The Shanxi Virus: An epidemic survival story Read online

  "These guys just cut down those trees. The damned road is blocked!"

  Robin turned to face Mike and Ted. "You did this?"

  "Yes," Mike said.

  Robin's expression softened. "Well then, we all owe you our gratitude. My name is Robin Greene. I'm not happy that you've broken our isolation, but it would have happened one way or another with the entrance wide open. Frankly, I should have thought of this earlier. Mike, right? I don't think we've met before, but I've seen you on your morning runs."

  Robin faced the rest of the group. "You people should be thanking this man, not screaming at him. Now that we've all potentially been exposed, we need to keep an eye out for symptoms over the next week. I thought we had agreed that everyone was going to stay put and not leave the neighborhood. Rich and Jen, I see your cars there. Where were you going?"

  "I was going to the pharmacy," Jen said, guiltily.

  "It's none of your damned business where I was going. I'm not sick, and I'm not going to bring the damn virus back here. You people are paranoid. It's only in the big cities, and I have been here in my home for the last week," Rich shouted.

  "It doesn't matter what you believe, the virus will kill you either way. You don't get it, do you? You've put--"

  The screeching of car tires drowned out Robin's voice, and Jen turned to the source of the noise. A small blue car crashed into the tree Ted had just dropped across the road, crumpling the hood and front end of the car. The driver side airbag activated, obscuring the driver.

  Everyone froze, waiting for some sign of life from the car. After a moment, the driver's side door opened.

  A tall thin blonde woman with mussed hair and a skimpy party dress got out of the car. Jen could tell right away that she was sick. As soon as the woman closed her car door she doubled over and began to cough violently. A gurgling noise came from deep within her chest. Droplets of phlegm and blood splattered onto the hood of the car. After the woman's coughing fit subsided, she leaned on the car, struggling to breathe.

  "Get back!" Robin shouted. "Everybody get back! She's sick."

  The group didn't need to be told twice. All of them backed away from the wreck, with mixed looks of pity and disgust on their faces. Fear was written on all of their faces. Wide-eyed, jittering hands, and their mouths hanging open.

  The sick woman stumbled forward to the tree blocking the road, and held her arm out. "Rich. Please, help me. I'm sick."

  "Rich, do you know this woman?" Eva asked in a sharp tone.

  "Help me Rich. You said you would come for me. You never came back. There isn't any food left at the flat." The woman hauled herself over the downed tree, her face red with exertion. She leaned against the tree for support, catching her breath, and then staggered forward towards the last tree blocking the way.

  "Who is that Rich? Who is that woman?" Eva demanded.

  "Claire Abbott. She's my assistant."

  "Assistant my ass. Is this what you've been doing in your flat?" Eva slapped Rich across the face, raising a bright red mark on his cheek.

  Claire began to pull herself across the tree lying across the road. She coughed and wheezed with the effort. As she was climbing over the top of the tree, she lost her balance and fell to the ground, curled into a ball, coughing up blood.

  "Everybody move back! Move further back!" Robin shouted. Turning to Claire, she pleaded with her. "I don't know you Claire, but we can't help you here. You need to go somewhere else. Get yourself to a hospital."

  Claire lifted her head up from the ground. "Hospitals... closed. Rich. Help. Need you." She tried to rise, but couldn't push herself upright. Claire pulled herself along using her elbows as she crawled up the hill towards the neighborhood. She sobbed and moaned, blood dripping from her mouth.

  Friday, June 12th

  Chapter 13

  Unlike the rest of the group, Mike had no issues with obeying Robin's commands to back away from the sick woman. He stepped several yards further away than the rest of them. He wished that he'd made it out of the city a couple of hours earlier. In that time, Ted could have dropped twenty more trees between here and the entrance to the neighborhood. The woman never would have made it this far in her condition. She might not have even attempted it. He realized that dropping a few of trees across the road as roadblocks wasn't going to cut it. He would have to figure out something else. To do more. He would have to work with these people, starting with Robin. She seemed to be the only one that had her head on straight.

