The Virus

by Steven Spellman

  And I wholeheartedly agree. Geoffrey answered soundlessly to the doctor, still in office, after his latest session with Delilah. And I think it’s time. I think she’s ready. He continued. But I need one last thing.

  And what would that be, Geoffrey? the doctor asked suspiciously, not willing to concede any further requests until the procedure was at least initiated.

  She’s already agreed to be impregnated, as she still thinks it will guarantee her release, but I just want one day, a single day, that’s all, to discuss something with her.

  I ask again, and what would that be, Geoffrey?

  There was a brief telepathic silence before Geoffrey continued, I just want one day to discuss with her how she is impregnated.

  I thought that was the case, Geoffrey, ole’ boy. I thought it all along…but then, I suppose you knew that?

  I did, but can you blame me? You, your assistants, Lieutenant Dan, everyone in this God-forsaken facility has the choice to leave and get a break from this place. Dr. Crangler frowned. Even if you don’t use it. That’s your choice. Geoffrey answered, foreseeing what the doctor was about to say. But Delilah and I don’t even have a choice in the matter. Geoffrey telepathic tone became more serious, Dr. Crangler, hear me out. I’ve been down here for what feels like years, I haven’t seen or heard from the only family I have, my father. I don’t even know if he’s alive. And, until now, I haven’t even been allowed any human interaction except with you and your assistants, and no offense, but you’re not the most lively bunch. I mean, everything has been taken away from me. I had a career and an apartment and a life. Neither it nor the apartment was much of anything, I’ll concede, but it was mine, but all of that was stolen from me the moment I set foot on that helicopter. Not to mention all the craziness I’ve seen right here. I’ve seen in your thoughts that it’s pandemonium all across the world right now, and soon, there may not even be a world to get back to.

  Geoffrey took a moment to let what he was saying sink in. Now, I’ve cooperated fully the entire time I’ve been here. I haven’t given you or your staff any real trouble, and now I finally have an opportunity to have at least some kind of relief. I mean, damn, Dr. Crangler, even murderers get conjugal visits. Besides, you’ve already run all kinds of blood tests on me when I first got here, so you know if I’m clean or not. And if I did check out—which I can see in your thoughts that I did—then why not? Now that I think about it, it would be fitting if I could father the child. I mean besides the fact that I don’t deny that I want to do this for the same reason that any other man would. You’ve seen, Delilah, it’s not like she’s ugly, look at everything that’s been taken from me, including my freedom. Why shouldn’t I be the one to father this child? Believe me, children were the absolute last thing on my mind before I came here, but considering that there are millions of guys up there that are watching their kids dies ruthless deaths, I think I’d like someone to carry on my name, now. When Delilah is impregnated, no matter how it happens, I will have helped make it happen, so why shouldn’t I be involved in it?

  Geoffrey wanted to say so much more, but he didn’t know what, if anything, could be added. He’d been rambling already. Dr. Crangler genuinely sympathized with his patient. He recognized the validity of everything he’d said, and knew Geoffrey was right. He did check out, and according to the same tests that the other specimen donors underwent, he was as good as any for the procedure. In actuality, he may’ve even been slightly better, since his sperm count would be much higher considering that he hadn’t been allowed to engage in any sexual activity at all. He couldn’t even masturbate, not with cameras watching his every move, for many long months. Even though the doctor was ready to allow this request as well, it was not because sympathy, but rather fear: Fear of what Geoffrey might do if he was denied. Dr. Crangler had no doubt whatsoever that his patient could use his telepathy for more nefarious means than simple, good old-fashioned sex, and if it wasn’t forced on him to find out from experience, then the doctor certainly wouldn’t invite it heedlessly.

  Just one day. Only one day, and then we begin the procedure. There’s no telling if she’ll just go along with this, no matter how good you are at these spa treatments of yours. Speaking of which, how do you propose to convince Delilah of this little scheme of yours in the first place?

