by Connor Mccoy
Nadia!
“What’s going on here?” Tom asked through his oxygen mask.
The men turned around. “Looks like someone here’s running a fever.” The sweat running down Nadia’s head was very noticeable now.
“I was running,” she replied in a weak voice.
“Why? Because it looked like you were hiding something,” the other man said.
“Hey, how about laying off?” Tom now got in between Nadia and the men.
“This meeting was only for those who aren’t sick,” the man said. “Is she hiding it?”
“I know Nadia. She’s fine. Now back off.”
“We’ll know if she has a rash.” The man reached out his leather-gloved hand for her.
Nadia brought up her arms in a defensive stance, but too slowly. Tom, however, was much quicker. He seized the man’s arms. “I said lay off, asshole!”
“If she’s infected she doesn’t belong out here!” the man said.
“She can go where she damn well wants!” Tom erupted.
“Tom, ease up!” Lee shouted.
But it was too late to stop the fight. The other man rushed in and threw a punch at Tom. The former bodyguard ducked, released his captive, and then, with both hands free, slammed the first man good in the face.
“Auck! Goddammit!” He clutched his face. A trickle of blood spilled out of his nose.
The second man was a little quicker and got in one blow. Tom returned the hit with a smack to the man’s face. The pair then wrestled against the house, enough to rip the oxygen mask free from Tom’s face.
As the man pulled free, his eyes widened. “Tom Criver!”
Tom panted. “The one and only,” he said with a hiss.
“What the hell are you doing here? They said you wouldn’t be coming.”
“Yeah, but I figured I’d go for an evening walk. It’s good for my pulse—oh wait, I used that line.”
Then he rushed over and seized the man by his shirt, slamming him against the wall. “Now, you’re going to leave her alone and run back home. And I don’t want to see you making trouble for her ever again, or I will pay you a very painful visit.”
The man trembled. “Okay.”
The other man wasn’t finished. “I don’t care who the hell you are. You’re protecting a leper—”
“She’s fine! Let her be!” Tom roared. Even the first man had to back down from Tom’s evident fury. Tom then released the man. “Now get out of here!”
“Hey!” A couple of shadowy figures had gathered at the entrance to the alley. “What’s going on there?”
“Shit,” Lee said, “Tom, it’s time we move our asses now.”
Tom took a look at Nadia. “Hey, can you move?”
She nodded, though her body language wasn’t very convincing. He took her by her right arm and helped her for the first few steps. Then she shook him off and picked up speed. He followed close behind. Lee, Ricardo and the others spread out, obscuring Nadia and Tom from a rear view.
It wasn’t until the streets grew quiet and they were approaching Nadia’s neighborhood that Tom felt at ease again. Accompanied by Lee, Jake and a few other of Lee’s friends, they approached the corner of Nadia’s street. Tom slowed down. “I can take her the rest of the way. There’s no need for you guys to go any farther.”
“I still don’t buy that she’s not sick,” Jake said.
“Well, I don’t give a shit what you think,” Tom quickly said as he walked up to Nadia. “Let’s go.”
But Jake was not in the mood. He grabbed Tom by the arm. “You know, we went through a lot of trouble for you. We got you in there, got you out, and covered you so you could away without your ass getting beat. I think you owe us—”
“Screw off. That wasn’t a meeting that was a lynch mob!” Tom said as he ripped his arm away.
“We have families, Tom!” Jake shouted.
“You want to throw out all the sick into the wild! Have you lost your minds?” Tom retorted.
“We have to!”
“Like hell! The first bastard who touches Cheryl is getting put six feet under, where he doesn’t have to worry about the disease, I guarantee you!”
That was too much. Jake rushed in, grabbing Tom by the shoulders. The two slammed onto the grass, wrestling each other and spitting out curses.
“C’mon! Tom! Jake! Knock it off!” Lee shouted. The others quickly rushed in and pulled the pair off each other. “Goddammit, we’re not each other’s enemy. We fought together to save this town!”
