“Chris,” Mick snapped, “I’m not scared. God.”
“Then you’ll do it?” Chris asked excitedly. “Oh, come on Mick, please? For me. I need this. I’ll commentate, Tigger will cheer. Please. Do this. Please!”
Briggs looked across the table to Mick, then to Chris. “If we do this, Chris, will you stop bringing it up?”
“Yeah,” Chris tilted his head. “Maybe. Yes. Yes. I will.”
“Mick?” Briggs asked.
Mick huffed. “Fine. Fine.”
“Yes!” Chris jumped to his feet. “You two know the rules.” He watched Mick lift his arm. “And Mick, it’s okay if you lose, I won’t think less of you.”
“Chris, what the hell?” Mick snapped.
“Just saying...” Chris looked at Briggs. “And Jonah Briggs, if you lose we won’t think any less of you either. All in fun. Okay?”
Briggs nodded. “I got it.”
“Arms on the table.” Chris instructed. “Join hands.”
Mick and Briggs positioned themselves for a round of arm wrestling.
Chris stood between them. “Ready to cheer, Tig?”
“Ready!”
Chris placed his hand over the joined hands of Mick and Briggs. “On three. I’ll count, raise up my hand and you two go.”
“We got it, do this,” Mick instructed.
Chris genuinely smiled. “One … two … three!” He lifted his hand and let the big men battle.
Journal Entry
I had my first day of school yesterday, it was pretty cool. I didn’t think I’d be so anxious to raise my hand to answer a question. There were only six of us big kids. Jake wasn’t there, but they keep telling me he’s fine. He looks fine. They let me see him through a window.
Gonna go to school again today. Take Tigger, get Emmie, and wait for my turn. It’ll help keep my mind off of things. Mick is leaving to go to Maryland to shut down a lab that has this really deadly virus. I’m nervous for him, but I know he can do it.
He won’t be around for a couple days cause I know after he gets back he is gonna want to storm the rebel camp and get back his mom.
He better. I love Rose. She is the best. It makes me sad to think that she is hurt. But at least Lars is there and Mick will get them both.
Jonah Briggs is trying to come up with an attack plan on the camp. He said not to worry, they’ll get Rose and Lars out safely. I believe him.
I’m gonna go and say goodbye to Mick. I want to give him my lucky two headed coin, but I don’t want him taking it to where there are deadly germs. What if a germ gets on my coin? I’ll wait and give it to him when he goes and gets Rose.
I got Mick and Jonah Briggs to wrestle. Well, sort of. They arm wrestled last night. It was really cool and took a long time. Tigger was cheering, I was cheering and they both broke a sweat. Man, were they going at it,
But I promised I would never say who won. That no one would know.
And I won’t. Not even here.
17. Leg of the Journey
October 18th
Damon, NY
Mick’s arms held tight to both Chris and Tigger. He didn’t want to let go, but at least this time before he left, he was more than positive that they were safe. He kissed them both and stood. “Okay, go to school. I’ll be back before you go to sleep.”
“Be careful out there, Mick,” Chris said. “It’s bad.”
“I think me and Doc will be fine. Besides, I get to blow something up and you know how cool that is.”
Chris smiled. “You’re the best, Mick. I am so glad you’re the one going to do this. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because you’re the only one I trust to do this right. Now, get going and don’t waste time, you have to get your mom.”
“I know that.” Another kiss to Chris and Mick lifted Tigger.
“Hey!” Tigger squirmed. “I’m not a baby.”
“You’ll always be my baby.” Mick gave a quick hug and kiss to Tigger.
“Aw, man, Mick,” Chris complained. “Now why’d you have to go and get all mushy like? You better get going before you lose the macho badge after your arm wrestling match with Jonah Briggs.”
Doc stepped into the conversation. “We’re ready to go.” He pointed to the jeep. “You and uh, Jonah had an arm wrestling match?”
“Yes.” Mick nodded then pointed to Chris. “Remember your promise.”
“I swore,” Chris said. “Ain't telling no one.”
Mick flashed a grin to Doc, told him he’d meet him at the jeep and then he walked to Briggs. “Hey.”
Briggs extended his hand. “You have instructions from the virus guys on what to do?”
“Yep, and my phone is charged. Hopefully, the signal extends to there and I can call them.
“Good. And we’ll keep in touch as well.”
“Sounds good.” Mick paused. “Briggs, I know this is an easy thing. And I’m sure everything will turn out fine. But on the outside chance something happens to me, can you make sure my boys get home to the rest of their family?”
“Absolutely. And Mick, awesome show of strength last night.”
Mick grimaced and grumbled ‘Humph’, extended his hand to Briggs and headed to the jeep. He waved once more to the boys as he opened the door.
Doc stood outside of the jeep.
“What are you waiting for?” Mick asked.
“Who won?” Doc asked.
“You will never know.”
“Seriously, come on. Who won?”
Mick simply tightened his lips in a snide smile, shook his head and got in the jeep.
