The Jakarta Pandemic

by Steven Konkoly

  All of their children had been closely intertwined since school was cancelled, and the McDaniel girls stayed among the Bartletts’ and Bishops’ for several days, nearly guaranteeing that the flu would be spread. Sarah asked about Jamie’s girls, and Stephanie said that Katherine was still sick, but didn’t seem to be getting any worse, and that Amanda had no symptoms at all. After delivering drugs to both the Bartletts and Bishops, Sarah was left with only four remaining treatments. Two of those went to the Greens, and the remaining two to the Burtons, who each reported two possible cases of the flu in their households.

  Within the span of a week and a half, all of the anti-virals were gone, and as far as Alex knew, the only remaining anti-virals in the neighborhood sat in his basement and somewhere within Ed’s house. Alex had given Ed enough for his family nearly a year ago.

  Sarah heard from Jennifer McCarthy that Ken Hayes might be sick. Michelle stopped sending her kids over to the McCarthys’ on the same day that Jennifer McCarthy called Sarah to ask for anti-virals. She told Jennifer that they had decided to stay home from work for a few weeks, and that nearly everyone in her husband’s office was sick. Jennifer wondered if one of the Hayes’ kids had brought the virus into their house. He highlighted Ken Hayes on the chart.

  The last piece of news from Ed hit Alex the hardest because he knew it meant trouble. Todd Perry’s wife was sick and had been refused treatment at Maine Medical Center. She was given a basic home treatment kit, with no prescription medications, only basic pain and fever relief medications. Worse yet, she had brought her nine-year-old son, Michael, who was also suffering from escalating flu symptoms, and he received the same kit. Both of them were turned away without explanation. Alex expected a knock on his door at any time from Todd, right after he knocked on Sarah’s door to get some of the promised anti-virals, only to be told that Alex’s original promise of twenty courses had materialized as thirteen.

  He ensured that all of the highlights on the diagram were up to date and then folded the poster board in half. He sat back on the couch and exhaled deeply.

  “Done with arts and crafts hour?” Kate quipped.

  “Pretty much. You want to check out the updates?”

  “Can you just summarize them for me?” she asked, continuing to focus on her book.

  “Annoying. Anyway, I saw James deliver two of his kids over to the McCarthys’ house about thirty minutes ago, then take off with his wife and one of the kids in the minivan.”

  Kate looked up from her book with a puzzled look. “Isn’t Jennifer McCarthy and at least one other person in that house sick?”

  “Based on my intel, I assume that’s the case.”

  “What is wrong with these people? Why would she send her kids over there? I saw Mary outside yesterday in the backyard playing with the dog. Why couldn’t she drive by herself?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she got worse and can’t drive. Either way, I’m surprised Jennifer agreed to watch the kids. None of it makes much sense.”

  “Oh, I had meant to ask you earlier, but I forgot. Did the Carters leave town? I haven’t seen anything going on at their house since last week, and Kelso hasn’t greeted me on any of my recent walks,” she said, sounding more disappointed about not seeing the dog than the Carters.

  “You mean Kelso hasn’t been rummaging around inside our house for the past few weeks?”

  “Yeah, well, that’s unusual too,” she responded.

  “I really don’t know, but I think you’re right. I circled their house on the board and put a big question mark next to it for the same reasons you mentioned. Ed hasn’t heard anything, so maybe they scooted out of town at night,” he surmised.

  “Well, if Ed doesn’t know, then nobody knows.” She lowered her eyes back to her book.

  “Maybe if I had an extra set of eyes on the neighborhood, we’d catch things like this.”

  “Nice try. Besides, you’re doing a fantastic job right now, and it’s keeping you busy. You should consider staking out another window, like maybe the one up in the attic. Hey, who knows what you might see from a higher vantage point? Didn’t they teach you that in the Marine Corps?”

  “Among other things. Like when someone was trying to get rid of you,” he said, picking up the poster board.

