The Jakarta Pandemic

by Steven Konkoly

  “You should move that into your garage or basement. How much do you guys have?”

  “I had a half a cord left from last year, and I just had them deliver another cord in September, which we probably don’t need. We just never seem to get around to making a fire. Damn, I really don’t want to move the wood into the garage. That’ll be a massive pain in the ass.”

  “I know. I still have another cord or so to go. Pain in the balls for sure. Still, I wouldn’t leave it outside. Not if this thing takes a turn for the worse,” Alex cautioned.

  “You’re probably right,” Ed said.

  “Every once in a while I’m right.”

  “Not according to Kate. Anyway, we should be good. We grabbed plenty of groceries for the next couple of weeks. We should be fine.”

  Alex looked at Ed. “If you guys need anything, let me know. Seriously. Food, medical supplies, whatever. I don’t think we’re gonna have the luxury of running out to the stores for very long.”

  “Thanks, Alex. It definitely makes me feel more secure about this whole thing. I just hope it all blows over.”

  “You and me both,” Alex replied.

  “Hey, I gotta get these kids settled in the house.”

  “Have a good one, Ed.”

  “You too.”

  Alex walked up to the mailbox and opened the door, pulling out a handful of assorted mail: two magazines, bills, maybe a birthday invitation for one of the kids, advertisements. He looked at the mail and wondered exactly who, beyond their postal carrier, had touched these items. Mail from several different parts of the country, each piece touched by at least a half dozen different people. Finally, the postal carrier, who handled every piece of mail in the Fletchers’ mailbox, opened the mailbox door, and lowered the orange delivery flag. Dozens of points of contact. All of this now transferred onto Alex’s hands, as he closed the door and walked back to the house with the mail.

  He decided that from this point forward, they’d wear gloves when they collected the mail and then sort it in the garage, leaving it there for a few more days to make sure it was safe.

  We’ll get that going tomorrow.

  He walked into the house, straining not to touch his face, which for some reason was nearly impossible to resist.

  Like the urge to throw your keys over the side of a bridge. Ridiculous.

  He washed his hands thoroughly in the mudroom and then laughed quietly to himself. “Now I’m going to open the contaminated mail,” he whispered.

  This is going to drive me crazy.

  Then he thought about the doorknobs, garage door button, and faucet handles, that in theory, he just contaminated on his way in.

  In addition to the bench in the mudroom where the mail is sitting.

  He grabbed the mail and walked into the kitchen to see what Kate was preparing for dinner.

  **

  Alex picked up the phone in his office and started dialing his brother’s cell phone.

  He did the math in his head. Mountain Time, so it’s 7:01. He’s probably still driving home from Denver. He stopped dialing and hung up the phone. He dreaded calling Daniel. All right, here we go. He dialed the number.

  “Alex! How’s it going out there in Maine,” his brother yelled into the phone.

  “Excellent, aside from all of this pandemic nonsense.”

  “Yeah, it’s been crazy all around the country. Karla picked up some pizza on the way home from work. Maurizio’s had a three hour estimated delivery time. Can you friggin’ believe that?”

  “I can. I saw—”

  “Your business must be booming! Anti-virals. Merck stock should be through the roof,” he interrupted.

  You mean Biosphere stock.

  “You know, I haven’t even checked,” Alex said.

  “You’ll probably be able to retire early with all of those stock options. Hell, I’m thinking about taking those TerraFlu samples you gave us and selling them on Ebay. Make a fortune.”

  “That may not be such a good idea. You could be trying to buy those back in a few weeks, for a much higher price,” Alex said.

  “You don’t really think this thing is going to be a big deal?”

  Here he goes.

  “Actually, that’s why I’m calling.”

  “I know, I know. Mom called me earlier today, and they’re thinking about a trip out East to see Ryan and Emily. Frankly, I think you guys are scaring the hell out of Mom and Dad for no reason, and you need to ease off the drama. They can plan a trip out to see you guys in a month or two.”

