The Weak Shall Die: Complete Collection (Four Volume Set)

by Taylor Michaels

  She looked at him strangely and said, "Yes, you're right. I'll go." She turned and walked out the door.

  George went back to Radio Shack and it was still empty. He walked in and the gong went off, but still nobody came out of the back. He opened the door to the back room and shouted again, but nobody responded. He opened the back door and saw his motorcycle. He had been right about which door was which. He began filling his bags and even went into the back room and found a number of boxes. He took the boxes out, put them into the trailer, came back, took out the bags, and emptied them into the little trailer also. He made one last trip inside and emptied everything in the cabinets of electronic components into bags. He took them to the cycle, but he had no place left to put them. He went back in, took a package of electrical ties, and tied the bags to the cycle.

  Behind the mall was a forest. George went back into the store and took everything he could carry into the forest and piled it behind a tree, covering the pile with leaves. He was thinking of making another trip when he smelled smoke and heard the fire alarm. Sanity had left the building, he thought, as he started the cycle.

  For the trip back to the compound, he drove slowly and carefully and kept his automatic ready. After unloading, he went back to retrieve what he could from the forest. Three police cars were in front of the mall, along with two fire engines. Smoke was pouring out of all the entrances and he had to park a block away, in back of a restaurant. He went into the restaurant where only one server was working and ordered dinner. Figuring the food would take a while, he made several trips to the forest to retrieve his items from the forest and fill his trailer.

  * * *

  That night, after everybody had returned from shopping, they turned on the television to the late evening news.

  "Channel Ten News will be extended tonight to bring you reports on the panic from around the country. We have confirmed the rumors from the news agencies that China has shut down. Closed its borders. The virus outbreak has become so widespread and devastating that all normal functions have ceased. People are not going to work. Factories have stopped. Now to our network analyst, Hunt Chetly."

  "Thanks, Amanda. Authorities are telling everyone to stay home and remain calm. You have no reason to panic. The United States only imports a few percent of our GDP from China, so a total shutdown of China should have a minimal effect on us. Those imports are largely in the field of clothing, tools, household appliances and electronics. The problem appears greater than it is because our largest retailer, Walmart, buys most of their products from China. Other retailers are not affected to such an extent since most of their products are made in the United States or elsewhere."

  "An interesting point, Hunt, but if eighty percent of Walmart's suppliers are in China and they are our largest retailer and our largest employer, it's odd that China only accounts for a few percent of our goods. Isn't logical, is it Hunt? You know, when I go shopping, I buy most of my weekly purchases at Walmart, including food. It just doesn't make sense."

  "Well, no, but you're not trying to make this crisis worse are you, Amanda?"

  "No, no, of course not. But, just because we sit here and read the prompter, it doesn't mean that we're a bunch of airheads, does it? This just isn't logical. We shouldn't be lying to our listeners. We have a responsibility to report the truth accurately. We don't make money by lying. I didn't earn all those awards for telling lies."

  "I'm not sure about that. None of this is on the prompter."

  "Just think about it, Hunt. How can we only buy a few percent of our goods from China and our biggest retailer only sells goods from China? There's no logic to it. Somebody is pulling our leg. I never trusted that idiot President, anyway. I should never have voted for him. He is a total idiot if he expects anybody to believe this crap. I certainly don't."

  "Uh, and now let's go to our medical reporter, Dave Brinker."

  "Thank you, Hunt -- and Amanda -- I suppose. It is true that China is suffering badly from the virus. In addition, Europe has also begun to see major effects of an outbreak. From the map behind me, you can see that Germany is suffering the worst of any of the countries in Europe, as the last people to leave China before travel was banned were Germans. They traveled in a plane with hundreds of people and apparently, virtually all of those people on the plane caught the virus. The virus appears to travel through the air and requires little contact to transfer between people. They carried it through the airline terminal in Frankfurt and onto other planes. Now the CDC says that tens of thousands were infected that day, possibly more. They will know more by this time tomorrow."

  "Not last to leave," said Cho. "Next to last."

  "Yes, and they will know more tomorrow because many more will be dead."

  "On the home front, thousands of cases of the virus have turned up in the United States. Most have been traced to people who were in Germany and who were on a plane with people from Germany. Breathing the same air as the infected people. We don't have a precise number, but unnamed sources say around one hundred thousand are now infected in the United States. Back to you, Amanda."

  "I was on a plane yesterday, Hunt. I was in JFK, yesterday. I came back last night. Was I in the terminal with people who were infected? Did I spend hours on a plane with infected people? Am I going to die, Hunt?"

  "We'll know more tomorrow, Amanda."

  "Of course we'll know more tomorrow, you jerk! Especially if I'm dead, tomorrow. Hunt, doesn't that mean anything to you? Aren't you sad at all? Haven't I meant anything to you?"

  The news report, along with the panic had everyone stunned. They knew it was coming, but all had secretly hoped John was crazy, deluded, or at least, badly misinformed. They hoped someone would find a cure. They had trusted him, but were all hoping he was wrong and they could go back to their old, boring lives, and the sooner the better. But that was not the way it was going to be. John was right. The virus had spread around the globe and panic had gripped the country and the globe. The only remaining questions were when would it get here and would their compound fall under its grip?

