The McClane Apocalypse: Book Two (50 page)

“Yeah, I noticed,” Derek tells him like he’s already tired of the situation and sighs heavily as if he knows what the outcome of this will be.

The visitors begin setting up camp, literally. They pop four tents, set up campfire cook stoves, open the awnings on the RV’s and set up a clothing line. They unload boxes and plastic tubs full of items and set them outside of their vehicles. The men set out lawn chairs and sit in them while the teens and women work. These fuckers think they are staying for a whole hell of a lot longer than a few days.

Kelly and Derek sit and rock pensively without communicating because they both know a storm is brewing, and it has nothing to do with the dark clouds in the sky that have settled in over the valley.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Sue

Two and a half hours later the family, minus the children and Cory, who is keeping watch over their new guests from the third floor balcony, are assembled in the dining room. Sue sits beside Derek like they do at dinner and Reagan and John sit side by side. Kelly takes a seat at the one end with Hannah who takes up residence beside him on the corner. And, of course, Grandpa is seated at the head of the table like always. Grams is babysitting the children- except the new baby Jacob- in the music room, and Sue believes that this is so she is kept out of the decisions regarding her brother because she will not be able to give an unbiased opinion. John is holding Jacob on his lap, and the baby has a toy truck that he bangs occasionally on the oak table.

“We have a lot to cover, everyone, so let’s get right to it,” Grandpa states and then takes a seat.

“How sick are these people, Doc?” Derek asks first.

“Reagan,” Grandpa says, and everyone knows he wants and trusts her to take the lead.

Her sister has a clipboard with papers attached, and they are covered in her sloppy chicken scratch. Reagan looks haggard, dirty and exhausted, and neither she nor John have eaten or rested since they came home.

“Ok, patient A is Jennifer Miller. She’s twenty-nine, African-American female, almost twenty-four weeks along in her pregnancy. Fetal heartbeat normal. Mother’s is weak. Presence of mucus and blood in her sputum, lung function- wet. Blood pressure also elevated. Hystolic...”

“Hey, wait, babe. Can we just get this in English?” John asks and gets an angry sneer from Reagan. Sue wonders if anyone else just heard John call Reagan “babe.” If they did, nobody comments.

“Fine. She’s sick,” Reagan says like the smartass she is.

“Reagan,” Grandpa warns patiently.

“All right, she has a cough that’s symptomatic with bronchitis. Could be pneumonia but we have no way of doing an x-ray here. So we can’t be a hundred percent on that. She’s fevering at one-o-three. We gave her some ibuprofen for it, and we’ve started her on a round of antibiotics and steroids that John and I were able to get in the city. It’s ok, though, because we know where to get more if we need to. She’s very underweight for being pregnant and said that yesterday she coughed up blood. This could be TB, but we are hoping it isn’t because that’s highly contagious. She also has a rash on her stomach that looks like it could be measles or chicken pox. Also not sure yet on that one. Sometimes high fevers alone can cause rashes, but this one is pretty intense. We started an IV line on her and at least we’re getting some fluids into her. We’re on watchful waiting mode with her. But we’re keeping her isolated in the med shed,” Reagan finishes, and everyone has a look of uncertainty and fear.

Sue’s fear is for her children. They’ve been so cut off at the farm from the outside world and haven’t had to deal with any of the sicknesses that were starting to run rampant after the series of tsunamis.

“Could it be a flu, Reagan?” Sue asks.

“I don’t think so. She doesn’t have any of the typical symptoms you see with influenza patients. This sounds like it’s mostly in her chest. We’re thinking pneumonia. Of course, it could’ve started as a flu of some sorts, but it’s highly doubtful. She sounds awfully wet in her lung function. When a patient has pneumonia there’s a bubbling type of sound that you can hear in the stethoscope when they breathe. Combine that with shortness of breath, the fevers and weakness, then it’s probably pneumonia. The only hesitation we had with diagnosing her with pneumonia is that she said she coughed up blood yesterday. A spot or two can sometimes happen with pneumonia, but a lot of blood and we could be looking at TB. We got her to take food and some broth, which is good. But she’s extremely weak, barely lucid...” her brainy sister murmurs the last and mumbles to herself, chewing on her pen cap and not really paying any attention to anyone in the dining room but scanning and scanning those notes.

