Degeneration (18 page)

“While Raleigh is the only city currently under a mandatory evacuation order, I deeply implore residents in nearby cities to evacuate and seek a safe place until the issue is resolved in a satisfactory manner. Residents quarantined inside downtown Raleigh will be evacuated as soon as it determined safe to do so.

“It is also with a heavy heart that I am declaring martial law and activating the full resources of the North Carolina National Guard in order to maintain accountability for personal safety and the protection of personal property in this time of crisis.”

The ticker at the bottom of the screen changed: ‘NC GOV ENACTS MARTIAL LAW’

“A statewide curfew of seven to seven will be enforced. Looters will be dealt with extreme prejudice. May God watch over us and give us strength in our hour of need. This concludes my announcement and there will be no questions.”

She walked off of the stage as the reporters erupted into an uproar of questions.

Terry flipped through the channels, hand trembling as he pressed the button on the remote.

CSPAN was
all
static, as were a lot of other basic cable stations.
Most of the local stations
were static, but the local FOX affiliate
,
WRAL
,
came
thro
ugh.

He turned the volume up and listened.

An attractive
reporter
stood
a few blocks awa
y from an army roadblock setup a few miles away from
the edge of
downtown Raleigh. Tanks and
Humvees blocked
the street
while soldiers in white hazmat suits
stood post in front
of them
. Bright halogen lamps ran the
expanse of the roadblock and created an
eerie white glow that silhouetted the
soldiers. Despite the extreme military presence, t
he reporter seemed unnerved as she yelled into the microphone
, speaking over
the rumble of the
passing
Humvees and the helicopters
overhead.

“FEMA assures us that
residents trapped inside the downtown quarantine will be evacuated as
soon as
the area is deemed safe. People trapped inside are under careful supervision and twenty-four-hour medical supervision
,” she
said
carefully and exactly as
instructed.
She didn’t
glance
over at the armed
white-suit
standing
next to the cameraman
even once
.

“
While exact fatalities are not yet known, t
hose who have taken ill are
r
eceiving the best medical care available. CDC has assured us that no cases of the virus have emerged outside of the
downtown
containment zone
, but they also urge residents in the rest of the city not to take the evacuation order lightly.
”

Footage of men and women standing in line at the Crabtree Valley Mall FEMA evacuation center filled the screen.

“Officials
urge all
residents
to
report to any of the multiple FEMA Safe Haven evacuation centers
that have been
established throughout the
Raleigh
area
for free medical screening and safe evacuation out of the city.”

A list of FEMA Safe Haven
locations rolled along the bottom of the screen, slowly.

The footage switched back to the reporter.

“Thanks, Lisa. Any word on what to do if you do
start to
feel ill?” an off-screen voice cheerfully asked from the newsroom
.

The reporter, Lisa, nodded stiffly and tried to smile.

“Yes, don’t go anywhere. Stay home. They’re urging anybody exhibiting flu-like symptoms to isolate themselves from other family members and call the twenty-four hour hotline as soon as possible to re
ceive help
.
Do not call 911.”

A 1-800 number flashed
along the bottom of the screen.

The image flipped to an anchorman
sitting at the desk
in the newsroom.

“Thank you again, Lisa. In other news, federal authorities say th
at solar flare activity is behind
the
communications
interference plaguing th
e entire central North Carolina viewing area. A NASA spokesman said–
”

Terry turned off t
he television,
horrif
ied.

“Seriously, you need to calm down,” Richard said, eyes closed, massaging his temples.
“You’re agitating me.”

“We’re in a hospital during a
killer flu
outbreak
and you tell me to relax?
Haven’t you paid attention?
”

“Well working yourself up
and breaking phones won’
t help things,” Richard quickly responded
. “Look at it this
way;
we
’ve
survived something that kills most people. We’re lucky
. I mean, it’s just the flu
.”

“That logic doesn’t a
ssure me much,” Terry scoffed. He
turn
ed the television on again and muted
it. Comm
ercials played across the screen
.

Richard frowned at the man’s insolence.

He’s acting weird. I don’t trust him, Richie.

Richard stared at Terry. He knew that the voice inside his head wasn’t real, but he agreed with what it said. Terry was acting strange and on edge. Even worse, Richard suspected that the man’s sanity was teetering on the edge.

Although he knew that he should ignore the voice, he had nobody else to turn to.

For the first time in a long time, he asked for the voice’s advice.

(What should I do?)

Talk to him. Ease him into conversation.

(Why?)

So that way, when we have to kill him, he won’t see it coming.

The coldness in the voice was unsettling. It was one of the reasons he didn’t like talking to it.

(When we have to kill him? What do you mean?)

If, I meant. If we have to kill him. Talk to him and get him to warm up.