  Chapter 24 - Bugging In

  After dinner, Fred was pacing back and forth in the dining room. "John, do you really think that being in Ruhan before the leak gave you immunity and those of us who were in Ruhan around that time received immunity too. Is that it?" Fred secretly hoped that was it. He hoped he had escaped the worst thing to hit the planet in four hundred years, but he found it hard to believe. Things in his life didn't generally work out that way.

  "That's what one of the children of the scientists who worked at Bug City thought. Maybe that's why they released it so many times. People who were there for a few days when they had no leak would not be protected. Like the Germans. But you and George were in Ruhan many times. I didn't get sick and Cho didn't get sick. Neither of you have been sick. The virus is airborne. It sounds like a reasonable story. At the same time, ten percent of the Chinese people were immune. In the US, it may be more than ten percent."

  "No way," said Cho. "They target Americans. Used Americans to make virus. More than nine in ten die in US. Just not finished yet. Just started."

  "Now you're the life of the party," said Elspeth.

  "But," said Fred. "I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around this. If nine in ten die, then this little town will still have nearly a thousand people. Five thousand in the county. We will have to fight them for whatever food is left. We will have a major battle on our hands, no matter how you look at it. Many major battles. A dozen against a thousand or five thousand. Those are bad odds. I know they wouldn't attack at once, but even if a tenth of them attacked, it would be over quickly and we'd be dead quickly. We couldn't shoot fast enough. Now I know why all those guys wanted machine guns. That might be the only thing that would save us."

  "You're the life of the party, too," said Elspeth. "You people are beginning to bring me down," she said, pulling a flask from her purse and pouring it all into her teacup.

  Charles inte
rrupted, "What Cho has been saying is that, for the first ten percent who die, the other ninety percent will bury them. Life will go on as usual. But imagine five thousand dead here in a week or two. The cemeteries aren't big enough. They will start by digging giant pits and pouring people in with dozers. But after a while, the guys in the dozers will get sick with the virus and die. The burials will stop. The last thousand alive won't bury the thousand who died before them. They will be left where they fell and the survivors will flee the cities. The cities will be full of corpses rotting where they fell and that will bring on new diseases. And when I say cities, I don't only mean New York. I mean anywhere a dozen people live close together. Eleven will die and that last guy won't bury them. He'll run off. Or die of something that sprang from a corpse. Towns, small settlements. Trailer parks. Apartment buildings. They will all be full of bodies. Those bodies will fester with diseases that none of us can imagine and none of us are immune to. We need to stay out of any kind of settlement. Away from any people. That's why more than nine in ten will die. It will be close to ten in ten in the cities and towns."

  Elspeth upended her cup. "Anybody have any more wine? Charles, you used to be more fun. What happened to you?"

  "Wow," said Fred. "I hadn't really been thinking this through. But whether any of that is true or not, you and Cho don't have it and you're not going to give it to us. George, Charles and I have some chance of being immune. But, so far, it's not likely that any of us were exposed to anyone who had it. So, we're not really sure of any of that. We don't really know. If we stay away from strangers, out-of-towners, we'll be OK. Right, John?"

  "Yes, I think so. If we run into any strangers, Cho or I will make contact with them. And sooner or later, the virus will run its course, at least locally. It'll kill everybody susceptible and it will be over, for a while, probably for many years. We don't know how long that will be. Some viruses can live for years on solid surfaces, but only a few days on soft surfaces. That's why I saw the Chinese spraying windows and doors."

  "Years. Are you joking?" Iris had never said much in the group, being the most recent member and a normally quiet person. "We can't wait that long. We have to get out of here. Go back to some normal life."

  "Normal is way overrated," said George. "I never really liked it myself. Too boring."

  Iris shot George a strange look. "I'm serious. Is this the end of my life? Am I confined inside the fence here forever?"'

  "Not forever," said John. "It won't last more than a few years, maybe only a few months. Pockets will exist around the country where it will remain active. It will come back from time to time in those places, similar to the Black Plague."

  "Sounded like a 'yes' to me," said Iris.

  "Now John is the life of the party." Elspeth grabbed the wine bottle Marceau had brought and filled her empty teacup.

  "I heard a little chatter during dinner last night. Another great dinner, by the way, Marceau. Tell me what you all found when you went shopping. Elspeth, you want to start?"

  "I'm beginning to feel better about this, John. You know what I mean?" she said, her speech becoming slurred. "Shopping was easy-peasy. Nothing like the Harrods January sale. If you can grab some bargains then, you can shop anywhere. No problem in this little burg. I used to max out the credit card every January. I really liked that. I am so sorry I won't be able to go back," she said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue, and taking a big drink of wine. "I know how you feel, Iris. I feel closed in too."

  Tom looked over at Elspeth and made a tsking noise. "It was just beginning. People were fighting. I saw one guy rip a potato from another man's hands. The other guy looked like he would kill if he had a weapon. Then, after we received Cho's call, we went to the ABC store. Some robbers crashed a pickup into the front and Elspeth shot two of them."

