Arrival (Planet of Last Resort #1)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

M elly had figured she’d be home by the end of this grueling day and the nightmare would finally be over but she’d reckoned without the terrible situation on the roads. Cody had to backtrack a few times when he wasn’t able to bulldoze or blast a way through the tangle of groundcars and trucks. and go overland once or twice. They had to sit and wait out another large gathering of infected, although the second time wasn’t as scary to her as the first experience. She had more confidence in the APC now. Why do you suppose the infected are all heading into the city right now? she asked as she watched the crowd pass on the vids.

“Swarming, like insects maybe?” Jeff said. “I mean, who knows what intelligence if any is actually powering them now.”

“Answers, we need answers badly,” Melly replied.

“I’m hoping the report we got from the interrupted mayor’s meeting will provide a few of those,” Jeff said. “Once we stop for the night I’m going to be digging into the details Samms downloaded for us.”

Finally in motion again after the second group passed, Melly was astonished how exhausting it could be to basically sit in the APC and drive for miles. The vehicle wasn’t built for passenger comfort, like a civilian groundcar and her back was aching from the unforgiving seat. She had a headache behind her eyes, aggravated by the constant sound of the powerful engine. They were out of the city itself finally and driving through mostly empty farmlands. Here there were no traffic jams, only a few isolated groundcars, trucks and farm vehicles abandoned in the middle of the road. She watched agri robos hard at work in fields they passed, taking care of crops no one would ever eat. “What about all the poor animals?” she said out loud.

One eyebrow raised Jeff was plainly waiting to hear more details about where she was going with this topic.

“I just thought—what about all the farm animals? And cats and dogs and other pets, left in houses where their owners died or went infected.” She rubbed her arms, distressed by the mere idea.

“We can’t do anything about it,” Jeff said. “Our mission isn’t to rescue pets or to set herds of nutrient animals loose.”

Not for the first time she was struck by the terms he used. Jeff and his men didn’t act like retired veterans come to run a ranch. They seemed very much like soldiers on a current mission to her. She supposed it was because they were so recently retired and the situation on Randal Four must have struck them like being in combat or venturing into enemy territory. “But it we do find any?—”

“We’ll make sure they can run free,” he promised, his smile lighting up his face.

“At this season, ma’am, as long as the nutrient animals are outside they should be alright,” Zach said from behind her, where he sat in a jump seat, ready to ascend into the turret and fire the megablaster cannon on an instant’s notice. “Plenty of grass for them to eat right now and farmers usually have stock ponds for water. Pets are another issue, can’t say much on that topic.” As Melly stared at him, he added, “I grew up on an agri- based world. My family farms.” He raised his arm and flexed his bicep. “All these muscles came from good hard work in the fields.”

“I see. Thanks for the pep talk.”

“Anytime, doc.”

“See if you can find us a nice abandoned farmhouse, or even a barn, well back from the rod,” Jeff said to Cody. “I’m ready to stop for the night and we might as well be comfortable.”

The soldier acknowledged the order with a quick dip of the head and Melly guessed he was redirecting his small fleet of robo drones. He must be a cyborg, she thought, not for the first time. No ordinary human could drive this beast and direct all those drones at the same time. She’d never encountered a cyborg before—Cody looked like any of the other soldiers outwardly. There was prejudice in the Sectors towards cyborgs, she knew, but all she felt was curiosity and hope she was never called upon to give him medical care because she had no idea how to help a patient who was part machine. They’d had one hour long session on it in medical school and then the professor had said dismissively since all known cyborgs were in the military, and would be cared for by military medical forces, there was no need to spend any more time on the topic.

A few minutes later, after consultation between Jeff and Cody, they left the road and headed up a long driveway between lush fields of grain. Peering at the forward vids, Melly saw a trim green and white house come into view, with two large barns close by. The APC’s pulled up in front of the front porch and stopped in a cloud of dust.

She waited but no one emerged from the house. She could see the door was half open.

“Doc, I want you to wait here in the APC while we check out the situation and clear the house,” Jeff said, rising from his seat and taking his blast rifle from its holder.

“All right.” She caught his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Be careful—all of you.”

The men exited the APC and formed up with the two soldiers from the other vehicle in their convoy. Melly watched on the vids as the team worked their way around the back of the house. She was pretty sure they judged the place to be empty or the soldiers would have been less obvious about driving up to the front door but she supposed the caution was good and necessary. At least there didn’t seem to be any infected in the vicinity.

She stared at the side vids, seeing how the once trim lawn was getting overgrown and a pretty garden was choked with the invasive weeds. The people who lived here had been happy, she was sure, until the outbreak came to ruin their lives. The place had all the signs of being a prosperous enterprise. In the distance she could make out a pasture and a herd of brown and white cows grazed placidly, which made her happy. At least the barns weren’t full of dead animals, left to their fate.

Zach emerged from the front door and came to the APC. She waited for him to open the door—she’d been shown how to do it but told under no circumstances to touch the controls without a direct order from the captain.

“Captain Pearson’s compliments, ma’am, and would you please come inside,” Zach said with a grin. “Might want to bring your things.”

“Are we staying here tonight then?”

