Tracking Them Down
A young woman tossed a hard case of bandages and miscellaneous medical items into the back seat of her truck, then tucked a loaded glock into her belt. She hissed profanities under her breath, her loyal rottweilers whined at her frantic pacing. There was a knock on the garage door, then it swung open. A man stepped in, a large man, holding his own 9 mil pistol.
“Are you ready?” He asked.
“Almost. Grab that bag of ammo.” she ordered. He did so, setting it inside the cabin.
“Whacha got in here? William?” the young woman asked, peeking over the top of the truck.
“Medical stuff. Bandaids, wraps, tape, I figured we’d need extra, even if we don’t find him.”
“Find who?” A third voice asked from the door, another man, his friend, and his girlfriend poking their heads from around the corner.
“What are you two doing here?” William asked.
“Just… thought we’d come by- What are you doing?” Jasmine peeked over Shawn’s shoulder.
“Nothing.” Ember stepped in front of her, scowling, “Just cleaning out the truck.”
“You’re not… going out, are you?” she furrowed her brow.
“…yes.”
“No.” William stammered, Ember glared at him.
“What? It’s Jasmine, what’s she gonna do?” he snapped. She exhaled, resting her forehead in her finger tips.
“You know if we get caught, our rations are cut?” She sighed.
“‘We’?” Ember asked.
“You think we’re letting you kids go out alone?” she smirked.
“You’re not much older than us…” Ember furrowed her brow.
“We’re coming with you,” Jasmine said again, “You could always use an extra pair of eyes out there.”
“I’m coming, too-”
“No, you need to stay here.” Zeke interjected, Jasmine stopping him.
“What? Why?” he argued.
“Someone needs to stay behind and keep the house alive.” Shawn piped up, “If they notice that this house is empty, they’ll get suspicious and investigate, and she’s right. If they learn that we snuck out, our rations are cut.” he paused, “Keep things moving in here, we’re more likely to get away with this if we leave someone behind.”
“And what if you do find him? You’ll have to come back, and they’ll find out then.” Shawn asked.
“Ember and Shawn are scouts. They can say she got a lead on life on the outside, I came with because I’m a medic.” William replied, “Jasmine’s just an extra pair of eyes.”
“But-”
“Dude,” Shawn cut Zeke off, “We’ll be gone for a few hours tops, and it’s just a precaution.”
“But if you’re going to confront guards anyway, why do I have to keep things moving?” he squeaked.
“Sometimes, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. You won’t get in as much trouble, or won’t get in trouble at all if they think you didn’t know.” Jasmine lowered her voice.
“We’re wasting a lot of time here…” Ember growled.
“Look, we’ll be back in a few hours. Stay here and keep the house alive.”
“Okay.” he murmured sadly. She smiled, then hopped in the truck with the dogs in the bed, winking at him as they pulled out of the garage.
===================================================
They sped down the road, having a location in mind and no law enforcement to stop them. The engine snarled as they whipped around corners, the iron muzzle Ember had installed keeping any damage from being done as they plowed through a few infected as they drove.
“Uh, maybe we should be going slower? Draw less attention to ourselves?” William suggested nervously, gripping to the ceiling handle for dear life.
“A moving truck will draw attention anyway. Plus, this gives them something to eat so they’ll (hopefully) leave us alone.” Ember growled back at him.
“I don’t know if I asked already, but where are we going?” Jasmine asked.
“The hospital. If he’s alive, he’s there.”
“Don’t start with that ‘if’ stuff, okay?” William glazed at the mirror, at the infected swarming a body they had just run over.
“And stop running them over. They’re still human…” Jasmine furrowed her brow.
“They’re not human. Not anymore. They’re too far gone, the more we take out, the closer we get to getting rid of this thing.” Shawn hissed.
“I gotta side with him on this, Jas.” William breathed, “It’s the most humane thing to do; put them down. Just make sure we disinfect that muzzle…”
Jasmine sighed, looking out the window.
“Oh hell yeah, that’s mandatory. That’s the last thing they’d forget.” she replied.
They drove down a straight road, following William’s direction, until a person ran out in front of the truck. Like all the other Infected, Ember plowed right into him, and as he stood back up behind them, she reversed and hit him again.
“DIE, YOU WALKING VIRUS!!” She hissed, reversing and driving forward repeatedly, until her truck stalled, seemingly in protest.
“Jesus, Ember!” William exclaimed, Jasmine’s head bumping into the headrest on her seat each time, until they stopped.