John is staring at her with wonderment. Of course everyone at the table is looking at her the same way. The poor girl has dark circles under her eyes and looks exhausted. Baby Jacob snatches one of her long curls in his fist and slobbers on it. Both John and Reagan work to free her.

“And the boy? Does he have the same thing?” Kelly asks.

Reagan and Grandpa look at each other grimly. Reagan takes the lead again.

“Yeah, pretty much the exact same symptoms. He’s just much worse. He’s so dehydrated I couldn’t even get an IV in for fluids. He’s spiking fevers at one-o-six, and he’s showing signs of possible kidney and liver dysfunction- or slowing down. We’re doing the best we can with him, but it doesn’t look good. His breathing is very shallow, and his pulse is way down. When we met them at the door to the med shed, that girl- her name is Sam- was holding him. He’s emaciated and pale,” Reagan explains patiently and looks at Grandpa again.

“What do you mean his liver is slowing down? How do you know something like that? Is there anything we can do?” Hannah asks. She’s sitting very closely next to Kelly.

“There’s jaundice in the eyes and his belly is very distended, the liver area of his stomach feels hard and bloated, and some other symptoms, as well. I’d like a liver enzyme study, but we don’t have those capabilities here. We were able to get him to pee in a container for us and the urine is very dark in color, high protein levels, dehydration. Both of their blood pressures are high, as well. Just the usual signs. I’m gonna try to sedate him and run a feeding tube to see if we can’t get some kind of fluid into him. He’s not able to drink on his own. He’s in an almost comatose state from weakness, sickness. If I can get just a small amount of liquid into him, I might be able to run the intravenous line. Look, we’re not gonna sugar coat this. Anyone who goes around those two could get this because we don’t know exactly what
it
is. There’s also a possibility that this is some new sickness that’s morphed from TB or some influenza. If you go around them or the med shed, wear the right protective gear on your face and hands and scrub up when you come back here. Don’t touch the kids if you’ve been around either of the patients. And as far as that goes, don’t go around any of those assholes out there at the camp, either, because they could be carrying this. They could all potentially be infected. We’re going to do the best we can to get these two patients patched up so that those freaks out there can get the hell out of here and take their damn germs with them,” Reagan states inhospitably.

“Eloquently put, boss,” John berates her. She just rolls her eyes at him like usual.

Jacob cracks her on the knuckle with the truck. She swears again and John shakes his head at her before he picks up her small hand to look at the red mark. Wow, it’s amazing. Her sister isn’t pulling back or punching him in the face. He even soothingly rubs his thumb over her knuckle a few times before releasing her. By the endearing look on John’s face, Sue was sure he was about to place a kiss to her knuckle, as well. He’s not that stupid, however. What the heck had transpired between these two while in the city? Sue would sure like to know.

“Reagan,” Grandpa admonishes for the foul language. But then he adds, “She’s right, though. This isn’t something we want here on the farm. All of the children on the farm, especially Jacob there and Isaac, could be killed from this sickness very easily. Isaac may have a slightly better chance because he’s been breastfed, but it’s not likely.”

Sue’s heart skips a beat, and she feels instantly nauseous. Now she wishes they would’ve sent them all on their way. But she understands that Grandpa and Reagan have taken medical oaths, as well as feeling moral obligations, to help the sick when they can.

“I don’t think I need to stress the importance of keeping any and all of those people out there away from the med shed. We don’t want any of them discovering the
other
part of the med shed,” Grandpa declares, and they all know he is referring to the arsenal.

“Hell no, we don’t,” Derek states. Apparently when Grams isn’t in the room everyone took free liberty with the swearing rule.

“I’ll keep the whole place locked as usual from the outside, and we’ll need a guard to cover it at night. Reagan and I will likely take shifts in there so that we can both get some rest. But until those two patients are on their feet, and that could be a few weeks as sick as they both are, then we’re stuck with these people,” Grandpa says with finality.

“We’ll work out the increased security. Also, Herb, we checked their RV’s. They weren’t lying; they don’t have any ammo, and we confiscated the only three guns we found. I don’t think they’re much of a threat. We showed them where they can stay and told them the rules of where they can’t go,” Derek tells everyone.