  Claire looked up at the group, who all stood several yards back from her, keeping their distance. "Water. Please. Help me."

  "Claire. You're going to be all right. Let me call an ambulance for you," Rich said, taking his cell phone out of his pocket.

  "You miserable son of a bitch. Good for nothing drunk!" Eva shouted. "You're not calling an ambulance for that slut."

  "Somebody get her some water," Lance said. "This is messed up."

  "Nobody touch her," Robin said. "Shanxi is highly contagious. I wouldn't even want to be this close if the wind was blowing in the other direction."

  "Giving her a bottle of water isn't going get anybody killed," Lance said.

  "It sure as hell could. All it takes is one tiny droplet of blood or spittle, and you're almost guaranteed to get infected," Mike said. "I'm not letting you risk my life over it."

  Lance blew air through his lips and shook his head in disbelief.

  Mike couldn't believe the young man's cocky arrogance. He had no idea what the hell he was talking about. That kind of arrogant attitude could get people killed.

  Rich hung up his cell phone. "I can't find a damned ambulance. Nine-one-one won't pick up the phone. I tried the clinic in Steelville, but they aren't answering either."

  "Somebody should drive her there," Lance said.

  "Excuse me a minute, but who the hell asked you?" Rich asked. "Why are you even here pool boy? I thought we worked out that you shouldn't be staying in that empty house next to ours. You were supposed to go home."

  Lance and Rich stared intensely at each other, and for a moment Mike thought he might have to intervene. Rich was a hothead. He couldn't gauge the other man.

  "He's staying there," Eva said.

  "And why the hell is he doing that?"

  "Because I want him to."

  Rich's nostril's flared. ""Is that why the pool boy came here after the quarantine? Have you been sleeping with the pool boy? Is this some sort of sick punishment for having a fling? It was just a one-time thing Eva. Okay, so maybe there were two. Why can't--"

  "People! Can we just focus on the issue at hand?" Robin yelled.

  "Why would you care who I've been sleeping with? You've been pretty busy yourself," Eva said.

  "You b--"

  "Enough! Somebody go and get a bottle of water for her," Robin bellowed.

  "I'll go," Lance said, then jogged up the street toward the houses.

  "She's sweating. Should we bring her in out of the heat?" Rich asked.

  "Who is going to bring her inside? You Rich? Whose house are you going to bring her into, because you aren't bringing her into my house," Eva shouted. "In fact, don't bother coming home. The garage is unlocked. Why don't you sleep out there with your other little mess?"

  "Don't you say one more word. I'm warning you..." Rich held his fist up menacingly.

  "Ease up mister," Mike said. Glaring at Mike, he rested his hand on the Glock. He hoped Rich wouldn't put him to the test. Mike had never even tried to shoot with his right hand, but Rich didn't know that.

  "You wouldn't dare," Eva said. Her chin held high, she went silent nonetheless.

  The younger woman that had been standing silent well away from the group during the argument spoke up in a timid voice. "Guys? She's up again."

  Mike looked down at the woman in the street. He wanted to plug his ears to drown out the strangling noises coming from her throat. She coughed up blood and mucus, but it just seemed to keep filling her throat up. Claire pushed herself
up from the ground as the group silently watched with horrified looks on their faces.

  No one said a word, but Mike knew they were all thinking the same thing he was. They wanted her to stop. She would only infect everybody else. There was nothing they could do for her.

  "Isn't anybody going to do something for her?" Rich asked.

  "Jen, you're a med student. Is there anything we can do to help her?" Robin asked.

  The young woman, Jen, squinted her eyes and looked over at Claire, but didn't move an inch from where she was. "She is infected. There's nothing we can do for her," Jen said. "She's going to die a slow painful death, choking to death on the fluid from her lungs. If you let her come near us, she's going to infect everyone."

  Lance came running back down the hill with a bottle of water in his hand. Seeing the woman writhing on the ground, he cast an accusatory glare over the group. "Aren't you guys going to help her? This is messed up!"

