The Living Dead (Book 1): Contagion (2 page)

            “Why didn’t you notify the police when you got back?”

            “I figured people would just think I was crazy and I didn’t want to talk to nobody. All I wanted was a drink and you know how I got that. I ain’t never going to sleep again. I can’t.”

            “Carson, there is another explanation for this. You couldn’t have seen what you think you saw.”

            “I saw it! There ain’t no other explanation!”

            Virginia decided not to comment anymore. What could she say? He had obviously had some sort of psychotic break and she was way out of her depth here. He was very convincing and the story made her a little sick. He had no history of psychosis or other serious mental problems that she knew of but she would check his file to be sure. She stood up and knocked on the door to summon the deputy, “Try to get some rest. I’ll be back to talk to you tomorrow.”

            She went down the hall to Charles’ office. He was on the phone and motioned to her to wait. He finished his conversation and turned to her.

            “What’d ya think? Some story isn’t it?”

            “Some story. Charles, did anyone drive up there just to see if everything looked ok?”

            “Way ahead of you. I went up with the deputies myself this morning. Something got those dogs for sure, we found what was left of the bodies and there was blood on the ground by the woodpile. The back door was left open and no one was home but that’s not a crime in this state, just careless. No bodies, partially eaten or otherwise, and no sign of young Jason. We’re keeping an eye out for him and his daddy but I’d say they were just at the grocery stocking up for this snowstorm the weather guy is calling for.”

            “Can you give me a call when Dr. Robbins gets here? He‘ll avoid me if he can and I want to talk to him.”

            “Sure beautiful, for you it’s no problem. Do you want me to stop by your house tonight and we can discuss this a little more?”

            She smiled. She knew he flirted outrageously with every woman who worked in the building but it sometimes threw her off balance a little. “I’m going to try to forget this one until tomorrow. I hope Dr. Robbins can do something for him. Thanks for letting me know he‘s here.”

            She was glad to get out of there. Back in the hallway with the metal door locked behind her, she leaned against the wall, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

            “That bad?”

            Opening her eyes, she saw Sue Norris, the public defender. Sue knew Carson and had represented him on several occasions in the past. She wouldn’t have to bother with him this time. Any arrest for one of Virginia’s clients meant automatic jail time and serving out their original sentence.

            “Yeah, creepy bad today. Is it Friday yet?”

            “We’re getting there. How was the toothsome Charles today?”

            “Same old, same old.”

              Sue laughed as she punched the intercom buzzer and gave her name.

Charles’ voice came on the intercom. “HELLO gorgeous!” Sue looked at her; they both rolled their eyes and laughed.

Chapter 2

'Tis said they eat each other.

-Macbeth

-William Shakespeare

            An overcast sky and a biting wind greeted her in the parking lot at the end of the day. She declined the building security guard’s offer to walk her to her car. (He offered to do this almost every day, to the amusement of Virginia’s co-workers) A small, holly covered embankment separated her office building from the hotel next door where a group of people walked, stumbled really, through the parking lot. They looked up when she dropped her key ring with a clatter on the pavement. She snatched them up and quickly unlocked the car. Luckily, the engine turned over on the first try. She heard that whining noise that she thought had something to do with the steering but she couldn’t deal with that until next month’s paycheck. Pulling out into the road, she swerved to miss the guy walking out of the hotel lot. He made a grab at her car as she went by. Drunken idiot.

            There were a surprising number of cars parked along the streets; a few were even abandoned in the lanes. Police officers, blue lights on their cruisers flashing warningly, directed traffic around them. A tow truck arrived just as she went by.

