Pandemic Pt. 01 Ch. 01-05

Still no movement or sound from the house. The dog wandered over to us, quietly wagging his tail.

We waited for 20 minutes, watching through some shrubs. The ducks lost interest and the dog lay with its head on its paws, watching us. No sound, no movement at any of the windows.

I whispered to Karen, "Watch the windows, I will run over."

She nodded and raised the shotgun.

"Keep it pointing away from me won't you?" I smiled and kissed her before she could protest.

I moved around the other side of the shrubs past some drums and quickly ran to the side of the house. The only noises were the wind and the creaking of wood and metal.

I knocked on the backdoor and shouted, "Hello, anyone there? Just say if you want us to leave. We mean no harm."

I crept low past the other side of the house. A smell of rotting meat, but bodies, the freezer? I slipped on the dust mask and put a handy inside, wetting it with my water bottle first. The front door was not locked and I entered, closing it quietly. The kitchen stank, but the hallway stank worse. I walked up a couple of paces, the main bedroom door was ajar and I could see the remains of two persons on the bed. Another bedroom seemed untouched. An office contained a desk and a locked steel gun cabinet. The smell though was too bad, I did not want to go searching for keys in the bedroom. I closed the door and turned back to the kitchen and lounge room.

In the bookcase was gold, or rather something worth its weight in gold, a 1960 Golden Wattle Cook Book which included instructions how to preserve fruit, pluck chickens and other suddenly useful information. Also a shelf of books on farm maintenance and a folder of Agricultural Department Agnotes about horticulture and livestock.

I went to join Karen back at the shed, then we went and collected the Hilux. The shed contained eight sacks of grain so they and the box of books went into the back of the Hilux. We also took half of the ducks and would come back for the others later. Then I fed the blue heeler cattle dog and he joined us in the back seat. I tied the bottom of the doors with blue cotton thread. When we got to the gate I closed it and also tied cotton between the gate and post. If the thread was broken we would be extra wary when we returned.

Then back to a very anxious Annelise and Eliza. Actually an anxious day for all of us but we did get to enjoy roast duck for dinner.

* *** *

The following day Annelise came with me and we collected the remaining ducks, the tinned food, tools and other bits and pieces. I chopped the gun safe from the wooden wall with an axe and took the safe intact. A cupboard near the kitchen contained dozens of sealed jars of homemade plum jam, mulberry jam and stewed apples. Even better there was also a store of empty jars, lids and rubber seals for preserving. The cattle were also quite docile, once they tasted some apples they followed the Hilux slowly down the road and back home with us. Annelise and I would have been hopeless, but the blue heeler cattle dog quickly picked up what we wanted and the cattle understood the language he spoke.

Meanwhile Karen and Eliza worked on the new duck pen, making sure they were secure and would not get into our vegetables. I found another 308 rifle and a shot gun in the gun cabinet I had removed. We then worked at making sure the cattle were secure.

The next day I wanted to explore the next property, the one at the end of the road. The visit to the farm had been very productive but I was still keen to get a rooster. Karen though was keen to preserve fruit while the trees were loaded with plums and apples. And so the four of us collected plums and apples, cut out diseased portions, boiled and bottled them. We converted one of the down stairs offices for jam and stewed fruit storage.

Once dinner was over, we were exhausted and went up to bed. Karen went to sleep quickly while Annelise and I sat up and whispered. She spoke of her childhood and life growing up in Denmark. We looked up at a soft knock on the open door.

"I could not sleep and heard you chatting, can I come in?"

Then she noticed Karen asleep and backed away, "Sorry, I won't disturb."

I reassured her, "We won't wake her if we talk quietly, you can sit on the chair or slip in next to Annelise if you like?"

Eliza slipped over to the chair. She was only slightly shorter than Annelise but very slender and waif like. Tiny nose, delicate lips and high cheekbones. Her long straight black hair fell below the middle of her back. An over large borrowed robe was pulled around a long white t-shirt, below the coat her legs were bare, except for pink slip on sandals. Curling into the chair and pulling her legs up into the coat was not keeping her warm but Annelise could not persuade her to slip in next to her. Eliza quietly listened to us chat until we were all falling asleep. Then she slipped away again.

