Starting the Slowpocalypse (Books 1-3 Omnibus)

by James Litherland

  Kat had closed the curtains, not wanting to be a visible target for troublemakers. On the other hand, part of the reason she had taken over the downstairs guest bedroom in her parents’ house was to protect them, or her mother at the moment, from just such rabble-rousers. Not that she was in any shape to do much at the moment, but she could always alert Security if she saw any sign of trouble.

  The other part of her reason for recuperating at her parents’ house was that refrigerator full of food just down the hall in the kitchen, itself only one part of why she would be much more comfortable convalescing here than in a bed at the clinic. She’d had to send her mother a message to let her know that the house had become a plague zone. And then she had needed to inform Chief Cameron she was sick.

  She felt bad, knowing it was her own impetuous actions that would keep her from fulfilling her obligations to the Guards for a few days. But it was still worth it. She had meant to provoke a reaction from Tony, and she’d gotten what she wanted—enough at least to confirm what she’d already known. But he’d been able to restrain himself.

  Remembering the look in his eyes last evening, Kat shivered. Although she’d intended to make him lose his self-control, now she was relieved he hadn’t—she now hoped never to see Tony come to a point where he couldn’t keep his emotions in check. That left her lacking a strategy to get through to him, but she would have plenty of time lying in bed to think. Surely she’d come up with something. In the interim, she could trust he’d be thinking a lot about that kiss.

  She was sitting there staring at the spines of the books beside her, and wondering what to read first, when she heard the front door slam and knew Caroline had come home. Kat put on the brightest smile she could fake and waited for the big entrance. She waited a long time.

  When the door finally swung open, it revealed a Caroline wearing a full hazmat suit standing on the threshold. Kat’s mother stood there and stared with her hand still on the doorknob. “How could you let this happen? And now? I can’t get sick this close to the election. Why couldn’t this be the time you followed your father’s example? Hiding out over at the clinic was good enough for him.” Shaking her head at Kat, her sigh was loud enough to hear through the plastic helmet. “I hope you don’t think I’m going to stay here and take care of you—I’ve got a campaign to run.”

  Kat nodded her appreciation. “That was quite a speech. But don’t worry, I don’t expect you to play nurse—as you can see I’ve got everything I need for taking care of myself. You don’t even need to come in and check to see if your only child is still alive or not. I wouldn’t want you to have to put on that suit again. Neither do I want to have to go to the hospital and hang around with a bunch of sick people any more that you would, I’m sure.” She paused to add a grin. “And I deliberately infected myself knowing full well the timing would be bad for your campaign, but you don’t need to worry about that either. Alvin Fox has this election all sown up.”

  Caroline stood there glaring, her gaze as cold as ice and one eyebrow twitching violently. Kat didn’t know how her mother did it. The woman really was a marvelous actress.

  “Darling, you need to work on your delivery. It wasn’t bad, though.” She tilted her head inside that helmet and considered her daughter. “This is about Tony, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Caroline was too perceptive by half. “What is it you think might have something to do with Tony, and how? If you mean catching the flu, I think I may have picked up the virus from him, yes.”

  Her mother tapped a gloved finger on the mask in front of her face. “That was irresponsible of him. If the man’s going to try to do his job while recovering from the flu and still contagious, he ought to be more careful.”

  Recalling the confrontation in Tony’s office, Kat couldn’t help but grin again. “He tried very hard to keep from infecting me. I’m afraid it’s my fault.”

  Caroline considered her again, for another long moment. “I see.” Then she shook her head. “While I don’t like the idea of your being here alone, I don’t want to ask anyone else to expose themselves to the flu to take care of you. So you’ll just have to manage your stubborn self on your own. You can always call the sisters if you need help, and I’m sure they would be happy to come and cart you away.”

  “Just don’t rat on me to Dr. Harker yourself. If nurses come to badger me, I’ll know who to blame it on.” She felt sure her mom would report her. She’d have to stand firm and refuse to leave the house.

  Her mother stepped back, just out into the hallway to grab something, and then she was coming all the way into the room, holding a box of chocolates. “I had been saving these for a special occasion, but I think you’ll need them now more than I ever would. I can celebrate winning the election with something else.” She paused, and Kat saw her pursing her lips behind that plastic shield. “You are aware you’ll be causing both Tony and your father a lot of trouble if you keep this up?”

  Kat shook her head. “Once again, I have no idea what you’re talking about. And it would serve them both right if they brought trouble on themselves, by making an issue out of something they shouldn’t.”

  Caroline sighed. “Men are always finding problems to deal with—it gives them something to do. I suppose there’s nothing to be done but to leave you to try and work it out all on your own. I really have to get back to the campaign trail. Though I must say your timely alert did save me from what was quickly turning into quite a fractious council session.”

  “So what are you up to now?”

  “Rallying my supporters, charming everybody I meet, and trying to talk to as many people as possible. There’s a lot to do and little time to do it in.”

  Welcome to my world. Kat closed her eyes. “I’d suggest you get busy then. You know you’ve got my vote.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Considering the alternatives, it’s not like I have much choice.”

