Dead Quarantine by A. Rosaria

had tears in her eyes now. “I'm
scared.”
    “I know.” In the distance, the sky had an
orange hue as if a forest was on fire. The sun hid behind dark
clouds. “I'm scared too.”
    One kid, a freshman, got up. He walked a few
paces and collapsed. No one reacted. The driver ignored what had
happened as he focused on following the hummer. Clearly content
with the end of his trip. Ralph left his seat to check on the kid.
He was short and thin; he seemed much younger than the fourteen he
had to be. The boy made him think about Ginny. Would she be like
this? The thought gripped his throat. He tore his mind away from
his worries and focused on the boy. He felt for a pulse. Good. His
heart still beat, although his breathing was ragged.
    The boy must have had issues with his blood
pressure and fainted. It had been a while since he had his first
aid class. Hoping he remembered everything, he positioned the boy
on his back and raised his legs above heart level. What was next?
He had to wait, but for how long. One or two minutes, he believed.
Ralph stuck his fingers in the boy's mouth. No vomit, which was
good. His collar was not too tight, but he still loosened another
button to no avail. The boy breathed but he did not wake up. The
next step was to call 911. Ralph laughed nervously. He had his
smart phone with him, but what would he say? That was if he had
reception. He had tried calling before; he suspected he wasn't the
only one that had tried, but it didn't work despite the signal bar
being half-full. He tried again. Same result.
    “Driver! We have an emergency here. How much
farther?”
    “Soon, it can't take much longer.
    “Ralph,” Lauryn called out.
    He looked at her. She had watched him with
her eyes wide and red, her lips trembling. He could do nothing more
for the boy. He put his feet on the seat, keeping them high. He
hoped that was enough. The other kids were coughing or staring
ahead sullenly. They were unresponsive or probably passed out. This
trip was turning out to be a catastrophe.
    “Ralph, I'm cold,” Lauryn said when he sat
next to her. “It hurts breathing, talking, everything hurts.”
    She sobbed. He hugged her. He didn’t know
what to say, so he chose to stay silent. What comfort could he give
if he knew there was none to be had? Who knew where they would end
up? He doubted it was a health facility; he suspected it was more
likely a military one.
    The bus slowed down and stopped.
    “Are we there?” Lauryn’s face lit up.
    No, they were not. When she saw this, her
face soured. In front of them, buses lined the road to the horizon.
How long would they stay here, bottled up in this traffic jam?
    “I've got to go look,” Ralph said.
    Lauryn grabbed his hand. “No, please
stay.”
    He tore away from her tears and went to the
driver's side.
    “You better go sit down, boy.”
    Ralph ignored the driver. Ahead of them all
types of buses idled. Every so often they moved a hundred feet or
more. The hummer came driving next to them. A soldier got off. He
was not much older than Ralph. He walked up to the driver.
    “Follow the line; the compound is at its
end.”
    “We got unconscious kids inside,” Ralph
said. “They need medical attention.”
    The soldier looked at him as if he had only
now become aware of his presence. “Do they still breathe?”
    “Of course they do. Why wouldn't they?”
    The soldier turned his back to them and put
a finger on his earpiece. With a gust of the wind, Ralph heard what
he said: ...might have a situation...what orders...okay
understood.
    “Stay inside. I'll be right back.”
    Ralph sighed in relief. He sat next to
Lauryn and held her hand. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
Finally. Something would be done. Maybe his worries were for
nothing and all would turn out all right. He certainly would miss
his parents and sister during the time they would be separated, but
he had found a new friend and that would ease the pain. And as she
was, she needed his help to get