Pandemic: The Beginning (Pandemic Book One) Read online

“Do you think it will come back on?”

  “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

  The kids—all three of them plus Cleo—joined him and Jessica in his office.

  “I guess you noticed the power’s off,” Kayla said, her forehead creasing.

  Matt nodded, his gaze going to each of the kids, pausing on Brooke. She seemed to be adjusting reasonably well to being in their home. It also helped that she had Cleo with her. Matt had no idea what to do to make her feel at home besides treating her like one of the family. To him, she was part of the family now and he was happy to have her. So far she was pitching in without being asked and was generally pleasant to have around. Plus, having her there seemed to be keeping Dylan and Kayla from arguing like they sometimes did.

  “Yeah,” he finally said in reply. “We noticed.”

  “What’s going to happen now?” Dylan asked, his brow wrinkling.

  “Now,” he said as he stood and faced the group, “we check the RV to make sure the power’s working in there.”

  “You have power in your RV?” Brooke asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Yeah,” Dylan said, clearly proud that they had a solution.

  “How?” she asked, her gaze shifting to Matt.

  “There’s a solar panel on the roof that powers the battery, and then there’s an inverter that changes the battery power into 120 volt power which is the same thing we have in the house. As long as the sun is shining, we’ll have power. Although it’s not like the house. We have to conserve.”

  “So, at night there won’t be any power?” Brooke asked.

  “If we’re careful with our usage during the day, the batteries will have enough juice to let us use the lights and charge our phones, but that’s about it.”

  Kayla’s eyes lit up. “We can still use our phones?”

  Matt looked at her. “Yes, but I don’t know how much longer cell service will be available. The carriers may no longer be up and running.”

  Her face fell. “Oh.”

  He thought about a bigger concern and couldn’t hold back a grimace.

  “What’s wrong?” Jessica asked.

  He didn’t want to panic them, but they needed to know the score. “I’m concerned about how long water will flow.”

  All four pairs of eyes widened in response.

  “That’s why I filled the fresh water tank in the RV. Plus, I bought a lot of bottled water when I stocked up a Costco.”

  Jessica’s forehead furrowed. “I wonder what everyone else is doing about the power going out? And, you know, just in general.” She frowned. “I feel so isolated here. We have no idea what’s going on in our own neighborhood.”

  Matt stared at her. “Are you suggesting we go to the meeting?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I mean, how else are we going to find anything out now that the power’s out? What if help is coming? Or, what if there’s a vaccine. Or…” She shook her head. “If there’s any news at all, we won’t know. I mean, we can’t rely on Cathy. We don’t even know if she’s going.”

  He hated the idea of risking his family’s health, but Jessica had a point. Sighing heavily, he nodded. “Okay. I’ll go. Alone.”

  “Uh-uh.” Jessica shook her head. “You’re not going alone. If you go, I go.”

  He looked at her implacable face and knew there would be no talking her out of it. “Fine.”

  With a grim smile, she nodded.

  Chapter 17

  Jessica

  As Matt pulled into a parking space, Jessica found herself gripping the armrest, her nerves stretched tight. It felt strange to be out of the house after not leaving for a week. Who would be at the meeting? Were so many people dead that there would be very few attendees? But when she looked at the cars parked in the lot she, she was surprised to see more than she’d expected.

  “Masks on,” Matt said before putting an earloop mask over his nose and mouth.

  Jessica felt slightly foolish coming to this meeting wearing gloves and a face mask. The last time she’d been in public was before the bird flu had taken hold. But life had shifted at a crazy angle since then. This was the new normal and she doubted they’d be the only ones taking precautions.

  She put her mask on and turned to Matt. “Ready.” Her voice was slightly muffled.

  Side by side, they walked toward the entrance to the school, but when they reached the main doors, they saw a sign stating that the meeting had been moved from the auditorium to the playground.

  “Makes sense,” Matt said through his mask. “With no power, it would be pitch black in the auditorium.”