  Well, that’s the thing, answered Geoffrey, in the doctor’s head, I haven’t had an opportunity, like the one you gave her, to leave the facility for a day. I’d like to have that opportunity and I’d like to use it as a date with her. The doctor was frowning again. It’s only fair, Doc. How many months have I been here? And how many times have I been allowed a trip in the mirror truck? That’s right, zip, none. Look, I’m not trying to escape. I don’t like throwing it in your face, but I can read minds. If I really wanted to make a break for it, it’s not like I couldn’t find a way. I mean, if you or your assistants know the security systems, then I know them. Not to mention the information I get from Lieutenant Dan that he doesn’t even know I’m getting. Dr. Crangler’s frown deepened, until he let out an exasperated sigh (the only audible part of this whole conversation), as he knew Geoffrey was right. No, I’m not trying to escape or usurp your authority or anything like that. I know what’s at stake here and I have as much to lose from the end of the world as you or anyone else. This is my planet too. I’m just trying to get a few freedoms and not go crazy down here in the process.

  So, what exactly are you asking?

  Just a day out in the mirror truck with Delilah, with no guards in the back with us. You can send as many people as you want with us, just have them up front in the cab of the truck. I think things would go a lot better without Lieutenant Dan and his faithful minions around. That’s it. Maybe set us up with some food and perhaps a little wine to have while we ride, and that’s it. If she doesn’t go for it after that, then do whatever you want and I’ll provide as much assistance as I can, and I won’t ask for anything else.

  I’m going to take some time to think about it, Geoffrey. That’s all I can tell you right now.

  Well, we both know there’s not much time. You’ll let me know one way or the other by tomorrow?

  “Tomorrow.” Dr. Crangler conceded aloud and left the room. He had already made up his mind, but he still wanted some privacy to figure out a few things. He left quickly and skirted down the hallway. As much as he didn’t want to think about it, he would have to run this past his superiors. He could perhaps get a few things past their ever-prying eyes, but to allow both patients out of the facility and off the premises, especially with the chaos that was ensuing outside, would definitely cost him his head if he didn’t ask, and immediately, since things could wait no longer. It would seem as though the unbridled fun would never end for poor ole’ Dr. Crangler.

  Chapter 25

  After enduring hours of exhausting deliberations and questioning, Dr. Crangler finally managed to convince his superiors to allow Geoffrey’s and Delilah’s little field trip. As the two lucky shut-ins were about to find out, the world outside was very different than what they remembered and because of this, Dr. Crangler’s bosses were initially very reluctant to approve of this little outing. In fact, it was only after the doctor had spent nearly all his breath convincing them that Geoffrey and Delilah had formed such a bond that should this request be granted, she promised to render her full cooperation henceforth. Of course, such was not the case, but it was the best argument the doctor could think of on such short notice, and this was only after the commission overseeing the doctor had strictly stipulated that the mirror truck was to be led as well followed by an armed consortium, all headed solely by Lieutenant Dan himself.

  When Dr. Crangler arrived at Geoffrey’s room the following morning, it was with news that Geoffrey desperately wanted to hear. “But be absolutely assured Geoffrey…” the doctor began seriously.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. I only get this one day, and if things don’t go as I planned, then bright and early tomorrow you start the p
rocedure.”

  “That’s absolutely right. No more games.”

  “I assure you, Dr. Crangler, this has been no game for anyone, especially me, but I do understand…I’ll make today count.”

  With that, Geoffrey and Delilah were ushered to a waiting mirror truck followed and preceded by at least four armored vehicles, and filled with heavily-armed officers operating under the lieutenant general’s command. Delilah wasn’t nearly as distracted this time as she had been the last, so she got a good look at the grounds under which the secret facility she was being held was housed. It was like a small city. She saw what looked like a small power station and water treatment plant in the distance. A large building with plenty of windows, and a near-constant influx of people, most in uniform, some not, but many holding what appeared to be Styrofoam food containers—an industrial-sized kitchen, perhaps—loomed nearby. She also noticed that directly above the secret underground facility was a large, normal-looking brick building. There were a few other nearly-identical buildings here and there, off in the distance. She wondered to herself if secret facilities—and possibly other captives, who, like her, had been stolen from family, friends, and life as they knew it—likewise sat beneath those buildings.

