The Emerald Virus (18 page)

   
 Jack went on, “The nearest folks to us outside of the bunker are the residents
of the town of Chama, N.M. and residents of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation,
most of who live in Dulce. No one from those two groups has yet reported
showing symptoms. Until the symptoms show up in those two towns we won’t have
to worry about our seals failing.

    
Irene asked, “What about the presidential bunker.”

    
“That’s a different story. People in the nearest towns to that bunker are
showing symptoms today. If seals fail, the virus will probably show up in the
Presidential bunker first. But remember, these bunkers were built at different
times with different levels of technology and different building materials
available. There just isn’t any telling what will actually happen. ”

  
With that Jack and Irene said goodnight and went to their separate rooms.

    
It was Sunday and Charlotte was in distress. Both her Mother and one of the
grandkids were showing symptoms this morning. She felt like she should be doing
something to cure them, as she had done her entire life. James assured her she
was doing everything she could but she didn’t feel any better for his words.

    
Charlotte looked at her Mother and asked, “Mom, can I help you with anything?
Do you want to lie down for a while? Can I get you a cup of tea, maybe with a
little honey?

    
“Charlotte, it’s only been five minutes or so since you asked the last time. I
don’t need anything, and if I did I’m more than capable of helping myself. This
feels just like they said it would. I feel like I’m coming down with a cold.
I’ve felt this way many times in my life and I’ve never needed help before.”

    
The family had decided to skip Sunday services for the first time in memory.
The news reports had been asking people to stay home whenever possible, simply
because of a growing level of chaos. There had been sporadic violence in the
city and yesterday a church had been fired upon during Saturday evening
services. Three people had been killed and another five had been wounded. Everyone
was worried about what might happen Sunday morning. The family had decided to
spend the time praying instead of taking the risk of going to church.

    
Charlotte looked at J.J.’s son James, named after his father and grandfather,
and felt an overwhelming pain as the splotches on his face registered again
with her. It was a shock every time. She knew from what the news reports said
that today and tomorrow the rest or her family was likely to show the same
symptoms.

     
She was also thankful that she wasn’t the first one. She wanted to be here as
long as she could to care for the people she loved so much. She quickly said a
prayer and told God It would be fine with her if he allowed her to be the last in
her family to die.

    
James came into the living room and said, “J.J. and Jamal are going with
Tiffany to visit her family. Every time I listen to the news there are more and
more stories about problems in the streets and now there is some minor rioting.
Both the boys will be armed and if things turn ugly they’ll turn around and
come home. The problems seem to be in clusters around the metro area. It isn’t
widespread so I think its okay for now as long as we’re prepared. I also think
anyone who messes with our two marines will be in for a real surprise.”

    
Charlotte walked out front and said good-bye to her sons, and to Tiffany, and
made them promise that at the first sign of trouble they would get Tiffany back
here. They both agreed and both of them knew that while they might put
themselves in jeopardy, they would not do so with Tiffany.

    
Tiffany called Charlotte when she got to her parents’ house to tell her that
the trip had been quick and uneventful, and that she would spend an hour of so
with her parents and then the three of them would come straight home.

    
Two hours later when Tiffany and the two brothers walked in the living room
Jamal and J.J. had strained looks on their faces and Tiffany looked like she
had seen a ghost. James asked them what was wrong and J.J. said they had been
fired on during the drive home. Charlotte felt her knees weaken and she sat
back down. James stayed standing and asked J.J. to tell him what had happened.

    
“We came back using the same route we always do. We were about halfway home
when a shot came out of nowhere and hit the front of the car. I couldn’t even
tell where it had come from. You should have seen Jamal, he never said a word,
he just hit the accelerator and started weaving back and forth. We heard two
more shots but took no hits. I thought I saw a rifle sticking out of a third story
window but I wasn’t sure, and we didn’t go back to find out. I think next time
maybe we’ll use a different route.”

    
Jamal said, “The Marine Corp made sure that I learned there are times for
fighting and a time for your saving your behind. This was clearly a time to
save our butts.”

    
James said, “I couldn’t agree with you more.” And then asked, “Were others
involved? “

    
Jamal answered with, “We don’t know. There was a car about a half block in
front of us that didn’t take any evasive action so he probably wasn’t shot at.
I’m not sure about anyone else. We spent much of the drive looking to the right
and left, not straight ahead at other cars. There were cars behind us but to
tell you the truth my biggest interest was getting off that street so I turned
right at the next corner and stayed heavy on the gas until we got home. It’s
interesting that we never saw a single police car on the trip.”

