The Flu 2: Healing

by Jacqueline Druga

  Heading back to sleep. Mick still didn’t come back yet. Man, he must be smoking a lot.

  16. Preparations

  Lodi, OH

  The Lodi Diner was set up like a war room. Since it wasn’t open, Henry and Kurt moved the tables together to create one big one. A large map of the United States was center, along with three phones.

  “Did you tell the president he can’t do that?” Kurt asked.

  “He doesn’t have the manpower anyhow. Reserve units he was able to get in touch with are far west. A few south,” Henry replied.

  Nelson was on hand. “We got in touch with them last night after your call. They’re ready. Militia units we can move out whenever. Reserve units not committed to anything are waiting on word from the president. Gotta get the president to give word to allow them to give my units down in Texas access to the bio suits. I have men who are willing to do that once they get instructions.”

  “I’ll get on that,” Henry said, “get clearance. I will personally instruct each grouping. I want men paired in teams for the mission.”

  “Did the president say if the homeland director remembered anyone sending failsafe alerts?” asked Kurt.

  “He wouldn’t know. Homeland guy went AWOL.

  “Shit,” Kurt exclaimed. “Probably looking for family.”

  “Nelson,” Henry said, “we know we have reserve units waiting on executive orders. Do we know their locations?”

  “Further south. Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Texas. I got a handle and am in good connection with what remained in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.”

  “How many still remain? I know some were going east,” Henry said.

  “A lot, actually,” Nelson replied. “We weren’t sending everyone. We have to have people here to help. Cleveland isn’t dead. They have tens of thousands remaining.”

  Kurt swiped his hand down his face. “If the Kentucky location goes hot, this is another nightmare, worse than the flu, because we don’t have resources to handle it.”

  Henry grimaced. “There’s no power there. It probably already is hot, and our best chance is to burn it out, do an inventory of what remains first.”

  Nelson asked, “I know Briggs needs men to head toward Erie once he comes up with a plan.”

  “And that can’t be the president,” Kurt added. “He wants to just storm it and burn it. I’m guessing there are civilians and Erie residents.”

  Nelson touched the map with his finger. “From what I was told they barricaded here.” He pointed. “One spot. But I am gonna guess they branched south with men and probably will head East and West.”

  “We need some of your men on our town access routes,” Henry said.

  “I’ll pull them in, ASAP. What about Kent? We need volunteers to go, manpower might be strained in this area and we want to shut down that lab right away. It could take days to pull someone in to do Kent.”

  Ethan’s voice entered the room. “I’ve been listening, I’m sorry.” He stepped closer. “I know you guys are trying to keep things from upsetting the residents, but with all the activity on the street, it’s hard not to know what’s going on. So, I’d like to volunteer for anything. This Kent thing you’re talking about. I’ll do it.”

  Henry looked at him. “Son, to be very honest, it’s a lab. A Biosafety level four lab. It needs to be shut down, contents identified and burned out. It could be dangerous.”

  “Any more dangerous than if it doesn’t get shut down right away?” Ethan asked.

  “Just delayed,” Henry answered.

  “Then I’ll go. You may wanna put me with someone that knows how to burn a place out.” Ethan smiled. “I probably won’t know that.”

  “We can handle that,” Henry assured him. “As soon as Lars gets back with the logistics of it all, we’ll get you prepped. Thank you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Speaking of which, where is Lars?”

  * * *

  Tom poured Lars another cup of coffee in Tom’s kitchen. Lars was certain he didn’t look his usual confident self. In fact, he looked and felt as distraught as if he had been hit by a truck. His hands were folded in a prayer fashion, covering his nose, and he breathed heavily outward when the coffee clicked against the table.

  “Thank you, Tom.” Lars brought down his hands.

  “I wanted to tell you alone,” Tom said, joining him at the kitchen table. “When I called you to come over, I had just heard from them. No one but you and I are aware of the deal. They’re giving us a few minutes and then they’re calling back.”