  “It’ll probably be too late by then,” Alex said flatly.

  “Like with the swine flu last year? What a bust, man. Christ! When did you guys become so paranoid? Mom thinks you came back from the war all paranoid. I told her you were always a sweat about things.”

  “Thanks for the Dr. Phil moment.”

  “Just telling it like it is,” Daniel said.

  “As always. Anyway, we’re just taking precautions here. It’s all pretty reasonable given the world situation.”

  “I don’t know who got to you guys, but I watched a senior official at DHS tell the American people that our borders were secure, and that they were several steps ahead of the flu. I’m really not worried about this one, and I don’t see any reason for you to try and scare Mom and Dad into jumping ship.”

  Alex could feel his anger rising. “Well, I’m going to keep pressing them, so I suggest you guys figure something out for daycare. It sounds like Mom is seriously considering the trip, and you’re the only one holding her back. If you guys aren’t taking this seriously, then at least let Mom and Dad make their own decision. And all of you over there need to watch something other than SPOT news.”

  “Hey, if we listened to NPR and read the New York Times like you guys, we’d be wasting our money on solar panels, too,” Daniel said, muffling a laugh.

  “Funny. Hey, you guys are all welcome to make the trip. Just don’t wait too long. Do yourselves a favor and acquire some supplies, too. Lots of food, medical supplies, anything you can buy up. Seriously, it’ll make a big difference. Just take one small leap of faith, that’s all.”

  “We’ll keep it in mind. Mom said that Dad got a whole bunch of groceries this morning, so we can always ride it out at their house until they get the stores up and running again. Karla saw a local news spot with one of Colorado Springs’ biggest food distributors, and they planned to empty the warehouses tonight and tomorrow to keep the stores full. Mom’s coming over in the morning, so Karla can hit the stores early.”

  Sounds like a load of bullshit.

  Alex didn’t believe any of it. He’d be shocked if Karla actually made it to the store. Even if she did make it past the nearest coffee shop and actually into a grocery store, she wouldn’t know what to buy. He knew their mother did most of the grocery shopping for Daniel’s family, and that most meals at his brother’s house were take-out in front of the TV. They were too busy to cook, let alone make a meal plan. He really needed to get his parents out of there. He suddenly had a different idea.

  “Hey, Danny, what if Mom and Dad brought your kids out for the visit? All of the cousins could hang out. Mom and Dad can dote over all four of them at once, and you guys wouldn’t have to worry about daycare.”

  “I’ll run that by Karla. Hey, that’s her texting me now. ‘Where are you? We’re hungry.’ Jesus, she can’t wait another twenty minutes? I gotta let you go. Talk to you later.”

  The call was abruptly disconnected. He figured that Karla would oppose the idea, knowing exactly what she thought about the pandemic stuff. She thought it was asinine and made no attempt to camouflage her opinion. Alex thought about his nephews, Ethan and Kevin, and how their parents’ egos would put them in severe danger.

  I really hope Dan sends those kids over.

  Alex pulled his chair up to the desk and jarred the computer out of standby, activating the screen and filling the room with bluish light. The screen was bright in contrast to the room,
so he turned on the desk lamp to soften the glow of the screen.

  He checked the ISPAC website and found a video transcript of the press conference he’d missed earlier. He started a section labeled “H16N1 Behavioral Timeline,” and his web browser’s video player began to play, showing a man dressed in a gray business suit standing behind a black podium. Two large, wall-mounted screens flanked the man and the screen to his left featured both ISPAC and CDC logos, side by side. A banner at the bottom of the screen identified him as Dr. Joshua Relstein, CDC assistant director.

