Cruel World(12)

“My God,” Mallory whispered. Her hand crept to her throat, and she squeezed the skin there over and over.

The screen changed from the map to the same woman who had reported the first cases earlier that day. Her hair was no longer styled and hung unkempt behind her ears. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face held a tinge of red that her makeup couldn’t obscure. Behind her the sides of an enormous hospital building shot up into the night, its walls illuminated by lights like the opening of a feature film. She cleared her throat once, listening intently to a device in her right ear before focusing again on the camera.

We have just received word that the President has ordered a nationwide lockdown of travel, including all international flights into and out of the country, and has instituted Martial Law in all fifty states.

“Holy shit,” Foster said. He looked down at his hands and slowly pushed them into his pants pockets.

The CDC says it hasn’t determined communicable pathways for H4N9 but says precautions must be taken in accordance with more typical strains of the flu virus such as physical contact and fluid exchange. The disease is highly contagious, and based on the information we are receiving, it is the fastest spreading flu in recorded history. As of now, medical officials are recommending all persons suffering from the symptoms of H4N9 be quarantined and kept hydrated—

Her words were cut off as a man in a leather coat and a dark stocking cap exploded into view. He shoved the reporter hard on the shoulder as he snatched the microphone from her grip. There was an instant of complete silence and then the man’s voice invaded the living room, ragged and hysterical.

It’s in the air, in the f*cking air, man!

The camera’s view dropped to the ground and only feet and knees were visible in the shot.

My kids got it and my wife and I had it within twelve hours. They’re dead. They’re all dead! It’s in the air!

More feet invaded the scene and a rumbling sound like thunder came from the speakers, drowning out the man’s cries. The screen went blank, and the noise stopped only seconds before an anchor desk appeared, manned by a wide-eyed woman in a blue dress and an elderly, regal man in a gray suit whose mouth hung open several inches. The man sputtered for a moment before nodding to someone outside of the view pane.

We’re…we’re going to take a short commercial break and be back with you—His speech cut off as the camera went dark and then broke into a vibrant jingle while a smiling man climbed behind the wheel of a brand new car.

Mallory fumbled with the remote and turned the TV off, leaving only the sound of their breathing in the room.

“We have to bring him in,” Quinn said again, reaching toward Foster.

The older man stepped away from him before he could touch his arm, his eyes watery and strange as he looked at him and then away. Quinn blinked and then turned to Graham and Mallory who hadn’t retreated but stared at him as if they were seeing him for the first time.

“Did you wash your hands?” Graham asked. His accent was more pronounced, the words rounding off at their ends.

“What?”

“After you left his room, did you wash your hands?”

Quinn shifted his gaze from the chef to Mallory who still clutched at the skin of her throat, pinching, pulling, kneading it like dough.

“No.”

“Is he any better?” Foster asked. The groundskeeper had taken another step backward and stood near the doorway, one foot actually in the hall.

“Not that I can see. Look, we need to get him to a hospital now. If this flu is as serious as they’re saying, he needs a doctor.”

He panned their faces, the only ones he’d ever known. They were stoic and unfamiliar to him now, changed in some elemental way as if their bones had shifted beneath their skin, only enough for him to notice.

“What are you doing?” He asked, and his voice sounded far away. A hazy mist was gathering in the corners of the room, creeping into his vision and he shook his head.

“We need to take precautions, cari?o,” Mallory said, standing up from the couch.

“Like what? Isolate dad? Not get him help? We need to bring him in, now. No one’s died yet. They didn’t say anything about people dying from this.”

“The guy that grabbed the microphone said his family died,” Foster said. He didn’t look at Quinn but past him at a point on the wall.

“He was out of his mind, and obviously not everyone is dying from this otherwise they’d be reporting it. Right?”