Isolation (Book 2): Going Out

by Jones, Nathan

  His friend raised her voice, building up to a serious tongue lashing. “I think of you as a friend, sure, but not a bring Zolos right to my doorstep level of friend! What were you thinking? How could you risk Billy, risk me, risk the good people who welcomed us into their home, like this? You'll make them look like hypocrites if they agree to take you in, assuming we don't all get booted out!”

  In Nick's arms Tallie, who must've been woken up by all the shouting, began to cry.

  That completely took the steam out of Gen's rant, her anger turning to fear and misery. “Do you realize the position you've put me in?” she said quietly. “How can I refuse to help your sweet kids, two of Billy's best friends? How can I possibly agree to it?”

  Mrs. Norson abruptly broke away from her debate with her husband to come and put an arm around Gen's shoulder, leading her away with their heads together, talking too quietly for him to hear. They rejoined Bruce and Billy inside and shut the door, although through the windows to either side he saw them linger and continue their debate.

  Was that a good sign or a bad one? Was Gen going to go to bat for them? Could she change the minds of her ex's parents when it came to such a big decision?

  Well, Nick supposed he'd find out before too long. Assuming they came out again.

  They did, although it took a good ten minutes of gut-churning waiting before the door opened and the three adults filed back outside. Gen once again stopped at the top step to address him. “You can stay in the shed at the edge of the property,” she called, pointing off to one side at a modest sized shed. “We can feed you as long as we have food, or until you figure out another arrangement.”

  The shed's paint was peeling and it looked as if it might be drafty, but those weren't insurmountable obstacles. Especially with the weather getting warmer every day. There was no telling how it looked on the inside, though, or how much work it would take to make it livable.

  Under the circumstances, it was the best offer he could hope for. Although there was a big problem. “Me and Tallie should be all right in there,” Nick called. Then he allowed his desperation to show, at least a little. “But please, Gen, for the love of God, at least take Ricky.” She gave him a blank, incredulous look, and he hastily continued. “Like I said, he's not sick. He hasn't even been exposed to Zolos, I swear it.”

  His friend stared at him, torn, but then to his disappointment shook her head. “We can't take that risk, Nicholas,” she said quietly. “I might, if it was just me. But I won't put Billy in danger. I can't, I'm sorry.”

  “I feel the same way about my son, Imogen,” he replied, fighting the wave of numb despair. “It was a miracle I somehow made it through the disease unaffected, and an even bigger miracle that Tallie's still with us. But Ricky might not be that lucky, and I can't risk him being exposed to Zolos.”

  She looked away, a tear trickling down her cheek, and her voice was anguished. “What can I do?”

  There was only one option, even though Nick's heart went out to Ricky at the thought of it. “Let him live somewhere else, closer to the house or in a sealed off room in it if you're willing, during the 21 days quarantine period, and make sure he has what he needs.”

  Gen looked hopeful at the suggestion, although she had her doubts. “That would be a terrible experience for him.”

  Nick grimaced, but shook his head. “He can handle it. He's already had to survive practically on his own, and taking care of Tallie half the time on top of it, for several days.”

  “We can arrange something for him at the edge of the yard in another location,” Bruce growled. “Whatever you claim about him being free of the disease, he's not coming near the house.”

  Nick nodded quickly. “All right, th-” He found himself talking to the man's back as Bruce ushered everyone back inside and slammed the door. With a weary sigh, he motioned to Ricky. “Son, grab your stuff out of the trunk and follow the hedge a bit closer to the shed. Not too close, though. I'm going to drive the car over there.”

  His son morosely moved to obey. “Does this mean I'm going to be camping outside?”

  “Looks like it. We'll figure it out.”

  After getting Tallie buckled back in, he drove the car around to park outside the yard's boundaries near the shed. Then, bracing himself for what he might find, he pulled open the shed's door and looked inside.

