His wife and daughter went back to their respective efforts, leaving Daniel alone with his work. Entering his security key, he logged back onto his computer. With so many people out of the office, there was little work to do, and soon he found himself reviewing news updates on the web.
The flu epidemic had spread beyond Southern California into Washington state and New Mexico. There were unconfirmed reports of the virus in China and Spain as well. The information about the virus was minimal. Most links about it had titles like “How to Protect Yourself From the Flu” and “Stay Safe During the Flu Epidemic”, but they were only clickbait, designed to get visits to their sites while only offering commonly known tips regarding flu prevention.
Overall, the situation was looking more and more distressing by the day.
His mind made up, he got up from his chair and headed upstairs. Entering the office, he saw his wife busily switching back and forth between massive spreadsheets with tiny font and a PowerPoint presentation.
“Honey, I’m gonna run to the store.”
She immediately stopped what she was doing. “What? Why?”
“Because now is the time to restock on the things we need, before it’s even more dangerous, and maybe before the stores close because of this thing.”
Serafina considered this for a minute. It did make sense. “Okay, fine. I’m going with you.”
“Honey, I need you here, just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“I don’t know, I’d just feel better, okay?”
She stared at him, unwavering. “I don’t want you going out by yourself. Not in this.”
“I understand, but look: we have a decent amount of food that can hold us over for a while, but now might be the time to restock. Also, we could probably use more of some of the basic medical supplies: ibuprofen, cough medicine, all that. I can run to the store, fill a cart, load it in the Jeep, and be back in no time.”
Serafina sighed. It did seem like things were getting worse, and there was no telling how long the flu epidemic would last. She was worried, but trusted him. “Okay. But be careful. As a matter of fact, come with me.” She went downstairs to the master bathroom, where she pulled out a surgical mask and latex gloves. “Wear these.”
“What the? Where did this come from?” Daniel asked, smiling.
“I need them whenever I change my hair color.” Serafina was known for adjusting her hair color from time to time. Nothing dramatic, her job wouldn’t allow for anything extreme, just a touch or red on occasion, or a shift to solid black when she wanted a change. Daniel thought she was beautiful no matter what shade she chose.
“OK, but I’ll feel weird in these gloves. Maybe I’ll wear my leather gloves over them.” He went to the dresser to retrieve the gloves he’d worn when he was in the Navy.
“Really? And that won’t feel weird? In late May?”
Daniel grinned, sliding them on. “No. It’ll just look coooollll….”
Serafina rolled her eyes.
Daniel grabbed his keys, phone, and wallet before heading for the garage.
“Wait!” Serafina went to the coat closet and grabbed his windbreaker. “Here, put this on.”
Daniel looked at her skeptically.
“Just put it on. An extra layer won’t hurt.”
He took it from her, shaking his head. “You know this will make me sweat. A lot.”
“You always sweat a lot.”
“Whatever.”
She reached out and grabbed his hand before he could leave. “Seriously, be careful, please.”
Seeing the concern in her eyes, Daniel knew it was time to be serious. “I will. It’ll just be a quick trip to the store and back. I’ll stay away from everyone, and when I get back, we’ll wipe everything down and wash my clothes, OK?”
Serafina nodded. “Okay.”
“Lock the door behind me?”
“K.”
Entering the garage, Daniel turned on the light and closed the door to the house. Once he heard her engage the deadbolt, he hit the button to raise the garage door. As the door rose, he focused on outside, unsure of why, until the door was completely raised. When the door stopped moving, he began working his way around his wife’s car towards the front of the space. The garage was really too small for both vehicles, but he loved his Jeep every bit as much as she loved her BMW M4 hardtop convertible.
When he got to the edge of the garage, he slowly looked up and down the street for people. On any other day, there would be people walking their dogs, jogging, or busy in their front yards. Today, however, the street seemed desolate.
