Chapter 5

[Washington, D.C.]

It wasn't what we expected. Everyone was masked and covered. I saw a table of masks close to the elevators and we crossed together and put on a set of everything that was there to use. Then, and only then, I began to look around.

The FBI types were gone. There was no one watching us or telling us where to go. I looked at Jane and said, "Let's find some food and a TV or take our food upstairs."

We went into a dining room and then found the kitchen. It was deserted. We found some food and cooked some burgers with chips and pickles. We found water in bottles and loaded up with as many as we could carry. Jane had said, upon finding food, that we should load up and return to the room. When we walked in, we picked up a newscast telling all and warning people to be careful just like we had first recommended. The reports detailed incidences of people with symptoms all through the eastern seaboard and as far west as Iowa. The cat wasn't only out of the bag. The bag had been ripped apart. All military had been placed upon alert to gather for assignment. CNN said that the President was rumored to have symptoms.

As we ate and watched, I told Jane, "This is faster than any models we had could have predicted. Something happened for the virus to spread this far and this fast. This is more than just no precautions. Let's check the Weather Channel and determine the prevailing winds."

She nodded and I switched channels. The Weather Channel person was detailing how a low-pressure system that had "barreled up" the Atlantic Coast over yesterday. There was speculation that it was caused by the explosion and resulting earthquake and tsunami.

While listening to CNN, we heard the first reference to March 17, 2011, as the Day. The Weather Channel used the same description in its broadcast. I flipped back to CNN. We caught a notice that the President would speak to the nation in an hour. I turned the TV down so we could talk.

"What do you want to do?"

"George, I want to go to my apartment and change clothes. My place is close. I can pack to leave. My car is there. It has a full tank of gas. If we can, then we need to go to your place and do the same."

"Okay, then what?"

"George, if this is the end, let's go some place pretty and enjoy life until the virus strikes us. We can, by then, have planned to end it quickly or suffer, though from what you said, that won't be long. There's one other thing. Let's stay together. We like each other and get along. If there is enough time, maybe there will be more. At least we can support each other."

"Jane, do you like to camp?" She nodded. "I mean real wilderness camping?" She grinned and nodded some more. "I know a place and I have the truck to get us there along with the equipment for when we get there."

"Sounds good to me. Let's listen to the President and then plan the specifics. I like your plan and love to get away and sleep in tents and sleeping bags. I'm a good campfire cook, too."

I said, "That does it!" I stood up and then knelt before Jane. "Jane Simmons, will you marry me?"

She laughed and said, "What? The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, I guess. Yes, George, I will." She pulled me into her arms and lay back on the bed and kissed me thoroughly. She said dreamily, "I thought there was more. There is!"

The President was coming on. She said, "Let's listen."

We listened. I could tell he had symptoms of infection. He made a clean breast of what had been known and when and why the information had been withheld. He said that the experts had made a list of recommendations and that list went up on the screen as he talked. He said that there was no way to avoid the virus by running to anywhere. He said that if people took the precautions outlined, the virus would die out and those left could carry on. He also admitted that the virus was deadly and that a private company had been trying to develop a cure or vaccine for it. He said that that possibility ended in the explosion that appeared to be an unfortunate grouping of events. He asked for prayer and ended his speech.

Jane looked at me and said, "Too little, too late, but he has tried. I wonder what happened to Genruss?"

"We may never know. I don't think our plans are changed. We'll stay here again tonight and leave in the morning." We did some more cuddling and kissing. Later, we tried to check on Doris but she was gone. We never saw her again.

In the morning, we left. We loaded my briefcase with water bottles, donned our masks and all. We walked to Jane's apartment. There was little road traffic. We made it to her apartment safely and went in.

Her roommate was there and was very sick. She told us to go away. She had some pills that she was preparing to take. We loaded much of Jane's clothes into her car. She said her good-byes to her roommate and we left for my place in Virginia.

We arrived at my place and the benefits of private pay over public pay were evident as were the cheaper home prices in Virginia. I had a nice little house with a two-car garage. We parked Jane's car on one side in front of the garage and, before unloading, I said, "Why don't we go in first?"

Jane said, "I already like it. I bet it's nice inside, too."

"Inside, it's pure bachelor pad. You will be the first female guest ever to enter it."

She grinned, "I should be the first. I'm going to be your wife!" So, naturally, I made a production of carrying her over the threshold. She laughed and kissed me. I set her down and she began to wander through the house. "I like it. It's like you. It's has a pleasant exterior and deep places within that are comfortable when someone gets to know you.

"You're sure no women have been in here?"