Riley took a deep breath as her tears finally lost strength. She pulled out of Martina’s arms, and said, “Thanks. I guess I just needed to let that out, huh?”
“We’re all going to need to let it out at one point or another, I think.”
Riley looked up at the stars. After a moment, she said, “Tell me about college.”
“What do you want to know?” Martina asked. Riley was still a senior at Burroughs High School, while Martina was in her freshman year at Cal State University, Northridge.
“What’s it like living on your own?”
Martina shrugged. “It’s fun sometimes.”
“Only sometimes?”
“Well, I still have to study. And Mom’s not there to clean up for me or do the laundry.”
“Still better than living at home, I bet,” Riley said.
“They both have their ups and downs, but, yeah, it’s pretty cool.” Martina gave her friend a smile. “Come on. I’m getting cold.”
Back in the house, they found Martina’s parents in the kitchen making hot chocolate for Martina’s brother Donny and Riley’s younger sister Pamela, who were lying on the floor in front of the fireplace, playing games on their iPods.
“You two want any?” Martina’s dad asked as he poured the brown liquid into mugs.
“Definitely,” Martina said.
“Me, too,” Riley chimed in.
“You want to see if your mom wants some?” he asked.
Riley looked around. “She still in her room?”
Martina’s mom nodded, picked up one of mugs, and held it out. “Why don’t you take one back? She’s had a rough day. No reason to make her come out and deal with all of us.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Gable,” Riley said.
She took the mug and headed toward the back bedrooms.
“Here you go, honey.” Mr. Gable handed Martina a mug. “It’s hot, so be careful. Pamela, Donny, yours is ready.”
Neither of the other two kids moved.
“Hey!” Mr. Gable yelled.
Martina walked over and kicked her brother’s foot.
Donny pulled one of the earphones out of his ear. “What?”
She pointed at their dad.
“Hot chocolate,” Mr. Gable said.
“Cool.” Donny jumped up and motioned for Pamela to join him.
The girl looked over, saw the steaming mugs, and hopped up, too.
“Martina?”
Riley was standing in the hallway, motioning for Martina to join her.
“What’s up?” Martina asked as she walked over.
“Mom…she…” Riley couldn’t seem to finish, so instead she hurried over to the door of the bedroom her parents had been using.
As soon as Martina joined her, Riley pushed it open several inches.
The light was on inside so Martina didn’t have any problem seeing Mrs. Weber lying on the bed. At first she thought the woman was asleep, but then she noticed the sweat along Mrs. Weber’s hairline, and the look of pain on her face. Suddenly, Riley’s mom twisted back and forth, and let out a low groan that turned into a cough.
Without even meaning to, Martina took a step backward. “Did you go inside?” she asked Riley, though she already knew the answer. She could see the mug of hot chocolate sitting on the nightstand.
“She’s my mom,” Riley said. “What am I going to do?”
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Martina dashed back to the living room. After catching her mother’s eye, she said, “Can I see you for a minute?”
“Sure.”
Once her mother had entered the hallway, Martina whispered, “It’s Mrs. Weber. I think she’s sick.”
Her mother’s eyes grew wide. “What?”
Martina led her over to the bedroom door so she could peek through. She watched as the blood drained from her mother’s face.
Before either of them could say anything, Donny called out from the living room. “Hey, Mom. Can you bring me a tissue when you come back? I need to blow my nose.”
4
Dr. Bradley Gardiner sat on the couch in his living room, his wife Kathy on one side and their fourteen-year-old daughter Emily on the other. None of them had said anything for over an hour as they watched the news on TV.
Many cities were reporting minor instances of civil unrest, while others, such as St. Petersburg, Florida, were experiencing fires that were spreading faster than the areas depleted of emergency personnel could handle.
The most shocking images, though, were of the silent streets in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, London, and the other great cities of the world. Daytime, nighttime, evening, morning — it didn’t matter. There wasn’t a soul in sight for as far as the cameras could see.
“We are expecting more detailed information about food distribution sometime tomorrow. We’re also anticipating more on when a Sage Flu vaccine will be ready. We’ve been told that the…oh, excuse me. We’re going to cut to our colleagues at the BBC, where the British prime minister has just begun addressing Parliament.”
The news anchor was replaced by an interior shot from the House of Commons. On either side of the chamber were rows of chairs, rising toward the walls like bleachers on opposite sides of a narrow basketball court. Only a handful of the seats were occupied, and everyone was wearing a mask. Standing in front of a lectern was the prime minister, recognizable even behind his mask.
“…safety of all. This is not a time for debate or delay, for both will only result in more deaths. I have spoken to—”
There was a loud knock on the door. Gardiner’s daughter jumped, while his wife jerked under his arm.
“Who could that be?” Emily asked.
“I don’t know, sweetie,” Gardiner said. He rose from the couch.
“Brad,” his wife said, shaking her head. “Whoever it is, just ignore them.”
A second knock was followed by a woman’s voice. “Dr. Gardiner?”
Kathy shook her head again. “Don’t,” she mouthed.
“She knows we’re here,” he said.
“I don’t care.”
“Dr. Gardiner?” the woman said again. “I’m Captain Scott, US Air Force.”
The air force had basically taken over the town when the national state of emergency was declared.
“I have to see what she wants,” Gardiner said.
Kathy, not looking happy, said, “Wait for me.”
Together they entered the foyer, and Gardiner flipped on the outside light. Looking through the spy hole in the door, the first thing he noted was that the porch was still dark. He flipped the switch off and back on again. The light remained off. There was enough illumination coming from the streetlamp that he could make out the shape of the woman on the other side of the door.
“Dr. Gardiner?” she said again.
“I’m here,” Gardiner said. “What is it you need?”
“Sir, we’ve had an emergency over at the base that requires your assistance.”
“You should contact the hospital if you need anyone. I’m not on call right now.”
“We realize that. That’s why I’m here. We need a surgeon, but decided it would be best not to disturb the rotation at Benefis.”
Gardiner frowned. “What’s the emergency?”
“Internal injuries. I have X-rays right here to show you.”
“Don’t you have your own surgeons?”
“We do, sir, but they are both currently occupied.” The woman paused. “It was a helicopter crash, sir. Multiple injuries. We need your help.”