            Leaving the High Street, she turned left onto Somers Crescent, driving slowly past the enormous oaks towering over the entrance. The yards weren’t large but thanks to the trees, most of the houses managed to feel tucked away. Hers was one of the older houses in the neighborhood, a small, deep red brick Georgian set on a terraced hillside with a shady back yard. Looking at the house now filled her with a sense of regret at what might have been. Narcissus and tulip bulbs she planted last fall pushed tentative tips out of the ground.and the magnolia was just beginning to bud. It was way too early in the year for this but she liked her plants’ optimistic attitude. What she didn’t like was the realtor’s sign in the front yard. This was the home in which she wanted her children to grow up but she had had no choice when they put the house on the market. It was already appraising at $30,000 less than they paid for it four years ago and they were now members of the growing underwater mortgage club. She unlocked the door and flipped on the chandelier, flooding the foyer with light. The mantle clock ticked softly over the fireplace. She found her son’s favorite blanket on the landing at the top of the stairs. Uh oh, I may have to drive to Springfield after work tomorrow if he can’t make it without it. She felt lonely without her children and refused to think about how she felt without her husband. She called her mother-in-law to check on the children but got the answering machine.

            A quick check of her voicemail let her know her (almost ex) husband had been held over an extra day in DC. They had agreed when they separated to keep each other up to date on their schedules. The project he is working on up there is not going as smoothly as hoped. She’s not sure why he gave her that detail or why she cared; maybe old habits are just hard to break. I don’t know why I keep putting my wedding ring on either but I have it on again today and I really need to stop wearing it. She took the ring off and placed it under a slip in her dresser then went into the kitchen, poured a glass of wine and looked out the window.

            Her neighbor, Larry, had tied his dog to the maple in his front yard. He waved a dog treat in front of her, just out of reach, making her lunge forward, choking herself on her collar. Virginia heard him laugh. What a jerk. She put her shoes back on, going out to stop or at least distract him. He dropped the treat when he saw her and the dog gulped it down.

            “Have you seen the news? Can you believe this? Bunch of backward savages- they’re eating people! We oughta pull every medic outa there and let ‘em rot.” He rambled on about wasted tax dollars and lax immigrations laws.

            She knew about the earthquake of course, had already texted in donations to the Red Cross. She felt guilty not following the tragedy more closely but there was only so much time in the day. She didn’t know much about Larry, just that he owned a residential security franchise and had equipped most of the houses in the neighborhood with security systems. He seemed to take it as a personal and professional slight when she and her husband used another company but she was happy that they had. Now that word of her pending divorce had gotten round, he seemed to find excuses to be in front of her house when she got home from work. How did everyone know about her marital problems anyway? She tried to keep her personal life personal. She nodded and stroked the dog’s silky ears as Larry continued to vent. She finally said she was going to watch the news herself and broke away. The wind picked up, whipping the bare tree branches back and forth. She felt him watching her as she walked back across the street.

            She turned the television on just in time to catch the latest replay of Sunday’s attacks in Haiti. News feeds from the island were down and news anchors with airtime to fill speculated about why the survivors were attacking their own families and the rescue workers. An expert on survivor trauma gave her opinion. “These people are in shock. Trauma of this magnitude is bound to result in some bizarre behavior. We have to make allowances for that and move forward with the rescue operations. More people will die of their injuries if we don’t get to them in time. Also, we need to address the sanitation issue quickly. Cholera is always a possibility in these situations.” Virginia thought it might be hard to move forward when the people you are trying to help are attacking and killing you. She called her mother to see if she was watching this.

            “I’m watching it now. You need to keep the television on. The White House is going to make an announcement in a few minutes.”

            “Specifically about?”

            “I’m not sure. Where is Ian?”

            “D.C. and Maryland this week. Why?”

            “I just hoped he might be close by, you know, in case you need him. I know you don’t want to hear this again but you two need to slow down, look at your marriage and think about what it means to not just the two of you, but to both of your children. ‘To err is human but to forgive is-‘”

            “I know but it was a pretty big ’err’ to forgive. We’ll be fine, just my babies and me. Are you still going to Florida next week?”

            “We’ll see. I want to see what they- wait, they just cut over to the White House pressroom. I’ll call you back.”

            “Love you.”

            “Love you too.”

