The Onyx Seed - A Story of Survival by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 7

As usual, the President used a lot of words to say very little. That seems to be how politics works. But what he did say could potentially send the country into an unrecoverable tailspin of social and economic disaster. Marty and Lucas, in a state of shock, sat as the broadcast cut back to CNN. Every news station in the country would be offering their commentary, asking, ‘What Next?’

“Jesus Christ,” Lucas began. “How bad do you think this is going to get?”

“I don’t know,” answered Marty. “But I think we need a little more information than this.”

“What do you mean?” asked Lucas. “Well,” Marty began. “We only have two sources of information, the news and what we saw yesterday at County.”

“But, we know what happened at County,” Lucas replied.

Marty took a moment to remember everything he’d seen.

“I don’t think we know everything,” he responded. “Maybe we should go back and see what happened overnight.”

Lucas suddenly took on an expression of disbelief. “Are you kidding?!” he asked. “We’ll never get back in there. The police have surrounded the hospital and the reserves are on the way.”

“Do you have a plan?” Marty asked. Marty leaned over and reached into a black steamer trunk. When he got out of the Army, Marty packed most of his combat gear and shipped it back, ahead of his departure from Iraq. All he had to do was pick it up after he got a place to live. He wanted to live in one of the upscale parts of the city, but the rent turned out to be far more than he could afford. He turned back to Lucas with a pair of military binoculars. They were designed for use in combat and had the added feature of night vision.

“I don’t know that we need a plan, yet,” he said. “But, I do think we need to start looking around other parts of the city. Maybe things are different in other areas.”

Lucas agreed.

They left the apartment and, again drove in the direction of County Hospital. However, Marty made a small detour so as to drive past the restaurant. They found its doors closed and its windows dark. “You see?” Lucas said. “No one showed up.” Marty slowed as he passed the restaurant, taking in every detail.

“Marty,” Lucas said. “Can we just go? This is really creeping me out.”

Marty touched the gas pedal as they drove out of the neighborhood. He noticed how quiet it was. There were no shattered windows, no screams or gunfire. It was as though the area had simply been abandoned. Like parts of Detroit, it seemed as if people just got up and left.

As they approached the area of County Hospital, the eerie silence was suddenly shattered by the heavy, thumping sound of rotors, as an Apache helicopter roared over their heads. Marty stopped abruptly in the middle of the street.

“Shit!” he yelled.

Lucas looked out the window in horrified amazement. “Jesus Christ!” Lucas yelled. “What the fuck is that?!”

Marty put the car into reverse and backed into the intersection behind them.

“Trouble!” he answered.

As he turned the car around, he could hear the sound of, at least two approaching vehicles. After three years in Iraq, Marty could identify any military vehicle or aircraft by its sound alone. He also realized that their presence had been reported, and they were likely being pursued. Now, in the growing light of early morning, he also knew how difficult it would be to evade those who now sought them.

Marty put the car into third gear. The tires screamed in harmony, leaving thin strips of rubbery skin on the pavement as the engine responded like a burning nerve. Its forward motion threw Lucas back into his seat as the image of a military Humvee appeared in Marty’s rearview mirror. Lucas fumbled for the seat belt.

“Forget about that!” Marty yelled. “We’re getting out!”

“What!?” Lucas yelled, in disbelief. “Are you nuts? They’re right behind us!”

Marty dropped the car into second gear and turned left at the intersection. The Humvee was a little more than three blocks behind them, but Marty already had a plan of escape. He turned left again and doubled back one block. Using the streets as a maze, he turned right and into the crowded parking lot of a housing project. Shutting the engine off, he told Lucas to duck his head.

“What are we doing here?” Lucas asked. He was near panic and terrified of the idea that he could soon be taken into custody. “Listen to me,” Marty whispered. “They expect us to run, not stop and as long as they can’t see us from the air, all we need to do is wait until they leave.”

“And after that?” Lucas asked.

“After that,” Marty responded. “We get the hell out and go back to the apartment. We’ll go back to the hospital tonight when we’ll have a better chance of not being seen. And it’ll give us a little more time to get a better idea of what’s going on.” They heard the Apache as it circled the area. Sometimes, one car looks like any other and having escaped the pilot’s view, Marty breathed a sigh of relief. But Lucas was still shaken by the sight of a fully-loaded military attack helicopter and had to be repeatedly reassured that they would not get caught. Marty listened carefully as the sound of the Humvees faded.

“Are they gone?” asked Lucas.

“I don’t know,” Marty answered. “They could be on foot, so we better stay put for a while.” They sat with their heads down as the deafening sound of silence screamed around them. Their pursuers seemed to have vanished, leaving Marty feeling somewhat haunted by the quiet stillness that remained.

“Okay,” he began. “Here’s what we’re going to do.” Lucas listened intently as Marty briefly outlined a plan to get them back to the apartment. They would stay off the streets, making their way through backyards, alleyways and abandoned buildings. Mentally, Marty had to put himself back in Iraq in order to jump-start his battle instincts, bringing his senses to life. As he led the way back, his eyes showed him the path of least resistance. His ears trained themselves to detect the slightest sound that seemed out of the ordinary and his mind tuned itself to perceive anything that moved, no matter how small or insignificant. His only concern was in getting Lucas to understand how important it was to move in silence. In other words, Lucas had to keep his mouth shut. Within an hour, Marty had found the way back to their apartment. Occasionally, Lucas would whisper a question about where they were and Marty was quick to raise a hand, prompting him to avoid speaking.

