Apart from Death
The rest of the day was spent packing. As much as they could cram into the vehicles for the move to Far View Lodge. No one said anything else about Ed, and Lara barely gave what had happened a fleeting thought because her mind was filled with Nathan.
Verbena watched her with squinty eyes, and Lara was sure the woman could tell something was up, but she never pried. Lara was thankful. She wasn't much good with personal explanations. Nathan watched her from a distance but unlike Verbena, his expression was lazy, smiling.
Lara was just glad when they all loaded up and drove away, past the bitter realization of a burned-out ranger station. They had all agreed to forego the faux funeral, but Len did say some words before they left. Len had then mentioned they would be able to take showers at Far View and Lara couldn't wait. Thinking about how long it had been since any of them had bathed, made her grit her teeth.
And maybe tonight she could study the coffers of Dr. Claira Lottridge, a mad woman. When she thought of Nathan O'Connor Sr., it seemed strange to her that a man like him had been involved with someone like Claira. His sons were nothing like him, in thanks she knew, to their mother.
"A penny for your thoughts."
Lara looked up from her daydreaming to find Len staring at her from the front seat. Nathan looked at her through the rearview mirror with arched brows and just smiled.
She smiled back but said nothing.
"I don't think you can afford her thoughts Len," Nate joked.
Their convoy wound its way back toward the middle of the park and up the ridgeline where the lodge sat nestled at the top and Nate directed them all to park as close to the arched entrance as possible, forming a barrier there which would lend them some time if they encountered any problems from the outside world.
Seth came running down the sidewalk and Keith followed. The men got busy unloading and Lara, Verbena, and Monica with Payton in tow, went up to start unpacking the boxes that the guys brought in. Lara was stunned by the sheer beauty of the place but made herself get busy helping. Daydreaming just wouldn't do.
Haven came up the hall and Lara and Verbena stopped to give her a hug and ask how she was feeling. She said she was doing fine and told the girls where her room was. Then she proceeded to help Verbena unpack boxes. Donelle found Lara in the storeroom.
"Do you think its safe for that child to be around us?"
"I think so. And she's hardly a child. Haven shouldn't be a threat to anyone, including her unborn baby."
"I just worry. What I saw that night, the pain. The death."
"I know Donelle, but you can't stop living. Look, we'll have a group meeting later and everyone can express their thoughts and fears."
"What's this I hear about a meeting?" Nate said walking up. "Mom you should be proud of Lara."
"We need to get everyone on the same page somehow," she sighed. "A Donelle style meeting seemed to work last time."
Nate answered her with his signature smile. "True. And by the way, Keith mentioned he could help us with understanding all the medical jargon in the manifesto. Make sure you bring it tonight."
Lara nodded. That would be a great relief, she thought. "Maybe there is hope after all Nathan."
He pinched her nose and winked. "You're a trooper Lara. Just know I appreciate all you've done." He noticed she instantly lost that expression of angst. "What do you say we find a way to make some coffee?"
Both Donelle and Lara perked up with that suggestion.
"I'd say I'm up for that, O'Connor."
Donelle patted her son on the arm. "Me as well. Let me know when it's done," she smiled and wandered back outside finding Keith. "So you worked for Seth's Mother, Keith?"
He laughed lightly. "I did. She was Head Triage, and I was her scrub. I just recently got my RN, then this happened."
"Ahh. It's been a rude awakening. I feel so bad for Seth about his Mother. Did you, were you there when it happened?"
Keith stopped and looked at Donelle for words, finally he just nodded.
"I'm sorry." Donelle said looking off at the mountains in the distance.
"Me too," he said, his lips tightening with the memory. "Exactly why I brought some good bottles of Scotch I found at the restaurant and plenty of anxiety meds. If you need a couple they're inside in my duffle. There are Tylenol packets and ibuprofen too. Get what ever you need." He offered.
"Thank you. It was smart grabbing what you could," she nodded and headed back in. She hated being stressed out. She had been on edge since they'd lost Mark, Sherri and Bretta. She couldn't shake the images of that night. She had just been talking to the poor girl that afternoon and that night--- a shiver brushed over her. Maybe the others just hid their fears better.
Inside as she rummaged through Keith's bag Monica found her and asked what she was doing and if she would help her find a room for her and Payton. Donelle threw back a couple of pills and nodded.
"Hey, what was that?" Monica asked.
"Something for anxiety. Do you need one?" Donelle asked genuinely. She couldn't fault anyone in this situation.