  She and Geoffrey were in the large, vacated cargo area of the mirror truck, alone, with Lieutenant Dan and another man, both heavily-armed and talking into small, black two-way radios, up front in the truck’s cabin. A round table had been bolted to the floor nearly in the middle of the space where Geoffrey and Delilah were, and a checkered embroidered cloth covered it. Delilah turned to Geoffrey and was about to ask him what he made of the facility and everything, when she noticed that he was cupping his ears and his eyes were drawn tightly shut. Lieutenant Dan and his man up front were giving orders, but they were barely audible. What in the world could Geoffrey be hearing, she thought. “Are you all right?” she asked, with some alarm.

  “Huh?” Geoffrey shouted, as if he was forced to yell above the roar of the phantom noise.

  “Are you all right?” she asked again, this time much louder.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” He didn’t sound like it, he was still yelling. “I just haven’t been outside in a very long time and I guess I just need to, I don’t know, adjust.”

  This didn’t really make sense to Delilah but then again, a lot of things stopped making sense a long time ago, so she just continued to look around her until the truck finally pulled off and out of the facility. As soon as the truck cleared the heavily-barred and guarded triple gates of the complex, Delilah noticed that all she could see of the entire miniature city was a very thick and high concrete embankment that was overgrown into obscurity by an equally thick growth of vines and brush. It took a little closer observation to realize that the growth was not random foliage, but a deliberate ruse to draw attention away from the fact that something very important was hidden just beyond it. She hadn’t noticed this formidable barrier before, and as it looked relatively fresh, she thought that maybe it had been recently built. Then again, the last time she was out, her mind had been wholly occupied, so there was no telling if this was one of the many things she had simply failed to notice.

  The phantom noise must’ve dissipated because Geoffrey seemed like his old self again. “Well, you look like you’re feeling better.” She observed.

  “I do. I guess I’ve finished adjusting.”

  “Good, cause I don’t know how you managed to convince The Warden,” of course, she was referring to Dr. Crangler, “to let us out of solitary again. You can’t imagine the hell I raised to get out the first time. But, like they told me last time, we should probably enjoy it. No telling when we’ll be allowed out of our cells again.”

  Geoffrey inched closer to Delilah and lit a gentle hand on her own manicured one, “I’m already enjoying it, being out with you.”

  Delilah turned away demurely, but did not withdraw her hand, “I’m sure you say that to all the pretty girls that are the only ones you’ve seen in forever.” Geoffrey chuckled gaily in a way that was obviously unscripted. It was good, especially considering the proposition that he intended to present a little later. An awkward, but blithely romantic moment of silence ensued, until Delilah again spoke up, “That table was definitely not here the last time. Is it for me? Because Dr. Crangler’s little followers didn’t bring me my lunch today like they usually do, and they’re usually right on schedule. And I’m actually pretty hungry.” Now, perhaps a year or so ago, Delilah would’ve never made an admission like this so blatantly, especially not to someone who she didn’t know existed a couple of months ago. It was just not something a sophisticated, privileged, revered socialite such as herself would do, to admit so openly that she was starving. Somehow, after all she’d been through, at least this form of etiquette, if not others, was just not worth maintaining.

  “You know what, I’m hungry too,” answered Geoffrey, trying to match her zeal. “Let’s see what we can do about that. You know, I happen to have a few connections.” With that, Geoffrey tapped on the window between the bed and the cab of the truck. Almost instantly, a booming voice filled the bed of the truck.

  “Yes, Mr. Summons, is there a problem?” the voice was so loud and resounding that it felt to Delilah and Geoffrey as if it was vibrating into their bones. It was almost impossible to tell that it was Lieutenant Dan and not God Himself speaking.