  “So at this point, here is what we know about H16N1. As data pours in from around the world, it is clear that this flu is spreading, and spreading fast. Further testing and observation confirms that H16N1 is super contagious. Sounds like a very non-scientific term, but I don’t know any other way to put it. Upon infecting a host, H16N1 starts shedding virus in less than one day. This is the shortest latent period I have ever seen among known flu strains, and I wish the bad news ended there. The shedding is also on a level we have never witnessed with known flu strains. H16N1 appears to be hell-bent on spreading. It can survive on porous and nonporous surfaces longer than we originally calculated and is easily spread by direct and indirect contact. You do not want to sit next to someone on the bus who has this disease. More accurately, you don’t even want to be on the same bus as this person.

  “So, let’s take another look at the basic timeline,” he said, shooting a laser pointer at the timeline on the screen.

  “The latent period lasts under one day, and this is the only time that the patient is not infectious. Once the disease starts shedding, the patient enters the infectious period. Remember, the patient at this point is still asymptomatic and spreading the disease like wildfire. At some point within four to six days of first infection, the patient enters the symptomatic period. They are still highly infectious during this period and may remain infectious for another six to ten days after first symptoms. Like H5N1, children can remain infectious for nearly a week longer than adults. Most of the ARDS deaths occur within a few days of first showing symptoms.

  “Yesterday, I estimated that ARDS deaths accounted for one out of five total deaths. Today, we are revising the estimate to one out of three. H16N1, like the Spanish flu and avian flu, seems to trigger an autoimmune cascade in a high percentage of healthy young adults. It’s a cruel irony, that this syndrome specifically targets a cross-section of society with the healthiest immune system. We are constantly analyzing this data and revising our projections, but honestly, I thought this number would decrease, not increase. We are still in the very early stages of the pandemic, and ARDS deaths will dominate the death tolls for at least another few weeks. I don’t expect the ratio to go much lower than one to three.

  “As for deaths due to pulmonary or secondary complications, like diabetes or heart disease, these are seen starting from four days after first symptoms and are expected to continue for months. Obviously, these cases will dominate the death tolls, especially as time increases. Generally, the early deaths occur in younger and older patients, or patients with vulnerable secondary complications. Of course, a patient’s prognosis varies significantly based upon the level and duration of care available.

  “Before I turn this back over to Dr. Devreaux, I want to emphasize again that H16N1 has several characteristics that make it a unique and deadly pandemic flu. It is highly contagious and demonstrates a longer than normal asymptomatic period, which presents a challenge to traditional health screening methods. This must be addressed by our government immediately. Strict quarantine and social distancing strategies will be critical to mitigating the spread of this disease.”

  “This is not good," he mumbled. He put the computer on standby and set his wristwatch alarm for 5:45 a.m. On the way to the master bedroom, he stopped by both of the kids’ rooms to check on them; both kids were buried in their blankets. One of Ryan’s windows was open about six inches, and his room was chilly. Like his dad, Ryan liked his room to be cold at night. Alex quietly closed it.

  He found his way to the master bedroom in the dark, took off his sweatshirt and then his watch. He threw the sweatshirt on the floor next to his side of the bed and placed the watch on the nightstand. He climbed into bed and pressed up against Kate’s warm body, holding her tightly and kissing her gently on the cheek. Although deeply asleep, Kate responded to his embrace by burrowing herself deeper into his hold. He started drifting off to sleep when suddenly his whole body twitched. He was alert, briefly, until his mind settled again, and his body was carried away into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tuesday, November 5, 2013

  Alex led the last stretch of the run down Harrison Road, keeping a quick pace for the last half mile of the run. The beach loop already carried them five miles, emptying onto Higgins Beach about halfway through their run. Alex loved this route, especially breaking out into the fresh ocean air. Occasionally, when the winds were off the ocean and conditions were just perfect, the same unmistakable traces of salt air filled their neighborhood.

  He let Ryan lead the first half of the run, which Ryan paced at what Alex considered to be an unsustainable speed. Not for him, but for his son. Despite young legs and seemingly boundless energy, Alex was pretty sure that the middle school cross-country team’s practice runs didn’t exceed four miles. Five at the most, and only occasionally. He figured that Ryan would hit a brick wall early at this pace, so he took over the lead and slowed them down a notch. He hadn’t heard any complaints.

