Tammy and Ringo (7 page)

After a few minutes Tammy seemed to cry herself out. She raised her head from Ringo’s chest, looking up at him sheepishly.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I’ve got your shirt all wet.”

“It’ll wash,” Ringo assured her, smiling very slightly. “Feel any better?”

“Oddly, yes,” Tammy admitted. “Don’t know why, though. Nothing's changed.”

“You let out a lot of stress,” Ringo pointed out. “That’s not nothing. And it’s good for you, too.” He guided her into one of the chairs around the table where he and Hiram had been sitting and poured her a glass of water. She took it, nodding gratefully, and drank. Ringo let her finish before speaking.

“What do you want to do, Tammy?” he asked. She looked at him.

“What can we do?” she asked.

“We can do whatever you want to do,” he promised.

“My father said Bragg was off the grid, maybe lost,” Tammy sighed, forgetting that Ringo had been able to hear that for himself. “There’s nowhere to go, Ringo,” she said sadly.

“The offer to stay here is still good,” Hiram said, walking out onto the porch. “We’re in a good place here. I’m not saying we’re safe because we might not be, not completely. I honestly have no way of knowing. But, we’ll eat and we have safe drinking water. There’s a roof over our heads. We’re off the beaten path.”

“We may never see a single infected person around here.”

“That’s possible, I suppose,” Ringo nodded. “On the other hand we’re not that far from the bridge as the crow flies. I don’t know anything about how these things behave. For all we know they’ll attack each other when there’s no one else to attack.”

“Well, breakfast is ready,” Hiram interposed. “Let’s all get fed and then we can talk. Or you two can and we’ll join in if you like. Always think better on a full stomach,” he grinned.

*****

“Thank you, Miss Helen,” Ringo leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stomach. “That was pretty awesome.”

“You’re welcome, Ringo,” Helen smiled. “That’s an unusual name,” she added after a minute.

“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded. When he offered nothing else Helen let the matter drop. Instead she looked at Tammy.

“Dear, I’m sorry for your bad news. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Ma’am, you’ve already helped us more than anyone would have a right to expect,” Tammy smiled. “And I appreciate it more than I can say.”

“You’re quite welcome,” Helen smiled. She rose and started gathering the dishes. Tammy got up to help.

“I’ve got it, dear,” Helen told her but Tammy shook her head.

“I want to help,” the younger woman said. “I need something to keep me occupied.” Helen nodded and off the two went.

“Let’s take a walk,” Hiram said suddenly and Ringo got to his feet. The two went outside and began to make a circuit of the property. Ringo had pulled his sword over his shoulder without thought. Hiram settled for a shotgun held in the crook of his arm.

“I’ve been retired for a while,” Hiram said. “I made a career out of the military. Didn’t plan it that way, just sorta happened. I been a lot of places, but this. . .this has always been home,” he waved to the area around them. “I’m not from here, mind you, but Helen is, and, well. . .Helen is my life. Has been since I met her.”

“I ended up working in Intel,” he continued after a minute. “That’s Military Intelligence. Sort of an oxymoron, I always thought,” he chuckled, and Ringo snorted.

“Anyway, I made a lot of contacts in a lot of places back in the day. Kept in touch with most of them. Still in touch with them, in fact,” he added, looking at Ringo. The younger man nodded, indicating that he understood.

“It seems like this has all happened overnight, but in reality it took at least a week. I’d say closer to a month, but I’m guessing. The powers that be, for whatever reasons, sat on it until that woman with the CDC, Baxter, let the cat out of the bag.”

“We heard something about that on the radio,” Ringo nodded. “About how she was arrested, but there was such a uproar over it she was let go and was back in charge.”

“That’s right,” Hiram nodded. “Well anyway, the CDC is locked down now. That place is nothing short of a fortress when it’s shut down, at least normally. They’re working on the virus, of course, and looking for a vaccine, maybe even an antidote.”

“I don’t think an antidote’s gonna work,” Ringo said gently. “I’m not saying it won’t, but. . .from what I’ve seen. . . .”

“Lot of people agree with you,” Hiram nodded. “Me included. See, I think that this rabies is causing a fever, and that fever is burning the infected up. Could be wrong of course, but that’s my thinking.”

“The question is, what happens now?” Hiram stopped near the river’s edge and the two looked out over the water. It was strangely calming.

