Z Strain

by SJ Morris

  “Alright Mom, what else?”

  The kids seemed to be magically on board. Either that or they thought I was going crazy and wanted to appease me so they could get me to the crazy house. Either way, we had a lot of preparations to make.

  “Alright guys, since we’re planning long term, grab all of the toilet paper from the pantry and pack it in the truck. Get all of the non-perishable food items in the truck, all the medicine we have in the bathrooms and all the batteries we have. Get your helmets from the garage, your quad helmets, not your bicycle helmets.”

  “Helmets, why helmets?”Inquired Lance.

  “Well, if these infected people are as violent as Troy said they are then I have an idea. We are all going to need full face helmets, leather motorcycle jackets, pants, and snake boots.”

  “Snake boots, Mom?”

  “Yes, snake boots. All of these things are built specifically to protect from road rash and bites, stuff that breaks the skin. The virus is transferred by bites, scratches, and exchanges of bodily fluids from the infected. If we’re covered from head to toe, then we will limit the possibility of getting infected. Short of walking around in biohazard suits, it’s the best I could come up with. Even if we get into a bind and get bitten, hopefully, the leather and Kevlar will hold up and nothing will break the skin.”

  “Nice idea, Mom.”

  “Shut up Lance, you just want to dress up like a biker! None of your friends are going to see you, to tell you how not-cool you look!”Allycia stuck her tongue out at Lance. It seemed like everything I said didn’t even faze them. It was just like they had a new thing to do. I guess I can thank the desensitization of movies, TV, and comics for that. Ah well, I’ll take what I can get, I guess.

  At least they weren't horrified. They were willing to cooperate and so, I could work with that.

  “Alright, guys, once the truck is packed up with all the essentials, on top of all of our camping gear we are heading to the Army Navy store down the highway for a few things, and then the motorcycle dealership for bike gear.”

  “I think we should get at least two motorcycles, Mom. They’re good on gas and help make a quick getaway if needed.”Lance said with a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

  “Yeah and they’re loud too.”I countered,“Plus I don’t know how to drive one and neither do any of you, so let’s not go overboard and kill ourselves on motorcycles before anything even happens.”

  “It’s just a thought.”He mumbled, knowing he was defeated.

  Chapter 3

  After we packed everything from the house there wasn’t a lot of room left in the truck so we had to get the pod to put on the roof of the Land Rover.

  I started to get worried about the amount of time it was taking us to get out of the house. It’s weird when you don’t have a true timetable and something bad is going to happen, how on edge it makes you. You feel like every second is your last before everything turns to shit. I was a little crazed but the kids were handling it beautifully, for now. The dog was even relaxed. She was lying in the passenger seat of the Rover, sleeping. With all the coming and going in and out of the truck the doors were open and I guess she just figured she would sleep.

  When we were finally on the road to the Army Navy store, my head started to clear momentarily. At least we were moving.

  We pulled up and parked. We all kind of looked around at all of the people coming and going, doing their regular Friday errands. It was spring break, so it was busier in the shopping complex than it normally was early on a Friday afternoon and this worried me. I found myself looking at each person that walked past to see if they were sweating or looked sick at all. I realized I could be sitting here for a while if I was going to look at every single person and unlocked the car to get out.

  “Wait, Mom!”

  “What?”

  “Should we be on the lookout for anything in particular?”

  “Oh, yeah that would help, right? Sorry guys, I am a little off trying to think of everything that we need to do or get. So, here it is. First of all, please be mindful of everyone around you. Don't get too focused on what you’re getting. Always keep an eye out for someone that doesn't look well, especially if they’re sweating profusely, looking faint or coughing a lot. The main symptom I saw in the troops was an extremely high fever. If you see anyone fitting the bill I want, you to whistle really loud one time. If we hear a whistle, everyone meet by the front doors so we can assess what we do next. In order to get everything we need, quickly, we need to split up and each takea cart, but you need to know that from here on out, we stick together. Always stay within listening range of one another. Remember, we still don’t know one hundred percent what we are dealing with so we need to be prepared for anything. Like I said, this thing could already be in the states. Or it could be weeks before we see anything. It could also be contained before it even gets here.”

  “Mom, I meant what should we be looking for in the store, but that’s helpful information too. Now that I am not completely crapping my pants, what do you want us to buy?”Tyler said sheepishly.

  “I’m sorry honey, I don’t want to frighten you, but I do want you to be able to know what to look out for so that you can get away fast and stay safe. I’m leaving the car key under the front driver side wheel well so if something happens, we can all make it to the truck and whoever gets here first can open it and wait for the others. Got it?”

  “Got it. Now, what do you want us to get?”

