Influenza: Viral Virulence

by Ohliger, Steven

  Still pointing the gun at Michael, he said, “Approach the gate. Keep your hands in the air, and don’t make any sudden movements.”

  Michael and Lorie walked to the gate as the policeman instructed.

  Now face-to-face with the man, Lorie said, “I live here with my parents. We’re just coming back from college.”

  Ignoring her, the policeman said, “I need to see your driver’s license or some sort of ID. If it’s in your pocket or purse, I need you to get it out very slowly.”

  Lorie did as he asked and handed him her ID through the gate bars.

  “What is your parents’ street address?”

  Lorie told him.

  The policeman referred to his list. “And phone number?”

  She gave him her parents’ home-phone number.

  He looked at her card and then looked at Michael. “And who are you?”

  “Michael Donovan.”

  “He brought me home from school,” Lorie said.

  “I need your ID too.”

  Michael cautiously retrieved his wallet from his back pocket. The policeman watched his every move closely, and the shotgun never wavered. Handing his driver’s license through the bars as Lorie had done, Michael wondered if they were going to be gunned down in front of these gates so close to their homes.

  After studying both IDs, the policeman visibly relaxed and, to Michael’s relief, lowered the gun. “Okay, you check out. Give me a second here.” The policeman fumbled with the lock and took the chains off the gate.

  As he was unchaining the gate, Lorie asked, “Now that you know who we are, who are you? I haven’t seen you here before.”

  “Sergeant, I mean, previously Sergeant John Dickerson, ma’am,” he replied. Looking behind Michael and Lorie to make sure that there was no one else approaching the gate, John swung the gate open wide enough for them to step through.

  Once on the other side, Lorie asked, “What is going on here?”

  “Just extra security,” John said. “We don’t want any trouble in the neighborhood.”

  “What do you mean previously sergeant? Are you still with the force?” Michael asked.

  “Long story,” the sergeant replied. “But the short story is that I was with the sheriff’s department last month. Today, like the rest of the world, things are very different.”

  “How did you end up here?” Lorie asked as John pushed one of the gates the rest of the way open.

  “After the virus hit, it was bad out there and getting worse all the time. People were going crazy. They were breaking into stores, looting, and killing each other. We couldn’t respond to all of the calls that came in. We had to decide which calls took priority. Most of the department had called in sick, or didn’t even bother to show up. The state police couldn’t send any help, if they even had anybody left. Finally, the governor called up the National Guard, but by then, it was too late. There was no National Guard left. No army. No government. Nothing. We found ourselves fighting a losing war on the streets.

  “It was getting so bad that my wife’s boss called her and offered to have her and the kids stay at her house for a while. ‘Until things get back to normal,’ my wife’s boss said. She’s a good person and always got along with my wife. So, one evening I packed up our minivan with some clothes and drove them over here,” he said, indicating the homes behind him.

  “Anyway,” he continued, “I went to work that night, and the only person still left at the station was the dispatcher. I checked in and started my rounds. Soon after dark I got a call of shots fired and two officers down. I raced to the scene, got out of my cruiser, and saw two of my brothers in blue lying in the middle of the street in a pool of their own blood.

  “I radioed back that I needed assistance and an ambulance. Then, I came under heavy fire myself. No one responded to my radio requests for help. With no backup, I barely made it to my cruiser unharmed, and then I got the heck out of there. The saddest part is that those two officers, who gave their lives to protect the public, are probably still lying in the street dead. They were gunned down by vicious perps, who will go unpunished and, most probably, kill again.

  “As police officers, we wake up every morning ready to put our lives on the line. And then we get paid by being shot at? That night I came to the decision that if I were going to die protecting somebody, I would die protecting my wife and kids. So I drove back to the station, grabbed as many guns as I could carry, and came here.

  “When I arrived to pick them up, I was offered a deal by my wife’s boss, Ms. Ferguson. Knowing that chaos was breaking loose on the streets, she approached me on behalf of the community. Ms. Ferguson is not only my wife’s employer, but she also happens to be an officer on the Candlestick Estate Homeowners Association.

  “She pulled me aside and said that if I helped organize and run security here at the complex, my family and I could move into one of the homes that had recently been vacated. It was a win-win situation for me. I could protect both my family and the community at the same time. Of course, getting to live in a multimillion-dollar home has its perks too,” John said as he finished pushing the other gate open. Now there was enough room for the truck to pull through.

  “Do it quickly,” former officer John told Michael. “The longer we have the gate open, the more chance someone has to try to rush the opening. My shotgun could stop a few perps, but I’d have to call for help if more came,” he said, indicating the radio strapped to his belt.

  “You can’t guard this whole complex just by yourself,” Lorie observed as Michael pulled the truck through.

  “I don’t have to do it all by myself,” John explained. “We have enough able-bodied volunteers that we can man the gate in rotating four-hour shifts, plus have someone patrol the area. So far, we’ve had some minor situations, but nothing major. This is a safe haven here compared to the chaos out there,” he said, looking back outside the gates.

  Michael and Sandy got out of the truck. After Sandy sniffed Officer John’s shoes, he met with her approval, and she allowed him to pet her. Michael helped John by closing one of the large gates while he closed the other.

