Brushfire Plague Page 14

  Cooper feigned an old man, rising ever-so-slowly onto his knees.

  “Hurry up! I don’t have all night. I know the cops aren’t doing much these days, but I have no doubt one of your neighbors heard you give the buckshot greeting to Smartie and have dialed 911 by now. If you’re lucky, it might have been answered.”

  As Cooper straightened up, he kept his right hip pointed away from Rick and Woody.

  “It’s not the cops you have to worry about in our neighborhood. Drop it!” Dranko’s voice rang out strong and clear as he buried the barrel of his rifle into Woody’s head, just behind the ear. Cooper knew Woody couldn’t see the barrel, but it must have felt like a cannon notched against his head. Woody’s .45 clattered as it hit the floor.

  In a quick, fluid motion, Cooper had his pistol trained on Rick. Rick lowered the shotgun and held it out for Cooper, holding it by the stock, barrel pointed at the ground.

  “So, just what are we going to do with you two boys?” Cooper asked. “I think we warned you last time we’d give you a bullet if you came back into our neighborhood. This time you came into my home. Doesn’t that mean I should give you two a bullet as promised?”

  Rick whimpered and began to cry. Woody looked at him with disgust and then turned back toward Cooper, defiant, “Do whatever you want. You got us fair and square. I ain’t scared of you.”

  “Oh, this guy’s a tough one, a real hard case,” Dranko mocked, pushing the barrel harder against his skull. Woody winced in pain.

  “My, my, he is. Tough as nails. I would put you down like the cur that you are. But, see, that would be illegal as you don’t pose a threat to me right now. While the law isn’t very operative right now, it would still be wrong. Besides, I have a better idea than that,” Cooper said smiling confidently.

  “What’re you gonna do, call the cops?”

  “Hmmm, we can try that, but I’m guessing 911 is busy right now. No, my idea is much simpler than that. First, you two are going to strip naked. Then, you are going to hoist what’s left of your friend Smartie onto your back. We’re then going to escort you out of our neighborhood and down the road a bit, maybe a mile or two.”

  “What the hell you doing all this for?” Woody interrupted.

  “It’s simple. Carrying a half-torn apart dead man, especially one that was your friend, will take the piss and vinegar out of any man. You included. I’m betting that fifteen minutes of feeling his blood drip down your body, having to smell all that death right up close and personal will make you rethink your current line of work. I think when you return to your gang, most of whom are just along for the joy ride, naked, covered in blood, and humiliated, that your days of leading that ragtag band will be over. You see, they’re going to ask what happened to Smartie and you’ll have to tell them how he died. I think they’ll then see following you around is bad for their health. You really should just go back to playing video games and kicking the occasional dog.”

  “My boys won’t abandon me,” Woody shot back.

  “Oh yeah? I think once they realize that a night out with you can bring them home dead, they will drop you like a hot potato. Young men don’t like to think about dying and Smartie here will ensure that your boys will have no choice. They will know their leader can’t even pull off a simple home burglary—in this neighborhood anyway—without getting one of his boys killed. You see, your gang is nothing more than a bunch of scared and misguided teenagers who’ve watched one too many Tarantino movies. You all thought this would be fun and games. Now, they’re gonna see that what you’re doing is serious business. So serious, they could end up dead.”

  Woody stared back at him, fuming. Woody knew his leadership was being eviscerated in front of Rick which meant it would spread to the others once they got back.

  Cooper broke the silence quickly, “I’m done with you. Let’s get going.”

  A half hour later, Woody and Rick were gone. Dranko had escorted them, naked and carrying Smartie’s limp body, a mile or so down Division Street, headed east. No police crossed their path, which showed just how far law enforcement had fallen. Dranko had used their assailant’s pickup and returned with it to the neighborhood. They also kept Woody’s .45 pistol which turned out to be a well-maintained original Colt. Cooper had spent the time cleaning up the mess that Smartie had left behind. He kept Jake in the basement until everything had been returned to normal, save the broken picture frame that now hung on their wall without any glass in it. He had also bandaged his shoulder wound, which fortunately had not cut into any muscle.