  “Was I that obvious?” Kate asked.

  “Oh no. Not at all.” He leaned over and kissed Kate on the forehead. “To the high ground,” he said and walked toward the stairs.

  **

  Alex emerged from the mudroom and set the phone down on the kitchen island. He walked over to the kitchen table and sat down without saying a word. Kate and the kids had already started to eat what had become a typical meal for the Fletchers since they’d exhausted most of their supply of perishable foods.

  On a dark blue placemat in the middle of the table sat a bowl of seasoned pinto beans next to a small sauce pan filled with watery green beans. An open pressure cooker filled with a mixture of brown rice and barley sat on a separate placemat next to the beans.

  The kids each had a glass of water in front of them, and a half-drained bottle of Syrah sat off to the side of the food. Alex served himself, still silent, as Kate eyed him nervously.

  “They can’t seem to resist calling us right before dinner,” she said.

  “Yeah,” he said, still not committing to a conversation. He saw her glance at the kids, who seemed oblivious to the tension.

  “How are your parents holding out?” she asked.

  Alex took a deep breath and feigned a smile, not wanting to upset the kids. “They’re doing fine I suppose. Plugging along like everyone else, but they claim to be healthy, which I believe considering the fact that if one of them gets even a splinter, I usually hear every detail,” he said, forcing more of a smile.

  Ryan did his best to generate a laugh, and even Emily muffled a snort, which let Alex know that the kids were better tuned in to his mood than he anticipated. Every time a call came into the house from a relative, the tension level rose significantly.

  “How about your brother?” Kate asked, and he quickly shook his head, hoping the kids didn’t see him do it.

  “Sounds like they’re doing fine, too,” he replied, staring at her with a serious face and shaking his head imperceptibly once again. He glanced at Emily and Ryan, who seemed too preoccupied with eating to have caught his wave off. Alex was amazed at how well they ate at meals, now that snacks were more or less a thing of the past. Two months ago, the two of them would have stared at this dinner in disbelief.

  Kate received his message and didn’t pursue any more questions. Alex had just found out from his parents that his brother Daniel was hospitalized with a mild concussion and advanced stage pneumonia. Apparently, Daniel had been spared acute respiratory distress syndrome, but had continued to drive to work over the course of the past few days, with worsening flu symptoms, until his co-workers forced him to leave the office at around eleven Tuesday morning. He had never made it home. At some point during the drive home, he had lost control of his Land Rover and plowed into a guard rail on Interstate 25, nearly jumping it. He was rushed to a hospital near Castle Rock, where he was treated for minor acute injuries and admitted to the ICU for flu-related pneumonia.

  That wasn’t the worst news. He had also learned that his nephew Ethan was sick with the flu. Alex thought about Daniel and about how he probably walked through the house, oblivious to the fact that he was getting sicker and sicker and that he was highly contagious with a killer flu.

  Gotta get to work, make the deals.

  Worse yet, Karla hadn’t been able to find the anti-virals he’d sent them a few years ago, so his parents were sacrificing theirs to give to both kids. He really wished his parents had taken him up on the offer to bring the kids out to Maine. He sat at the table thinking about how furious he was at his brother. They ate the rest of their meal in an awkward silence, punctuated by several unsuccessful attempts to jar Alex out of his gloomy mood.

  **

/>   Alex sat in his office scanning the Boston Globe website, focusing on a late-breaking story about riots breaking out in Dorchester and East Boston.

  “For the third day in a row, major food stores throughout the greater Boston metropolitan area have remained closed, blaming a supply chain failure that has affected most of northern New England. Food shipments have been erratic at best for the past week, stopping altogether in areas like Dorchester, Roxbury, East Boston and Jamaica Plain. Fires and looting broke out midday as residents in these beleaguered areas, already pressed for critical supplies, learned that food stores would not open for the third day in a row.”

  He skipped down further.