             She put the wine away and straightened the counters, then went back outside to get the mail. Her neighbors Portia and Yun Li waved. Yun Li lived next door; Portia across the street. A petite auburn haired woman who raised four children while pursuing her career as a pediatric nurse, she and her husband, Bill, a professor at the local community college, planned to travel during their retirement; a dream that died when they lost most of their retirement fund in the stock market crash. Six months later Bill was diagnosed with MS. Some days he didn’t appear ill at all but others he couldn’t walk. Portia took early retirement to look after him full time and tonight she looked tired.

            “Hi guys,” Virginia called. She opened the mailbox. Great, nothing from the mortgage company. She was at least three months behind on the house and expected a foreclosure notice daily.

            “Hi Virginia, see the news yet?

            “A little. Has it gotten worse down there?”

            “Another earthquake, a 9.0 this time. They put out more tsunami warnings for the whole region, including the gulf coast. Some sort of virus has broken out in Cuba and they’ve quarantined the whole island, including our people at Gitmo. The president just announced it.”

            “Are they quarantining Haiti? Is the virus there too? Those people are already so desperate. Are they saying no one is going to help them?”

            “No one is going in or out. The rescue workers already there have to stay at least for now,” said Yun Li.

            “Did they say for how long? I wonder if they’ll try to drop food and medicine-” She broke off as a police cruiser turned onto the street and headed their way. As it drew closer, she recognized Kincaid, one of the town constabulary deputies and she waved. He looked at her, somehow embarrassed and stone faced at the same time. He pulled to the curb and got out, carrying a manila envelope. He stopped in front of Virginia, who only realized what was happening when he read from a laminated card.

            “You are hereby notified that a Verified Motion for a Foreclosure Sale pursuant to 38-38-903, C.R.S. and Rule 120.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure has been filed on this property. You have twenty days to respond.” Kincaid handed her the envelope. “Sorry Virginia, none of us wanted to do this.”

            She nodded, not trusting her voice. She was humiliated and knew her face must be scarlet. Portia and Yun Li had retreated to their own yards and were studiously not looking at her and Kincaid. She took the envelope and walked into her house.

            Back inside she warmed up some soup and settled down in front of the TV. She took a deep breath and opened the packet.

            She let the document fall to the floor. So, I’m homeless, broke, and (almost) divorced. Oddly, she felt somewhat free now that the worst had happened. Or was it the worst? She ate her soup.

            She channeled up and down for a while between the cable news networks. None of them offered new broadcasts directly from Haiti and if anyone did have reporters in Cuba, they weren’t broadcasting. CNN did report that “… the Dominican Republic is not allowing anyone from Haiti into the country for any reason. Until earlier today the walking wounded were pouring through the border for medical treatment. Heavily armed security forces are now at established checkpoints and are attempting to secure the border. Some in the international community are condemning the Dominican Republic as they…”

            She switched to FOX where the anchor reported that video just received from journalists inside Haiti contained disturbing content that confirmed reports of more instances of cannibalism throughout the earthquake zone. Reports of cannibalism had been coming in throughout the day but they refused to mention it on air until one of their own people verified it. What is it today with cannibals? There was also a report of a cruise ship spotted drifting off the South Carolina coast. The Coast Guard was tracking it and trying to hail the crew but assumed communications malfunctions were keeping the crew from responding. Tugboats would probably be dispatched to tow the ship into harbor once the Coast Guard finished investigating.

Turning the TV off she walked to the bathroom, shedding clothes as she went. She ran a hot bath, added a big dollop of bath oil and slowly felt the day start to melt away. Afterwards, she tried to call her mother in law but got an out of area message. She left a message on the house phone.

            Sitting down with her laptop, she pulled up her bank account online, trying to find enough cash to pay a deposit on an apartment and get the steering on the car fixed. She crunched numbers until the wee hours but couldn’t squeeze out enough money to cover everything. Giving up, she found a blanket and settled down to watch newscasts. No one knew for sure when or if the tsunami would hit but night time evacuations were already underway in New Orleans and other coastal areas. Officials interviewed didn’t seem to have much faith the newly restored levies would hold and cameras showed long lines of headlights on the roads leading north.