Dr. Narwal relaxed a bit, as this was familiar ground. “People should not panic. If a relative comes down with the symptoms, isolate them and call the authorities. If you feel you are sick, go to a hospital or clinic and they will take care of you.” Something was ticking in the back of my mind, but I didn’t pay close attention as I knelt down to change a dirty diaper. . Jakey was finished with his bottle and gave me a satisfactory belch to complete his morning routine. I laid him on the floor and smiled at him, which got a full smile and arm flapping in response. What you don’t know about the world, buddy. I thought.
“In world news, England mobilizes its Territorial Army for a possible containment operation near Wales. Details are sketchy at this point, but there appears to be rumors of some sort of patient uprising in a local hospital. Further details as reports come in.”
“Okay, thanks, Hannah, in other news…”
I turned off the news as my wife came down, yawning and stretching. “Anything on the news?”
“Something about a new virus going around that seems to be hitting hard in a lot of places.”,” I said, placing a few toys about for Jake to play with while I got my breakfast.
“Really? Anything I need to know about?” Ellie stayed home with Jake three days a week, after taking a year off from full time work. We did the math and realized that she would be working just for day care for Jake, so what was the point? She worked as a cardiac nurse for a hospital in the city, so she generally worked the shifts no one else wanted, Saturdays being one of them.
“Just keep an eye out for flu-like symptoms, and call the authorities if anyone has been infected. They didn’t say anything about transmission, but that it was very contagious.”,” I replied.
“Any reports of outbreaks around here?” Ellie asked, her eyebrows rising.
“Nothing on the local news, but I am sure things will get out as needed, information wise.”,” I assured her. The Internet eliminated information dissemination by the media, everyone had a camera, video recorder, or some combination, which allowed them to post immediately exactly what was happening. You Tube was a great source of information, but it was better to watch with the sound off, as the posters tended to think they were trained cameramen.
“All right. We’ll stay close to home, but I need to go to the grocery store. Jakey is running low on food. We are starting him on level two foods this week.” Ellie seemed pretty excited. “He’s getting to be such a big boy.”
I grinned, “Takes after his daddy.”
“Right. Nice fishing for compliments.” Ellie walked over to rescue Jake, who had managed to drag himself over to the vent and got his sleeper button stuck.
I smiled and got myself breakfast, thinking about what I had heard on the radio. That old feeling was ticking in the back of my head, and for once, I decided not to ignore it.
“Hey, babe?” I said.
Ellie looked up from Jake. “What?”
“When you go shopping, could you pick up some extra bottled water? I kind of want to ease back on my pop intake.”
Ellie shrugged. “Sure whatever. Anything else?”
I thought for a minute. “D and AA batteries. I think Jake’s fishbowl is sounding weak, and his musical dragon is not so musical.”
“Okay.”
I went back to my breakfast, and thought about things before I went upstairs to get ready to go to work. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was going to be a lot more to this virus, and as I put on my shirt and tied my tie, I decided that prudence was the better side of caution. I reached into my closet and opened the small safe I had hidden behind my Chicago Bears jersey. I pulled out my Walther PPK, and checked to make sure it was fully loaded and a round was chambered. . I took it to the side of the bed where I had a thick book hollowed out to accept the little pistol. I placed the book on my nightstand, and hoped that everything would be all right.
2
Driving to work at my usual pace, I barely listened to the radio, focusing more on the unusual amount of traffic that seemed to be on the road. The Governor of my state was likely going to be indicted, he said he was innocent, the president was meeting with other world leaders about the new threat, and someone was having a sale on last years model cars. Blah, Blah, Blah. I really didn’t listen until I heard the word virus and Chicago. All of a sudden, I was interested, since I lived only thirty miles outside of the city proper. The talk show was discussing the new virus that seemed to be on everyone’s mind. They said there have not been any cases yet reported in the Chicago area, but New York seemed to be having a difficult time containing it. A sound bite from the mayor of Chicago reassured everyone that precautions were being taken, and antibiotics were being stocked up. I laughed at this. Antibiotics are useless against viruses, but it made the masses rest a little easier.
I pulled into work, and the first thing I noticed was a general lack of activity. Usually, there was a group of kids running around, but today it was quiet.
I went to my office and spent what was essentially a normal day, dealing with the normal problems of running a school. Kids showed up, we taught them, and they went home. It wasn’t until later, when I started to get that old familiar feeling again.
Ellie called me on my cell. “Hey you! Just wanted to touch base with you. I’m at Cost Go and wanted to know if you wanted anything special for dinner.” I could hear Jake squeaking in the background, as he always does when he rides in a shopping cart.
I thought for a minute. “Just stock up on everything you think we need. Get a lot of canned goods and dry goods, stuff that we don’t need to refrigerate. Extra toilet paper, batteries, everything. Don’t worry about paying for it, just use the credit card.”
Ellie seemed baffled. “What’s going on, John? What are you preparing for? I am not going to be acting like some lunatic Y2K fear monger.”
I knew I would lose a protracted argument, since I tended to lose them all. However, I also knew that Ellie was nothing, if not practical. “Just taking some precautions. If the virus spreads, people are going to panic, and then everything will be up for grabs. Why not get what we need now, and not worry about it later?” I stood by my office window as I spoke, and that allowed me a good view of the surrounding neighborhood. I watched an old man stumble a bit around his yard, like he didn’t know where he was. Alzheimer’s, I thought. Too bad. Judging by the bandage on his arm, he had managed to injure himself.
Ellie’s voice cut off my observation. “All right, but don’t complain to me if you get tired of soup and rice,” she said.
“Thanks,” I said, looking out the window again. The old man’s caretaker was coming out into the yard. “I’ll see you soon. Love you!”
The caretaker walked out into the yard and I could see the old man turn his head and look at her. He reached out with one arm, and the other one hung limp. Stroke victim, I thought, feeling sorry for the old guy. Staggering steps were taken to the caretaker, who walked forward to give him a hand. When she reached him, his hand grasped her shoulder, and his head snapped forward to her neck. “Jesus Christ!” I yelled, watching as blood sprayed over both of them. My secretary poked her head around the door.
“What’s up?”
“Call 911 right now!” I yelled at her, not being able to take my eyes off the scene across the street. “A woman is being attacked on the other side of Hampshire Street!” The man had dragged the woman down and was furiously chewing on her neck and face. She was struggling, screaming, trying to get him off, but I could see she was weakening from the loss of blood. The old man bent down and tore another chunk out of her neck, and the woman shuddered once, and then was still. I watched in horror as the old man tore at her stomach, ripping the clothes and skin open and tearing out hunks of flesh, barely chewing the meat, just forcing it down. I couldn’t believe what I just saw. There was no way that just happened. I looked around to see if anyone else had seen or heard anything.