Happy 242nd Birthday to our nation's Army! Alas, try as I might, I could not figure out how to work someone cutting a cake with a sword into this chapter.
**Little Earthquakes, Tori Amos**
Riley woke to the sun streaming in through the large classroom windows. The room already felt stuffy and overly warm despite the fact it couldn't be any later than 6:30 AM so after she pushed herself to sit cross legged on the gym mat she had used for a bed she threw off her hoodie. Reaching her arms overhead brought a stab of pain where a stubborn shoulder muscle refused stretch. Even though the gym mat was better than the linoleum floor, she was still stiff all over. The kid stirred but didn't wake as she tucked a worn quilt that someone had sent up back over him and laid a wrist over his forehead the way her mother used to do when she and Emma were kids. She had checked his temp every two hours as instructed and so far so good.
First things first, they needed fresh air. She padded to the windows and looked out over the camp. Over the last two weeks they had settled into a lazy rhythm where civilians showed up for meals at 0800, 1200, and 1800 and mostly sat and socialized the rest of the time. The early birds were already forming lines in front of the mobile shower and latrine trucks at the edges of the tent groupings, but overall the camp was quiet. Being short, she had to stand on something to reach the latch so she dragged over a student desk. She heard the door open behind her but didn't turn, lest she lose her balance as she scrambled to the top. As she stood on her tip toes her makeshift platform slid back away from the wall with a loud screech.
"What the he'll do you think you are doing?" Despite the muffling caused by the headgear he was wearing, she recognized Garth's voice immediately as one solid arm came around her waist and swung her to the floor as easily as she could carry the little boy still sleeping on the mat.
She wished she could just cede control and depend on his strength, the way much of the camp did, but she wasn't some toddler to be carted around at another person's whim. "For your information I was attempting to do a perfectly safe and normal thing and open the window."
He reached over her head and easily twisted the latch and pushed out the heavy window frame muttering, "More like trying to fall out the window and infect the whole camp."
She shuddered. He was wearing that suit to protect himself from her and the kid after all. "Has Major Velasquez decided what will happen to us if we get sick?" She pulled over the notebook where she had written down the temperature readings over night and slapped it on the desk between them. Garth wedged himself into the chair and opened the notebook with a heavy sigh. He looked ridiculous with his long legs stretched out in front of him and his back bowed over the tiny surface. She choose to stand, turning her back to the cool air moving in from the window and ruffling her hair to let the cool air wash over the damp tendrils at her neck.
After giving the lists of temperatures and pulses a quick look he flipped the cover shut and handed it back to her. "If he's decided, he's keeping it to himself. My orders are to continue checking with you every two hours and alert him if there are any changes. The medic will be by at 1000 and 1500 to check you both. Other than that we're supposed to keep you comfortable." He glanced over to where the boy was beginning to stir. "Do kids usually sleep this late?"
If today was like any other day, he'd probably been on the go since 0500, and that was after checking in with her every two hours until midnight last night. It probably did feel like everyone else was sleeping in. "I have no idea, but let him sleep. He had a traumatizing day yesterday."
Garth nodded. "Sure, yeah. Do you know how to take care of him? We can see if one of the mom's would volunteer. They'd have to stay in a damn suit but they would at least know what they are doing, when it comes to kids that is."
Riley didn't know whether to be offended or relieved. "Of course I do. I had a little brother you know. And I used to teach little kids' classes at the gym and I babysit. I'll be fine." The gym gave her an idea. "Hey, are there anymore of these mats around the school somewhere? Could we get a few more in here?"
"You know that we have to consider you infected even if you set up separate spaces. You already touched him and you're breathing the same air."
"Not for sleeping, for fun. I need to exercise or I'll get fat and you won't be able to just toss me around with one arm like before." She almost squirmed as Garth craned his neck to look up and down her ribbed tank and sweatpants. She hadn't changed from the night before, just hung her bra on a hook in the bathroom and laid down beside the kid in her clothes. She crossed her arms over her chest hoping he didn't see the way her body suddenly broke out in goosebumps on alert at his gaze.
"You have a long way to go before that." She caught a flash of teeth from behind the face mask as he broke into a grin. Over the last two weeks she'd learned that he didn't smile easily. While everyone else seemed to find reasons to forget about everything going on and keep the tone light, he seemed to sink deeper and deeper under the weight of responsibility that Velasquez was placing on his shoulders. Suddenly she wanted to see him smile more. "And your mother gave me express instructions to make sure you ate enough. You know there is an intense discussion going on around the camp this morning about whether we should allow the kid rations or not. So when your meals are sent up, eat or save everything. I don't know Velasquez's opinion on that matter either."