  "Easy peasy. They were only ten feet away. Shot from the hip. The policeman thanked me for being so public spirited."

  Everybody was staring at Elspeth, thinking she probably passed out and only dreamed it. John smiled, having already heard the story from Tom. "What about you, Fred?"

  "We also saw some upset people. Right Masako?"

  She nodded. "Oh, yes. I kept one hand on my revolver and one on the cart. Fred grabbed things and filled the cart. Charles stopped a man from kicking another man. Shot him in the knee. Many times, I grabbed for my gun, but Fred stopped me."

  "I had it all under control," said Charles.

  Masako gave Charles a strange look and continued, "It's strange how normally-peaceful people were completely transformed. Like wild animals. The second store was more difficult, even though we stayed away from people as much as possible. It's funny that I don't remember driving there. I remember Charles shooting the man in the leg and I remember arriving at the next store. And I remember the smell of pizza in the car."

  Fred whispered to Charles, "Should I mention that she passed out?"

  Charles smiled and raised his eyebrows. "Maybe that should remain our secret."

  Charles did his best to keep a straight face, but a small grin showed through. Fred was also struggling with his expression. John looked at Charles and Fred and shook his head. That mystery was not difficult to solve.

  "Most shelves were empty by then. We ended up buying things nobody else wanted. But, we figured anything was better than nothing when you're starving. We saw a few fights in the parking lot. But, Marceau was happy with all the oddball things we found."

  "Artichoke hearts are not oddball. Neither are carrots. And thanks to Fred, we have enough tea for a year, maybe even two."

  "Sorry guys, we did what we could."

  "Don't listen to that. Tea is essential to life. It contains loads of free radicals," said Elspeth. "And whisky, too. I was given two boxes at the ABC store."

  Masako stopped smiling at Fred and looked over at Elspeth and said "Given? They gave you two boxes of whisky?"

  Everybody was smiling, thinking Elspeth had consumed too much alcohol and had lapsed into a wonderland all her own.

  Tom spoke up and said, "A present for shooting two robbers, preventing the looting of the store and saving a policeman's life."

  "Always the life of the party," said John, with a smile. "You were leaving that little detail out, weren't you, Elspeth?"

  "Here's to free radicals," she said, raising her glass and taking a drink.

  "We have only one radical around here who is still free and she is also full of whisky."

  "Harry!"

  "That's what everybody was thinking. Might as well say it. Get it out in the open."

  John looked over at George. "What were you doing all that time, George? I saw you coming back on the cycle, looking like some kind of gypsy."

  "I couldn't carry much on the motorcycle, but I wanted to do my part. The van and the two SUV's were out. I hooked up the motorcycle trailer Iris brought a few days ago and went to the mall. It was packed, of course. Always easy to find a parking spot for a motorcycle, though. Even with the trailer. All the clothing and food stores were a riot. But nobody was at Radio Shack. I grabbed handfuls of parts, security cameras, video monitors, security DVR's, wire, soldering irons, two-way radios, batteries. Bags of batteries. Anything that looked interesting. A few things that didn't. I managed to scrounge some K-Mart shopping bags and filled them up. I made a couple trips. Then I found the biggest bags I could and filled them."

  "That must have cost quite a bit," said Masako. "Some of that stuff is pretty expensive."

  "When I said nobody was there, I wasn't exaggerating. They were all in K-Mart fighting for bed sheets or cereal. I stuffed all my storage compartments full, the trailer full and tied on five plastic bags. Just in case, I took a few books, too. I must have looked really strange going down the road with plastic bags tied on everywhere flopping in the wind and my coat stuffed full." He made animated gestures as he talked.

  "Like I said, a gypsy. That reminds me," said John. "It might be a good idea to make a midnight trip to the local library. Pick u
p some DIY books. Medical books."

  "Yes," said Pierre. "Some medical books would be good."

  "Sure," said Fred. "What do we do next? Make another pass or wait until tomorrow?"

  "No tomorrow. Go now. Today last good shopping trips. Get anything. Get everything. Last chance."

  Marceau cleared her throat and spoke, "I thank you all for your compliments on my cooking, but what I'm really going to miss in the next months is wine. We don't have enough for another month at the rate we're going," she said, looking at Elspeth. "We will probably have to start rationing."

  "Bloody hell, forget that. We need another plan."

  "Elspeth, the whole space under your bed is filled with bottles of alcohol. What are you worried about."

  "Some are empties. I was hoping the wine fairy would refill them."

  "Not many."

  "My father would kill me for saying this, but even bad wine would be better than no wine. Especially these days. You've been watching Elspeth. She's not the only one who's worried. You all have jobs to help us prepare for this and to keep your minds off what is happening. I do not. I just cook and organize. I worry about our future," she said, a quake in her voice. "I wish I could go with you, but it makes me so nervous. I know we're better off if I stay here. But it does bother me I'm not helping more."

  "You shouldn't worry, Marceau. But, she's right, John. We've been so busy looking for the essentials, we've overlooked some of the pleasures of life," said Fred.

  "Wine is an essential," said Elspeth. "And whisky. Lots of whisky. Exactly what kind of pleasure were you talking about?"