An Apocalypse Family (Book 1): Family Reunion (11 page)

Thomas nodded his head, frowning. “Yeah, but that was the electronic engineer’s specialty. I know where it all is, but I’m not the designer. Their shop spent the better part of six months installing and configuring all that. They were supposed to bring you up to speed on that this afternoon.”

Maddie pointed at him. “You stay here and start trying to figure all that out. Harry and I will go see what’s going on inside.”

With that, Harry and Maddie went to the old coach and opened the storage bay. Thomas went to the hidden file cabinet in the desk right behind the driver’s station and found the DVD labeled
Communication.

Maddie selected her favorite 5.56 caliber AR15 with Eotech close-combat hologram site, and her Taurus Judge. She strapped on the Taurus holster and checked to make sure that all the ammunition loops held .410 shells. “I’m good to go.”

Harry grabbed a Mossberg 930 SPX 12-gauge and his old reliable Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm that held 17+1 and 4 extra magazines. He also grabbed a bandolier of 55 2.75 double-aught buckshot and strapped it tightly to his chest. He took a Remington 870 pump shotgun to Thomas.

“Hey, you know how to work one of these?”

Thomas looked up from the computer. “Sure, point the end with the hole toward the bad guys and shoot.” Harry showed him how to load it and where to find the safety, and left him with a box of shells.

Back in Texas, Maddie and Harry had converted an old barn on their property into a shoot house. They could set it up with multiple different floor plans and they practiced clearing rooms together. They did it for fun, and never thought they would ever actually get to put this skill set into practice. Maddie pestered Harry to go play S.W.A.T. with her and he usually gave in with a promise of a reward later.

“You know how hot it makes me, Harry,” was usually all she had to say.

They lined up outside the door to the offices. Maddie held the door handle and Harry staged to the left. He counted down: three, two, one… Maddie swung the door open and Harry quickly moved through it and to the right. Maddie followed closely and cleared the left. Harry called out “Clear” and moved to the next doorway. The front reception area was deserted, and the only sound they heard was the hum of the A/C.

Harry pointed at the door to the hallway they had gone through earlier that day with Warren. Since the door opened inward, this was a bit more challenging.

“Okay, remember: I clear right, you clear left, and we hold in the hall. Anything hinky and we blow back into this room, got it?” Maddie nodded once and gave him a thumbs-up.

He counted down again and pushed the door open, following it through as it moved into the hallway. Concentrating on her job, Maddie started forward and began to look to the left. She made it almost through the doorway when Harry slammed into her, knocking her back into the foyer. She heard a loud shriek and the sound of Harry’s 18.5-inch barrel exploding at the same time.

Maddie was staring at the ceiling of the reception area for an instant before rolling to her left to come up on one knee. She pointed at the hall and saw Harry crouched there, looking back at her, his shotgun pointing up.

“Sorry about that sweetie, kind of ran into someone.”

She waved off the apology, moved back over to him, and saw what was left of the buxom blond receptionist. She was now minus her buxom, as it was currently spread all over the wall behind her. Maddie had worked in emergency rooms all her life and the sight did not affect her much, but the smell was horrendous.

“God, why does it smell so bad? She smells like she’s been dead for a month.”

Harry shrugged while checking up and down the hall. “Don’t know, baby. Which way?”

They heard another shriek and the sound of a person screaming in abject terror or pain; they weren’t sure which.

“I guess we go toward the screams, eh?” Harry said.

Maddie moved to go.

“Wait—me first, Mad.”

“Okay, macho man, be my guest.”

Harry peeked around the corner and hustled down the hallway to the first office. Maddie slid down the wall and came up behind him. They both heard heavy panting from the interior office.

“I’m going to cross to the other side of the door,” Harry whispered back to her. She gave a quick nod. Harry crouched and started to lunge across the doorway, but was sideswiped immediately by a fat little guy in a suit.

Maddie couldn’t shoot without hitting Harry, so she screamed instead.

“Harry!”

The little fat man didn’t pay her any mind and appeared to be close to biting off Harry’s ear. She flipped her AR around, grabbed it like a baseball bat, and swung like she wanted to hit the wall on the other side of its head. The shock of the impact went up her arms as the butt of the AR sank into its temple and blood splattered across Harry’s face. She lost her grip on the rifle and fell forward on top of both of them. Without even knowing why, she wrapped her right arm around its neck and rolled to the left, pulling it with her off Harry.

