by Hamrick, R M
“He cut it. We cleaned it up and stitched it up, but it’s infected.”
“It’s more than infected. Something’s in there. It’ll have to be removed and the infectious material cleared before he has a chance.”
“Don’t tell us what needs to be done. Do it,” said the man. He opened the back of the van to reveal an array of medical supplies. Satomi’s eyes brushed over the inventory as the light allowed. At first glance, they had an abundance, but she realized amounts were sporadic and disproportionate to priority - the result of scavenging. How much would they be willing to part with?
She grabbed a blade, forceps, four by four gauze, a stitching kit, and a bottle of Betadine.
“Do you have any anesthetic?” she asked, looking over their shelves.
“They don’t feel pain,” the man said, arms crossed tightly.
Her patient’s grimace said otherwise.
“The shock could kill him,” Satomi tried.
“We don’t waste anesthetic on the dead.” He was unmoved.
The dead? Satomi rounded on the guard.
“HE’S NOT DEAD! If he was dead then having a doctor would be worthless!”
The man was not fazed. “Whatever. Either do something about it or don’t.”
Satomi looked back at the ‘dead.’” They saw a disposable soldier. She saw sickness covering grief, pain, and confusion. She would help. Of course, she would help.
“These instruments need to be sterilized,” she said as she set them down with the lantern on the foldout table Eli had positioned by the stretcher.
“They’re clean,” said the dark-haired man with a tone that said he didn’t care, not that he knew.
Satomi shook her head and grunted her disapproval.
He added, “Do you see a hospital around here? This will have to do.”
Eli had not contributed to either side of the argument.
“It doesn’t have to do. At least get me a flame. We’ll sterilize that way.”
It was his turn to make noises of disagreement.
“Start another car fire for all I care,” said Satomi. The woman flashed involuntarily in her mind’s eye. “I’m not introducing more bacteria into this leg. While you do that, I’ll prep the leg. Do you have any narcotics?”
“Not for the dead.”
Satomi shook her head and began to prep the leg. The light was barely sufficient. It seemed the deep woods soaked it up. No narcotics. No anesthesia.
It was going to be a long night.
Chapter Twelve:
New Light
Audra had wanted to arrive at Osprey Point as quickly as possible, but with the cloistered community in her sight she hesitated. She had promised answers and instead she had lost their doctor and her friend. She had awakened them, brought them here, and now she was failing them. Would they stay and help her or would they scatter like cockroaches in the light of their new enemy?
They slid the gate just barely so Audra and her team could slip in, no longer generous with the opening into their community. The metal sheeting had been rinsed but small tufts of hair clung onto the edging. Dried blood had turned rusty brown in little crevices. Little indents marked the metal. The gate had seen battle.
Audra wasn’t sure what system of communication had been put in place, but they seemed to assemble as soon as she stepped inside. No chance to put off what she didn’t want to share. She walked up to the defunct fountain. A thin pyramid made up the height of the statue, atop which was a large ring and a swooping bird. For the first time, Audra realized that the eagle-looking bird with the impressive wingspan was probably an osprey. The empty pool underneath had muddy concrete and brass metal nozzles protruding from its surface. Audra sat on the smooth tan-orange limestone wall, tired from their fighting, scouting, and retreating.
A woman in a long ponytail offered her some water, but Audra waved her off. Yes, she did need food and water, but she would wait. This was more important.
“Where’s Satomi? What happened?” asked Jia, the woman from the medical office. She pulled at her curls in worry. They straightened then sprang back up.
“We came across a man asking for help. He ended up being bait for an ambush. They took Satomi.”
“Well, maybe they’ll leave us alone now,” suggested Tranter. “That’s what they wanted, right?” The skin around his eyes wrinkled.
There were some nods of agreement from the crowd and only a few looks of concern. Audra balked. These saved survivors were so ready to give up on one another.
Audra stood up. She pulled her tired body onto the limestone wall to make her point. “I won’t leave anyone to those people, least of all, Satomi. We need her here and she needs us.”
“Maybe we can contact Lysent,” said another, standing near the mess hall. “Make a deal with them and get under their protection.”
Several more nods filled the community. Most of these survivors hadn’t had personal experience with Lysent.
“Let’s not get carried away,” suggested Audra, who was ready to toss them all out on their asses. “Lysent kept the cure from you. They’d have you still wandering the woods to be captured by this Jack and Jill for their army. None of them care about your survival.”
“And you do?” asked Tranter. “Honestly, I think your personal grudge against Greenly is keeping us from good food and security.” Tranter was apparently the voice of bubbling dissent. He leaned against the laboratory front as if he was part of the assembled leadership.
“If you think I need to step down, I’m all damn for it. I don’t want to lead a group that hides while their leader fights, and abandons the doctor that cares for their every need.
“Get the F out of here if you only care about your own skin. Trade your first born to Lysent or enlist as a half zom. Why should I -”
Audra felt Dwyn’s hand on her arm. Tranter had struck a nerve. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and she’d just handed the enemy what he wanted. And maybe she did have a grudge. Audra sank at the thought that she did not have Osprey Point’s best interest at heart. Didn’t she?
