A Glimpse Of Decay (Book 1): Red Storm)

by Santiago, A. J.

  Jennifer switched on her computer and brought up Larry’s case file. As she printed it out, she again found herself thinking about the strange news report on the outbreak and her brief conversation at the grocery store. She couldn’t stop thinking about any of it. Staring off into space, she was startled by the ringing of her desk phone. She saw on the caller ID that it was Trent. Seeing his number, she was able to shake off her distracting thoughts.

  “Hey, Babe,” Jennifer said as she answered the phone.

  “Hey honey, how’s it going?”

  “It’s going good. Just here getting Larry Hackamore’s file together. I think Gibbie is going to meet with the A.U.S.A. today to see what kind of deal he can cut.”

  “Ah, they shouldn’t make any deals for assholes like that.” Trent was well aware of Larry’s reputation because Jennifer had told him about what a low-life he was and how she despised him so.

  “I know… he deserves to be thrown into prison for life.” Jennifer held the receiver between her shoulder and cheek as she scrolled through her files with the mouse. “They say he was responsible for that D.E.A. agent getting shot last year. Anyway, how was your meeting?”

  “Uh, it was kind of weird.”

  “Weird? As in how?”

  “Well, apparently there is something going on over in Europe and its affecting prices world-wide. I mean like prices are sky-rocketing and it’s a huge concern for the board of directors. So…naturally…they want us to try and maintain profits by reducing expenditures. It sounds like they’re getting ready to lay off a bunch of people.” He paused and recollected the tone of concern from the regional director. “Yeah, you can say the meeting was kind of weird.”

  A sudden wave of dread washed over Jennifer, almost taking her breath away.

  ***

  Trent sat impatiently in his car as he waited for the traffic to start moving again. It was just after five in the afternoon and Interstate 35 had turned into a parking lot. He was heading north and he was on the upper level that curved around the west end of downtown. His air conditioner was blowing full blast, but he could still feel the scorching heat coming in through the windows. He glanced over to his right, looking at the city skyline. He always marveled at how small and short the skyline was, especially when the city was touted as being one of the largest cities in Texas. When he and Jennifer would travel to Houston to visit her parents, he would always make comparisons with the skyline of San Antonio to that of Houston.

  He scanned the radio stations, as he often did, changing them when he bored with the format of each station. He had a habit of listening to one format for a short amount of time, then changing to a different station: one moment listening to rock, and the next moment listening to R and B. When Jennifer was in the car with him, she would grow frustrated with his station surfing and she would force him to leave the radio on one station.

  As he flipped through the different stations, he thought about how pissed Jennifer would have been had she been in the car with him, so he picked up his cell phone and called her. On the third ring she answered.

  “Hey, babe, what are you doing?”

  “Me and Diego are at the store right now. I need to get him a few more shirts for summer. After this we are going to meet Dolores and Michael over at the park. What are you doing?”

  “Uh, I’m just here stuck in traffic. I had to go over to one of our stores on the south side, so I’m just now heading back to the office. Oh, guess what I’m doing?” A small compact car unexpectedly swerved into his lane as it was attempting to make its way to an exit ramp. Trent was forced to brake hard to avoid a collision. “Way to go, idiot! Don’t mind that I’m right in your way!”

  “Sounds like someone is having a bad day,” Jennifer said.

  “It’s just that some people don’t care if you have right of way or not. Some little crappy car is forcing his way through this traffic jam right now, and he’s being rude about it.”

  “Well, I guess I can say that right now, you’re playing bumper cars?”

  “No, I’m not playing bumper cars. I’m doing what you hate the most when we get into the car…I’m station surfing.”

  “Trent, you know you’re not supposed to be doing that,” Jennifer sighed. “You’re going to cause yourself to have an accident.”

  “Naw, traffic is moving like one mile per hour. So, you and Diego are going to the park, huh?”

  “Yeah, Dolores called and said that she wanted to talk, so I told her that I was taking Diego over to the park.”

