Despite his shock, or perhaps because of it, Rick was able to step into the bloody elevator and gingerly take the key chain off of the guard’s belt.
“Good. Now I need you to wait until the door closes and then you can insert the key and turn it clockwise.”
“I’ve locked and unlocked elevators before, Dillon. I was a firefighter, remember?”
Dillon chuckled to himself. “Yeah, you’ve got this.”
Dillon pushed the elevator button again once the first elevator was locked. Then, he stepped back and held his weapon at the ready in case the second elevator held more surprises for them. Doc and Rick instinctively stepped away and to the rear of Dillon. The elevator seemed to take forever to make it from the fourth floor to the ground, and the ding that heralded its arrival made Dillon jump a little. The elevator, however, was empty. Slowly, they moved into the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. Dillon cleared the space immediately outside of the elevator once they reached the third floor. Then he stepped to the door and quickly cleared left and right before stepping out to clear the long hallway in both directions.
“Clear.” Dillon immediately shifted to the low ready and began moving carefully towards his apartment door.
“Um, okay.” Doc said, strolling out of the elevator without a care in the world. Dillon could only sigh at his friend’s complete lack of training or perspective.
Dillon paused at the door and realized someone had to take up over watch, so he pivoted and directed his weapon away from the door, scanning for more infected. Doc knocked on the door.
“Hannah, it’s Doc. Can you let me in?”
“Where’s Dillon?” they heard through the door with more than a small edge of concern to the voice.
“I’m right next to him, Hun. Open up.”
The door opened up immediately, and Dillon waited until Rick and Doc had entered before holstering his pistol and following. Hannah definitely realized something was amiss, and she used all three door locks before calling to Michael.
“Michael, are you still playing video games?”
“Uh huh. I’m just finishing up a level, then I’ll save the game and do my homework. I promise.”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetie. Play all you want. I’ll bring you some lunch in a bit, okay?”
“Okay, mom.”
“Let’s go in the kitchen and then you can tell me what the hell is going on, okay?”
Hannah had an edge of anger to her voice, or at least that’s what most people would assume. Dillon knew that it was fear, not anger, that drove her to swear. She wasn’t the swearing type, unlike Dillon. Soon, they were all seated around the kitchen table and they paused in silence until Hannah pulled out another plate, fork and spoon for Doc.
“I hope steak salad is okay with everyone. Help yourselves.”
“I think I’ll pass.” was Rick’s immediate reaction. Dillon grabbed some food. He was used to eating when he wasn’t sure when his next meal would come. Doc had the stomach of an emergency room physician, and started to dig in immediately as well.
“So, what happened out there?”
“Well, the streets are chaos and the police seem to have abandoned their posts. Also, some of the residents in Doc’s building were infected. I had to put one of them down to protect us.”
“Oh, wow. Who was it?”
“It was Johnson from political. Dillon didn’t have a choice, I swear.” offered Doc.
“Doc, if my husband shot someone you can bet he didn’t have a choice. Go on, Dillon.”
“Plus Osman, the complex gardener, and Mahmud, the guard attacked us over by the elevators.” Dillon didn’t know why he had suddenly remembered that the guard’s name was, in fact, Mahmud. He also remembered that Mahmud had a wife and four kids, the oldest of which was a cab driver.
“But you’re okay, right?”
Hannah sure did have her priorities straight.
“Yeah, honey, I’m okay. Just a little rattled. So, I think we need to do the same thing here as we did at the 611.”
“Doc called me earlier and asked me to have everyone stay in their apartments. I also asked if anyone was sick. A few are. Those people have been isolated in bedrooms. I made a list of apartments that we need to visit to provide inoculations, and I printed out some quarantine signs. I also repacked. I think we’re down to water, MREs, and a few changes of clothes now.”
“Definitely. Thanks. How many infected do we have here?”
“Looks like four apartments. The Rogers family, Mister and Misses Schottenmeir, the Yamaguras, and Bob Molden.”
