When we finished, the soldier collected the clipboards. “I’ll be back shortly.” Kevin and I had begun looking around again, but it was hard to see inside Winchester proper because of the buildings. I glanced to the north, past the tank, where rows of homes neatly announced the beginning of the city. I noticed a soldier walking the perimeter, a rifle hanging from his back. I lifted a finger off the table and pointed in that direction, but I tried not to make it obvious. I didn’t know what or who the hell we were dealing with yet, and I didn’t want to make any enemies right off the bat. I whispered, “See that?”
“Yep.” Even though his voice was also quiet, I could hear the tension.
My eyes continued watching that lone soldier until Kevin said, “Look at that.” He was looking in the other direction, the road we’d been on and had intended to enter town on. He nodded his head in the direction of the tank, only he was looking farther down the road. “Signal light’s not working. I wonder if the power’s off here too.” I shrugged. We were definitely equipped to handle it nowadays, but that revelation was disheartening. I wouldn’t know for sure until we were inside, but I was beginning to suspect that the folks here weren’t having any better time of it than we had, isolated in the hills.
Finally, the man who’d taken our paperwork came back out. “So you’ve both recently had contact with infected people?” We nodded. “If you want in the city, we have to quarantine you for the standard seventy-two hours.” I raised my eyebrows and I could see Kevin’s brows furrow. He was pissed but he kept his mouth shut. “You don’t have to. You can turn around and leave, but if you want in, we have to hold you. It’s the standard protocol.” He looked us both in the eyes. “You don’t know any of this, do you?”
Kevin spoke for both of us before I could. “We’ve been trapped in the mountains for months and just got out today. What’s going on?”
The soldier hadn’t been smiling before, but his frown was more evident. “I wouldn’t even know where to start, sir.” He paused. “In an effort to contain the virus, the United States has mobilized the National Guard to set up stations, first around all major cities and then other cities and towns with populations over ten thousand. Unfortunately, we don’t have the manpower to go to every town or remote areas, but those citizens are coming to us. We’re containing the infected and separating them from the healthy population until the vaccine is ready for use.”
“Vaccine?” Yes, maybe the idea of military rule should have given me cause for comment before asking about a potential way to prevent the disease, but I couldn’t help but focus on the one thing that had really captured my attention.
“How long have you been gone?”
Kevin, though, was all business. “Since November.”
The soldier glanced down at the papers we’d filled out as though to confirm what Kevin was saying, and then he gave us a curt nod. “It’s up to you, but if you want access to the city, you’ll undergo mandatory quarantine for the requisite seventy-two hours. If, after that time, you show no signs of infection, we let you out to roam about the city as you choose and to come and go as you please.”
Kevin looked at me, scanning my eyes, asking an unspoken question. Three days should have seemed like nothing after the months we’d spent away, but now that I was free, I wanted to see my kids, and three days seemed intolerable. “Is there any way you can check and see if my son and daughter are here in town?”
The soldier’s eyes narrowed before he answered. “That may be possible, but if it helps, you won’t be able to enter any major city without undergoing quarantine.”
Kevin said, “So if we do this, you’re saying we could turn around and get into Colorado Springs if we wanted?”
“Within a reasonable amount of time and proper documentation. For example, if you left on Friday, your band would say so. If you arrived in Colorado Springs within twenty-four hours and declared no contact with infected individuals, you would be able to stay or pass through without quarantine.”
“Band?”
In response, the soldier lifted his left sleeve to reveal what looked like a hospital band, only wider. I couldn’t see much information on it, but he didn’t wait for me to examine it. “It serves as identification for now, but—more importantly—it keeps infected individuals out of the cities, keeps them from spreading infection to the general population. Cities have become safe havens as we’ve progressed in the fight.”
It was too much for my mind to wrap around, and I wanted to ask more questions, but the soldier seemed impatient. He wanted our answer so he’d know what to do with us. I was at odds. If my kids weren’t in Winchester, then I wanted to go straight north where I could begin searching for them. But I saw a few problems—if things were as the soldier said, I would have to find a back route north, avoiding the Colorado Springs and Denver metro areas, but I would have to, at some point along the way, pay the piper. There was no getting into any place to see my kids without this isolation period. I looked at Kevin. “Should we just get it over with now?”
“Up to you.”
I had so many questions. The world we were returning to seemed colder and harsher, and yet it seemed to have every reason to be. As I nodded to the soldier and he stood, I wondered just what we were getting ourselves into.
Chapter Fifty-nine
“Sangre por Sangre (Blood for Blood)” – Hellyeah
I SAT IN the gray cell staring at the wall and wondering what the fuck I’d gotten us into.
It had seemed simple enough at first. We’d been offered something to drink while we waited, and we gladly accepted iced tea, a beverage I hadn’t had in ages. The soldier continued to act distant but briefed us on what was to come. He said Kevin’s motorcycle would be safely stored but that we would be held in the county jail for three days. He admitted it wasn’t ideal, but it was the best they had. He said we’d be able to roam about freely within the confines of the jail, but we would have to stay there for three days and then “be processed” before being released into the general population of Winchester.