  Caroline nodded. “I’ll be pleased if most people think that way.”

  Kat sighed. “Don’t hand me that—you’ll only be happy if everyone wants you to win.”

  “Nonsense, dear. Alice and Alvin don’t want me to win. And therefore it will be all the sweeter when I do.”

  Kat sank into her pillows and waved her mother away, unable to take any more of their bantering in her weakened condition. Caroline placed the box of chocolates on top of the stack of books and left.

  Waiting until the woman had gone, Kat opened her eyes and reached over to grab the box. She took out one of the chewy caramels and tossed it into her mouth and savored the salty sweet richness for several long minutes. Then she forced herself to drink an entire glass of water. And still she felt compelled to get up and go to the bathroom to brush her teeth. By the time she was back in bed, she was exhausted. So much for the chocolates.

  As tempting as it was to indulge, Kat didn’t have the time or energy to waste, and she didn’t need any solace. What she needed was to get over the flu, and to find a strategy that would work with Tony. Finally confronting the issue between them had felt good at the time, but now she knew she couldn’t just batter down the barrier he’d erected. It was obvious he had made up his mind to reject a romantic relationship with her, whatever his feelings. And she didn’t think she could change that, not directly. But somehow she had to get him to lower his defenses and let her in. It would take time.

  It would take spending time close to him, allowing him to grow comfortable with her presence once again. The challenge would be convincing him he’d be safe letting her hang around. And that meant he needed to think things could be how they used to be between the two of them. She drifted off as she was thinking through the tactics she might use.

  She didn’t know how long she’d slept when she woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door—the bedroom door. She was just thinking that her mother would never bother knocking when a tentative voice addressed her from the other side. “Lieutenant Miles? It’s Dav
id Belue. I’m afraid I’ve been sent to take another blood sample.”

  With a soft sigh, Kat scooted up against the pile of pillows so she could sit up straight for the ordeal. “Alright. Come in if you must.”

  David entered, carrying a medical kit and wearing a sheepish smile. “I know how you’re feeling, so I’ll try to make this as painless as possible. I believe I’m getting the hang of drawing blood now.”

  From the squeamish expression on his face, she expected it would hurt him more than it did her. “I can take it. I suppose the sisters are afraid of catching the virus from me. Officer Mori, too?”

  David nodded. “None of them have been infected yet, and we want to keep it that way for as long as possible. They’re needed too much to risk them doing this, and since I’m already immune there’s not a problem. Except for how the people I’ve got to poke with a needle feel about it.”

  “Just don’t take too much.” She pushed up her sleeve to expose the vein in her arm. “I heard what you did for Chief Cameron by the way. Thank you.” If David hadn’t donated his antibody-packed blood to help Cameron recover so quickly, would Kat have dared expose herself to the virus the way she had?

  “Not at all. I’m the one who infected Ken in the first place, even if I didn’t know I was doing it—so I owed him. Unfortunately I can’t give blood again to help somebody else until tomorrow.” He sat down, half on the bed, and swabbed the inside of her elbow with an alcohol pad. “And that may be the last time my blood will have a sufficient concentration of the right immunoglobulin to do much good against this strain of the flu.”

  “I don’t suppose…” Kat thought of her dad still languishing in the clinic. “I wonder if you could donate to Director Miles. It sounds as if my father is having a hard time of it.”

  David shook his head. “I already offered.” With excruciating slowness he slid the needle in her arm, then drew the plunger back. She hardly felt it. “The director refused to take it, said it should go to someone who needed it more than him. Should I ask the sisters to give it to you?”

  Kat watched the tube swiftly fill with her blood. “I’d have to refuse as well.” She glanced over at the nightstand. “As you can see, I’ve got water and anything else I might need to get me through. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  Packing up the syringe and her blood sample, a wry smile flashed across David’s face. The kid probably thought she got her stubbornness from her dad when she surely got it from Caroline. “Getting plenty of fluids is important, but for a swift recovery, it’s also good to get plenty of protein. And since I doubt you’ll feel like cooking, I brought some supplies and put them in your refrigerator. Milk and cheese, for eating and drinking with minimal fuss.”

  Kat rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. The refrigerator was in the kitchen, which meant having to walk down the hall, and she didn’t feel up to that at the moment. Still, the boy had meant well. “You have more questions?”

  “I already asked you about your contacts up until Wednesday afternoon, but now I’ll need to know about everyone you got close to since then. Particularly since you started to show symptoms.”

  “I had contact with Kirkland Wednesday night, and Sara and Grace as well, but I wasn’t sick then. I caught the flu Thursday afternoon, from Chief Nelson.” She hadn’t wanted to mention it, but she had to be honest. “And that evening I had contact with a number of troublemakers.”

  David blinked. “You were infected by Chief Nelson? I thought he was going to be careful.”

  “He was, but I wasn’t, so it’s not his fault.” Not directly, anyway. “Since then the only people I was close to were those offenders last night and then my mom this afternoon. But she was wearing plenty of protection, so you shouldn’t worry about her. And I spent some time with some of the guards last night, but I was careful to wear my mask then, and not get too close.”

