Apokalypsis Book One

by Kate Morris

  “Yeah, I don’t get it. My dad came up last month and gave it a tune-up. He said everything looked great.”

  “Cars,” he said, shrugging. He wasn’t too handy when it came to mechanics, but his friend Brian loved working on them.

  “I guess,” she said.

  “I need to show you some more things I found last night when I went home,” he told her. Then he inclined his head to the back seat and said, “Later.”

  “Oh, right,” she acknowledged and then proceeded to talk to Connor the rest of the ride to school. She didn’t seem like she was just trying to suck up to him by talking to his little brother, either. Some of the girls from school used to do that, but they were so fake and transparent about it. For not having siblings that he knew of, Jane was good with him. She seemed very tuned in, even with the huge age gap.

  Roman dropped him off, felt a terrible sense of foreboding for taking his little brother to a school that could be filled with germs, and drove them to the high school. He parked up close today because the weather was windy and cold, and he didn’t want Jane to get sick. She seemed like a fragile little person.

  He walked with Jane to her locker and waited for her to get her things.

  “This feels strange,” he said, looking at the top of her head, as usual.

  “You don’t have to be seen with me at school. Just go to your own locker,” she said, misreading his comment.

  “Jane Livingston, there’s no one I’d rather be seen with,” he said and brushed her hair back behind her ear gently. He even allowed his thumb to stroke twice against the soft skin below her ear before pulling his hand away. She gasped softly. Interesting. “That’s not what I meant anyway.”

  Jane looked at her feet apprehensively. “What’d you mean?”

  “Look at this place,” he noted. “Look around.”

  Most of the time, especially in school, Jane was studying the floor tiles.

  He explained, “There’s a lot of people missing. The hallways are usually crowded right now.”

  “Hey, bitch!” Stephanie said behind him.

  “Hey, Steph! Good morning to you, too,” Roman said with a smartass attitude, knowing full well that she meant the insult for Jane.

  “I didn’t mean you, Roman,” she returned haughtily.

  Jane ignored her and shoved a binder quickly into her locker.

  “Oh, well, her name’s Jane,” he reminded her. “Where’s your crew? Flying solo today?”

  “Sick! Everyone’s got the fucking flu, genius!” she exclaimed dramatically. “Or haven’t you heard? They’re letting us out at one o’clock today because of it.”

  “Really?” he said and looked at Jane.

  “What?” Steph asked angrily. “Why are you looking at her like you two idiots have a secret? What is it? Did this come from her? Maybe it started from people eating bad apples her grandmother grew.”

  “Yes, just like in Snow White,” Jane muttered sarcastically without looking at them. “That’s a reliable point of reference.”

  “What did you just say, bitch?” Steph said and took an aggressive step forward.

  Roman blocked her way as the bell for first period rang. He tipped an invisible hat. “Have a swell day, Steph.”

  She snorted, rolled her eyes, and left, the sound of her Frye boots clicking on the hall floor announcing her. She wore cutesy things like expensive, designer boots, but unlike Jane’s, they were clean, spotless, and had never seen a single day of work inside of a barn or even some light yard work. Her diamond earrings, fake fingernails, and blonde hair extensions would also get in the way of manual labor. It might’ve been funny to watch her try, though.

  Jane slammed her locker door and said, “See you at one.”

  “Be careful,” he warned.

  “Be careful?” she asked. “Of what?”

  “You know what I mean,” he said and tagged along with her as she walked away. “If someone seems sick or looks like they’ve got a fever, stay back from them. Just be careful.”

  “Um, yeah. You, too,” she said uneasily and made brief eye contact before scurrying away.