“Good, so they’re an honest bunch of bandits, you’re saying,” Grandpa jokes.

Kelly and John laugh. Derek doesn’t because he is too stressed out to join in. Sue can see the tension written all over her husband’s tight facial expression and can recognize the way he is raising his shoulders with rigidity like a dog’s hackles stand up with anger or agitation. She takes his hand in hers, and he gives it a gentle squeeze. Kelly draws her attention away from her husband.

“Not exactly what I’d call them, though. The scrawny one had quite a few jail house tattoos, and the other ones look like they got the same private school upbringing their buddy did if you know what I mean,” Kelly informs them.

“What’s the deal with Peter, Herb?” Derek asks. “Is that Sam girl his daughter?”

“No, no. He’s never had kids, thank God. Aww, he’s been a pain in my ass forever,” Grandpa expresses with clear fatigue and irritation but is interrupted by Reagan.

“He’s a loser-drunk and a mooch. He plays on Grams’s soft side and weasels his way in every few years until Grandpa kicks him to the curb again. He’s a piece of shit,” Reagan says not holding back as usual.

“Reagan!” Hannah exclaims. “That’s not nice. He’s had problems with addictions...”

“Get real, Hannie. He’s a bum. Addiction is just weakness. And he’s a weak loser. Remember Grandpa paid for him to go to that rehab clinic and he split the second day into it? We see him about every three years or so when he’s desperate for money,” Reagan explains to the men. Derek looks to Grandpa for confirmation, and he nods his head and frowns.

“Yeah, she’s right. He is a bum. Sorry, Hannah, I know you try to find the good in everyone, honey, and that’s why I love you so much. But Uncle Peter is a bum. And those people he has with him probably are, too. I want you girls to stay away from those people. You aren’t to spread your kindness and benevolence toward them. Do you understand, Hannah? You stay away from them,” Grandpa warns.

“Yes, Grandpa. I won’t go out there,” Hannah complies with a sad little frown.

Sue knows this is hard for her youngest sister because her natural instinct is to be kind and nurturing toward everyone, scumbags included. Kelly is suddenly looking fiercely and openly protective of Hannah, though her sister cannot tell.

Grandpa states, “All of the chores will still need kept up on and, Sue, you and I can help out with some of them, too. That way the men aren’t spread so thin since they’ll need to work out increased security. I think Cory could be a valuable asset with that, as well. Do you agree, Kelly? He is your brother.”

“Yes, sir. He’s ready enough. He’s a fairly good shot, and Derek and I have been working with him on weaponry. We can take him to the woods and do some target practice as long as it seems safe enough to go that far. We’ll have to play that one by ear, but I think he can help even more with security,” Kelly clarifies.

“Ok, well this is settled enough for now. We can discuss it further this evening at dinner. We need to go over, as quickly as we can manage, the trip to the city, and then Reagan and I need to get back to the shed because it’s a lot for Cory to cover that area and the people out at their camp,” Grandpa says and looks directly at John, but Reagan jumps in.

“We got just about everything we needed. Grandpa, I can explain to you later about the medical supplies and where we were able to locate them. We don’t have to worry for a while, though, even with the sick people here. We’re good on meds and supplies for now,” Reagan explains.

Sue would like to know where they found any medicines left anywhere in the city but she knows they need to speed this meeting along and can always talk to Reagan later.

“We got the tractor parts and a few extra parts that we could eventually need,” John adds. “I got quite a few things for demos and explosives. Pressure switches, wiring and Derek’s gear for the night vision which is going to come in even handier now that we have visitors. Some food items, a ton of med supplies. Even got you some shoes, Big Foot.”

“Thanks, man,” Kelly replies. John nods and keeps on.

“Found books that will help out with the bee-keeping, household things like soap and razors and some kid things for art. It ended up being more than I thought we’d find. Oh, and we got a kid.” John is always one to lighten the mood with a joke, just like Grandpa.

Kelly and Derek both laugh this time, but Reagan frowns and shakes her head judgmentally at John. He simply ruffles his hand on the top of her head playfully to which she swats testily. Everyone is visibly stunned that she hasn’t freaked out over him touching her, but nobody says anything. This encourages Jacob to grab for Reagan’s hair again, but this time she’s faster and leans too far away for him to reach. He’s a precious, scrawny baby.