Harry held his 9mm to its head and pulled the trigger. Maddie watched in fascination as the bullet neatly entered the thing’s head, just inches above her. She would swear later that she could see the shock wave ripple across its scalp as the bullet passed through and erupted out the other side. The bullet’s exit was anything but neat; the fragments of bone and brains, mixed with bright red blood, burst like a volcano, spewing its contents like lava all over the wall to her right.

Maddie struggled to get out from under the damn squealer and the gore still dripping from its head. Harry stood with his hands on his knees, breathing in ragged gasps.

“That kind of took me by surprise,” he croaked.

“Yeah, me too.” She located her AR. Its extendable stock was broken. “Wow, didn’t know I was that strong.”

Harry, still trying to catch his breath, just shook his head. “Thanks.”

Maddie loosened the sling on the AR and put it over her back. She drew the Judge from its holster and held it with both hands.

Harry looked at her and asked, “Why are we doing this? I think it’s pretty obvious that there is nothing but these things in here.”

“There may be someone that needs our help,” she said, thinking how utterly stupid it sounded as it came out of her mouth.

“Yeah, we might need help ourselves if this keeps up.” Harry bent down and picked up his shotgun. “Keep going, or go back?”

“Live to fight another day?” Maddie proposed, and Harry agreed.

“Sounds like the smartest thing I’ve heard all day.”

Meg looked over at Andy sleeping next to her in the king-size bed. Sadie and Beth had already gotten up and were out rummaging around in the kitchen, fixing themselves cereal. Andy had been up half the night crying inconsolably over his father’s death. He missed Peter terribly, but he couldn’t accept that he no longer had a dad. “Why Grammie? Why?” he’d wailed plaintively. Meg had no good answer for him, nor for Sadie and Beth.

They didn’t want to hear that God wanted Tim and Peter to come live with him in heaven. Beth said God was mean and she hated him. Sadie, ever faithful, still could not understand why Jesus took her dad and brother away. Sarah had relied heavily on Tim to share the parenting duties of the four, now three, children and was trying her best to keep it together.

Meg went out to the living room to find Sarah watching the news.

“They are saying the vaccine has been recalled and they’re ordering everyone to stop taking it,” Sarah said as Meg sat down.

“What? I’ve given it to hundreds of people over the last two weeks.” Meg leaned forward to listen for a reason why it was recalled.

“Did you take the vaccine, Mom?” Sarah asked.

“No. I’m allergic to one of the proteins listed in the ingredients, so I didn’t.”

“Well, the kids and I went to get it at our clinic last week, but they were out and told us to come back. We never made it. Then, when Tim and Peter got sick, I was mad that they ran out and called and read them the riot act.” Sarah looked at nothing with the thousand-yard stare once reserved for those with PTSD.

“Honey, there is obviously some reason for the recall, so it was a blessing in disguise,” Meg tried to comfort her.

“I don’t know, Mom. What if it could have saved them?”

“There is no way they would be stopping the program if it was working. You couldn’t have done anything different, nothing that would have changed where we are now.” They went quiet and watched the news.

Reports from London of serious rioting as the fatality rate of the flu reaches eighty-two percent. Stores are being looted for antiviral medications, reportedly ineffective against this strain of flu. Additional reports, unsubstantiated at this time, claim that people have turned violent and are attacking those around them for no apparent reason; some have described these attacks as horrific to the point of cannibalism.

Meg stood up. “I have to get to the office to find out if we have any more information on what’s going on.”

“Mom, you need to stay here; it’s not safe out there. Lynn, Jean, and the kids will be here soon. Why don’t you wait until they get here?”

“Sarah, you don’t understand, I have patients that I’m responsible for.”

Sarah stood, crossed the room, and grabbed her mother by the shoulders. “Mom, you have responsibilities here. I cannot lose anyone else to this thing, don’t you get it? This is not just another flu, this is killing people everywhere!”

Meg saw the look on her daughter’s face and knew she was right, but she still had to check in at work. “Look, I have to go in, even if it’s just long enough to shut the place down and send everyone home. I will stop and stock up on supplies while I’m in town.”

