The Rabid (9 page)

From the
Desk of Dr. Lisa James

It
had been too long and I was starting to worry about Jack. He seemed to stop at
the door of the building as though he'd heard something, then disappeared into
the darkness. I looked back at my sleeping son and realized I was so not ready
to face this world on my own.

It
had been oddly quiet in the car and the surrounding area. I figured those
things just hand't made it this far. Or if they had, there was nothing to keep
their interest and they left. Unless they were all huddled up in that school.

"Do
you think Jack's okay?" Alex's scared little voice came from the backseat.

"I
don't know."

"I
hope he didn't get hurt."

I
shook the thought out of my head. If there were infected in there, we'd all
have known by then. Instead, I took a deep breath and held it until it hurt.
Then I let it out slowly. A therapist had taught me how to deal with anxious
feelings so far back that I'd almost forgotten. But I utilized them in that
car.

I
fell back into the leather seat and held my breath once more while rolling my
shoulders to work out the kinks. I touched each ear to each shoulder while
closing my eyes for five seconds. As I was rolling my head to the side, I saw
Jack stepping out of the building.

My
heart leapt, pumping blood into my face for some reason. I couldn't quite make
out his facial expression, but his posture made him seem exhausted. Hell, we
were all exhausted.

He
tossed his shotgun in the dirt like it was a broken toy and whipped off his
over shirt to reveal strong arms, beaded with sweat. I choked down the thoughts
quickly as he approached the SUV, wiping dirt from his face.

"we're
all clear, Foxtrot."

he'd
given me a nickname, too. "Good."

"Just
a pesky crow." He went silent a moment, his mind seemed as though it were
elsewhere.

"Jack?"

He
snapped out of it. "I might not be a gourmet chef, but I know there's some
canned food and heating coils in there. What do you say we eat then get some
rest?"

"Yeah!"
Alex pushed open the back door and jumped out.

I
couldn't get out of the car fast enough. Rex stirred as I took off my seatbelt.
I thought I was in for some screaming when he noticed where we were, but Jack
seemed to pick up on his distress right away.

"Hey!"
He excitedly clapped his hands to get my son"s attention. "What do you say to
a...piggy-back ride?"

Rex's
eyes didn't seem so sure, but he reached out his hands anyway. Jack scooped him
up and put him on his well-toned shoulders. But I almost forgot about those
when I saw how happy Rex was.

"Hold
on, Romeo! we're goin" in! You ready?"

"Yeah!"

"You
sure? it's dark. aren't you afraid?"

"I'm
no scare!"

"Me
neither!" Alex bounded around them in a circle.

I
watched them run about in the waning sun with an ache in my chest. I wanted so
badly for Rex to have a father figure in his life, but I didn't want to be that
mom who had a new boyfriend every week. And Alex...she was an orphan now. She was
mine. I suddenly had a daughter.

I
followed after them once they disappeared into the building. It was not a good
idea to be alone outside.

I
noticed the door to the school was completely missing and wondered how we were
going to keep things out while we slept.

Jack,
Alex and Rex's playful voices met me in the hallway. I could sense they were in
the very last room at the end of the corridor. I picked up my pace.

It
looked as though the room used to be a Teacher"s Lounge. There were two sofas
in the main area and a cot in a separate one. A fridge stood in one corner as
well as a microwave and coffee machine. The clock on the wall was still
ticking."

Rex
had Jack by his index finger and pretended to know where and what everything
was.

"And
this
is a purge." He pointed to the fridge.

Jack
cocked a half smile. "Purge? Is that how you say it?"

"Yeah!
Puuuurrggggeee."

Jack
scratched the back of his head. "See...I always thought it was called a budge!"

"No,
a budge is what cars cross over," Alex said as I walked into the room.

"Uh-huh."
Jack raised both eyebrows. "I see."

I
crouched down to my son. "Rex, are you hungry?"

Rex's
eyes widened. "Yeah! Num num num!" He stretched out both arms and began zooming
about the room. "Brrrmmm brrmmm! Vroooom! I'm a pain!"

Jack
choked on a laugh. "A pain."

"let's
eat something."

***

Tucking
my hands in the pockets of my filthy jeans, I took one last look at my
peacefully sleeping son. Alex was reading some tattered old book next to him. I
walked back out into the hallway to see Jack at the entrance moving lockers and
tables to block the door.

"What
if we need to make a quick getaway?"

Without
looking at me, he said, "there's a door in the basement that has a padlock and
chain on it. If we need to, we can go out that way."

We
were quiet for a few moments. I watched him shuffle a few tables around and
finally block out what was left of the light coming in from the door. we'd both
gone around and wiped a few windows clean so we could get what daylight
remained. While on that task, I'd found matches and a few candles, which I'd
placed in the hallway and room we'd chosen.

"Jack,
are you all right?"

He kept
working. "Yeah, why?"

"You
seem distracted and I want to make sure you're not ill."

Finally,
he stopped and stood up straight. After rubbing some sweat from his eyes, he
looked at me. "Do I seem distracted? I guess I am feelin' kinda...funky lately."

"Would
you like to talk about anything?"

He
hesitated as though he wanted to tell me something. Then, he just shook his
head and turned to survey his work. He was evading me for some reason.

"So...he
has a problem with words?" He asked suddenly. Whenever someone else would ask a
question like that, it would be hinted with disgust or condescension. But his
tone sounded genuinely curious.

