Lexi nodded. “I agree. But then, did we… yes, Henry and Kurt shut things down, but after, did you worry if the others did? You may have assumed, but the problem is we were all consumed with the flu.”
“Assume, consume,” Lars said. “We should assume none of the remaining labs hit failsafe and consume ourselves with fixing this. Now, a lot of our remaining soldiers have joined forces with our diligent militia who have been putting things together.”
“I heard about that,” Lexi commented. “Pilgrims said a division over this side of the country was encouraging people to go east. Keep everyone together to work together.”
Henry suggested, “Maybe we can get the groups to work with us to shut these down.”
“We have Matt,” Lexi said. “He’ll get some men, they can handle the California labs, Montana and Kansas.”
“That could be dangerous,” Lars noted. “California is a hot zone, probably a good mile circumference. They all could be.”
“Then they suit up before going in. I’ll instruct them on precautions and what to do. Get them in, report a breach if there is one and burn it out.”
“In the meantime,” Kurt said, “since you have a soup of sickness, try to keep them apart. The last thing we need is for these viruses to marry into one super bug.”
“Oh my God,” Henry uttered.
Lexi looked at Bill. There was something about his tone. “What?” she asked.
“There is a superbug,” Henry replied. “We all know it. Think. Lexi you probably don’t, but Lars does. Kurt does too. Hell, you signed the petition and were the first one.”
“Holy shit, I forgot!” Kurt gasped. “The MHS.”
Lars groaned. “They already married them to create a super weapon. It’s a married virus of three types. It was created to be climate controlled. It’s a surface and particle weapon. Release it, it attatches, breeds and remains on surfaces. Victims that don’t inhale it upon release can aspire it from any surface. The fault was, it didn’t work in hot environments, the bug would burn out in higher temperatures. Starting at eighty degrees, it lost potency. It can be burned out, but the colder it is the longer its stays alive on surfaces. The colder it is, the longer it lives. Days, weeks, months.”
“Fortunately,” Henry added, “there is supposed to be an antidote.”
“Yeah, but you read the specs,” Kurt said. “If given within two hours of exposure. After that, forget it. This is deadly, no treatment, no cure. Theoretically it shouldn’t be an extinction bug. It’s a weapon. Ground zero victims die immediately. Those exposed take a couple of days to get sick and they aren’t even contagious until a day before symptoms appear. And when they do, it’s an internal time bomb. Our biggest concern is someone getting this weapon.”
“Who would want it?” Bill asked. “It’s a dead world already. Who would want a biological weapon?”
“Crackpots like those that built the wedge in Erie,” Henry answered. “Who knows? This has to be top priority. Whoever we send to Maryland not only has to go in there, they have to find this bug, confirm it’s there and guarantee it is destroyed.”
Lexi made a huge circle over Maryland. “I’ll work on my end to get people out there ASAP.”
“We’ll start organizing on this end,” Henry said. “And we’ll touch base in the morning. Let’s try to get our first team out by then.”
“Oh, I’ll have a team out,” Lexi said. “Rest assured, I’m on this now.”
The conversation ended and Lexi sighed, looking to Bill. “This is a nightmare.”
“I know. I want to go.”
Her eyes widened. “You can’t.”
“No, Lex, I can and I will,” Bill retorted. “I know how the suits work, hell, how many people did you and I suit up? Plus,” he closed one eye, “I want to make sure this is done. I want to be certain this can’t be a threat and I’ll not know it, if I’m not there.”
“All this can be done in a couple of days,” Lexis said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes, I am.”
“I hate sending you, but I don’t think I’d feel secure about it if you didn’t go. I trust you.”
Bill slipped his hand behind her head, brought Lexi close, and placed his lips gently to her head. “It’ll get done. All of the facilities. I feel it. Then after, let’s make a pact.”
“What’s that?”
“That we do our best to make sure this world never gets this bad again. We have a chance. A fresh start. After this is done, let’s do it right.”
Lexi smiled gently at him, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him, then she settled into Bill’s embrace.
Damon, NY
Tigger fell fast asleep on Mick’s lap and Chris wasn’t far behind. Mick knew they had been going for days and probably felt safe enough to rest finally.
Chris wrote in his journal as he rested against Mick. Occasionally Mick took a peek and he saw his name. There was nothing better than his reunion with the boys. After Mick cleaned up, they ate supper and hung out by themselves.
He’d be lying if he said he didn’t shed tears of gratefulness as he took a shower. He spoke to Dylan, out loud, telling her he was sorry that he lost the boys and would do whatever he could to make the future as best as he could.
Watching Chris write, Mick thought back to their conversation, only because he saw the words ‘double headed coin’ written in the notebook.
“It was really smart of me, wasn’t it Mick?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, yeah it was. Actually brilliant.”
“Then how come you didn’t find us right away? Did you get lost in the woods, too?”
“No. No I didn’t. I followed the gravel road.”
“But I left you an awesome clue saying not to follow that trail.”
“I know. I didn’t give you enough credit.”
“So you actually thought I just accidently dropped my coin?”
“I did.”
“Well, next time you’ll get it right.”
“Let’s hope there s never a next time.” He kissed Chris and laughed when Chris made a comment about him always kissing them.
They talked and then grew tired.
Chris yawned and that made Mick pull from his thoughts. “You okay?”
“Yeah, tired. That’s all. Long day.”
“Why don’t you go to sleep? I’m gonna go catch a smoke,” Mick said. “And find Briggs, see if I can work with him about getting us a way to get home.” Risking ridicule, Mick bent down and kissed Chris again. He slid out from under Chris, stood, then bent down and lifted Tigger, placing him in bed. “Why don’t you get in bed before you pass out on the floor?”
“Okay.”
Mick started to walk out.
“Mick?”
“Yeah?”
“Glad we’re back together. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Mick winked. He walked down the corridor, pulling out his pack of cigarettes. He took the side door out, not wanting to be too far from the boys.
When he stepped outside and lit up, he saw Briggs sitting by the truck, a phone in his hand. He looked as if he were sending a message. Mick walked toward him.
“Evening.”
“Evening.” Briggs stood. “You guys okay?”
“Oh, yeah, we’re fine. Thank you. Tigger is asleep and Chris is just about there.”
“They have to be exhausted. They had a hell of a day.”
“They did. I have a question for you,” Mick said. “Do you have anything you can give us so we can make the trip back home?”
“I’m sure we can get together something. When are you wanting to go?” Briggs asked.
“Tomorrow. Maybe one more day of rest.”
“You’re joking right?” Briggs asked.
“Why would I joke? We can’t stay here.”