Entering the buildings back stairway, Marty unlocked the door to the kitchen and slowly eased it open. He peered around the refrigerator, looking for any sign of unwanted guests. There was nothing out of place and the only sound was the ticking of the kitchen clock. Having returned to their apartment, Marty made sure that the front and back doors were locked. He also asked Lucas to stay away from the windows facing the street, in the event that the military began patrolling the city. And even though they had seen no one else, Marty knew what people were capable of during times of crisis. He’s seen it far too many times as a response to disasters or the collapse of government. People, it seems, tend to revert to their animal nature in the absence of authority. Marty was not yet prepared to deal with that side of human nature and as a precaution, wedged a chair under the doorknob of both front and back doors.

Walking back through the kitchen, he went into his room and, again, turned on the T.V. Lucas was sitting at the kitchen table with a lost expression on his face. Marty stepped out of his room with obvious concern. “Luke,” he said. “Are you okay?”

Lucas looked up in confusion and fear. “Marty,” he replied. “What the fuck is going on? We were just chased by the fucking military!” Marty was at a loss for words.

“Did you see anything like this in Iraq?” Lucas asked. “Luke,” Marty replied. “I saw a lot of things in Iraq. But, without getting up close, I’m as confused as you are.”

Lucas looked out the kitchen window at a small playground. He remembered the sounds of children laughing as they played in the dirt and teetered back and forth on small spring mounted rides. Some harmlessly toppled off and cried as their mothers ran to tend to them. Now, the playground was silent. It would never again ring with the joy and tears of the most innocent of God's creations. For them, playtime was over.

“Yeah,” Lucas replied. “At least you’re being calm about it.”

Marty nodded his head and returned to his room, continuing to watch the news, leaving Lucas to sit alone in the kitchen. He thought it might be best that Lucas spend a bit of time absorbing what could be their new reality.

Marty often found the local news a boring but sad reminder of the city’s chaotic nature. He saw the stories that were usually broadcast as a direct reflection of humankind at its worse drugs, child abuse, domestic violence, and murder. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. It was distributed and displayed for everyone to witness. Like the footage recovered during the liberation of Auschwitz, as disturbing as it was, people still watched it. As Marty began to lose himself in the words and images of the broadcast, the news announcer suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.

The newscaster’s tone expressed a slight sense of urgency, in spite of any attempt at a neutral appearance. It was also announced that the CDC had issued a federal isolation and quarantine order, and the public was being urged to cooperate and all interstate travel was being restricted. The media could only give people the information they had been given. And it was both brief and sparse, leaving many questions unanswered. Naturally, the President was not available for questions. This announcement, as well as the President’s statement, made the night before, would be broadcast every two hours. Marty quickly made the assumption that both the President and Vice President were likely being escorted out of Washington with their families.

At some point during the broadcast, Lucas wandered into the room, having heard the words quarantine order.

“Jesus Christ!” he said. “Do you know what this means?”

Marty knew nothing about matters of federal law, but he did know what the word quarantine meant. He had become engrossed in the broadcast, waiting for more information.

“Marty,” Lucas continued.

Marty’s head whipped around as his attention was pulled away from the television.

“This means they can start arresting people. This shit’s getting serious!”

Marty understood everything that was happening until now. He was an Iraq war veteran who understood things like strategy, resourcefulness, and reconnaissance. Lucas, on the other hand, was a pre-law student. He was only in his second year but had enough familiarity with the legal system to know how serious things were about to become. However, he had become so caught up in the last two events that he did not yet realize, given how quickly everything was falling apart, there would be no college to return to. The need for survival had not yet occurred to him. Lucas explained that the quarantine order had, in essence, come down from the federal government. It provided the authority to surround entire cities, cut off highways and force people into isolation and quarantine. He told Marty that federal quarantine law allowed the government to suspend civil rights for the safety of society.

“Fuck,” Marty said quietly.

He remembered what it was like to conduct house to house searches, violating people’s privacy, whether they were home or not. He remembered doing random pat-down searches on anyone looking suspicious. Marty never believed something like that could happen in America. Land of the free. He now came to the full realization that the entire country was headed down a road from which there would be no turning back.

“We need to get out of here,” he said. Lucas reacted with disbelief.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he asked. “Do you know what they can do if we break quarantine? They can throw us in jail or shoot us.”

Marty turned to him with a tone of determination. “Luke, your thing is the law,” he said. “Mine is survival and I can get us out of the city. But it’ll take a couple of days to get some things together and I’ve already got a plan. You with me?”

Lucas sat down and tried to think of what their options were.

“Well,” he began. “We either stay or leave. If we stay, we’ll be at the mercy of whatever else is out there. But, if we leave, there’s a good chance we can find someplace fairly isolated, where we’ll be left alone.”