  They turned and headed to the playground, which was around the back of the school.

  “It’ll be better to be outside,” he added as they rounded the corner of the school. “We can keep more distance between us and whoever else is there.”

  “Good point.”

  As they approached the playground, they saw people talking in small groups, many of them also wearing face masks. A few wore bandanas over their mouths and noses. Mildly surprised to see that, Jessica turned to Matt with a sardonic smile. Then she realized he couldn’t see her mouth. Frowning now, she said, “I guess a lot people had the same idea we had.” Somehow that made her feel better. Like the others were just as concerned as she and Matt were with staying healthy.

  “Or they’re sick and don’t want anyone to know,” he murmured.

  Alarmed at that idea, she slowed her pace.

  Matt urged her forward. “We’ll keep our distance from the others.”

  She nodded and they moved on, stopping a good ten feet away from everyone else.

  A man was huddled with two other people at the edge of the playground. A moment later he broke away and loudly said, “Can everyone hear me?”

  Everyone turned toward him, nodding. Jessica nodded too. She could hear him fine. There were no children at the meeting either, and once the man had spoken, everyone fell silent. She looked him over, trying to decide if she’d seen him before. He looked like he was in his forties. Wearing jeans and a t-shirt, he was average height, wore glasses, had a nice head of hair, and seemed confident in front of the group. And he wasn’t wearing any kind of covering on his face.

  “Good,” he said. “My name is Tony Webb. I head up the Neighborhood Watch program on my street.” He chuckled. “That doesn’t really mean anything, but I thought it might be helpful for us to get together as a neighborhood to discuss what we know and how we can help each other.” His face became serious. “A lot of us have lost loved ones. I’ve, uh, I lost my wife and both my children.” His chin quivered before he drew in a deep breath. “I buried all three of them myself.” He was quiet a moment, then he sighed deeply. Finally, his gaze swept the assembled crowd. “I’m glad to see so many here. I, uh, I’d wondered if anyone would come.”

  Jessica thought about the man’s courage in organizing this when he’d lost so much.

  “To start, let’s discuss what we know.” With a grimace he said, “First, we know this flu is swift and deadly. Second, we know that the power has been off all day.” One side of his mouth quirked up. “That’s pretty much all I know.” He looked at the group with expectation. “Does anyone else have any information?”

  One man held up his hand.

  Tony pointed to him. “Your name?”

  “Bryant. Bryant Johnson.”

  “Okay, Bryant. What information do you have?”

  Bryant cleared his throat. “I’m a Ham radio operator and I’ve been spending a lot of time on there lately.”

  That got everyone’s attention.

  “Do you know what’s going on in other places?” Tony asked.

  Jessica perked up. The news had been off the air for a few days, so she was intensely interested in what Bryant was going to say.

  She felt someone touch her arm. Startled, she turned to see Cathy standing there. Despite the fact that it might offend her neighbor, Jessica backed up a few steps. Matt did as well. Cat
hy didn’t have a mask and she’d had people in her family who’d had the virus. Jessica wasn’t about to take any chances.

  “Sorry,” Cathy said, obviously understanding why Jessica had backed away. She glanced toward Tony. “Have I missed anything?”

  Jessica shook her head, then gestured toward Bryant. “He was about to tell us what he’s heard on his Ham radio.”

  Cathy nodded, then looked toward Bryant.

  “It’s bad all over,” Bryant said without preamble. “People are dying from the bird flu in droves, stores are completely out of food which is leading to riots and mass chaos. The power’s out in most cities.” He paused. “Things are really ugly.”

  Jessica felt so isolated from all that. Besides their scary run-in with Jack several days earlier, they’d been safe and secure in their house.

  “What about around here?” someone asked, directing the question to Bryant.

  Bryant turned to the man who’d asked. “A lot of people didn’t have more than a few days’ worth of food, which has now run out.” Bryant looked at the group. “People are getting desperate.” He frowned deeply. “Desperate people do desperate things.”