“Once a fever reaches a certain point it literally starts to cook the brain,” Hiram continued. “That kind of damage is pretty well irreversible. In a normal setting there are anti-inflammatory drugs that might help fight the fever, but. . .last few days have been anything but normal.”

“I don’t think we’re gonna see normal again anytime soon, sir,” Ringo agreed.

“No, son, I don’t think we will,” Hiram sighed. “Anyway, so far we don’t know squat about what happens to the infected over even a few days time. What changes does the virus make inside them? If it is rabies, then the infected will soon die of dehydration because of their fear of water.”

“That same fear will make someone infected very cautious about being around the river. Or a lake. Probably even a small pond. If, that is, they really have rabies and this strain of rabies affects them like it normally would.” Hiram stopped, looking at Ringo again.

“You see the problem?”

Ringo nodded, mind working. Hiram might look like an old innkeeper, but he wasn’t. The younger man had to wonder just how many others Hiram had shared his background with. Probably none, he decided.

“Yeah,” he replied, looking again toward the water. “We need information. Or rather, the people working on the vaccine need information.”

“Got it in one,” Hiram nodded in satisfaction. “Not second-hand, he said she said stuff.  Or the usual fear and panic reports, either. They need real, honest to goodness, usable information. And there’s only one way to get that kind of information.”

“Go out and find it,” said Ringo.

“I’m afraid so.”

“I assume you’ve been in contact with people who can use this information?” Ringo asked.

“I’m in regular contact with them,” Hiram’s voice was soft. Calm. Expectant.

Ringo took a deep, cleansing breath, forcing it out in one long exhale.

“What do you need me to do?”

CHAPTER SIX

“You realize that I am in no way qualified for something like this, right?” Ringo mentioned, looking at Hiram. The old man nodded, his face a study of sadness.

“I do,” he agreed. “I also know that no one else really is, either. I’ve got that covered. Well, sort of,” he amended.

“Sort of?” Ringo asked, eyebrow raised.

“My communications are pretty secure,” Hiram revealed. “If you’re willing to be one of their scouts, for lack of a better word, then the people at CDC are prepared to teach you everything you need to know in order to get the job done.”

“I assume they’re gonna want blood samples and the like,” Ringo sighed.

“Probably,” Hiram admitted. “I don’t really know. This is way beyond me, kid. I’m not a scientist. Never was. I’m an operator.”

“For the phone company, right?” Ringo snorted and Hiram grinned, albeit a bit bashfully.

“Something like that.”

“Well, I guess I ought to be able to find some infected somewhere,” Ringo thought aloud. “Trick’ll be catching one alone and getting him or her, it, down and out to get the sample.”

“Think about it,” Hiram encouraged. “You don’t have to do this, Ringo. No one can make you and someone else, somewhere, can get it done, I’m sure.”

“How will we get the samples out?” Ringo asked, thinking ahead.

“Helicopter,” Hiram told him.             

“That’ll need to be picked up somewhere far from here,” Ringo pointed out. “You don’t want that kind of attention. From anyone,” he added darkly.

“We’ll work it out,” Hiram promised. “Like I said, think it over. I figure you’ll wanna talk to the girl about it anyway. Let me know what you decide.”

“Do you really think this’ll help?” Ringo asked, looking the older man in the eye.

“No idea,” Hiram answered honestly. “Like I said, not my area. The squints at CDC think so, though. And some of them are pretty smart.”

“Squints?”

“Nickname. Squints, geeks, nerds. You know, smart people. They squint at stuff and then tell you all about it.”

“Ah. Nice.”

“Wasn’t meant to be,” Hiram snorted. “All too often their bullshit gets you into a mess in the field. But like I said, these at least seem to know what they’re talking about.”

“You’re a very jaded old man, Hiram,” Ringo grinned in spite of himself.

“You have no idea, kid,” Hiram replied. “I better get up to the house, see what’s doing.”

“I think I’ll just hang out here a while,” Ringo said, seeing a bench near the waterfront. He wandered over to it as Hiram departed and sat down. He rubbed his hands down his face in a scrubbing motion, looking out over the water.

Of all the things he was thinking about when he woke up this morning, crazy as some of them were, this had not been on the list. Leaning back on the bench, he took stock.

Ringo knew he was able and fit. His training, the only thing that had mattered to him for a long time after his parent’s death, had seen to that. He could do this.