  When Dranko returned, Cooper reached out a hand to his friend, “Thank you. You saved my ass back there.”

  Dranko smiled, “You’re lucky I’m a night owl. I was already up when I heard that 12 gauge blast, I just came running.” His smile grew wider as he continued, “Despite me being pissed off at you, I couldn’t let you get killed by some no good teenagers.”

  Cooper returned the smile, “Good that keeps us square because I’m still pissed off at you. But, I’m too damn tired to talk about it right now.”

  “Me too. Let’s talk later, over some breakfast, brother.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Dranko left as quickly as he had come.

  Cooper decided to watch the latest news on the television, but when he turned it on, he discovered his cable was out. Not a single station came on. He shook his head, and turned on his radio instead. Every station was carrying news. He quickly settled on his favorite station.

  “…in Des Moines, there are at least fifteen confirmed dead and seventy-six wounded after a riot at a Wal-Mart distribution center. Hundreds had gathered there as the shelves in retail grocery stories emptied. That concludes our latest round-up of news related to the Brushfire Plague.

  In direct news, the Center for Disease Control has announced that it is working around the clock to identify the source and structure of this virus so that work on a vaccine can begin in earnest. They announced significant progress on identifying and mapping its structure.

  Dr. Leonard Luciani from John Hopkins University has caused a firestorm of controversy with his recent claim that he believes that the Brushfire Plague was not an accidental mutation. He said yesterday, during an interview on CNN, “…the rapidity at which this virus spread indicates it was not accidental. I’ve read the explanations that this virus appearing across the globe, almost simultaneously, is due to the commonality of international travel is complete hogwash.” He has been roundly condemned across the scientific community for his comments and has been called “irresponsible”, “dangerous”, and even “criminal.”

  Casualty figures continue to be difficult to ascertain accurately, but most estimates are that between thirty and fifty million are either dead or infected across America…”

  Cooper turned off the radio. He’d heard enough.

  ******

  A few hours later, they reassembled at Cooper’s house. Cooper had decided to begin emptying out his freezer first and so he had fried a dozen frozen sausages, cooked a mess of hash browns, and mixed up some orange juice from concentrate. A pot of hot coffee rounded off the repast. Cooper and Dranko gathered at the table. Jake was still asleep in the basement. After the night’s events, Cooper wanted him to sleep as much as he could. He would warm the breakfast for him later.

  Uncharacteristically, Dranko spoke first. “I owe you an apology, brother. I shouldn’t have come at you the other night like that. Not publicly, anyway.”

  “Well, I owe…” Cooper began, but Dranko waved him off with a sausage link skewered firmly by his fork. He was chomping on it as he talked.

  “Let me finish. You are wrong, Cooper. It would be safer where I want to go. Hell, last night proved that beyond a doubt. But, I understand you aren’t going to leave. This means I have an important decision to make: to go where I know it’d be safer or stick around here with a stubborn old friend who isn’t thinking sensibly.”

  Cooper interjected this time, impossible to restrain,
“I just can’t leave. I know you think it’s silly, but she’s still here. There’s something in every room. I don’t want to leave it all behind and I sure don’t want to take Jake away from it all either.”

  “I get it, brother. Your stubborn stance on this—and the reason why—got me thinking. What do I want to survive for? I know my carcass isn’t worth keeping safe and sound based upon any intrinsic value!” He paused to laugh at his own joke and almost choked on a piece of sausage. “I thought about this a good long time. I decided that you were right. You survive so you can help keep some other good people alive with you. It’s no secret that I’m a guy who keeps to himself mostly. But, your bond with Elena and Jake has me thinking about all that too.”

  Cooper smiled impishly at his friend, “Does that mean you’ll stay around here, then?”

  Without looking up, Dranko stuffed a dollop of hash browns into his mouth and waved the empty fork in the air, “For now. For now, brother.”

