by Boris Licina
"With the kid on the back seat, certainly", Diego winked.
Eli banged her hand on the driver's seat.
"I'm old enough to hear the bad stuff", she said.
"I know, kid, but with all this death, we can do with some optimism", Diego responded while speeding towards Palm Coast, the next town on their way.
36.
Icy rain was falling over Atlanta, hitting hard on the large windows of Rachel's apartment. According to the satellite pictures that were automatically updated, large quantities of snow were expected next. The streets were completely empty. Some lights in some distant buildings were still visible. In the early morning like this, the street lamps were still on until the sensors reported enough daylight.
"… and that's the plan", she finished explaining Amanda what they might expect in the next few days.
"Who knew that the adventure of several nights would turn into a space adventure!", Amanda said sipping some rose hip tea that Rachel had prepared for her.
"I thought this might be more than an adventure", Rachel lowered her head pretending to be sad.
"Hey, you know I feel the same, I liked you at first. Beautiful and smart", Amanda ran her hand through Rachel's hair, "so smart that she tells me the plan of the escape on the day we're supposed to go. Smarty pants."
Rachel laughed.
"As far as I know you, and that's not long, you'd probably want to stay. Operate a TV network, be a reporter, cameraman, producer …"
"You know me well! But the idea of a TV station on Rene 9 is not bad, either. Some system of information will be necessary."
"Sure! Anyway … my question is … would you come to Rene 9 with me?"
"Awwww", Amanda smiled at her. "How sweet."
"Where do you find strength for jokes in such a situation?", Rachel sighed and smiled to herself.
"From you, my love. Every smile in the corner of your mouth is a victory for me."
"Then, let's go pack!", Rachel clapped her hands and said, "Seriously, the road is not long, just six hours. Nevertheless, we have to be careful. First, we go to CDC. There's a chance we'll find someone there with the same idea - to take a sample of the vaccine. Hopefully not thieves."
"I agree", Amanda also got serious.
Rachel's car crawled through Atlanta, pass the park with the botanical garden. The branches were frozen with icicles. The road to CDC passed the part of Atlanta that Rachel liked very much. Family homes in the wooded area. When she had passed that way before, some children were playing in front of the houses. Everything seemed happy. On that day, everything was frozen and sad. Homes abandoned. Some parked cars. Rachel hoped some people had managed to get away. But, with cars parked in front of the houses, the chances of escape were minimal.
Although it usually took her fifteen minutes to reach CDC, the trip then was almost half an hour. The road was freezing, the remnants of the piled up snow presented additional problems. Nobody had cleared the snow on the road, but driving was possible. Still, Rachel thought, we had better hurry, because nobody would have cleared the highway, either. So they could steal a snow plough if necessary. Would not be missed, anyway.
Rachel opened the CDC's door with her card. In normal times she did not need the card at the entrance, but during epidemics, it was mandatory. Rachel looked at the entrance log at the reception desk. Somebody was in the building four days ago. Alan Hose. Never left. Rachel and Amanda took the elevator to the eighth floor where the labs were situated.
Amanda sat down in a comfy chair overlooking the glass wall of the BS4 lab and watched Rachel entering the first room. The procedure was thorough. First, check the pressure in the lab suit. One small hole and it would be all over. Then another zone between the lab and the world with a large, massive lead door. In the lab she would connect to the air hose, pack several samples of the experimental vaccine and exit as carefully as she entered. The lab was keeping many viruses. Until the snow flu, the smallpox virus was the worst. Now, this outbreak took precedence.
Rachel held a thumb up to Amanda, meaning the suit was functional. She stripped down to underwear, put the suit on and continued with the entrance procedure. Ten minutes later, she was in the lab, connected with two air hoses. Amanda stood up and came closer to the thick, very strong glass. Rachel first prepared a container to pack one sample of the latest version of the experimental vaccine. It was a small, impenetrable metal cooler, that opened with a code, an iris scan and a fingerprint. She adjusted security to the highest level, provided her fingerprint, iris scan and chose the seven-digit code. She opened the small cooler with vaccines, took out one, placed it in the container and closed the lid. The vaccine itself was not dangerous and theoretically, she could keep it in the pocket, but the small container was safer. She would take a larger one, too. It was a smart mobile lab that the epidemiologists carried with them during field work. The main advantage was a fast analysis of samples, although it offered much more. Nevertheless, should they ever decide to return to Earth, she would need a real lab for any serious work.
"Scary shit", Amanda said when Rachel got out. "That workplace of yours."
"Yes, one mistake and it's over", Amanda confirmed. "That's why we follow procedure. It's so precise that there's no fear."
"What would happen to this without us?", Amanda asked.
"Without us?"
"Without people."
"Well, nothing really. Even if the building collapses, the lab is a huge, steel safe that would be unharmed. It's very safe. These viruses can be taken out only by humans. Let's just stop by my office and we're ready to go."
The icy rain was now drizzling snow.
Rachel's office was several floors above the lab. They took the stairs and found some papers on the floor of the office, notes on the big white board and a half-full coffee cup. It was obvious people here used to work late at night.
"You want to say goodbye to the office?", Amanda asked her.
