Pandemic: The Beginning (Pandemic Book One) Page 12

  Everyone was silent. Clearly, that’s exactly what they wanted.

  Matt shook his head. What a mess. And it was only going to get worse as more and more people ran out of food. Including his family. They should be okay for quite a while, but eventually they would be in the same boat as those who’d already run out.

  “We’ve gotten off track,” Tony said. “What do we do with Charles here?”

  “Banish him from the neighborhood,” one man suggested.

  Charlie’s head snapped up. “You can’t do that. I live here just like you.”

  “But we didn’t try to rob our neighbor,” the man who’d made the suggestion shot back.

  “Are you saying you’d let your family starve?” Charlie asked, evidently no longer sorrowful for his crime. “You’d do nothing while you watched them die?”

  No one replied to that. Matt wondered what he would do in that situation if it came to it. If there was no other way to feed his family, would he steal?

  Yeah, he would. He would do anything. He figured most everyone else had reached the same conclusion. But he wasn’t there yet. And he didn’t want a desperate man living in their neighborhood. A man who, for all he knew, would attempt another break-in, but next time he might bring a weapon. No, he couldn’t let that happen. He and his family had been a target once. He couldn’t let that happen again. Not knowingly.

  “I second the motion to banish him,” Matt said in a loud voice.

  Everyone turned to look at him.

  “What gives you the right?” the woman who wanted to pool resources said with a scowl.

  Hesitating, but only for a moment, he said, “Because my house is the one he tried to break in to.”

  Eyebrows went up at that.

  “He broke one of my windows which now leaves me and my family vulnerable. He waited—waited—until my family was alone before he struck. He planned the break-in. It was pre-mediated. If we let him stay, you,” he pointed to random people as he spoke, “could be next.”

  That got their attention and several other people agreed that Charlie should be made to leave the neighborhood.

  “All in favor or banishing Charles from the neighborhood,” Tony said, “raise your hand.”

  Eighty percent of the hands went up.

  Tony nodded. “You will be escorted out of the neighborhood.”

  “What about my family?” Charlie asked.

  “They may stay if they choose.” He paused. “I’ll personally make sure they get some food.”

  A look of incredulity swept over Charlie’s face. “You’re making me leave them?”

  “No. They can go with you. But they don’t have to.”

  Fury replaced the incredulity. “This is so wrong.”

  “Nevertheless, it is the decision of our people. Breaking in to an occupied house will not be tolerated.”

  Tony gestured with his chin to Chris, who grabbed Charlie by the upper arm and marched him back to the SUV.

  “Wow,” Dylan said.

  Matt agreed. A week earlier something like this would have been unheard of.

  Once Charlie had been led away, Tony faced the crowd. “Does anyone have any other concerns they need to discuss?”

  No one said a word. Perhaps they were all in shock at the sudden and final verdict that they’d been a part of.

  “Okay,” Tony said. “Thank you for coming.” At that, he turned away from the crowd and began speaking to someone nearby.

  Matt turned to Jessica. “I guess that’s it.”

  Her forehead was furrowed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s just…” She shook her head. “I don’t know. How can we banish someone from their own home? It doesn’t seem right.”

  Matt thought about the abject panic he’d felt when he’d heard glass breaking at his house mere hours earlier. He hadn’t known if his family was hurt or what was going on. That couldn’t be allowed. “Do you remember how scared you were when you called me on the walkie talkie late last night?”

  Jessica nodded. “Yeah.”

  “If we’re lenient with Charlie, then what’s to stop the next guy from wanting to try the same thing? And the next guy might actually be good at what he’s doing. He might get in and hurt you or the kids.”

  Jessica’s eyebrows pulled together. “You’re right.” She was quiet a moment. “I guess I just have to get used to this new world where people do things they wouldn’t normally do.”

  Matt thought about what had happened at Home Depot. How the man—Will—had held a gun to his head and had threatened to kill him. How he’d said they lived in the Wild West now. Should he tell Jessica about that?

  One look at the fear and confusion in her eyes and he knew this wasn’t the time.

  Chapter 29

  Jessica

  Over the next twenty-four hours things were calm and Jessica almost began to believe that everything was going to be okay, that everything would somehow work out. Then, in the afternoon, a flyer was delivered to their door.

  Matt got it and brought it inside, scowling as he read it over.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as fresh worry splashed over her.

  He held up the flyer. “Says there’s a meeting in,” he looked at his watch, “one hour. And every family who comes is required to bring one food item to donate to the ‘Neighborhood Cooperative.’” He did air quotes at that.

  “Neighborhood cooperative? Since when do we have a neighborhood cooperative?” Jessica had a bad feeling. She remembered the number of people at the meeting the day before who’d wanted to pool everyone’s resources. Was this tied to that?

  “We don’t have a neighborhood cooperative as far as I know,” Matt said with a frown. “Besides, we already gave some food to those three families.”

  “What’s going on?” Dylan asked as he joined them in the family room.

  Matt handed him the flyer. Dylan read it then tilted his head in question. “Weird.” Then he looked at Matt. “Are you guys going?”