“Kill the virus, feed the Infected.” She repeated dryly, Shawn nodding, the truck tires screeching as she drove away. More Infected swarmed the man’s body, as they had been with everyone else who stepped in front of the truck.
“That’s just wrong…” Jasmine muttered.
“Like Shawn said, they’re not human.” the driver hissed.
“I guess not… How long until we get to the hospital?” She asked.
“We’re not far now. Another block probably.” William replied.
“This was the one you worked at, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you see that?” Ember chimed in, as a man sprinted across the road at the intersection, a small horde pursuing him.
“Yeah…” William pondered.
“You don’t think-” Jasmine stated, Ember floored it down the road, turning a block early to cut them off. She sped down the road, never acknowledging any Infected she plowed into, until she rounded the corner and headed right for the horde, now all huddled around a body on the ground. She growled as she leaned forwards, honking at them and snapping their attention to them, as they slammed into the horde, sending their bodies flying into the wall. She slammed the breaks before plowing herself into the side of the building, the truck sputtering as it came to a stop. The four of them froze, breathing heavily, then all turned to each other. Jasmine looked out her window and perked up, rolling down her window.
“Mike?!” She exclaimed. The young man peeked through his hands, his face wet from tears.
“Jasmine…?” he squeaked.
“Oh my god!” Jasmine opened the door and hopped out, rushing to his side.
“Jas-” William started, just as Ember followed her, but not before grabbing her glock. Jasmine helped the young man to his feet, his eyes darting between them, wide and glassy. She embraced him, he took a moment to register, then returned it.
“How long have you been awake?” She separated, holding his shoulder.
“Just today. What is this?” He asked, a gurgling noise bringing their gaze to the street, Ember’s dog Cooper growling at the Infected that were peeking at them from around corners and windows.
“Get in the truck. NOW.” Ember ordered, guiding him to the cabin.
“Wait-” Mike tried weakly.
“No waiting, get inside!” Jasmine said, letting him hold her arm as he stepped up. Ember rushed to the other side of the truck, hopping in and speeding off.
“Mike honey, are you okay?” Jasmine asked, setting her hand on his knee.
“Uh,” Mike stammered, clenching his fist, “I-I uh… I think I got bit…” he muttered, Jasmine’s face fell.
“What do you mean, you think you got bit?” Ember hissed.
“I got bit… I was ambushed- what do I-?” his voice cracked. Shawn glanced at the two in the front, who had blank, frozen expressions.
“Uh, quarantine?” William asked.
“Will they accept him?”
“They should, he hasn’t turned yet.”
“Turned?” Mike’s voice trembled.
“Mike, you’ll be fine.” William said, unbuckling and leaning over the middle armrest and fished the first-aid kit out from under the seat as the truck reversed and made a three-point turn to head back the way they came.
“Let me see,” he said calmly, slapping on some rubber gloves and some gauze, “Jas, put these on,” he handed her her own pair of gloves and a plastic bag. She did so, holding the bag open and out. William held his lover’s arm, wiping the blood off his skin with a moist piece of gauze. He dumped the contaminated gauze into the bag, then took another piece, then grinded it into the wound. Mike winced, gritting his teeth.
“What are you doing?” Jasmine asked.
“Cleaning the wound. Shawn, get that bandage.” he said.
“Uh-” he picked it up. Will took it, then wrapped it around his arm while holding a piece of gauze to the wound.
“What’s gonna happen to me…?” Mike whimpered.
“You’ll be fine. Just- try to relax. We’ll get you to our doctors, they’ll know what to do.” He removed her gloves and dropped them in the bag, then sat back up front.
“You’re sure they’ll take him?” Ember whispered to William.
“Yes, it’s policy to take anyone who hasn’t turned yet.” He replied, “How ya doing back there, bud?”
“William…?” he asked.
“Yeah, hon. You’ll be okay, okay?” he said gently, Mike nodded.
“We need to get him back to the compound. Now,” Ember breathed.
“You think?” Jasmine remarked, the young man gagging, the realization of his situation finally setting in.
“Am I gonna turn into one of those things?” He whimpered. William winced, glazing at Ember, who matched his expression.
“Not if we get this taken care of. Not now,” she said, resting her hands on the steering wheel, though she didn’t need to.
===================================================
“When did this happen?” The nurse demanded, the young man lying restrained on the gurney, sobbing quietly.
“Right before we got to him, say half an hour ago.” William replied, laying a comforting hand on the railing of the gurney.
“I can’t believe you did this,” she scolded, “Leaving the boundaries is-”
“Against the law, I know.” he interjected her statement, “Please, we just need to get him examined before it’s too late.”