  It wasn't . . . as bad as it could be. The interior was filled with tools, gardening materials, and spare lumber, along with boxes and bins of junk probably brought from the house for long term storage. It would take some work to clean out, or move around to make room for him and Tallie if Bruce didn't want that stuff out exposed to the elements.

  But even if he needed to be creative to make it work as a shelter, there was enough space for two beds, at least. He'd probably want to light a fire for cooking outside anyway, although that shouldn't be necessary if the Norsons fed them like promised. And if the weather was nice it might be good for Tallie to get some fresh air outside; there was even one of those big umbrellas you put over picnic tables in the shed, which he could use to shade her.

  Yeah, there was potential. If it was going to be their new home for the next three weeks at least, there was certainly potential.

  Nick made sure Tallie was comfortable in her seat and got her a bit of water, checked to make sure Ricky had settled down with his things a safe distance away, then got to work on the shed. He was still in the process of moving things around a few minutes later when a terse call from outside made him poke his head out the door.

  Bruce was carrying a tent, sleeping bag, and shovel to a spot farther down the yard from the shed, opposite where Ricky was sitting; he obviously didn't want to come anywhere near not only where they were, but also where they might've walked.

  He stopped about thirty feet away from the shed and dropped everything but the shovel. Then he turned to Nick and motioned curtly. “I'll set the tent up here, while your son stays a safe distance away, and then when I'm gone he can come move in. We'll deliver the food to him using a broom handle to push the plate close enough, and to you and your daughter using a different handle. I'm going to mark out a ten foot circle around your boy's tent, and I want you to mark a ten foot perimeter around the shed as well. Those are your new worlds for the time being. Got all that?”

  “Of course,” Nick said. “Thank-”

  The older man cut him off, voice harsh. “I just want to make sure you understand the situation, Mr. Statton. You seem like a good man, and I'm sorry for what you and your kids are going through. But I won't allow you to endanger my family. If you or your kids leave the perimeters of your quarantine areas to go anywhere but directly off my property, and most of all if you go anywhere close to my house, I'll be forced to shoot you.”

  Nick blinked; he wasn't exactly surprised by the threat, so much as by how bluntly it had been stated. But then, the man would have plenty of motivation to make sure he was completely clear.

  Bruce grimaced at his expression. “I'd hate to do it, really hate to, but I can't risk you infecting my family. The edges of my property is the closest I want you. At least until the quarantine period is over, and we can be sure it actually is long enough to be sure people are no longer carriers of the disease.”

  Nick nodded, doing his best not to take it personally that the man had just threatened to shoot his kids. “I understand. You have my word, we won't cause you any problems. The last thing I'd ever want is to get anyone else sick, especially not Gen or Billy or their family.”

  Their host stared at him inscrutably for a few seconds, then abruptly turned away and lifted the shovel. “Good. I'm going to mark your son's boundary, then dig a latrine hole for him back in the privacy of the trees outside the property and mark his path to it. Then I'll set up the tent. By the time I've done all that Winn should have some food for you.”

  “Thank you!” he said, putting every ounce of feeling he could into the words. The man was taking a tremendous chance, and possibly saving
their lives with his help.

  Bruce just grunted. “There's a shovel in the shed. You should get busy marking your boundary and digging a latrine for you and your girl back in the trees, too.”

  Nick reluctantly fetched the shovel and began tracing a circle around the shed, trying to get it as close to ten feet as possible. Although, if he was being honest, he erred on the side of bigger rather than smaller, since he and Tallie were going to be confined to this space.

  It felt a bit surreal to be digging the boundary to his new home. He knew it wasn't so much a prison as a safety precaution, but even so it was hard not to view it like that.

  Once he'd finished with that he moved on to the latrine pit. So far he'd just changed Tallie when she'd soiled herself, but now that she was awake and alert he intended to help her use the potty when she needed to. And he'd certainly appreciate having a latrine himself.

