by A. R. Shaw
“He tends to get claustrophobic. Somewhat like our young friend here.” Rick went to ruffle McCann’s hair, but the murderous look the young man gave him stopped him in his tracks. “No?”
Dalton and Graham both laughed and then Dalton mused, “What the hell—did anyone see this coming? We’re being held hostage until our brilliant scientist Clarisse can create enough vaccine for our jailers. In the meantime, our true enemy is inching its way farther across the United States with the idea of taking over the world. I don’t know about you guys, but I never saw that coming.”
“I’m rather enjoying the captivity myself,” Rick said. “We get to sleep all day in dry beds, and they deliver food to us. Welcome to the Postapocalypse Hotel.”
Graham couldn’t help but be amused, and with Rick’s latest comment even McCann was smiling. They needed this. Maybe it was a sign of insanity, but Graham knew their long-term survival depended on some level of humor from time to time.
“We could escape,” McCann said quietly.
“Dalton stopped laughing and turned his eyes to McCann. “Son, I’ve been watching everything as much as you have. Yes, the guards are sloppier each day than they were the day before. We could easily overpower them. Only one guard comes in now, and he’s loaded down with food trays, his gun slung over his back. Yes, we could escape. But as much as we want to be with the ones we love, escaping would put them in danger.
“I don’t think it would take much for one of these guys to pull the trigger, do you? They’re scared of us. Are you willing to risk one of our few loved ones because you’re tired of being locked up? Huh? How about Bethany, or Lucy. Or maybe Mark, or even Macy. You willing to take that chance?”
McCann cleared his throat and leaned against the cold cinderblock wall, pressing his skin against the coldness—anything to feel something instead of numb. He didn’t want them to, but Dalton’s words made sense to him.
“Answer me, McCann! Because if you’re willing to put any of them in danger, I need to know!” Dalton shook with anger now.
McCann’s eyes widened. He’d never seen Dalton this angry, and he knew he’d gone too far. “No. It’s an option, that’s all,” he said.
“No. It’s not an option until I say so,” Dalton shot back.
Sam tried to lighten the ensuing painful quiet, “McCann, we’ve all thought it. We have a plan right now where no one gets killed. Let’s stick with this strategy unless something changes.”
Dalton softened his tone to one that bordered on apology. “McCann, you have to understand that we can’t afford to lose anyone. Not one. Do you get that?”
“Yeah, I get it. I just don’t think they’re going to keep their end of the bargain, that’s all. We don’t negotiate with terrorists, right? What about hostage takers? That’s what they are. We’ve done nothing wrong. They took us prisoner, and now we’re negotiating with them. Doesn’t that seem screwed up to you?”
To ease the tension, Graham spoke before Dalton had another chance. “McCann, yes, this is a screwed-up situation. No, they were not right to take us hostage, but they have their reasons. We’re going to vaccinate them against the flu. That’s a good thing; it will save their lives. They’re human beings trying to survive, just like us, and despite their lousy way of showing humanity, we’re doing the right thing. We need as many people on our side as we can get right now. Don’t you agree?”
McCann nodded.
“In the meantime, we are all on forced rest for the next two weeks. Let’s take advantage of it. We’re all healing from different injuries. At least the rest of our group are living in real housing and doing well. Mark is with them; Macy is taking care of the horses. Everything is going to work out, McCann. Just hang in there.”
McCann nodded again. As each man settled quietly into his own world, Graham watched as McCann lay down again and rolled over to face the wall. It was only a matter of time before the young man would do something to endanger them all. He needed to get him outside. Perhaps he’d talk to the lieutenant before it was too late.
Chapter 22 An Escort
Clarisse was startled by a knock on the lab door. “Yes, come in,” she said.
Lieutenant Harding walked through the entrance, his dark hair combed perfectly. “Hello, Clarisse. I see you’re working overtime. Come, I’ll walk you back to housing.”