  Jessica was wondering the same thing.

  Matt looked at her with raised eyebrows. “What do you think?”

  “Maybe we should. Just to find out what this is all about.”

  He nodded. “I agree. Pick out a can of something we have plenty of and we’ll head over in a bit.”

  Fifty minutes later, wearing their usual earloop masks, she and Matt walked out the door and toward the school. When they got there, they set the can of green beans in a box that had about a dozen other items in it.

  “Thank you,” a man standing beside the box said with a grateful smile.

  Knowing he or his family was probably in need, she felt better about the donation. “You’re welcome.”

  When it was time for the meeting to start, there were around twenty-five people there. A dozen fewer than had been at the meeting the day before. Was that because people didn’t want to bring food—or didn’t have any—or because they were sick? Hoping it was the former, Jessica looked around for Tony but didn’t see him.

  “I wonder where Tony is,” she murmured to Matt.

  He lifted his shoulders in a shrug.

  A man they’d seen at other meetings stepped to the front of the group. “Thank you all for coming.” He glanced at the box of donated food items before facing the group. “And thank you for your donations.”

  “Where’s Tony?” someone called out.

  The man leading the meeting glanced at the man who’d thanked Jessica and Matt for the food when they’d arrived, then he looked at the man who’d asked the question. “I’m afraid I have bad news.”

  Jessica felt her insides clench.

  “Tony, uh, he passed away earlier today.”

  Now her heart pounded. Someone she’d really liked had died. It was so pointless and tragic.

  Murmured voices filled the air.

  The man who’d announced Tony’s passing waited until everyone had settled down, then with a grim smile, said, “My name’s Eric La
wson. I’m the one who called today’s meeting.”

  Intensely interested to see what this meeting was about, Jessica waited to hear what Eric had to say.

  “Do you see Derrick?” Matt whispered beside her.

  Jessica looked at everyone, then shook her head. “No.”

  He’d been at the other meetings. Interesting that he hadn’t come to this one.

  Jessica pictured him getting sick. Her heart skipped a beat. Derrick had helped them so much, the thought of him getting sick and dying made her heart hurt.

  “Maybe he’s busy,” she said. “Or maybe he didn’t see the flyer in time.” After all, they’d only gotten it an hour earlier.

  “Yeah,” Matt said.

  “The reason I called this meeting,” Eric said, then he glanced at five men who stood near him like they were all in on whatever was about to happen, “is to discuss our new neighborhood cooperative.” Jessica recognized one of the men—Chris. He was the one who’d led Charlie to and from the SUV the day before.

  “Cooperative,” someone shouted, “what cooperative?”

  Jessica wondered the same thing.

  “In light of what happened with that break-in the other day, I know many of you are concerned about security. But there are more serious security concerns.” He looked at Bryant Johnson, the man with the Ham radio. “Bryant, what is the latest news on that front?”

  All eyes swiveled in Bryant’s direction. “There have been reports of gangs going into neighborhoods, house to house, taking what they want. Killing anyone who resists.”

  Stunned at the news, Jessica felt shivers race up her spine. It was bad enough that Charlie had attempted to break in. He’d been an amateur. The thought of armed gangs, on the other hand, terrified her. Especially with two teenaged girls to protect.

  Jessica turned to Matt, who was completely focused on what Bryant was saying.

  “How close to our neighborhood?” someone asked.

  “A couple of miles at most.”

  “Thank you, Bryant,” Eric said, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. His gaze swept the group. “We all have families to protect, but nothing in life is free. Not before this virus and certainly not now. Especially not now. So, what the cooperative decided is, if you want the benefit of neighborhood-provided security, you need to join our cooperative.” He paused as loud voices filled the air.

  “You decided?” someone shouted.

  “This can’t be good,” Matt said beside Jessica. She nodded as a feeling of foreboding washed over her.

  Eric held up his hands. After several minutes everyone quieted down.

  “I’m sure you’re all wondering what this cooperative is all about,” he said. “We will explain.” He turned to one of the men who’d been standing to the side and nodded to him. The man stepped forward.

  “I’m Russ Givens, chairman of the Neighborhood Cooperative.”

  “Hold on,” one man shouted. “When did this cooperative form and who put you in charge?”

  Russ smirked. “A group of us got together and organized it, got agreements from security and medical personnel to work for us, then decided to invite the entire neighborhood to join.”

  This was sounding more and more ominous to Jessica, but she kept quiet as she waited to hear what they had in mind.

  “How does it work?” a woman called out.

  Russ smiled. “I’m about to explain.” He paused dramatically. “Everyone who joins the cooperative will have access to security and medical care.” He gestured to Chris. “Chris Jackson, who has combat experience, will head up our security team.” He faced the group again. “Dr. Larsen, who is home treating patients, will head medical.”

  On its face it sounded good, but Jessica knew there was a catch. She turned to Matt, who looked at her with raised eyebrows.

  Chapter 30

  Matt

  Matt waited for the other shoe to drop. There was no way this cooperative would offer their perks without wanting something in return. And he had a feeling he knew what it was.