“Shit, that’s ten people. Are they all sick?”
“Both of the Schottenmeir’s are sick, as is Bob. The Rogers and Yamaguras each have at least one person sick, so I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Doc?”
“I…I’m sorry, but Hannah’s right. If we go in there and we get attacked or exposed things will only get worse. We are the only two health care providers that DOD will listen to when they arrive to evacuate us. If we aren’t there to vouch for the administration of the vaccine and the observation of the quarantine, these people won’t be let on the plane.”
Rick cleared his throat. “Hey. We don’t even know how we’re going to GET to the airport. I mean, the vehicles are parked at US AID, right? That might as well be a world away with the way things are looking outside. Also, I doubt the drivers are going to show up to work TODAY, let alone Sunday night.”
“He’s right. I think Rick and I are going to have to drive out there and bring the vehicles back. We should do it tomorrow morning, right after dawn. The sooner the better, things are only going to get worse out there.”
“Well, now I’m not hungry either.” Hannah said, putting down her fork. Doc, when you’re finished we can start going door to door with the vaccine. Rick, would you stay here with Michael? I think we better have Dillon with us for this, just in case.”
“No problem Hannah.”
“Thank you, Rick. Right now, I think I’ll go get some clothes for you, Dillon. You look ridiculous.”
Dillon didn’t protest being mothered a bit by Hannah. He probably DID look ridiculous in those borrowed clothes. Dillon happily stripped out of them before putting on the sand colored tactical pants and brown long sleeve shirt. Then, he set about reloading his magazines before he attached his holsters and magazine pouch. Finally, he grabbed an MP-5 and taped to magazines together, one up and one down. He loaded the weapon and placed it on safe, then went back downstairs to talk to Rick.
“Dad, that’s awesome. Can I see it.”
“You just did, Mikey. If you TOUCH it, or any of the others, without my express permission, I’ll kick your ass. Got it, kid?”
“Yes, sir.” Mikey said, a little dejected.
Dillon smiled and leaned in a bit. Mikey was really getting tall, already two inches taller than Hannah. “Hey, critter, I’ll be happy to show you how to use one when I get home tonight, okay? I think you’re old enough to know.”
“Thanks, dad. Is it scary out there? I figured it has to be scary out there if they’re closing the school and mom doesn’t care if I do my homework and you’re carrying all of those guns.”
“It’s scary. So, do you know what that means?”
“It means that we have to rely on each other, do what we’re told, stay safe, and that we’re going to be evacuated. Are you coming, too?”
“Yes, I am. I promise.”
“Good. I hated you being away the other times.”
“I hated it too, Mikey. It’s not going to happen this time, I promise. I might not be on the same plane as you, but I’ll only be a few hours behind you this time.”
“Where are we going this time?”
“I don’t know yet. It could be Cyprus, Crete, or even Malta.”
“I hope they take us to Crete or Malta, I’ve already seen Cyprus.”
“You’ve also seen Istanbul and Jerusalem and Athens and Rome, as I recall.”
“Yeah, I liked Jerusalem the best.”
“I thought every one of them was wonderful.”
Hannah was still in the Army Reserves. Every summer, she still went somewhere for annual training, and usually needed three to four weeks to complete her drill requirements for the year. Last year, she had gone to Germany for a month, but she had been lucky. Most other times, she had to fly back to the U.S. and work three or four weeks at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Dillon had started a tradition the first year they were in Cairo. When Hannah went off for annual training, Dillon and Mikey picked a new place to explore and took a week of vacation. Every one of those trips was an adventure for Mikey, and were chalked full of great memories for Dillon as well.
“Hey, kid, I need to talk to your mom for a second. Make sure you eat something, and don’t sit too close to the TV screen, okay?”
“Yes, daddy.”
Dillon walked into the kitchen wondering how the last twelve years had rushed by so quickly.
