Isolation (Book 2): Going Out

by Jones, Nathan

  “Zolos hasn't hit you?” he asked, surprised. With pretty much the entire world being overrun by the virus, it was hard to imagine anywhere being spared.

  She shuddered. “Wensbrook, a bit southwest of us, got hit hard by Zolos almost as soon as the crisis started, and had to be evacuated to the St. Joseph quarantine camp. That was a wake up call for Stanberry, and our leaders set up a volunteer program to guard all the main roads in, with a few response teams for anyone trying to sneak in. They've been turning away anyone who comes close to city limits.” She hesitated, glancing at him warily. “Aside from you guys, I guess. Did you run into a roadblock or any guards?”

  Nick shook his head. “I saw one, but took side roads around it.”

  Gen grimaced. “I should probably mention that to Bruce as a point of weakness. Darrel's going to be pissed someone waltzed right in.”

  He blinked at that. “Darryl your ex? I thought he was in New York.”

  “He is, stuck in a quarantine camp with his girlfriend and her family at the moment,” she verified. “This is a different Darrel with different spelling.” Her expression soured. “One who's kind of a jerk.”

  Well, hopefully the guy wouldn't cause trouble for Nick's family. He hurriedly changed the subject back to the volunteer force. “So have the volunteers had any real problems?”

  “We've had a few isolated cases of Zolos, all successfully quarantined off, thank goodness.” His friend paused, taking in his expression. “Or do you mean have they had to shoot anyone?” She shook her head, looking troubled. “So far people have been intimidated into staying away. Although there's a small camp southeast of town of people who've been turned back but have nowhere else to go. They're staying as close as the town allows them, hoping for aid.”

  “How many?”

  “Fifty or so. Although the camp's been growing fast over the last few days.” At his curious look Gen continued grimly. “Either things are really looking bad in the nearby cities, or a rumor is spreading that that camp's some sort of quarantine camp, and people are heading there out of desperation.”

  Nick could imagine that a growing camp of potential Zolos carriers would be troubling to the nearby town's residents. Especially if there was no official federal relief presence to keep the camp in check. Speaking of which . . . “Has Stanberry been helping them?”

  She shrugged. “They've been providing water, and whatever food citizens are willing to donate. Which I guess probably also encourages people in the camp to stick around.”

  The conversation petered out after that, as both of them lay there and watched the stars come out. “Good night!” Ricky eventually called out the door of his tent, before poking his head inside and zipping it shut.

  “Good night!” Gen called back, chuckling. Then with a weary groan she pushed to her feet. “Well, I should get in. It was good to catch up, Nick.”

  He stood as well. “Thank you, Gen,” he said quietly. “For going to bat for us with Billy's grandparents. You might've saved Ricky's life.”

  It was hard to read her expression in the darkness, but he could hear the warmth in her voice. “You're welcome. The world's gone seriously crazy if friends can't stick by each other.”

  “A friend in need,” he agreed, waving as she started towards the house.

  Then he headed into the shed, his new home, to check on Tallie.

  Chapter Seven

  Breach

  “Attention, camp residents!”

  Ellie jolted awake with a gasp as the loud voice, female and noticeably upset, blared through her tent and echoed across the camp outside. It was projected from the loudspeakers atop the poles regularly spaced throughout the camp.

  In the front room she heard a sharp rustle as Hal woke up with a grunt, and was absurdly relieved when her boyfriend blindly felt his way back to her bed to hold her protectively. She clutched him just as tightly as they listened in the darkness.

  “Please remain in your tents and wait for instructions. This is not a drill!” As the voice spoke blinding light abruptly engulfed them, making Ellie flinch and bury her face in Hal's neck.

  The camp's floodlights, up on the same poles as the loudspeakers, turning on all at once.

  The harried voice on the loudspeaker repeated the warning, but over the noise of it Ellie heard nearby voices crying out in confusion, panic, and then terror. Angry bellows, frantic protests, desperate pleading. And authoritative voices calling harsh orders through bullhorns.

  She gripped her boyfriend's arm, squinting in the direction of the commotion as if she could see through the thick cloth wall. “Hal?” she hissed.

  “Sounds like it's coming from our sector,” he replied grimly.

  That wasn't good. The only reason Ellie could think of for the camp to get roused like this in the dead of night was either if there'd been a sudden riot or similar unrest, or if an outbreak of Zolos had occurred.

  One was unlikely, given what she'd seen of the camp's relatively placid mood. Especially thanks to their efforts to keep people content and occupied. Which meant the other was almost certain.

  “Should we get out of here?” she said, reaching for her shoes. “The escape route we planned?”

  Hal remained still, and was slow to respond to her statement. “I don't want to be trapped in here like fish in a barrel with the virus flying around,” he agreed reluctantly. “But if we go out there blind to the situation we might break whatever quarantine protocols they have set up, and actually increase our chances of being infected.”

  He was right, of course. People avoided each other's tents as determinedly as they avoided each other, so if the two of them weren't already infected then it was unlikely they would be if they stayed put. And since they didn't know where the outbreak had occurred or how widespread it was, assuming there even was one, going out there would be a bad idea.

