Desolation (7 page)

 

Jerri motioned for her to be quiet, raised the blade, and–

Andrew’s wandering eyes spotted the dresser in the corner of the
room and hurried towards it, stepping away just seconds before Jerri tried
to make her move.

Jerri fell forward in her momentum and quickly righted herself.

He opened the top drawer of the dresser and stumbled
backwards at the sight of the baby within. He bent over to pick up the
dead child, and it suddenly started to wriggle and make a muffled crying
sound.

Andrew gasped, badly startled.

Jerri quickly walked up behind Andrew, blade ready... She saw the
child move and was surprised how tenaciously he clung to life. She
hurried faster, ready to make her–

Andrew drew his pistol and turned towards Jerri, frowning.
Krystal screamed in hysterics.
Jerri froze and felt her blood run cold.

“Is there really any need for all of the theatrics? Hand the knife to
me. Handle first,” Andrew said as he held a hand out towards Jerri,
ignoring Krystal’s insufferable wailing.

Jerri reluctantly handed him the knife and then stepped back,
clasping her hands together, composing her next move.

 

Andrew studied the knife, retracted the blade, and slid it into his
pocket. He holstered his pistol and snapped it in.

 

“Now stand back and let me see what I can do. Just please stop
trying to kill me for a few moments,” he said.

 

Embarrassed, Jerri crossed her arms across her chest and stared
at him sullenly.

Andrew took the baby in his arms and gently ran his thumb
across his face. He frowned; the child refused to open his eyes. He ran his
thumb over the thin membrane stuck on the child’s face and mouth.

Krystal suddenly stood and watched with apprehension, fists
clenched.

 

“What are you doing to him? Why are you poking on him!” she
cried. “Stop!”

“I can’t do anything about his eyes… he’ll have to open them on
his own. Hopefully there isn’t anything wrong with them,” Andrew said.
“But as far as this gunk… I think it's the caul.”

Jerri looked with confusion while Krystal watched with horror.
“Try what exactly…?” Jerri asked.

Andrew turned the child on its belly and held him with one hand.
He tilted the baby’s head towards the floor.

 

Krystal turned pale and started to scream.

“He’s going to kill him! He’s going to drop him onto the
ground!” she shouted. She ran towards Andrew and started to pummel his
back with her fists.

Andrew pushed her away with one hand and turned towards Jerri.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Jerri shouted.

“Trust me!” Andrew shouted back. “Restrain her and let me help
this child!”

 

“You fucking bastard! Don’t touch him!” Krystal shouted as she
charged towards Andrew.

 

Jerri grabbed Krystal and held her back.

 

“Let me go! Let me go!!!” Krystal shouted as she slapped and
punched Jerri.

 

Andrew started to slap the baby’s between its shoulder blades
repeatedly.

 

“NO! STOP! PLEASE!” Krystal screamed, pushing against Jerri.
A bloody gob of tissue slid out of the baby’s mouth and fell onto
the floor with a splat.

 

Krystal screamed and fainted at the sight of the blood.
Jerri caught Krystal mid-fall and laid her down on the ground as
gently as she could.

 

The baby’s screams were loud and clear.

Andrew turned the child around onto his back and cradled the
crying child against his chest, soothing him, shushing him gently. He
reached one hand down, grabbed the knife out of his pocket, and handed
it to Jerri.

She took the knife, baffled by his actions.
“He’ll need to be fed when she wakes up,” Andrew said.

Jerri’s confused gaze drifted past him and looked towards the
dresser…

 

“What did you…?”

“I cleared his airway,” he said. He gently handed the baby to Jerri
and smiled as he stared longingly at the child. “It’s pretty amazing. That’s
the first time I’ve seen a child that premature survive past birth. Keep him
hidden for now until I think of a way to get him out of here. If he lives
past a week, he’ll be lucky.”

He started to walk towards the door when Jerri stopped him.

