Midnight Outbreak

Chapter One

The smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen woke Joshua Crown. As always, his wife, Myra, was up before him, and had already started her day. The clock’s bright red numbers read 5:59. A minute later, the alarm sounded and Joshua slapped the off switch with a groan.

He started the day off with a shower, the warm water waking him up and loosening his sore muscles from the day before. His construction job was hard; they were widening an area of the highway that cut through town, thanks to the population growth spiking in the last decade. The work days were long and tiring under the relentless sun and thick humidity of the Louisiana summer.

When he stepped out of the shower, the smell of bacon and eggs wafted past his nose. He smiled when the soft hum of Myra singing along to music met his ears. Every day started out the same, but the familiarity of it was satisfying. Stability and consistency weren’t things he ever had in his youth, and Myra had finally given that to him.

“Good morning, handsome,” she called as he entered the kitchen. A few years ago they had finally made their dreams a reality and bought the quaint three-bedroom historic home located in downtown Breaux Bridge. The wraparound porch and sitting room were the deciding factors for Myra. For Joshua it didn’t matter. Whatever Myra wanted, he wanted to provide.

“Morning, babe,” he replied as he kissed her neck, inhaling her signature strawberry scent. She handed him his plate, then switched the channel on their small kitchen TV from the country music channel to the news. She grabbed the coffee cups from the cupboard, clinking them together slightly in the process.

The sun had already begun its ascent into the sky, light spilling in the big windows of the kitchen and warming everything it touched. Myra let out a soft sigh as she sat down beside Joshua, both facing the TV as they began to eat.

“We’re hearing reports on another patient being admitted this morning for the undiagnosed infection that has been spreading across the south. That brings the total to 14 patients that have been admitted with an infection that causes flu like symptoms, most importantly very high fevers. We urge you to go to the nearest emergency room if you or someone you know is experiencing the following:”

The screen changed to a bulletin list that included common symptoms like fevers, coughing, and body aches. The news anchor continued. “We urge all to practice safe sanitary practices such as using hand sanitizer and staying home if sick. Keep tuned to KG14 for the latest on this mystery illness.”

Myra clicked her tongue. “Should be an interesting day at the office,” she replied sarcastically. For the past ten years she worked her way up at the local doctor’s office, The Family Doctors. It being the only one in town, she worked hard, starting as a secretary and then going to nursing school at night. Now she was the head nurse in the office.

“I wish you didn’t have to go, darlin’. If anyone acts like an idiot just let the doctor handle them.”

“Well we did have one act up like that last week. Got pissed off because we couldn’t help him the way he wanted. He was just too sick and needed urgent care.”

“Were they one of the infected ones?”

“No. He had the regular flu, but had waited too long to come see us. He was dehydrated and needed an IV.” She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a small smile, “You don’t worry about Nurse Myra, she’s known as a hard-ass around the office.” Her wink made Joshua smile; he knew that side of her, the stubborn and blunt nature she put on so often.

“So how’s your work going? How long until they finish that highway?” Myra took a small sip of her coffee.

“It’s going. They don’t see us finishing until mid-November. I wish it was sooner, but things are gonna slow down once summer really gets here and we gotta take the mandatory water breaks every fifteen.”

“You should really talk to my dad about that loan,” she said quietly as she stood with her empty plate and mug. She unloaded her plate in the sink and refilled her coffee.

Joshua grumbled in response. He had the bright idea one night of telling Myra what he and his best friend Will had talked about the previous day. They had dreams of opening their own welding shop and Myra had jumped on board in a snap. Her father was the vice president of a bank in New Orleans, and she immediately gave her input about asking for a loan. Now she brought it up whenever she could after he had grown quiet about it. He and Will still talked about it, but at home he didn’t want to raise Myra’s hopes up.

“Okay, you win,” Myra stated, sitting back down. Joshua could read the trace of humor in her voice and knew she wasn’t that mad about his unwillingness to elaborate on the subject. “Will feelin’ better?”

Will Russell was not only his longtime friend, but co-worker as well. Joshua had actually gotten Will the job after he returned from his stint in the Army. They had grown up together, from pee-wee football to high school graduation.

They had actually both joined the Army, but Josh was honorably discharged a year and a half into his service after suffering an injury. Tail tucked in between his legs, he returned home and fell in love with Myra, who he had known since grade school as well.

