodriguez was getting into her gear while Carl was nervously fiddling with a nylon belt that held 7.62x54R cartridges for the boy’s rifle on stripper clips in the pouches on it. Amy knew he could carry eight five round stripper clips because she had put the belt together a few years ago. He also had the rifle’s massive eighteen inch spike bayonet stuck into his belt, ready to be deployed if need be. He sort of looked like a picture she had seen in a book on World War Two of a soldier in the Soviet Red Army. Frays could not help smirk a little bit at that as she wondered what her father would make of the comparison. The man had warned his daughter about the ‘long haired pinko commie Liberal hippie dopers’ that populated college campuses on the way to Bard College when she was a kid.

  Frays checked the magazines in her pouches on her way into the back bedroom. She spared a glance at her mother as she pulled her carbine out of the cabinet and stuck a magazine into the magazine well and chambered a round. “We’ll be back as quick as we can, Mom.” Amy said as she slipped the weapon’s sling over her head and fiddled it into a more comfortable position. Frays gave the semi-conscious woman on the bed a quick grin and pointed at her. “And you just hold on a little longer, alright? We’ll be back before you know it and you’ll be up and around toot sweet.”

  Jessica intercepted her daughter before she could leave the bedroom. “Honey, please be careful.” she said as she held her baby to her chest. “Promise me.” Jessie kissed the scar on Amy’s cheek and squeezed her so tight it made Frays’ back pop just below her rib cage.

  Frays chuckled, smiled and hugged her mom back. “Okay, Mom.” she whispered quietly, allowing her mother to kind of rock her side to side for a moment. “Mom, I promise we’ll be careful. I gotta go now, Mom.” She laughed a little and extracted herself, still smiling as she grabbed Rodriguez’s M4 out of the cabinet. “Seriously, we shouldn’t be gone more than two hours. I left a copy of our route on the kitchen table.”

  Frays handed Rodriguez her carbine as the three of them moved towards the back door. Carl shouldered a black nylon backpack, his movements all jittery with excitement. He could not believe his luck as he more than half expected either Amy or his parents to shoot down his suggestion and not let him come along. He hoped that he would not embarrass himself too badly in front of Frannie or his sister. And, of course, he did have his little niece or nephew to look out for too…

  Amy spared a glance over her shoulder at Lacey and her father before turning her attention back to Rodriguez and Carl. “Okay, fall in guys.” she muttered as she slapped her patrol cap onto her head. Carl looked confused for a half second then stood next to Rodriguez. Amy grunted amusedly to herself as she checked Frannie’s gear. Once she was certain that Frannie had enough ammo, water and a fresh piece of steel wool in her weapon’s homemade suppressor, Frays moved on to her little brother.

  “Turn out your pockets.” Amy said expectantly as she checked to make sure he had his weapon loaded and the safety on then handed the long barreled rifle back to him. He gave her a questioning look after she shook the metal Boy Scout canteen slung across his chest. “Come on, let’s see what else you’ve got.” The boy held out a handful of loose rifle cartridges, a Swiss Army knife and a fistful of crumpled dollar bills. She nodded and let him put his things away. “Let me see your pack.” Frays frowned as she unzipped the bag and pawed through its contents. There was only a warm bottle of coke, a little dynamo powered emergency radio and an MRE in there. “Grab a raincoat out of the closet in the foyer and let’s get going.”

  Rodriguez and Frays glanced after Carl then went over to the Humvee and stashed their gear in the back. Amy turned to face Lacey. “The truck’s still almost full?” she asked, pointedly ignoring her father. Paulie ran up and hugged Rodriguez’s leg drawing a smile to the woman’s face as she tousled the boy’s hair.

  “We put the gas in the truck’s hole.” Paulie explained, gesturing towards the back of the Humvee. “It went all glub glub glub then spilleded.” He giggled when Frannie picked him up and the boy smooched her on the cheek. Rodriguez gave Paulie a hug then set him back down as Carl came back to the truck with a yellow rain slicker folded over his arm.

  “Alright, everybody ready?” Frays asked as Carl stuffed his raincoat into his pack and put it on the back seat. She smiled over her shoulder at Lacey as she snapped her M4 into the rack next to the steering column “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll be back before you realize it.”

  Adam snickered and gave Frays a nervous smile. “Look…I appreciate you guys doing this.” he said quietly, walking towards her with a hand extended. When Frays took it he pulled her in and gave her a quick sort of half hug, clapping her heartily on the back. “Thank you.” Lacey whispered in her ear “Be safe, okay?”