  In almost every emergency situation where there was no immediate danger, people panicking and giving in to their fight or flight response, the urge to act, often caused more problems than the emergency itself. For that matter even where there was immediate danger, everyone doing their own thing and ignoring attempts to keep them calmly focused on the problem, and organized to best respond to it, made it so many who might've made it out safely were hurt.

  Fear kept people alive, motivating them to act when needed and to be careful when there was danger. But it could also cause people to panic and run when they needed to stop and think, or freeze up in terror when they needed to go.

  Like with anything, you never knew how you'd react to a situation until you were confronted by it. Ellie had tried to mentally prepare herself for emergencies, since in her leadership role she would likely be expected to take charge of a situation. And she'd been in plenty of dangerous situations since stepping off the plane at LAX.

  And all this musing was just a way of keeping herself sitting still and thinking, rather than scrambling out of the tent and bolting for the nearest fence surrounding the camp. Maybe that was why Hal was keeping so carefully still, to restrain that same urge to escape.

  The minutes passed by with agonizing slowness as they sat holding each other in fearful silence, listening to the shouting eventually die down, replaced by calm voices barking out orders. And all the while the woman on the loudspeakers kept on repeating the same message with almost no variation. She almost could've been a recording, but clearly wasn't.

  It could've been five minutes or a half hour before her voice abruptly cut off. Ellie tensed and gripped Hal tighter, dread churning in her gut at the thought that Zolos might be entering their systems right now without them knowing it.

  Then the woman's voice returned, sounding calmer and more authoritative. “Attention, all camp residents. A small Zolos outbreak has been isolated in Sector F.”

  Ellie tensed at the mention of their sector, although it shouldn't have been a surprise considering the nearby shouting. She swallowed bile and listened in dread as the voice continued. “It is being quara
ntined off as we speak, the nearby area carefully decontaminated. We are confident the danger has passed for the rest of the camp.

  “However, as a precaution we have closed off that sector for the next twenty-four hours, as we continue decontamination procedures. We are urging everyone in Sector F to remain in your tents for this time period, and to notify us immediately if you begin experiencing symptoms. The rest of the camp is also encouraged to take extra precautions until we are sure the outbreak is truly contained.

  “Thank you for your calm response to this situation. We'll update you with any further information in the morning, but until then we urge you to go back to sleep.”

  Most of the lights flickered out, only the nearby ones remaining on, and the camp slowly settled into silence. Which meant Ellie could hear clearly as the relief workers continued the work of walling off and decontaminating the site of the outbreak.

  It couldn't have been more than fifty feet away.

  “Think they'll reset our quarantine countdown because of this?” Hal whispered.

  The thought distressed her almost as much as learning they'd been infected would have. Her kids needed, her, she couldn't be delayed from seeing them for another 21 days!

  He seemed to read her sudden alarm in how she tensed in his arms, because he cleared his throat hastily. “That is, I see no reason why they'd reset our quarantine countdown because of this.”

  “Probably not,” Ellie agreed, relaxing. “People might actually riot over that.”

  They settled down to listening again, until finally the last of the voices fell silent and the lights flicked off, plunging the camp back into its usual nighttime darkness.

  A few minutes after that she heard the sound of Hal yawning hugely. “It sounds like things have settled down,” he mumbled. “Should we try to get back to sleep? Tomorrow's going to need some organizing with the other volunteers, since we're restricted to our sector for the day so they'll have to pick up the slack. We'll need plenty of rest to deal with the added chaos.”

  “Yeah, it's probably safe.” Ellie hesitated. “But in case it's not, would you mind staying here with me tonight?”

  He paused for just a heartbeat. “Okay, but no funny business,” he joked.

  She snickered and felt around in the dark until she found his shoulder, giving it a playful shove. Then she sobered. “Seriously, I'm glad you're here with me right now.”

  “Yeah.” Her boyfriend pulled her in comfortingly close and kissed her forehead. “Sleep tight.”

  Surprisingly, even after the rude awakening, she did.

  ✽✽✽

  Ellie woke to the sound of Cathy calling their names outside.

  She sat up, sheepishly wiping at a bit of drool on her chin and hoping she hadn't drooled all over her boyfriend. Then she realized that at some point Hal had slid off the slippery bed mats and ended up on the ground cloth, huddled in the tiny part of the blanket he still had. She felt a bit bad about that, although she wondered if he'd slept right through it.

  He woke up a second later, looked around in confusion, then grimaced. “Ah, I see. Kicking me out of bed for snoring, huh?” Before she could protest he grinned to show he was joking. “Or these stupid mats like to slide everywhere while you're sleeping, especially when they're stacked up.”

  Ellie shook her head, biting back a smile as she reached for her shoes. “Maybe the universe is reminding us not to get too comfortable . . . we're not married yet.”

  Her boyfriend looked back sharply from reaching through the partition for his own shoes. “Yet?”

  She felt her cheeks heat at the unintended slip. Unable to think of a response, she kept silent as they got their shoes on and ducked outside.

  Cathy was in her hazmat suit, of course. It was hard to be sure, but it might've been even more carefully sealed than usual. Ellie stepped aside so Hal could join her just outside and waved good morning. “What was that mess last night?” she called.