  “There really is no choice.”

  “Yeah, there is. I told them we need to speak to Rose when they call back. They want you, but I haven’t spoken to Rose. We’ll see what she says.”

  “Why me?” Lars asked,

  “Well, you are Lars Rayburn.”

  “But I have this reputation in Lodi, within the infectious disease community. Not the world. And certainly not in Erie, Pennsylvania.”

  “I got a theory on that. We were all over the news when the flu was in full swing. Only town not hit. We’re the town where the Rayburn therapy for the flu was gonna be tested. You have a reputation as being a brilliant doctor. Now, if they got to know you like we do, they’d realize it’s a façade.”

  Lars gave Tim a quirky look. “Your attempt at humor is appreciated. But again, why me?”

  “They need a doctor, maybe?”

  “But if they watched the news, as you suggested, then they know there are three here. Why me?” Lars jumped when the phone rang.

  Tom lifted a hand then picked up the phone. “Hello?” He waited. “Not talking to you anymore until we speak to Rose. I want to talk, then Lars.” There was a pause and Tom’s face lit up, but only briefly. “Rose, what in God’s name …? You sound … how are you? I thought you were dead.” Another pause and Tom closed his eyes. “Did they tell you? Okay, then Lars needs to speak to you. Rose, Mick’s fine. When I speak to him what do you want me to tell him?” Tom waited. “Absolutely, I will do that. Here’s Lars.” He handed the phone over.

  “Rose?”

  Her voice was crackly and weak, not the typically boisterous Rose. “Lars, I’m here.”

  “What happened, Rose? Can you tell me why you sound sick?”

  “Got in a cycle accident. Broken rib. It’s a compound and it punctured out. I’m thinking another punctured in. I’m not doing good, Lars.”

  “I know they’re listening, Rose, but do you know why they want me there?”

  “No I don’t. Other than a doctor, and it’s an exchange so you aren’t for me. Lars …” She paused and strained a cough out, “don’t do it. I am not worth your life. You are too valuable to—”

  “Rose?”

  “Enough talk,” said the man on the other side who took over the conversation. “We meet at the rest area just outside the interchange of 79 and 90.”

  “No,” Lars said. “I’ll meet you at your barricade. I need to get some medical supplies together. I want to work on Rose, examine her and then she can leave. I don’t trust anyone else.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  “And one more thing, I will not be treated as a prisoner there. I am a prestigious virologist and I will be treated with respect. I am sure you and your thugs can accomplish that. Because I promise you, if I am not treated as a guest or am treated with anything but respect, you and your men will not know if that is penicillin or poison that you ingest when you’re ill. Got that?”

  “Deal,” the man said after a brief pause. “You have four hours.”

  Lars handed the phone to Tom.

  “Lars, what the hell are you doing?” Tom asked sharply. “You heard Rose. She’s bad.”

  “It’s Rose,” Lars said. “Mick sacrificed for this town, the least I can do is sacrifice for Mick. I couldn’t save his wife, let me try to save his mother.”

  Tom closed his eyes hard. He choked on his emotions. “Henry and Kurt—”

  “Are not to know,” Lars said firmly.r />
  Tom opened his eyes. “What?”

  “Only you. I go alone. I go with no one knowing. I don’t want anyone trying to stop me or follow or try to rescue me.” Lars sipped the coffee, stood and then picked up the cup again. “I’m gonna take this with me. I have supplies to grab from the clinic.”

  “Did Rose say she needs you?”

  “Actually, she said not to come.”

  “Then maybe —”

  “No.” Lars shook his head. “There’s no question. Other than Rose, there is one valuable reason for me to go.”

  “What’s that?” Tom asked.

  “Eventually, there is going to be a clash. Them against us or them against that new army. Hell, I believe they’ll come into this town, but before they do, they need an insider. I’m going to be that insider.”

  “Oh, that’s just like you, trying to make another name for yourself.” Tom stood and spoke with sadness laced sarcasm. “The new post-flu generation will raise their children to say, ‘you wanna grow up to be like Lars, don’t you?’

