Tales of the Derry Plague , Anselmo, Ray [fun to read txt] 📗

from elsewhere – Sandra had been a Monterey County sheriff’s deputy, while Rufus had been working on his Master’s in social work at Stanford. When everything went down, they both didn’t. She’d stayed on the job until there was almost no one left to protect or arrest, then noticed the lights across Monterey Bay one night and realized someone still had power and seemed to be getting organized. She came to Santa Cruz the next day with several other survivors.

Rufus had been one of a handful of people left alive at the big university, and being the largest, he’d been one of the ones tasked with scouting the surrounding area for other survivors. He was rolling through Saratoga in, of all things, an ice cream truck (because it had speakers) when he ran into another group of scouts coming up from Santa Cruz. He reported back, and a few days later was one of over a hundred people who joined the new community.

“And because he’s one of the largest, he ended up on the police force,” Kelly said, to say something. Her brain was whirring at top speed as they reached the city itself. There were so many people – people plowing up ground for planting things, people moving stuff around, people driving cars and trucks and riding bicycles and even horses. There was a hot dog vendor, for crying out loud! There were children playing. There were …

“Partly, but more because he was studying to be a social worker. The Professor’s idea was to have a security system that de-escalates problems. I was trained in the old school, so it took a little getting used to, but I’m liking it. Haven’t had to use a gun but once since I got here, and that was just to fire in the air and shut up a few drunks … hey, are you okay?”

Kelly wasn’t okay. She pulled to the side of the road, her hands shaking, and turned off the ignition out of habit. “Pass me that bag, would you?” She took it as Sandra handed it over, rummaged through it and found her olanzapine and a half-finished water bottle. She took a pill, washed it down with the water, then rested her head on the steering wheel, panting. She could only imagine what she must look like to the cop.

She glanced up and saw Sandra staring back warily. “Um …”

“I’m bipolar. The olanzapine is to deal with manic episodes. Sorry, I’m finding all this a bit much. Like I said …”

“You haven’t seen another person in over two months – I remember. Sheesh, I can’t even imagine. You …” Sandra reached over and awkwardly patted her on the back. “You take the time you need to take, all right? I do have to get back to patrolling, but right now you’re my top priority. Get yourself together, and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Kelly shut her mouth. Mentally, she’d been so scared of disaster that she hadn’t prepared for success, certainly not at this level. This was a thriving city! Not a burning wasteland like San Francisco, not a ghost town like San Rafael or Sausalito, and certainly not a one-person show like she’d been all this time. “How … how many people are here, do you know?”

“Well, I don’t have an exact count – you’d want to go to the Council’s office for the most recent numbers. But last I heard we were getting close to nine thousand –“

“Nine thaaaaaah …” Crud, her voice had seized up again. She couldn’t blame it. After all this time …

“You need another pill?”

Kelly shook her head and chuckled.”No, no. Can’t take more than one at a time. Just need for it to kick in. Just … need …” She leaned back, letting the tears trickle from her eyes. “It’s been a long time. A hard time. Could’ve been a lot worse, but … gaahh.”

Now Sandra shook her head. “I don’t know how you got through it.”

“Well, what choice did I have?” Kelly started laughing. So did Sandra. Soon they were both roaring – they must have been quite a sight to the people going by.

All those people – thousands upon thousands of people. Until this morning, Kelly had thought she could be the last person anywhere. Now she was surrounded by folks, doing normal everyday things – or what would’ve been normal everyday things before. No one was hauling away bodies or feeding dog packs in abandoned houses or taking baths in the ocean, at least that she could see.

When they finally stopped guffawing, Kelly signed and wiped her eyes. “I guess I needed that.”

“I guess you did. Would you like me to drive?”

“Please!”

They got out and switched seats, and Sandra started up the Ram. “I need to get back to the ERC – that’s where the Protective Service is based. Is that all right with you?”

“Fine.” Kelly sighed. “I haven’t laughed that hard since I got home naked after scaring off the mountain lion.”

Sandra stopped at an intersection for some pedestrians and stared at her. “You have had an adventure. When I get off work, I’d like to take you to dinner and hear your story, if that wouldn’t be too much.”

“No problem. Wait – did you just ask me on a date?”

Sandra laughed and waved the idea away. “No, I don’t swing that way. I’m seeing a guy who works at the East Field House … that’s the morgue. I just think you’ve probably got some great stories to tell, and I want to hear them.”

“Happy to share them. Happy … to share anything … sorry.” Now Kelly was weeping. These emotional hairpin turns were getting ridiculous. She was used to having a couple days of mania or depression at a time – going