CHAPTER 3. MADDY

Saturday 19th February

Annelise and I investigated the farmhouse at the end of the road while Karen and Eliza processed more of the fruit. We drove the Hilux, travelling slowly and warily. At the end of the road we stopped. The gate was open and all was quiet and still.

Once we had driven from the bitumen road onto a rough dirt road, we parked the car to explore more covertly on foot. Across the clearing the house was in sight, just beyond a small dam with grassy banks. A woman was standing on the front veranda looking towards us, perhaps having heard the car. Long ginger-red hair hung loose around her shoulders. She wore jeans, a checked red shirt and was unarmed. She waved and started walking down the entry track towards us. We waved back.

I whispered to Annelise, "Take the rifle and go back to the car for now, keep the rifle ready but out of sight. Keep concealed from the house and yell if you see anything."

Unarmed I walked up to the base of the dam and stopped, waiting for the woman to approach. She wasn't as old as I first thought, perhaps only a couple of years older than Annelise. My heart pounded as I stood in the open but she seemed natural and non-threatening; the farmhouse was quiet with no sign of anyone else.

At twenty five paces distance, I shouted, "Hi, better keep away from me for now. Do you know about the virus?"

The woman jerked to a stop, "Hi, yes, have you been infected?" she asked.

"No", I replied. "We have been isolated from any direct contact for about 25 days."

"You are not from about here." She stated.

"No, we're caretaking at the Hamilton property since just after New Year. My name's Mark."

"Maddy. My parents and I live here."

"When did you last have contact with other people?"

"Not since Australia Day when we had friends about for a BBQ. When the virus news got bad with heaps dying in Europe my parents said not to leave here."

Australia Day I thought, 26th January was 24 days ago. If she had been infected she would already be dead or showing symptoms. She looked fine.

I responded, "Yes. We have heard the virus is very infectious and lethal. We just started to investigate the area. Your other neighbours, the couple down the road, they died in their home."

"Thompsons. Crap, they were great."

She frowned and continued. "Actually I have been alone this week. Dad hurt his foot and could not drive. A cow was sick and he went to see the vet for some powder. And John Warren too. Mum drove him. They did not return. I hoped the car was Mum and Dad returning."

"Is John a guy in his late forties? Big guy with wavy black hair who lives across from Linda and Michael's families place?"

"Yeah. You've seen him and my parents?"

I shook my head. "No. I don't know about your parents ... but the virus caused brain damage to John. It made him violent and he attacked Linda's family. Linda and Michael fled to our place and John tried to attack them again. If John's place is where your parents went ... I'm sorry. Or perhaps they went elsewhere and got stranded."

"Crap." She lowered her head, looking down at the grass. "I knew it had to be bad when they didn't return by the next day."

"Sorry."

"John was a lovely funny guy, always helpful. You said the virus made him fucking crazy and a killer?"

"Seems so, I saw him. He was aggressive... crazy. He killed Linda and Eliza's family and chased Linda and Michael to Richard's house."

"He still around?"

"No, he was killed. Nothing else we could do."

"He'd thank you.

She was quiet for a moment, then said, "Would it be safe to see if my parents are at his place?"

"Annelise found information on the virus before the internet went down. She is down by the car. The information on the World Health Organization website a week or so ago said the virus can be dormant for twelve days or so before it causes illness. It sounds like you have been here longer than that since seeing anyone? Were your parents close to anyone in the twelve days before they left, or have you felt ill?"

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

"To be blunt, I'm working out if you could be infectious. If you could have contracted the virus from your parents. Whether they could have seen a friend and could have passed it to you in the last twelve days?"

Maddy replied, "As I said, I have been here more than twelve days and no, they had no contact with anyone. The only people my parents saw before they left was on Australia day. That was ... sixteen days before they left. Dad hurt his foot in an accident, nothing to do with a virus. They weren't sick. What about you?"

"We met Linda and Michael about five days ago, but we kept our distance and have them in quarantine. Before that, the last time we saw other people was 24th January in Callanup. We went to your neighbours' property a few days ago, but it was several days since the people there had died.

According to the WHO website the virus deteriorates within 24 hours outside the body. So we are certain we are clean ... unless it can spread the distance from me to you. We kept away from Linda and Michael a similar distance."