“Why are you helping us?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Suspicion didn’t even begin to describe how she felt about the situation.
“I’ve never known one of you to be the compassionate type…”

“You know what they say… about judging books and all,” he said
casually. “Just stay inside the dorm. I’ll be very busy but I’ll come see you
tomorrow,” he said. “You fascinate me… I’d like to hear your story and,
of course, I’d like to check on the kid. It’s refreshing to see life after so
much death. Wouldn’t you agree, Jessica?”

Jerri smiled a half-smile.
“Jerri,” she said, “My name is Jerri. And yes, I agree.”

Andrew grinned and took her ID out of his pocket. He handed it
back to her.

 

“You don’t say,” he said. “Remember; stay low… out of sight,
out of mind. Keep the baby bundled up and hidden.”

Jerri nodded and smiled.
“Thanks, um…” she flustered.

“Andrew. Remember? Andrew the asshole. And you’re
welcome.”

 

He quickly left the room, moving as swift and silently as a
phantom.
11

I
t was nighttime and things were quiet in the dorm. Jerri had no
idea how things were outside; she didn’t dare venture out into the hallway
after Andrew left.

Silence, although reassuring, could be frightening because it gave
her time to think. The worst part always came when she dreamed. She
devoted herself to being an insomniac quite admirably.

Krystal had fallen asleep on the cot with her baby curled against
her chest. She was snoring gently.

Jerri sat idly in the corner of the room and watched her friend
sleep. After everything Krystal went through, she wondered if she would
be able to regain her grip on her crumbling psyche.

It didn’t look good. Krystal always seemed far too frail for this
world. More so now.

After Andrew left, Krystal regained consciousness. She rocked
her baby in her arms and cooed softly to him with a glazed expression and
a smile on her lips. The baby suckled on his mother for hours. She didn't
speak so much as two words the entire time.

Jerri’s eyelids felt heavy and her pupils started to burn.
She closed her eyes to rest them, just briefly.
“
We’re sorry, all circuits are busy. Please hang up and try your call again
.”
“Dammit,” Jerri said as she hung up her cellphone.

“Would you relax?” Mitch said, putting his arm around her. They
were sitting outside in the university’s park on one of the many benches.
The university ended up canceling all classes for the rest of the semester
due to the flu pandemic. That made the park a pretty nice place to relax
and escape from the panic that seemed to have gripped the nation.

That was until Jerri saw the homeless man having a coughing fit.
“You saw the way that guy was hacking his lungs out,” Jerri said,
miffed. “I’m sure he’s carrying all sorts of disease.”

 

Mitch laughed.

 

“So was I, but you dated me anyway,” he said with a playful
smirk.

Jerri slapped his arm.
“I’m serious,” she said, “he looked really sick.”

“That stuff is on the east coast, babe. Remember what the news
said? No cases have been reported as far as Arizona,” Mitch said. “You’re
such a worrier… you’re going to drive yourself nuts if you freak out every
time someone coughs.”

Jerri bit her lip and thought a moment.
“We should stay inside,” she said, “I don’t like being out now…”
Mitch shrugged and gestured up at the sky.

“But we’d miss this beautiful weather,” he said. “It won’t be too
long until it’s as hot as hell again.”

A squadron of jet fighters passed overhead.
Jerri smacked him and gave a playful smirk.
She started to shake uncontrollably.
Her eyes fluttered open.
“Jerri!” Krystal whispered, shaking her harder. “
Jerri!
”

Jerri stumbled out of her sleepy stupor and looked around. Her
heart sank as she found herself back inside the dismal dorm. Krystal was
hunkered down in front of her, staring at her.

“What is it?” Jerri asked.

 

“We need to go to the store,” Krystal said. “There’s nothing to
drink in here and I’m thirsty.”

 

Jerri massaged her forehead.

 

“The store? What are you even talking about?” Jerri sighed.
“Just... Just wait here. I’ll go get you some water.”