  Amy spared the man an awkward smile then hurried over to the truck. “Don’t worry about it, buddy. See you in a few hours.” Frays said as she climbed behind the wheel and shut the door. Adam smiled to himself when he saw Amy bow her head, make the sign of the cross then sit quietly for a moment before the truck’s starter motor whined. It took a couple tries, but the engine eventually turned over. He could not help but feel a little left out and incredibly touched as he watched Frays back the truck away from the house and pull off down the gravel road. Frays, Rodriguez and Carl barely even knew Laura but they were willing to risk their lives to help her because she was important to him.

  George shook his head and turned back towards the house. “Lacey, come on in the house.” he said after a moment. Lacey took his children by the hands and led them back inside behind the older man, Adam shaking his head. He could not imagine what George was going through with his daughter treating him like he did not exist. It made no sense to him after everything they had gone through to get here.

  He let Becca and Paul go on ahead. “Mister Frays, what’s going on?” Adam asked quietly. Jessica was still in the back bedroom taking care of Laura and the kids sounded like they had made their way into the living room. He frowned, remembering Frays’ cheek the other day. “Frays hasn’t said a word to you in like two days.”

  George grumbled under his breath. He felt a brief ripple of shame at the memory of the stinging in his hand, the surprise and shame and humiliation on Amy’s face. He was a Bible believing Christian but he had never ever raised a hand against either one of his children before. There were passages that people liked to use to justify such things but in his opinion it was someone using the Good Book to excuse their own bad behavior. “It’s none of your business, Lacey.” he mumbled angrily. The man fiddled in his breast pocket and came up with a pack of cigarettes. “I’ll be along in a minute.”

  Adam shook his head. “If I didn’t know Frays was your daughter I’d know Frays is your daughter.” he said quietly as he turned at started towards the house. The younger man glanced over his shoulder and frowned, still shaking his head as he paused at the door. “I said some things I really shouldn’t have and she wouldn’t talk to me for almost a day and a half.” George lit a smoke and looked curiously at the young Marine. Lacey smiled awkwardly and shrugged. “Just sayin’.”

  George half smiled and squirted smoke out of his nose. “Sounds like her.” he mumbled and coughed, covering his mouth with the side of his hand. “How long did you know Amy was pregnant?”

  “Sir, I swear I didn’t know anything for sure till you started yelling at me earlier.” Adam said. He grumbled under his breath, scratched nervously at the back of his neck. “Hell, I don’t even think she knew what was up. Frays was acting weird sometimes, not sleeping. I thought she wa
s just stressed out or something until she thought this canned ham we were eating was bad while we were holed up waiting for Rodriguez to get well enough to travel.”

  George nodded, scratched at something behind his ear. “I’m sorry I blew up like that.” he said suddenly, an uncomfortable sort of a smile came to his face. “I was wrong to jump to conclusions like I did.”

  Lacey looked at the man, a brief flash of anger flaring up. “Apology accepted sir.” he said quietly, scowling as he turned back towards the house. If he had just kept is fucking accusations to himself Laura would not have gone running off like she did. She would not be in that room suffering…dying… His friends would not be out there where anything could happen to them and his babies would not…not have to worry about losing their mom.

  Adam paused just inside the door. It should be me in there. Lacey thought bitterly, wiping his face with the back of his hand. I fucked up and hurt those people, almost got Frays killed. He frowned and took a deep breath before continuing further into the house. The cabin seemed strangely empty with Frays, her brother and Rodriguez gone. Paulie and Becca were sitting in the recliner where the boy had been cuddling with Frannie, bunched up together in the chair. Lacey could not help but wonder if they missed their friends too. Did they know what exactly was going on?

  Lacey walked up and leaned against the wooden pillar and forced a smile onto his face. “Hey kiddos, want something to drink?” he asked, then moved off towards the cabinets in the kitchen and took down a couple small plastic sippy cups. “I’ll get you guys some lemonade, alright?” He got the pitcher out of the fridge, filled the cups and pressed the lids on them then brought them back out to the children. “I’m gonna go check on Mommy. I’ll see if she’s well enough for you guys to see her for a minute, okay?”

  Paulie watched Daddy go into the other room and frowned. The children were quiet as they looked at each other. “I wanna see Mommy.” he said and started trying to get out of the chair. His cup fell out of his hand and he scrambled to snatch it off the floor. Luckily only a few drops of lemonade splashed out of the straw in the top of the cup and landed on the carpet. “C’mon, Becca.”