“Oh, that’ll happen.” She stopped the gurney, “But you and your friends need to answer to Anton. He’s pissed off enough right now, and this little rescue mission you went on is not helping.”
“This was an emergency-”
“Don’t tell me, tell Anton.” She snapped, “GO, I’ll take care of him.” The nurse gripped the railing. Mike looked up to William with pleading eyes, he knelt down to him.
“You’ll be okay, I’ll be in as soon as I can.” He swore, Mike nodding, eyes watery and cheeks stained with tears as the nurse wheeled him into another room.
===================================================
“I cannot believe you…” An elderly man sighed, running his fingers through his silver hair. Ember, William, Shawn, and Jasmine all stood in front of him, all looking ashamed, but not the young man’s sister.
“I have to deal with smugglers, thieves, rations, general mayhem, all the while Infected claw at secure boundaries and threaten EVERYONE WHO LIVES HERE.” he hissed, William swallowed as he looked to the ceiling guiltily, “We have rescue teams. We have ambulances, military tactical vehicles, a fucking HELICOPTER! Why didn’t you report a living person’s whereabouts-”
“Because he would have been dead by then!” Ember snapped, “My truck slammed into a small horde or those things! They were eating something, I thought they were eating HIM!” she cried, “By the time I gave the word to the guards, they gave the word to the scouts, the scouts got all packed up and got on the road, he would have been DEAD!”
“He was feet away from this horde. He got bit, if we waited a second longer-” William started.
“Woah, woah, wait. What do you mean he got bit?” Anton hissed, interrupting him, William audibly closed his mouth.
“Anton-”
“No, shut up. You not only went against the law and went out on your own, you brought an Infected into our complex?”
“He’s not infected. The bite just happened.” Jasmine interjected.
“THAT’S how close he was to being dead.” Ember snarled.
“Anton,” William raised his voice, snapping his attention back to him, “There’s plenty of medication in storage, with more being developed every few days. The hospital’s going to be fine.” he cracked an exasperated smile, “We haven’t had a case of Vehement’s Virus since the Taftons.”
“Half of the Taftons are dead!”
“Because they were too far gone! We can save him, it’s early! This bite literally happened SECONDS before we got there.” William sighed tiredly. Anton grumbled something under his breath, scanning over the three of them.
“If he turns, he gets put down.” He growled, William nodded slightly.
“That’s… protocol…” He muttered, handing his head.
“Get out of my sight.” He snapped.
“We’re not in trouble?” Jasmine asked, Ember elbowed her in the ribs.
“...I can’t punish you…” Anton sighed, head in his fingertips, “All of you have Priority Jobs, I can’t fire you or cut rations because of that. Besides, we don’t waste food here. Nothing gets Infected attention like rotting food.” he looked up, “Now go,” he demanded, William nodding to him, pushing the girls – and Shawn, who’d been quiet this whole time – out of his office.
===================================================
Mike sat with his hands folded in his lap, staring down at the sterile hospital floor, having been put in a fresh hospital gown. He breathed through his mouth, thoughts racing as the other parts of his system spoke. Their voices all piled over top of each other, all panicking. His head shot up to look at the door as William stepped inside, covered head to toe in sterile clothing, closing the door behind him. He scrambled to his feet, gripping onto his shirt and hugging him as tightly as he could.
“Hey, love…” William breathed, “God, I’m so happy you’re alive. I thought I’d never see you again.” He wrapped his arms around him, cradling his head in a single massive hand.
“Where are the others…?” Mike glanced at the door.
“Mike, the only reason I’m allowed in here is because I’m a doctor,” he trailed off, “Well, here I’m an assistant. I’m in nurse training- that’s not important. How do you feel?” he asked, pushing him back up on the table.
“Fine, my head hurts, but I hit it… I think.” Mike started, “This hurts…” he lifted his wounded arm.
“That’s actually a good thing.” William started, “The first symptom is numbness.”
“You’re really scaring me with this virus talk-”
“Mike,” he interrupted, “You were bitten by the Infected. That’s how it’s transmitted. It’s like rabies.” he squeaked, eyes watering slightly. The door opened again, a woman in the same sterile get-up as William, holding a clipboard stepping in.
“Dr. Collier,” she said, surprised, “I was looking for you. I see you found our patient.” she waved to Mike, “You’re aware why he’s in, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Doctor. I’m aware of the protocols as well.” he replied.
“Good.” She turned to Mike, “Okay, listen to me very closely. You were exposed to a deadly virus, coming from the outside, I don’t think I need to tell you what this does to people.” She said grimly.