  His first and second-period teachers were absent, no sub called in, and they were left to their own devices. In his third class, the teacher from next door checked on them from time to time. Roman regarded her keenly as she coughed, swiped a hand across her forehead, and left for her own class again. Was she infected or did she have seasonal allergies? He waited another five minutes. Then Roman took his laptop and backpack and left the class. Nobody was doing anything except talking and screwing around anyway. Jane was in her third-period class on the other side of the campus in building number two, so he headed that way. He took his time and observed things as he went. Most of the classes were missing at least a quarter to one-third of their students, and many teachers were also absent. He strolled by the principal’s office and noticed nobody but the secretary was present whereas usually, the place was busy with administrators, visitors, or parents there for meetings. Walking by the gym doors, he heard voices inside but not from a class. He peeked in and saw police officers and school staff in a meeting, one that looked important. That must’ve been where some of the teachers were. Roman decided to investigate.

  Entering the gym through the locker rooms or the main doors was the only way to get in, but he knew if he went up to the audio-visual department above it, he could go in tactically. Nobody was present in the AV department, either, and the door was unlocked. He went inside, through the long room, and out onto the balcony to spy down below. Roman risked coming slightly out of the shadows so that he could see them better.

  “…but what are you being told?” a woman demanded loudly, angrily.

  “Not a lot, ma’am,” a police officer answered.

  One of Roman’s teachers said, “If you can’t tell us, then how can we protect the kids?”

  “Sir,” a policeman said, “we’re doing the best we can. The Health Department is telling us that the students should wear masks. That’s why we’ve brought them here today.”

  That got their attention. Roman was pretty sure that a few of the people were on the school board.

  One of those said, “Bullshit, Frank! We need to take more drastic action than just a paper mask.”

  “If we shut the schools down, it could cause a panic,” the same police officer said.

  Roman wasn’t completely sure, but he believed he might’ve been the county sheriff. He remembered seeing the man’s face on election signs. This was probably not what he thought he’d be getting into as the sheriff of their community.

  A teacher said, “But maybe we should be panicking. I just talked to Louisa Perkins last night. Her husband and son both have it.”

  Mrs. Perkins taught middle school computer science classes. Roman knew and liked her and had taken two programming classes she taught, which was why he was so computer savvy. That and his dad.

  “Exactly!” another teacher called out, angrier this time. “How are we going to keep these kids safe when we can’t even keep our own families safe? This is ridiculous.”

  “We need to have a vote,” one of the school board members said. “If we don’t have more information than this, then we should close the schools until this all passes.”

  Roman noticed a flicker of emotion in the sheriff’s eyes. He knew. He was full of information he apparently wasn’t sharing with these teachers and administrators. Or perhaps he wasn’t permitted to share. But Roman could tell by the expression on his face that he knew this situation wasn’t going to pass and that it was only going to get worse.

  The adults began arguing, and it escalated until someone in the crowd started insulting the police, calling them names. There were over fifty people down there. Roman figured it was time to go. He was never a ditcher or hooky school day kind of student, but now seemed like a good time to start. He rushed out and jogged to the other building to get Jane. There was no way he was staying the whole day and not even until one. And
neither was she.

  He walked right into her class, some sort of creative writing workshop she took and noticed there wasn’t a teacher present there, either. However, she was diligently working in the corner by herself, of course, while other students were playing on their phones, laptops, and chatting.

  “Jane,” he said as he walked right up to her.

  Her head shot up, and she frowned with confusion, “Roman, what are you doing in here?”

  “Let’s get outta’ here,” he whispered, grabbing her backpack from the back of her chair.

  “What? Are you serious? What’s going on?”

  “Aww,” Stephanie said behind him, always sneaking up out of nowhere. “How sweet. Missing your new girlfriend already? Need a quickie before lunch?”

  “Go away, Steph,” he urged. “Come on.”

  Jane realized the urgency with which he was speaking and stood up and began packing her gear.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Stephanie asked.

  “To pick up my brother,” he said. Then he paused, his conscience kicking in. “You should go home, too, Steph.”

  “We’re getting out in an hour, Roman,” she reminded him in that same rude tone she always used.

  “This place isn’t safe,” he said quietly. “I just heard the teachers talking with the police. Look, just go home.”

