Authors: Jacqueline Druga
I don’t believe I fell asleep until the sun was up, or close to it. My mind was so full, after Katie had fallen asleep, I spent the night cleaning that sewing room. It was no easy task, I moved with an angry haste to get the room as good as I could. It would need another round, but the hard part was finished.
It smelt like death in that room. Not that I knew what death really smelled like, but if I were to venture a guess, the odor in that sewing room was it.
That couch would have to go. Bodily excretions and blood soaked through the blankets and into the fabric. Paul must have gripped the back of the couch in his suffering, deep bloody handprints marred the surface. How could one person lose that much blood and still have so much strength and fortitude? Bloody handprints were on the walls, the floor, every stitch of furniture. The room had to be sealed off. No one could go in there again, even after the cleaning, I couldn’t be certain it was safe.
The virus wasn’t airborne, but it was easily spread.
I didn’t sleep long or much. Addy had my attention before I lay my head on the pillow. She had calmed down and was less angry at her sister. Her anger was emotional and I was certain, at six, she couldn’t decipher why she felt that way. Without a doubt, she loved her sister. She watched her father deteriorate and then die all from a bite. She knew the risk with Katie.
It killed me as well. Not knowing if Katie would get it or not. Bobby said kids were resilient. He told Cade that if she wasn’t fevered by the afternoon, the next milestone to cross was the three day mark. After that, one week.
I prayed for her. It had been a long time since I prayed that directly and specifically. Would my prayers be answered?
Before resting, I checked Katie again. She was cool to my touch and her injury was bandaged. I didn’t look to see if the skin was dying, a part of me didn’t want to. For something like that, I preferred Cade to tell me my daughter was developing necrosis.
Sleep didn’t give me rest. My mind didn’t want to let go.
I had the most horrid dream. Problem was, most of the dream was a replay of reality. I kept seeing Paul get hit with that hammer and sit right back up. No … eject up. As if he weren’t even hurt.
The hit that sent him flying didn’t even faze him. How was that? At that point he had to be down half his blood count. How insane was the virus that it affected the brain so much it failed to register the body was teetering on the brink of death?
Over and over again, I dreamt that scene. Only Paul didn’t die in my dream, he chased me. I would run in the cabin only to find Katie.
“Hi Mommy,” she said in my dream, while playing in that bloody sewing room with her toys. Her back torn apart, a gaping bite mark that oozed.
It caused me to force myself awake. I’d close my eyes and the whole thing repeated.
Finally, I stayed awake. The wind up clock said ten am; I got three hours of rest, that was enough.
Katie wasn’t in the other bed and I didn’t get that rush of doom. Allowing my senses to kick in, I could hear her and Addy giggling.
She made it through the night, and not only that, she was up, about and not sick.
I stumbled from bed, let them know I would be back and hit the outhouse. I checked the water heater and saw the levels were good for a quick rinse off. The pump line ran into the inside washroom, and I knew there was enough teeth brushing water inside as well.
The night before, I had a shower, but I needed a quick rinse off. After that, I’d have a bite to eat with the kids and refill the heater. I just wanted to have a few minutes to wake up.
Lisa didn’t look herself, although she tried to project a level of normalcy, I could tell she was still reeling in the emotional after effects of the night before. She handed me a cup of coffee as I walked through. I gladly accepted it.
It was early and I had to wonder what I would do with the day. We didn’t really plan activities. Perhaps I’d work on the garden again, think about Paul and allow myself time to mourn.
After I had finished dressing, I went back into the kitchen. I gave Lisa a hug and thanked her for taking care of the girls. She shrugged. I knew she still felt bad.
“We’re gonna do an art project today,” Addy said. “We’re gonna do a …”
Lisa answered. “Mural. Your father has that dry wall in the well house. I kind of thought, each day the girls could do a picture of how they feel. Create a time line history of us being here.”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll think I’ll work on the garden. Has Bobby called today?” I asked.
“No, the satellite phone is charging though. You can check it, but I didn’t hear it ring,” Lisa replied.
I turned to Katie. “How are you feeling? How’s the boo-boo?”
“Better. It feels good.”
“Good.” I kissed her and grabbed one of the pancakes from the plate.
“I can make you fresh,” Lisa said.
“No, I’m good. I want to go work in the garden. I need to.”
For more reasons than just growing vegetables, I needed to be out there. To face the place where Paul died.
I grabbed the gardening box from under the sink. I knew I had thrown out the one pair of gardening gloves from the day before, but the other pair was missing. I’d have to make do. On the way past the table, I noticed the calendar on the wall. I grabbed a pen and placed an X over the days we had been there. It dawned on me if the kids and Lisa were making an artistic timeline, I wanted to keep track as well.
After doing that, with the garden box and my coffee, I headed outside.
Cade was coming up the porch as I stepped out.
He had on my gloves.
“Hey, I was looking for those,” I said.
“I’m sorry. Your father has me chopping wood. “Him and I are both chopping I should say.’
“We need wood? I thought we were good?”
“He said it had something to do with the fence. Don’t ask me. I only chop.” He started to take off the gloves.
“No, keep them. I’m just gardening, I’ll make do. Did you check on Katie?”
“Yeah, she’s doing great. I changed her dressing, the wound looks good.”
I exhaled heavily. “That’s good to know. Thank you.”
“I honestly have a gut feeling she dodged the bullet.”
“Let’s hope.”