"Oh god yes. My nerves are shot. Did you see how Nathan just beat the holy hell out of that man? I should have just stayed up here earlier because here we are back where we started." Donelle handed her a couple of pills and she dry swallowed them. "That will definitely help my nerves. Maybe I will actually sleep tonight."
Donelle followed Monica down the hall thinking about Nate's behavior too, as they decided which rooms stay in and she asked Monica if she wanted her to bunk with them.
"Oh would you?" Monica seemed definitely relieved. "I would feel so much safer, Mrs. O'Connor."
"Of course dear, and please just call me Donie."
"Um, yes ma'am!"
Monica sighed with relief. She would sleep on the floor, a cot, anything, she didn't care, she just didn't want to be alone.
〰️
After staying busy most of the day, Len gathered everyone together and declared it was time for a rest and a shower. He and Buck had located the generators and turned them on. There would be enough power to get water heated for showers and he suggested they all go and take a break.
At around 7pm they would all eat and discuss plans for how best to proceed. He got no argument from anyone, and the group dispersed, each to the rooms they had chosen.
When they came together that evening Lara, with briefcase in hand, was shocked as hell to see that Len and Buck had somehow managed to cook a feast. They had a conference room assembled with a side bar and was that wine?
It was a welcome diversion, unexpected and by looks of their faces, Lara could tell Len and Buck were proud of themselves. She for one, didn't hesitate. The rest of the group followed suit and soon, the atmosphere was lifted as they ate, talked, and finally got to know each other apart from death and the sadness of loss.
Seth was quiet, unusually so and after finishing his meal he stood up and went to the side bar, piling food on a plate and grabbed a bottled water.
"Midnight snack Seth," Buck joked.
Seth smiled but it was forced at best. "No. I'm taking this to Haven," he conceded softly.
Verbena stood up and Seth pointed a finger at her.
"Don't even start. I'm tired of everyone badgering me about her. I'm not going to get sick. I've been with Haven since before all this and I've been with her since. Don't you think I would have been the first to die if she was really sick?"
Verbena just stood there waiting, a hand on her hip.
Len stood too and tapped his wine glass for attention. "Now would be a good time have our little meeting. You go ahead Seth, and I'll fill you in later."
A look of relief took away the edge in his expression, he said a mumbled thanks and left.
"How dare you," Verbena attacked Len accusingly. "This is not, your business, Uncle."
Hollis grabbed her arm, "Verbie ease up on the Len, damn, he's been good to us," he told her brusquely.
"I know that," Verbena ground out bitingly, spreading her arms out and turning her accusing glare on Hollis. "Billie Jo was our friend Hollis. It's our responsibility to look after Seth," Verbena wailed. She sat back down and started to cry and Hollis went down to her and hugged her.
Len wasn't moved by her outburst. He loved his niece. He knew her nerves were frayed beyond breaking and it just so happened the break had to be now.
Hollis rubbed her back. "It's fine Verbie. We've all been stretched in this. I'm sorry I snapped at you, but as far as Seth goes, he's a grown man and he has to make his own decisions now."
"I know Hollis. I just can't lose anyone else. I'm scared, that's all. I'm sorry Uncle," she said with a heavy sigh.
"No hard feelings taken," Len reassured her. "We cannot change what was spoken in the past. Our lives have drifted far away from our heritage but I see it clear as day. It was all predicted by the forefathers, this age of the Sleeping Sickness. It was told, an unusual phenomenon would occurr with the sign of the heron. A time of testing and extreme change. A people would rise to walk the earth and death would be in their mouth. These people,The Sleepwalkers, have come. They are among us now. Forever walking, wandering. Feeding on the flesh of the weak. Like vultures they will descend upon our land and here they will stay until their course is fully run. How it started does not matter. The Medicine Woman, my Mother, told me the length of the time for the Sleepwalkers would be a generation," Len paused. "There will be no stopping it. No medicine will cure it. Time is the only antidote."
Lara cast her gaze to the floor, thinking about what she had just heard and feeling unsure.
Monica was the first find her voice and she hugged her son to her chest. "Are we all going to die?"
Keith went to her. "As long as we stay away from the infected, we will be fine."
Lara was at a loss for words herself. She wasn't one who followed predictions and remedies. Her training forced her to look at facts and things she could see with her two eyes. She was torn between what Len was telling them and his casual acceptance of what was happening and her own common sense which wanted to hope that somewhere in the research she had, there would be a simple answer.
She was no doctor but investigation to find the truth was what moved her.