Probably, he qualified. A lot of that depended on exactly what Hiram’s ‘squints’ would want from him. Kill an infected, take a blood sample and slip away, that sounded pretty uncomplicated. Not easy, but straightforward.

Hiram had also mentioned observation, though. Watching, taking notes, trying to determine what was happening to the infected as they roamed the countryside. How would he know what was important and what wasn’t? How would he figure that out?

“Hey,” Tammy’s voice broke him away from his thoughts. He turned to see her walking toward him.

“Hey, yourself,” he smiled. “Have a seat,” he waved to the bench he was sitting on, offering to share. She sat down, placing her hands between her knees, looking out at the water.

“How you makin’ it?” he asked.

“One foot in front of the other,” she admitted. “You?”

“Just peachy,” he shrugged. “Made any kind of decision?” He needed to know that before he could answer Hiram.

“I don’t see that I have one,” Tammy shrugged. “This is a good place, off the beaten path and they’re nice people. It’s safe here, at least for now. We can earn our keep and help them out. I don’t see many other options.”

“True,” Ringo nodded, a ball of dread settling into his stomach. Until she had said that, the idea of going out looking for ‘answers’ had been just that. An idea. Now, it was a plan waiting to be put into place. But there was no way he was going to tell her that.

“Well, it works for me,” he settled for saying. “I like it here and they are good people.”

“So what were you and Hiram talking about?” she asked. He froze for just a second but relaxed before she caught it.

“Stuff,” he shrugged.

“Man talk?” she laughed gently, and he grinned in spite of himself.

“Right. Super-secret man-type things. I could tell you, but. . . .”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard how that one ends,” she held up a hand, laughing outright now. “He passed me on the way down. Seemed pretty preoccupied.”

“He’s got ears everywhere,” Ringo told her. “He’s hearing news from all over the place. Probably going to check on some of them right now.” Almost certainly, in fact, he didn’t add.

Tammy turned her gaze back to the lake, watching the waves.

“It’s so peaceful here,” she said after a minute. “Seems crazy, doesn’t it? How quiet, peaceful it is here, considering that the whole world’s gone crazy.”

“Can’t be crazy everywhere, I guess,” Ringo shrugged. “We got lucky coming by here,” he said seriously. “Very, very lucky.”

“I know,” Tammy’s voice was soft. “I was able to tell my dad. . .tell. . . .” Her tears started despite her best efforts and Ringo slid over to her side.

“Hey, I know,” he told her softly, placing an arm around her shoulders. “You may as well let it out. There’s not enough room for it inside.”

“I’ve got to stop,” she shook her head, wiping her eyes as she did so. “It doesn’t help and it won’t change things. And all things considered, we’re blessed to be here.”

“I’d say that’s accurate,” Ringo agreed. “So you’re going to stay here, then?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Tammy sighed. “At least as long as I can. As long as it’s safe and we’re welcome.” Ringo nodded absently, looking back out over the water.

“What?” she asked, looking at him.

“Well, I said I wanted to get you home or some place safe,” he said, leaning forward, bracing his elbows on his knees.

“I told you I can take care of myself.”

“So you did,” he nodded. “And you have. If this is where you’re going to stay, then. . .well, I have something I have to do.”

“What’s that mean?” Tammy asked, her face showing puzzlement.

“It’s just a job,” he shrugged. “I’ll be leaving soon,” he told her.

“What?” For all that she didn’t raise her voice he could hear the desire to in her tone.

“The CDC needs people in the field to observe the infected and gather samples. Blood and tissue samples, I guess,” he added when her face showed confusion. “I’m going to be one of those people.” Well, so much for not telling her about it, he thought.

“What can you possibly know about that kind of stuff?” she demanded, harsher than she had intended.

“Nothing whatsoever,” he admitted. “But Hiram says the CDC people can teach me what to do over the next day or two. What information they need and how to get it. Once I’m finished with that, I’ll be leaving.”

Tammy just looked at him for a long moment. Suddenly she shot to her feet, her body rigid. Rather than speak she simply turned away from him and walked back toward the house, her posture stiff. Ringo watched her go, sighing to himself.

“Well, that went well.”

*****

Tammy stalked toward the house furious with her travel partner. What was he thinking? Going out there was suicide! And it could only get worse.

“I take it you talked to Ringo, then,” Hiram’s voice broke her out of her fuming. It also gave her a target for her ire.

“How could you ask him to do something like that?” she demanded, hands balled into angry fists.