  As John chained and locked the two gates together, he said, “There’s a major meeting in a couple of days at the clubhouse. You should attend. We’re going to go over more security measures as well as figure out how we’re going to obtain more supplies. We’ll most likely start going through the vacated homes, whether they’ve been abandoned, or the owners have died from the flu. After that, we’ll have to start organizing some supply runs outside Candlestick Estates.”

  “Okay,” Lorie replied. “I’ll tell my parents.”

  “You best get on your way then,” Officer John said.

  Michael shook John’s hand as Lorie got into the truck. Sandy wagged her tail, and John scratched her behind her ears.

  The policeman took the opportunity to lean close to Michael, and he said just loud enough for him to hear, “A few days ago, we did a house-to-house roll call to see who was here and who was missing. We got no answer at your girlfriend’s house. For her sake, I hope they’re okay, but you might want to prepare for the worst.”

  Michael thanked him and got back into the truck.

  Lorie turned to him and asked, “What did he ask you?”

  “Nothing important,” Michael said quietly and drove down the road away from the entrance gate.

  Chapter 21

  With no obstacles blocking their way, Michael made it to Lorie’s house in just a few minutes. The neighborhood seemed to be unaffected by what was happening beyond those stone walls. Other than a lack of luxury cars passing them on the streets and children playing in the front yards, it appeared to be just another day in Candlestick Estates.

  Like most homes in the community, Lorie’s house was large. It was so large that three normal homes could fit inside this one. Because he’d been inside it several times before, Michael knew it was a six bedroom home with all the fixings, from marble floors to a lavish gra
nd staircase and from paneled walls to large, crystal chandeliers. The rooms were so big that Michael and Scott could play tennis in the living room. Then, there was the spacious three-car garage.

  Michael always knew that Lorie came from a family of means, but he never felt intimidated when he was with her. Whenever they were together, he felt they were both on the same level. She was just another hometown girl going to college. She didn’t flaunt her family’s money. In direct contrast to that, Lorie almost seemed ashamed and avoided any talk of finances. It was as if, to her, having money was a sin.

  The first time he brought her home, he thought she had given him the wrong directions or was playing a trick on him. But then, she guided him to her home where he met her parents. They were both nice enough people, and they greeted Michael with warm smiles and were grateful he had brought their daughter home safely. He was somewhat embarrassed by his old rusty car in their driveway, but they paid it no mind. It looked completely out of place, like a frog sitting in the middle of a bowl of mashed potatoes at a Christmas Eve dinner table. Lorie’s parents never judged him. In fact, they seemed as accepting of Michael as they were of anyone else. They frequently inquired about his studies and made him feel comfortable whenever he picked Lorie up or dropped her off.

  He parked in the driveway as usual, and Lorie got out and made her way to the front door. As Michael retrieved her suitcases from the truck bed, Sandy jumped out and started running around the front lawn. Former sergeant John’s parting words were still echoing in his head. He liked Lorie’s parents and prayed they were okay.

  Letting herself into the house with her key, Lorie disappeared into the interior. Michael followed a few moments later, wheeling both of Lorie’s suitcases behind him. As he stepped over the threshold, he caught the unmistakable smell of death in the air. It wasn’t just the musty staleness of air in a house without air-conditioning. It also wasn’t the sharp, pungent smell he had experienced before at the department store or in the car that he’d had to manually shift out of gear. It was an underlying aroma that was buried in the depths of the house. Sandy stood at the entrance and didn’t follow him inside. She whined when Michael called her in, but she came inside with a little coaxing.

  His thoughts immediately went to Lorie. Pausing in the foyer, he listened for her. Hearing nothing, he left the suitcases and walked around the main floor looking for her. He looked in the kitchen, walked through the living room, and peeked into the formal dining room. In the family room, she was still nowhere to be seen. Out the back window, he could see the pool shimmering in the afternoon sun. The automatic pool cleaner looked like an anaconda moving around in the water. It must run on solar power, he thought before resuming his search for Lorie. Sandy followed closely behind him with her ears down.

  He walked to the bottom of the grand staircase and rested his hand on the mahogany newel post. “Lorie?” he called out softly.

  Hearing no response, he headed up the steps one by one. He stood still at the top of the staircase and listened. Sandy sat at the bottom of the steps and refused to follow him any farther. He heard a faint noise coming from the far end of the hallway. It sounded like a low murmur. He followed the sound into the master bedroom.

  As he walked into the room, he noticed that next to the king-sized bed were nightstands full of various bottles of liquids and pills for cough, congestion, and body aches…everything that was commonly used for symptoms of the flu. Kneeling at the side of the bed, Lorie had her head in her hands and was sobbing convulsively. In the bed were the half-covered, desiccated bodies of her mother and father. Barely recognizable any longer, the bodies exuded the odor Michael had smelled when he first entered into the house.

  Seeing Lorie like this, his heart broke. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if he should hold her while she cried or let her grieve on her own. Leaning down beside Lorie, he placed his right hand on her left shoulder. Her back trembled, but she didn’t throw his hand off. He remained silent. He wouldn’t try to comfort her with words. All he could do was be there for her.

