by Al Macy
“Olive, I’m sorry about John. We all loved him. Right now I need your help. Can you tell me where John’s badge is—and the keys to his car?”
Olive stood there as if she hadn’t heard.
Marie looked at Harold. “Harold, please check to see if the keys to John’s cruiser are in the ignition.” She took Olive into the house, sat her on the couch, and got her a glass of water. In the cluttered bedroom, she found the sheriff in the expected dried-up state and was relieved to see his badge on the top of the bureau. She picked it up along with his official hat and gun belt.
Back in the living room, Olive was more responsive, and Harold was holding the keys up triumphantly. “Right in the ignition,” he said. “Can you believe that?”
Marie gave Olive another hug and grabbed the keys from Harold. The two of them hurried over to the sheriff’s cruiser and got in. She debated whether to use the siren even though there was little traffic on the street. On the one hand, people would hear it and know that the police were active, but on the other hand it would add to the sense of emergency. Perhaps just the lights. No, she wasn’t going to dawdle along at the speed limit as she headed the ten miles to her great grandson’s house. She switched on both lights and siren.
She turned to the mayor and raised her voice to be heard. “How you doing, Harold?”
“I’m doing.”
“Okay, I want you to repeat this. ‘I’m calm, and things are under control.’”
“Yeah, right. Neither of those things are true. You know that—”
“Harold, take a deep breath. ‘I’m calm, and things are under control—”
“What, are you using the force now? ‘These aren’t the droids you are looking for.’ Give me a break, Marie.”
“The only hope we have here is if people stay calm. When I see you, I see panic, and that’s contagious. I don’t want people to see that.” Marie picked up the radio. “Claire, how are things going there? Are the phones still working?”
“Yes, but apparently only the landlines. Cell phones are down, but that’s good news because I’m getting fewer help-me-my-wife-is-dead calls.”
“Here’s a job for you in between calls. I want you to locate retired personnel who can help. Electricity, phone, doctors, farmers.”
“Slow down.”
“That’s it, unless you can think of others. When you’ve got a list, make some calls from it, find out if they are alive and willing to help. Marie out.”
She turned to the mayor. “Okay, Harold, any calmer now?” As she was hanging up the radio mic, an old Volkswagen bug came through an intersection right in front of them. Marie slammed on the brakes but wasn’t able to stop in time, hitting the rear of the car and causing it to spin ninety degrees, tilt up on two wheels, and bounce back down on the shoulder of the road.
Marie got out of the cruiser, put on her sheriff hat, and walked over to the driver, no one she recognized. He stared at her but said nothing. Before she could talk to him, fire flickered out from the back of the car. She sprinted over to her cruiser, pulled out the fire extinguisher, and blasted the flames until they went out.
Still holding the extinguisher, she walked back to the driver’s side window. “Sir, are you okay?”
He nodded, but continued to stare at Marie’s midsection.
Probably in shock. “Sir, it’s your lucky day. I’m not going to cite you for ignoring the siren, and I have to go.” She replaced the fire extinguisher and was gone in twenty seconds.
“As I was saying, calmer now, Harold?”
“This is a disaster, can’t you see that? This is just going to get worse and worse.”
“Harold, I don’t know where to put you that you’re not going to infect everyone with your attitude. Have you got any ideas?”
“I could call a town meeting.”
Marie sighed. Where am I going to stash this guy? They pulled up in front of Mike’s house to find him waiting in the driveway. Mike wore a muscle-man t-shirt and was stretching as if preparing for a workout. She told Harold to stay in the car.
“I heard you coming, Nana. I’m ready to help.”
“Good boy.” She got out carrying the deputy uniform and gave Mike a hug. “We’re going to miss your mom, but you understand what we have to do now, yes?”
“No, I don’t. You mean bury her? Her body?”
“No, I mean we have to help the living by being the police force. I’m making you my deputy.”
“Oh, right. That.”
“First thing, don’t call me Nana. I’m now ‘sheriff’ or ‘Sheriff Keller,’ got it?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Mike nodded.
“Next, you don’t act on your own. You’re going to stick with me and do everything I tell you. Here, put these on.” She handed him the uniform. “But first, raise your right hand.”
He transferred the clothes to his left arm and raised his right.
“Do you swear to uphold the law and do everything your Nana tells you?” She winked.
He grinned a little. “I will. I mean, I do.”
“Okay get those clothes on and jump in the front seat.” She leaned down to the car’s window. “Mayor, please move to the back seat.”
Harold opened his mouth and held his hand up then shook his head and did as he was told.
Next stop was the home of former deputy Halson, who’d retired three years ago. He was standing in the yard, looking into the sky as they pulled into his driveway.
Marie again put on her hat, which fit surprisingly well, and walked over to him.
“Don, how are you?”
He turned as if noticing them for the first time. “Marie, what a pleasure to see you.”
“Don, I need your help.”
“Marie, what are you doing here?”
“I’m sheriff now and I’d like you to—”
“But what about the ship?” he asked.
“Ship?”
Don pointed to the sky. Marie couldn’t see anything.
“Cronkite’s space ship. Right there.”
Marie looked where he was pointing and, after a while, noticed a small dot high in the sky.