* * *
Erie, PA
Lars performed what he called a ‘raw surgical procedure at best’ on Rose. He did what he could with what he had. He set the bone, cleaned out the infection, sealed the wound, hooked her up to antibiotics and hoped for the best.
She was resting now, much easier than she had been.
The young woman named Lola stopped by and Lars asked her to keep an eye on Rose while he stepped out. He’d learned that, until his arrival, Ace had been keeping her captive in the room with Rose.
It was a brisk day; he imagined a lot of the colder air was coming from the lake. The evening before, not surprising to Lars, Ace’s men had brought three children to him to examine, stating they were found while on supply runs.
That was another reason Lars left Rose. He needed to find Ace.
He walked around for a good hour; no one seemed to care or notice him. Then again, most of those in the small four block militarized section were all Ace’s men. A few women, not many.
He was just at the end of the blockage, where the main road left the tourist area and headed toward a residential area and downtown, when Ace called to him.
“Where are you going?”
“Actually looking for you.” Lars saw Ace emerging from the Dairy Queen. “Oh, you were having ice cream.”
Ace looked behind him. “Are you always this sarcastic?”
“Yes, comes with the territory. Tell me, dear tyrant, why is the Dairy Queen so heavily guarded? Are we protecting the last of the chocolate and vanilla?”
Ace bit his lip and moved in a storming manner to Lars. “I would prefer you to stay contained to one area, please.”
“I’m not a prisoner, remember? And while I prefer to be in my quaint little house in Lodi, I cannot. So since can’t, I would like those three children to be sent to Lodi.”
“What children?”
“The ones you brought me to examine last night.”
“They are orphans.”
“Really? Because one of them told me they were at a campsite and it was raided. By your men, who killed almost all of the adults and took the children. Two of the camp’s survivors are in Lodi, and one of the children here gave me their names. When I send for someone to get Rose, the children leave too.”
“You’re really demanding.”
“How is sending children where they belong demanding?”
Lars asked. “They don’t belong to you.”
“I am doing a great service for this country. Building, making it strong, getting people together. Organizing.”
“So burning towns, killing innocent people, kidnapping children and raping women are a good service? These are reports I get from people.”
“Steps are taken. Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they aren’t, but they’re all for a good cause,” Ace argued. “Sometimes it takes strength and chaos to bring peace.”
“In whose world? I believe your motive is to strike terror into everyone. For what? So you can rule the country? How absurd is that? Are you holding the city of Erie hostage as well?”
“No, actually they’re grateful, things were falling apart there.”
“Then allow me to check. I’m sure some may need medical attention. Someone may need help.”
“They have their own doctors.”
“Then why do you need me?” Lars asked.
“You have a purpose here,” Ace stated, and began to walk away.
“I’m not finished speaking to you. I need to call Lodi and ask for a trusted opinion on Rose.”
“Whatever.” Ace tried to walk by him. “I suggest you do your job.”
“And what job would that be?”
Ace didn’t reply. He looked once over his shoulder then didn’t look back again.
“Asshole,” Lars murmured. And since no one really paid any attention to him, before he made that call to Lodi, Lars looked around a little more.
* * *
Las Vegas, NV
Slot Machine Charlie died. Despite the new respirator and Lexi’s best efforts, he passed away from respiratory distress.
He was the only one so far that had died from SARS. Matt’s mother was showing signs of improvement.
Charlie had died while Lexi was in the room. She tried her best to revive him, but it didn’t work. She had just finished removing the medical items from him and covering him, when Matt walked in.
“They’re back,” he said through his facial mask.
Lexi exhaled. “I’ll be right there.” Hurriedly, she exited the room. She’d make plans for his removal after she spoke to Bill. She removed her gloves, gown and mask, then washed up and raced to the elevator and finally to the lobby.
Bill wasn’t there. Her heart beat steady and strong, and she feared something had happened to him.
“I’m sorry to make you rush,” Matt said. “When I said they were back, I meant they were pulling into town.”
Hand to her chest, Lexi gasped then raced outside. The heat blasted her. As the wind whipped and sand blew in her face she saw the car pulling up.
When it slowed and Bill stepped out, Lexi raced to him and wrapped her arms around him. They embraced as if it had been days.
“Well?” Lexi asked.
“It was a hot zone. Like we knew,” Bill replied.
“And you destroyed it?”
“Yeah,” Bill said. “Burned the lab.”
Lexi saw the look on his face. Was it concern? Exhaustion? “Bill, what is it? It’s over. That part is over.”
“No.” Bill shook his head. “Lex, you should have seen the animals, the deer, the people. Those were the ones killed. Yeah, we may have burned out the virus in the lab. But all those animals that pass through, the deer that people shoot to eat. We will never get all the carriers.”
Lexi’s eyes widened. “It’s an unending battle.”
“For the time being. We stopped the bleed,” Bill said, “but we far from healed the wound.”
* * *
Lodi, OH
Tom was on phone duty while Henry and Kurt took a rest. The reports were starting to come in. Ethan returned, giving the good news that Kent still had power and it wasn’t a hot zone. It had taken some effort to get into the secured lab which had bulletproof glass and a fingerprint security system. It was, like Ethan described, Fort Knox. They shut down power, went in through the wall, and were able to breach the system.