She took a deep breath. “Let’s just go over our options before we run to Lysent. The cost may be more than we’ve considered.”
Could she swallow her pride and allow Greenly to be her solution to her Jack and Jill problem? Lysent could be the thorn they needed in Jack’s and Jill’s side.
Audra stepped down from the short wall and let the crowd disperse. She had no answers for them. Her shoulders pulled on her neck into a giant ball of tension in her chest. Audra made her way to the mess hall. She needed food in her belly, then to find her bed before she collapsed in the plaza.
“Audra?” came Ziv’s voice.
It was only then she realized Ziv hadn’t been the antagonizing voice in the crowd. The fact that he wanted to speak with her privately surprised her, but it didn’t make his complaints less tiring. She missed his march back in fearful silence.
“I think we can neutralize the army,” he offered quietly.
Immediately Audra was all ears. Hell yes. She looked around to see if anyone was listening. She didn’t want their opinions at this point. She knew what they wanted - to run into the arms of anyone who promised safety.
“How? What’s your new plan?” she asked, pulling him to the side by the laboratory. Its stucco walls held onto green grime and dirt.
“Actually, it’s an old plan. Vesna’s plan.”
“Aerosolizing the cure? I thought that didn’t work.”
“We stopped trying when Vesna died. We’re more familiar with modifying the cure now.
“I’m sorry, I know I’ve failed before. Vesna died, your sister died, because I couldn’t figure it out.”
“It’s not your fault, Ziv.” She placed a hand on his shoulder.
Ziv stared at the ground, evidently not comforted.
She tried again. “Aerosolizing wasn’t the solution then. And the cure wasn’t the solution for my sister. Redirects happen. They aren’t
failures.”
Ziv met her eyes. Audra had never spoken to him about her sister’s death. “Aerosolizing could be the solution to these half zoms, but what do you think Jack and Jill will do with the people afterwards?”
It was a moot point. Audra would set Lysent on Jack and Jill. Lysent would win, but wouldn’t gain anything but a bunch of cured zoms. Ziv’s plan was just what she needed.
“We can only give them the opportunity to fight back,” she lied. “Can you start on this first thing tomorrow?”
“Sure. It shouldn’t take me too long.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “I only have to half-cure them, right?”
Audra leaned against the lab for support as she laughed through her exhaustion. He wandered off, letting her be.
With Ziv working on leveling the playing field, Audra just needed to find a way in, a reason to speak with - and distract - that king and queen pair.
Chapter Thirteen:
Earl Grey
Time scrambled by as Satomi worked and came to a painful and frightening halt when her work was done. During the day, she studied Dr. Bren’s notes and pretended to work on the serum. At first, she couldn’t make heads or tails of Bren’s lab notes, but when she accounted for the idea that these notes did not start post-outbreak, but instead began before, she was able to sort the years of notebooks.
Dr. Bren had worked for Lysent.
Not the Georgia division, but wherever she was from. Lysent was a global company, and to think that their branch was the only one who had been given cures for safekeeping was limited thinking indeed.
There were notes on the virus, modifications for the cure, the soldier serum, and some other serum. The formula for the soldier serum looked straightforward, but Satomi would not be following it. Satomi also couldn’t figure out why Dr. Bren, who was possibly involved in the pandemic itself, had decided to stop cooperating and landed herself in that burning car.
Satomi was trying her best to stay out of the car herself. Jack and Jill realized the benefit of keeping their current ‘stock’ healthy, and the list of untreated injuries was long. She spent her nights treating the soldiers. In between her shifts, she was allowed a couple of hours’ rest and a small meal of scavenged or stolen food, Satomi was not sure which.
On the second night, she had received a thin blanket. She was undecided whether it best served as a pillow, a buffer from the plastic, or as a layer of privacy as she rested. She ached. She ached so much. She didn’t understand how Audra and the others had survived sleeping away from civilization for so long. Although she imagined that if they chose to sleep in cars, they did so in ones with upholstered seating. She refused to complain. Hostile interactions, bad sleep, and crappy food were on par for medical providers.
Finally, time to walk back to the laboratory. In just a few days, she had learned their routine, route, and the purpose of all but a few vehicles. The one they passed now, she assumed to be Jack’s and Jill’s residence. In the back, the metal doors had been sealed shut. Instead, a real wooden door, a window, and a stoop had been installed, like on a real house. Today, the curtains in the window fluttered and the door opened.
“Pleasure meeting you out here today!” said an older man as he stumbled on the height of the stairs. He straightened up and smoothed the wrinkles from his tartan shirt. “How are the children?”
He greeted them as if Eli and she were married and they were all old family friends. His haircut and beard were neatly trimmed and his clothes were clean and pressed. He was like a time traveler. Satomi just stared.
Eli left her side and went to usher the man back into the trailer. “Sir, sir, you really need to go back inside. It’s probably time for tea. Did you leave the kettle on?”
“The kettle?” He glanced back at his home, but then rounded on Eli. “What’s it to you!”
“Nothing to me, Peter. Nothing. I’m sorry,” Eli apologized, obviously flustered. So, this was Peter, Jack’s and Jill’s father... and Eli was trying to keep him from her. Why?