  Claire got to her feet and staggered towards them. "Help. Please." The words came out garbled, her mouth dripping fluids.

  "Shit," Rich said, as Claire moved towards him.

  "She won't stop. What do we do?" Robin asked, panicked. "She has to stop. We can't leave her here or she'll come knocking on our doors. She's going to get us all sick."

  Looking over the group, Mike knew none of the others would do what needed to be done. He doubted any of them even owned a gun. Before anyone could object, Mike pulled his Glock from the holster and moved as close as he felt comfortable to the woman and lined up the iron sights. He fired once and missed.

  Claire dropped to the ground, arms over her head, coughing up blood and pleading with him.

  Mike hardened his heart and lined the sights up again over the screams and shouts of protest from the sheeple behind him. He took aim and fired three more times. His aim was true, and two of the shots tore into Claire's chest and she dropped to the concrete road. Her body convulsed for a moment, and then she stopped moving.

  Mike holstered his pistol and backed away from her body.

  "Oh no. Is she dead?" Lance asked. "She can't be dead. Did you just shoot her? For real?"

  "That lady was going to die anyway. I saved her from suffering, and probably saved you people from getting sick by trying to take care of her."

  Lance took a few steps towards Mike, his chest puffed up. "Would you shoot me if I was sick? Huh killer?"

  Mike stared right at Lance, not backing down an inch. "You're damned straight I would."

  Lance huffed, then turned and walked up the hill.

  Robin made eye contact with him and nodded her head.

  Why didn't they understand why he had to kill her? With the exception of Robin, Mike pitied these people. Sheeple. They were sheltered suburbanites who probably only been exposed to death a couple of times in their lives, and those had likely been elderly relatives. They'd never seen a healthy person struck down in the prime of their life, robbed of half their life expectancy. Mike had never had to kill someone before, but he'd been prepared to do it for a long time.

  He eyed Robin. She looked like she'd seen some shit. She had that look in her eye as she watched the woman die. It was nothing new to her, she'd seen it before. Mike made a mental note to find out what her story was later.

  "It's done. It's better this way. She was going to die anyway and she could have infected all of us. I for one, am not letting my husband or little girl die because of some misguided naive attempts to help someone who is already beyond help," Robin said. "We'll have to burn her body."

  Gasps and head shaking accompanied her statements of fact. As far as Mike was concerned, Robin had just confirmed her spot on the list of potential survivors. She'd do what needed to be done to survive.

  "You can't do that! We have to call the police!" Rich said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing numbers.

  "A law and order man all of a sudden Rich?" Eva taunted. "Are you sure you want them to come around?"

  Rich glared at her and hung up his phone, then pushed his way past Robin and got in Mike's face. "You can't just kill people. I knew that woman."

  Eva spoke from just behind Mike. "What woman? You mean that dead home-wrecker?"

  Rich surged forward, nose to nose with Mike as he tried to push past and get at his wife.

  Mike puffed up his chest and pushed back, hand on the Glock. He was feeling faint from lack of food. Hoping it didn't show through, he looked down his nose at Rich, who shrunk from his gaze. "Let's not do anything hasty. Some things can't be undone. I've already killed one person today."

  "All right Rich, back up. That's enough of that. Nobody touch Claire's body. I'll be right back," Robin said.

  Rich moved back several paces, cursing. He went over to another member of the group, Ted's mother Sherri, and whispered something to her. Sherri nodded, then stepped forward.

  "I'm calling the police," Sherri said. She took a phone from her pocket and began to dial.

  "Mom don't," Ted said. "He's just doing what he has--"

  "I don't care. Some things are just wrong. You don't just kill-- Hello? Yes, I'd like to report a murder," Sherri said, switching her conversation to the phone. "Oak Park. That's right. Yes. Yes. A woman tried to come into our neighborhood to get help. She was sick and one of my neighbors shot her. He just walked over to her and-- What? Yes. Yes, she was sick. Yes, they did tell her that. Why does that matter? You're not listening to--. I said he shot her. Yes I understand she was sick, but he can't just-- What? Can you just send someone-- What do you mean you can't--" Sherri covered the phone with her hand, wildly looking around at the group. "They said they won't send anybody out. They said he did the right thing! This is madness!"

