Free The Journal: Ash Fall by Deborah D. Moore Page A

think they may have touched. I didn’t know if it
would help, but it sure wouldn’t hurt.
    Then I called our law enforcement, Ken and
Karen.
     
    * * *
     
    “We didn’t see anyone on the road coming
here,” Ken stated.
    “They probably left at first light, or during
the night,” I replied through the face mask.
    “Well, we’ll take a cruise along the route to
the Mulligan and see if we can spot them. I’m not sure what we can
do, Allexa,” Karen said.
    “You can warn others along the way not to get
near them!”
    After they left, I called Tom White in
Marquette.
    “Well, hi, Allexa,” he answered. “You might
not believe this, but I was going to call you today.”
    “About what? A new outbreak of some virus?” I
know I sounded snarky and I didn’t care.
    “How did you know? I just got the reports
this morning from the ME’s office. There have been several cases of
flu similar to the one last winter, and all of them have been along
County Road 695, moving toward Moose Creek.”
    “Tom, they were here and I’ve been
exposed.”
    “They? They who?” he asked.
    “It’s a family, Tom. They were on the way to
their camp when their car broke down and they’ve been walking.
Apparently they’ve been spreading this along the way,” I slouched
in my seat, my head pounding. “They were here, at my house. Max and
Lydia Johnson, along with three kids. The baby is dead and they
keep pushing it in a stroller. The two year old is bad-sick, and
the rest look … I dunno, just ill.”
    “How were you exposed, Alex?” Tom asked
gently.
    “I was near them before I realized they were
sick,” I admitted. “I’ve washed well and sanitized everything they
touched, I don’t know if that’s enough though. How is it spread, do
they know yet?”
    “No, they don’t. The ME said if it’s like the
last one, it’s airborne and with a very short incubation. Have you
been in to see Dr. Robbins yet?”
    “No, that’s my next call, though I doubt he
can do anything either.” When I hung up, I washed my hands again,
and sprayed the phone.
    With gloves and a mask firmly in place, Mark
met me outside by the picnic table. I explained to him everything
that had happened and he listened solemnly.
    “So you were exposed twenty-four hours ago?”
he asked.
    “Yes, about that. It was mid-afternoon when
they showed up.”
    “I talked with the ME after you called me.
They’re getting a quick handle on this virus, Allexa. There are
survivors,” Mark said with an air of hope. “Although the virus is
fast, about twelve hours, and deadly if you get it, it’s also very
hard to become infected. So far it’s hit only small children and
those with weak immune systems. How are you feeling right now?” he
asked as he listened to my lungs, flashed the pen-light in my eyes
and looked down my throat.
    “Other than tired from not sleeping and a
headache from worrying, I feel fine,” I answered.
    “No sore throat? Any coughing?”
    “No, nothing.”
    “I would say you escaped catching this nasty
bug. You’re very lucky. Maybe next time you won’t be so trusting,”
he admonished me as he removed his mask and gloves to prove that he
wasn’t concerned with me being contagious.
     
    May 21
    “We found the family, Allexa,” Karen said.
She sat down in my kitchen for a cup of coffee. “We were a bit late
tracking them down.”
    “What do you mean ‘late’?” I asked, setting
down a plate of scones.
    “The father, Maxwell Johnson, was sitting on
the cabin porch with a gun in his lap when we arrived, almost like
he was waiting for us. We kept our distance. He knew all along that
the baby was dead, and that the boy, Aaron, was really sick. He
said he expected the girl to get worse quickly. So he shot the two
and buried all three children while his wife was asleep,” Karen
said matter-of-factly. “The two older children were his from a
previous marriage, but the baby was Lydia’s first child. He also
knew that Lydia was well