“I just mentioned it had to be done,” Hiram replied evenly. “And he’s far more capable than anyone else I know of.”

“He’s nineteen years old!” Tammy wanted to scream but settled for a yell instead.

“He’s a grown man,” Hiram replied calmly. “When I was his age, I was lying in a rice paddy looking across the DMZ into North Korea. And he’s a hell of a lot more capable than I was at his age,” he added almost reluctantly.

“How do you know?” she hissed. “We just got here yesterday! You don’t know us at all!”

“I know a warrior when I see one,” Hiram smiled sadly. “I’ve known more than one in my lifetime. And Ringo is a warrior, pure and simple.”

“Warrior?” Tammy goggled. “Is this some kind of game? Wizards and warriors, dragons and demons, whatever the hell it’s called?”

“Well, there’s demons I’d say, based on what I’m hearing and seeing, anyway,” Hiram shrugged. “And don’t scoff at the word warrior either, missy. Have you forgotten where you came from already? You’re the daughter of a warrior, as I recall.”

That brought Tammy up short, the words hitting home in more ways than one. Even the thought of her father hurt, but. . .Reese Gleason was definitely a warrior. He had admitted once talking to her before a deployment that being a soldier was what he was meant to be. He couldn’t imagine being anything else.             

Then she remembered where he was the last time she’d spoken to him, and the likelihood that she would never see him again. That was what being a warrior was good for.

“It’s his decision, Tammy,” Hiram said softly. “He doesn’t have to go and I made that clear. He may still not. Completely up to him and if he decides not to go I wouldn’t blame him one bit. I told him and I’ll tell you, there are others, probably, that can do the same thing, somewhere.”

“But you still put him up to it.” Her teeth were clenched so tight they hurt.

“No, I mentioned it needed to be done,” Hiram shook his head. “He was the one who noted that he could get it done. And he can. Of that, I’m sure.”

“Why?” Tammy demanded.

“I’ve been a soldier of one kind or another all my adult life,” Hiram said simply. “I don’t know how well you know Ringo, but he’s a very dangerous young man, and one more than capable of making his way in a world like the one we seem to be living in now.”

Tammy opened her mouth to object but reconsidered. She thought back to the day before, first at the traffic jam in Memphis and then to the three men who would have attacked her had Ringo not been there. Even though she watched the entire thing he had killed the three would-be rapists with a speed that had been hard to follow.

“I don’t want him to do it,” she said softly. “He’s done enough.”

“Then tell him that,” Hiram urged. “Might be what changes his mind.”

“You wouldn’t be angry?” she asked.

“Hell, no,” Hiram scoffed. “I like the boy. The thought of him out there alone makes my skin crawl.”

“Then why even mention all this to him?” Tammy demanded.

“It needs doin’ and he can do it,” Hiram shrugged. “It’s more for you and others like you than for anyone like me. Helen and I, we’ve lived a good life. Your lives, yours and his, are just getting started. I don’t want you two to have to try and live in a world where most of the population has been reduced to animals.”

“That’s why it’s important,” he continued. “If there’s a way to stop it, or even just slow it down, maybe a vaccine to protect the rest of us, anything that would help, then it’s worth the effort to find it. That’s all.”

Tammy deflated at that, sitting heavily onto the porch steps. She didn’t want to live in a world like this either. Even if there was a ‘fix’, the damage already done would mean that her plans for the future were already shot. Survival had become everyone’s primary job, now.   Just surviving.

She got slowly to her feet, walking back the way she had come, almost against her will. If Ringo was willing to risk his life to do what had to be done then she could at least be supportive.

If she couldn’t talk him out of it.

*****

Ringo was walking slowly toward the house, still deep in thought. His talk with Tammy had gone about like he’d thought it would. He liked her and hated to see her upset. She’d lost her home and her father, her entire future, in one day. She’d been through enough grief and misery in the last day-and-a-half to last anyone a lifetime.

Here, she was safe. If anyone could keep her that way, Hiram could. Ringo didn’t really have any doubt about that. And Tammy could take care of herself, too. With the old soldier’s teaching she would become even more capable and self-reliant than she was now. Her father had taught her pretty well already.

“I’m sorry, Ringo,” her voice broke through his thoughts. He looked up, surprised to see her standing right in front of him.

“What?”

“I’m sorry about earlier,” she said. “I. . .well, to be honest, I didn’t know what to say, so I ran away. I’m sorry.”