It made sense to him. He understood what the voice was trying to say.

(He’ll think we’ve bonded.)

Exactly, Richie. See? Then he won’t see you coming.

Richard fidgeted in his gurney. He wasn’t a murderer anymore. Those days were behind him. The doctors cured him. Still… if it came down to it and the man really was insane…

(I don’t want to do it… but I will do it if it comes down to it.)

Oh, trust me, it will. He’s insane.

Richard agreed. The man clearly wasn’t in a sane state of mind.

Now talk to him before he knows that you’ve figured him out.

“
What do you do, Troy?” Richard asked.

Terry frowned, looked over at Richard, and coughed.

“Terry. Not Troy. And what do you mean what I do?”

“What do you do for work?”

“Does it matter?”

“We have to distract ourselves somehow, don’t we?”

You see? I don’t like his attitude, Richie.

Richard didn’t either. He almost had forgotten how much sense the voice made sometimes.

What is he trying to hide?

It was another good point.

“
I’m a regional marketing manager
.
You?”

So he says.

Richard stared at him, but he couldn’t tell if the man was being honest. The voice may have been right.

“
I do a little of whatever comes my way… Work has been tough ever since I got out,” Richard
eventually answered
.

“
Which branch of service?”

“T
he prison service,” Richard answered
.

T
erry stared at him, ready for an explanation.

Richard was used to the stare and he knew what it meant.

“I did a
little stint in USP Butner with someone
,”
Richard
calmly said
, just like
he said many times before to many different people. The reaction was always the sa
me: a mixture of disgust, pity, and fear. He wanted the man to know that he had a history, just in case the insane man next to him tried to do anything foolish.

“So you were in prison,” Terry said, somberly, not very surprised. He pegged Richard as a loser back on the train, so he wasn’t
shocked to find out he was
an ex-con.

“Yes
,” Richard said calmly.
He studied Terry’s expression for a moment and smiled. He saw the discomfort in the man’s face, and that brought him a strange sense of satisfaction.

Now at least he knows where you stand.

Richard found himself agreeing with the false voice once more.

Terry found Richard’s nonchalant smile cold and calculating and immediately felt uncomfortable.
He
turned his head
an
d stared at the television as commercials continued to play,
staying silent
.

Richard decided to
rattle the man’s cage even more.

“My brother is locked up there, too,” Richard said, savoring the drama. He laughed
and quickly looked over
to watch for a reaction.

Terry continued to gaze vacantly and silently at the television, his bruised face luminescent
from the LCD screen’s glimmer.

“I don’t really care to hear about it,” Terry said, staring at the television.

Richard
seethed with anger.

He doesn’t care
, Richie.

(I don’t care much for him.)

I don’t trust him.

(I don’t trust him either.)

We have to kill him.

(Stop it. Don’t say things like that. You’re not real.)

Richard habitually reached for his pill bottle but was once again reminded that it was gone.

His thoughts went to his brother, Andy. Hopefully, the thoughts of Andy would drown out the false voice inside his head.

Andy was the only man in the world
he
respected
and was the only family he had left. He hated to leave him behind while walking out a free man. It just didn’t seem fair.

However,
Richard summarized that the arrogant prick lying next to him couldn’t care less.
Still, just talking about Andy made him feel better, safer.

“Yep, old Andy…
that’s
my
older
bro
ther. He killed a man,
” Richard looked at Terry, hoping for an interested glance, a disgusted look,
something
to show that he gave a fuck
.
Inside, he got nothing.
Terry just stared at the television
and coughed
.

“I don’t want to talk about your brother right now, sorry,” Terry said. “I have other things on my mind.”

Kill him. Kill that disrespectful queer.

Richard
suddenly
wanted to strangle the little arrogant bastard.
He almost got out of the hospital gurney, but stopped himself.

(No, I can’t listen to you anymore. You’re not really talking to me, Andy. It’s impossible. You’re in Butner. That isn’t really your voice.)

Reality is relative. Those prison doctors really got you to swallow their horseshit with their pills, didn’t they?

(You’re not really here, Andy.)

I’ve always been here. You just chose to block me out.

The door suddenl
y opened, startling them both.

A
man inside a whi
te hazmat
suit with
the
‘CDC’
logo stenciled across
the chest stood in the doorway.
Wails and shouts echoed down
the hall
way behind him
. “
Code Blue, Emergency Ward
, Security S
tat. Code Blue, Emergency Ward
, Security Stat,
” a female voice droned over the ceiling
intercom speakers
. Additional CD
C white-suits with assault rifles ran past
the
white-suit
standing in the doorway down the hall
. The CDC white-suits were followed by coughing hospital security guards, most of them soaked in fever-induced sweat
.