  The woman grimaced. “An overblown response to what actually turned out to be about as small an outbreak as imaginable. One carrier spreading it to one new patient. And for the silliest possible reason, if you ask me.”

  Ellie shared a glance with her boyfriend. “Oh yeah?” he asked. “What happened?”

  The relief worker hesitated, looking a bit guilty. “This feels a lot like gossip, but since it can provide an object lesson to other residents I suppose it can't hurt.” She shook her head wryly. “Besides, I'm sure the other workers and guards are spreading it all over camp by now.”

  “Okay, now I have to hear what it was,” Hal said.

  “Well the carrier was a young woman recently let out of the isolation cells, and she ended up in a tent next to a young man she apparently thought was cute.” Cathy sighed in exasperation. “So after a day of chatting, they decided getting a little nookie was more important than staying safe from Zolos, and she invited him to her tent. He got sick a couple days later, no contamination aside from their two tents. End of story.”

  Some might view that with a bit of gallows humor, but Ellie thought it was absolutely horrible. How would it feel to be intimate with someone you liked, then discover that you'd potentially given him a death sentence? Especially after all the loss the poor girl must've already suffered to end up alone in the camp.

  She would've felt terrible if it was Hal who'd ended up sick, especially since their relationship was far more than a one night stand. The awful thought made her reflexively seek out his hand and squeeze it, leaning into him when he put a comforting arm around her shoulders; maybe he was thinking similar thoughts.

  “Well, with the lockdown in Sector F we need to figure out whether to put our projects on hold or find other volunteers to take over until you guys are available,” Cathy said, thankfully changing the subject. “Have you thought of who might be willing and able to step up?”

  “I have a few ideas.” Ellie had spent the minutes before falling back asleep thinking of not only the people who'd helped them most in their projects, but also those who'd participated the most and might be willing to start helping if needed.

  She fed the relief worker the names, who jotted them all down. “I assume you're going to try to keep up the activities in Sector F, at least?” the woman asked as she tucked away her clipboard.

  Ellie shared a glance with her boyfriend. “Will we be able to, with the lockdown?”

  “Considering the limited scope of the outbreak?” Cathy shrugged. “If people still want to, given the scare. You'll probably need to be even more cautious about having everyone avoid contact with each other and areas others have come in contact with.”

  “Or we could take a much-needed vacation,” Hal suggested. “People are going to be tense enough with this scare, might be better to let things settle down for a day.”

  Ellie frowned. “Or we might lose the momentum of what we've already accomplished, and we'll have to work twice as hard to get back to where we are now. Individually, people benefit from breaks. But when a group or organization engaged in a routine has an unplanned disruption of the schedule, the people participating in it have a tendency to fall off in surprising numbers and go find something else.”

  “Well, it's not like we aren't the only game in town,” he joked. “What else are they going to find, twiddling their thumbs?”

  She noticed Cathy rolling her eyes through her faceplate. “Well, I'll leave you guys to sort out things in Sector F while I try to get the rest of the camp organized. I can probably get the other workers to help out . . . most of them have become real fans of what you've achieved.”

  “Okay, thanks,” Ellie said, although she followed the other woman to the edge of the sector, wanting to give her some last suggestions to help her adjust to the new circumstances.

  Before long, however, she was turned back; Sector F's perimeter now had a temporary fence set up and a handful of guards scattered around, all of whom looked serious about not letting anyone but relief workers and guards in or ou
t. And even those had to go through routine decontamination.

  She left Cathy to it and headed back to the tent, where she found Hal lounging on his bed, apparently intent on going back to sleep. Biting back a sigh, she settled down on the ground next to him. “What's up?”

  “Mmm?” he mumbled.

  “Do you really not want to help out today?”

  Her boyfriend shifted slightly, cracking open one eye to look at her. “Of course I do, honey. But it would be nice to get a few minutes more sleep until it's time to get up.”

  Ellie hesitated. “Only, joking or not you seemed pretty eager to take a break.”

  He closed his eyes, and for a second she thought he was going to ignore the question. Then he sighed and sat up, looking down at her with a weary expression. “I don't know, El. Sometimes it just seems like a thankless task.”

  She finally did sigh. “The Nowaks.”

  Hannah and Brock seemed to have made it their life's work in camp to torpedo Ellie's programs. They spent almost as much time going around scaremongering about Zolos spreading through her work as she and Hal spent doing the actual work itself.

  She wasn't sure if it was paranoia or spite or some combination of both, but as a result she was getting more and more resistance to everything she did, a growing crowd of people insisting she quit before she caused an outbreak. Of course, she was getting a growing crowd of people who supported and attended her programs, but even so.

  She just couldn't understand how the couple could work so hard to tear down what she was trying to accomplish. What good did it do anyone, even them?

  Sometimes, she wondered what the world would be like if people could just work together for worthwhile goals, instead of getting in each other's way and making things harder for everyone.

  “It's not so much them,” Hal said, staring down at his lap. “I just can't believe they've gotten so many other residents agreeing with them. How do poisonous people like that get a following?”