“Don, that’s a turkey vulture.”
“You need to get back to the ship. We all do.”
Marie looked into the sky again, looked at Don, and said, “Yes. I have to go now. Goodbye, Don.” She waved the others back to the car and dropped into the driver’s seat. There was a time for compassion, but this was not it. They drove off.
“Is Don going to help, Nana—I mean Sheriff Keller?”
“No, I’m afraid Deputy Don’s driveway doesn’t quite reach the road.”
“What?” Mike took a quick look back. “His driveway?”
“Deputy Halson is apparently suffering from Alzheimer’s or some form of dementia. We can’t help him right now, and he can’t help us.”
They soon arrived at the hospital, and as they pulled into the parking lot, it triggered a memory. Marie looked in the rearview mirror at Harold. “Mayor, didn’t I see you in an ambulance once, long ago?”
“Ayuh, as a summer job in high school I assisted the EMTs on some calls and was on the lift team in the hospital.”
“Lift team?” He must have been strong for his size.
“Yes, when they needed to lift a heavy patient, I helped.”
She opened the door of the patrol car and said, “Follow me.”
The three of them walked into the emergency room where there was only one person behind the counter and no patients in the waiting room. The woman had been on the phone and hung up just as they arrived. The EAS message could be heard repeating in the background.
“Hi, I’m Sheriff Keller. Are things under control here?”
“Barely. We only have two doctors, four nurses, and one EMT. I normally do payroll, but they’ve got me manning this station.” She gestured to the desk and surrounding area. “Luckily we’ve had few emergencies, and all elective surgeries have been canceled.”
“
Can you direct me to the administrator’s office?”
“Yes, but both the administrator and her assistant are dead. Nurse Wilson is running things. Go down that hall, and the office is the last one on the left. It’s open. I’ll page her, but it may be a while. She’s assisting with a surgery right now.” She keyed the microphone on the table behind her. “Nurse Wilson to the administrator’s office to meet with the sheriff.”
“May I use her phone while we’re waiting?”
“Yes. Dial nine for an outside line.”
As soon as they were in the office, Marie called the station.
“I’m glad you called, boss, I was trying to radio you,” said Claire. “There’s looting going on at the Save-a-Lot.”
“Okay, I’m on my way. I’ll radio in on the way.” She hung up and turned to Harold. “Harold, you stay here and offer your services to Nurse Wilson for helping in the hospital. You’ve done such a great job managing your painting business, perhaps you could free up Nurse Wilson for medical duties.”
Marie didn’t wait for an answer and ran, together with Mike, back to the car. A bone-deep fatigue filled her legs. I’m too old for this. Kind of fun, though. There was no time to get some pills to help her keep going.
She tossed the keys to Mike. His reflexes are younger than mine. She flipped the lights and siren on, and squealed out of the hospital parking lot.
She keyed the radio’s mic. “What’s the status, Claire?”
“I’ll patch you in to the citizen who called 911 from the store.”
After a few clicks, Marie spoke into the mic. “Hello, this is Sheriff Keller, who am I speaking with?”
“Oh, hi, um, this is Cheryl, I’m calling from the Save-a-Lot grocery mart and, like, some people are taking food and not paying. I was on the overnight shift.”
“Where are you right now, Cheryl?”
“I’m locked in the office.” Cheryl was an up-talker. She ended every sentence with an upward inflection, as if it were a question.
“Okay, good girl, you stay right there. How many people are there?”
“There were two people who, like, took food. They’re gone now. There was one guy who, like, took off when he saw what was going on. Now there’s one guy who is, just a second, oh shit, one person who is like totally loading up a cart. He’s taking literally tons of food.”
“Okay, Cheryl, please stay where you are. Keep the office door locked and don’t come out until I tell you to.”
They pulled into the parking lot, slowing to thirty miles an hour, and Mike drifted the car to a stop right in front of the store. Marie unlocked the shotgun from its holder and cracked it open to check that it was loaded. It was.
“This is the safety switch here, right?” She showed it to Mike.
“Beats me. Sorry.”
Keeping the shotgun pointed down, she stepped to the trunk and pulled out the bullhorn.
“This is the sheriff. Anyone in the store come out with your hands over your head.”
She heard nothing for a second and then someone inside yelled, “Fuck you!”
She turned to Mike. “That’s not what I expected. Mike, look in the trunk and find some more shotgun shells, I need to make sure I know how to use this thing.” She fingered the safety switch. Does red mean “Warning, gun will not fire,” or “Warning, gun will fire”?
When Mike returned with a box of shells, she lined up on a pile of firewood and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Okay, now I know how the safety works. She flipped it to red, lined up on the firewood again, and pulled the trigger. This time she was rewarded with a satisfying blast as the gun went off.
The recoil didn’t knock her over but it spun her back a bit and hurt her shoulder. She ejected the spent shell and reloaded the gun, seeing a teenager with a store uniform sprint out of the grocery store with her hands up. Cheryl. I guess she doesn’t follow directions well. Cheryl looked over at Marie and tripped, going down hard on the blacktop.
Ouch. “Mike, are there any ear protectors in the trunk?” Mike took a look and shook his head.