“Rick, this is for you. The stock slides out when you depress this. It’s already loaded. Right now, it’s on SAFE. I don’t want you to ever put it on AUTO, okay?”
“Got it.”
“You put it on SEMI and it will fire once for every time you pull the trigger. There are thirty rounds in the magazine. When it’s empty you press the magazine release and put in the other magazine, bullets forward. Here’s the magazine release. You press it here to drop the magazine. The bolt, here, locks to the rear when the last round is fired. After you put in another magazine, you have to flip it up, right here, to load a round into the chamber. Got it?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Don’t point this at anything you don’t want to kill, ever. Also, you might have to shoot the infected more than once to take them down. They seem to be immune to the pain, and that means they can keep going for a few minutes on what might be a fatal wound. Aim for the chest and put two or three rounds in them. If you are wondering if they are dead after that, feel free to put one in their head from a few feet away. Better safe than sorry.”
“Better safe and sorry.”
“Right. I’m going out with Hannah and Doc now. Keep the sling around your neck, the weapon on safe, and your finger off of the trigger unless something happens.”
“Okay, Dillon, I’ll be fine. You’re like a drill sergeant.”
“I’m sorry, Rick. It’s just…you’re protecting half of my WORLD after I close that door.”
“I understand.”
Hannah interrupted with a smile. “Well, the OTHER half of your world is ready to go. I suppose you’re my knight in shining armor?”
“Well, the armor is heavily tarnished but I’m your knight.”
“Good. Doc is ready to go and waiting for us in the living room. He’s talking to Mikey about gunshot wounds.”
Dillon just laughed. They moved to the door before Hannah turned around. “Doc, are you coming?”
“Oh, yes, sorry. He’s a smart kid, Hannah. He must take after you.”
“He must. Mikey, you be good for Mr. Rick, do you understand me?”
“Yes, mom.”
“And get something to eat, okay? NO JUNK FOOD!”
The first stop on the 505 inoculation tour was a complete disaster. Despite the fact that Hannah had called an hour and a half ago and asked if anyone was sick, and despite the fact that John Breedlove had stated that nobody was sick, it turned out that they were, in fact, showing obvious symptoms. They had the sniffles, runny red eyes, headaches, and fevers – both of them.
“But, won’t the vaccine make us feel better?” John asked, sounding almost infantile and rubbing his temples.
“No, Mr. Breedlove. It would most likely kill you. And now, you may have infected the rest of us. You need to stay in this apartment.”
“If you think I am willing to sit in this apartment while the entire FUCKING world goes BAT SHIT CRAZY and HOPE that we get over this thing, you are DEAD wrong, doctor. Where the FUCK did you get your medical license, anyways? A Cracker Jacks box?”
Mr. Breedlove had advanced three steps during his tirade. He wasn’t normally a very aggressive person. Now, he was gesturing wildly and on the verge of violence.
“Doc, back out of the room.”
“WHY? Are we DANGEROUS or something? FUCK us, I guess, for wanting some FUCKING dog in a hot plate of noun.” Mr. Breedlove took two steps forward, and Dillon drew his pistol as he stepped back and over the threshold.
“John, if you take one more step I’m going to have to kill you.” is all Dillon said. Breedlove looked confused, angry, and his face was twitching. He was definitely pretty far along. Dillon didn’t like the idea of leaving Mr. Breedlove in the apartment with his wife. Whoever turned first would surely attack the others. He also didn’t like the possibility that Mr. Breedlove would have another hour or so where he was thinking well enough to open the door to his apartment, possibly letting FOUR of the infected out into the apartment complex.
Breedlove balled his fists and started an angry stride towards Dillon. He made it one step before Dillon took quick aim and placed a round in his head. John’s wife, Karen, rushed forward. Maybe she was trying to hold her husband and maybe she was coming for Dillon. It didn’t matter after Dillon fired again, killing her on the spot.