"Sometimes I'm old school so I keep my notes in a notebook."
"Oh, how retro!"
"Yes, it helps me concentrate. I left it here, and there's a lot inside that may be useful."
"So, why don't you keep a notebook that digitalizes everything right away?", Amanda offered a solution.
"That's not it. Old school means old school."
Rachel took the notebook from the desk and was putting it in the bag, when she caught some movement in the distance. Three cars were driving down the Houston Road, north of the CDC building.
"Shit!", she said pointing towards the road.
"Maybe they're heading somewhere else."
"They travel too fast to just pass by."
They watched the cars carefully. On the junction with Clifton Road, they turned right. Towards CDC. The cars stopped at the other end of the building for a clear view of the road and entrance. Rachel was right. There were three pick-ups in front of CDC. Four armed people exited the pick-ups. Rachel and Amanda stopped breathing while they watched the armed men coming close to the door. Whoever thought to mandate security cards to open the entrance door, was right. The armed men failed to open it. But, Rachel and Amanda knew that could not last long. They only had to break in one of the cars in the parking lot and they would find a card.
"We don't have much time", Rachel said. They might be inside soon. We have to find another way out.
37.
Morris could see something was wrong from miles away. The group of vehicles in the distance was too large. They had occasionally seen some vehicles parked by the side of the road, some in the middle of the road, but never in such numbers.
"Seems we have a jam up there", Morris said and continued slowly towards St Dames Point bridge to cross the St Johns river. This river flew through Jacksonville and was their greatest "obstacle" on the way to Sandusky.
As they were coming closer, it became clear that was a blockade. Somebody piled up some fifty cars and trucks to block the passage to the bridge. Morris stopped about three hundred me
ters from the road block. They could see mostly pick-ups, smaller vans and several construction trucks with loads of sand parked in several rows so that the passage was impossible.
"This doesn't look good", he called up the team in the second vehicle and put them on the speaker. "And I don't like it. Someone really wanted to block the road."
"The question is only from which side", Diego said. "If they wanted to prevent people going in or out."
"Could we move some of the cars and just pass through?", Lika asked.
"Hardly", Diego shook his head. "This was done well. It's all in two or three rows. The keys are surely not in the vehicles."
"What does it mean for our trip?", Benjamin wanted to know.
"Not much. Maybe an hour", Morris replied, "I would turn and drive through the city."
"OK", Diego confirmed, "so we go to Road 115?"
"That's right", Morris told him. "Take 115 to the Main Street where we cross the river to 358A."
"Yes, I see it on the map", said Lika looking at her mobile device. "Behind the Main Street there's one other bridge over the river. Perhaps we can try that one."
They turned the cars around and headed towards the city. The day was nice and sunny, the temperature pleasantly warm. If the Snow Outbreak had not killed most of the population, some of them from Jacksonville would have probably surfed or enjoyed some of the nearby beaches. Life in Jacksonville, weather permitting, was just fine. But not for everybody.
"I lived in Jacksonville for two years", professor Archer said, "I don't like it."
"Yeah? What's wrong with Jacksonville?", Oliver asked.
"Tornadoes!", Archer smiled. "In those two years, ten tornadoes swept over the city. One of them almost threw me and my car into the overpass, I barely escaped. Several months later I moved. To areas less prone to such weather conditions. I'd always choose a snow storm over a tornado."
"I'd choose a spot without harsh weather", Oliver said.
"There are no such places any more, unfortunately", Archer concluded. "Problems are everywhere. Extreme snow, rain or who knows what else."
The Arlington Expy brought them to the Mathews Bridge, with two lanes in each direction. At the beginning of the bridge, all four lanes had a large, wide hole and the river flowing was visible underneath. Two construction trucks with sand stood behind the hole.
"Ok, they obviously tried to prevent people to come to town", Morris concluded.
They parked in front of the bridge, one after another and looked towards the city.
"Perhaps someone found shelter on the island", Josh said pointing to the small island in the middle of the river.
"As far as I remember", Archer turned towards Josh, "there's nothing on that island."
"But, it's still a good place to hide from people", Josh was sure somebody was using the island as the shelter.
"Not important. We have to find another way", Diego waved his hand and turned towards Lika. "What does the map say?"
"There are four bridges ahead", said Lika showing them the map. "The first is ten minutes away, the others several minutes more."
"We have to try", Morris sighed. "If these are blocked, we have a long way around. Twenty hours will become forty and more! So, no wasting time. Let's go!"
They boarded the cars and set off towards the nearest bridge.
"Only explosives could make that hole", Josh nodded and pressed his lips together.
"It's possible", Morris agreed, "that someone wanted to prevent any passage."
"Maybe they just blocked all the bridges when the epidemic started spreading and the quarantine was declared", Oliver had his own theory.
"That's also not a bad idea", Morris said. "This would certainly help protect the people in the city. Perhaps the military did it. There is a large air base, they must have helped block the roads."
