Pathogen - Chapter 21

Together the four of them sat in silence. Nobody had told them the end of the world would be so boring. It wasn’t long before Cliff became restless.

Getting up, he said, “I’m going downstairs. Someone’s going to have to see if there’s anything useful left behind.”

Aaron stood up too, “I’m coming with you. Maybe we’ll find something to start a fire with, I’m still pretty cold.”

“I’ve got a lighter,” Rita offered as she rummaged through her pockets.

Retrieving a small, inexpensive looking cigarette lighter, Rita offered it up to Aaron. Unable to contain his excitement, Aaron dashed into the room.

“Thanks lady,” he said as he snatched the lighter, “I’m so happy I could just kiss you.”

“Please don’t,” Rita retorted as her face screwed up in disgust.

Cliff laughed. “Come on, Aaron,” he beckoned as he left the room, “You want to come too, Scruffy?”

Scruffy barked and trotted down the stairs. Aaron and Cliff started down the stairs together. Left alone in the bedroom with Rita, Grace looked around at her surroundings for the first time.

Rita was stretched out on the bed now, both had seen better days. It was a hand carved wooden four poster without the canopy. The headboard was carved with graffiti, mostly couples who had gotten to know each other better there. In one corner stood an old, beaten wardrobe. Against the wall Grace was leaning against was an old rollout desk. At least, it used to be one, the part that folded down had been broken off.

“This place is cheery,” Grace murmured sarcastically.

“Tell me about it,” Rita agreed, “I’m just glad I found a place to lay low for a while. All this running around has me exhausted.”

Together they sat in silence for a minute or two before Grace spoke up again. “When do you suppose rescue is going to show up?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” Rita admitted, “But do you think they’ll know to come here? This place is abandoned after all.”

“Well, maybe they’ll think to check here because it’s a safe refuge.” Grace countered.

“Okay, suppose they do,” Rita said, “What if it takes them a long time to get here? Did you guys think to bring any food?”

“We have a few days’ worth,” Grace revealed. “Probably less now that you’re here, but we can ration it.”

“Thanks. But what if it isn’t enough. Or worse, what if we one of us gets sick?”

“One of us already got sick,” Grace noted with a hint of sadness, “There isn’t anything we can do about it if it happens.”

“What if there’s a cure?” Rita asked, “That could change everything.”

“What if there’s unicorns and pixie dust?” Grace spat, “It’s just as likely.”

“Maybe,” Rita admitted, “But we might be able to find out.”

Grace jumped to her feet immediately. “What do you know?” she interrogated Rita, “Have you been holding out on us?”

“No, nothing so sinister,” Rita scooched back on the bed, “But if we can find a computer, I can get us onto the hospital network. The doctors were treating this as a new disease, and compiled everything they knew into a single file. Maybe somebody found a treatment before things got too hot to handle.”

“Then we’re going to need to find a unicorn,” Grace joked, “Because then we can wish up a computer. And electricity. Also an internet connection.”

“Or we could just use your phone,” Rita pointed out. “It’s basically a computer, and we can use the cellular network to get on the internet.”

“The network went down,” Grace filled Rita in, “When things got bad in the city, everybody tried using their phones at once, and nobody could put a call out.”

“That’s the phone exchange,” Rita explained, “The internet doesn’t work off the exchange. It’s all by satellite, and last I checked they’re all still in space.”

“Okay, I didn’t see it raining fire,” Grace admitted, “It could be worth a shot.”

Shutting down the flashlight app, Grace handed her phone to Rita. She immediately set to work on it, tapping away furiously on the keyboard. Grace was at a loss for what to do in the meantime. She didn’t think she could help out, and just stood there helplessly.

Sensing her distress, Rita looked up from the phone. “You can sit on the bed if you’d like,” she offered as she made room for Grace, “I won’t bite.”

Awkwardly, Grace sat on the edge of the bed with her back to Rita. Being in bed with someone she’d just met made her a little uncomfortable, even if they were just sitting together. Silently, she wished Rita would hurry up and find what she was looking for.

“I’m in,” Rita announced, saving Grace from further discomfort.

“Did you find the file?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Rita answered, “But I’m on the network now.”

Grace turned and looked at Rita. She could see her face clearly by the light of the phone’s display. She looked haggard, and her face was drawn back in a gaunt expression of fatigue. Running around the city must have taken a lot out of her. Rita looked up and caught Grace staring at her. Embarrassed, Grace turned away.

“I found the file,” Rita handed Grace her phone again, “I’m going to try to get some rest now.”

Taking the phone from Rita, Grace watched as she rolled away from her to stare at the wall. She was sorry she’d been watching her, but she wasn’t sure how to make up for it. With a sigh, Grace leaned forward to look at her phone.

The display was full of dense medical jargon. Grace wasn’t well versed in medicine, but she parsed through the text to decipher what little she could understand. There was so much in the file that went straight over her head, but she was able to pick out bits and pieces here and there. She read that the infection was a virus, which she believed meant that antibiotics didn’t help any. The hospital had taken samples of infected patients’ blood and were awaiting test results.

However, the more she read, the more she realised the doctors were focused on managing symptoms than curing the disease. It was too early to come up with a real solution. With a sigh, Grace shut off the display on her phone. With a rueful gaze, she looked into the darkness of the corner where she’d left her rifle. Although her night vision was spoiled by looking at the phone, she knew that the only cure was sitting in the chamber. A bullet was the thin line between humanity and zombies.

Stretching out in the bed, Grace finally decided to lay herself down. Although it was old and musty, and the sheets were filthy, it felt good to be in a real bed. She smiled at the thought of that. The world probably hadn’t even officially ended yet, it was only the first day since zombies started walking the streets. Yet still, here she was missing her bed already.

Rita snored softly beside her. Grace envied that she was able to fall asleep so quickly, but pitied the fact that she was exhausted enough to do so.

Staring at the ceiling, Grace wondered what to do. She wasn’t sure how to pass the time while they waited for rescue. She also didn’t know how long they could last on the supplies they’d scavenged.

For a while she worried about what would happen if they outlasted their supplies. If that were the case, they’d have to leave the island to find more. She wondered what Fog City would be like a few days after the outbreak. Maybe they’d emerge and find everything had blown over. More likely, she thought that they’d find the city had become a warzone between the living and the dead.

Beside her, Rita stirred. “What’s the matter?” Grace asked, “Can’t sleep?”

Unexpectedly, Rita grabbed at Grace. Clutching her arm, she snarled at her.

“What the fuck?” Grace ejaculated in surprise, as Rita gnashed her teeth.

Grace realised too late the real reason Rita had been exhausted. She wasn’t only fatigued from being on the run, but she had the disease all along. It was no wonder that she’d been so interested in finding a cure.

Pulling back, Grace fell out of the bed. Rita tumbled after her, pinning her to the floor. Grace looked up at the corner where the gun was, then up at Rita as she was trying to take a bit out of her. The rifle was out of reach, and Rita was surprisingly strong.

Faced with no other options, Grace screamed for her life.