She went to change clothes and run a brush through her hair.

Meg’s place was ten miles from Oroville, Washington, a small town on the Canadian border east of the Cascade Mountains. It was considered high desert and had supplied the United States with most of their apples. Now the apple orchards were being systematically torn out because they couldn’t compete with South American produce. The rural farms that once fed the nation were dying… and the population with them. Most of those who lived here were the last generation of farmers. Their sons and daughters moved away to the big cities, where they could earn a decent wage.

Meg provided health care to them as a traveling nurse; she’d been the director of the home health care service for Okanagan County until the company changed hands. The new director had no clue how to operate the business, and most everyone brought their concerns to Meg. She basically ran the clinic, and the new director accommodated her because it was convenient. Meg had another couple of years until she could retire, at which time she planned to move to the coast to be near her daughter and grandkids.

All that apparently had changed now. A line formed outside the clinic for those who had not already succumbed to the flu. They looked like they were waiting for a miracle to stay their disease and make them whole again. Meg greeted them as she walked into the clinic from the parking lot. She knew most of them by name.

She stopped at the front door and turned. Her voice carried well and she spoke clearly.

“The vaccine has been recalled. I don’t know why. I only know that we have been instructed not to inoculate anyone else.”

The crowd murmured at this, but they trusted her and listened.

“Go home and stay away from anyone showing signs of the flu. If you are already sick, we will set up an infirmary at the high school gym. Please go there now, or head home. There is nothing more we can do, other than pray and care for the sick in hopes that this will pass.”

She’d planned to return home immediately but couldn’t just leave these people to their fate. She went in and directed the workers and volunteers concerning the setup of the infirmary.

She called home, and Sarah answered on the first ring.

“Sarah, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I have a responsibility to this community. I have to stay in town and set up an infirmary for those that are too sick to care for themselves. I’ll be at the high school gym until everything is set up, and then I’ll head home for dinner.”

“Mom, you can’t save the world, come home now!” Sarah pleaded.

Meg replied thoughtfully, “I know I can’t, honey. I am just trying to make these people more comfortable until this thing runs its course. I’ll be home soon. Get the turkey soup from the freezer downstairs and heat it for dinner. I’ll see you soon.”

Sarah hung up the phone only to have it ring again before she could take two steps across the room. “Hello?”

“Hey, this is Lynn. We’re just about there. We’re going to stop in Oroville to pick up groceries. Can you think of anything we might need?”

“Aunt Lynn, have you been listening to the news?”

“Yeah, it’s sounding worse. We figured we’d stock up on some supplies to try and have enough on hand to last it out. It may be a couple of weeks until things settle down. It doesn’t look like we’re going to make it to the reunion.”

Lynn sounded matter-of-fact about it—just another bump in the road of life. This bolstered Sarah’s spirit a little, and she told Lynn about Meg’s plan. She also told Lynn to buy all the canned goods they could and come on out.

“Okay, sounds like a plan. We will see you in a bit.”

Lynn hung up and told Jean what was going on. Jean immediately called Meg.

“Hey Meg, Jean here. I am coming over to help you get this infirmary set up. Lynn is going to hit the store and then head up to the house.”

Meg sounded rushed, but thankful. “Thanks, Jean. I could use the help, I have a bunch of volunteers here but need another nurse to get this working.”

“What’s a big sister for?” Jean replied.

They got directions to the school and headed that way. Madison and Tyler were disappointed at the delay but understood the change in plans was unavoidable. Madison, fourteen going on twenty-eight, explained to Tyler, twelve going on… well, twelve, that life wasn’t always fair. It hadn’t even dawned on Lynn to ask why Sarah wasn’t out on the coast.

Meg contacted the Red Cross representative, who happened to be a deacon at her church.

“Maggie, we need all the beds you have in storage and as many people as you can muster.”

The emergency response team for the county had twenty hospital beds in storage at the high school and access to the regional emergency pharmacy for IVs and antibiotics. While Meg got the ball rolling on the infirmary setup, she also called a couple of people to bring food and water to the shelter. Normally, it would have been a few quick calls to key people who would rally the troops to get things done; however, she was having no luck reaching them. No one was answering their phones.