  “We need water filters, energy bars, camping lights, a crank radio, and two-way radios, you know stuff that’s going to be important to help us if we have no electricity or find ourselves out in the elements for an extended period of time. Oh and flints, or fire starters, waterproof matches and as many batteries as possible. I will let you all use your best judgment on what we should be getting. I want this to be quick, so all of us grab a cart and let’s go find the snake boots, once we’ve got them, then go fill your carts for about fifteen minutes and meet back at the registers. For the boots, I want you guys to get the size that fits you now and at least a size bigger, since your feet are still growing. Think about that also, if you see any clothing items that you think you may need for the winter if this lasts that long. Money is not an issue. Just get whatever you think will be helpful and we can sort it all out when we get to the cabin. Just keep in mind, the truck is almost full already, so think about that too. Sound good?”I got a unanimous yes from the kids and we set out into the store.

  I wondered how funny we looked to the people around us. A family of four, each with a cart getting sized up for snake boots, each buying extra, and then continuing to fill their carts with survival gear. I was prepared to have to answer a few questions when we got to the checkout counter, but the pimple-faced teenager seemed to be so interested in texting on his phone that he didn’t realize all the stuff he was swiping.

  When we were finished we had done a lot of damage; over $1,700.00 worth!

  The snake boots were a hundred dollars apiece and we bought ten pairs of them.

  I knew Justin was meeting us at the cabin and I assumed that if my husband had anything to say about it his contingency plan for this whole thing, it would have involved Troy telling Justin also. I knew he would want Justin to get his two small kids, Jessica, who was six and David who was almost eight, to the cabin too. I just hoped it wasn’t too big of a fight with his ex-wife Claudia to have him take the kids since it was her one weekend a month to take them.

  I knew for a fact that Justin wouldn’t be telling Claudia, or trying to get her to go to the cabin with him. They had a huge falling out and she has pretty much made his life a living hell since he had a restraining order filed against her the same day he presented her with divorce papers. It was a messy separation, to say the least.

  With the shopping done here and the truck almost filled to capacity, we were off to the motorcycle store to get fitted for our, well, zombie prevention suits. This made me giggle a little to myself as
the thought entered my head while I pulled out of the survival store parking lot. The kids looked at me like I lost it and I knew I had to explain myself so I didn’t scare them any more than I already had.

  “I was just thinking about where we’re going next.”

  “What do you mean? We’re going to a motorcycle store. I don’t get what’s so funny.”

  “Well, it’s not really the store; it’s what we’re getting.”

  “Riding jackets and leather pants? I still don’t find the humor in this unless you think we’re going to buy assless chaps on accident. That wouldn’t be funny, that would be gross.”

  “No, not assless chaps, Allycia! The fact that we’re going to buy zombie prevention suits. I woke up this morning and there were no such things as zombies except for in the movies. Now they’re real and we are going to get suited up so we don’t turn into them. I just found the thought of getting zombie prevention suits... Well, funny.”

  “Well, sure, I guess it is kind of funny. Or at least it will be if we spend all this money on all this crap and nothing happens! One day, we will look back and say, remember when we had that great camping trip during what we thought was going to be the zombie apocalypse and mom went nuts? Real funny, Mom.”Allycia said very sarcastically.

  “Let’s just get going, better safe than sorry, right?”The rest of the drive to the motorcycle store was in silence.

  I guess Allycia’s last comment sobered me up a little.

  We parked in the lot as close to the doors as possible, so I could try and get a good look at what was going on inside. After a couple of minutes of watching, I concluded that it seemed like it was business as usual. So, I turned to the kids to explained what was expected of them this time around.

  “Okay, so we are all going in to get at least two pairs of leather pants, each. Like with the boots, I want you to get a pair that fits comfortably and another, that is at least a size bigger so you can grow into them. As far as the jackets, I think we should do the same thing. I’ll get ones for Justin and the kids as well. Remember, when looking for the jackets you should try to find ones that cover your neck as much as possible. I don’t want any of us to have any exposed skin when we’re fully dressed. If you don’t think the helmet you have already fitsright, then get another one. Same thing as before too, money is not an object, so if you think it will keep you safe, get it. Except for a motorcycle.”I said this just as Lance was about to open his mouth. My comment made him not say whatever it was that he was originally planning to. I was really turning out to be the bad guy today. No more friends, no more going out without being wrapped from head to toe in leather, and no motorcycles.

  Just call me the dream crusher.

  “Alright guys, same deal as before with the car key and we stay within hearing distance of one another. Allycia, you’re with me and we go to the women’s section and boys you go together in the men’s section. We’ll meet you there in fifteen minutes, so I can get stuff for Justin and David. Whistle if anything happens.”Now, I was getting funny looks from the kids, as if the more they thought about this, the less likely it was that anything would end up happening. I certainly hoped they were right.

  We entered the store, Allycia and I went right to the woman's and the boys went left to the men’s. I was done very quickly and saw that Allycia was having a hard time since it didn’t seem that leather pants were part of her fashion palette. I went over to her to help speed things along.“What size pants do you wear now, honey, I can help you find them?”

  “I can find my own pants, Mom. I just don’t know what color I want.”

  “Really Allycia? Color? We are in a massive hurry and you know how bad this could get but you’re worried about color? Just get black. It goes with everything!”

  “No mom, I don’t know how bad this could get. I don’t even know if what you told us is real so excuse me for being a little picky about clothes that I may never have to wear!”

