All Is Silence - Deserted Lands #1

Chapter 18 - Part III

AT THE GROCERY STORE THE stench of rotting food greeted Mannie like a garbage dump. A wild looking stray dog ran out the door as he came in. He stocked a cooler with ice and pre-formed burgers. Flash frozen and stuck together they should keep for days. He grabbed a case of Coke Classic and some singles, laying them on top of the ice. He carried the case toward the car and added on some cans of soup and chili on the way.

Lugging the full cooler was too much. He got it out the door, but finally, set in on the grass outside. If he blew out his knee now, that was the end. He wouldn’t be driving anywhere. No sick leave in the apocalypse. Better learn to take it a bit easier, or I’m not going to get to reintroduce myself to my daughter. He emptied half the cooler and made two trips. Around the corner of the building a flash of color caught his eye.

A woman, her slim form clothed in strips of sparkly bright clothing, looked like a girl until he got close. When he got closer he recognized her, Mary. She had been a little crazy before the disease, a local artist always getting in trouble with the Sheriff for harassing people with her portrait paintings. Isabel complained her morning hair was like Medusa’s, but Mary’s really was. Her wild eyes matched her hair.

She ducked down behind a dumpster. “Hey, there. You hungry?” Mannie went back in the store and found jerky and a chocolate bar.

He tore the bag of jerky open with his teeth as he approached the dumpster. “Here’s some jerky.” He lay it down on the ground. Then he opened the chocolate. “You’ve got to be hungry.” He inched closer, holding out the candy.

She darted out grasping at the candy bar with her teeth gnashing. She missed the chocolate and bit his right hand. The candy bar fell to the pavement.

“Shit! Let go.” Her jaw clamped and chewed; saliva dripped, blood oozed. He tried to shake her off, but she wouldn’t let go.

He shoved at her forehead with his left hand. Her teeth ground down. Mannie cried out. He kneed her in the gut and hit her hard with the heel of his hand.

Mary grunted and her jaw released.

He shoved her away. She fell to the ground gasping for air. Blood ran from her mouth. “Jesus!”

She got up on her knees and came toward him. He turned and ran.

Mannie jumped in the Jeep and twisted the key; it slipped in his bloody fingers. “Damn.”

He glanced in the rear view mirror. She had stopped to rip apart the beef jerky with her bloody teeth. He locked the doors and clambered between the seats for the first aid kit.

Was she rabid or just crazy from the end of the world? There had been reports of rabid dogs a month ago. Did I survive the plague only to get rabies? He wadded up gauze and shoved it on the gaping hole in his hand. It soaked with his red blood in seconds. He wrapped tape tight around the gauze to stop the bleeding.

Everything’s going to be fine. Mannie fought to bring his breathing back under control. He peeled off more gauze and wiped blood from his fingers and keys. He started the engine and popped the Jeep into gear one-handed. The tires spun in the gravel. He accelerated toward the hospital. “Cool it, Mario.” He eased off on the gas. He wanted to get there in one piece.

When he pulled into the hospital emergency bay he cradled his cell phone in his bloody bandages and hit redial.

Lizzie answered. “Hey, we’re in Seattle already, how are you?”

“Lizzie!” His voice came out a growl. “I’m hurt. Bit by some crazy lady and I think she might have rabies.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Hell, no. I’m freaked out. I’m at the hospital, but it’s deserted. I need to know what to do and I don’t have access to the Internet. I was hoping you could help.”

Lizzie said something cryptic about doing him one better and hung up. Mannie tucked the phone back in his pocket and limped like a wounded animal into the ER. To top everything off he had twisted his knee during his escape from Crazy Mary’s vicious teeth.

He sat down in the waiting room with the first aid kit he’d brought with him. At least he knew where those supplies were. He stripped off the tape and bloody gauze. He opened one of the antiseptic wipes and swabbed at the jagged gashes. Human bites were worse than animals. He had better clean it.

His cell buzzed. He answered it, holding it carefully with his left hand. “Del Rio Texas Emergency Room.”

Lizzie laughed, “My dad’s got a sense of humor. There’s a nurse here.”

“Thanks.” How the hell did she find a nurse?

A brusque male voice came on the line, “You’re at the hospital?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve been bit by a dog?”

“No. A dog-lady. A woman. Wild woman. Survivor, but I was trying to feed her. She bit me hard enough I could use my hand to make her a set of dentures.”

“And what makes you think she’s rabid?” The nurse asked, skepticism in his voice.

“There were a spate of cases a month or so ago. Real dogs. The woman was aggressive. Salivating. Reminded me of a dog. I don’t think I should take any chances.”

“Well, even if she has contracted rabies, human to human transmission is unlikely. There isn’t usually enough virus in human saliva. But you’re right, you need to get the vaccine. How big is Del Rio?”

Mannie chuckled, “Not very.”

“Odds are there isn’t any vaccine. But you can check. You’ll need to get into the dispensary.”

“And where might that be?”

“Relatively central.”

Mannie hustled to the elevator. The map outside said the pharmacy was B1. “Headed there.”

“Once you’re inside, there should be a refrigerated cabinet. Look for a multi-pack, taped or rubber-banded.”

The elevator moved. At least power hadn’t gone out.

Mannie found the dispensary. “Okay.” The doors were locked so he slid the phone into his pocket and smashed a potted plant through the glass window. He gingerly put his hand through and opened the door. “I’m in. What are the meds?”

“RabAvert or Imovax.”

Mannie flipped through the meds in the refrigerator. “No. Nothing like that. Recommendations?”

“What’s the nearest big city?”

“San Antonio.”

“They’ll have vaccine. I’ll see if I can reach someone there and have your daughter let you know which hospital to go to.”