Will hadn’t been surprised at the match-up. He served the rest of his years out with the Army and returned home as well. Their friendship had picked up where it left off.

“Yeah, he’s fine. The idiot hadn’t eaten anything before going to work a twelve-hour shift.” Joshua scoffed.

“Well, that’s ‘cause he doesn’t have a wife to look after him. Don’t act like you’re so smart,” Myra laughed, laughing harder when he rolled his eyes.

The news continued with various reports on the weather—it was gonna be a mild day with lots of humidity—the local catfish crawl that weekend—a tradition in their hometown—and another update of the unknown illness that was sweeping across the south.

Finally, Myra went into their room to shower and dress in her work uniform of scrubs. Josh admired how hard of a worker his wife was. She could have easily taken a job at her daddy’s bank and never really worked a day in her life. Instead, she had chosen the admirable way of earning her money.

“This is where I leave you, my dear,” Myra chirped as they stepped outside onto the porch together. She tiptoed and kissed him on the mouth, leaving behind the faint taste of her lip gloss on his lips.

“Come on woman! I told you kiss me before you put that crap on,” he chided. Myra rolled her eyes and ignored his mini outburst, turning to the right, where their neighbors were coming out.

“Morning, Miss Myra,” the little girl with pigtails and glasses called out.

“Morning, little Miss Mari!” Myra smiled, waving. Kids were her soft spot. They had talked about having children, but had found out Myra couldn’t. She doted on Mari, the daughter of their neighbors Claire and Brendan, like a loving, adopted aunt. She played babysitter for the past couple of years, relishing in tapping into her girly-girl side with makeovers and playing with Barbies.

“Morning, Brendan, Claire!” Joshua called out, raising a hand. Brendan Smith had turned into a good friend in the last couple of years. They were quiet neighbors. Brendan was a quiet mixed-race black man. Claire was his complete opposite, short and blonde with skin so pale Joshua thought she was seriously sick when he first met her.

“Y’all have a good day!” Claire greeted as she and Mari got into her car.

“You gonna watch the game with me tonight?” Brendan asked as he walked across his yard. They lived in a similarly-built house; it was almost identical to Joshua and Myra’s, except the outside color was a soft cream, whereas the Crown’s house was painted mint green.

“Yea, if I get in at a decent hour. Work’s got me slavin’ out there like a bitch,” Josh muttered. Even thinking of the prospect of staying out late again had him agitated.

“Well, just holler at me,” Brendan replied.

“Will do, man. Take it easy.”

Myra’s arms went around Josh’s middle and he knew it was time to go. “I love you, JJ,” she whispered. “Try and have a good day, babe.”

“Will try darlin’, no guarantees,” he answered, bending down to kiss her.

“Nothing’s a guarantee. Bye, baby,” she said, getting into her car. She blew a kiss from inside and a smile grew on Josh’s face.

After she backed out, he let out a heavy sigh and climbed into his work truck.

***

“Hey, ugly!” Will’s booming voice greeted Josh as he stepped out of his truck. The work site had yet to come to life. Soon the trucks, diggers, and other machines would be roaring, but for now they sat quietly.

“What’s up, dumbass?” Josh retorted, grabbing his gear from the tool box in the bed of the truck.

“Not much, just ready to get this day over with already so I can go to sleep,” Will replied. Josh looked at him, noticing the dark circles under his eyes. They had been there for the past week, with Will always seeming more tired than usual.

Josh shrugged; he had already tried to find out what his friend had been up to. Will didn’t divulge anything, so he didn’t pry.

They went about their daily routine, side by side, bullshitting with each other about how long this project would take. The boss of this particular project was a real jerk, a man who had risen up to the rank of foreman without ever breaking a sweat. Josh had been foreman at other jobs, working alongside his crew, helping them get the job done, not just barking orders at them. Tony, the foreman, liked Josh enough that he left him alone. But Tony had a problem with Will. Will mostly bit his tongue, keeping his comments to himself until after work was over.

Today Tony was nowhere to be found. Josh checked his watch; there were ten minutes until their usual start time. Annoying or not, Tony was usually early most days.

“Should we start before Tony the twat gets here?” Will asked, before he chugged his energy drink.