I
nodded. "Yes. And it has nothing to do with his autism, either."

Jack
was silent, so I continued.

"He
could never go to a "real school" because the other parents were worried their
kids would contract some autistic disease." I emphasized the words "real" and
"school" with air quotes. "So I've had to teach him whenever I've had the time.
it's certainly not ideal, but he seems content most of the time."

Jack
sat down on a desk and ran a hand over his face. "So, how do you teach him the
right words?"

I
gave a half shrug. "Just by telling him the right way to say it over and over
again until it sticks."

Without
glancing at me, Jack widened his eyes. "Oh. Whoops."

"it's fine. Sometimes a bit of silliness is allowed."

An
awkward moment passed. As Jack opened his mouth to say something, Rex began to
scream for me. "Sierra, Hotel, India, Tango," he muttered.

I
shot him a knowing look as I walked off. "you've got
that
right."

From the
Desk of Dr. Lisa James

October 18

After
about an hour of trying to calm Rex back into a state of sleepiness " which
included two lullabies, Alex walking him around the hallway and three bedtime
stories " he was finally quiet again. It had gotten dark and the flickering
candles were creating odd shadows on the dingy walls.

I
realized that Jack hand't come in at all and wondered if he'd decided to sleep
downstairs in the basement.

I
walked out into the dark hall and looked to my left, where the glowing flame of
a lighter shadowed his face. He was standing beside an open locker, studying
something. I approached him.

"What
are you doing?" I asked.

"Wondering
why the hell this guy decided to join the cheerleading team as a
cheerleader
."
He tapped a knuckle against a grainy photo inside the locker. A fuzzy-haired
person was only slightly visible behind a couple kissing on some grass.

I
squinted in the dim light. "that's a female."

Jack
scrunched up his face. "What?" His voice started in a high-pitched joking tone.
"How can you even tell that?"

"She
has breasts?" I tapped on the chest of the girl in the photo.

"Oh..."
He drew the word out. "Yikes."

"No,
it's refreshing considering many men prefer staring at breasts in their free
time."

He
looked hard at me for the first time since we'd gotten inside the building.
Sometimes it was difficult to tell if he was wearing a joking or serious
expression.

"Nah.
I'm more of an earlobe and left pinky finger kind of guy." He flipped the
lighter closed. The humor of his statement caught me so I smiled.

"Are
my earlobes passable?"

"I
dunno. it's too dark to tell."

I
nodded, my smile fading. "So, why are you rooting around in high school
students" lockers?" I gestured toward the photo again.

Jack
cleared his throat. "Finding this." He opened his hand, revealing a thin white
object.

"I
see. there's no way you plan on using that."

"Of
course. God wanted us to find this joint. I'm telling you."

"you're
actually going to smoke that?" My voice became near scolding.

Jack
chuckled. "Yeah right. No, man.
we're
going to smoke it."

"you're
kidding."

"Nope."

"You
are. You have to be."

"I
solemnly swear I am telling the complete and honest truth whether you can
handle it or not, Foxtrot."

"No way."

"Yahweh."

"I
don't think so."

Jack
leaned back against the locker and sighed. "Okay, how long are we going to do
this before you give in?"

I
spread my arms out to the sides. "Jack, I'm a doctor. It would be against
everything I know as a medical professional to even be near a lit joint."

"You
were
a doctor."

I
shook my head. "How do you know it's not laced? Is it even safe?"

Even
in the dim candlelight, I could see a twinkle in Jack's eye.

"it's
so incredibly safe that you wouldn't even believe it."

I
mulled it over in my head for a moment too long before I asked, "you're going
to make me do this, aren't you?"

Jack
smiled and stood up straight. "Hey, this is a high school. it's the land of
peer pressure. You practically have to smoke ten of these before you're even
cool
."
He grabbed my hand and we walked toward the stairway. "Besides...you need to
relax a little."

The
warmth of his touch traveled up my arm and into my spine. I felt it spread up
to my heart, almost making it stop completely. It was as if we really had
traveled back in time to high school and I was a girl with a crush.

Jack
sat down on the top step and invited me to join him. Once I was firmly seated,
he put the joint in his mouth and flicked the lighter on once again. But he
paused first. "You want the first go?"

"No.
You found it, so you take the first...toke." I scolded myself for using such a
juvenile word.

He
shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The
lighter hit the white paper and began to glow in the darkness. When Jack
inhaled, he clicked it closed once again and the tip grew bright for a moment.
Then, it was my turn.

"This
is such a terrible idea." After too long a hesitation, I put the thing in my
mouth and inhaled a bit too hard. I came up coughing while Jack just laughed at
me.

"It
shows."

"Oh?"
I coughed. "What..." cough, "have you been a..." cough, "smoker your whole life?"

"Smoker
for six years." He took another drag.

"Smoker
or stoner?"

He
handed the joint off to me again. "what's the difference? Nicotine and
marijuana are both drugs. Once is just more harmful than the other."

I
studied him for a second. "I don't think I've ever heard someone say that
before."

"People
either go one way..."

"Or
the other..." I finished the sentence for him.

The
joint was winding down as he passed it to me again, so he handed me the lighter
to spark it up. I did, and then noticed the engraving on its scratched surface.

"What
is the S for?"