They ate the rest of dinner in a rush and saved the dessert for later. Rasty and Tamsyn each took one of the all terrain zips and headed out along the route Clemt should have taken to reach his assigned jobsite. About three quarters of the way to the far forty pasture, Tamsyn saw the ranch hand’s zip skewed across the trail as if he’d braked suddenly and his body was sprawled on the ground beside it.
She and Rasty sped closer and the foreman got off his vehicle and approached the fallen Clemt. Remembering the scene with Drake, Tamsyn pulled her stunner. “Is he dead?” she asked in a voice which shook, afraid of finding out what people were talking about when a victim of the flu died.
“Naw, just unconscious.” The foreman turned to her and raised his eyebrows at the sight of her drawn weapon. “Hey now, no need for that. He’s already out. His skin is hotter than hell.”
Holstering the stunner, Tamsyn left her zip and joined him, kneeling in the dirt next to the stricken man. She laid her palm on his forehead and recoiled. “Must be running a high fever, like Drake did.” Tamsyn hesitated but pulled at the neckline of Clemt’s sweat soaked tee shirt to reveal the telltale hideous black and red streaks running over his shoulder from their starting point at a purple, swollen bite mark. “We’ve got to get him into town right away.”
Working together she and the foreman got Clemt loaded onto the cargo platform of Rasty’s zip and then they roared back to the ranch house at full throttle. Tamsyn called ahead to Piers to get the truck ready and prepare blankets to wrap Clemt in. She ran into the house to get her purse while the men cocooned the unconscious flu victim and then she took her place at the controls of the groundtruck while Rasty climbed in next to Clemt, who was twitching and muttering.
“Bring back his zip in the morning,” she told Piers, who was staying behind to keep an eye on things at the ranch. “I hope we’ll be home by then but who knows. It took all night to get Drake settled.”
Speed limits had no meaning for Tamsyn as she drove into town. The truck was high performance and she pushed it but slowed somewhat when she hit the city limits. Thumping from the back caught her attention and she checked the rear vidscreen to see Rasty fighting with Clemt, who’d gotten unwrapped somehow. She braked so hard the two men were catapulted out of the truck bed. Cursing, she fumbled for her stunner and shoved her door open, running to where they were still fighting. Clemt went limp as she arrived in time to see Rasty deliver a roundhouse punch to the man’s jaw. She shot Clemt with the stunner anyway, terrified by the unnatural way he’d been acting.
Rasty was shaking his open hand in the air, bleeding at the knuckles. “Damn, not as young as I used to be.”
“Are you hurt? Did he bite you?” she demanded.
“He woke up while we were driving in and said he couldn’t breathe all wrapped up so tight. Like an idiot I loosened the blankets and next thing I know he attacks me. Said a bunch of crazy stuff, didn’t make any sense, out of his head with the fever. Tried to bite me but my vest stopped him. Got a few scratches though.”
“Everyone I know of got the flu from a bite,” she said with relief. “So we’ll get those scratches cleaned up at the hospital and you’ll be fine.”
“Help me get him back into the truck,” Rasty said. “And maybe don’t mention the scratches at the hospital. I don’t want them keeping me there for observation or nothing. This flu has the townies scared from what I hear.”
They rewrapped the blanket cocoon tightly around Clemt and heaved him into the back of the truck again. Tamsyn drove the rest of the way with her nerves on edge, fearing the sick man would wake again. She wasn’t sure she was comfortable with keeping silent about Rasty’s scratches and decided to at least mention them to the doctor in passing. But when she arrived at the hospital, she forgot all about the minor issue.
The entrance was ringed by a convoy of military vehicles and the parking lot was brightly lit, while armed soldiers patrolled the line of people waiting to drive in. One rapped on her window and she hit the button to lower it.
“Reason for coming here tonight?” he snapped, shining a light in her face.
“My—my friend is sick,” she stammered, blinking hard.
Another man went to the rear of the truck and shone light into Rasty’s eyes. “This one’s okay, sarge,” he called out. “Got one rolled up in blankets who ain’t though. Caught a flare in the eyes.”
“Pull up over there, ma’am,” the soldier next to Tamsyn directed tensely, pointing to an area nearby where a truck with a big red cross was parked. A squad of soldiers in decontam suits was waiting.
“What—why? My friend needs to see a doctor,” she protested.
“We’ve got that under control,” the man said smoothly. “Here to help out the local medical establishment. If you could move the truck, ma’am, you’re holding up the line.”
She wasn’t happy about it but she steered the truck into the designated space and killed the engine. About to get out of the driver’s seat, she was startled again as a soldier took up a post so close to the door she couldn’t. The way he was watching her, with cold eyes and weapon obviously ready for action, she stiffened, put her hands on the controls and sat quietly. On the rear vidscreen she saw the soldiers in the suits lift Clemt from the truck, still wrapped in his cocoon and one of the group gave him an inject in the neck, after which he went limp again.
Rasty climbed into the passenger seat, slamming the door. “Fuck, this is messed up. They told me to get in here with you and keep my hands where the soldiers can see them.”
The soldier outside her door moved closer and tapped the window with the tip of his blaster. She lowered the panel. “Drive on through, ma’am and go home. We’ll take care of your friend.”
“Wait, I need to know where he’ll be, how I can check on him?—”
“No information available at this time, ma’am. Check in the online government database at the central flu website later. The code is—” He rattled off a series of numbers so fast she wasn’t sure she got it all but before she could ask for clarification, someone banged on the rear of the truck and yelled, “Move it!”
She looked at Rasty, who shrugged. “They’re not giving us any choice here, boss. Best do as he says.”
Reluctantly Tamsyn initiated the engine and drove slowly through a series of blinking lights which led her out of the parking lot and to the main road. Letting the AI take over, she stared at the rear vidscreens and caught a glimpse of Clemt being lifted into the military truck. She knew it was him from the colorful blankets. Furious at how the scene had played out, she had to admit there was nothing else she could have done, especially not once she was inside the military cordon. “I hope he’ll be all right.”
The line of vehicles waiting to enter the hospital grounds was long and growing by the minute as she retraced her route to get out of town. “How can so many people be so sick?” she said out loud. “Did you get the code he spouted off for access to the government website?”
“Sure did.” Rasty sounded the way she felt, a little dazed and uncertain they’d done the right thing. “Maybe Drake’s status will be listed there too.” He stayed silent for a few minutes while she navigated the town’s streets and finally emerged into the open territory beyond. “Maybe they weren’t all sick like Clemt is. Maybe they’re coming in to have some symptom or other checked, scared-like. Not many cars or trucks were being diverted like we were. I’m glad old Doc Ortenbe has got some help. He ain’t getting any younger.”
She tried to find the positives in the situation the way Rasty was choosing to deal with it but her mood stayed dark as she drove. “I think we all stay out of town as much as we can till this damn flu burns itself out. We don’t need anyone else getting sick.”