"Oh okay."

She was quiet, thinking on the information, then looked up again. "Would you help me see if my parents are at John's? It is not far. Please...I need to know."

"Yes alright, but if they are there, perhaps their bodies are infectious. We would have to leave you if you touched them."

"Yeah okay. I won't touch."

I was satisfied she was not infectious, and offered my hand. She shook it and we went down to the car where I introduced Maddy to Annelise.

We drove back, past the gate into Richard's place, well our home now, and then another kilometre down the road we came to two entrances almost opposite each other.

I recognized Linda and Eliza's property and Maddy pointed out John's farm. We drove into the driveway and parked. I got out and asked Annelise to bring the 222 while I got the hunting rifle.

Maddy looked alarmed when she saw us with the rifles.

I explained, "We don't know what's up at the house. Some of the infected become brain injured but survive, like John. From what Annelise found before the web went down, many become vicious from the infection. Maybe as many as ten percent."

I softened my voice and continued explaining, "If we get attacked there is nothing we can do but shoot them. A touch could be deadly."

I waited, watching her, seeing she understood and gauging her reaction.

She nodded, "If my parents attack because they are mad, they would want to be dead. Shoot them."

Annelise gasped and looked wide eyed. I reached out and rubbed her shoulder.

"It's okay Annelise, we stay alert and go slowly and carefully."

Once again we walked up through the forest, parallel to the road. A few hundred metres and we saw a house in a clearing through the trees.

"My parent's car." Maddy pointed.

I nodded, "We'll circle around to that stand of trees. We can see the back of the house there."

Halfway to the trees we found that the back of the house was obscured by garden shrubs, a chicken coop and a shade cloth shrouded pergola. A closer grove of trees concealed our approach and we made our way into the trees. From the smell the news would not be good. We ran to the hedge at the side of the house.

I pulled rubber gloves out of my pocket and put them on. Annelise had forgotten hers so I asked the two women to let me touch any gate or anything that needed opening.

Looking through the side gate, I saw nothing was out of place in the backyard. Quietly we walked around to the front garden. The stench of death made us wary. A middle aged man, savagely mauled, lay slumped behind a garden shrub at the side of the house.

We looked at Maddy and she shook her head, "No. Could be Bob Cranford, not sure."

When we opened the front door, a horrific sight awaited. Bloody battered bodies of a woman and a man, with bodies and arms lacerated. The furniture, curtains, walls, floor and even ceiling sprayed with now dry blood. I ducked out and vomited by the front steps.

"Maddy, don't go in."

Too late, she had entered, knocking the swinging door aside with her boot. She stood motionless for several moments, then she too backed out of the doorway, her face staring and expressionless.

She turned and ran back towards the car.

Annelise, looked back and forth from me to Maddy, wide eyed and unsure. I grasped her hand as I passed and ran with her back to the car. Maddy stood staring over the bonnet across the valley.

"I'm so sorry, I cannot imagine." I murmured as we approached.

"Sorry...your parents were there?" Annelise echoed.

She nodded slightly.

"Keep an eye on the rear, I will watch the front." I whispered to Annelise.

Fifteen minutes later, I sought to guide Maddy into the car. Her face still expressionless, she let herself be led and sat inside.

We drove to our gate. I paused, asking Maddy if she needed anything done or collected from her property so she could rest at ours tonight. She replied that the chickens needed locking up, the rest would be okay until tomorrow. I fed her chickens and rooster and shut them in the coop, while Annelise helped gather some clothes. Then back home, after stopping to tie cotton thread around the base of the gates when we closed them.

Karen heard us and met us at the gatehouse. She got in the car and I told her what had happened while we drove to the house. Karen and Annelise took Maddy up to the guest room next to Eliza. Gathering the shattered, I thought, I hope Maddy was tough. Eliza barely seemed to be coping. Poor girls, what a world to cope with.

Dinner was vegetable omelettes, a regular meal as something we were well supplied with were duck and chicken eggs. After cleaning up, we stayed in the lounge for a while. Maddy joined us and we found out she had lived her whole life at her parent's property. Eliza seemed shy with a new stranger. Karen I am sure was busy analysing the red head carefully, while Annelise had been very quiet ever since leaving John's place.