Satisfied that there were no threats (and unsure why he used that term), he worked his way around the side of the Jeep, opened the door, and squeezed into the vehicle. Starting up the massive vehicle, he was reminded of how much he loved the sound of the 3.6L V6 285 HP engine. Reminding himself that this was anything but a joyride, he backed out of the garage and onto the street, closing the garage door behind him. Placing the transmission in Drive, he began his way up the hill towards the supermarket.
He kept his speed low, minimizing noise, as he drove, observing everything around him. The streets were empty. Nearly every house had one or two cars in the driveway, unusual for the middle of the day.
Halfway up the hill, in his peripheral vision, he thought he saw a figure push through a gate and into a neighbor’s backyard, but he wasn’t sure. Looking over, he saw that the gate was open, but he couldn’t tell if it had already been that way.
He continued on.
When he got to the top of the hill, at the intersection where he’d turn onto the major street that lead to the shopping center which held the supermarket, he saw the first grouping of people he’d seen since his trip to the gas station the day before. The church at the corner of the major intersection was crowded, its visitors spilling out into the parking lot. Daniel estimated that there were at least 50 people in the parking lot. Having never been inside (by choice), he assumed the church held at least 200.
Reaching the corner and seeing the way was clear, he turned right onto the Alta Mesa, the major road that led through the suburban area that included their neighborhood.
What seemed odd as he looked down his street or drove up the hill was nothing in comparison to what he saw as he drove down the main thoroughfare towards the shopping center. The street was nearly empty, with traffic similar to what one would see at 3 a.m.
Where he normally would have to look in his blind spot to verify no other vehicle was there, there was nothing but empty asphalt. When he got to the light, there was only one other vehicle waiting, a beat up pickup truck with large plywood panels affixed to its bed, reading ‘Junk Removal Best Price 1-619-456-4263’.
The light turned green and Daniel continued on.
The parking lot in front of TQ Groceries was the next oddity for Daniel to absorb. Whereas he normally had to look extensively for parking closer than the outer edges of the parking lot, today there was a surplus of available spaces.
Pulling into a parking space that was so close it felt alien, Daniel evaluated his surroundings before hopping out of his Jeep. There were a few cars on the outer edges of the parking lot, near stores that were mostly shut, but he saw no one walking around. Even so, Daniel looked left and right before he walked across the parking lot and grabbed a shopping cart before entering the store. He was intending to load up, since a) he didn’t want to be out in public again before the virus was no longer a threat, and b) he had no idea how long the stores would remain open. As he walked in, a woman and a small boy came out of the other door, carrying a small bag filled with medicines and soups. The woman looked disheveled, the child unwashed, but neither of them appeared sick, for which Daniel was grateful. There were seven or eight feet between them, but he had no idea how the virus spread.
Inside the store, the place seemed like a ghost town. The Starbucks inside the store was closed, as were the deli and bakery departments, their lights turned
off. Looking to his left, he saw one register open, aside from the self-checkout lanes. Two people were in line, a man paying for his items, a woman standing several feet behind him, keeping her items in her cart as she waited for him to finish. Daniel walked further into the store, looking left and right constantly, watching for any people, ready to change direction to avoid getting close to anyone that may be sick. Making a short stop at the produce area, where most of what was there looked rather sad, he grabbed lettuce, broccoli, peppers, onions, tomatoes, squash, and mushrooms, followed by two 10-pound bags of potatoes. Satisfied, he made his way to the dried food aisle, grabbing every bag of split peas, lentils, and beans the store had on the shelves. The average person had no idea that legumes had more than enough protein to sustain even the largest of individuals, but as a vegetarian for the last five years, he had become well aware of what foods were able to provide the nutrients needed for muscle growth, recovery, and overall good health.
From there, he headed over to the canned food aisle and added multiple cans of corn, tomatoes, green beans, spinach, and other vegetables to his cart. Next he found the health food aisle and grabbed entire boxes of protein bars, then multiple boxes of granola bars as well.