    
Tiffany said, “I’ve never been so scared. I’ve never been shot at before and I
never realized how fast fear comes at you and how helpless you can feel when
you know someone is trying to kill you and you can’t do anything about it.”

    
James Sr. said, “Just for the record, you feel the same way when you can do
something about it, but being able to take action is always better than being
helpless.”

    
Charlotte said, “I don’t think I can take a lot more of this. I don’t want
anyone being shot or hurt or in an accident. If the police aren’t out, that
means that the same is probably true for ambulance crews. Those people are
probably home with their families.

    
 She continued, “I know the radio keeps talking about how they think public
servants should be on the streets until the end but I don’t agree. Those people
risk their lives for the rest of us often, and they do so willingly. But now
they’re just like the rest of us. Their families are being affected by this
virus and I’m sure they want to spend as much time as they can with their
spouses and children.”

    
James said, “I know, but I sure wish the streets would stay safer for a little
longer. I was listening to the radio in the den and they are reporting sniper
fire at a number of different locations this morning. I don’t know why folks
would use this occasion to shoot at other people, but they are.

    
“Tiffany, I’m afraid you might not be able to visit your folks much longer.”

    
“I know. We talked about that during my visit today. My family has started
showing symptoms also and my Mom is pretty despondent. But she does understand
that when it gets dangerous I’ll have to stop coming. I would like to go at
least one more time just to be able to say goodbye the right way. I don’t know if
I could stand not seeing her again.”

    
James said, “We understand and I agree with you. We can take the risk of one
more trip. Let’s plan on you and the boys going over again tomorrow, and from
there we’ll just have to play it by ear.”

    
J.J. spoke up at this point and said, “I agree with that but I don’t know that
both Jamal and I should go. I hate to risk both of us for the trip, and I think
I can do okay alone.”

    
Jamal quickly jumped in and said, “No you don’t bro. I appreciate your concern
for your little brother but if we get in a fire fight you’ll need me. I’ve
spent a lot of years taking care of you and I’m not about to stop now.”

    
James interjected, “J.J., Jamal is right, at least in the part about two of you
being better than one. One of you has to drive so the other can defend if need
be. I hate the thought that someone might shoot at you again, but that still
seems to be a small risk right now. It’s not like the whole city is at war or
has gone crazy. Take a different route tomorrow and your Mom and I will pray
that all goes well.”

    
J.J. and Jamal both said, “Okay Dad.”

    
James said, “Charlotte, are you okay with this?”

    
“No I’m not, but I don’t see any other way. I know how Tiffany’s Mom must feel and
I think she needs her daughter to visit again. Maybe things will settle down
after today and Tiffany will be able to visit more than once. We’ll wait and
see what happens in the next few days.”

    
“All right ladies, I’m looking for volunteers to help me get lunch ready.” And
with that Charlotte walked to the kitchen.

    
Alvin Casady sat on the front step of a rundown house not far from Little Five
Points. He had spent all of his twenty-two years here in Atlanta; almost all of
it in this near eastside neighborhood.

    
Up until now he was afraid he would have to find a new place to live. The
neighborhood was going through a revival and he wouldn’t be able to afford it
much longer. Taxes were going up, middle class families were moving in, police
protection was more and more evident and gangs like his were being pushed out.

    
Alvin had belonged to the Stars since he was twelve; first as a lookout, then
as a runner, then as an actual gang member and now as a lieutenant. The gang
had been his life and it had taught him well. He had thrived on violence and it
had been a part of his life for so long that he no longer realized that others
lived without it. He never even thought about a better life since rising
through the ranks of the gang was the best he could ever hope to do.

    
He had been named Alvin at birth by a fourteen year old mother. He was a third
generation heroin baby who had been raised haphazardly by various relatives and
social institutions. He had spent his life living by rules that were mostly
made up by those around him or by himself. He had learned how to survive and
prosper according to his own definitions and he was proud of himself. He knew
he was tough and he was willing to kill anyone who disagreed with him. Even by
gang standards Alvin was violent.

    
He had also learned how to live without emotion. In fact the only emotions he
let himself feel were anger and fear. He discovered early on that both emotions
pretty much came and went on their own and by now he considered them both to be
good emotions to have. All others seemed worthless.