The next bridge was the Isaiah D Hart Bridge, named after the founder of Jacksonville. They went up the road towards the bridge and were surprised to find no obstacles. There were no cars or trucks blocking the way. No holes, either. The road seemed clear but they had to climb onto the bridge to see the end. The situation was soon clear - the blockade was on the other side this time. Only more serious than the others, made of containers for ocean liners. There were three on top of each other, on each side! No cars were able to pass through.
"Fuck", Morris said quietly, turned the car and stopped by Diego's car with his window open, "Let's go to the next, it's blocked here. I'm afraid the same will be with all bridges."
"OK", Diego confirmed, "but I really don't like this."
"I'm not happy either", Morris told him and set off towards the next bridge, named after the mayor of Jacksonville, John T. Alsop, who served seven mandates and eighteen years.
"Is there maybe a barge somewhere?", professor Archer asked. "Barges used to be normal transport means at one point. Who knows, perhaps people took it up again after the outbreak?"
"I don't think we have the time to look for the barge", Josh said. "We better go to the lower bridges. We have some twenty miles to Plummers Point, fifty to the next."
"Or we return towards Daytona Beach and go around through Ocal, the beautiful park! A lot of forests and water", Oliver suggested thinking how Eli would like it. He also hoped for her, that they would have to go back that way!"
"We'll see", Morris nodded, thinking of the unfavorable position of Jacksonville. The blockade of the bridges prevented everybody from the south to go north that way. It certainly helped the city to avoid the infected. But, he suspected that was not enough and wondered if there were any living people in the city.
They passed the park with one of the oldest trees in this area driving through the mayor's bridge. Several large skyscrapers could be seen in the distance, making up the recognizable contours of the town. They were driving slowly over the bridge, avoiding several cars. When they got up, they saw - a free passage. There were no barricades, no holes on the road blocking the way.
"Yes!", Morris shouted, stretched out his hand through the window and raised his thumb.
Diego did the same. Sandusky, here we come! he thought.
The Silverado and the Edge descended from the bridge down the Main Street, pass the large Wells Fargo skyscraper and continued straight. Several more streets and they would reach the highway that would take them to the right, to the much faster way.
Suddenly, three hits on the Silverado's metal! Zing! Zip! Zip! Morris recognized the sounds immediately. Bullets flying around! He put the pedal to the metal and turned right into an alley. He saw the Edge stopping and heard the honking as it echoed through the downtown Jacksonville.
38.
The snow storm worsened. The whole of Atlanta would soon be under a blanket of ice. At least the dead would be frozen and the outbreak stopped, thought Rachel. She and Amanda stood on the staircase leading from the tenth floor towards lower and higher floors. The building used to have only ten floors a few years before, but then six more floors of offices and labs were added. First they thought to construct a new building, but the cost of moving the labs was simply too high. It was easier to continue towards the sky.
"Where to?", Amanda asked.
"Slowly downwards", Rachel replied. "We have to pass the lobby to reach the stairs to the garage. That's where we exit. As soon as possible. I'm afraid the snow would block us and that we would not reach Kennedy in time. And I hope those idiots at the gate would not manage to enter!"
"We better go then", Amanda began to descend slowly. Luckily, they both wore heavy sports shoes with rubber soles to dampen noise.
The women were walking quietly along the edges, descending floor by floor. Rachel was carrying both containers, one in each hand. It seemed they hardly breathed, so quiet were they. Amanda walked first, Rachel followed. Suddenly, they heard a bang. The building was filled with the howling wind.
"They're in?", said Amanda.
"Yes."
They stopped on the sixth floor and waited.
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Somewhere below a door opened. Amanda put a finger across her mouth.
"Search all floors, find the vaccine! These doctor bastards must have it!! And they don't share", a deep, male voice boomed. "Search each floor until you find where they keep it!"
Amanda pointed her finger up. Rachel nodded. Slowly, they were moving towards higher floors and stopped on the tenth. They could hear murmuring voices and smashing furniture from the distance below.
"Let's go on", Rachel whispered. "We'll hide on the sixteenth floor. Where the offices are. There is one, the director's. It has a bathroom discretely hidden behind the bookshelf."
Amanda nodded. The voices were even louder as they ascended quickly.
"They'll stop on the eight", Rachel whispered. "They'll recognize the lab. Only, if they enter without protection and free any of the viruses, that's it for us."
"But, they have ho card, how will they enter?"
"They'll find a card."
"So we better move away from here", Amanda concluded.
"We'll do that", Rachel kissed her, "don't worry."
The sixteenth floor was a bit more luxurious than others, but otherwise very similar. The large office with the hidden bathroom was taken by the director of CDC, the handsome fifty something man, who did not believe much in protocol. To fight all kinds of epidemics I don't need a tie, he thought often. Still, he wore a tie. He revealed the secret bathroom to his team, among them to Rachel, and told them to use it if necessary. In the moments of crisis, when they worked for several days without resting, a hot shower was a welcome idea.
Amanda was sitting on the bowl, Rachel on the large, soft and warm carpet next to the tub. Soon they heard voices on their floor.
"The top floors are reserved for the big guns!", again it was the same voice issuing orders and the laughter of several other men. Rachel and Amanda did not like the voice.
"The big guns have to have a card for the lab!"
Then they heard smashing around the office. Then a shot! Smashing again.