“No, ma’am.”
“We’re ordering a mandatory blood test immediately,” patting the padded chair with a single armrest, with a little cart of supplies stationed next to it, “Come sit.”
“…right now…?” Mike squeaked, clutching his arm.
“Yes.” She said, “This isn’t to test for the virus, we know you’re carrying it right now. This is for other blood-related reasons.” the doctor patted the seat again, ushering Mike to sit there. He recoiled, looking up to William, who nodded and helped him to his feet.
“I-I faint,” the young man said abruptly, “I faint when I see blood.”
“That’s okay,” the doctor said, tying a band around his bicep and tapping on his inner elbow, right on his cephalic vein. Mike made an audible squeak, pressing his forehead into William’s shoulder, wincing as she prepped a needle.
“It’s okay…” William soothed him. The doctor whipped his skin down with a sanitary whip, Mike gasped as a small butterfly needle was inserted into his skin.
“Shhh, it’s okay…” William stroked his head, “It’s just a little needle.” he whispered little things like such into his ear, he always found that soothing to some degree.
“Destraction,” he started, “What blood-related things is this for?” he asked.
“Allergies, blood type, diseases… and to make sure our medications are still effective against this thing…” she trailed off, “Not that viruses mutate this quickly, but when we have the opportunity to test these things, we take it.”
“So I do have this virus?” Mike asked.
“Almost certainly.” She replied, sticking a test tube into the nuzzle, watching it fill up with Mike’s blood. He shuddered, pressing his face back into William’s chest.
“The medication is in those vials,” she started, gesturing to the counter, “I’ll give you a dose and send you on your way. I’m going to be honest with you, your chances are not good.” the doctor stated. Mike looked up at William.
“Though… we don’t know how likely it is you won’t turn.” The doctor continued, switching out the vile of blood with an empty one.
“What? You just said-”
“We’ve only tested nine individuals, and eight of them showed symptoms even after the first dose. All of them turned fully.”
“The only reason they turned, we believe, is because the drugs didn’t make it to her head before the virus, so it was just a race.” William reassured him.
“So, there’s a- what is that? A 60% chance it won’t work?” Mike hissed.
“No, there’s a 60% chance the first dose won’t work.” William said.
“66.66% chance, actually.” The doctor corrected him.
“I rounded,” William sneered.
“Incorrectly.”
“So,” Mike sat up, “If it doesn’t work-”
“Don’t say that…”
“How else am I supposed to say it?” he snapped, “If it doesn’t work, then what?”
“If the first dose doesn’t work, and you start showing symptoms, we give you a second dose and you stay here overnight.” The doctor started, “If that doesn’t work… and you do turn, we have a very strong medication- a slightly different recipe that brought back that girl. She was the guinea pig, and it seemed to work. For the most part…”
“What do you mean ‘for the most part’?” Mike asked warily, “I'm confused, is this treatable or not?”
“We don’t know. One person survived being bitten, we don’t know why. She had- has a few lingering symptoms, but she’s completely fine. Most of the symptoms are behavioral, we’re still studying them.” The doctor said calmly.
“If this doesn’t work-” Mike pleaded.
“Mike,”
“No! I want to hear this!” the young man interrupted William, “What happens if it doesn’t work?” His voice cracked as he turned to the doctor, who switched out a third blood tube. She glanced at him, then back at the tubes of his blood she’d collected, then at the one in her hand.
“…we’re only authorized two doses of the base medication per individual. This dose that I’m about to give you will be your first.”
“And what happens to me if it all fails?” Mike demanded.
“We… use your body for research.” she muttered.
“Oh, great!” Mike hissed.
“If it makes you feel any better, all the bodies we’ve gotten so far have been from the outside… that were shot. Or tapped.” William rubbed the back of his neck.
“Aside from the other eight that turned-” The doctor started, William nudging her with his foot.
“Nice.” Mike remarked, “What drugs are you using? Didn’t this thing just start?”
“We found that some of the same medications used to treat the rabies virus were effective. We follow the PEP protocols. PEP is Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, and is what rabies is treated with in most cases.”
“It consists of Human Rabies Immune Globulin, or HRIG, and the rabies vaccine.” William added.
“But the vaccine specifically isn’t effective, but parts of it were taken and changed slightly. That research team was led by Dr. Vehement, who also named the virus after himself because scientists are narcissists.”
“I thought-” Mike started.
“We thought it was rabies at first, when this first started. It looks similar, but acts differently.” She said, changing out the blood tube with a fresh one, again.