“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” Tom wiped spit off his lips.
“You’re only thinking of yourself, of your wife. You want us all to die?” Jake rubbed the side of his cheek.
“Stow it, Jake!” Lee then turned back to Tom. “But the man has a point. I respect you, Tom. I mean that ten times over. But you’re not the only man with a say in what goes on here.”
Tom pulled himself free. But he made no more moves toward Jake. “I’m taking my friend home, and I don’t need any more babysitters.”
“I’ll take you the rest of the way. Me and Ricardo,” Lee said.
“Lee—” Both Tom and Jake protested about the same time.
“That’s the way it’s going to be.” He passed close by Tom. “Unless you feel like having three brawls in one night.”
Tom rubbed his arm. The tussle with Jake had cooled him down. “Fine,” he said.
Tom, Lee and Ricardo accompanied Nadia to her house. “Now Tom, I think I’ve been fair to you. You can be pissed that I shut you out. I can live with that. But I’d like to know if…” Lee looked in her direction. “…if we should be concerned about her.”
Tom swallowed. “How about we agree that some questions shouldn’t be asked?”
“Not good enough,” Lee replied.
Damn, Tom thought. The night’s events had burned too many suspicions into Lee’s mind. If Tom said Nadia was well, he’d look like a blatant liar. Plus, Tom’s own conscience was nagging at him. Lee didn’t lie to him. Could he lie to Lee in return?
Before he could say anything, Nadia approached Lee. “Hey,” she said with a little more strength in her voice. “I’m no danger to anybody in this town. You got my word on that.”
“You sure about that?” Lee sounded very skeptical.
“Damn straight. So, don’t drag Tom into this. Whatever I do, it’s on me and me alone.” She sucked in a breath. “I will take care of myself. I promise.”
Lee’s jaw tightened. “Okay.” Then he backed up a few steps.
Nadia collapsed on her couch. She let out a long spasm of coughs. “Dammit!” She uttered a few more profanities between coughs. It took a while for her finally to calm down.
Tom tended to her, bringing a fresh glass of water. “Thank you.” She waited until her breathing stabilized before she took a sip.
“If you were this bad off, why’d you go out there?” Tom asked.
“Nobody knew I was sick, so they let me know about the meeting. I thought I should go and find out what they were up to.” She rested her face in her hands. “Damn. It was worse than I thought.”
“Yeah, well, they’re not going to kick anybody out. We have a say in this town, too. We set up a council. We have a rule of law.”
“Tom, you’re talking like you’re going to fight them.”
“Why not?” Tom circled around the couch to face her. “Didn’t we fight for this town before?”
“Against an outside army. These are town citizens! You want to start killing your own neighbors?”
The remainder of Tom’s speech died on his lips. He sat down in the easy chair opposite Nadia. “Son of a bitch,” he whispered, “I didn’t think of it like that.” It was a while before he spoke again.
“I guess this past year has beat a soldier mentality into me. They’re just scared people. It’s not like they’re Volhein and his goons.” His eyes met Nadia’s. “But I can’t let them throw out Cheryl, or you, or anybody else.”
Nadia laughed pathetically. “Tom, there may be nothing you can do. Maybe sometimes you just can’t win no matter what you do.”
“I don’t believe that. I won’t.”
“You really do sound like Cheryl.” Nadia laughed again.
“You two are so perfect for each other it’s scary.” She set her glass on the end table. “I’m sorry I got you into trouble tonight. I shouldn’t have gone. I should have hunkered down and minded my own business.”
“You had a right to know,” Tom said.
Nadia clasped her hands together. “I shouldn’t have made you cover for me.”
“I told you, you’ve been there for my family. If it came down to it, I’d take a bullet for you.”
The former policewoman shook her head. “How did Cheryl take the news?”
“You know Cheryl. She’s a tough lady.” Tom replied, “She said she hopes you’re doing all you can to fight this disease and get well.”