"The kid eats. End of discussion." She didn't even know his name yet but already she felt fiercely protective. "If you aren't going to make that argument, I will, from outside this room if necessary."
"Gah!" Garth threw up his hands. "You don't have to make everything a battle you know."
She pushed to her feet and paced over to the window. "I didn't risk my life on a whim. If I do something, it's one hundred and ten percent. And I don't take orders either. So you can march you hulking self back down there and tell Velasquez that the kid eats." She glanced over at his little body, huddled under the blanket and her tone softened as she added, "I think he's too old for formula but probably kid snacks and milk would be good, we can share the MREs."
When Garth checked in again two hours later she was relieved to see that he brought a variety of food choices for the little boy. She had learned that his name was Aiden and that his mom and dad were Tyrone and Jasmine. She was pretty sure he was only between 2 and 3 years old. He didn't know his last name or where he was from; he had gotten to the camp in Daddy's blue car; and he missed his doggie. She wasn't sure if he meant a family pet or a stuffed animal but after he'd clung to her and cried for most of the time he was awake she wished it had arrived with him, either way.
The minute Garth walked in the room in his white suit and hood the kid clammed up and buried his face in her shoulder. "It's OK. This is Corporal Simpson. He's on our side." She spoke softly into the delicate shell of his tiny ear hoping to soothe him. But he just tightened his skinny brown arms around her neck and whimpered into her hair. She might have thought it was sweet if she wasn't already damp with sweat from being on the third floor with no air conditioning.
Garth set a small box on the counter under the window and began removing items. "I tried to get a variety of stuff." He held up a package of fruit cups designed for kids lunch boxes. "I got you a number 10, last one in the box." Even through the plastic face shield Garth sounded tired. She took it and placed it on the counter. The devil on her shoulder wondered if he was giving her his favorite selection because he felt guilty or to truly be nice. But it had been a long day already and she wasn't going to make trouble over a nice gesture.
She held one of the sunny orange cups up to Aiden. "Want something yummy?" He eyed it suspiciously. Given that he probably hadn't eaten for most of yesterday she hoped his hungry stomach would overpower his distrust of Garth.
He looked between the fruit to her face and back again before nodding and reaching out to grab the cup and clutch it to his chest. "Are you the Hulk?" He whispered. It was first time the boy had talked voluntarily. She'd had to pry almost every other word out of him.
Garth chuckled. "No, but if you want to grow big and strong like me you need to eat your breakfast."
She sat Aiden down on the teacher's desktop and took the chair facing him. His tiny bare feet swung back and forth as he watched her peel back the lid with big brown eyes. She quickly determined that Aiden was more eager to eat than he was handy with the spoon. But he grinned and shook his head in denial every time she suggested she could help him. "You need a bib!"
"Uh uh. Aiden is Mimi's big boy now!" He proclaimed through a sticky mouthful.
"Did you bring a napkin?" She asked Garth.
He dug in his pocket and produced a faded bandana. "I didn't think of it, but this is clean. Or there's some towels in one of those boxes."
She took the bandana and tied it around Aiden's neck declaring it, "Just like a cowboy." When he protested. His big eyes darted between her and Garth a few times but when she held up the fruit he dug in again.
"Mimi? Is that your Nana?"
He puffed out his chest and pointed to himself with his spoon. "Yes! I Mimi's little buddy." After a few more spoonfuls he finally paused. Peach juice dotted Garth's bandana. "Where is Mimi? I want Mimi!" She managed to grab the fruit cup before he threw it down, but the spoon clattered across the floor.
She tried to stretch out a leg to reach it but Garth beat her to it, bending from the desk and easily grasping it in his fingers. He used the bandana around the boy's neck to wipe it off and calmly place it back in his hand and she wondered where he'd learned to be so gentle and patient with kids. "But Mimi!" Aiden's lips began to tremble. Riley remembered how her brother had been at this age and wondered if they were headed for a total meltdown. "Where go?" His hands fell to his sides and he collapsed into Riley in a sticky mess. "I want Mimi. Get Mimi."
Garth's voice was surprisingly soft and close to her ear. "Did Mimi put you in the tree?"
But Aiden was full on crying into Riley's neck now. She patted his back and shushed him. "I'll ask him more later. In the meantime, tell the people in the intake to be on the lookout for an older black woman driving a blue car. We don't want to risk rejecting her is she comes in. Chan probably has all the notes from yesterday. I don't remember anyone specific, but ask him for the logs. If he brings them up to me I'll review them and see what we can find out. Oh, and can you get me a book or something? I have already been through everything here and if my mind rests too long I get in trouble."