* *** *

Next morning Maddy appeared at breakfast, "I'll go back and look after my cattle and get some things, then I can check yours this afternoon if you like?"

"Yes sure, I can drop you back." I offered.

"No it's fine, but it looks like there is a push bike you don't use by the shed, mind if I use that?"

"Sure, better check it, I don't know it is okay."

She rolled her eyes and replied, "See you mid-afternoon."

Maddy seemed to recover quickly, or at least she decided she just needed to get on with things and survive. She came back with vegetables from her garden for dinner. Annelise kept close to Karen and myself, that day and she was not at all her usual cheery self. Although I had seen the remains of Linda and Eliza's family already, John's house had been a shocking experience.

After dinner I asked Maddy if she wanted to do anything to commemorate her parent's life.

"We're not religious. But I don't want to leave them there like that." She responded, her throat catching.

"What would you like to do?" Karen asked softly, "We can help."

"We could perhaps bury them with the tractor, or burn the house?" I suggested.

"Burn it, I don't want to see them again. John too. Shouldn't just leave him outside."

"All right, we better take the fire trailer. Tomorrow?"

"Sooner the better. Tomorrow's good."

* *** *

The following morning I quickly finished the farm chores and then tested the fire-fighting pump. After cleaning the pump, filling the tank and having a couple of practices I found it worked well. Some rakes, shovels and a couple of old blankets made up the rest of our fire-fighting resources.

Next on the task list was to collect a 5 metre by 5 metre tarpaulin and then tow the trailer with the pump over to where John's body lay. Karen and I each took a corner of the tarp and covered John with it. We pushed the tarp into the grass along one side of his body, then rolled his covered body over until he was cocooned in plastic. After securing the tarp all around his body, we pulled him up onto the rear of the fire-fighting trailer using ropes, we lashed his body down. Not very dignified but I was satisfied we had had no contact with his body or the ground where he lay.

It was just a short drive to John's property with the Hilux towing the trailer. We approached cautiously but the thread we had tied at the base of the gate was intact and there were no signs of disturbance. The fire pump enabled us to wet the grass surrounding the house. John's body went onto a mound of brush and timber we stacked against an empty section of verandah. We placed more wood and brush next to the timber wall.

Preparations finished, Karen, Eliza and Annelise slipped away. Karen returned, having changed into a dark grey dress. She was followed by Eliza in a black jacket and long skirt and Annelise in a black skirt and black top. I had not thought of what I might wear but thought Maddy would appreciate their gesture of support.

We moved upwind, I started the engine to the fire pump and Maddy took some rags and a lighter.

The flames took hold quickly, the rags flashing alight and soon the dry brush and wood caught. A few minutes later and the wall of the house was blazing, then the roof and soon the whole house was engulfed in flames. I extinguished the bushes next to the shed and the fire did not spread, other than one isolated grove of trees. A short time later, the house collapsed into a burning pile of glowing timbers.

I returned and silently watched on with the women.

As the flames died down I gazed at the glowing wood and murmured to Maddy, "May they rest in peace and may you always remember their love and the happy times together."

Maddy turned to us, "Thanks. Thanks very much, all of you. Let's go now."

* *** *

After the funeral we needed a day focused on the garden and livestock. I cut down two forest trees with a chainsaw. A store of wood would be needed for heating in winter, or sooner if our electricity failed. Calling an electrician to repair the solar system was no longer an option and we could not rely on the backup generator. I also wanted timber to create a walkway running between the towers along the outer wall. It was a perfectly solid concrete wall 30 cm thick, but it was designed to be decorative rather than functional. An elevated walkway lying below the top of the wall to move quickly around it would make it much more useful. And clearing some trees to create more pasture would allow us to bring more of the cattle across from Maddy's farm too.

Maddy, Eliza and Annelise dug another vegetable garden and built a second chicken coop on the front lawn near the wall. Our vegetables were tomatoes, beans, lettuce, radishes, broccoli and pumpkins plus a few others. Potatoes would be great for calories and storage. Indeed the region was renowned for its potatoes but we had none. Eliza said they had some sweet potatoes and Chinese cabbage growing down at their farm and it would be good to get some.