Sounded like incarceration to me.
Further instructions, he said, would be given after the seventy-two hours were up. He dismissed himself then, stating he had matters to attend to, but I got the feeling he didn’t want to answer the remaining questions he could see in our eyes. After about an hour of waiting in the tiny office, a large white van showed up on the other side of the building—where a sidewalk would have been if Winchester had bothered putting one out that far—and we were escorted to the county jail.
Then things got even weirder. The driver wore a surgical mask and gloves, as if protecting himself from us. Another soldier accompanied us on the drive, but he didn’t wear a mask. There was a cage between us and the front of the van, and the back area was laid out like a shuttle, with seats on either side facing each other. Kevin and I sat next to each other, the soldier on the other side. He didn’t stare at us, but he had no problems making us uneasy.
Well, making me uneasy. Savage, as always, was cool and collected.
Once we got to the jail, we met the “warden,” for all intents and purposes. She was a heavy-set woman with dark hair pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head. She seemed pleasant but weary. The more I began to see the “protocols” and faces of those left here, I started to think we had no idea what we’d missed while we’d been experiencing our own private little hell. I hadn’t seen a single person smile, or even feign one, since we’d been back.
The warden explained to us that she would assign us cells. They wouldn’t be locked, unless other “guests” arrived, and then it would be for our own protection but, for now, Kevin and I were the only people there under observation. She said we could have our own cells or share one. It was up to us. I didn’t even hesitate when I told her we would share one, and then I reached over and grabbed Kevin’s hand. He gave me a look, telling me that was fine with him, but I could see that he too was dubious about the whole situation.
&nbs
p; After she completed our five-minute orientation and filled out paperwork, marking our official in time as five-fifty-two on the early evening of Tuesday, March twenty-fourth, she stood and asked us to follow her.
I felt a little better that she wasn’t wearing a mask like the driver of the bus had been. It made it even more difficult to communicate when it was hard to see others’ full faces, but the driver had been the only person we’d seen covering his face. The warden seemed stiff, however, and ready to pass us on to the next station.
We walked the quiet cells of the old sheriff’s building, a place I’d only ever seen from the outside, because I’d had no reason to be inside. The ceilings were higher than I would have expected, but I understood once we passed behind the locked gate and saw two levels of cells. It was dim inside the area, but the warden flipped a switch and turned on some lights.
Kevin and I looked at each other. Electricity! Oh, how we’d missed it.
The warden saw the looks on our faces and said, “It’s limited. For now, we can use power, but we’re encouraged to be sparing with it. After going without for so long, we’re not complaining.” She closed the wired gate behind her and I heard it lock. Ah—made sense. They had to have power here to be able to confine people. No electricity, no lock. The warden walked through the cavernous space that appeared to be an old area for both dining and socializing, and she said, “A few things—two meals a day. The first one between nine and eleven, whenever it gets here, and the second one between five and seven. Don’t worry. We already ordered two dinners for you.” She paused and turned to look at us. “Oh. Any dietary needs I should be aware of?” When Kevin and I looked at each other, she prompted us. “Allergies? Gluten intolerance?”
I shook my head and saw Kevin do the same, and so she started marching once more across the room. “No official time to go to bed or get up in the morning. That’s up to you.” Having reached the farthest wall and a metal set of stairs, she turned once more to face us. “Would you rather sleep upstairs or down?”
I shrugged and looked at Kevin. I could tell he was considering our options and putting each one through the paces. It wasn’t an easy decision for him, though. Finally, he said, “Down.” She nodded and waved her hand. “Take your pick. As I said earlier, if we get more guests, we’ll give you the option of having your cell door locked each night. Otherwise, it’s just the two of you and you can roam freely. Each cell, as you’ll notice, has its own toilet and sink”—I almost sighed aloud when I saw a full roll of toilet paper; we’d been rationing ours for so long, I’d forgotten what a luxury it was—“as well as a desk and bed. We can also get you a battery-operated lamp if you want to stay up past sundown.” That too would seem extravagant, as we had stayed up past sundown all winter, but we had only firelight. We didn’t rely on candles or the flashlight because they were so limited, so we’d usually talk for a while around the fire and then go to bed. “Otherwise, we do turn off most of the power at ten PM and back on at seven, but we ask that you limit turning on lights unless you need them.”
So maybe it wasn’t like it used to be, but I was already feeling better about our situation. We were going to have access to things we hadn’t in a long while.
As we followed her through the metal door into another area, my mind flashed to Vera and Larry. Vera’s death was nothing less than tragic, and I wondered what she’d done that had finally sent her husband over the edge—not that he had far to go. I wondered even more about Larry, where he’d gone to and what he was doing. Would I ever see him again? I knew I didn’t want to, not knowing the monster he’d become.
We turned down one small hall after another, and I hoped I’d be able to find my way around once Kevin and I were left on our own. The warden continued to talk as she led us, letting us know that there would always be a guard stationed there, in the event we needed something. She said, “If, by some chance, one of you was infected…” Her voice drifted off, but Kevin pressed her.
“What?”