Meg arrived to find the beds already being moved into the gymnasium. Lynn, the kids, and Jean were waiting on her in the parking lot. They all exchanged quick hugs and got down to business.

“Lynn, I need you to get some supplies and head to the house. Sarah is having a hard time coping without Tim.” She saw the confused look on Lynn’s face. “Oh, didn't Sarah tell you?”

“What?”

“Tim and Peter both died from the flu; that’s why they’re here.” Jean frowned and Lynn put an arm around Meg, giving her another hug. Meg took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “We can’t dwell on that right now, we’ll have time to grieve later.”

“Anyhow, Sarah and the kids are there, and I would feel better knowing you were too,” Meg said, as she signed off on the medical supplies a staffer dropped off.

Jean got right into gear and started arranging for people to take information from those who had already showed up for help. Lynn and the kids got back into the car and left for the grocery store on the way to Meg’s house. It was just twelve-thirty and the sun shone brightly on the eastern Washington town.

Meg was in the gymnasium and had just briefed a young volunteer on how to fill out the forms listing a person’s critical info when he suddenly became ill. His name was Cam, he was sixteen, and he went to the same high school where they were setting up the infirmary. Cam was an Eagle Scout and had come to help get the shelter ready; he was always on hand for community outreach and did whatever was asked of him. Meg knew him well; he’d been in her Sunday school class back when he was in the second grade and was always around during church functions. Meg admitted to Cam that the bustle of activity at the school made her comfortable; she felt she was doing something to combat the chaos that the flu was wreaking on her home. When he turned toward Meg, she saw that his face was ashen and he was sweating profusely.

“Cam, are you all right?” she asked, leading him to a chair and sitting him down. He stared blankly at her and began to shake. Meg yelled for Jean and they laid him down right there and began to take his vitals.

“Look at his skin,” Jean remarked, as she worked at getting his pulse. He was not only getting paler by the moment, but his skin was taking on a translucent quality before their eyes.

“His pulse is skyrocketing,” Jean reported.

His eyes snapped open and he looked at Meg, who was trying to take his blood pressure. He grabbed her arm and rose off the floor toward her; she drew back trying to gain control of his arms, only to find her hand in his mouth. He bit down, severing her pinky and ring fingers in one quick motion. She screamed in horror as he chewed on her now detached fingers.

Seeing this all take place, Jean let go of him then grabbed him by the hair and bashed his head against the floor. Meg scooted away, holding her mangled hand and shaking her head, unable to comprehend what had just taken place. Jean continued to beat his head against the floor and Meg screamed at her to stop. Across the gym, another person attacked a Red Cross worker, shrieking like a banshee. Jean dropped the boy’s limp body and scurried over to Meg, who was up against the wall trying to stop the bleeding.

She gathered Meg up and pulled her toward the door. “We have to get this cleaned up,” Meg said, going into shock.

“Come with me now!” Jean yelled at her just as a third person shrieked, pounced on top of a patient recently placed in one of the beds, and began biting at his face. Jean fell backward into the double doors, pulling Meg with her as they stumbled out into the lobby. The left door started to close. The right one remained open, and Cam got up and came charging after them. He reached the lobby only to throw his arms over his face, shriek, and turn back for the gymnasium once the light from the windows touched his skin. Jean managed to get Meg on her feet, and together they ran out of the building into the parking lot.

*****

Lynn didn’t want to freak her grandkids out, so she played down the emerging crisis as they drove to the grocery store.

“Aunt Jean and Aunt Meg are going to help these people get better.”

Madison looked at her and said, “Oma, the news said the sick people were all dying.”

“No, they said that some of them were dying.”

“Yeah, like eighty percent of them!” was Madison’s reply.

“Well, it’s what Aunt Jean and Meg do, guys. They help sick people.”

“Oma, I’m scared,” Tyler complained.

Madison added, “If those people have the South African Flu, they could give it to Aunt Jean and Aunt Meg!”

Lynn tried to think of a reasoned rebuttal as they pulled into the grocery store parking lot.

“They know what they’re doing,” was the only thing she could come up with. “I want you two to stay in the car. I am going in and will be back in fifteen minutes, tops. Stay in the car and keep the doors locked.”