“Yeah, I’m doing a real good job of that.” Nadia moaned. She sat back and rubbed her forehead. “Damn. I got to get some sleep.”
“Do you need anything? Water? Blanket? Name it.”
Nadia waved him off. “No, no, I’m okay. Really. I need to take care of some things myself before I hit the hay. Just go home and take care of Cheryl.”
“You sure?”
Nadia smiled weakly. “I’ll be okay. Go on.”
As Tom walked up the sidewalk, headed for his home. He found Lee approaching from up ahead. The former security guard turned away.
“Damn, don’t you have a home to go to?” he muttered.
“I thought you should know that tomorrow afternoon, the people, those who aren’t sick, will host a public meeting at the post office. It is open to you if you want to come.”
Tom smirked at him. “Thanks, man. Glad you could extend me the courtesy.” He walked past him.
But Lee followed close by. “There’s something else you should know,” Lee said, “You noticed Ian’s not been around?”
“I don’t really care,” Tom replied.
“It’s his daughter, Kayla. She…she got sick.”
Tom stopped. “What?”
“It was very much like Sarah. No one was expecting it. Doctor Tran even said she was likely immune.”
The news rocked Tom to his core. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Son of a bitch,” he whispered.
“And it wasn’t just his girl. It’s the same story all over town. People who you’d think were invincible, that they couldn’t catch the common cold, then they get struck down. Doctor Tran was wrong. This thing’s a killer. It goes after both the old and the young, the healthy and the infirm, and the rich and the poor.” He bowed his head. “And babies.”
Tom exhaled loudly into the night air. “I’m sure Tran tried his best.”
“It’s false hope, Tom. We’ve got to stop this. And tomorrow, we’re going to take that first step.” Now it was Lee who started walking. “I’ll see you at the meeting.”
Lee disappeared down the street. Tom stood there for a moment, digesting the events and horrors he had learned this night.
The front of Eagleton’s post office was encircled by a sea of faces, many of them covered with oxygen masks, dust masks, or a piece of clothing. As usual, they clustered in groups, primarily by family or close friends, people who had bonded during the journey to this town.
Tom approached the front doors of the post office. With all the gaps between people, it was easy to get through. He wore no mask. He vowed to show himself openly. Quite a few in the crowd recognized him and stared at him as he walked past. Tom only could imagine what they thought of him. Word probably had spread around that he had fought with a pair of men over Nadia. Hopefully, they didn’t know if she was or wasn’t infected. But if anyone was angry over Tom covering for a diseased citizen, no one showed any signs, at least not yet.
Lauren and Doctor Tran were at the post office’s glass doors, along with Bridget Tanner and Catherine Rossi. Lee was there as well, with Jake and Ian standing back, more toward the crowd.
“Glad you could make it,” Lee said, politely but neutrally.
Tom raised his chin and responded in a similarly polite but passionless manner. “Lee.”
A man broke from the crowd and whispered something in Lee’s ear. Lee nodded, then let the man go. “Well, I guess there’s no reason not to get this thing started.”
Lauren stepped away from the doors, stopping between Tom and Lee. “Fine, though I would have loved it if someone had told me what we’re going to talk about. It’s a little hard to prepare for a town meeting when no one will tell me what it’s about.”
“Doctor, I think we’re going to make our wishes clear in a moment,” Lee said.
Lauren shook her head. “But even if the council is basically shut down, I’m still one of the head doctors of our hospital. If we’re going to talk about our next step, I should know about it ahead of time.”
“Believe me, it’s a very simple choice. We don’t need a doctor to help us understand it.” Lee also glanced at Tran as he spoke.
Lauren spun around toward Tom Criver. “What is he talking about? Tom, I’ve been holed up in the hospital trying to treat my patients. I don’t know what’s been going on out here. Why are they calling this meeting?”
Tom kept an eye on Lee. “I’m afraid I know exactly what they want and it’s going to be pretty ugly.”