  Cooper thumped the table with an open-palmed hand, spilling coffee as the table bounced in response, “Nice! Very nice! I can’t tell you how much it means to me. As the last few days have shown, I need you around to make it through. Last night being Exhibit A,” he paused and took a swig of coffee.

  His tone turned serious, “But let me apologize to you. I shouldn’t have been so stubborn about all this, I know part of it is crazy and doesn’t make sense to anyone else. But it makes sense to me. And, I could have done a better job of explaining it to you instead of just getting angry. I owed you that.”

  The two men looked at each other in the eye, catching the deep gaze that only longtime friends can exchange.

  “So, we’re good?” Cooper asked.

  “We’re better than good, brother.”

  They ate the rest of their breakfast in companionable silence, only the sounds of slurping coffee and chomping of sausage links to punctuate it.

  ******

  Dranko helped Cooper clean the dishes from the table, rinse them, and put them in the dishwasher. As they turned to clear the remaining items from the table, Dranko stopped in mid-stride.

  “We need a redo.”

  “A what?” Cooper asked.

  “We need to reassemble everyone. Since I screwed up the meeting yesterday, I’m going to help make it right. I’ll make the rounds, tell everyone what happened last night, and get ‘em all here at noon today.”

  Cooper thought for a moment, “That’s right. After last night, it’s more serious than even I thought. Go get it done.” Dranko launched the towel he’d been holding toward Cooper and rose to leave.

  As he reached the door, Cooper called out, “Oh, wait. Can you visit Calvin and make sure he’s on board with pulling another meeting together?”

  “Yeah, got it,” he said and scampered out of the house at full speed.

  Chapter 14

  The scene at Cooper’s house looked almost the same as the meeting yesterday, except the sun was shining brightly and there were a dozen more people clustered around his front yard. A brisk breeze brought the faintest hint of spring to his nose and goose pimples on his bare arms.

  He was ready to begin addressing the crowd when Dranko leapt onto the steps and nudged him out of the way. He looked at the small crowd, grew nervous, and began awkwardly.

  “Ah, this isn’t easy for me. But, I need to apologize to everyone. I was wrong yesterday. We can defend our homes and neighborhood and keep ourselves safe. Most of you have heard this by now, but we stopped three attackers last night. Three. In a surprise attack. So, we all should listen to Cooper today. I should have yesterday. We all should have listened.”

  A smattering of unsteady applause broke out as Dranko jumped down to the ground like a man fleeing the porch after a bad first date. He hated having attention focused on him. Cooper smiled and stepped to the front again. He motioned for Calvin to join him on the steps and he did so.

  “Last night was my worst nightmare. Waking up to the sound of intruders in your own home is terrifying. I was armed and I’ve had some experience. Dranko’s right, we can defend ourselves. But, last night I got lucky. It could have been much worse. If Dranko hadn’t been awake, heard the gunshot, and come over, I would be dead and Jake would be an orphan, or worse.” Remembering his father’s advice, Cooper paused to let the words sink in. Whispers broke out and several people clutched their hand to their mouth in fear.

  “Some checkpoints and patrols could have stopped that from happening. At a minimum, we’ll have some warning before anyone is inside our home.”

  Heads began nodding furiously throughout the group. Cooper interjected before it rose to a crescendo, “I know Calvin, the President of our Neighborhood Association, was wise in recognizing our divisions yesterday. For any plan to work, we must all be behind it. I’m sure he has good insight to share as well today.” Calvin recognized political graciousness when he saw it and winked at Cooper as he stepped forward. Cooper’s gleam in his eye was the only response that Calvin needed. What little political chops I have, I owe to my father. Cooper smiled to himself at the thought.

  Calvin turned toward the audience, “First, I want to thank Cooper and Dranko for their heroism last night. Because of them, one punk was dealt with and the other two were run out of our neighborhood on a rail!” Everyone began clapping at once and pumping their fists in the air at Cooper. Dranko, in the audience, was thumped on the back by several men and hugged by a few women. His face turned bright red and he looked intently at the ground.