“I’m gonna …” He pointed to the cabin. “Go in, grab some water and a snack, before your father the slave driver starts yelling again.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. After the last few days, I can deal with just chopping wood. I need to just chop wood and not face anything else.”
“I hear you.”
Cade went into the cabin and I walked around the garden area. The second I set my things down, I heard my father hollering from the other end of the house.
“Weather’s not gonna stay this cool all day. You wanna move it!” he blasted.
He didn’t give Cade any time at all.
However, Cade had a point. Chopping wood, gardening, were all things that didn’t take much thought or effort, all things that weren’t the virus, even though I sat in the middle of where Paul had died.
The virus baffled me. I knew what my brother told me, but it didn’t make sense. None of it. If I had exclusively believed my brother I would have not known that the virus gripped DC or any other cities. Was Bobby protecting me or did he just not know?
About ten minutes into my gardening, I heard the sound of a loud motor. I looked over my shoulder and saw Lev’s truck pulling up to the gate.
I stood and headed that way. My father was coming from the other side.
“What’s Lev doing here?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“We’re busy back there, can you see what’s up?” My father asked.
“Sure.” I dusted off my hands and walked to the gate.
Lev lifted his hand over the steering wheel in a wave. I waved in return, undid the lock and opened the gate. When he drove by me I noticed the back of the truck was full. He stopped and I walked to his driver’s door.
“What’s up with the supplies? Dropping off a care package?” I asked.
“No. But I am giving you this charger.” He handed out what looked like a small charging base. “I tried to radio. There was no answer. So, I figured the radio died.”
“Thanks. Your dad gave us one already. I kinda forgot to use it.”
“Is your father here?”
“Around the side. But if you drive around, be careful they’re out there chopping wood.”
“I’ll be slow.”
I nodded, took the charging base and went back to my gardening. I had gotten the weeds and was ready to prep the soil, when a shadow cast over me.
My mind was elsewhere and the shadow scared me. I looked up to see Lev.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I want to see how you’re doing?”
I stood, brushing off my hands. “I’m okay.”
“Your father told me about Katie,” Lev said. “I’m sorry that she was hurt.”
“The good thing is she isn’t showing symptoms. The wound isn’t showing any of that dead skin stuff.”
“That’s what they said. I think it’s a good sign. From what I saw, the area around the bite turns very fast. In fact, this thing is so fast, we had another eighteen get sick last night.”
“Are you serious?” I asked. “How is that possible? You have them contained. Did you tell Cade?”
“I did, but I know how this thing is spreading everywhere so fast, including our camp.”
“Did they say something on the news?”
Lev lowered his head some. “The news hasn’t been on all day. I don’t know if we lost signal or they shut down. We’re still communicating with a few camps.”
“So how do you know how it spreads?” I asked.
“I think I figured it out. When I was in Serbia…”
“When were you in Serbia?” I asked.
“A bunch of times. I go once a year. I’m a translator. You know that.”
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.”
“I speak several languages, but as you know, Serbian is my native language. I spoke it when I came to America.”
This shocked me. “No, I thought you were from Russia.”
“What?” Lev asked. “No. Serbia.”
“Well, it’s in the same area though. Probably why I got confused.”
“It isn’t. You’re thinking Siberia. You never were good in geography.”
“I wasn’t. You’re right. No wonder you still have an accent.”
He held his fingers close together to signify ‘a little’. “Only when I’m upset.”
“No really it’s there. So what is your theory? How is it spreading?”
“Bugs. Cockroaches, mice, rats. Flies. When I was in Serbia, there was an H1N1 outbreak. It was bugs and rodents. They walk through infected clothes, sick pails, they get it on their legs, carry it. There are many ways they spread viruses.”
“Wow.” I blinked in surprise. “That’s scary.”
“No, Nila, this virus is scary. It is more scary than we were led to believe. Rather, there is more to it.”
“What are you talking about? Is that why you came to see my father?”
“No, I came to see your father to drop off retreat supplies. In case we need to flee the camp.”
“Are you that worried?”
“Yeah, I am. Twenty percent of the camp is sick. If things get bad we may need to leave. I just want to make sure we have supplies here. Do you … can you spare twenty minutes?”
“Why?”
“I want you to see something I’m working on,” Lev said. “I promise you will not be near all the sick people.”
I thought about it a few seconds. Lev was very serious, and after all he had done for me and my family the day before, I owed it to him to go. I agreed and informed my father that I would be back shortly.
I also told Lisa, who went overboard with trying to convince me the girls would not leave her sight. I reiterated that I trusted her and took off with Lev.
Once again, the short ride was quiet. He didn’t speak to me, nor tell me what it was he was working on. I hadn’t a clue. When we arrived at Big Bear, Lev turned right toward the tennis courts and pool and away from the main camp where the cabins and RV’s were.
He pulled the truck to the swimming pool fence.
“It doesn’t smell good. Just … be ready.”
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because you’re the only one I can.”
“We aren’t friends anymore.”
“We were once. Good friends and you were the person I could tell anything to,” he said. “I need you to be that person now.”
“Okay.”
Lev stepped out of the truck.
The moment I opened my door and hopped out, I was hit with a horrendous rotten smell; it held the hint of bleach. “Oh my God.” I gagged.
“Here.” He handed me a cloth. “Cover your mouth and nose, it helps.”
I took it and placed it over my nose. It helped very little.
He undid the padlock on the pool area gate and opened it. The pool wasn’t filled with water, but it wasn’t empty.