“When we found this place on the map it was the answer to a prayer,” Ned informed him. “Housing, fishing, fresh water, game in the woods?—”
“No way to grow anything in this soil,” Jeff said. “And I can see no one is getting enough calories. No place nearby to scavenge for food either.”
Ned avoided Jeff’s gaze, fidgeting with his spoon.
“Your real problem is going to be the swarm on its way here. Ever get caught in a swarm? We have, several times and even with all our firepower, we’ve had to shelter in place in the APC’s and let the infected roll over us until they got bored and wandered off. Your three men with rifles won’t hold them off for a minute. The infected have no sense of self and they don’t care how many others get eliminated. They keep coming.” Observing Ned’s mulish expression and tense set to his shoulders, Jeff sent Cody an order. Display the current holo of the swarm on its way here.
Coming right up, sir.
Ned jerked back as the top of the table was suddenly filled with a holo of infected shambling along, moaning and twitching, their faces and bodies a ghastly spectacle of protruding bones, black ichor and gaping wounds. Jeff tapped the table. “This is what’s coming for you. We’ve got surveillance drones up and right now there are probably a thousand infected in this horde, tracking straight to here. Do you think you fight them off?”
The civilian’s eyes were wide and horrified. “How—how long do we have?”
“Our best estimate is a week maybe.”
“They might get distracted and divert somewhere else,” Ned said, grasping at straws.
Shaking his head, Jeff dispelled the notion. “There’s no other collection of uninfected humans anywhere close to this park any longer. We don’t know much about the infected yet but we do know they seem to sense and be drawn to groups of normal humans. Like they’re on a mission to create more of themselves.”
Ned had to swallow twice and drink more synthcaff before he managed to croak out a question. “What do you expect me to do? You don’t have room for us in your fancy vehicles and I told you, our truck is broken down and the groundcar is on its last legs. Can I send the children with you at least?”
“I’m sorry but as you pointed out, I couldn’t accommodate even the children in the APC’s. Listen, we found a forest service utility vehicle in the motor pool here and my tech genius is putting it back together as we speak. Then he’s going to work on your truck. He’s confident he can get both running by morning. You can leave here with us in a convoy and we’ll escort you as far as the road leading northeast, where you’ll divert to continue your original journey to the ranch Rebba told me about.”
Chalmers had the air of a beaten man and his voice was resigned. “Won’t the swarm get there?”
“Probably, eventually, but my hope is her brother-in-law has made plans for an attack. And for all we know, his ranch is so far to the north the infected won’t sense you’re there. At the very least going there will buy you time to prepare a place to take a stand.” Jeff waited. He kept the holo going on the tabletop to emphasize his point about Chalmers and his extended family needing to leave.
“I—I have to talk to my wife and the others. I’ll let you know what we decide later, okay?” Ned stood up with one last disgusted glance at the miniature swarm of infected and stepped away from the table.
“Fine. I’ll notify you when my guy is done with the vehicles.” Jeff sipped his now cold brew as Chalmers strode away. He knew Mrs. Chalmers was in agreement with him and had a feeling she was a powerful ally so he hoped his plan would be adopted. His small command was rolling out at daybreak no matter what. He had a mission to carry out and he suspected time was growing short to save the situation on Randal Four in any meaningful way. As he left the dining hall to check up on his men and the area, he had a brief flicker of fear they’d end up barricaded at their own ranch, trying to fight off swarms of the uninfected. He didn’t want that. He wanted a solution to the problem allowing Melly, Mike, Tamsyn, his brothers in arms and himself to live as much of a long, happy, normal life as could be had on a quarantined planet.
And to prevent this problem from taking place on any other hapless world in the Sectors.
Squaring his shoulders with determination, Jeff headed for the motor pool.
Chapter Thirteen
After the line of patients waiting to see Dr. Jericho was taken care of, Tamsyn was exhausted, she had a twitch in her left eye and her admiration for Melly was sky high. She’d been amazing—patient, good with adults and children alike, sent everyone away feeling better about themselves and their prospects. The baby with the suspected broken arm was found to only have a severe sprain, which was a relief. Several people who’d been on medications for chronic conditions and had been forced to go without due to the circumstances, were given a three-month supply, which led to tears and profound thanks. Melly apologized for not having more to dispense but explained her stock was a random haul she and the soldiers had managed to grab at an abandoned hospital. She was able to suggest alternatives to two of the patients which might enable them to manage more effectively when the pills ran out again. She promised to keep her eyes peeled for any more of the drugs in question as her trip proceeded and if she got her hands on them, would figure out a way to deliver them.
“Maybe we can retool a drone or two to make deliveries,” she’d said with a smile. “No promises though.”
Rebba Chalmers had been the final patient of the day, concerned about a nagging pain which she feared was a recurrence of a previous cancer. Melly had the soldiers extricate a complicated scanner from the APC’s cargo hold and did a thorough imaging on the spot. She was able to diagnose the cause of the pain as a much more minor ailment and gave Rebba a medinject to clear it up.
“And now we’re done,” Melly said as Mrs. Chalmers walked away, supported by her husband. “You were both tremendous help today.”
“I wish I could do more,” Tamsyn said with regret. “This was a heavy workload for you. I don’t know how you did it.”
“When I was a resident in the MidSectors, I worked shifts at a trauma center in a less than desirable district,” Melly said as she packed away her instruments and supplies. “Today was nowhere near as crazy as that place got at times. Each patient brings me new energy, you know?” She gazed across the hall where Ned had gathered the group to discuss Jeff’s plan for them to leave in the morning. “And they’re so grateful for the smallest thing. Makes me worry even more about groups of people in other isolated areas with no access to medical assistance.”
“You can’t be everywhere,” Tamsyn said. “You can’t help everyone.”
“Jeff says the same thing.” Melly laughed.
“Can we go swimming now?” Mike asked impatiently.
A few of the patients had shared the story about the uninfected surprising bathers at the hot springs and how he’d been incapacitated in the water. As far as Tamsyn was concerned, the anecdote cured her of any desire to swim. She kept envisioning more uninfected lying on the bottom, waiting to grab unwary bathers even though she’d been assured the area had been checked thoroughly.
Melly didn’t look any more enthusiastic but she conceded to her brother’s request with good grace. “Sure, let me stow my equipment in the APC and then we can go down there for an hour or so. We’ll need to eat dinner ourselves soon enough.”