  Bruce had been about to start digging the pit for Ricky, but when he saw Nick heading out into the woods he changed his mind and got to work setting up the tent instead. Nick was still puffing away digging his pit when their host finally finished everything else and, with obvious reluctance, ventured out into the woods as well to start digging.

  Even thirty feet away was apparently too close for the man. Although considering the nightmare Nick had gone through watching Tallie get sicker and sicker, he couldn't blame anyone for doing everything they could to avoid it themselves.

  It said a lot that even though Bruce had to be around 30 years older than him, and Nick had started first, the man still finished digging his hole far sooner.

  Guess he had some getting in shape to do.

  As soon as their host was done he turned and stomped towards his house, without a word or even a glance towards Nick. “Go ahead and move into the tent,” the man called gruffly at Ricky. “Gen will be out once the food's ready.”

  With that he disappeared inside, slamming the door behind him. Even from across the yard the click of the lock was clearly audible.

  Well, Bruce had let people infected with Zolos stay on his property and agreed to provide them with necessities, which was more than Nick could've ever expected under the circumstances. And if their host didn't seem best pleased by the situation, well, he had a right.

  With a sigh, Nick finished digging his hole and got back to work making the shed livable.

  By the time the house's front door opened again and Gen came out, holding three plates of food on a tray in one hand and two broom handles in the other, he'd gotten the shed's concrete floor cleared and swept, and was trying to figure out a way to mop it. Over in his area Ricky had moved into his tent, although he'd climbed back out and was sitting morosely at the very edge of his boundary, staring towards the house as if hoping to catch sight of his friend.

  “Who likes macaroni and cheese?” Gen called cheerfully, earning an excited cheer from Ricky and a weak but equally enthusiastic cheer from Tallie.

  Grinning, the plump woman made her way over to the eight-year-old boy's tent. She paused well short of the boundary, juggled things around until she could get a plate set on the ground, and gently pushed it towards the boundary with a handle until Ricky could snatch it up. Then she pulled the handle away a safe distance and just left it there, heading over to where Nick waited by the shed to repeat the process.

  “I should've told you,” he told her apologetically as she worked the first plate his way. “Tallie's too weak to eat solid foods, so I've been doing the best I can to give her food in liquid form. Mostly protein powder.”

  His friend nodded, warm gray eyes full of sympathy. “We don't have power so blending this would be a problem, unfortunately, but I can see if I can mash it up.”

  “I can manage that,” Nick said quickly. “Although she probably doesn't need portions quite this big.”

  “I do!” Ricky shouted from over by his tent, waving his spoon enthusiastically. “This is the best thing I've ever had!”

  Nick gave him an amused look. “It's just macaroni and cheese from the box. You've had it tons of times.”

  “Yeah, but it's never tasted this good!”

  Well, considering the type of stuff they'd been eating recently Nick supposed it would taste great in comparison; he hadn't been much of a fan of mac and cheese since he was a kid himself, but he was definitely looking forward to the plate being tantalizingly nudged his way.

  Considering how cheap and easy to make it was, he should've seen if he could find some cases of it on his trip to the store when Zolos first broke out. There were probably more healthy choices, but giving his kids a meal they could enjoy every now and again was nice.

  He really owed Gen, and the Norsons, more gratitude than he could ever express. They'd had every reason to turn him and his kids away, and instead they were feeding them from their own food stores.

  He'd find some way to repay them when he could.

  Once he'd managed to snag both plates of food, Gen moved the second broom handle back a ways and then left it there, too. “You guys probably also need water,” she said. “We've got a well with a hand pump, a relic of a lower tech time that's been a real godsend, so I can pump you as much as you need.” She hesitated. “Although we'll have to figure out what to do about containers.”

  “We've got plenty of containers,” Nick offered. “Even Ricky brought a few, right?” His son nodded and paused to burrow in his new tent, pulling out a couple two-liter soda bottles and waving them. Nick turned back to his friend. “Do you have a couple extra hoses? You could have them end inside our boundaries, and we can be careful just to touch the outsides. The far end that attaches to the pump should be fine.”