“Hi!” Satomi said brightly, matching the man’s greeting.
“Hello, dear...” The man searched her face as if trying to remember her name.
“Satomi. It’s nice to meet you, Peter.” She came over and her hand rose to shake his. She trusted that Eli would let her advances slide rather than escalate the scene further. Peter shook her hand.
“The tea!” he shouted and without letting go of her hand, he pulled her toward the door. She gave Eli a sly smile and followed in. Eli looked clearly exasperated, but Peter’s comfort seemed to be the priority here, and she’d take advantage of it to learn more.
“Come in, come in. I’m sorry to say you’re late. I already put the tea away. But no worries, I can bring it out again. Just next time call if you’ll be late,” he said, backing up so she could get through the doorway.
He continued. “Will your husband be joining us?”
Satomi looked at her gruff guard, who did not advance from the stoop.
“No, I think he has some errands to do.”
“Oh ok,” he said, but seemed to notice that ‘the husband’ made no movement to go do said errands.
Satomi smiled. “Can I help you put on the tea?”
That seemed to bring him out of it and he welcomed her farther into the home. Satomi let out a small gasp.
“I know it’s a mess! I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting company,” he tittered as he wrung out his hands.
“No, it’s pristine. It’s so beautiful! What a lovely home!” She felt a pull to keep him happy too, even though she had just met him. But the truth was, it was pristine. The walls and ceiling were done in paneling, highlighted with exposed decorative beams, high windows, and skylights. A sitting area with a loveseat and table for four, a kitchenette, and a partitioned area of a presumed bedroom created a residence with anchored furniture. The whole place was decorated in white and pink roses. Embroidered pieces hung on the walls.
“White and pink. Laura’s favorite colors. I don’t care for them much, but I can’t stand to get rid of them now. It’s how I’ve lived, you know?”
“Of course.”
“I wouldn’t know what color to do it in. And the paint store is so confusing. I don’t even know what my favorite color is. Just that Laura’s were pink and white.”
“I think it looks wonderful. She did a good job,” Satomi whispered as she was led to the stove to help with tea.
Peter’s gray hair was thinned, and his skin had the papery characteristic of age, but he moved with confidence and agility.
“Do you get to go to the paint store much?” she ventured.
“What? No! Do you work there? Why are you here?” he turned on her with an angry look. Another episode. Dementia? Alzheimer’s? Satomi remained calm.
“Tea, remember? It’s me - Satomi - here to have tea with you. OK?” she asked for permission.
“OK. But don’t sell me any encyclopedias.”
For a moment Satomi thought it was a continued lapse, but he had a sly grin on his face. It was a joke. At least that one was.
They sat down with their dandelion tea next to a framed photograph that featured a young and happy Jack and Jill. Besides their blond hair, their plaid shirts matched.
“Jack and Jill?” she asked, pointing to the photo.
“No, no - Peter and Evelyn. My babies. That’s their senior photo. Inseparable those two are. You’d think they’re twins.”
She did think they were twins. They looked close in age. And it was both their senior photos?
“They graduated at the same time?”
“Yeah, Peter got held back a year. Although if you ask me, they just wanted to be together. Perfect grades ever since. They’re in college now. Learning medical stuff. Doctors, I think. I’m so proud of them.”
“I’m sure you are,” Satomi whispered.
This pink and white home revealed a softer side to the siblings. After another few minutes, she ventured again.
“I suspected as much. Otherwise there are a lot of earthquakes.” He laughed.
Satomi laughed too.
“Do you know where you’re going?”
“Everyone moves these days. We’re just a-moving.”
“Thank you for my tea. Dandelion is my favorite.”
“Good for you. Mine is Earl Grey. Not available in the stores nowadays, I guess. Global warming or some shit.”
“Something like that,” she said. “If I find any Earl Grey, I’ll bring it by for you. It’s been a pleasure having tea with you. I’m Satomi. What’s your name?” she tested him.
“You don’t know my name? Why…it’s…” his face crinkled. “What’s it to you anyway?”
Unable to recall information on command, and anger to hide it, typical of Alzheimer’s.
“It’s OK,” she said. “Thank you for the tea,” she repeated.
“It’s not OK. Get out of here!” he yelled with a large start, knocking over some silverware and upturning an empty cup. It chipped on the side.
“See what you made me do! Get out!” he yelled again.
Satomi did not need to hear it a third time. She had overstayed her welcome. Before she reached the door, his demeanor had changed again.
“Have you seen my wife?” he asked sweetly. “Please let her know to come back. I just need her to come back. It will all be OK as soon as she does. I just need her to come back.” He muttered over and over.
Satomi’s eyes watered, not sure if him thinking his wife left him was better or worse than the truth. Eli received her at the stoop.
“Happy?” he asked when the door closed, referring to her escapade.
“Is Jack’s real name Peter?”
“Jack is Jack.” The man huffed. He either did not know or was not going to tell her.
Eli continued escorting her to the laboratory. Satomi’s mind reeled. Satomi was a doctor, and she had just figured out how to benefit Jack and Jill without breaking her oaths.
