by Hamrick, R M
She required that every patient be picked up by a non-combatant citizen and be watched for signs of infection. They waited on stretchers and chairs for their keepers. Was the attack today only physical or was it also biological? They had to take precautions. Satomi called for everyone who’d fought to come and be examined by her. Temperatures taken. Eyes examined for dilation. Satomi considered a quarantine but knew she didn’t have enough evidence to remove freedoms. That was harm too.
Dwyn stuck his head into the office. Satomi took a moment to wipe her brow and sweep back her hair.
“Satomi, we have someone for you to see.”
* * *
“He needs to be in the medical office. He needs to be treated!” argued Satomi. They could set up a quarantine area in the medical office. The laboratory was no place to treat a patient.
She looked into the conference room through the window at the simple brown tarp on the floor, and a man writhing on top of it. The conference table on which Gordon and their first few subjects had been secured had long since been requisitioned for dining purposes. This man’s torso twisted and rocked. His arms were tied and his mouth was taped shut. His legs were unsecured, but lay in odd directions. Broken.
“Audra said to bring him here. You’re not supposed to treat him. Just examine him. See what you can learn about our enemy,” Dwyn tried to explain.
Enemy? That thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. This man had injuries. He had an underlying illness. He needed to be quarantined to prevent an outbreak. Enemy had nothing to do with it.
“I’m treating him,” she said as a statement. There was nothing to argue. She couldn’t physically move him to the medical office, but that wouldn’t stop her from providing treatment.
Dwyn shook his head, giving up, and left. She imagined he’d go get Audra to set her right. She’d set Audra right.
Satomi entered the room and closed the door behind her. The white walls held one white board whose markers had long ago dried out. Along the walls were stacked papers - white papers, lab reports, and journal articles from the previous staff and a previous life. Satomi approached her patient. He was built strong with wide shoulders and no muscle atrophy. His brown curly hair wrapped around his face and met his also-curly beard. He was covered in blood - his or others, Satomi had to determine. Underneath, his blue-gray skin had elasticity to it. His eyes were sleepy.
His legs would need to be set. He had a gash in his abdomen. Probably the inciting injury that had led to his fall and broken legs. It would be stitched.
“What have you learned?” asked Audra entering the room.
“Both of his legs are broken. They will need to be set. Superficial wounds to the stomach. I’ll wash those out and close them. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem? This is a big problem, Satomi. I need to know what’s going on here. What is this?” she gestured to what she considered a creature in their building.
“It’s a patient.”
“It’s not.”
Satomi would continue her exam and hopefully also get Audra’s information as well. She searched for an entry point for the infection. He kicked at her with broken extremities. Scars were scattered across his body, but there was no fresh bite.
Audra stood in the corner, arms crossed, and exasperated. She had changed shirts, but she was still matted in blood.
Satomi pulled on the eyelids and revealed dilated eyes with a cloudy gray. Inside his mouth, his teeth were decaying. Satomi untied his shoes and pulled them off to reveal a decent stench and sores. It seemed he had been wearing those shoes and remnants of socks for days, weeks maybe. Potato sack tunic uniforms suggested a system in place.
The sickness was specific and the numbers revealed purpose, not accidents. Human survivor, z-virus, death -these were all distinct states at one point, but this specimen and what she had seen from her window, brought that all crumbling down. They had a permanent supply of these soldiers at their disposal. They created and took care of their army systematically, not haphazardly.
Audra didn’t want her to treat him. Ryder’s words rang in her ears. They wanted her. Why did they resort to fighting if they just wanted medical care?
Chapter Seven:
Scouting
Audra stood near the mess hall atop the two-foot tall fountain wall with the bloodied fence as her backdrop. The bodies had been cleared, but crimson stained the broken concrete and gravel. The hidden families hadn’t stayed hidden for long. Their timid heads poked out of windows and doorways. Women and men ushered the handful of children back into their rooms before flooding Audra with questions.
“We were attacked today,” explained Audra. “The leaders called themselves Jack and Jill. They commanded zombies like I’ve never seen. They seemed half infected. They appeared to take commands, could climb fences and use knives, and they required a brain injury or excessive blood loss to die.
“I don’t think this was their entire army. This was an expendable number meant to test and scare us. Which seems, based on your actions, you submit?”
She eyed the thirty or so who stared at their feet, kicking some of the blood-stained gravel around. To ask them to fight was a lot, but she didn’t have anyone else.
“What choice do we have?” asked Ziv, his bushy beard flouncing around even after he asked his question. Audra noticed that Ziv had been conveniently missing these last couple of hours. Unsurprising. He had a history of cowardice, but Audra had seen him try. Disappointing today. Several nodded in agreement with him to add to her frustration.
“We don’t have to sit here and wait for their next move. We can make our own. They haven’t gone far. I recommend a scout group follow and find out what we are up against. Maybe we can figure out a weakness, or what they want, maybe even take out their leaders. We can become more trouble than we’re worth. They’ll move on. Would anyone be willing to join me?”
Audra realized that if they weren’t willing to defend their homes, they probably weren’t willing to venture outside of them. She waited in the shameful silence.