She continued to stare through her microscope. He’d been getting a little too comfortable with her lately. He would occasionally touch the small of her back or grab her elbow to lead her in some direction. Even though these were only small gestures, the physical contact bothered her. She suspected he was a lonely man, even as handsome as he was. Inasmuch as she realized she could use this to her advantage, she tried not to show her distaste for Harding.
Not that he was bad looking; he was just wasn’t Dalton. No one but Dalton could ever make her feel anything with a touch. The problem was, this was an advantage, and she needed to use it no matter how much it made her want to gag.
She pasted a smile on her face and turned to him. “Hello, Lieutenant.”
“Please, we talked about this. Call me Henry,” he said with a charming smile.
“Yes, of course—Henry. I’m nearly done. Just let me clean up.” Clarisse slipped a USB stick into her lab coat pocket while broadening her smile in hopes it would distract him.
After collecting her things, she exited the building with him close by. “It’s nearly dark already. I had no idea it was this late,” she said.
“Yes, you’d work around the clock if someone didn’t kept track of you.”
Oh, please, gag me now.
“It’s nothing new. I often keep long hours.”
“So, you’re nearly done, then?” Harding asked with what almost sounded like disappointment.
“Yes, I’ve checked and rechecked the vaccine for the same strong antibodies. It works. I’m just sorry I hadn’t found it sooner. So many lives have been lost.”
The cool evening breeze made her shiver. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her toward him while brushing her arms back and forth to warm her. He was a sweet man, but she was beginning to feel a bit nauseated.
“You’re amazing, Clarisse,” he whispered looking down at her.
Horror struck as she thought he might take the initiative and attempt to kiss her. She took a step forward out of his embrace and quickly said, “No. I’m just a little cold. I can make it the rest of the way. Thank you, Henry.”
He let her go. “Good night, Clarisse. See you tomorrow.”
She quickly made her way to the guard standing by the fenced enclosure where three small houses stood. Macy stood with one of the horses, brushing her mane as Clarisse approached.
“I saw that. Was he touching you? Are you okay?” Macy asked, eyes wide.
“Yes. Gather everyone and come inside. I have something to say.”
~ ~ ~
Clarisse cleared the kitchen table of the final scraps left over from their evening meal. Everyone gathered in the dining room while Mark watched the front door, and Bang and Hunter guarded the back door.
“Did you get the computer?” Clarisse asked Olivia.
“Yes, we snuck into the truck and pulled it out after promising the guards cookies. It’s amazing what these guys will do for a little real food and a few fresh eggs.”
“Yeah, well”—Clarisse pulled out the USB stick—“I’ve got something to confess.” She looked around the room as if to check for someone listening. “I finished the vaccine a week ago.”
“What? Why would you keep something like that a secret?” asked Macy.
“Shhh,” Mark admonished. “I’m sure she has her reasons. Let her explain.”
They all stared at her.
“Yes,” Clarisse nodded, “I do have a reason. I wasn’t certain at first, but now I am. I was in the lab and thinking about how we might stop the jihadists. I’ve had an idea, and I needed the lab to research the possibilities.” She held up the USB stick.
> “You know how I developed the vaccine for the China virus? Well, my vaccine has specific markers. Mostly in the adjuvant I used to stabilize it. It’s different from any other vaccine ever developed. If you were to look at the antibodies under a microscope, you’d see it has its own thumbprint. You could identify it from its components and tell it apart from any other.
“The terrorists have a vaccine too, one they made and delivered only to those they chose—only their terrorist allies. It’s also unique, with markers different from the one I developed. Follow me?”
Clarisse looked around. She could tell Macy had already leaped to the next stage but was biding her time until everyone else clued up. Good girl.
“My theory was, if I could make”—Clarisse’s voice lowered to an even quieter tone—“a highly virulent, mutated virus that targeted a specific blueprint in those that received their vaccine, we could infect only them.”
Silence filled the room.