  Lars smiled sadly. “I pray the post-flu generation has children.” He grabbed on to Tom’s arm. “You are my friend, Tom. I appreciate the concern. But I’m going in there, I will help Rose, and I will find out about this place and what all they are doing.”

  “How will you get us this information?” Tom asked. “They’ll be listening, you know.”

  “I have ideas.” Lars winked. “Oh ye of little faith. After all, I am Lars Rayburn.”

  “That you are.”

  Lars looked at Tom deeply, trying to convey that he had it under control and that everything would be alright. Then he left. He had far too much to get ready and too little time.

  * * *

  Damon, NY

  Chris stood in the doorway of the small church. It was the place they were using as a school. He didn’t go in, he watched. It was chilly out, but he didn’t mind, he was too engrossed. He’d smile when Tigger raised his hand to answer a question and cringed when Tigger got it wrong.

  Tigger looked happy, even anxious. Chris watched for a while, holding Emmie’s hand even though she clutched tightly to his leg for security.

  It wasn’t her hand that Chris felt touch upon his back. He knew the touch and he looked up to see Mick. “Hey.”

  “Hey, Chris. What are you doing?”

  “Watching. They’re having school. Look at Tig. Don’t he look happy? Man … it’s pretty cool, though. You know, them having school.”

  “I bet you miss it.”

  “I do, and I miss my friends.”

  “Why don’t you go in?” Mick cupped his head.

  “I will. Ain’t the older kids’ time yet. You don’t mind, do you?”

  “Oh my God, not at all. I’ll probably stand here and watch you. Who’s your girlfriend?”

  Chris snorted a laugh. “This is Emmie. Say hi to Mick, Emmie.”

  Emmie buried herself further into Chris.

  “She came with us from the camp. Was running with us. Did real good too, huh, Emmie? Except she peed her pants a lot.”

  Mick smiled.

  “I predict in twenty years her and Tigger are gonna be married. You wait and see. He can’t be her boyfriend now, though. She’s half his age and that’s illegal or something. She’s gonna come with us to Lodi, Mick, if that’s okay?”

  “Chris, I think —”

  “She don’t have a family. I can take care of her if you don’t want to.”

  “Chris—”

  “I really like her, Mick. We can’t leave her behind.” Chris crinkled his brow. “You don’t want her?”

  “What? No. I was gonna tell you I think that’s a good idea. I’d like that.”

  “Whew,” Chris said in relief. “Good. ‘Cause I already told her about Pap. If you are alright with me bringing her home, what is it? You have that look on your face.”

  “That look?”

  “Yeah, you can’t hide things Mick. Really, Mom even said so. Said your face reads like a book.”

  “What are you reading, Chris?”

  “Worry.” Chris gasped. “Oh, no!”

  “Oh no what?”

  “My friend, Jake. It’s my friend Jake, isn’t it? He died?”

  “What? Who’s Jake?”

  “The boy that came with us,” Chris said. “You’re here to tell me about him ‘cause he got sick last night and Doc is keeping him at the clinic.”

  “I don’t know about Jake, but I wanna talk to you. Walk with me over there.” Mick pointed to a bench.

  “Okay.” Chris lifted Emmie and carried her with him to the bench.

  “That’s pretty cool, Chris,” Mick said. “I’m awfully proud of you right now.”

  “Someone is dying.”

  Mick winced. “Why are you talking like that?”

  “Because I know that look. That look scares me.”

  “You’re also pretty perceptive. But I’m not here to tell you about anyone dying. I wanna talk to you on a grown-up level.”

  “I can handle that, Mick, I drove a car.”

  Mick put his hand on the back of Chris’ head. “That you did, and you even managed to hit a man without killing him.” He cleared his throat. “Chris, you know about the bad guys that put up the blockade right?”

  “The ones in Erie?”