“Yeah, I’m not staying later just ‘cause of him,” Josh answered. He tied his blue bandana around his dark hair, cursing himself silently for not getting a hair cut. It was longer than usual and it would be slick with sweat by noon. He put his helmet on over the bandana and then donned the mandatory neon yellow work vest.

Work started on time, with Tony still missing. Second in charge, a guy named Choy, came and told everyone Tony was out sick. Will’s sarcastic response made Josh laugh hard, but they got back to work.

The sun was relentless, the morning no less cool than it had been the previous day. Josh wrung out his bandana several times and kept a steady supply of water down his throat. By lunchtime, everyone was ready to go in their air conditioned trucks and have a mini siesta.

As they did every day, Josh and Will walked to Will’s truck with the cooler. All of a sudden a horrible retching sound came from behind them. Josh knew what it was and was reluctant to look back, not wanting to ruin his appetite. But he turned anyway and saw Choy on his knees spewing water and bile on the old pavement that they used as a parking lot.

“Fucking nasty,” Will hissed. “What’s wrong Choy, you hungover, bro?” he asked louder.

“He doesn’t look hungover,” Josh whispered. Choy’s face was a nasty olive green color, his skin looked like candle wax. Snot bubbled out of his nostrils and soon the water and bile turned to blood.

“Oh shit! Hey, someone needs to take him to the damn ER!” Josh said, alarmed. He wasn’t a nurse, but it was common sense that throwing up blood was never a good sign.

Choy was now on hands and knees and a crowd had gathered around him.

“Aw hell. Man, none of these numb nuts are gonna take his ass,” Will sighed. Josh nodded in agreement. Both men shoved through the crowd to where Choy was.

“Robins, help us get him in the bed. You ride with us. We need to get him to the hospital, not just stand here and gawk at him,” Josh called out to one of their tall Mexican coworkers. Robins had a background as a former EMT. Together, he and Will hoisted the sick man up. Someone passed a water bottle to Josh as they walked back to Will’s truck. Adrenaline pumped through Josh’s veins, making his head pound with every beat of his heart.

“Yo, JJ, here you go,” Will called out, referring to Josh’s old football nickname. Josh caught Will’s keys and got in the front seat.

He kept his eyes trained on the rearview mirror, watching as Will and Robins pulled Choy up onto the bed. He looked like he passed out. As soon as Will pounded the back window, Josh took off. He thought about calling Myra, but dismissed it. She never carried her phone on her, anyway.

This is probably that infection crap they were talking about on the news,
he thought. He felt the urgent desire to take a bath in sanitizer.

He drove carefully, but fast, down the highway to the nearest hospital. Hazards on, he flew by other cars that were puttering along. Traffic hadn’t gotten bad yet from the lunchtime crowds.

Finally, they reached the hospital. Following the ER signs, Josh flew into the driveway right in front of the sliding glass doors. He slammed it in park and jumped out of the cab before the other guys could move a muscle.

“Don’t touch him!” Josh yelled. Will and Robins raised their eyes to him, questioning him wordlessly. “Just don’t fucking touch him. He may have that shit that’s on the news. I’ll go in and grab someone. Stay put.” He pounded the rail of the bed and jogged to the entrance.

He spied a sign-in station but not before noticing how completely full the waiting room was. There were beds with people in them lining the hallway. Medical staff dashed in all directions.

“What in the
hell
?” he thought aloud. The admittance clerk was standing up behind the glass dividers, hair going in all directions like Medusa.

“Ma’am, I’ve got a man outside. He was vomiting blood at our work site. Brought him straight here.”

The middle aged blonde stared at him blankly for a few seconds before snapping to attention. She grabbed a walkie-talkie from the desk and muttered something into it.

“Someone will be out in a minute to get him. I need you to fill this out with his information,” she replied, handing Josh a clipboard.

Frustrated, he jerked it from her grasp. “I’m not married to the guy. I just work with him.”

She shrugged. “Fill it out the best you can.” Her voice was uncaring, tired. Josh set into a jog back outside.

“Hey can you give me his wallet?” Josh asked the guys as he came back to the truck. Will nodded and reached into Choy’s back pocket to retrieve it.

“That place is a madhouse inside. People everywhere,” Josh said as Will handed him the wallet. While they waited, Josh copied as much information as he could onto the sheet. After waiting nearly ten minutes, Will climbed off the bed and grabbed the clipboard from Josh.