“It moves faster, and keeps the host alive and functioning for longer.” Will added again.
“How many of those are you gonna take?” Mike asked the doctor, averting his eyes from it.
“Six oughta’ do it. Thanks to your sister, we have a good amount of DNA from Infected. Thinned out the herd a little, too.” she chirped, “But, we need a good amount of this before we contaminate it with medications.”
“That truck’s being sterilized, right?” William curled up his lip in disgust.
“You know it.” She replied, taking the vile of blood and setting it in the tray with the others.
“So if this is treatable, then how did it become an outbreak to begin with?” Mike asked.
“We believe it’s because by the time we realized this was an epidemic, people were already turning and they couldn’t be saved anyway. Then by the time we realized the rabies medications were somewhat effective, most of town had been turned and hundreds had already died. We even thought it was the COVID-19 virus for a couple days, too. Then we thought it was rabies because the first few cases were of dogs and coyotes.” The doctor said.
“So when people got bit by dogs and coyotes, they got their rabies shots but it didn’t kill the virus and they turned.” William added, “The W.H.O got involved when people were coming in for rabies shots 6 times a week. Then 4 times a day.”
“Woah,” Mike breathed.
“This all started before the accident, there have been reports coming in for weeks before-”
“Accident?” Mike interrupted him.
“Yeah, the car accident we were in? You… remember, don’t you?” William asked softly.
“That’s why I was in the hospital…” the young man stared past him, eyes defocused.
“Yeah… you were awake for a while, too. You don’t remember?”
“No.”
“Uhm… I apologize for the lack of staff attention, that’s when I first learned about this thing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, that does it for the blood,” The doctor said, disposing of the needle, “Time for the shot.” Mike nodded, lifting up his sleeve for her.
“Turn around,” she said. He was a bit surprised, but did so, and the doctor paused as he lifted the skirt of his gown for her.
“Baby… that’s not where the needle goes…” William winced, Mike cocked his head.
“Since this relies on the meds getting there before the virus, this goes right into your spine.” The doctor prepped the syringe.
“W-what?”
“Hey, it’s okay.” William held his hand, “They give you a little numbing juice first.”
“Just enough to make it tolerable.” She whipped Mike’s upper back with sterile wipes.
“It’ll be okay,” Will set his hand on Mike’s arm, as the doctor injected the numbing agent into the tissues around the spine. He whimpered, pressing his head against his lover’s shoulder.
“Alright, one more. This is the big one, ready?” She asked, Mike only mumbled, then squeezed William’s hand as the medications were injected right into his spinal fluid.
“Okay, it’s done.” the doctor chirped, “Stay off your feet, one of our nurses will take care of you.”
“Can I volunteer?” William asked.
“I guess,” she shrugged, disposing of the needle, “If he starts showing any symptoms, bring him back here ASAP.”
“You don’t have to tell me.” he shook his head.
“What… symptoms?” Mike stammered.
“Hypersalvating, trouble swallowing, light sensitivity, like rabies.”
“Okay…”
“You guys are free to go, but you need this,” she handed Mike a red shirt pin.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It lets guards, doctors, and medics know you’re a carrier. It puts you on the watchlist as long as you have it, and you have to wear it at all times outside your room. You’ll be sharing a room with your nurse until you’re clear. You’re lucky we still have room.”
“He can probably stay with me for a while, we know each other.” William said. ‘
“I doubt Anton will have a problem with that,” She was writing something down, probably medical notes, “Just keep an eye on him, he might get nervous and keep quiet about it. Everyone says they wouldn’t keep it a secret until it really happens, and they’re faced with the real possibility.”
“Right…”
“I know you two are a thing, so no mouth-to-mouth contact until we know he’s clear.”
“Okay.”
“Alright, I gotta go register these, I’ll be right back and you guys can leave.”
“Okay, thanks.”
==================================================
“I’m scared.” Mike muttered, knees tight to his chest as he sat in bed with William.
“I know, it’s alright.” He wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly.
“What if I turn…?”
“You…” he trailed off, swallowing, “You won’t.”
“How long until I start showing symptoms?”
“Mike…”
“Answer me, please.” The young man pleaded. William stared at him, eyes wide and glassy.
“…by tomorrow night. Roughly. But, it can happen earlier.”
“And… what’s the first one?”
“Uh, trouble swallowing, I think,” he murmured. Mike nodded, then rested his head against William’s chest.
“You’ll be okay, okay?” He whispered to him, “Let’s try and get some sleep, okay?”
“Okay…”
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