  Her eyes narrowed with concern. “I…I don’t have a ride. My step-daddy dropped me off.”

  “Where’s your car?”

  “None of your business,” she answered. At his look of impatience, she said, “Fine! I wrecked it a few weeks ago and got busted on a DUI. Now I gotta wait a fucking year to get my fucking license back, okay? Satisfied?”

  “No, why would I be?” he asked, wondering why she was such an antagonistic, dramatic person. As a matter of fact, most of the girls in his social group acted just like this. Everything was a big deal, dramatic, blown out of proportion. It was probably why he was so drawn to Jane’s calm demeanor. “Ready, Jane?”

  She nodded without hesitation and followed him to the door. Stephanie followed them and grabbed his arm in the hallway. “Wait! Can I get a ride, Roman?”

  He really didn’t want to give her a ride, but he also didn’t want to be a jerk. Doing the chivalrous thing was sometimes a bitch.

  He said with a great deal of reluctance, “Sure.”

  Jane’s gaze shot to his, but she didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t, either. She wasn’t that kind of person. She wasn’t like Stephanie.

  “I texted Brian and told him to go find Dez and get out, too,” Roman told Jane, who nodded.

  “Is he going to?” she asked after her friend.

  “Yeah, he’s probably gone by now. He said they were in the same class at the time.”

  “Good,” she replied softly.

  They left the school unimpeded. The police officer who always sat at the exit door wasn’t present. Nobody was waiting in the parking lot or doing rounds in the hallways. They just left. Roman went to Connor’s school and signed him out. He had full authority as a secondary legal guardian to do so since his parents signed him on for that responsibility when they knew he had to take care of Connor while they were traveling for work. Connor was upset he was going to miss recess. Roman just smiled and led him to the car. Then they got on the road to Stephanie’s house.

  She lived in the Glenmoor Hills Estates where the homes were not to be outdone by other neighborhoods like Roman’s. It wasn’t gated, though, and they went straight to her house.

  “What do you know about this, Roman?” Stephanie asked.

  He told her to check out a few of the websites where he found information. Then he instructed her to talk to her step-father, who was a doctor at the same hospital that he and Jane visited the other night.

  “Yeah, right, like I want to talk to that dickhead,” she remarked.

  Roman shot her a look over his shoulder. He didn’t like it when people talked like that around Connor, and she already knew that.

  “Whatever,” she said irritably. “If you weren’t so caught up with your new girlfriend, you could’ve come in and showed me the websites yourself.”

  “Sorry, I need to get going,” he said, not really sorry at all, and she knew that, too. “Hey, text me if you find anything out from your step-dad.”

  “Asshole,” she whispered as she got out and slammed his car door in a fit of obnoxious snobbery. Connor was more well-behaved when he didn’t get his way.

  His little brother said, “She’s crazy.”

  Jane chuckled, then clasped her hand over her mouth as if she were ashamed by her reaction. He just laughed, too. It was true. If you wanted the truth, you should always ask a kid. Connor was no exception to that rule. He pulled away as soon as he made sure Steph was inside her house.

  Beside him, Jane exhaled as if she’d been holding her breath the whole time. He took her hand and squeezed it.

  “I didn’t want to leave her there. Not because I have feelings for her but because she didn’t have any of her friends at school today.”

  “So, you saw teachers talking to the cops?” she asked, purposely ignoring his statement.

  He nodded and explained it to her without revealing enough to frighten his little brother.

  “What did you want to show me? You said something about it earlier before first period?”

  “Yeah, I’ll show it to you when we get to my house,” he said.

  “I…I would come over, but I really need to head to Mrs. Goddard’s,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave so much work for her just in case her son doesn’t get there early. I know she’ll just go out and try to take care of the horses on her own.”

  “Cool,” he remarked with a smile. “Wanna’ go to a horse barn today instead of school, bud?”

  Connor, naturally, whooped his excitement from the back seat.