He nodded. "Yeah, I suppose that's what we have to do, wait it out. What kind of book do you like? I have some military history books and Chan's got some science fiction stuff. Of course, there must be a school library around here somewhere."
She wrinkled her nose. Military history? Didn't the guy ever do anything just for fun? "No. Remember the depressing books you had to read in highschool? I doubt anything in the library is going to do it for me. Just find me some romance novels. But not real porn-y ones. My mother doesn't allow those. But anything with embossed gold lettering, an English lord, or pirate, or cowboy on the front, that's my jam." She blushed as it occurred to her that Garth would probably look good as a cover model…all those muscles and his tawny eyes would make for a mighty fine bare chested kilt guy, maybe with a sword. "Do you have any of those kind of books?"
"Yeah, I guess I'll have to ask around."
The rest of the day wore her thin. Aiden seemed perfectly healthy but he was cranky and irritable and the medic insisted that they couldn't relax just yet. Although she was locked in and couldn't see very far on either side of the narrow window in the hallway door, a few people stopped to wave, knock, or give her a thumbs up. it was a little disconcerting at first, but as the small pile of clothes, games, and snacks left outside the door grew, her heart was buoyed. People wanted them to do well. Or maybe they needed them to do well so that they could believe there was a chance for their survival. She didn't care. Each time Garth came back and moved the pile inside, she helped Aiden find something fun to do and hoped they would still be feeling well the next time around.
The click of the door alerted her to his presence before a pair of white booties appeared in her line of vision. "Are you ok?" She probably looked terrible but just at that moment she couldn't spare a hand to wipe the sweaty strands of infuriatingly red hair from her slick forehead. She focused on contracting her biceps into another slow and controlled pushup all the while keeping one leg perfectly pointed skyward and the other leg at a precise 90 degree angle away from the wall. Her abs screamed from the effort of holding the pose and her arms were almost ready to give out but she was determined to finish a full set of twenty before righting herself. She hadn't meant to end up two hours into a workout but Aiden was sleeping and the knots she felt in her shoulders after three days of bumming around a locked classroom prompted her to stretch. Stretching led to yoga and yoga led to some basic strength training and before she knew it she was figuring out more and more calisthenics for the small classroom.
"Just three more." Her voice came out in rapid puffs and she slowly raised her left leg to meet the right, executed another pushup, and then lowered the right leg by 90 degrees.
A masked face replaced the boots as Garth bent down. "Is that supposed to be some kind of torture?"
She carefully switched legs again. "It's supposed to be a fantastic workout. Tell me that you've found his parents or grandmother while I finish up."
Garth returned to his full height. "I wish I could." He sighed heavily as she righted herself again. "We might have found her. We found a blue car with a body inside a few miles away. Had a car seat in the back." He held up a ratty stuffed dog. :Maybe Aiden will recognize this? I've got two guys suiting up to extract the woman and the medic said we should be able to test her blood and tell if she had been infected." She wasn't sure if the sound of blood rushing in her ears was from righting herself or from the news but her feet suddenly felt unsteady and she swayed to keep her balance. "Hey now." He caught her above the elbow and leaned her back against the wall. "Whoever the woman they found was, she was very old, like at least seventy. And there are no outward physical signs of the virus on the body."
For a minute she just stood there with the solid wall behind her back, her feet rooted to the floor, and his gloved hand on her arm as her only connection to reality. "Well, I suppose I already knew we'd crossed the Rubicon three nights ago, but now it feels like.."
"Alea iacta est, huh?" She peered through the glare of his face mask, surprised at his use of the Latin phrase, and the gruff remorse in his voice.
"Yeah, you could say that again." Despite the way the news was suddenly sinking in with a leaden finality, she giggled. "I don't really picture you as the geeked-over-dead-languages type. How do you know that?"
Garth relaxed his grip and sat on the edge of the teacher's desk. "Four years of military science classes and you pick up a few things. Just because I'm currently a grunt doesn't mean I'm stupid."
She snuffed. "I bet people underestimate your smarts all the time. They just see the Hulk and forget about Dr. Banner."
Behind the face shield she caught a flash of teeth, "Yeah something like that. But it doesn't work with you."
"If you met my dad you'd understand. I most definitely do not take after him in the physical department but I do in the brains."
"Perhaps. But I think your little handstand pushups routine demonstrates that Betty shouldn't be underestimated either."