  “How do we join?” someone asked.

  “I’m glad you asked,” Russ said like a used car salesman. “Anyone is welcome to join. In fact, we hope the entire neighborhood will join.” He grinned in a smarmy way. “The more the merrier.”

  Matt wondered if Russ had actually been a used car salesman.

  “Like I said before,” Russ continued, “members of our neighborhood cooperative will have full access to medical care and security—two things that are vital in this world.” He paused. “Well, just like in the world we’ve always known, people who provide services need to get paid for those services.”

  Here it comes.

  “That payment will come in the form of food donations to the co-op.”

  Of course.

  “However,” Russ said with what was probably supposed to pass as a compassionate smile, “we know that not everyone has much to give.” He paused dramatically. “Which is why your payment will be based on what you have rather than a flat fee that is the same for everyone.”

  A deep sense of unease settled over Matt.

  “How will you decide how much we need to pay?” a woman asked.

  “A member of the committee will take an inventory of your food and then tell you how much you’re required to pay.”

  Matt’s eyebrows shot skyward.

  “No way,” several people shouted as others said, “Forget that.” “Uh-uh.”

  “What if we refuse?” someone asked.

  Eric stepped forward. “That’s certainly your right, but if you’re not a member of the neighborhood cooperative then our security and medical services won’t be available to you.”

  Anger burned a trail up Matt’s throat. It was extortion, plain and simple.

  “That’s not right,” a woman cried out.

  Russ laughed. “It’s the American way.”

  “It’s mob tactics,” Matt heard himself yell. “Protection for payment. And if we don’t pay, are you going to rob us?” He pointed at Russ and Eric and the other men who stood with them.

  Outrage swept across their faces, but Matt noticed that Chris also looked like he felt some guilt and discomfort.

  Russ pointed at Bryant. “Didn’t you hear what Bryant just said? Gangs are only a couple of miles from our neighborhood. Are you willing to risk your family’s safety?” His eyebrows bunched. “What are you going to do if gangs break down your door and take all of your food? And worse? Then you’ll wish you’d given a tiny portion of your food to the cooperative because then you’d be safe.”

  Matt scowled beneath his face mask. Even if people joined this cooperative, there was no guarantee their security people would get there in time. Even in the old world, law enforcement wasn’t always there at the exact moment they were needed. And that was when there was a way to call them.

  “How can members of this co-op let you know when they need help?” Matt asked.

  Russ turned to Chris. “We’ll let our head of security answer that.”

  Chris, who looked to be in his early thirties with broad shoulders and a confident demeanor, stepped forward. “There will be round-the-clock patrols so a security team will always be close by.”

  “Thank you, Chris,” Russ said with a self-assured swagger. Then he faced the crowd. “Any other questions?”

  “What if we don’t have any food to give?” a man asked.

  “There’s room for everyone in our cooperative. We would just need to find a way for you to contribute in another way.” Russ lifted his gaze to take in the entire crowd. “If your family would like to join the neighborhood cooperative, come see us and we’ll get your name and address and schedule a time for a committee member to stop by and talk to you in your home.”

  Letting these people into his home was the last thing Matt would allow. He turned to Jessica. “Let’s go.” He began walking away with Jessica beside him, and as they passed through the gathering, others began leaving, but there were many
who were telling Eric and Russ that they wanted to join the co-op.

  Shaking his head in disgust, Matt knew he needed to find Derrick and tell him about this latest development.

  After making sure Jessica made it safely home, Matt got on his bicycle to ride to Derrick’s house. He didn’t want to waste the fuel in his truck. There was no telling if he and his family would need to leave the neighborhood, but if they did, he wanted to be able to get as far as possible before his diesel ran out.

  Derrick lived several streets over. Matt hadn’t been there before and he only knew Derrick’s address because Derrick had told him the day before. Now, as he approached Derrick’s house on his bike, he saw Derrick’s truck parked in the driveway. Leaning his bike against Derrick’s garage, Matt took a deep breath before approaching the house. He didn’t know what kind of security Derrick had set up—although he was certain he would have some.

  Walking quietly, although not sneaking, he made his way up the walkway from the driveway to the front door. When he reached the door, he knocked firmly and called out, “It’s Matt.”

  Moments later the door swung open.

  “Hey,” Derrick said, one hand pressed to the side of his right leg.

  Matt’s gaze went to the gun held there, and when Derrick tucked the firearm into the holster at his waist, Matt relaxed.

  Derrick grinned. “Can’t be too careful.” Then he stepped back, allowing Matt to enter. “What brings you by?”

  Matt crossed the threshold. “You need to hear about the meeting I just went to.”

  Derrick closed the door with a frown. “I know all about it.”

  Surprised that Derrick had known but hadn’t come, especially to a meeting that would have such an impact on the neighborhood, Matt raised his eyebrows. “You missed a doozy.”

  A muscle worked in Derrick’s jaw. “So, they’re going ahead with it?”

  Confused, Matt frowned. “You know about the co-op?”

  Derrick gestured to his living room. Moments later they were seated across from each other.