  Quiet murmurs filled the air as a sense of panic began to take over.

  “Let’s not freak out yet,” Tony said, settling the group down for the moment. “Let’s focus on our group, our neighborhood.” His lips compressed. “How are all of you set for food and water?”

  Jessica looked at Matt. She would leave it to him to decide how much information to share with these people.

  Chapter 18

  Matt

  Matt didn’t know these people. They were neighbors, yes, but he didn’t know them personally and wasn’t ready to tell them that his family was well stocked up on food. Besides, he knew that many people in this area had been counseled by their church leaders to store a year’s supply of food. He didn’t know how many had done it, but he figured his neighborhood was better prepared than many others would be.

  He waited to see if anyone would share the information Tony had asked for.

  “We have sufficient for our needs,” one man volunteered. “For now.”

  Matt saw others nodding in agreement. Good. If people were self-sufficient, that would benefit them all. Maybe he could even trade his surplus for things he didn’t have.

  “Is there anyone in need?” Tony asked as his gaze swept the assembled group.

  A young couple raised their hands. “We’re, uh,” the man began, “that is to say, we’ve only been married a few months and money’s been tight, so we haven’t managed to be as prepared as we would have liked.”

  Tony nodded, then looked around the crowd. “Would anyone be willing to donate a few things to this couple?”

  No one said anything.

  “Okay. How about this?” Tony looked at the couple. “Tell us where you live and if anyone is so inclined, they can leave whatever they can spare on your porch.”

  The young husband stated his address, then added. “I can trade. I’m good at fixing things.”

  Tony nodded. “Excellent idea.” Then he turned to the group. “Anyone else in need?”

  A few other people raised their hands.

  Matt quietly shook his head. He had mixed feelings. On the one hand, if people had spent more time and money preparing for an emergency rather than wasting it on fancy cars and toys, maybe they wouldn’t be in need now. Then again, if Jessica hadn’t called him that day and if he hadn’t stocked up at Costco, they’d be living off their freeze-dried meals by now. So he couldn’t exactly judge anyone else.

  Tony held out his hand to someone nearby and that person handed him a clipboard. “If you’re in need,” he said, holding up the clipboard, “write down your address and the skills you have and I’m sure trades can be made.”

  As several people approached to write their information down, Tony faced everyone else. “Do any of you have medical knowledge?”

  One woman raised her hand.

  “What about you?” Matt whispered to Jessica.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think a dental hygienist counts.”

  If she didn’t want to say anything, he wouldn’t push her. “Okay.”

  “What are your qualifications?” Tony asked the woman.

  “I’m a physician. Dr. Maddie Larsen.”

  “Wonderful,” Tony said as he jotted that down.

  Matt agreed. Having someone in the neighborhood who could treat injuries or illnesses would be invaluable.

  “Anyone in law enforcement?”

  No one raised their hands.

  “What about military experience?” Tony asked, his eyebrows raised in obvious hope.

  Three men raised their hands. All appeared to be in their early thirties.

  “Excellent,” he said with approval as he wrote down their names. “What other skills does everyone have?”

  “I can fix pretty much anything,” an older man offered.

  “I’m a mechanical engineer,” another man said.

  Two men announced that they were electricians. Everyone joked that that skill may or may not be useful now.

  “My husband’s really handy,” one woman stated, smiling at the tall man standing beside her.

  Tony nodded approvingly. “I have to say, with just this relatively small group we have a decent number of critical skills covered.” His gaze swept the small crowd. “Any hunters?”

  No one raised their hands.

  Tony frowned, then asked, “Any woodworkers?”

  Jessica nudged Matt. He turned to her with a frown, then realized she couldn’t see his mouth. Finally, he raised his hand. All eyes swiveled in his direction.

  “Great! What’s your name?”

  “Matt. Matt Bronson.”