  She furrowed her brow worriedly. “Maybe. I'll talk it over with Bruce.” She brightened again. “Need anything else? Soap? Toilet paper?”

  “I'm good for both, but Ricky might.”

  “I need both!” his son confirmed.

  The young woman smiled at the eight-year-old. “Okay, kiddo, we'll get you set up.” She paused in turning away, giving them all a sympathetic look. “I'm sorry for the reason you had to leave your apartment, but I'm glad you and the kids made it safely out of the city. This is a much better place to be.”

  Nick hoped so.

  ✽✽✽

  In spite of her enthusiasm for the meal, Tallie ended up eating barely any of the macaroni and cheese Nick mashed up for her.

  He felt a bit bad about eating the rest, but it would've gone to waste anyway. And he could admit that he'd been more hungry than he'd realized, so the chance to eat a proper meal was welcome.

  His daughter fell asleep as soon as she'd eaten as much as he could coax her to, and with late afternoon heading on to evening the air was starting to get chilly, so he finished making up a bed for her in the shed and carried her in, making sure she was tucked in snugly.

  Hopefully it wouldn't get too cold tonight. He hadn't had a chance to block any big cracks or holes in the shed's walls and roof, or insulate it. And he was leery about lighting a fire inside for warmth for multiple reasons.

  Well, if all else failed Nick could snuggle up with her and provide body heat. They had plenty of blankets and warm clothes, and it was just a week or so until May.

  When he finally ducked back outside, intending to start moving things from the car and seeing what he could do with the ground around the shed to make it more livable, he found Gen waiting with a hose. “Ready to fill up?” she called, heaving the end of it as close to him as she could.

  “That would be great,” he said, wiping his forehead. “We've been making do with what we stored when the power first cut out. Including dirty water from a full bathtub that I had to boil.”

  “Be grateful you had that much,” his friend said, shaking her head solemnly. “Just about every neighbor within a mile of us, and more than a few from farther out, have been hiking in to get water from our pump. Most of them were caught completely by surprise when the power cutting out also meant the water cut out.”

&
nbsp; “Yeah, I was a bit worried everyone in the city would be, too,” Nick agreed. “We hurried to get what water we could the moment the lights went off.”

  She shook her head, speaking over her shoulder as she started back to the pump. “Luckily Stanberry can make do without running water, in a pinch. There are plenty of nearby water sources, and the city leadership have pulled together to organize filtration and purification for the water, as well as making sure it gets rationed responsibly so there's plenty to go around.”

  He got a container ready as she began pumping, and soon enough water came gushing through the hose to fill it to the brim. He hastily swapped it out, then worked his way through several more.

  By the time he called he had enough for now, Gen was puffing a bit. She'd switched arms a couple times, but even so it looked as if it had been a bit of a workout; Nick just wished he could've been the one at the pump doing his part.

  “Thanks,” he called as she made her way back over and flopped down on her back in the grass twenty or so feet away.

  She just waved in weary acknowledgment, tucking a damp strand of dark blond hair behind her ear as she stared up at the darkening sky. It seemed like a pleasant thing to do, especially after the stressful weeks he'd had, almost all of it cooped up indoors, so he lay down near the boundary and joined her quiet contemplation of the sky.

  Being able to just enjoy a spring evening like this was a luxury he'd almost forgotten.

  They both settled down to watch the stars coming out, an amiable silence filling the cooling air. It reminded Nick of late afternoon trips to the park, relaxing on a bench while their kids played. “How have things been here?” he finally asked quietly.

  “Not bad, all things considered,” his friend replied. “We've lost utilities, of course, and people have been going stir crazy without internet. But most people had enough food on hand to last them a while, especially with produce from livestock and hunting and foraging. And things have mostly been peaceful, none of the chaos we've heard about from the cities.”