“That would be genocide.” Lucy’s voice quavered. “I . . . I . . . I’m not saying I’m against it. After all, that’s what they’re trying to do to us. I’m just calling it what it is, that’s all.”
Clarisse nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Lucy. That’s why I’m talking to you all. I’ve figured out how to do it, though I need test subjects. I wasn’t completely sure if it was even a viable solution, but it is. Science is dangerous in the wrong hands, we’ve found that out the hard way. This . . . is a way to change what they set into motion.
“Yes, it’s genocide, but what choice do we have? The jihadists have taken all choice from us. At this point it’s survival of the fittest—those with the knowledge to make the biggest bomb or the most heinous piece of science—like this, like a virus that will kill based on certain markers. I’m asking you to let me continue my research for another week under the guise of completing the vaccines for our captors. I’ll accept the responsibility for genocide if it works.”
“You don’t have to do that, Clarisse. We’re in this together,” Macy said. Murmurs all around agreed. “So the men will have to stay captive for another week. Then what?”
Clarisse swallowed hard. She knew what this meant. She wasn’t sure if she could live with herself afterward, but she could until the time came.
“I tell Dalton. We try to get these guys to help us. We need to capture a few terrorists for test subjects. I’ll extract the antibodies from them, locate the markers, and then develop the virus. It’s much more complicated than I can share accurately. We’ll then inject them with it, send them back out into the wild, and let the virus take hold.”
Mark left the doorway and walked over to the group. “How long do you think it will take to spread?”
“I don’t know for sure. Not long, I would imagine.”
“Can we get a message to the guys to let them know what we’re planning? I know they must be going crazy in there,” Macy said.
“We can’t take any chances,” Tala said. She turned to Clarisse. “Are you sure this virus would only affect those with the specific markers they’ve used?”
Clarisse watched as Tala moved her hand over the child within her swollen belly. My God, what am I doing? She shook her head. “I can’t be one hundred percent sure until I have test subjects to work with. For example, I can’t guarantee the virus I make won’t mutate into something else in time. It’s a risk we take. It’s the same for them; they created this virus, and it may mutate into something else entirely in years to come, or it may disappear. Once it’s released, it’s up to the whims of nature. We have no control after that. We can only try to come up with another vaccine to counter that one specific virus. Does everyone understand why this is taking so long? That’s why I need another week to work out how I might come up with this virus. It’s like the reverse of the process I created for the vaccine.”
“Yes,” Tala said, “and I understand what a massive amount of pressure you’re under. I take it the guys don’t know about this at all?”
“No. The guard is always present when I’m visiting them. I’ve tried to drops hints to Dalton, but we’re observed very closely. The men don’t know what’s going on, and we need to keep it that way for now. In another week, I’ll have a more specific plan worked out. We don’t know if Harding and his people will let us use their lab after they have their vaccine. That’s why we need to pull this little ruse for one more week, and that’s why I needed this computer. I can work here in the evening.”
Tala could see the stress was wearing on Clarisse. She agreed this was the best plan they had so far. “We can handle it, right guys? One more week. Stay patient. Keep your heads, and no heroic moves.” She aimed her eyes at Mark and the twins, who were always scheming when the adults weren’t looking.
Everyone began to disperse when Clarisse thought of one more thing. “Hey Macy, still no sign of Sheriff or the other dogs?”
Macy’s hopeful face turned to one of sorrow in an instant. “No. One of the guards even let me go back to the road. There was some blood—not a lot. I’m not sure if it was McCann’s, mine, or Sheriff’s. Lucy and I’ve walked through the woods calling for all three of them. Nothing. It’s like they vanished.”
“I’m sure he’ll turn up. Let’s not give up hope,” Clarisse said. She chastised herself for bringing it up. The poor girl had managed to put her sorrow aside for a moment, and I had to remind her of it again.