  “Well, there wasn’t,” Geoffrey answered, wincing in discomfort “but there is now…would you please turn down whatever speakers you have back here.” There was a brief silence before the sound of screeching feedback, even more discomforting that the lieutenant general’s godlike voice filled the rear of the mirror truck.

  “My apologies, Mr. Summons and Miss Hanson. Is that better?” the voice, speaking at a much more agreeable volume, now asked.

  “Yes, much better.” Geoffrey and Delilah answered nearly in unison.

  Geoffrey worked his pinky finger into his ear and yawned his jaw up and down until his ears popped and his normal hearing returned, before he spoke, “Yes, Lieutenant Dan, Dr. Crangler said it had been arranged for us to have something special to eat.”

  “Yes, Mr. Summons, and a bottle of champagne. Are you ready for those provisions?” It was easy to tell by the words he used that the lieutenant general was a ranking officer, probably more comfortable in a theater of war than surrounded by civilians.

  “Yes, I think we are.” Geoffrey answered.

  The sound of Lieutenant Dan’s voice, though not nearly as deafening as before, was still gutturally resonant—no reduction in volume on any speaker could alter that—as he answered, “It has been noted. The provisions will be with us shortly. Is there anything else, Mr. Summons?”

  “No, I guess that’ll be all.” With that, and an audible click of the speaker, the brief conversation ended. Geoffrey watched through the miniature window as Lieutenant Dan said something into his two-way before resuming his gaze on the road ahead. Geoffrey was certain that the lieutenant general demanded the same extreme level of alertness from his comrades in the surrounding armored vehicles. The first legitimate telepath and the potential savior of the world beside him were well protected from danger, that much was for sure. Unfortunately for Delilah’s previously-sheltered constitution, they had not protected her from the sights of the chaos that was characterizing the outside world. Shortly after the brief conversation between Geoffrey and Lieutenant Dan, the mirror truck rounded a corner leading into the outskirts of the city nearest to the military complex. Trash, debris, broken glass from the shattered windows and doors of businesses and other buildings, layered the landscape in thick, glistening folds like a heavy, dirty snowfall.

  It’s highly unlikely that Dr. Crangler would’ve approved, or Lieutenant Dan would’ve traversed the scene at all, except that it was the only road leading to where Geoffrey and Delilah were being taken for their scheduled outing. It looked like a war zone. This town, as well as virtually every other town on the planet, had been and
still was, suffering the devastating effects of populations of people that gruesome death had darkened their lives and left them with no further reason to remain civilized. Mothers, daughters, granddaughters, sisters, wives, aunts, nieces—women of all walks of life, languages, and hues—had, along with their unborn and newborn children, been tragically and violently snatched from the land of the living by The Virus. Though he didn’t realize it, it hadn’t been a few months, but a little over a year since Geoffrey last laid eyes on the open world outside and beyond the secret facility where he was confined, and in that time, not only had countless women and children died, but they left behind millions of former boyfriends, fiancés, husbands—all who would’ve been new fathers—not to mention their own fathers, uncles, brothers, etc., every single one of them left grieving without anyone to turn to for answers.

  Nearly overnight, pregnancy became a byword, a certified and unavoidable death sentence, and worse, a ruthlessly slow and violent death sentence. Things had taken an even worse turn when it was soon discovered that even if the fetus was aborted, the change The Virus had inspired in the female body meant that she would still die a slow death from asphyxiation as soon as her body discarded, or the remains of the killed fetus were taken from her preparing womb. As can only be expected, the act of sex itself took on a completely different connotation now. Who, besides the most base and death-craving women, would lay with a man, when it meant that she would be hazarding a slow and agonizing demise? Also, thanks to their Virus-altered biological functions, contraceptives were rendered useless, as none of the specialty medicines seemed to work anymore. Normally, contraceptives worked by manipulating or otherwise obstructing natural processes in a woman’s body, but now that those processes had been drastically tainted, no pregnancy preventive treatment worked as it should. Condoms alone still retained their marginal effectiveness, but again, when her life was being risked in a much more real way than ever before, what woman in her right mind would wager upon a thin film of latex?