  He grinned at Jane and said, “See there? Now ya’ got two helpers instead of one.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, to which he nodded, and Connor hollered out his excitement again, pumping his chubby fist in the air.

  Mrs. Goddard’s son was gone getting hay when they arrived, but she told them that he’d be back any minute and that they were holding a meeting. Then she charged them with going to town to get everyone some lunch from a small deli Roman had never been to before. She insisted they take money she handed them from her ‘pocketbook’ that she went to retrieve. She was a sweet old lady.

  They collected the boxed lunches Mrs. Goddard called ahead to be ready and drove back to her house. When they pulled in again, there was a full-size white pickup truck there with a drop deck trailer and bales of hay.

  “Why’d he get round bales? We don’t use those,” Jane remarked rhetorically as they got out.

  They carried the bags of food and met Mrs. Goddard and her son, Charles, in the parking lot.

  “Round bales?” Jane asked.

  “He’s going to try and bring us a regular load tomorrow. His wife’s sick,” Charles explained.

  Roman knew from Jane that the hay was normally delivered by semi-truck and required a lot of hands unloading and stacking it.

  His phone buzzed a message from his mother. She was flying back and would be home late tonight because her meeting was canceled. He wondered if it was because of illness.

  Mrs. Goddard led everyone into the barn and to the left where her office and a meeting room were located next to the tack and trophy room. They sat at a long table where she must’ve held meetings about her riding facility. Jane passed down the white boxes with sandwiches, chips, a cookie, and a bottle of some sort of juice to each person. Mrs. Goddard said a prayer, and they ate lunch. It was really good, too: fresh sliced turkey, bacon, lettuce, homemade thick bread. Roman drank the juice, cranberry-cherry, and even enjoyed it, as well.

  “I wanted you and Charles in here to discuss the academy,” Mrs. Goddard said to Jane. “I think we should turn
out and leave out the horses. I can’t do it by myself, and both workers called in this morning and quit.”

  “Patrick quit? Without notice?” Jane asked.

  “Yes, dear,” she answered. “And so did Mr. Smith. He said he couldn’t come back for a while. I’ve been watching the news coverage of this. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I can’t do this without full-time help.”

  “But I can…” Jane started but was interrupted by Mrs. Goddard.

  “No, Jane,” she said. “I’ve also heard from my trainers. Maria’s husband called this morning and told me she passed away.”

  That one went fast, faster than others they knew of. Roman took out his phone and gave it to Connor to play on so that he wouldn’t hear more than he wanted him to. He fished earbuds from his pocket and plugged those in and handed them to his brother to put in his ears.

  “My other two trainers are either nursing their own sickness or their families.”

  “That’s terrible,” Jane commented. Mrs. Goddard’s son, Charles, did not. He must’ve already known the news.

  “That’s not all,” she said. “I’ve been on the phone all morning trying to make contact with our boarders. Those with whom I’ve been able to speak told me to do what I wanted with their horses for a while because they were also either sick or nursing their sick children or had just lost a loved one. The few who have lost family members didn’t want to be bothered.”

  Jane shook her head with disbelief. He felt the same. This was moving at light speed now.

  Roman said, “How do you want to handle this?”

  She looked at him and said, “Charles and I are going to do what we can. I’ve ordered the semi of hay to come tomorrow. For now, we’ll turn out the horses in the pastures so that they can forage off the grass, too. Even the show horses. In the spring, their owners will just have to get them back in shape. I can’t manage this place by myself, and Charles can only afford to take a week off from work to come up.”

  Roman nodded and said, “Jane and I will help, too.”

  “I’ll pay you both,” she offered, to which he nodded.

  Roman only agreed because he figured she wouldn’t accept anything less. Plus, he didn’t think it would matter soon enough. Springtime would look a lot different than any other in history if things panned out according to the doctor who was hauled away on live t.v. The word from the internet video kept flashing in his mind’s eye. Apokalypsis.