  “Just watch out for that little shit Michael. I saw how he was bullying some of the other kids at that last birthday party.”

  “Come on, Trent, he isn’t that bad.”

  “Yes he is. He acts just like his dad. I can’t believe that guy…always in and out of jail. That dude needs to grow up and stop acting like some gangster. I can’t believe Dolores is still with that loser. She needs to wake up and stop being stupid and helpless. What she needs to do is—”

  “Hello…you’re talking about my friend here,” Jennifer said in an agitated tone.

  Realizing that he had upset his wife, he said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get on a soap box. It’s just that I can’t stand guys who go around bullying people. That’s high school crap. That’s what Eduardo does…and I think he teaches bad habits to Michael.”

  “Believe me, I try to tell her about Eduardo, but you know the way she is. Anyway, I think Diego will have a good time at the park.”

  “I’m sure he will.” The traffic opened up slightly and Trent was able to speed up a little. He maneuvered his way over into the fast lane. “Alright, now we’re moving. Hey, just be careful with Diego. It’s hot as hell today, so don’t let him get overheated. You know how he can play all day long.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll watch him.”

  “Okay.” Trent switched the radio station over to the local oldies format. “I should be home around seven—if I finish with everything at the office in time.”

  “Okay, drive careful and I’ll see you when you get home. Love you.”

  “Love you too.” Trent hung up and tossed the phone over onto the passenger seat. He knew that Jennifer wanted him to use the Blue Tooth when he was driving, but he always felt self-conscious around the other drivers. He didn’t want to look like he was talking to himself as he was driving. He adjusted the volume to the radio with the control on his steering wheel and he picked up more speed. He began to weave in and out of traffic as he sang along to an old Steely Dan song.

  ***

  Jennifer and Dolores sat on a park bench and watched as their two boys joined in with a group of yelling and screaming children. The kids were crawling and scrambling over a play scape and Diego was trying to pull himself up a heavy braided rope that dangled from a wooden beam that ran the length of the structure.

  After becoming friends in paralegal school, the two women had remained close and often had lunch together to catch up with each other. Lately though, Dolores had been going through a tough time with the father of her son, and Jennifer could see that it was taking a toll on her friend as Dolores ran her hand through her dark hair, seeming distracted, almost in a trance.

  “Hey, are you alright?” Jennifer asked.

  Dolores realized that her silence had been obvious and she answered, “It’s awesome that Diego got your red hair.” She intentionally avoided Jennifer’s question.

  Noticing her friend’s evasiveness, Jennifer played along. “I know. You would have thought that he would have been born with Trent’s brown hair. I think he looks good with red hair.”

  “Have you noticed if he is more like you, or more like Trent?”

  “Oh, he is a little Trent. Nothing seems to bother him, unless he doesn’t get his applesauce. I’m glad he’s like his dad. I get too pissed too quickly. It’s good that he’s not like me.”

  “Girl, I wish Michael was like me. He acts too much like his dad. I’m afraid he’s going to give me trouble when he
starts school.” Dolores sighed and kicked at some of the pebbles down at her feet.

  Jennifer, in an attempt to quickly change the conversation, noticed that Dolores was wearing a new pair of heels. “Hey, got some new shoes?”

  “Oh…yeah, I did. You like them?”

  “Love them!” Jennifer leaned forward to get a better look at the shoes. “Where did you get them?”

  “Over at The Rim. Got a great deal on them.”

  “The Rim? Whew, I knew they looked expensive.”

  “No, really…they weren’t that bad. Anyway, I figured I needed to treat myself, especially with as much as I’ve had to deal with Eduardo and all his shit. And can you believe this…his sister blames me for all his problems.”

  Jennifer realized that her attempt to distract Dolores had only partially worked. “They don’t know what’s really going on between you and Eduardo. Those people are all drama anyway. Don’t worry about what they say.”