"That's fair, Len, but I trust Keith, and you should too," Lara prompted him carefully. "He had just become a licensed RN when this outbreak, erupted, for lack of a better word, surely it will run it's course sooner than an entire generation.That could be up to Seventy years!"
"That is entirely true Lara," Len confirmed. "I am not disputing your findings, if they prove to have any truth to them. I just don't want people to have false hopes that a magic shot will save them."
"That's enough," Nathan barked.
"No, its fine Nathan," Lara stopped him. "I understand Len, but I worked for the government. I was an investigator, a federal agent. In terrorism. I live by facts and the facts are showing me this woman was working on a vaccine. Her intentions may have been less than humanitarian, selfish to say the least but she was looking for fame and I don't think she would have taken the chance that her work could be disputed."
Len simply gave her a smile. "Okay Lara, I'll take the bait," he countered. "You admit you follow facts. How about the fact that people we love are now dead. The only fact I see in any if this is the fact that even if this woman was working on a vaccine, she had not yet mastered it. Perhaps because she finally understood that once the dead rose to kill, her work was useless. You heard Keith. He said they were not able to save one patient. Once they died, they turned. There is no antidote for the Sleepwalkers and the time between contracting this so called virus and dying from it is too short for one anyway."
Lara swallowed hard. It was hard to admit, but she silently wondered if he was right.
"We're going to move from this now," Len informed the group. "After considering all the aspects, we think we have a plan to proceed. I feel we should stay here as long as we possibly can. Haven is too close to childbirth to move anymore. This place is safe and there is food. After Haven gives birth, and recuperates we will reprocess our options, but soon we will have to move on. Hopefully the food stores here will last until then."
Nobody disputed Lens idea.
Lara looked at Keith. "I'd still like us to research all the notes."
Keith gave her a curt nod. "Count me in. Any info is good. Either way," He looked at Len. "Would you mind listening if we do discover anything?"
"Of course not," Len accented. "I am a man of peace. I would listen to what anyone has to say."
Nate headed out of the conference room and Donelle followed him. Monica still carrying Payton ran after her. "Where all y'all going!"
Nate turned. "I'm going to check on Deag and fill him in. Are you coming with me Mom?"
"I am. Monica honey, take the baby and lay down with him. I'll be around shortly. I want to check on my grandbabies okay?"
"Oh. Well, alright but you will come back right? Because I just---"
"I know honey, I promise I'll come straight back." Donelle smiled. "Go on now. That boy looks like he's tired."
Monica put Payton's head on her shoulder and turned to go on to their room, and Nate and Donelle headed on to talk to Deag.
Lara poured herself a glass of wine and headed off to her own room. She prayed she was making the right choices. It all had happened so fast, and there had been no time to turn back once it had started. There were no experts to consult. No specialists to advise. It was left to this unknown end. She wished she could be as confident as Len, and then Hollis was talking to her and the present moment dissipated into his hand on her shoulder.
"Lara, did you hear me? I want you to know things will be fine. Len has done a lot of work surrounding this, and even though he has a different perspective, I assure you, we're going to make it through. Don't stop your research," he added. "Like Len said, any info is good info," he nodded.
Lars smiled nervously, but she thanked him and told him she'd keep working on it.
"Good. Alright then, I'm going to help Verbena to our room. I think she's had an awful long day."
"Do you think she's okay Hollis?" Lara asked him.
"I do. This has taken a toll her. She was really close to Billie Jo. Billie was worried sick about Seth all the time. Always asking Verbie if she had done enough for him as a mother and always pestering her to look after him. She was a single mother and those things bothered her."
"I understand. I hate to say it, but I think it's going to be a very long time before we see any stability in the situation, if ever."
"I know Lara. We can only do our best, but she'll be fine."
Keith came over then and Hollis took his leave. "I wanted to tell you, I was able to get a small duffle bag of medicines out the pharmacy room before we left. I want to give them to you for safe keeping."
"That's fine, Keith. I think I'm going to turn in for the night though. I still haven't managed to get a shower yet, well, neither have you," Lara smiled. "But it was worth the wait, huh? I really needed that meal."
Keith laughed. "Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good too. It did hit the spot. I wish we had been able to give everyone better news about those damn syringes, but maybe we will understand at some point, what those are."
Lara hugged him. "Thanks for helping me. We'll get back to it tomorrow. For now get some rest."
As Lara left him, she felt drawn to find Len. She wanted to thank him anyway, in spite of their differing beliefs, and see what he was thinking, if anything, about the future of their stay here at Far View, because she felt the next step was to find a way to communicate their findings with the CDC.
If there was anyone left to tell.