  She turned to him, and her deep, hazel eyes were red and full of tears. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. He held her as she broke into a fresh wave of sobbing. Tears started to form in his own eyes as his heart felt for her. He wished he had the right words to alleviate her suffering. Without them, all he could do was hold her in his arms. He wished he had the ability to fix it and make everything better. Lacking the power of God, he felt inadequate at that moment to help her.

  After a long time, her tears slowed and her sobs became less frequent. Michael tried to walk Lorie out of the room, but she relaxed her hold on him and said, “I’d like to stay here for just a little while longer. Alone.”

  Michael looked down into her puffy eyes and brushed her blond hair out of her face. “Sure. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” He backed out of the room and left Lorie to grieve.

  Back downstairs, he went through the house opening up windows to let the fresh air in and the stale smell of death out. Then he opened the sliding glass door leading out into the backyard and sat cross-legged by the edge of the pool. Sandy followed him out and started sniffing around the yard. He stared at, but did not really see, the pool cleaner snake back and forth across the bottom and sides of the pool. The vibration caused little ripples to spread out over the surface of the water. Sandy finished her investigation of the yard and returned to where he was sitting.

  After a long time, Lorie appeared. Without a word, she joined him and sat by the side of the pool. Sandy put her head in Lorie’s lap and looked up at her with her big, brown eyes. Lorie smiled at her and started stroking the top of Sandy’s head.

  “How are you?” Michael asked, his voice full of concern. He knew it was probably the most stupid question in the world right now, but he had never had to experience what Lorie was going through. He didn’t know what to say or do.

  “I’ll make it,” she replied softly. “I knew something was wrong when they didn’t answer the phone, but I tried to make excuses. I hoped they were still okay, but deep down inside, I knew the truth and was deceiving myself.”

  He put his hand lightly on her back.

  “I’d like to bury them properly, if you don’t mind. I think it’s the right thing to do,” she said after a while. Her voice was still shaky as she tried to regain control of her emotions. “I can’t just leave them in the bedroom.”

  “I understand,” Michael said. “I’ll help you.”

  She stood up, and Michael did the same. She hugged him again and then took his hand. Squeezing his hand in hers and looking up into his eyes, she gave him a brief, forced smile as if to say, “I’ll be okay.” Then she let his hand go and walked inside the house silently.

  Michael waited for a few moments and then followed her. Lorie had disappeared again, so Michael searched for the door leading out into the garage. Just as he found it, he heard a loud crash from upstairs. With panic rising within him, he raced up the steps, taking two at a time, and then ran to the bedroom door.

  Bursting into the master bedroom, he was just in time to witness Lorie taking her hand and violently sweeping the bottles of cough and cold medicine off the other nightstand. Some of the bottles were flung against the wall and shattered. Colored liquid seeped down the wall.

  Seeing Michael run into the room, Lorie turned to face him. Her cheeks were flushed with anger.

  Michael dropped his eyes to the carpet. Broken glass surrounded the other nightstand where Lorie had taken out her frustration while he was downstairs. Without saying a word, he bent down and started collecting shards of glass with his hands.

  Breathing heavily, Lorie stood there and watched him. After a few moments, her breathing returned to normal, and her shoulders slumped. She turned away from him, ran into the master bathroom, and closed the door behind her.

  Michael found a trash basket and started putting the broken glass in it. Careful not to miss any, he meticulo
usly searched the carpet around both sides of the bed and near the walls. While he cleaned up the mess, he could hear Lorie crying behind the closed bathroom door. He figured that she wanted to be alone right now and it would be best if he didn’t interrupt her. When he finished, he quietly exited the room, carrying the trash can with him.

  He went into the garage and disposed of the contents of the basket. Inside the spacious garage sat a new, shiny Mercedes next to an older classic BMW. Ignoring the luxury cars, Michael found a shovel neatly hanging from a hook on the back wall near some other gardening tools. Shovel in hand, he retraced his steps and went out into the backyard. He sunk the shovel into the dark topsoil and started digging.

  It was getting dark as he finished. Dirty and sweaty from the labor, Michael tried to clean off as best as he could before going back into the house. Even though part of him said that it didn’t matter whether he tracked a little dirt into the house, the larger part of him still wanted to be respectful. He found Lorie in her parents’ bedroom. She looked a little better. She was no longer shut in the bathroom, and it looked like she had tried to clean herself up. Her eyes were still red and bloodshot, but she looked more in control of herself.

  While he had been working in the backyard, she had managed to use the bed sheets to wrap up the two bodies. She had taken the time and effort to do a neat job. The bodies now looked like two cocoons lying on the exposed mattress.

  Michael offered to take care of them by himself, but Lorie refused. One by one, he helped her carry her mother and father down the stairs and into the backyard. The condition of the bodies made them lighter to transport. They carefully laid them in the graves that Michael had excavated.

  As they put the last body in the grave, Lorie stood up and faced both graves. Fresh tears started to stream down her cheeks. After a time, she looked up at Michael and nodded to him.

  Wordlessly, he began to shovel the dirt back into the graves. Darkness was falling upon them as Michael worked.