Chapter 13: A Lot Left Unsaid

David, Sara and Linda got up early, hoping to quietly steal away into the early morning, but it wasn't to be. The others got up just after they did and fixed them a going away breakfast while they were loading the car. While it was appreciated, David was worried about making progress, given the bad condition of the interstate. However, he was further delayed, as everyone tried to give him a personal goodbye outside. While he couldn't chide them for wanting to say goodbye, he still felt a bit uncomfortable with it. Since they had no real idea of what they'd be facing, he was hardly comfortable with the trip that lay ahead of them.

As they pulled away, the others headed back into the house, having told him about their plans to do some more shopping now that a few more stores had reopened in the region.

When David approached town he noticed an unusual sight. There were a string of people walking along the road, heading into town. It struck David that, with the power still out and with few resources, that most people had probably exhausted the little gas they'd had in their gas tanks driving back and forth to town over the past week. Thus he assumed walking to town in the early morning hours was the best option for these people.

He slowed down, contemplating offering someone a ride, when he observed one woman in particular. He wasn't sure why he focused on her, but she started coughing, and it soon degenerated into a real hacking cough. When she got her cough under control, she spit what she'd brought up onto the street, and though it was brief, David could clearly see it was a mixture of phlegm and blood. Looking up quickly one last time, he noticed the woman had bloody marks on her face. Driving along further, he observed additional people either having trouble walking due to sickness, or bearing the tale tell signs of the virus, as varied as they were.

He immediately swung his SUV into a quick U-turn, catching his passengers by surprise.

"What the heck are you doing, David?" Linda asked as she and Sara braced themselves to avoid being jostled. "We were on our way to the interstate."

"The trips off," he answered shortly. "I've decided it's too dangerous." Instead he dug his portable radio out of his pocket and called the house with it.

"Hey there, it doesn't sound like you've gotten very far," Maggie answered.

"We're not going. It looks like the sickness going around is more widespread than we'd thought. Tell Bob, and I don't want any of you leaving the house."

"But we were going shopping, just like you'd told us to," she countered.

"Look, when people are sick, they stay home from work and rest in bed, except when they have to feed their families. Thus the only place they'd venture out to is the grocery store. Don't go there from here on out. If it's necessary I'll start hunting for dinner, but from now on the grocery store is to be considered unsafe."

"What did you see?" she asked.

"It looks like the lack of electricity and gasoline has stranded people, so they haven't been able to get to the hospitals. Thus the hospitals aren't aware of how bad the situation has become. Instead, people are walking or biking to their local stores, jeopardizing anyone they encounter. Have Bob convey that information to the hospital, they'll need to know it. Meanwhile, I'm heading to the building supplier here to pick up some more efficient masks for us to use, the kind that filter out things like Asbestos. I don't exactly trust those chintzy things the hospitals use if there's a contagious disease spreading."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Maggie asked, growing concerned.

"Like I said, sick people are only going to do what's absolutely necessary. Making home repairs won't be high on their list of priorities, so I'm assuming I'll be OK. Also, have Bob contact Sheriff Adams. I'll stop by and warn your husband. Actually, I'll get him a better mask as well, as he's likely to be exposed to it sooner than the rest of us."

"Do you know if it's deadly yet?" she asked.

"No, but I do know it makes people very sick, thus it makes no sense to subject ourselves to it, especially if we don't know what it can do."

"OK, we trust your judgment. After all, it's kept us safe for this long. Take care and make sure you get back safely," Maggie said, concluding their brief conversation.

"So we're not going to look for my mom?" Sara asked, already guessing the answer.

"No, I've decided it's too unsafe. First of all, we have no idea where to look for her, and secondly, the closer we get to the city the more at risk we'll be. It's my responsibility to keep you safe. I think your mother and the rest of your family would appreciate that decision."

Sara didn't respond, but he could tell from the firm set of her jaw that she was disappointed, even if she understood his concern. He didn't blame her, but still, he was worried about more than just her at the moment.

"Do you really think it's that necessary?" Linda asked, still clutching the dashboard.