  As Tony wrote that down he asked, “What kind of woodworking do you do, Matt?”

  Conscious that everyone was watching him and waiting for his reply, he cleared his throat. “Mostly furniture.”

  “Beautiful furniture,” Jessica added loudly enough for all to hear.

  Despite himself, pride welled up inside him. The pieces he’d built—dressers, bookshelves, tables—were custom and extremely nice.

  Tony smiled. “So, you know how to use tools.”

  “Yeah, but without power, most won’t work.”

  “True, but knowledge is what I’m after.” Then he turned to the group. “Anyone with mechanical skills. Like, the ability to fix motors, cars, that kind of thing.”

  One man raised his hand.

  After writing the man’s name down, and with a wide smile, Tony said, “I wasn’t sure how this meeting would go, but after hearing all that you have to say, I propose that we work together as a neighborhood to provide security and food for our small neck of the woods.”

  Heads nodded all around and excitement welled up inside Matt. Before this pandemic he’d never known his neighbors had so many skills. If he’d ever needed to hire someone to work on his house or car, he’d searched online to find people. Yet all along people with those skills had been right here. And to think that they could pool their skillsets now to create a little community right here. It was an awesome feeling.

  “I’m glad we came to this meeting,” Jessica said beside him.

  He smiled at her, and though his mouth was covered, he knew his eyes reflected his feelings, and by the small crinkles around Jessica’s eyes, she was just as excited about this as he was.

  “If you all agree,” Tony said, “I’d like to meet again in a few days so we can talk about challenges we’re facing. I’d love it if, together, we can come up with ideas on how to better organize our group.” When everyone nodded in agreement, he smiled. “We’ll get flyers out again when we know exactly when we’re meeting.” He paused like he was considering his next words. “I don’t want to put anyone in danger, but if you’re willing, maybe you can check on your neighbors who aren’t here and see if, well, see how they’re doing.”

  Matt glanced at Jessica. Sh
e looked at him, her forehead creased.

  “Okay,” Tony said, “see you next time we meet.”

  “What if we need help between now and then?” someone called out.

  “What is your name, sir?” Tony asked the man.

  “Kevin.”

  With a nod, Tony turned to the crowd. “Any ideas on how to answer Kevin’s question?”

  Matt hadn’t known what he’d expected out of this meeting, but he liked Tony. He was no-nonsense, yet not a dictator in any sense of the word. He liked how Tony didn’t purport to have all the answers.

  “Anyone?” Tony prompted with a smile that said he hoped someone had ideas.

  To Matt’s surprise, he raised his hand.

  “Matt,” Tony said with a smile that broadcast a bit of relief that someone had spoken up.

  “What kind of help are you thinking of?” Matt asked Kevin.

  “Security, mainly. I mean, now that things are rapidly falling apart, I’m concerned about outsiders coming to our neighborhood and causing trouble.”

  The thought had crossed Matt’s mind too. Then, thinking of Jack, he almost wanted to add There could also be trouble from neighbors. Instead, Matt glanced at each of the men who’d said they had military experience. “What would you suggest?”

  The men looked at each other, then one of them said, “If your family’s threatened and you have a weapon, I suggest you use it.”

  Some people nodded, others looked kind of horrified. Whether it was because they thought they might have to shoot someone or because they couldn’t believe society had come to this, he didn’t know.

  “Your name, sir?” Tony asked the man.

  “Derrick.” His voice was slightly muffled as he had a bandana covering his mouth and nose like some kind of outlaw.

  “Can’t we just call the police?” one woman asked.

  “Have you tried calling 911 lately?” Jessica loudly asked.

  The woman looked at Jessica, then shook her head.

  “All you’ll get is a busy signal,” Jessica said.

  “That’s if your phone even works,” Derrick said. “Without power, you won’t be able to charge your cell phone. And even if you could, service will most likely be unavailable. Or will be unavailable soon.”