Rather than think too hard about his words, and the curious warm feeling spreading thought her body, she pushed off from the wall and retrieved a piece of paper from the other corner of the desk. "Indeed. So, anyway, this is everything I've been able to learn about Aiden's family. Maybe you can use it to confirm if the body you found is his grandmother. Hopefully you can figure that out before the camp gets wind of it."
Garth scratched the back of his neck through the crinkly suit as he glanced down the sheet of paper. "Yeah, Chan was going to to check on the team after lunch. We're trying to keep it hushed. Hopefully, if the body turns out to be the woman we are looking for, it will be clear that she died some other way. I don't know if you've looked out the window today but, ah.." She crossed to the window and stared down. Someone had spray painted "Starve the flu" in giant red letters on the sidewalk below. A nauseating dread churned inside her.
"That's directed at me and Aiden, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry. We've tried to explain that as far as we know you aren't sick at all and that we can't deny food to an innocent kid, but there is a small group of very vocal people who don't want to risk sharing supplies with people who might be dying anyway. Someone even interrupted my dinner last night to suggest that we ought to go ahead execute you both just in case!
Her already exhausted muscles began to tremor. "I suppose it's just human nature, to be afraid when we don't have concrete information." She managed to croak.
He took her by the upper arms and sat her in a student's chair. Then pulled one up to face her. She could feel the warmth of his hands through his gloves and focused on that, letting the sense of contact sink into her skin. "They are running on pure fear and I am afraid for what might happen if it turns out that woman had signs of infection. But I'm not going to let anything happen to you an Aiden. It was my decision to quarantine you in the camp and I will defend that decision if I have to. I wanted to add two guards to the ends of the hall to protect you but Velasquez is the one in charge and he nixed it because there's only one key to that door anyways. So for now just beware, that's all. Lock the door behind me and don't let anyone other than me and the medic in."
He said more and spoke faster than he ever had before and she recognized the sincerity innately. She drew a steadying death and nodded mutely. How could they turn so fast? Just a day ago people had been sending piles of stuff to the room for the boy and now they were suggesting shooting a child? It hardly made sense. "OK. What about my mother. What is she saying?"
"She has been dogging Velasquez heels, insisting that you wouldn't knowingly infect the camp and that you won't lie about symptoms. And she's furious that he won't let her see you. I think she's terrified that she'll lose another child without saying goodbye. For his part, Velasquez is downplaying the risk that you're actually sick and keeps insisting that this room is an effective quarantine. Although he's also decided that anyone coming up to this floor has to wear a suit now. He makes promises to look out for the entire camp but they are being heard two ways."
She snorted. "I bet my mother took that well. She's been texting me to ask how I'm feeling roughly once every five minutes for the last two days." As if on cue, the phone dinged. Her messages had scolded Riley for taking the risk of climbing the tree and contacting the boy, but they still made her feel missed, and she supposed that was a good thing.
"She's a little intense, isn't she? She's literally camped out in the room he's using as an office, took the best chair, and says she's not moving."
Some of the resentment she'd been harboring for her mother over Lucas's death evaporated. "Look, just tell her that I'm OK and get her to take care of herself and Emma. Remind her that she has to be strong for Emma." I struck her how tenuous their position really was, imprisoned, for all intents and purposes, on the third floor of a brick building. If Garth stopped bringing meals, they would die sooner rather than later. She shuddered. She might still be deep in her grief for her brother and anxiety over her father, but she didn't want to die.
His gloved thumb rubbed over her knuckles. "You're shaking. Are you OK? I promise, Velasquez isn't losing hope. He's just cautious. He's a good man. He's not going to let a mob steer him from what he knows is right. At least, that's the man he always was."
"I have a feeling that this is the kind of situation that shows you new sides to people you always thought you knew." She threw her shoulders back. "but if you say not to worry about him then I won't." And that was true. Because she might not have known Garth very long, but she knew him well enough to understand that he wouldn't lie to her. He'd tell her the truth, even if it hurt her. "My brain just tripped over the incongruity of thinking about how three weeks ago I was trying to console myself that I probably wouldn't make this year's Olympic gymnastics team without seriously improving my floor routine, and today I am telling myself that there's still a good chance that I won't die."
"You're not going to die." The certainty in his voice was comforting even if she knew there was precious little he could do about it, either way. If she'd been talking to her mom or even her dad she would have lost it. As it was, the tears were threatening. Behind the mask his face stayed impassive. "But I hate to break it to you. You might have to wait more than four years on the Olympics." He said it so matter-of-fact that at first it didn't register as a joke. Unbidden, a giggle bubbled up before she could catch it. He matched her giggle with a short chuckle. "I'm not sure if I should take it as a good sign that your spirits remain so high or a sign that you don't understand the gravity of the situation. Either way. I need to go. The sooner we figure out what the deal is with this woman they found, the sooner we can hopefully clear you two from quarantine."