  “I try not to, but sometimes it gets to me.” She sighed and kicked at another pebble. “Be glad you ended up with someone like Trent.”

  Jennifer smiled and looked down at her wedding ring. “Oh, I know I’m lucky. I swear, Trent is so laid back. Nothing seems to bother him. If we have a disagreement, he never loses his cool. That makes me even madder, and I try to pick at him and get him to fight back, but he won’t.”

  “God, if I did that with Eduardo, he’d beat my ass.” She turned and looked at her friend. Jennifer noticed that Dolores was looking tired and ragged, and even though she had a beautiful face with her deep eyes and vibrant smile, it looked like her attractiveness was waning from all the frowning and crying she had been doing.

  “Is it that bad?” Feeling concerned about her, she reached over and took Dolores’ hand into hers.

  Dolores hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath. “Yeah, it is.”

  “God, Trent would never do that to me. He never loses his temper with me. I wouldn’t know what to do if he ever tried to hit me.”

  “I want to leave San Antonio, but I don’t have enough money right now. My mom said that me and Michael can move to Dallas and live with her, but I just don’t know. Really, I don’t know what Eduardo would do if I told him that I wanted to leave.”

  “Shit, he’s never at home anyway.”

  “I know, but he said that he would never let me leave, and he said that if I ever tried to take Michael away, he would kill me.”

  “He said that?” Jennifer asked, startled. “No…you need to leave him right away. You can’t live like that. Plus, it’s not good for Michael to be around that.” She tightened her grip on Dolores’s hand.

  “I know.” Dolores sighed and gazed out at the bright horizon. “Michael is all I have. I don’t want him to have to grow up with a bad home life. That kind of stuff hurts kids.”

  The two women sat in silence for a moment before Jennifer again attempted to change the topic. A radical change. “So, have you heard about what’s going on over in Europe? Russia I think?”

  Dolores snapped back into the present and shook her head. “Not really. I think I heard someone saying something about it, but I really didn’t pay attention.”

  “It’s been on the national news lately. I even saw something about it on the local news. Magda Santos was doing a report on it.”

  Dolores, not sounding too interested, asked, “What is it that’s happening?”

  “Some kind of disease or something like that.” Jennifer could tell that Dolores was still deep in thought about their previous topic of conversation. “They say it’s something new or unknown. Sounds kind of scary.”

  “Scary?” Dolores sounded a bit more interested. “Scary? How so?”

  “Well, I know this sounds all political and all, and I know how much you hate politics, but the news said that something broke out in Russia, and the government over there isn’t allowing anyone to go into the area. Plus, they’re being real sneaky-like and not saying much about it.”

  “Hmm, yep, that does sound kind of strange.” Taking her hand back, Dolores stood up and called to her son, “Michael, it’s time to go, honey.” Looking down at Jennifer, she said, “It’s getting late. I need to get Michael home and fed before Eduardo comes over. He said he would spend the night with us tonight.”

  “Are you sure that’s the right thing for you right now…letting him stay the night?” Jennifer’s concern showed on her face.

  “Yeah, it is.” Dolores took a step away from the bench and then turned around to face Jennifer. “I have to give us one more chance before I do anything else. It wouldn’t be fair to Michael if I didn’t.”

  “Well, if you need anything, someone to talk to, a place to stay—anything—call me…please.” Jennifer stood up and hugged her troubled friend. “It makes me so sad to see how down you are. You deserve so much better.”

  Michael and Diego came running up to their mothers. Both boys were sweating profusely and Diego’s light complexion was now a bright red. “I know I do,” Dolores said to Jennifer as she bent down to pick up Michael. Lifting him up to her bosom, she ran her hand through his hair to brush away some grass and dirt. “Thanks for listening. That means a lot.” She turned and headed for her car.

  Jennifer took Diego by his hand and looked down at him. “I hungie, Mommy,” he said to her.

  “What does my big boy want to eat?”