  “City and state officials have augmented National Guard and law enforcement presence in these areas, anticipating a worsening of the situation. One anonymous state official stated that the food and supply situation was not likely to improve, as absenteeism and flu rates continue to soar.

  “Several residents interviewed said that they would soon leave the Boston metropolitan area in search of less populated areas where the food supply chain was more stable, like the upper New England states.”

  Great. That’s the last thing we need up here.

  Kate walked into the office as he finished the article.

  “Did you see what’s happening in Boston?” she asked, walking up to him.

  “It won’t be long before people start to riot up here,” he said, swiveling the chair to face her.

  “I don’t think there are enough people in Maine for a riot of any type. You’ve seen the anti-whatever rallies in Monument Square. Fifteen, maybe twenty people, even on the weekend. The biggest riot we’ve ever had here had something to do with American Idol tickets several years back.”

  “That’s right. It was like the Cabbage Patch frenzy of the 80s all over again. Remember that? Moms and dads slugging it out for a place in line to get those stupid Idol tickets. And I thought fighting over dolls was crazy,” he said.

  “Hey, I’m sure Ethan will be fine,” Kate attempted to reassure him.

  “I hope so. I really do,” he said, grabbing her hands.

  “Hey, look at Jamie’s kids. They’re still sick, but they seem to be doing fine. They got anti-virals early and it made a big difference. The same thing will happen with our nephews.”

  “If Karla doesn’t steal them for herself. She’s planning to drive the kids north to stay in a hotel while Daniel recovers, so they can be close to him. Clueless. I bet Daniel asked her to come. What does she think they’re gonna eat while they’re in the hotel? Take-out pizza? Thai delivery? The woman is dumber than a box of rocks, and she’s going to drive them out there without enough gas to get back, just to watch Daniel expire. Gas delivery is already highly sporadic. Won’t be long before that’s gone too. I—”

  Alex stopped ranting and put both of his hands on his head, grabbing his thick black hair. “What is wrong with these people?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they don’t feel like they have a choice.”

  “Choice to do what?” he asked, exasperated.

  “To quit their jobs. To cash in their life savings to buy food. To stay away from their friends and family. We’ve been lucky so far. Nobody sick has appeared at our door with one of the dozens of golden tickets you’ve handed out.”

  “You handed a few out yourself,” he responded.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. But we haven’t been pressed by family or friends to compromise our quarantine. Would you be able to turn away your parents if they suddenly arrived at our steps? Sick?” she asked.

  “I don’t know how I’d handle it, but I can tell you one thing. They wouldn’t be sitting at the dinner table with our kids. I’d be applying every piece of information available to figure out the situation. The internet still works. It’s not like I paid anyone for this knowledge. You just type ‘home quarantine procedures’ and bingo. How about your parents? They’re still fine, right?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “I suppose. My brother, Liz and the girls are with them right now. They’re all still healthy. It sounds like my brother has been paying more attention to us than I thought. Mom said he showed up with all kinds of survival gear and has been pretty much running the show over there. She said that the food was tight, but they should be fine.

  “Claire still hasn’t shown up, which worries me more than anything. I tried to call her the other day, but the machine picked up at the house, and I got the voicemail on her cell phone. She won’t answer because she knows I’m going to try and talk her out of crashing at my parents’. She’ll push her way right into that house, sick or not, and try to take over. Luckily, Robbie has never taken any of her shit, so I’m hoping he’ll do what’s necessary to keep them all safe.”

  “I’m more concerned about Claire making the trip up here. She’s no dummy. I could see her bypassing your parents for a safer haven up in Scarborough. It’s only a nine-hour drive. One and a half tanks of gas, unless they bring the Suburban,” he said, smiling.

  “Thanks. Are you trying to sabotage my sleep tonight?” She squeezed his hands.

  “Well, I thought you might want to stay awake a little longer for some action,” he said, standing up from the chair.

