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The Weekend

"John, I wouldn't do that right now," she warns.

"Oh! And why is that, Julie? What secrets are in this journal that you don't want anyone else to know?"

"Not me, John. It's you. You're the one who has to read it, alone, and come to your own conclusions. Leave Ted and Monica out of this for now. Trust me John, you don't want anyone else to know what you are about to discover."

I sift through my dad's journal, and as Julie exits the lab, she says "John, when you do find out, come talk to me first. I can help. I'll be waiting in my office." Julie walks out of the lab as I stand staring at this blasted journal with "raw fish can be poisonous" rolling through my head. I close my eyes, release a deep sigh, and mumble, "Well, Dad, what in the hell did you do?" I go to the cafeteria for that blasted coffee.

Before entering the cafeteria, I tuck the journal in my back pants pocket, making sure it's secure and surreptitious. When I open the door, I'm surprised to see the lack of personnel. Three people are seated, and not together.

Cautiously, I work my way over to the coffee and decide to fill up a pitcher instead of just one cup. While I wait for the pitcher to fill, I feel someone touching my shoulder. Nearly dropping the hot pitcher of coffee, I turn around and say, "Damn it, Ted! Don't startle someone when they have a pitcher of hot coffee in their hands, man!"

"I'm sorry, John. I just wanted to get your attention, in case you didn't hear me calling out your name with this huge crowd in here," as he chuckles.

I look at the other three occupants in the cafeteria, and shake my head in agreement saying, "You may be right, Ted. This place is gruesome. Where are the others?"

Ted shrugs his shoulders and says, "I don't know. Maybe everyone's paranoid and terrified since Larrison's death. Who knows?"

"Well, for right now, I want to go back to my office, enjoy my coffee and toast, and do some reading to see if anything new can be made out of this plague. Where are you going to be, Ted?"

"Oh, I guess I'm going to head back down to the lab and see if I can run some more tests on some other stuff I've been thinking about. Do you want to get together later on and share notes?"

"Yeah, let's do that. Did you locate Monica?"

"No, I haven't been able to find her. She must be hiding somewhere getting some rest, or something. I'm sure she'll pop up when she's ready."

"Yeah, maybe. Okay, Ted. I'll call you at the lab later on and we'll get together. Later, man."

"Later," Ted says, as I exit the cafeteria.

Walking alone in the secluded hallway, which resembles an Escher maze with its infinite, twisting, chaotic madness, leading to the depths of the twilight zone. I stop, turn, and knowing where the hall leads and ends, I sense that a supernatural entity is slithering about. The thought that the people within these walls may be the only survivor's after this plague has run its course is spine-chilling. Would humanity have a better chance this time if more intelligent humans were to reboot the human race? I don't want to think about that! I can't think about that! According to Julie and the president, intellect created this damn plague. God! Where do we go from here? We're lost!

Arriving at my office, I order the door open. When I enter, I set the tray down on the couch and quickly pour myself a cup of hot, delicious coffee, and readily join the tray on the couch with my legs propped up on the coffee table. I'm about to take my first sip of the day, when the damn phone rings. Damn it! I don't care. I continue to sip my mouth-watering coffee until voicemail picks up. I barely finish my first cup when the damn phone rings again. Still reluctant to pick it up, I pour a second cup and continue to ignore the ringing. When I begin to feel relaxed, someone knocks on the door. Shit! Not wanting to be separated from my coffee, I nonchalantly get up from the couch, holding my cup firmly, and ingest an enormous sip, then fling the door open saying, "Yeah. What do you want?" My cup falls from my hand, as I gawk at the person standing before me.

"Aunt Ruth? Aunt Ruth?" I repeat.

"John, dear, close your mouth before something unpleasant enters. May I come in, dear?" says Aunt Ruth.

Stunned and confused, I continue to stand with the door open until Aunt Ruth enters and shuts it. She bends down to pick up the broken cup, and then turns around smiling and says, "John, I see you're totally mystified by my presence. Have you read Gerald's journal yet?"

Unable to answer, she notices that the journal is still in my back pocket. Gracefully, Aunt Ruth removes the journal, and then signals me to join her on the couch. Totally in shock of seeing her, I manage to blurt out, "But... but... you're dead... Aunt Ruth. Aren't you?"

Aunt Ruth smiles, takes my hand, guides me to sit next to her and says, "John, there is so much you don't know. But you will when you read Gerald's journal. You must concentrate on the journal John, and then all of your questions will be answered. Remember, raw fish can be poisonous."

I leap from the couch, grab the journal from her hand, and yell, "What the hell is going on, Aunt Ruth?! You're dead! I... I saw it on the news. You, and Claire, and..."

"The baby, John," interrupts Aunt Ruth.

I nearly lose my breath, and feeling like I'm going to vomit, I manage to say, "Aunt Ruth... is Claire alive? Is... the... baby... alive, Aunt Ruth? Are they... both... are they both alive?"

Aunt Ruth gazes into my eyes, not reflecting any hope, but instead, reflecting obscurity, and without having to say one word, I knew the answer. I plummet onto the couch and wallow in tears. Aunt Ruth places her arms around me, draws me nearer to her, and whispers, "She loves you, John, and she always will." Like a child, I wipe my tears away with my sleeves and smile at Aunt Ruth.

With her motherly tone, Aunt Ruth says, "John, you must read Gerald's journal. I'll be in Julie's office waiting for you. Take your time, dear, but not too much time. Time is a luxury we don't have."

Before Aunt Ruth leaves, she bends down and kisses my forehead, then shows herself out. When the door closes, I go to my desk and pull out Claire's picture. I give her a tender kiss on her lips and wish she were here. I open my dad's journal and read the first page. "Holy shit! This can't be true!"