"Do you see the people by the side of the road?" he asked. "I saw one, a woman with a hacking cough that was coughing up blood, who also had open sores on her face. She didn't look very healthy, and I think we need to take this more seriously than we have been."

It didn't take him long to reach the building supply store. Insisting the others remain in the car, he ran in, trying to avoid any congregations of people, already growing paranoid about his exposure. He found the specialized tool department where they sold things like routers, drills and other tools that typically kicked up a lot of fine dust particles. He managed to quickly find several high quality masks and filters, buying out all they had remaining, which wasn't a lot. He again jogged to the front of the store, not wanting to remain inside amidst the public any longer than he had to. Luckily there wasn't a large line that early in the morning, and he managed to make it out without too long of a wait.

When he reached the car he gave masks to both Linda and Sara, telling them to get used to wearing them, as they'd be wearing these whenever they were out in public, probably wearing the simpler surgical masks around the house. The masks effectively cut off any questions, and they watched him nervously as he drove to Reggie's.

Parking in front of the drugstore, and again issuing a warning for them to not follow him into the store, David jogged into the store. He ignored the people at the front of the store, including Reggie's two beefy guards, and headed directly back to the pharmacy. Seeing him approaching, Reggie thought it odd that he was wearing a facemask in his store.

"What's up, David?" he asked, interrupting his interactions with his current customer.

"Here," David said, his voice sounding odd through the mask, "wear this. It turns out the reports of illnesses have been underestimated. You'll need to wear this to prevent getting infected. You may want to restrict anyone with a cough from entering the store. You can take their supplies out to them, but it'll be safer for everyone if they don't come inside and risk spreading their infection."

The older man standing in front of the counter's eyes grew larger, and he glanced nervously at the people around him. Reggie was about to argue with him about it, but thought better of it. So far David had been pretty well informed and better adapted to the current environment than anyone else. If he was worried, then there were probably good reasons for it.

"Thanks, I guess," Reggie replied, his voice sounding odd even to himself after he'd gotten it fitted on himself. However, his speech was still coherent, and if it kept him safe he'd be able to help those in the community longer than he could otherwise.

"Hey, remember, we protect our own. Besides, Maggie would kill me if I let anything happen to you," David answered as he headed back out.

As they drove out of town, they were all more aware of the many people walking and cycling in and out of town. Linda noted that several seemed to be quite sick, and she also noticed that several had the open sores that David had described. She shivered with the thought of what that might imply, but no one said much on the topic, simply reflecting on what it would mean to them in the near future.

David, though, was relieved. He'd been worrying about what the trip to the city to look for Betts would mean. Unless they arrived at her home to find her happily working on a busted engine, any other options would be, at best, problematic. If they didn't find her, Sara would want him to search for her indefinitely, meaning she wouldn't be able to resolve her issues during that entire time. If she'd died somehow, they'd never know it. If she was at home but sick, then she'd expose them all and Sara wouldn't want to leave her, meaning they couldn't leave either. There were really no good outcomes, aside from the one unlikely one, whereas there were dozens of terrible ones.

This way Sara would be crushed, but at least everyone would be safe and Sara's life wouldn't fall apart. Again, it wasn't an optimal solution, but then David wasn't sure there were any ideal resolutions anymore. Instead, all that was left was coping, and some things were easier to cope with than others were. And dealing with an angry teen was easier than dealing with a crushed one, especially if it meant she'd be an angry safe teen.

"So you really think it's that serious?"

"Yes. The people I saw today were quite ill, but they were in no shape to make it to a hospital, both because they were too sick, but also because they had no gas to get there and no phone to call an ambulance with. So I think the hospitals are only seeing the very tip of the iceberg. The larger mass of the problem is hidden below the surface."

"Damn, that's what I was afraid of," Bobby responded. "I've been talking to a bunch of people since you contacted us earlier, warning them about your observations, and they're all very concerned about it. Yet they also don't know how to respond. They can't put everyone who comes in under quarantine, or else no one will approach a hospital. Besides, they've got no justification to do such a thing, because there's no real evidence it's a realistic threat. We need either a substantial number of sick people or a fair number of deaths, and if the numbers are hidden we have neither. What's more, we can't very well go searching for sick people scattered across the country, because the infrastructure is so damaged and the rescue vehicles are almost all wrecked."