As the cart grew heavy, he decided to head for the medicine aisle in the store.
Here, he encountered several people, much more than what was present in any other section of the store. Tuning down the aisle, he saw five people -three men and two women, all looking a bit worse for wear - milling about the aisle, seemingly unsure of what they were there for.
In fairness, little was left in the cold/flu medicine area, but that didn’t fully explain the confusion shown on the faces of the people there. Daniel suspected that they were already sick, so he waited to be sure no one would reach for what he wanted when he did. Once he felt relatively certain that none of the people present would try to grab what he had his eyes on, he quickly grabbed several bottles each of ibuprofen, aspirin, and acetaminophen. Reminding himself that he didn’t want to come back out for any reason, he grabbed four first aid kits, two boxes of bandaids, four rolls of gauze, six rolls of medical tape, two bottles of peroxide, three boxes of surgical masks and four boxes of sterile gloves. Stepping back,he noticed some of the people in the aisle evaluating his cart. Deciding to leave, he did a quick u-turn with his cart, and headed around the corner, headed for the checkout.
Realizing he forgot one of the most important things - water - he wanted to kick himself. Turning the cart, he felt a hand on his arm.
“Why are you buying so much stuff?”
Daniel turned quickly, snatching his arm away from the person. It was a middle-aged white woman, dressed in a track suit that was clearly not used for exercise, her hair done up in a bun. She didn’t appear sick, thankfully, but there were no guarantees. He was suddenly glad Serafina made him wear his windbreaker.
Daniel shook his head, switching over to the ‘command voice’ he’d learned in the military: strong, direct, unambiguous. His eyes were hard as he stared at the woman. “Don’t touch me. I’m stocking up so I can stay home. Now, please excuse me.” He positioned the cart between the two of them, pointed at her, indicating that she should give way.
Backing away, she glared at him. “Geez, you don’t have to be an asshole.”
Daniel walked past her, watching her with his peripheral vision as he did so. As he pushed the cart towards the aisle that held the bottled water, he found exactly what he needed: a second cart. Although it would be tough to manage both of them, he didn’t care. He’d gotten what the family needed, and he wasn't going to spend the time sorting through things to figure out what to put back anyway. He loaded the second cart with one gallon jugs of water, as well as two water filtration pitchers, accompanied by six two-pack boxes of refill cartridges for them that were on the shelf.
Finally done, he carefully maneuvered the two carts around the end of the aisle and came down the next aisle in route to the checkout. He found himself in the alcohol section.
Hesitating for a second, he looked at the shelves filled with liquor. “Fuck it.” He grabbed two bottles of single malt scotch from the shelf and stuck them in the cart, took a half step, then grabbed one more before continuing on.
At the checkout line, there was a lady with a cart of groceries just starting to put her food onto the conveyor belt.
‘Shit.’ He didn’t want to wait. He pushed his carts into a lane that was closed, then walked over to the store manager, a heavyset Mexican man with ‘Jose’ on his name tag.
“Sir?” The man asked as Daniel approached.
Daniel stopped, keeping about five feet of space between them. He kept his voice low. “I’ll give you a hundred dollars if you open that line for me and only me.”
The man looked around, making sure no other employees were in ear shot. “Cash?”
“Yes.”
The man nodded, walking around and pulled a flexible cord across the lane behind Daniel’s water bottle laden cart.
Daniel took out the $100 bill and laid it on the conveyor, out of sight from others. He took out another two and held them. When the manager made the way around the end of the checkout lane and into the register area, he smoothly palmed the bill and slid it into his pocket.
Still maintaining distance, Daniel laid the other two on the conveyor, followed by two masks and two sets of gloves. “Two hundred more if you get someone to bag this quickly and you both wear these.
The man considered this for all of ten seconds. He gave a nearly imperceptible nod and reached out and took the money. As he slid on the gloves, he called out “Paul! Come give me a hand.”