  “Never have to wear? As soon as we are done here we are all going home and suiting up right away. I don’t want us to be caught unprotected. You mean too much to me to have that happen.”I started to break down and tears welled in my eyes. Allycia saw I had started crying and it softened her a little.

  “Okay Mom, if you think this Troy guy is right, then whatever you say. Black does go with everything and it makes me look skinnier too.”She said with a little smile as she grabbed two pairs of black leather pants.

  A whistle sounded over from where the boys were and I grabbed Allycia and started running in their direction. We caught up with the boys by the men’s dressing rooms and they were as white as ghosts.

  “What’s going on, why the whistle?”

  “The dude in the changing room at the end doesn’t sound like he’s doing so well. We didn’t see him but he’s making some pretty weird noises so we thought we should whistle.”

  “Good job, boys. Stand back and let me take a peek to see if he’s okay.”I walked to the end of the changing rooms and heard heavy breathing coming from behind the heavy wooden door. I didn’t want to but I knocked.

  “Excuse me, is everything okay in there?”The noises went silent for a moment and then the door handle started to jiggle. I held my breath and looked for anything around me I could use as a weapon. Finding nothing but hangers, I grabbed one and positioned it to defend myself, if needed. The door opened a little and I almost swung at it.

  “I’m sorry; I didn’t know we were being so loud, we’re coming right out.”Giggled a small female voice from behind the door.

  I dropped the hanger before I could make a fool out of myself as a young man covered in tattoos and a young girl, half-dressed, came out, fixing their hair and clothes. My mouth dropped as they walked past me.

  “Dude, I’m sorry. Things just get crazy sometimes when I need help with my zipper.”The boy laughed as he dragged his girlfriend past my kids.

  I didn’t know whether to laugh at what just happened or to yell at these kids who thought the dressing room was their own personal hotel room. I just let it go and walked back to my kids, who began to snicker at each other over what just happened.

  “Mom was going to hanger them!”Said Tyler.

  “Now that would have been something to see!”Responded Lance.

  “At least she was prepared to protect us.”Said Allycia sternly as she turned around to catch up with me.

  “Thanks, sweetie.”

  “No problem, Mom. I’m sorry about before. I just don’t know how to take what’s going on. I’m scared and I want to tell my friends but I know if you’re right, it would just make things worse. I just can’t seem to understand why dad didn’t tell you about Troy, or the other stuff he was doing.”

  “I’m not sure either, honey, but I do know we have to get up there as soon as possible. The why of it is something we can worry about after we are all safely there.”

  “Ok, so what next?”

  “Well, we need to get leather riding gloves. It looks like they are over here.”

  We continued shopping without another incident. Then, we headed back to the truck to go home.

  Chapter 4

  On our way home I looked at the gas gauge for the truck and it was just under a quarter of a tank. I remembered it taking at least a full tank of gas to get to the cabin, so I decided to top her off and that it would probably be a good idea to get as many gas cans as I could and fill them up, just in case.

  Where to put them, though?

  I pulled into a station that has one of those big stores attached to it where you can get new spark plugs or lipstick in the same isle. I left Lance in charge to keep an eye out, keep the doors locked and his brother and sister safe while the truck was filling. I went inside to get the gas containers. I looked back to the truck just as I got to the doors and remembered we were going to have the Johnboat hitched to the truck. The Johnboat had a cover on it and some fishing gear stored in it. That’s where we could put the gas cans. I turned around to go back so
we could get ready to head up to the cabin, hook up the boat and then get the gas cans.

  Otherwise, the kids would be riding with the cans on their laps. The convenience store door opened behind me and the couple exiting was talking loudly enough that I could hear their conversation.

  “I bet it’s some kind of Chinese pig flu, damn Chinese people always bringing their damn flu’s over here! I am running out of sick days at work thanks to all these germs!”

  “Yeah I know what you mean. My office has those stupid cover your cough signs all over the place as if that’s going to help! I know some people that if you stuck a sign in their cubicle where they would see it all day every day, they still wouldn’t listen. People are just gross.”

  I decided that it might be a good idea, after all, to go inside and see if there was a news broadcast or something going on that sparked their conversation. I opened the door and was greeted by the normal loud ding of someone entering a convenience store, but there was also the noise of loud talking and I could tell that the volume on the already blaring TV was being turned up.

  “Everyone be quiet! I can’t hear the news lady talking over all of you!”The clerk barked at the group of about six people in front of his counter. Everyone quieted down and looked up at the TV hanging from the ceiling as if it were going to start shooting money at them at any second. Their stares brought my attention to the TV and a black screen with the caption that read,“Growing violence and unrest in China due to an unknown viral outbreak.”

  The newswoman came back into view instead of the black screen and apologized that the video they were attempting to show was too graphic for television and the network decided not to air it at the last minute.

  Yeah, bullshit.

  The United States government already knew what this really was, where it came from, and how awful it can get, so they don’t want anyone to panic in the US while they still try and clean up the mess they let out before it gets here. I’d bet that’s why they couldn’t show the images.