A young man, completely bald, probably in his mid-twenties, stepped forward. He pulled his mask down past his chin, allowing himself to speak clearly. “Mister Issacson, thank you for your great work in organizing all of us.”
Lee interrupted him. “No, many of us did our part. Go on.”
The man nodded before continuing. “We’ve all been talking, person to person, family to family. Now we’re all talking together, and it’s clear what we’re all thinking. We can’t go on like this anymore. We don’t know who this disease is going to hit next. We’ve done all we can do, but people still are dying. We can’t even go outside and get food from our gardens. If we don’t die from this disease, we’re going to die from starvation.” He swallowed hard, then continued.
“We can’t leave. After all we did to survive, to barely make it, there’s no way we can go back out there. We have lives, we have a future.” His face tightened. “We have a future if that disease isn’t here with us anymore. Everyone who’s got that disease, they have to leave.”
Heads nodded. A few shouts of “yeah” and “yes” cut through the air.
Lee raised his hand. “Now, you heard what our friend said. What do the rest of you think? This is an open meeting. We’re not shutting up anyone. If anyone has a better idea, now’s the time to say it.”
A minute passed. Then another. There was a lot of discussion among the various groups that made up the audience, but not a single person from the masses voiced any dissent.
“Okay. Then I guess we know what we must do. Anyone who’s ill will be exiled outside Eagleton until they’re well again,” Lee said.
Again, more shouts of “yeah” and “yes” were heard until one person spoke up very loudly.
“Excuse me?” Lauren stomped across the concrete walkway by the post office until she hit the dirt of the office’s front lot. “You’re not serious?” She looked at the crowd of faces before her.
“Doctor, I’m sorry,” a man from the crowd spoke up, “but we all feel this way. We don’t have any other choice. We have to protect those of us who are left.”
“But you’re talking about ripping all those poor people out of my hospital and throwing them into the woods? That’s inhumane! That’s--that’s sadistic!” Lauren shook as she lashed out at the audience. “It’s against everything that I believe in as a doctor and as a human being!”
“We’re not going to just throw them out.” Lee approached her. “We know there are towns, camps, places nearby. Tom Criver and the newcomers have brought us important information o
n what’s out there. The sick will have to travel a little bit, but they have a good chance to make it. And anybody can volunteer to help them. We’ll also provide supplies and medicines, and the worst off can ride in the covered wagons.” Lee looked to the crowd. People nodded in approval. “We’re not monsters. We want them to get better. But we just can’t have them here anymore.”
“Oh, screw off!” Lauren glared at him. “You’re just doing this to make yourselves feel better about throwing out a bunch of sick and dying people. Well, forget it! No, no, and Hell No! If I have to get a bunch of volunteers with guns and post them in front of the hospital, I will, but no one is taking my patients out of my hospital!”
“Doctor, don’t do this,” Lee said, his voice sounding increasingly pained as he pushed his case. “I know you’ve worked yourself to the bone helping us, but respectfully, this is not a dictatorship. The people should have their say. And it’s pretty obvious what the people want.”
“Doctor.” Ian stepped forward, walking as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I’ve had to bury my oldest daughter. Maybe you can try understanding what it’s like for us who have been through that Hell.”
If Ian’s words were intended to break down Lauren’s barrier, it did just the opposite. Instead, Lauren’s eyes widened. She took rapid steps toward Ian.
“You don’t think I’ve been through that Hell? What do you think I’ve been doing for the past few weeks? Do you know how many people I’ve watched die in their beds? How many dead bodies that had to be carried out of my hospital? And how dare you say I don’t understand your private Hell!
“Do you remember what it was like after the EMP hit us? How many people died because medical help wasn’t available? I watched my sister’s five-month-old die because of a bacterial infection. I held my eight-year-old niece’s hand as she died because she an infection from a stupid cut on her knee! My brother and sister both died from bullet wounds from warlords!”