 

Krystal nodded and walked back to the cot with her baby. She sat
and smiled down at him.

 

“That doesn’t change the fact that we need to go shopping
tomorrow,” Krystal said, oblivious.

 

“Yeah,” Jerri said, not really sure what else to say to that. She
stood up and walked towards the door.

 

She could still see Mitch’s face. Could still make out the scents of
the park.

 

That was the worst part about dreaming. What clung to her after
she woke. What was lost.

 

Slowly, she opened the door and walked out into the dark
hallway.

The automatic hallway lighting was dimmed to conserve energy.
A few tent dwellers had taken shelter from the cold outside, dozing in the
corridor.

Jerri maneuvered around the countless bodies and made her way
to the bathroom, careful not to accidentally step on anybody. She kept her
hand wrapped around the knife in her pocket and finally reached the
bathroom door.

Inside the bathroom, a few people slept in the shower stalls and
used plastic bags and magazines as makeshift roofs to shield themselves
from the water dripping from the ceiling.

Jerri pulled a small Ziploc bag out of her pocket and turned on
the cold water. While she waited for the water to run clear, she looked at
one of the many framed FEMA posters on the wall…

It made her remember her dream; it was the very same number
she tried calling in the park that day.

She missed Mitch, more than she would like to admit. When she
closed her eyes she could make out every detail about him, every
feature…

Water started to soak through her slippers and snapped her back
to reality.

 

The water ran clear but it was overfilling the sink and creating a
small lake on the bathroom floor.

 

She cursed and turned the water flow down and filled the Ziploc
bag.

 

As she left the bathroom and made her trek down the hall, she
tried to turn her brain off.

Her mind shifted to the incident in medical earlier in the day.
Shut up
, she told herself.

Once she reached Krystal’s room, she half-expected to find her
friend holding a dead fetus.

She didn’t know why she thought such a horrid thought, but she
did. Clear as day she pictured it, and the morbidity of it all made her
shiver in shame.

Krystal was still sitting on the cot and held her baby close against
her.

 

The baby was sleeping and giving raspy little breaths through his
mouth.

 

“Thanks,” Krystal said, smiling. She happily took the water bag
and then held it a moment, looking at Jerri. “No straw?”

 

Jerri shook her head.

 

“Well, that’s fine,” Krystal said. “I’ll just add that to my grocery
list for tomorrow.”

 

Jerri politely smiled and nodded.

 

Krystal sucked the Ziploc dry, lay back down, and almost
immediately fell back asleep.

Jerri sat back down against the dresser and sighed, popping her
knuckles. She was confident that her friend would snap out of it soon, but
she hoped that it would be sooner than later.

As far as the baby went, Jerri honestly didn’t see him living more
than a few days.

 

She leaned her head back against the dresser and closed her eyes,
willing herself not to dream.

 

But, instead of sleeping, she kept her eyes fixated on the
television in shocked silence.

 

Mitch sat next to her, holding an unlit cigarette with a shaky
hand.

“…
unprecedented response to an unprecedented threat to our national
security. Again, for those of you just tuning in, the United States has launched a volley
of nuclear missiles along the east coast in order to curtail the lethal Piedmont
Influenza… Confirmed strike zones are… New York City… Raleigh… Boston,
DC, Phi– The… list, it just keeps going on. It’s just–The current casualty figures
are… they…”
the reporter stopped and stifled his tears. “
I’m sorry, ladies and
gentlemen… just… I just need a moment.”
The reporter stood up and walked
off screen, hiding his face.

“We should go to the shelter,” Mitch finally said, putting the unlit
cigarette in his mouth the wrong way. “If our blood is clean, they can take
us to one of those camps. The camps have food, water, and soldiers.
They’re safe.”

“Mitch, no…” Jerri said, pleading with her eyes. “I can’t leave my
family behind.” She looked down. “I was thinking… I should go stay with
them for a while until things cool down.”