With no further activity from the store, Marie lined up on the top of the firewood pile and pulled the trigger again. She was better prepared for the recoil this time and watched some of the logs scatter. “Okay, I’ve got this now, practice time over,” she told Mike.
She reloaded and flipped the safety on but kept her thumb on it, waiting.
The looter finally came out wheeling a cart overflowing with food, acting as if this were a normal shopping trip. This guy must be on drugs. It’s the only thing she could think of that would explain his behavior.
“Freeze! Raise your hands above your head or I will shoot.”
The man gave her the finger and then stopped, turned, and charged. He started to pull something from his pocket. Marie flipped the safety off, aimed dead center, and pulled both triggers. The man’s body rag-dolled back as if hit by a wrecking ball.
Marie stood silently for a moment and then said, “Well, that went well.” She shook her head, reloaded the gun and flipped on the safety.
“Nana. God!” said Mike. “I could have wrestled him down.”
“Yes, but if he had a knife or a gun or was on drugs, it might not have gone well. We don’t have time for nuance today.” She called out. “Cheryl, where are you?”
Cheryl came over from behind the police car.
“Cheryl, you may put your arms down now. Was there anyone else in the store?”
Shaking too hard to talk, she just shook her head.
“Do you have the keys?”
She nodded.
“Mike, don’t let anyone else in the store, I’m going to make sure it’s clear.” With the safety off again, she stepped inside and quickly but cautiously went through the empty aisles, sighting down the barrel of the shotgun then went back out of the store.
“Cheryl, I’d like you to push that cart of food back inside the store, lock up, and go home. We’ll try to get it opened again as soon as we have more protection. Please contact the owner and tell him what happened.”
Cheryl nodded, tears running down her face.
Marie stood by the cruiser and pulled the microphone out. “Claire?”
“Stand by, please.”
Marie waited. “How you doing, Mike?”
“Wow. Just wow.”
“You can say that again. You’re doing a great job, Mike. Your mom would be proud of you.”
The radio came back to life. “Marie, I have a Lieutenant Strong of the state police on the line, shall I patch him through?”
“Yes, please.”
After a moment, Marie heard, “This is Lieutenant Strong. Your dispatcher has filled me in. Is this Sheriff Keller?”
“Yes, sir, I’m glad you called. Can you help us?”
“I can, but not much, I’m afraid. I’m sending down a deputy. You can choose to make him sheriff or use him under your command.”
“When will that happen?”
“Soon. And I hope to get five to ten national guard troopers into your general area. You’ll have to share them with neighboring towns.”
“That sounds promising. I should tell you that I just shot a looter.”
“Just now?”
“Yes, sir. We caught him in the act and he came at me.”
“Okay. You did the right thing, Sheriff Keller, looting is one of our top concerns right now. How are you holding up?”
“I think I need a donut break.”
Strong chuckled grimly. “Yeah, we all do. We should be able to redistribute our resources across the state, so if you can just hold on and keep order in this initial period, we may be okay. Power is also an important issue, is your power stable?”
“That’s next on my list. So far, so good.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
June 11, 2018
Charli stood in a narrow corridor in the Ruby Mountain bunker, frowning at the president. Hallstrom was leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, shaking
his head. She felt like grabbing his head to stop his negativity. They both turned when Seth McGraw came around the corner.
“Ah, just the man we wanted to see.” Hallstrom pushed off from the wall. “Charli thinks we need to get out of the bunker and back to DC. Scientifically speaking, can we do that?”
“Short answer, yes—”
“Good,” Charli said.
“Let him finish, Charli.” Hallstrom held up a hand and turned back to McGraw.
“Yes. Probably.” McGraw held his hand out with the palm down and waggled it like an airplane losing control.
“Are you just being overly cautious?” Charli asked.
McGraw ran his hand through his hair—what was left of it. “Cautious, but not overly. In normal times, I’d say forget about it, not worth the risk—”
“Seth, let us worry about the political aspects,” Hallstrom said.
“Okay, sorry. Scientifically, there’s a good chance that we can leave without danger. Say eighty-five percent. Based on the x-rays, none of us are infected with emitters. There’s been no evidence of human-to-human transmission, and since yesterday at noon, no one has seen any active emitters except in those already infected.”
“Back up a second.” Hallstrom squinted. “How do we know it can’t be transmitted from person to person?”
“Well, if someone falls asleep and doesn’t die, it means they are not infected. Just like us here in the bunker, they don’t have any emitters in them. None of these people have been subsequently infected. That is, none of them have died after falling asleep a second time.” Seth looked at Hallstrom and raised his eyebrows. “That is, nobody survived one sleep, woke up, and then caught it and died.”
“So, they developed an immunity.”
“No, no.” Seth shook his head. “They never had it. Either you had those things in you or you didn’t. If you didn’t have them in you on June 10, you’re home free. We’re home free.”
“So we could leave right now?” asked Charli.
“Well, just so you understand, normally the CDC would take weeks or months to tell us how a virus was transmitted and so on, and it’s only been two days since we even knew these things, probably not viruses by the way, existed. So, we’ve had to make a lot of snap judgments.”