The generators kicked on, which provided a positive atmosphere. Once they managed to get into the lab, they were able to initiate the extinguishing system. Failsafe locked and loaded. They hurriedly initialized it, left the lab and waited outside.
It worked.
They stayed until they saw the explosion in the building. It was burning, but it was in the distance.
That was good news to Tom. So far, only two labs reported a breach and were a hot zone.
Lexi Martin’s words stuck with him. Her fears that they hadn’t contained the viruses, and that they had broken barriers already. That whatever escaped the lab was still out there, despite the fact that they burned the labs.
However, that couldn’t stop them from hitting the other labs. In fact, Tom used Lexi’s own words back at her, telling her that it was better to stop the bleeding then to bleed out, and that’s what they had to continue to do. Step one, stop the labs. Set two would be to deal with and prepare for the aftermath.
Plus, they had to know where there was the most danger. There were five labs left and those were in Mick’s hands. He was on his way.
Tom had the sense that the immediate threat would be over, because Mick was handling it. Tom knew Mick well, and he knew that, at any cost, Mick would successfully complete a mission.
* * *
Fort Detrick, MD
Mick knew right away that something had gone wrong, but not what they expected. As instructed, they suited up and were fortunate that Briggs had biohazard suits remaining from the flu epidemic.
The gate was up; the guard booth was empty.
Mick stopped the jeep and opened the door. “Radio on,” he said as he got out.
“What’s wrong?” Doc asked.
“Suit is tight. I’m okay.”
“Just be careful.”
“I’m good.” Mick, leaving the jeep door opened, walked to the guard booth. There were no signs that anyone had been there. Leaves had blown in through the open guard booth door. There was one thing Mick did notice: despite how long the booth could have been open, the video monitors inside still worked. Images flashed and changed on all but one monitor.
“They still have power in there.”
“That’s good right? That means this isn’t a hot zone.”
“Hopefully.” Mick tapped the dead monitor. “Building five isn’t on. At least the monitor isn’t.” He stepped out of the booth.
“Is there a lab in there?” Doc asked.
“There’s a lab in every building. Just a matter of which one.”
“You know with our luck it’s the weaponry one.”
“Let’s not think that way.” Mick slid back into the jeep and drove through the already lifted gate arm.
They were armed with C-4 devices with timers and incendiary grenades for immediate problems. The clocks on their oxygen tanks were ticking and they had a lot of ground to cover.
* * *
Lodi, OH
Tom rushed into the Lodi Diner or ‘war room’ as Henry and Kurt called it. They were smiling. While things weren’t all that optimistic in the west, they looked better in the east.
“Phone call,” Tom announced.
“Tell us that is Mick with good news,” Henry said.
Tom shook his head. “Nothing from Mick yet. This is Lars. You wanna take this?”
At Henry’s nod, Tom set the phone down. “Lars? We have you on speaker. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Thank you. I’m well. They’re treating me well,” Lars replied.
Tom exchanged quirky looks with Henry.
“I’ve very pleased that Erie is so productive. Residents survived and are trying hard to move on from this tragedy.”
Kurt mouthed the words, “Does he sound odd?”
Henry nodded. “Lars, what’s up?”
“Well, I have tragic news. Rose Marie is not doing well. In fact, I am going to stay but I need you to get here in a few days to take her home so she can die with her family.”
Tom’s hand shot to his mouth. His heart sank. “Dear God.”
Lars continued. “I’m going to give you a breakdown of Rose Marie. I have her stabilized here. Unfortunately, I’m not in a hospital. I am in an old breast care center that was used for a flu station.”
“Can you get her to a hospital with better equipment?”
Lars chuckled airily. “I probably couldn’t move her to the McDonald’s across the street, let alone any further distance. But she has to come home to die. Until then, she has issues and maybe you can come up with a solution that can save her.”
“We’ll try, but you are Lars Rayburn. If you can’t do it, I don’t know what we could do here,” Henry stated. “I’m sorry about Rose.”
“Yes, tragic. I’m the mad scientist, remember? This is a bit out of my realm. Do you have a pen handy to write down what is wrong?”
“Yes, yes, we do, go on,” Henry said.
“Okay, well Rose Marie definitely is complaining of discomfort in the smack center of the umbilical region. There are slight problems in the epigastria region, but as you well know, vital organs are above that, so that area has to be looked at cautiously. The left and right iliac along with the hypogastria regions are inconsequential. There may be a little blockage, but I think that’s an easy fix. Her injury is located in the right lumbar region. There’s a breach of skin there, an opening, but a slight tightening extends up to the right hypochondria. Biggest issue is, despite the open wound on the right, her left lumbar region is troublesome and thick and with what I palpitated as a small blockage in the upper left hypochondria. Got that?”
Henry blinked several times. “I wrote down everything you said. But Lars—”
“I have to go. I have to attend to Rose Marie. See what you come up with please. She doesn’t have much time.”
The Flu 2: Healing Page 20