A teenage boy quickly came over to the register. Looking to be about 17, he was tall, lanky, and had a mop of dark hair, which hung over and around his acne-covered face.
“Put these on.” The manager handed him the gloves and mask. “Bag this stuff quick, got it?”
Daniel spoke up. “I’ll pay for all the reusable bags required, they’re stronger and should be quicker.
The young bagger nodded.
The manager began ringing, and it was apparent he’d done a lot of it before his ascension to the manager position. His hands were a blur, the items flying past the sensor with precision and speed. The bagger struggled to keep up, but fortunately, few things were breakable or wet. Only the produce required any real care when being handled, and Jose scanned those and bagged them himself, finishing the effort quickly.
When the bottles of scotch came across, the man grinned and looked at Daniel. “Necessities.”
“Yup.”
Even so, there were a lot of items, and it took nearly ten minutes to complete. Daniel stayed vigilant throughout the effort, watching the area close to him for any unwanted people. None came over, probably because there were so few people in the store.
Finally done, the bags mostly loaded back into the first cart, a few set on top of the cases of water in the second, the manager nodded at Daniel. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“Paul, help the man get all the stuff out to his car.”
Daniel thought about declining the offer, but realized the extra hands would make things go faster. Grabbing a cart, he led the way out of the store, the young man following close behind.
Approaching the Jeep, he took a quick look at the other side of the vehicle to make sure there wasn’t anyone nearby before opening the back and lifting the glass rear window. Loading was a challenge, even for the big vehicle. The water alone took most of the cargo space, so they had to slide and stack reusable bags filled with groceries and other items all over the back seat and floor boards.
With things finally loaded, Daniel wondered if the young man would see any of the money he’d given the manager. His gut told him the kid wouldn’t.
“Here.” He passed him a hundred dollar bill.
“Uhhh… I don’t think I can take that.”
“Sure you can. Your boss took three already.”
The teenager’s eyes widened.
“Don’t say anything. Just act normal and it’ll be fine. Take it.”
The kid reached out and took the bill, looking over his shoulder before stuffing it in his pocket. “Thanks, mister.”
“No problem.” Looking over his shoulder as he closed the rear gate, he added, “Be careful.” The kid’s eyes were wide as he stared at something beyond Daniel’s right shoulder.
‘Oh shit.’ Daniel whipped around, bringing his fists up to defend himself.
Twenty feet away, on the sidewalk leading to the store, a man was coughing heavily, bent over. The man suddenly stood up and projectile vomited a stream of reddish-black liquid towards a nearby elderly couple who were heading into the store.
The man screamed then lunged at them, knocking both of them to the ground with force.
“What the fuck?” Daniel took a step in their direction, thinking about trying to help the elderly couple, but the man had a crazed look about him. Daniel stopped in his tracks, carefully considering his next move.
The crazed man’s head swung around, his eyes settling on Daniel and the teenager. It snarled at them, then lunged forward, breaking into a run.
“Get in!!” Daniel jumped into the driver side and started the engine. The teenager climbed into the passenger side, slamming the door behind him. Glancing over, Daniel saw the kid’s face was white with fear.
The thing slammed into the side of the Jeep, rocking it and stunning itself. The creature stumbled backwards as Daniel put the Jeep into drive. The area directly in front of the jeep was dirt and shrubs, surrounded by a concrete curb.
No trouble for the Rubicon.
He climbed the curb and drove over the shrubs, the vehicle bouncing as it did so. Once over the curb, Daniel accelerated, shooting across the parking lot.
Paul, his unplanned passenger, finally spoke. “Shit.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“No, I mean, that ‘thing’ just ran into the store.”
Daniel looked back toward the store, slowing the vehicle momentarily as he did so. The two elderly people still lay on the ground in front of the store, unmoving. Through the vehicle’s closed windows, he heard screams coming from inside the store.
Surviving Rage | Book 1 Page 10