    
Years ago a gang leader had nicknamed him Butch, due to his last name. For a
while he had a friend who had been nicknamed Sundance for obvious reasons.
Sundance had been killed in a shootout with a rival gang. A second Sundance had
been with him for a while after that, but he had been shot in a robbery attempt
and although he had survived he was now in the Macon State Prison. Since then
no one had wanted to be Sundance.

    
This didn’t bother Butch at all. In fact nothing much bothered Butch. His only
goal was to lead this gang one day and he was perfectly content to wait until
it was his time. He knew he didn’t have to wait too long since gang leaders had
a very short average life span. This didn’t bother him either, that was the
nature of this life style. But in the back of his mind he knew there was an
outside chance he could beat the odds, and that thought was the only hope he
ever allowed himself.

    
On this particular Monday he was feeling good about life. The fact that he had
been showing symptoms of the virus for a couple of days now had no impact on
him, even though some of his gang members were freaked by their symptoms. The
world was about to end and his worries were almost over. He had thought in the
past about how it was unfair that he was born into a ghetto existence with no
possibility of escape, and while he had long ago accepted his plight, he
wondered why it had happened to him. Now he knew the rest of the world was
about to feel the same despair and hopelessness he had always known, and he was
glad to see it happen.

    
He and his friends all of a sudden had the same hope for survival as every
other person in the world. The difference was that he could live comfortably
under these circumstances.

    
He thought about the trip he and some of the gang members had taken to the
church on Saturday. They had waited until the services had started before they
opened fire from the second floor of an adjacent warehouse. They had each fired
a clip into the windows of the church and then quickly fled. He had listened to
the news later to find that they had not killed as many as he thought they
would, but he was still happy with the outcome.

    
On Sunday they had done the same thing at a different church. This one was
holding special services for those with the virus and while the church was not
full, there were still a lot of people inside. They had learned on Saturday
that the police response time was much slower than normal, and that only a
handful of police had actually shown up.

    
On Sunday they felt they were able to take their time and sustain a high rate
of fire for several minutes before they ran. They also brought their full
arsenal with them and all nine of them were carrying assault rifles as well as
handguns. The death toll on Sunday was much higher and Butch felt much better
about it.

    
As he sat on the step thinking back on the weekend he felt that by now much of
the city had to feel that God had abandoned them during their time of need.
This was the message Butch had hoped to send since he knew that God had
abandoned him at birth, if not before then. He felt it was only fitting that
these good Christians, none of whom had done a thing to help him during his
life, should share his feelings about God as the end drew near.

    
His thoughts now turned to what to do next. It was kind of exciting to know
that there was no one around to stop him from doing anything he chose to do.
The police were almost non-existent and there was no one else able to stop him.
For the first time in his life he felt almost invulnerable.

    
He decided to walk the two blocks to Sully’s place, a neighborhood bar frequented
only by gang members. This was one of the places where by mutual agreement
violence wasn’t permitted. The gang had to have a place to hang out where they
could feel safe so Sully’s was protected by everyone in the gang. If there was
a disagreement between two individuals everyone made sure they took their
arguments to the street.

    
Butch walked down the street holding an M-16 in one hand and a 9mm in the
other. He was about thirty yards from the first intersection when a car drove
slowly from left to right through the intersection. Butch didn’t know the car
or the occupants but he felt that folks should not be casually driving through
his neighborhood, so without much thought he raised his handgun and fired two
quick shots at the car. The car simply accelerated and disappeared from sight. He
smiled to himself thinking that guy wouldn’t be back this way any time soon.

    
Butch felt a sledgehammer hit him in the side of his chest and he found himself
backed against a parked car holding onto the mirror with no memory of how or
why he was there. He looked down and saw blood spreading on his shirt and
realized that the last noise he had heard was another gunshot. He looked up and
saw old man Wilkens standing on his front porch with a gun in his hand.

    
Wilkens said, “You ain’t the only one around here with a gun, and you ain’t the
only one who knows the police aren’t going to come. I’ve had enough of you and
your gang and now I can do something about it.”

    
Butch watched as this man he had never even thought about aimed the gun and
pulled the trigger again. Butch fell to the gutter and Mr. Wilkens looked up
and down the street and then walked back into his house and locked the door.