~ ~ ~
After everyone had gone to bed, Clarisse stayed up at the kitchen table going through her data. Can you really do this?Commit murder on a massive scale? The thought nagged at her no matter how she tried to push it from her mind. But then she flashed on the image of Dutch fighting in the last moments of is life as the terrorists chanted and danced around him. And how the families of those in quarantine died before her eyes with nothing she could do to save them. It had to stop. It’s their extinction or ours. She had a way to stop them; she just needed a little time to figure out the specifics—and patience to deal with Harding and his misguided affections.
Chapter 23 Still Missing
“Don’t go alone,” Tala said.
Macy had thought she could sneak past Tala at dawn. “But I like going alone. I’ve got to find Sheriff and the other dogs. And why are you up so early?”
Tala smiled at her. Macy was a master of deflection. “The baby keeps me up. And don’t try to change the subject, Macy. It’s for your safety, you know. You must have someone with you when you’re out there. What if one of the guards thinks you’re a target?” Tala attempted to get up off the couch, but in her very pregnant state it was quite a task, and all she could manage was to sit up.
Macy came to help her after noticing her struggle and laughed.
“Don’t laugh. This will be you some day,” Tala warned.
“Oh, no . . . not me. I’m not doing that,” Macy said.
“Okay.” Tala chuckled. She knew all too well that Macy would change her mind someday. Holding onto the girl’s arm, she made it to a standing position. “Seriously, Macy, we can’t afford any accidents. Please go get Marcy, or Lucy, or even Bang, and then go. Okay?”
Reluctantly Macy wandered off toward the bedrooms. Tala assumed she’d go for Bang first since he was usually up the earliest and because the boy was very much like Macy; they were quiet and comfortable in each other’s company. But Macy emerged a few moments later with Lucy in tow; bleary-eyed, but dressed and ready to go. “Good morning, Lucy.”
“Good morning, Tala.”
“You’re up early.”
“Yeah. I didn’t sleep much last night. I dreamed we were running. Something chased us.”
“Well, I can understand that,” Macy said. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t stay out too long. I’ll worry,” Tala said.
After they had gone out into the cool morning air, Tala wondered, Why Lucy? Not that the girls didn’t get along—they were polite enough to one another—but Macy had at first avoided her. I
t had seemed at the time that Macy was watching Lucy and deciding whether or not to befriend her. What was this way of life doing to them all? But it couldn’t be helped. Out of necessity these children would grow up with a completely different skill set from that of the previous generation. Tala wondered again how her unborn child would grow up in this new and completely different world, one much less populated and much more dangerous.
She yawned and decided she might get another hour of sleep before the day officially started. She’d been up since four, when Clarisse had left for the lab. They’d talked briefly then about having the men home this time tomorrow. The option of genocide weighed heavily on Clarisse. They were nearing the end of the weeks’ time limit, and she was going to finish cleaning up her research so that she could let Lieutenant Harding know that the vaccines were finished. They’d agreed that they would all remain in the housing outside of town after the men were released until Clarisse could verify the strong antibodies in all of the citizens of the town of Hope. No plans had been made beyond that; they’d decided to leave their options open.
Tala went to her room and lowered herself onto the bed. Here, in Hope, was the first time she’d slept in a room alone in a very long time. At first she couldn’t sleep at all and got up several times to check on Bang, who shared a room with Dalton’s boys; Addy slept with Clarisse for the time being.
Tala rolled to her side and ran her hand along the space in the bed that Graham would fill soon. She missed him. Even now, weeks later, she barely slept without him at her side. She didn’t feel safe.
She’d felt a few squeezing pains in her belly the last few days. However, Clarisse had dark circles under her eyes and only slept three or four hours a night, and she didn’t want to alarm her friend with minor aches and pains.
Chapter 24 Sprung
There was a light spring hailstorm as Clarisse walked the winding concrete path to Harding’s office. Small ice pellets pelted her in the head, remaining in her hair when she entered the lieutenant’s building.