  “Yep. I was on my way through there, and I was meeting my mom. Seems — and this all I know — it seems these guys got ahold of her first.”

  Chris’ eyes widened. “Oh no, they got Rose?”

  Mick nodded.

  “Whew, thank goodness Rose is strong. Bet she took out a couple of them bad guys. Your mom is tough.”

  “That she is, but as you can guess, I’m pretty worried.”

  “I would be too. I am,” Chris said. “I’m sorry. You’re gonna go get her, right Mick? You’re gonna go get your mom and help her? That’s what you wanna talk to me about?” he rattled. “You wanna leave to get her and that’s fine. We’re safe here.”

  “I want to get her, yes, but we don’t know enough about the blockade, who all is there, what they have and how many innocent people are there. It’s gonna take some planning. But we’ll get her. In the meantime, there’s something else.”

  “Whoa.” Chris sat back. “What?”

  “The flu that wiped out most of the world escaped accidentally from a lab. That lab was remote and it got out long before everyone caught it. Problem is, there are lots of these labs in the country, and they have more than one deadly disease. The diseases are contained and safe unless the power goes out. Then there’s a chance these viruses will leak out. Birds, other animals, people moving by the buildings, all of them can catch it. This happened in one lab already.”

  Chris jaw dropped. “We’re all gonna die from deadly viruses?”

  “Not if I can help it. There will be an effort today and tomorrow where people are pairing off, going to these labs, making sure all the viruses are still in the cases and then we’re gonna burn them out so they never threaten anyone again.”

  “You said we…”

  “That’s what I want to talk to you about. Five of these labs are in Maryland, on a base I know well. I want to go because I want to see for myself that these things are destroyed. For you and your brother, I have to know that they are. Especially Maryland, because there’s a germ there that’s worse than anything we’ve ever seen.”

  “Are you asking me for permission?” Chris asked.

  “Actually, Chris, I am. You tell me you don’t want me to go, I won’t go. No problem.”

  “You want to do this?”

  “I kind of have to do this.”

  Chris closed his mouth tight and gave a proud look. “Then you go. You won’t be gone long, right?”

  “I’ll leave in the morning and be back before you go to sleep.”

  “Then you do it, so we can be even more proud of you.”

  Mick pulled Chris into him and kissed him.

  “Then you gotta get
Rose back, Mick. You have to. Emmie needs her and Rose ain’t never had a daughter.”

  “We’ll get her back. Then all of us, we head back to Lodi and live life as normally as we can.”

  Chris pulled back. “Say, Mick? When you told us you wanted to take us away from Lodi for a change, did you ever think it’d get this crazy?”

  “Absolutely, not. I definitely got more than I bargained for.”

  “And a daughter.”

  Mick smiled, taking in the moment, holding Chris and Emmie close to him for a while.

  * * *

  Las Vegas, NV

  The sun was barely up. Lexi stood with Bill and one of Matt’s men by the car they would take on the trek to California.

  Lexi was nervous. She hated to be away from Bill and it would be the first time in almost two months that she was.

  “You got the suits and the extra duct tape?” Lexi asked him as she fiddled with the collar of his shirt. “I told you where you would find the lab —”

  “Lexi.” Bill grabbed her hand. “We went through this. I know what to do, I know where to look, and we have this under control. I promise.”

  “You’ll be out of radio range and I don’t think the cell signals will be up out there.”

  “Then we’ll discuss everything when I get back. You have a lot here to keep your mind occupied. You have some pretty sick people who need tending to.”

  “It’s going to be hard to concentrate, Bill. Unlike the others, you are going into a hot zone.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Please, please be careful out there. You’re all I have left in this world.”

  “And you’re all I have, too. No worries.” He placed his forehead to hers.

  “You two are the first warriors in the battle. You know that.”

  “And we’ll kick ass. We’ll be back tomorrow.” He stepped back, grabbing her hands and bringing them to his lips. Just as he walked to the car, he halted, turned and went back to Lexi.