  Calvin adroitly waited for the noise to subside, “Second, what happened last night gave us all new information. We have never had a home invasion situation in this neighborhood before last night. Third, after due consideration of this new evidence, I now fully support yesterday’s plan to defend our neighborhood.”

  More applause greeted this announcement and he continued without pause by raising his voice, “Any discussion?” People looked at each other and shook their heads.

  A moment later, Gus Varela called out, “I like the plan, but let’s include nominating Calvin as our Defense Captain, too!” Cooper couldn’t tell if he’d imagined a sly glance between the two men just before Gus blurted out the suggestion.

  Calvin bellowed, “All in favor say ‘Aye’.” A thunderous chorus of “Ayes” rang out.

  “All opposed say ‘Nay’.” Dead silence.

  Pandemonium broke out. A few hats were thrown into the air. Some started to applaud. Others embraced in tight hugs. There was lots of backslapping. Hands reached up and pulled Calvin and Cooper off the steps to shake their hands. Cooper found himself being hugged and palms thudding against his back. It was a sea of smiling faces and a chorus of “thanks” and “I should have listened to you yesterday.”

  The overwhelming reaction made Cooper pause in confusion. Then, it hit him. Catharsis. All the pent up stress and emotion from the last several days is being released. The community has come back together. People are planning for tomorrow again. He knew this was what was eliciting such emotion. He stood watching it all unfold. His body ached to join in and get lost in the emotion and enthusiasm, but he knew the possible bloodshed, terror, and horror that awaited them; that awaited anyone who had to pick up weapons to defend themselves. Here I go again, worrying about tomorrow, he mused to himself. He recalled his father’s words,

  “Men like us lose a bit of today, because we are always thinking of the needs of tomorrow.” His father had accepted this trait, even embraced it. Cooper had never been able to do so. So, he stood apart, watching wistfully at the joy erupting around him, which he could not lose himself in.

  As if on cue, Dranko was at his side with a clipboard. He thrust it into Cooper’s hand, and he looked down at it.

  It was a sign-up sheet for the checkpoints and patrols, broken down by shift. Thanks dad, the needs of tomorrow indeed.

  Dranko whispered into his ear, “No time like the present to get volunteers.”

  Just like that Cooper was back at work.


  ******

  The crowd outside his home lingered. Pairs and small groups stayed put and continued in conversations. Periodically, the groups would dissolve and then reassemble with others, like at a party where everyone is having such a good time they look for excuses, and new people to talk to, in order to stay. They would first talk of matters relevant to the crisis of the plague, but then would move on to mundane matters: the weather, hobbies, or sports. Their faces started off grave and serious, but then would morph into smiles, laughter, and loud voices of exclamation. Cooper watched, wondering at the display. Slowly, it dawned on him. Having overcome their fear of disease and embracing the welcome emotion of community, everyone was loath to leave and return to their isolated homes. Their homes were now a place where most faced the presence of a loved one ill and dying or a fresh memory of one who had died. Death awaited them at home, in one way or another. Here, they could live. This meeting had transformed from a necessary evil, into a welcome escape from the plague and the isolation it had wrought.

  Cooper breathed in a deep sigh of satisfaction. They had not had a problem assembling a schedule for the checkpoints and patrols. In addition, they had three burial teams sign up and they would begin the first of their grisly work in the morning. This felt right. He had always been a person of action and now that a plan was in motion, he could relax a little. The sun was still shining and the chill had disappeared from the air. Fluffy white clouds moved lazily across the sky, driving east to points unknown. As they had done throughout, the birds flittered on the wind, oblivious to the troubles of man below.

  Dranko grunted, bringing Cooper’s attention back down to earth. Cooper turned to face him and noticed an impish smile on his face. Something must be up, I’ve never seen him smile like that! Cooper, Mark, Calvin, Freddie, and Jake gathered around him. Dranko had carefully whispered to each of them and asked them to remain behind after the meeting.