Marty was already convinced that it was best to leave. Lucas, on the other hand, wasn’t so much trying to convince Marty of the necessity to leave, but himself as well. He had also become aware that if they had somehow managed to avoid infection, then others had as well.

“So, what do you think?” Marty asked. Lucas took a breath while gathering his thoughts. “I got to tell you, Marty,” he answered. “I’d rather take my chances with the military than deal with anyone else who’s survived this. At least, the military has rules. And I’ve got to be honest; this whole thing scares the shit out of me.”

Lucas took a moment to consider what they were about to do.

“So, what’s your plan?”

Marty sat back in his chair.

“Well,” he began. “We need to get organized. We can’t just jump into this. We need to use our heads.” He explained to Lucas that in order to get what they needed, they would have to break into grocery stores, gun shops, camping supply stores, gas stations and any other places where they could find resources. If L.A. was any example of where the rest of the country was, concerning the infection, then getting what they needed should be fairly easy. As long as they could avoid other survivors, life would only be as difficult as they made it. Marty saw only one potential stumbling block. Lucas would have to grow up very quickly. He would have to make some difficult decisions and would see things one only saw in some of the worst places on earth and would see death up close. Lucas would have to find his strength.

They spent the day writing lists of what they needed. Some things were more important than others and many items would be picked up along the way to wherever they were going. Before they started, Lucas went to his room for paper and pens. He was stopped by the sight of textbooks stacked neatly on his desk. His finished term paper lay beside them. A sudden realization struck him both abruptly and without mercy. There would be no more classes, no lectures or papers to write. Whatever it was, the infection had destroyed far more than the living. It had brought an end to everything. Culture, art, music, the sciences. The grandness of human and cultural diversity was dead, as centuries of enlightened thought remained in the very few who cared enough to remember it. Civilization is more than the sum of the living. It was everything that has ever been produced by the living as well as those who came before. Now, all that was left were buildings and monuments that would no longer be maintained. Libraries and universities that would no longer be staffed and electronic knowledge that would no longer be accessible.

Lucas returned to the kitchen with a notebook and a few pens. Upon opening the notebook, Marty noticed that many of its pages had been torn out. He had been concerned about how Lucas would react when he finally realized that his college career had been brought to an unfortunate end. He would have become a lawyer, crusading for the victims of violence. Never giving up, championing for those beaten down by the less than human. As Lucas sat down at the kitchen table, Marty glanced over at his expression. Something was different. He couldn’t put a word to it, but Lucas had changed. “Luke, you okay?” he asked.

Lucas replied without hesitation.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Marty saw his reaction as being a bit defensive and thought it was probably better to let Lucas talk about it when he was ready.

Marty made the assumption that money had become worthless, so they would have to live by their wits. He also came to the conclusion that the most valuable commodity was information. And at this point, the phone book was their best source of information. Specifically, the yellow pages. It was their best source for finding what they needed. But they couldn’t do this during the day and had already become aware of what the risks were. So, they would go out at night, staying off the streets as much as possible. Marty would have to teach Lucas a few things about urban warfare; How not to be seen; Walking close to the walls, instead of in the street, and where to find the best vantage points. A list was written with the names and addresses of the places they needed to go within a two-mile radius. Mostly at the edge of the city where there were malls and outlet stores. The list was extensive. They would, eventually, stock up on everything imaginable. Backpacks, camping gear, canned goods, and first aid supplies. They would need to acquire weapons. A pistol, preferably a nine millimeter. A twelve-gauge shotgun and a deer rifle, as well as anything else Marty could get his hands on. At some point, they would have to hunt for their food. And, although they planned to stay clear of other survivors, Marty knew that trouble could find them, and he may have to kill to defend their lives.

They would take their time sleeping in the daytime and gathering supplies at night. When they were ready, Marty and Lucas would leave L.A. on foot. Their first goal was to reach Whittier, a small town just east of L.A. and a stone’s throw from a hilly area that surrounded an open-pit mine. The military had already surrounded Los Angeles, cutting off all major roads. So, not only would they have to travel at night, they would also be forced away from the roads. Of course, this also meant they were breaking lines of quarantine and therefore federal law. But did that really matter? If the entire country was in a similar state, then didn’t the very concept of law become pointless? This idea never occurred to Marty. He had gone into survival mode. Lucas, on the other hand, gave considerable thought to what might happen in a country that had become lawless almost overnight. And the scenarios his mind produced terrified him as social and moral boundaries quickly dissolved, leaving humanity to fade into the shadows of animal instincts. The intelligent would die under the fist of the strong, seeing them as threats to their need for control and domination.

While Marty went over the list of items and addresses, Lucas decided to retreat to his room. He sat staring at the stack of textbooks on his desk, thinking about how everything had suddenly changed. He wondered how the two of them managed to escape the infection and wondered if he’d been better off clinging to life outside the locked doors of County Hospital. He knew he couldn’t stay in L.A. and yes; he had considered suicide, and just wanted things to go back to the way they were. And as his mind began to wander, he remembered a quote from the writings of Cardinal Newman, “Let us act on what we have, since we have not what we wish.” Lucas would have to accept what had now become his new reality.