  “Hot dogs. And juice.” He tugged at her hand, signaling to her that he was ready to leave. She hoisted him up onto her hip and turned to look at Dolores, who was strapping Michael into his car seat. Dolores then walked around and got into the driver’s seat and waved to Jennifer as she pulled out of the parking lot.

  A tidal wave of sadness washed over Jennifer. She had this unsettling feeling—a gut wrenching emotion that almost sickened her—causing her to feel like she was saying goodbye to her friend for the last time. She couldn’t fight back the tears and she tried to blink them away.

  Diego, looking directly into his mother’s eyes, asked “Why you cawying, Mommy?”

  “Mommy isn’t crying, baby. The sun’s bright and it got in Mommy’s eyes, that’s all.

  Chapter 7

  Day 13

  Kostanay, Kazakhstan

  Patriotic Memorial Hospital

  “Assistance, in God’s name I need assistance!” screamed an elderly man. He was walking into the empty emergency room lobby carrying a woman who appeared to be slightly younger than him, but almost twice as heavy. The cotton dress she was wearing was tattered and her exposed thighs and legs were dripping blood from several gapping and jagged wounds.

  A red-headed receptionist who had just been filing her finger nails stood up in shock and surprise. “What’s going on? What happened to her?”

  “My wife…we were attacked at our farm. By children!”

  “What are you talking about?” the startled receptionist asked.

  “She was out watering the garden when I heard her screaming. I go outside and I see two small children, and they are hanging onto her, biting her on her legs, tearing at her. They were wild and crazed! I yelled at them to stop and one of them charged at me. He tried to bite me, but I pushed him away. I finally had to get a shovel and I killed both of them!” The man began to weep out loud. “They were just children!”

  “Orderly, orderly!” the receptionist yelled. “Get a gurney in here and get her to the examination room!”

  “I don’t know what’s going on!” the elderly man yelled. His sunken cheeks and weathered face were contorted in a confused, bewildered look. “As we drove over here, I saw crazy things going on. I saw people attacking other people…I saw men dressed in Russian Army uniforms running around like they were insane. They even tried chasing after our car. I saw a woman…she was… she was eating a child! Her eyes were white, like the devil had possessed her!”

  The receptionist drew back in fear as the man continued to recount his story. “Doctor!” she screamed.

  ***

 
“This one here, subject number one,” Irene said as she glanced down at the clipboard she was holding. This one has no sign of injury at all.” The doctors were viewing a middle-aged woman who was strapped down to a hospital bed. She was alert and she was lifting her head up. When she noticed Irene standing behind the window, she flew into a rage and began to shriek and scream as she fought against her restraints.

  The thick glass and concrete walls kept the doctors safe from her, as well as the other five subjects who were in their own separate observation rooms. Small cameras affixed to the ceilings allowed for the staff to observe the infected subjects from a bank of monitors in an adjacent lab. Unfortunately, they had no clue as to what was about to unfold in the Emergency Room several floors below.

  The quarantined subjects had all been behaving exactly as Roberts had explained back on the plane. They were hostile, unapproachable, and outright aggressive. The equipment that the Americans had brought with them had proved very beneficial in securing and monitoring the infected people, and blood and tissue tests were now being conducted and analyzed by their fellow Kazakh doctors.

  “So what we’ve gathered so far is that the infection is transmitted through body fluid, primarily through exposure to blood and saliva.” Irene flipped through the paperwork on the clipboard as she went on. “Bites from the carriers seem to be the quickest form of transmission. Just like rabies. Once the subjects are in a full blown state of infection, they all show tendencies of violent aggression and neurotic behavior, becoming very dangerous to all around them. Just like rabies. For all intents and purposes, this could be rabies. There’s only one small problem though…none of these subjects are positive for rabies.”

  Irene walked back to a stainless steel table that her colleagues were sitting at. She pulled out her chair and flopped down in it. She was tired and the lack of sleep was really starting to wear on her. She gazed down at the sterile white tile floor and yawned.