  He glanced back at Ryan and saw that he was upright and running strong. His mind began to wander as he passed a huge neighborhood development to his left, which only a few years ago was abandoned farmland.

  Alex looked back again. Still looks strong. He decided they were close enough for him to pick up the pace. Only about a quarter of a mile, with a nasty little hill right before the turn into Durham Road.

  He yelled back to Ryan, “Ready to pick it up for the hill?”

  “Let’s do it,” his son yelled back.

  Alex quickened the pace and lengthened his stride. He immediately felt the impact on his body’s oxygen needs as he labored up the hill. The increased pace felt good, almost purifying, though he was glad that the burst of speed would come to an end within a few minutes. He could already see the turn onto Durham Road. Only a short, brutal hill stood in their way. They both hit the hill, and he felt his legs start to burn. His son was keeping pace behind, with a similarly anguished look on his face. Alex’s heart was thumping as he reached the top of the hill, and they both turned onto Durham Road. Ryan ran up beside him, and they both slowed the pace down to a jog.

  “Let’s loop around a few times for a warm down,” he grunted to Ryan.

  “Sounds good to me, Dad,” he replied, sounding a lot less worn down than Alex.

  His heart rate slowed down as they approached the fork in Durham Road, where he planned to lead them to the left. He glanced down the right side of the fork, toward their house, seeing two cars in the driveway, both Foresters. His garage bay door was open, and the Forester directly in front of the bay was red, which led him to believe the car was his own company car, but he couldn’t see far enough into the garage to be completely sure. The Forester parked behind his car was black. Alex picked up the pace again and turned right, toward his house.

  “What’s up, Dad?” Ryan asked, pulling up to him.

  “I don’t know, but…hey, when we get home, I want you to stay clear of anyone you don’t recognize there. All right?” he said, hauling past the Perry’s house, still two houses away from his own.

  “Okay. What’s going on?” his son asked, keeping pace.

  “I’m not sure, but this could be my boss, and he’s an asshole, so just stay in the backyard. Okay?”

  “Yep.”

  Alex suddenly slowed down to a walk right in front of the Walkers’, wanting to slow his heart rate before he ran into Ted. If it’s Ted. Just as he finished this thought, he
heard the unmistakable sound of his wife yelling. She sounded frantic. Alex sprinted ahead, yelling back to Ryan.

  “Backyard!” he yelled over his shoulder.

  Alex ran between the two cars, noticing Massachusetts plates on the black Forester.

  “Get the fuck out of here, right now! Don’t you touch me!”

  He heard his wife clearly as he passed between the cars and rushed up to the mudroom door. A large man dressed in tight khaki pants and an even tighter blue polo shirt moved from inside the mudroom to block the door. The man’s biceps strained against the armholes of his shirt. Despite the smart outfit, Alex immediately categorized him as hired muscle.

  Ted. I’ll kill him.

  His wife continued to verbally assault someone deeper inside the house as he walked briskly toward the door. The man in the doorway looked alarmed.

  “I think he’s here,” the man yelled back into the house.

  “Stay right there, everything is fine,” he said, pointing at Alex.

  He was still breathing heavily from the run, sweat pouring from his face, and wished that this encounter had occurred under different circumstances. He knew that he was running on pure adrenaline, and that it would soon run out.

  “Alex! Get these assholes out of our house,” Kate yelled from the kitchen.

  He suppressed his fury, and the urge to charge through the guy at the door. He decided to try a different strategy.

  I just need to get into the house.

  “Hi, I’m Alex,” he said, closing the distance with his hand out.

  “Jeff,” the man responded, shaking his hand with a bewildered look.

  Alex purposely gave him an excessively firm handshake and backed up a few feet, folding his hands in front to assume a non-threatening posture.