She hesitated and kept walking, not facing us. “At that point, we’d have to have the health authorities take you into custody.”
“Custody? And then what?”
“They treat you.”
“Treat?”
“Yes.” We walked into a room and she flipped another light switch on. Based on her tone of voice, I gathered she wasn’t interested in answering any more questions about what would happen if we turned up ill. “It looks like you folks haven’t had a change of clothes in a while. We have some here, men’s over there and women’s on this side. Go ahead and look through them. You can also try them on if you like. I’ll show you the showers in a minute. You can leave all dirty laundry in there, in a pile on the floor.” I walked over to one of the shelves holding plain t-shirts. One thing I’d say—there was little variety, which, I supposed, was no big deal nowadays. Fashion had, no doubt, been thrown out the window for the meantime. “If there’s anything you want to keep, leave it in your cell.”
I had no particular attachment to the clothes I wore. Yes, at one time, they’d belonged to Aunt Lou, but I’d been wearing this set for a couple of weeks and had no desire to ever see them again.
“There are also sheets, pillows, and blankets over there,” she said, pointing to another wall, “You’ll want them for your beds. Let me show you where the showers are and then you’ll want to eat before your dinner gets cold.”
There were male and female showers and each had towels, soap, and shampoo. No conditioner. I wasn’t going to complain like a spoiled child even though, in my old life, I required conditioner to stop my hair from tangling. I was going to be grateful for the shower…and maybe tonight I’d skip washing my hair since I’d already done it the night before—but, after the past several months of bathing with a washcloth and a tub of water in front of fire—I wasn’t going to skip the opportunity for a shower.
The warden showed us a few additional key areas, especially showing us where we could get outside into a fenced yard. Again, she reminded us, because we weren’t prisoners, we could roam freely behind the locked doors—we just had to stay quarantined for the allotted time frame.
She led us back to the open area surrounded by cells. “If you want to shower and change clothes before dinner, I’ll make sure we keep your food hot for you.”
We thanked her and then looked at each other. A shower it was. Kevin said, “Race ya,” and took off toward the double doors. I needed to run after him just to make sure I could find where we needed to go, because one tour around the big building wasn’t enough to solidify the map in my mind.
I was laughing by the time I caught up to him in the men’s showers, and he was already peeling clothes off. I joined him, glad to be rid of the old clothes I’d been wearing. They’d seen better days, and I knew fresh ones would smell amazing. The shower area was an open tiled space with drains every few feet and shower heads located at various points. He turned on two next to each other before I could even join him. I asked, “Do you have soap over there?”
“Shit. No.”
I looked around and saw an unwrapped bar by a sink where we’d taken our clothes off and grabbed it. When I made it back to him, he pulled me close and kissed me. “Prison, quarantine, they can call it whatever the fuck they want. It feels like a goddamn vacation.”
I giggled. “Yeah.” I loved the way he was viewing what could have ruined the next several days for us. “No water hauling, no keeping a fire going, no rationing water, no cooking on a fire and—”
“An awesome shower.”
I repeated him before kissing his bearded chin. “An awesome shower.” I slid the bar of soap up his back. I was so tempted to do a ton of naughty things to him, but I knew he was as eager about our meal as I was. I only hoped I wasn’t setting myself up for supreme disappointment. If dinner was something akin to gruel, I was going to be sad.
We finished bathing, and it had been one of the best times I’d had in years. We’d played, laughing and talking and
appreciating life. While he shut off the water, I found the towels and tossed him one. I hadn’t shampooed my hair, but it was wet nonetheless. The warden hadn’t mentioned it but I was happy to find that there were a few combs, razors, and shaving cream by the towels.
“Oh, hell,” I said.
Kevin joined me, rubbing his head with the towel. “What?”
“I’m gonna shave my legs.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I might have to do some shaving too.”
“I like your legs hairy.”
He grinned. “Smart ass.” I grabbed a can of shaving cream and a razor, heading back to the shower area, and he slapped my ass as I passed by him. I giggled and soon turned on the shower again. It wasn’t long before I was relishing the feel of the blade against my skin as it cut off all the hair that I might have grown used to if I’d seen my legs much over the last few months.
By the time I finished it and was toweling off once more, Kevin was rinsing off the blade one last time. He had his towel wrapped around his waist and, as I approached him from behind, I appreciated the way his body looked. I hadn’t been able to see much of it before, but now, here, where we had light and privacy, I was able to see how his body was carved. It was a masterpiece—beautiful, smooth skin, rock hard muscles. I wrapped my arms around his torso and kissed his back. “Who is that?”
Still feeling playful. “Guess.”
He turned when I loosened my arms. He looked down at me, the silly jokes gone. He had redefined the goatee he’d been sporting the first day we were reacquainted. He really was a handsome guy—I was pretty sure I’d think that even if I hadn’t had an unrequited decades-old crush on him. I didn’t know what I was reading in his eyes as he bent over and kissed me then, but I was feeling some pretty intense things for him, and I no doubt interpreted his look as more than it was. So, rather than ask what he was thinking, I said, “Guess we should get dressed and get some dinner.”
Savage Page 33
