Ch. 10 - Alligator Purse

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Danny moved swiftly through the camp, heading directly to the small cabin where he, Kara, and Frankie had been living for over a year. As expected, the place was empty, the small go bags that remained packed at all times missing from their spot next to the door. It was obvious that Kara had been here and gone already.

Knowing that every minute was critical, Danny headed towards the door, only to hesitate, taking one last look around the cabin. Despite the decrepit interior and hand-made furniture, there was a cheerfulness to the place. Colorful pictures, all carefully labeled and dated, hung on the wall. A quilt made from their worn out uniform was folded neatly across the bed. Frankie's plastic ducks spilled out of the toy box that took up one corner. In spite of the lack of, well, anything to work with, Kara had somehow turned the cabin into a home. Trading or bartering for things that they needed. Swapping her last AAA battery for the stuffed pony that Frankie still insisted on sleeping with. Pulling extra shifts for a week so he and Carlton had time to white-wash the crumbling plank walls. He still didn't know how she managed to acquire the cocktail dress she wore for their third wedding anniversary or the bottle of wine they shared that evening. Everything here had meaning. Everything had memories. Hell, even the metal dishes stacked neatly in the small kitchen cabinets reminded him of hundreds of meals eaten here as a family.

And chances were that they would never see this place again.

Danny slammed his fist into the table he and Carlton built out of old planks, the woodworking class that Danny took in ninth grade for the easy A finally coming in handy. He remembered how accomplished he felt that day, having made something for his family with his own two hands. Now it was just another thing to leave behind, along with the quilt and the toys and the dishes. They would be moving on foot, carrying only the bare necessities, and all of this - all of this stuff - would just weigh them down.

Shaking out his arm, ignoring the ache in his hand, Danny stalked out the door. It was just a table, just a house. The important things - the only things that mattered - were Kara and Frankie and he still had them.

For now.

Ten minutes later Danny entered the lodge, weaving his way through the gathered crowd. The first twenty-five groups, made up of almost six hundred people, were gathered here, waiting for the signal to depart. The first five groups were filled with priority evacuees but, after that, it was luck of the draw. As each group departed another would take its place here in the common room until, if all went as planned, all fifty-five groups met again at the rally point. Of course, that assumed they had the twelve hours necessary for an orderly evacuation. If not, this entire operation became a free-for-all. Danny paused as two small girls darted past him, some of the orphans from group twenty-two, singing a song that he vaguely recalled his sister singing when they were kids.

Miss Susie had a baby, his name was Tiny Tim, she put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim...

Around him the groups shifted restlessly, packs held close, children held closer. Their eyes followed his every step, filled with questions that he couldn't answer. Was this really it? Were they, once again, on the run? And who were they running from this time? Granderson's people? The Immunes? Or some new threat they knew nothing about? Danny kept moving, checking that each group was ready, speaking with the team leaders to confirm the various route. But even as he did, half his attention remained on the crowd, searching for signs of panic - like the sound of a woman sobbing.

Moving towards the sound as inconspicuously as possible, Danny was caught completely off-guard by the sight before him. Kat Nolan sat on the ground, head buried in her arms, bawling her eyes out while Kara attempted to quiet her. Instead of dealing with his obviously upset girlfriend, Ray Diaz stood with his back to the two women talking to his friends Colin and Cody. Danny narrowed his eyes on the young men, wondering what the hell was going on. Of all the groups that Danny worried about breaking down, Group Seven was not on the list. Ray and Kat and their crew were tight, having made the trek here all the way from Alabama by themselves, after the adults at their summer camp deserted them. If Group Seven was breaking down, this evacuation was screwed.

Danny crouched down before the teenager. "Kat?" When there was no answer forthcoming, Danny looked to Kara. "What's going on?"

There was a moment of hesitation, one so slight that nobody else would have noticed, before Kara softly spoke. "Doctor Scott just gave Kat her shot."

Instantly, Danny understood. Kat was on the list. Ray, and the rest of Group Seven, were not.

He ate up all the water, he ate up all the soap, he tried to eat the bathtub but it didn't fit down his throat...

Danny's eyes met Kara's and clung. This was the beginning of the divide, worse than natural immunity, because that was a simple genetic lottery. You were either immune or you weren't. Nothing you could do to change it either way. But this - the vaccine list - it was different. Being on that list meant that you were special. It meant that your life had more value. Chosen as the Ramseys would say. Willing to sacrifice others, as Amy Granderson had taught them.

Kat raised red-rimmed eyes, staring at something - or someone - behind Danny. "She should have saved it for the kids."

God he hated this. Danny fought the urge to punch another table, the unfairness of it all eating away at him. What kind of God would give them a cure for the Red Flu, but not give them enough for everyone?

Closing his eyes for a moment, Danny forced himself to speak. "Listen to me, Kat. That shot? It could save one child, but saving you could mean saving hundreds or even thousands of children. You know how to make the vaccine. That's why Doctor Scott gave you the shot and not someone else."

Kat shook her head, tears continuing to roll down her face. "But I don't! Doctor Scott is a genius! I wouldn't know where to start."