  “Are the kids out?”

  “I haven’t heard a peep since about nine,” Alex said.

  Holding hands, Kate and Alex headed out of the office. The phone rang and he hesitated. 9:30 p.m. was a strange time for a phone call.

  “Don’t worry about it. Whoever it is can leave a message.”

  “Uh…hold on a second. I just want to see who it is,” he said, scurrying back into the office. The phone kept ringing.

  “Hey, this was your idea. If you’re not in the bed within five minutes, I’m not playing,” she warned.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be there,” he said, checking his watch.

  The caller ID read “Walker, Edward.” Alex picked up. “Hey, Ed. Make it fast, I’m about to get lucky.”

  “Well, I’m about to kill the mood. There’s going to be another neighborhood meeting tomorrow at Sarah Quinn’s house to discuss the matter of neighborhood security. Everyone is pretty worried about the rioting in Boston and the possible flow of refugees into Maine. Sarah heard that there was a group going around looking for armed volunteers to man a roadblock at the Piscataqua Bridge to keep people from fleeing up into Maine.”

  “That’s nothing new, Ed. Mainer’s have wanted to do that for decades. They tried to stop Kate and me when we drove out here from San Diego, but we just told them that we were here to do some shopping in Kittery and then to hit Bean’s.” Alex laughed.

  “They should have checked your ID a little closer and saved us all some trouble,” Ed said.

  “True. So what time does this little party start?”

  “Ten in the morning at the Quinns’.”

  “Are you going?”

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Why wouldn’t you? Oh, I don’t know, maybe because half of the people who show up might have the flu. If you show up, make sure you wear one of those surgical masks and gloves. Seriously. This bug is all over the neighborhood. Eighteen households by my calculation,” Alex advised.

  “Well, we can only see so much from these windows, and the phone calls with information have slowed to a trickle,” Ed said.

  “You’re doing better than the Fletchers. Nobody calls us anymore.”

  “Well, after the last meeting, most of the neighbors probably figured they’d be better off steering clear of the Fletcher-Thornton connection,” Ed said. “Of course, against my better judgment, I reluctantly decided to take my chances with you.”

  “Thanks for the loyalty, Ed, you’ll be rewarded handsomely. Actually, the less attention on this house, the better. I don’t think Kate would let me out to that meeting even if I thought it was a good idea. You’ll have to be my eyes and ears out there. Sorry to cut this short, but I’m on a deadline. Give me a ring tomo
rrow,” he said and hung up the phone.

  Alex walked swiftly to the bedroom and closed the door behind him, locking it.

  “Four minutes and fifty seconds. That’s cutting it close…although I had planned to give you some leeway,” Kate said from the candlelit area by the bed.

  He jumped into the bed and burrowed under the covers. He felt her warm, naked body and instantly forgot all about the neighborhood meeting.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Saturday, November 23, 2013

  Alex stared out of the dining room window, straining to see the small mob that followed Ed halfway down the street. The group, which consisted of Todd Perry, Mike Lynch, Eric Bishop and a few others, stopped in front of Todd’s house, but he lost sight of them as they wandered up Todd’s driveway. He grabbed the phone off the dining room table, and before he could start dialing Ed’s number, it began to ring. Ed.

  “I know you can’t get enough of my charming…”

  “Yeah, yeah. Hey, there’s a small crowd gathered in front of Todd’s house, and they ain’t happy campers. I was pretty much chased back to my house by these lunatics. Todd started ranting and raving about you, and how you fucked over the entire neighborhood with the anti-virals and blah, blah, blah. I think they’re about to head your way,” Ed said.

  “Are you serious? Sounds like it was a great meeting.”

  “It was all a set up from the start. I think they were waiting for you to show up, so they could attack you or something. They turned on me as soon as it was clear you weren’t going to make an appearance. Scared the shit out of me. Oh boy. Looks like they’re on the move and headed your way,” he said.