  He still made her name everybody she could remember and entered all the information in his pad. Then he stood and started for the door but stopped and looked back at her with a warm smile. “Alright then. I hope I won’t have to bother you any more—but if you need help of any kind, I’ll be happy to run right over.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll be fine on my own. And surely you have more important things to do.”

  He raised his eyebrows but left without another word. She listened to his heavy footfalls going down the hall and then the front door closing and the automatic lock clicking into place. With a sigh she settled back and tried to think about Tony. Before she knew it, she was drifting off again.

  The next time she started awake, the light coming out the cracks in the curtains was dim. And she wondered what had woken her. Then she noticed a soft buzzing sound from outside the window. Forcing her stiff muscles into motion, Kat climbed out of bed and went to investigate, peering carefully at the front yard from one side of the curtain.

  What she saw was a surprise but not a shock. A handful of people were camped outside on the grass with signs proclaiming sympathetic sentiments like ‘We Want Answers’—there was also a pithy ‘Where’s the Bread?’ and the downright bizarre ‘Give Me Donuts or Give Me Death’—but they were orderly protesters. Hopefully they’d remain that way.

  Kat stumbled back to the nightstand to grab her FURCS pad. She was unsteady on her feet, her legs were aching, and sweat had begun to pop out across her forehead. That would be the fever. She put her hand to her brow and felt a searing heat.

  She was not in any shape to repel intruders, not that they’d looked like they were about to storm the house. But she didn’t want to call Tony for help yet. What she could do was compromise—so she tapped out a message to her mom. Caroline would see to it that someone kept an eye on the house, just in case things did get out of hand.

  Kat crawled back into bed. She needed to leave everything in other hands, including herself, and let her body fight the flu. While she rested.

  Chapter 14

  Medical Mysteries

  6:20 p.m. Friday, May 23rd

  DAVID poured two cups of coffee and added them to his tray before heading over to the table against a wall where Dr. Harker sat apart from the few others in the sparsely populated clinic cafeteria. The food here was good, but not good enough to overcome so many people’s fear of the flu. As always, Amita had her head bent over her workpad, absorbed in whatever reports she happened to be studying now. Setting his tray down between them, David took one of the cups and set it near her right hand. “Here’s your coffee, Doctor.”

  He sat and grabbed the giant platter of potatoes au gratin he’d gotten for himself and waited for her hand to reach of its own accord for the cup he’d put beside it. She grasped the handle and lifted the cup to her lips, raising her head at the same time.

  She smiled at him. “I told you to call me Amita. After all, I don’t go around calling you Officer Belue, do I? Thanks for the coffee, by the way.”

  He shook his head as she sipped. “But then I’m working for you. It’s hardly the same thing.” Especially since she was older than him, and a doctor to boot. Calling her by her first name still seemed too personal, no matter how many times he’d tried. She kept staring at him as if waiting for further explanation, which he couldn’t give her. “Alright. I’ll work at it. Amita.”

  She nodded and ran her hand through her hair. “That’s more like it.” She took another sip of coffee and looked David in the eye. Her glasses remained stuffed in the pocket of her lab coat, but she seemed to see him clearly enough without them. “I shudder to think what will happen when we run out of coffee—it’s bad enough without bread.”

  He would have thought she had enough to concern herself with without worrying about the unrest in the community. “We’ve got enough coffee for two years or more in storage, but after that we’ll have to go without…”

  They couldn’t afford to see this kind of escalating tension every time they ran out of something. It wasn’t like anyone was going hungry. He found his jaw had clenched in frus
tration—he couldn’t understand why people couldn’t complain civilly. Or why they had to complain at all. Taking a big bite of his potatoes, he thought they were eating pretty well in the circumstances. The way everybody was reacting cast doubt on whether they’d all last a couple years, to find out what it would be like without coffee.

  David swallowed before opening his mouth and continuing. “They’re exploring various substitutes, but they may start rationing at some point. Apparently any decision about that, though, is waiting until after we elect a community leader—to take all the blame, I suppose.”

  “Quite cynical for a young man, aren’t you?”

  “Just realistic.” He didn’t think he was all that cynical. “And I was studying to be a lawyer.”

  “Was? Have you given it up, then? Why?”

  “What’s the point now? Do you really think I’ve got a future career as a lawyer, the way everything is falling apart out there?”

  Amita shook her head. “Both cynical and pessimistic. I can see why you’d think a lot of the details you must’ve been studying might not be particularly useful anymore, but surely the fundamental principles of the law should apply in any circumstances. I know there were legal systems long before our modern civilization came along.”

  David paused with a forkful of potatoes halfway to his mouth. “Sure. But I’ve already learned all the basics of jurisprudence. And now I’m doing important work for the community while learning things I never would have in law school.”

  “Somehow I imagine there’s still a lot you could learn about the law, and it could certainly be useful here. Just look at the Community Council. I’d been on a couple of boards before, and I thought it would be about the same—a boring waste of time. But it’s been anything but boring. And they could probably use some legal advice as they try to figure out how to deal with the people you arrest.”