"Yeah, it's a mess, and I don't have any ready answers, but I think the problem is much worse than anyone suspects yet. The only thing that I can come up with is that we need to play it safe. No one is leaving the house without a face mask. It's fine inside the house, but even venturing out to pick blueberries you'd better have a surgical mask on. And if you're interacting with the public you'd better have more than that. I've got a couple of the better masks. They're designed to stop the fine dust particles that a router kicks up, which are fine enough they can pass right through the nose, moving from the inside to the outside, forming pimples. That's a very fine particle, and a simple surgical mask won't stop anything that small."

"But we still don't know if it's airborne or not," Linda argued.

"No, but I saw sick people coughing, and they were very sick. And if they're coughing, they're sending a lot of particles into the air. So whether it's airborne or contact related, it doesn't really matter. We still need to avoid contact with people until we determine just how dangerous this is."

"Well, if nothing else, this should get more people off their asses. If they think it's a larger problem they'll assign more resources to it, so hopefully they can learn more about what's involved. After all, they've found the virus responsible for it, so hopefully they can figure out how it's carried and what organs it affects."

"Yeah, but we already know that it affects everyone differently. There's a whole variety of disparate symptoms, so I'd guess it's affecting the immune system, and it's reacting differently with each person."

"Shit, I'd hate to be responsible for medical oversight right now," Bobby said as he headed back to his radio room.

"What are we going to do about food if we can't go shopping?" Linda asked.

"We still have a lot of food here, and there's more in the refrigerator/freezer downstairs," Ellen said.

"There are also the berries and ferns outside, and we can always hunt for animals instead of buying hamburgers," Maggie suggested.

"Actually, I'll handle that if it's necessary," David told her.

"What? You don't think I can shoot? I'll bet I'm a better shot than you are. Studies show that women have better visual acuity, so they're better at target shooting."

"That isn't what I was saying," David replied. "I just don't want to scare the animals away from here since I like them. I know a place a little ways away that's a fair distance from any nearby houses that I could try."

"You're talking about poaching then, aren't you?" Linda asked.

"Linda, desperate times," Ellen reminded her.

"Hey, if it keeps all of you safe, I'm willing to pay a fine for poaching, or even for trespassing, though I don't think it'll come down to that. Right now everyone is stretched to the limit. The fish and game people are trying to clear the waterways and open the roads to the parks; they're not going to be trying to find people hunting out of season."

"Well, you can at least take me," Maggie argued. "After all, you could use help carrying a deer out."

"Could I help?" Amy asked. "I'd love the chance to come along with you? Please? I'd really like to learn, and I wouldn't get in your way and I'd do whatever you wanted me to."

"You? What about me?" Alice asked. "I already know a lot about hunting, and I have more experience moving quietly through the woods. While Maggie has more experience shooting, I doubt she's all that quiet moving through the trees."

"Look, we'll work all those issues out later. Right now we have plenty of food, so we'll just wait and see what happens. Hopefully this will all pass over. Those people that are sick with it will get better, they'll develop antibodies to it, and everyone will be fine after getting sick for a little while. But we need to be aware of what's going on, so that we can adjust as things change. OK?"

Everyone agreed, although David wasn't really as sure as he sounded. This could be messy, and although he was isolated here, he couldn't guarantee he could keep everyone safe for much longer. And actually, he hadn't kept Betts safe. Although he didn't know what happened to her, he'd already lost one of the people he's promised to protect. How long could he keep the others secure?

"I'll clean up in here, you start the shower and I'll be in there once you get the water warmed up."

"You know it doesn't take long for the water to warm up. I've got it cycling constantly so it stays warm and it keeps the water from settling in the pipes too long. It's nicer, and it's better for the whole system."

"Still, go get ready," Ellen answered, swatting him with a towel.

The previous day had been interesting. Everyone had been anxious when informed that David didn't think it was safe to mingle with people anymore. Sara had been upset, obviously, but she'd been resigned to it. David knew he'd have to talk with her before long, but for now she didn't seem to represent that much of an issue.