“You should stay here,” said Dwyn. “This place needs its leader. It doesn’t need you gone on a scouting trip.”
Not only did no one volunteer, but Dwyn didn’t even want her to go.
“I’m not your leader,” she said, but even as she said it, she knew it wasn’t true. She didn’t see anyone else standing up. She knew the council and Ryder had wanted her leading even before all this. “Ryder is.”
Noises of confusion and disagreement erupted. “Where is Ryder?”
Satomi gave a report. She was stable, but still had a road to recovery.
“Until Ryder is better, you’re the leader,” called out Tranter, who was here with his cured wife. Everyone nodded in agreement. Until then, it was all Audra. Audra accepted it, but she wasn’t going to sit cozy while others scouted.
“Look, I’d love to stay,” she lied, “but I’ve the most experience tracking zombies. And that’s what we’re going to be doing - tracking zombies. I have to go.”
“I’ll go too, then,” said Dwyn. If he couldn’t keep her here, apparently, he’d tag along.
“And I,” called out Gordon.
“Not this time. You stay here,” she replied to Gordon. She didn’t want to leave Osprey Point defenseless if something went wrong. Gordon was surprised by this, but nodded.
“I will go,” said Satomi, a quiet but clear voice. She stood resolutely with her hands behind her back.
“Don’t you need to care for Ryder?” Audra questioned.
“No, yes, I mean, she’s stable. She’s going to be OK. I’ll have Jia and Mary care for her for a few days. And she won’t be OK if we don’t figure this out. They wanted scientists, doctors, I heard. You need me to come so we can figure out WHY, what they want exactly.”
She was right.
“What about your other patient?” Audra asked sarcastically.
“He is stable, stitched, and if we can keep him
off his legs, they should heal properly.”
“Have you tried the antidote on him?”
“Wait!” yelled out Tranter. “You have one of those here?”
“Yes, he’s our prisoner,” replied Audra calmly. She was not about to listen to their opinion on prisoners if they weren’t going to be a part of any defense.
“The cure?” she asked again.
“No. I want him to heal before we do that.”
Audra wasn’t surprised. She needed answers and Satomi wanted a patient. She needed Satomi on her side, though. When they returned, she’d argue her point again. For now, she let it go.
“Ziv?” Audra asked for his company.
“Really? Do you need me?” His face contorted. His bushy eyebrows pressed together in concern. He pulled at his beard while he waited for an answer.
“Yes, I need your scientific expertise to help us figure out what we’re up against.” Audra didn’t want him here, hiding.
“You’re up against maniacs,” he proposed.
She also didn’t want him here, spreading lies and rumors to justify his fears.
“Maybe. That’s why you’re coming with. You’ll help us understand.” Audra wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.
Ziv seemed to understand and conceded. Audra wasn’t outright disagreeing with him. He would go along.
Thankfully, no one wanted to argue about the keeping of the prisoner, and they had their scouting group formed. Audra stepped down from the fountain, signaling they were dismissed. The men and women left to tend to their children and watch for signs of infection in those who had fought.
Audra and the others disappeared to gather their belongings, which were no longer neatly packed every morning, but daringly left out in their rooms with the promise that they would be back that same evening. It was a weird feeling, and now it was over. Audra knew they wouldn’t be the only ones packing at Osprey Point. Everyone would be getting ready to bolt, packing their bug-out bags just in case Audra’s crew came back with bad news or didn’t come back at all.
Audra didn’t blame them.
* * *
With the group packed, they trekked to where Audra had found the first half zom, then continued down one of Audra’s forest trails. The dirt was soft and dry, and showed the traffic that had come through.
Once again, Ziv had packed too much. She watched him juggle his bag from left to right shoulder in attempts to stay comfortable. Satomi overtook him with her slim bag. Audra gave Ziv a small pat on his shoulder but did not stay for the complaint as she also passed him. As she did, she caught the metal scent of blood still on her. She had washed up, but certain movements still kicked up the scent and with her senses in overdrive, she noticed each time.
She pulled up alongside Satomi and touched her elbow. Satomi gave a weak smile with her bottom lip. The corners of her top lip were carried up rather than smiling themselves. In the women’s last few interactions, Satomi had been a pain in Audra’s backside, but she knew she had good intentions. She was glad and concerned Satomi had volunteered to come.
“Lay it on me, Satomi. Are you coming to seek revenge?”
“No... I can’t as a doctor.”
“Um, yes. You can.” Audra didn’t see what her profession had to do with her motives and actions. In fact, she could think of plenty of ways a doctor could get revenge.
“You see. I took an oath. ‘First, do no harm’. I take it seriously. It’s my mission statement, I guess.”
Audra’s eyebrows rose in doubt. “You can’t just not do any harm. How do you protect the ones you love?” She thought of Ryder. Surely, Satomi would harm for her.
“I protect my loved ones by taking care of them, not by killing.”
Audra wasn’t sure if Satomi’s mission statement could hold up. Someone had to fight to make things better. She had fought an army just an hour ago. Jack and Jill needed to be cut down. Larange Greenly needed to be cut down. That was how they protected their loved ones.
“Then why are you coming?”