  Mike's heart pounded, and he struggled to slow his breathing. He knew he had done the right thing, there wasn't a question in his mind, but he wasn't so sure what the police would have to say about it. Apparently they were on the same page. He wondered how many cops were still on the job, and how many had bugged out to take care of their own families. He didn't blame them one bit.

  Sherri had the phone back up to her ear again. "Yes. OK. Yes. I understand." Sherri turned to the group and addressed them. They said we have to take care of the body. They said we should burn it." With that, she hung up the phone and began to walk up the hill past the group.

  Mike turned and addressed the group. "You all are going to have to harden up. I know this is a new and terrible reality for you, but in most of the world people live with this kind of thing every day. Death is their reality. If you want to survive this epidemic, you're going to have to start to make difficult decisions. This isn't going to go away anytime soon. If you're still worried about your 401k and how soon you can grab a mocha latte after this is over, you'd better think again," Mike said.

  Just then, Robin came back down the hill carrying a five-gallon can of gas. She walked past the group, and without saying a word, dumped gasoline over the dead woman's body. She backed up several feet and brought out a rag, soaked it in gas, lit it, then tossed the flaming cloth onto the woman's body.

  With a whoosh the body was engulfed in flame. Her hair sizzled and burnt off in an instant. The wind changed direction and blew towards the group. The smell of cooked meat filled the air.

  Eva doubled over and vomited.

  Jen just stood there silently watching, squirting what looked like most of a travel size bottle of disinfectant into her palms, vigorously rubbing her hands together.

  Mike watched the woman burn for a moment, then resumed watching the group's expressions. He needed to find out what these people were made of, and what he thought they were capable of becoming if they wanted to survive. He wasn't so sure many of them would.

  "Ted," Robin barked. "Take that chainsaw to the entrance of the neighborhood and drop a few trees across the road. Lance, I want you to find another gas can and set Claire's car on fire. I want it incinerated. The rest of you meet up in the cul-de-sac in two hours."

  To his surprise, the gr
oup went about Robin's orders without any protest. Maybe there was hope for them after all. Maybe.

  Friday, June 12th

  Chapter 14

  Jen sat down on the concrete curb at the edge of the street, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. After setting the infected woman's corpse alight, Robin had wasted no time before taking charge, setting the others to work and instructing the rest of the group to meet in the cul-de-sac. That had been almost two hours ago.

  Jen was glad that someone had stepped up to the plate. She didn't know her parent's neighbors all that well, but from what she'd seen they were not the brightest bunch. Jen wouldn't admit it to the others, but when Mike shot Claire, she'd felt a huge sense of relief. If she had been in Mike's shoes, she liked to think she would have done the same thing. She would do anything to keep herself from catching the virus.

  The others began filing in a few minutes later, sitting on the curbside or on the street itself. Ted was the last to arrive, shoulders drooping as he lugged the long bar chainsaw and gas canister up the hill. He dropped the chainsaw in the grass and plopped down on the curb not far from Jen, wiping the sweat from his brow.

  "Ted, move away from Jen and go sit next to Mike. We've got a new rule. Keep fifteen or twenty feet between yourself and anyone who isn't an immediate member of your household. I know we've already broken that rule dealing with the incident down the hill, but I think everybody has been enlightened as to what we're dealing with." Robin turned a serious glare towards Rich Preston, and then in Jen's direction. "Am I right? We're all taking this seriously now? Nobody is going to try to leave until the government manufactures a vaccine or the virus burns itself out?"

  Heat burned Jen's cheeks, and she nodded in agreement. If she didn't need her OCD meds so badly, she never would have tried to leave in the first place. She had no idea how she was going to cope without them, but considering the risk of trying to get them, she had to find a way to live without them.