He knew he'd have to do something to keep everyone busy. So far he'd been doing a good job of it, not only wearing them out, but letting them get to know the community, the people, and developing their own sense of worth. It had been quite a successful enterprise. But they'd gotten used to it, and no one would be happy being cooped up in the house for long. It had been hard enough during the initial storm. What little yard work there was had already been finished up. He could probably fend them off for a day letting Alice lead them off on an adventure in the woods, but that had its own problems, and it would likely only last for a day on the outside. Any longer than that the girls would likely get restless and start causing trouble.

Now that Flora had passed her cautionary period, she'd been a bit more active than previously. While Ellen had never restricted her from flirting with him, figuring it was good motivation for her, Flora had kept her distance while doing it. But that was apparently gone now, so she'd been sure to sit by him whenever she could. She didn't actually touch him directly, but there was a lot of leaning against, pressing into, and rubbing up to him. It was a bit disconcerting, but he'd never seen any indication it would progress beyond that, and neither Ellen nor anyone else had seemed concerned with it, so he'd simply chosen to ignore it. As long as she kept to the rules that Ellen had laid out he was happy.

The girls' stress was already increasing. They'd been bored last night, so they ended up wrestling on the floor, first with each other, then with Bobby, and finally with him. It had started with another game of Twister, but had moved to playing around and finally into all out wrestling. It was all in good fun, but it showed just how bored they were, and how much energy they had to burn off. He hoped he could funnel that energy in some way today.

David stripped off his clothes and started the water. Once he got it set, he climbed in and grabbed the soap.

"Water's hot," he called out, hearing no response. Figuring she was busy with something he started soaping himself up.

"Hey there, sailor," Ellen called from the bathroom doorway a few minutes later. "I've got a surprise for you. Make sure you wash your face, 'cause no one wants to kiss a dirty mouth."

David smiled to himself and did just that, scrubbing his face and then rinsing it off as she climbed into the shower behind him. He didn't know just what game she wanted to play, but he was looking forward to it. Aside from their teasing about Linda's bedroom talk concerning him spanking her, they hadn't tried any playacting, so if she wanted to try it for once...

He felt her press herself against him, her breasts pushing into his back and her arms wrapping around his chest. She took his soap from him and began soaping up his chest with her loving caress. He grinned, leaning his head back against hers as she nuzzled his neck. It was strange, though, that she seemed to be having an easier time reaching his ear than she normally did.

Smiling, he started to turn around, but she wordlessly held him in place as she sank down to her knees. Once she was positioned, she released her restraining grip on him and he turned around, swatting her with his erection. Knowing what was coming, he leaned back and grasped her head as she starting swallowing his dick.

"Ah, that feels wonderful, Ellen."

She didn't respond, although he could hear her slurping around his erection. He rubbed her head again, luxuriating in the sensations he was experiencing, and then glanced down at her.

"WHAT THE FU... ?" he yelled before catching himself.

The woman now sucking on his cock didn't have blonde hair and a buxom build. Instead she was thin and redheaded.

"What are you doing, Flora? You know what Ellen said about following the rules. ELLEN—stop that. NOW!"

Flora pulled herself away from her current target of desire to respond. "I know. I'm following them," she said before diving back to continue sucking him off. Despite his best attempt, his cock couldn't help responding to what she was doing to it.

"ELLEN!"

"You don't have to shout," Ellen responded from outside the shower. "After all, there's no reason to alert the whole household."

"What the fuck is going on? Flora, would you please stop that? I thought you two had talked about this?"

"We did. We came to an understanding," Ellen answered, making no effort to intercede and rescue him, and Flora never slowing down. "As long as she plays by the rules and respects everyone's position, she's entitled to the rules of the house."

"Rules of the ... what the fuck is going on here? Honestly, Flora, stop that," he said, bending over and physically lifting Flora's head off of his cock. She couldn't resist, she giggled at him.

"Ellen, a little help here, please?"

"Hey, I thought for your first time you two should have your privacy," she responded with a playful lilt to her voice.

"First time? What the ... would someone tell me what the hell is going on?"