Before he could leave she reached out and grasped his forearm. "This is going to sound strange, I mean, I know we hardly know each other and all, but could you just like, give me a hug. I could really use that right now." It was an impulsive request but as soon as she asked it she had a tremendous craving to feel his arms around her. She knew he would be like an anchor she could rely on for stability.
He froze, staring down his long nose at her, eyes hooded. "You want to hug my germ laden safety suit?"
She stepped back, reality slapping her yet again. "Yeah, no, it was stupid really. I just..." She bit her lip and then realized she was doing it so she clamped them together while her cheeks burned. "I just really wanted to hug you, I mean someone. I mean, you look like you'd be able to give really good hugs. I…It was a foolish idea. Yeah, nevermind. Go now, before I turn into a blubbering baby on you."
Garth half turned to go and then stopped. Even through the saggy paper fabric she could see the indecision in the way he held himself stiff and yet yielded in turning toward her. Finally he sighed. "Look, when I can take this suit off you can hug me then, ok?"
Something stirred in her gut. It was a nervous anticipation she hadn't felt in a long time. "Alright." She squared her shoulders. "I can hold on a few more days. I'm not some weakling woman. I am Riley Louise Slattery, all the vim and vigor of a full size redhead packed into a convenient travel size."
She thought he might have winked at her. "That's more like the Betty I know. I'll update you as soon as we know anything." With that he left her alone with her restless energy again. She eyed Aiden, snoring softly under a light blanket. By now he knew enough to check the bathroom if he woke up alone but just to be safe she left the door open.
The water in the shower was cool but it still felt good to wash away her sweat. And this time, her tears. "Just hang in there. It's only a few more days Betty." She whispered to herself. After a good cathartic cry she stepped out to wrap up in a towel. It was going to be OK. At least for the next few days and she'd worry about the rest when they got there.
By the end of that day Riley was sure the woman, whose driver's license listed a Mimi Harris, was Aiden's Nana. He claimed the stuffed dog with a squeal of joy. According to Aiden they walked in the park with his doggie every day and she liked to sing him to sleep. And she made better macaroni and cheese than Riley did. Aiden hadn't cried when she explained that Mimi had gone on to heaven but she had wanted to bawl her own eyes out. She told herself it was silly because she never even knew the woman, but what she had learned from him was enough to know that Mimi had loved him with all her heart.
It took a long sleepless night before the medical team determined that she had died of uncontrolled diabetes. "Blood sugar over 400." The medic who did their daily blood draws reported. "The poor old lady was probably a little addled by the time she succumbed with sugars like that." He shook his head and clucked over the bruises on the back of Riley's hands. "With any luck you and the boy only have two more blood draws before you're cleared." He wrapped her fingers around a balloon filled with sand and began poking around her inner elbow for a vein. "The lady must have known though. She had a test kit in the car but the insulin we found was warm and past its expiration date. Either way, it wasn't enough to keep her going."
She texted the good news to her mother. "We should be out in two days."
Her mother sent a thumbs up which wasn't exactly the positive response she had been hoping for. But her sister, who had been mostly silent through her time in quarantine, sent a page full of animated emojis. But her joy was short lived because her mother soon followed up with a promise to find a good guardian for Aiden. Her protest that she could take care of him was met with a curt "Hector already asked me to work on it."
Finally the last day of their quarantine arrived. Garth handed over a box of granola and a water bottle full of reconstituted milk as he came through the door. "Sorry. It was the best I could do. The truck of supplies we were expecting this morning didn't show up." She had a drawer full of snacks she'd set aside over the last few days so she didn't complain.
Aiden ran over, one arm held out over his head for a high five. "Mr. Hulk!"
"Hey my man. Are you feeling good today?"
"Yeth!" Aiden giggled as Garth gave him a nouggie. "Betty it's Hulk!"
"Oh great, now you have him calling me that too?" She smiled though. Aiden was taking the loss of his family remarkably well but she wondered if that was because he'd latched on to her. What would happen if she passed him on to yet another caretaker?
Garth and Aiden gave her matching grins. "You don't want me to go back to calling you kid again, do you?"
Remembering their first encounter, her cheeks flushed and she glanced at his belt buckle and.."No suit today! Does this mean we can go now?"
The medic came through the door behind Garth. "It does indeed Ms. Slattery. Major Velasquez ordered me to release you as long as you both have normal temps this morning."