Miss Susie called the doctor, the doctor called the nurse, the nurse called the lady with the alligator purse...

She was drawing too much attention from the surrounding groups, the murmuring growing louder. "Yes you do, Kat. You've worked with Doctor Scott for close to two years now. Push comes to shove, you know you could do it. We all believe in you." Danny paused before raising his voice slightly. "Isn't that right, Diaz?"

Ray jumped, obviously not expecting to be pulled into the conversation. Still, he hesitated only for seconds. "Commander's right, Kat. You can totally do it."

"But..."

"No buts. You guys managed to avoid the Immunes before, you can do it again. First sign of danger, your entire group goes to ground. Hole up. Soon as it's safe, you make contact with Cruz. Book it to the nearest safe area and start making that cure yourself and then start spreading it." Danny turned to look over his shoulder. "You understand me, Diaz?"

"Yes, sir!"

One down, one to go. Danny's attention swung back to the girl before him. "Kat?"

The silence stretched as Kat looked around the room, her eyes coming to stop on Ray. Finally she nodded, wiping her eyes and letting Ray pull her to standing. "Got it, Commander."

In came the doctor, in came the nurse, in came the lady with the alligator purse...

Nodding her head towards the back of the room, Kara began moving towards the small table where Darien Chandler sat with her own two children and Frankie, who was coloring a picture. Danny trailed after his wife.

"You did a good thing there," Kara murmured when they were several yards away from Kat and Ray. "She needed to hear that. More importantly, Ray needed to hear that."

Danny shrugged, his eyes fixed on his daughter. Was it Kat he was trying to convince? Or himself? Justifying why his family was safe when hundreds of others were not. "She was getting pretty worked up. Last thing we need is people panicking."

Kara's eyes flickered with an emotion that Danny didn't recognize. "Are we really leaving then?"

"Looks that way." Danny grabbed Kara's wrist, drawing her to a halt. "You and Frankie got your shots?"

"Yes. Had to bribe Frankie with that last lollipop."

"We'll get more on the road," Danny answered absently as he surveyed his group. They were ready. Even Doctor Scott was here, fussing over her equipment. They had all seen first-hand what happened to those who waited too long to leave. "You have the hiking pack for Frankie?"

After what happened to Debbie, Danny wasn't taking any chances. It would be far too easy to lose a three-year-old in the chaos and he wasn't sure that Kara could survive that kind of loss.

He knew that he couldn't.

Measles said the doctor, mumps said the nurse, nothing said the lady with the alligator purse...

"I brought it. But she's over forty pounds now so I had to par down your pack to make up the difference." Kara looked away and Danny knew, without having to ask, that Kara had been forced to remove something critical to balance out Frankie's weight gain. But what wasn't critical these days? Ammo v. food v. antibiotics. Choose wrong and you were dead.

Russian roulette, Red Flu style.

"I can handle an extra ten pounds."

"Danny, you're already carrying over a hundred pounds..." Kara paused suddenly. "The hazmat suits. We don't need them anymore."

Their old suits, the ones from the Nathan James, long since replaced by the sturdier suits from the CDC but stored in the go bags for emergencies. Those had to weigh at least ten pounds. "Give them to Ray."

"I'll get them." Kara took only a step before pausing and turning back. "You should talk to Carlton. It's about Ravit."

Danny scowled, searching the crowd until he located Carlton talking with Rios. "She got her shot, right?"

Kara smiled almost ruefully. "That's the issue. He's worried that the vaccine will hurt the baby."

Danny blinked. Doctor Scott developed a vaccine for the deadliest disease known to man and Carlton was worried about the shot? "More than Ravit being dead will hurt the baby?"

Kara's lips curled. "Ravit said the same thing. But you know Carlton."

Danny nodded absently. Carlton would pull it together. He always did. "I'll talk to him."

Kara stepped closer, her hand brushing against his shoulder as though straightening his uniform. "Danny. If things go south and we get separated..."

He refused to listen to this. "That will not happen."

"But if it does," she held up a hand to stop his protest, "If it does, I want you to promise me that you'll keep going. That you'll take Frankie and keep going. That you won't throw away your life hunting for me if I don't make the rally point."

There wasn't a chance in hell he was agreeing to that. "Kara..."

His radio crackled. "Green and Burk, need you at the command center now."

Slattey's terse order left Danny both relieved and frustrated at the interruption. As though he would ever agree to leave Kara out there on her own.

"I'll get the suits and Frankie," Kara said quietly, understanding what this summons likely meant. It was time to go.

Danny caught Carlton's eye, both men moving towards the door. "On our way."

Out went the doctor, out went the nurse, out went the lady with the alligator purse...

But Slattery wasn't done. "Oh, and bring Kat with you."

Well that was unexpected. Danny looked to Carlton, who appeared as confused as he was.

"Kat Nolan?"

"Yup." Slattery's voice remained clipped. "Captain Chandler is back, and he brought a guest. Guy named Tex. He claims to be Kat's father. And boy does he have a whopper of a story to tell."