“Their need for science work and medical care is going to be their undoing. It will be important for us to know.”
At least they agreed on one thing.
Jack and Jill did seem to want something specific. Audra imagined they didn’t need much of what else their small community had, but medical care and scientists were hard to come by.
Audra noticed the shuffling footprints had veered off the road, and pulled left away from Satomi. The zoms had gone off the path. Broken branches and kicked-up leaf litter met Audra’s keen eyes. They either hadn’t been taught or hadn’t been commanded to hide their tracks. The others fell in behind her, trying to weed their way through the leafless woody plants that tangled and pulled.
Audra’s heel was clipped a couple of times, but not by vines. Dwyn was tight on her heels, following like an overenthusiastic puppy. He asked her tons of questions about tracking - half of which she swore she had taught him before. Audra imagined he was happy to have a chance to talk to her. At least it wasn’t romantic advances.
“Do you think Jack and Jill are a couple?”
Or, maybe it was.
“Why, do you want to date her or him?” shrugged off Audra, pretending she was focused on a particular muddy smudge.
“No... no... I don’t think so. I just wondered. They seem to be some sort of pair.” He paused behind her to check out what was so special about the smudge.
“They’re at least a Jack & Jill.”
“A who?” he asked, leaping to catch up to her.
Audra shook her head. She wasn’t going to explain.
She heard a grunt from behind her. It sounded like a zom. She turned her head. No, it was just Ziv. At the back of the pack, trailing along, and of course, grumbling.
“Why don’t you come up here as a mating call?” she called out over her shoulder.
“What?”
Audra shook her head. She wasn’t going to explain.
In fact, she shouldn’t have said either of those things. The snark was overflowing without much filter. And she knew why. Because she had failed them. And she’d rather point out their weaknesses than sit with her own.
Audra had known they were out there. Not Jack and Jill specifically, but that evil, wicked groups could march through and destroy everything they loved. She should have prepared them more. They were so focused on a cure, they had forgotten the uninfected could be the real problem now.
A small hand touched her shoulder. It was Satomi’s. She didn’t say anything. Audra appreciated the gesture, but felt crowded with the two, Dwyn and Satomi, on her heels.
“I’m going to run on ahead. Just a bit. Get a head start on this trail.”
Audra was anxious to see what lay at the end of it. There had to be a reason they had gone off the easy track. Perhaps just the direct route. What did they care about some cuts and scrapes?
“I’ll go with you,” said the ever-present Dwyn.
“No, you stay here with these two. Practice the tracking I’ve taught you so far to track me. I won’t be far. I’ll double back if things get wacky.”
She looked ahead where the sun glittered and the wind danced through the trees. She scanned the roots uncovered by low-clearance feet. And with that she kicked the two off her backside and wandered deeper into the woods.
Alone.
Where she belonged.
Chapter Eight:
The Convoy
Audra continued to track the zombies through the woods, but she realized they were nearing I-16, the highway which emptied into Savannah. Audra had run miles and miles on these grounds, but hadn’t realized they could be such a straight-shot from the highway. It wasn’t exactly a marked exit.
She kept a steady pace, giving Dwyn markers to follow until she saw light from the clearing ahead. She attempted to pause at the forest line that delineated the highway, but found the line had blurred since she had last come through. The forest had crept and crawled onto the r
oads. Cars in the median had been swallowed up with weeds. Only vehicles firmly on the expressway were not being attacked by greenery. That wouldn’t be the case in a few more years’ time.
On the nearest side of the highway, the two lanes of cars had been cleared out of the way, haphazardly, but cleared nonetheless. Like a parting of the rusted sedan sea, the cars in both lanes angled outward as if someone had driven through the middle. Some were just pushed to the side, while others had wheels and axles broken. Glass and plastic scattered the cracked asphalt where weeds shot through and flourished. Audra dared to get behind a sedan and peeked her head down the line. The parting was far, but she could see something a mile or two down the road, something that was now taking up the middle spot. A convoy of sorts.
Jack and Jill had told the truth. They were not local. They were traveling, and thus, hopefully, not many in number. Numbers settled, made homes, farmed; small groups traveled, camped, and scavenged. Here their enemies were set up on I-16. Audra eyed the ragged forest line and the broken cars strewn in the ditches. There was plenty of cover for her to reach them and spy on their operations.
Audra turned and headed back to her scouting group. She shouldn’t run off without them. If they found the highway, they might not be discreet in following the convoy. They’d need to do it together. At least this was something to give them, after her failure hours ago. She had found their resting spot. They’d figure out how to stop them and Jack and Jill would die and rot on I-16, just like everything else, until the brush consumed them.
* * *
Audra was now happy to have the crew on her heels. She needed them to be nearby and quiet. Ziv pulled up close to her. He kept yanking on his beard nervously. Satomi and Dwyn walked in a pair behind him. Only the odd zombie in otherwise abandoned cars took notice of them. The zoms slammed up against gray smears on the windows, leaving further marks, their eyes dark and sometimes a yellow piece of plastic flashing from their ear. Tags. Tags from a bygone era when Audra thought that Lysent cared for the sick and would come scoop them up as soon as the cure became more abundant. How naive she had been.
