humans.”
“Mama said the Mers virus that people are getting isn’t a natural variant. One of the virologists at the hospital thought it was an engineered pathogen. He said was it was a modified crossover virus from another host and that it doesn’t have control over wiping us out, its new hosts.”
“He also said it’s more virulent and robust than the government reported, that it only takes a few to completely overwhelm the body’s defense system and multiply. What bothered him most was how long it could live on surfaces outside of a host.”
“God, you sound so smart. What exactly does that mean for us, for our situation?”
Jessica replied to Lucy’s question. “The virus doesn’t care about its own survival. Its only job is to kill. When we ran out of food and Dad decided we needed to leave the city we only saw a few people the whole time it took to drive through the streets and get to the highway. Live people. We saw plenty of dead people. The smell was awful.
“But what I’m saying is if we only saw a few people in a city that once had millions, I’m not surprised we don’t see anyone out here. I’d say all your neighbors are probably dead. The only reason we’re still alive is that we’ve avoided contact with other people, mostly we’re just lucky.”
Her words threw a somber moment on us as we digested her comments.
I used the quiet moment to bring us back on subject. “That’s exactly why this meeting is so important. We need to ensure that we continue to have no contact with anyone. We have to assume any human we see is a carrier of the plague. To do this, we need to set up a guard system where someone is always awake and watching.”
“Yeah,” Sam exclaimed. “We need to start doing that today.”
“Yes we do,” I agreed. We also need to work out exactly what procedure we use for confronting strangers. I mean, we can’t simply open fire on everyone we see.”
“Have you thought about that?” Becky asked.
“As a matter of fact, I have. I said this part before. If a person wanders onto the property openly, we challenge them. Ask them to keep their distance and warn them off. If they don’t listen, we fire a warning shot. If they keep coming closer, we shoot to kill. Not wound, because for damn sure none of us are going to their aid. Anything other than a killing shot would be wrong.”
“Lord have mercy on us,” Lucy said.
“I hope so.” I wasn’t finished though. I had more things to say. “If one of us is on guard and someone tries to sneak up, no challenge, shoot to kill. If they’re sneaking, we have to assume they’re up to no good.”
“Who stands guard?” Sam asked.
Jerold spoke for the first time. “Include me and Jessica. You’ll need to show us how to shoot, but we have a stake in this. We’ve talked and were worried about there being no guards. We want to live and we want you all to live. You saved our lives and we’re ready to fight for ourselves and for you.”
“It was our lucky day when we found you two,” Sam said.
I had to nod my agreement. “We have plenty of weapons and ammo. How about tomorrow we familiarize you with which ever you choose. Tonight we four adults will take the shifts. I say we do it with two on at a time to help keep each other awake and to watch each other’s back.”
“How about us take the first shift tonight?” Sam asked of Lucy.
“It’s a date, big fellow,” she said, smiling at him. “Is there anything else, Ralph?”
“Lots, but let’s cover only a few other items tonight. You heard what Jessica thinks. We should do a survey of our immediate area and see how many of our neighbors are still alive. We should take a ride into Sparks for the same reason, and to check if there is any safe opportunity to resupply some of our immediate needs, food in particular.”
“Our shortages run deeper than food,” Lucy said. “We’re down to eight rolls of toilet paper, and mister, when we run out of toilet
“Mama said the Mers virus that people are getting isn’t a natural variant. One of the virologists at the hospital thought it was an engineered pathogen. He said was it was a modified crossover virus from another host and that it doesn’t have control over wiping us out, its new hosts.”
“He also said it’s more virulent and robust than the government reported, that it only takes a few to completely overwhelm the body’s defense system and multiply. What bothered him most was how long it could live on surfaces outside of a host.”
“God, you sound so smart. What exactly does that mean for us, for our situation?”
Jessica replied to Lucy’s question. “The virus doesn’t care about its own survival. Its only job is to kill. When we ran out of food and Dad decided we needed to leave the city we only saw a few people the whole time it took to drive through the streets and get to the highway. Live people. We saw plenty of dead people. The smell was awful.
“But what I’m saying is if we only saw a few people in a city that once had millions, I’m not surprised we don’t see anyone out here. I’d say all your neighbors are probably dead. The only reason we’re still alive is that we’ve avoided contact with other people, mostly we’re just lucky.”
Her words threw a somber moment on us as we digested her comments.
I used the quiet moment to bring us back on subject. “That’s exactly why this meeting is so important. We need to ensure that we continue to have no contact with anyone. We have to assume any human we see is a carrier of the plague. To do this, we need to set up a guard system where someone is always awake and watching.”
“Yeah,” Sam exclaimed. “We need to start doing that today.”
“Yes we do,” I agreed. We also need to work out exactly what procedure we use for confronting strangers. I mean, we can’t simply open fire on everyone we see.”
“Have you thought about that?” Becky asked.
“As a matter of fact, I have. I said this part before. If a person wanders onto the property openly, we challenge them. Ask them to keep their distance and warn them off. If they don’t listen, we fire a warning shot. If they keep coming closer, we shoot to kill. Not wound, because for damn sure none of us are going to their aid. Anything other than a killing shot would be wrong.”
“Lord have mercy on us,” Lucy said.
“I hope so.” I wasn’t finished though. I had more things to say. “If one of us is on guard and someone tries to sneak up, no challenge, shoot to kill. If they’re sneaking, we have to assume they’re up to no good.”
“Who stands guard?” Sam asked.
Jerold spoke for the first time. “Include me and Jessica. You’ll need to show us how to shoot, but we have a stake in this. We’ve talked and were worried about there being no guards. We want to live and we want you all to live. You saved our lives and we’re ready to fight for ourselves and for you.”
“It was our lucky day when we found you two,” Sam said.
I had to nod my agreement. “We have plenty of weapons and ammo. How about tomorrow we familiarize you with which ever you choose. Tonight we four adults will take the shifts. I say we do it with two on at a time to help keep each other awake and to watch each other’s back.”
“How about us take the first shift tonight?” Sam asked of Lucy.
“It’s a date, big fellow,” she said, smiling at him. “Is there anything else, Ralph?”
“Lots, but let’s cover only a few other items tonight. You heard what Jessica thinks. We should do a survey of our immediate area and see how many of our neighbors are still alive. We should take a ride into Sparks for the same reason, and to check if there is any safe opportunity to resupply some of our immediate needs, food in particular.”
“Our shortages run deeper than food,” Lucy said. “We’re down to eight rolls of toilet paper, and mister, when we run out of toilet
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