“That’s the plan. Nice big house. Power’s off but Samms is working on repairing the solar power hookup and then we’ll have running water anyway. Food’s all spoiled in the stasis keeper without power but there are a lot of dry and canned goods.”

“I’m not much of a cook,” she said as she stepped from the APC and stretched, taking in deep breaths of the fresh air. The interior of the vehicle smelled like engines and oil and stale socks despite the air recycler working full blast. Her headache felt better immediately in the fragrant outside air. Eyeing the house, she asked, “Was there anyone here?”

“No, ma’am. There’s a fresh grave in the backyard though and there was a dog at one time judging by the food and water bowls but no sign of it now.”

He was matter of fact, so she reached for her medical detachment, although the news made her sad.

“About the cooking,” Zach said as they mounted the stairs, “Cody’s got the duty like he always does. He volunteers every time. The captain didn’t expect you to cook. In fact, I was supposed to give you his compliments and would you meet him in the upstairs office after you get settled in your room.”

“My room?” She paused after entering the house, taking in the homey expanse of living room, with a huge couch and two well worn recliners side by side, an entertainment center, shelves of books and holo discs. There was a hand-hooked rug on the floor, in soft colors which complemented the furniture cushions and the drapes. A giant fireplace took up one wall, with family holos and old-fashioned stills lining the mantel. All the surfaces and knickknacks were dusty but Melly could tell the place had been well cared for prior to the outbreak. She blinked away tears. It was harder to contemplate borrowing this house, which had clearly been a home, than it was to use the high end condo, which felt so much like a hotel.

“Ma’am?” Zach touched her elbow gently. “We’ve cleared the house. There won’t be any unpleasant surprises. Captain said you could have your pick of any room on the second floor.” As she glanced at him, he indicated the staircase in the hallway beyond the living room and Melly moved toward it. “If you need anything, doc, remember the subaural com, just call us.”

“I—I will.” She paused on the first landing. “Where did you say Jeff—the captain was?”

“There’s an office on the third floor, ma’am. You can’t miss it.”

Dinner in an hour, Cody announced to all on the comlink. Pasta and sauce from a can but there are a lot of fresh spices.

Melly ascended to the second floor and walked along the corridor. The bedroom doors were all open, which she appreciated, letting her know there were no infected waiting to attack. There was a huge master bedroom with handmade quilts and an abundance of crocheted and hand stitched pillows with clever sayings and massive wooden furniture. She saw a bathroom door beyond the bed. I feel like Goldilocks in the old fairy tale , she said over the com, not caring if they all heard her. One bedroom is too big and the other is too small and so on . Only the bears won’t be coming home.

She could smell the faint scent of the perfume the lady of the house had favored wafting from the doorway and turned decisively on her heel to continue further along the corridor. There was no way Melly was spending any time in a room where it was if the true owner had merely stepped away for a moment.

The next two rooms were obviously guest rooms and she guessed had perhaps been children’s rooms at one point. She picked one with a blue décor and a minimum of decoration, although there were a pile of the pillows she’d have to toss on the floor if she was actually going to sleep. She put her backpack on the bed, rummaged through it for a few personal items and walked into the bathroom between the two guest rooms to freshen up a bit. Then she headed to the third floor to find the captain.

He was seated behind a massive, scarred wooden desk, with piles of records and papers moved off to the side. She appreciated that he hadn’t merely swept the owner’s work to the floor even though nothing mattered now. Jeff had a data reader and a holo base open and was scrolling through an endless series of items on the former. Jeff held up one finger, asking for her patience and Melly waited as he continued to peruse whatever he was examining so closely. She looked around the room, which was decorated with a haphazard mix of awards for the superiority of the Moellar Family Farm in various categories, family photos and clever sayings with an agricultural bent, crocheted onto plaques. Another cozy testament to the life which had gone on here prior to the outbreak.

She sighed heavily.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Jeff said, no snark in his tone. “I’m trying to get my bearings in this mass of Minutes Samms downloaded for me at the police building.”

“Oh no, I wasn’t impatient,” she protested, clearing a stack of farming magazines off a big chair and seating herself. “It’s harder for me to stay detached in this house than it was at the condo, especially knowing you found a grave out back.”

He studied her, eyes narrowed. “I totally get what you’re saying but this was our best bet for a safe place to stay tonight, off the road, secluded, no infected.”

Not wanting to discuss the topic any further she pointed at the data reader and asked, “What can I do to help?”

“I need two things, doc, actually. One, can you go through the house and collect any medical items you find—the owners seem to have been elderly so there might be a few things you could use—and meds.”

“Why?” she asked in puzzlement. “I have my kit and I know your medic brought a kit, plus whatever’s in my bag on the antigrav sled.”

“It’s going to be a long time if ever before this planet is resupplied with anything,” Jeff said, his face in a sympathetic expression over her confusion. “We need to gather what we can as we go. I know you have supplies and I’m grateful but we don’t know what we’re going to run into out there. Meds, food and a few other essential items are on my list of items to forage when we can. We might as well start now.”

“You’re thinking long term, aren’t you?” She couldn’t decide whether to be reassured or dismayed.

“We’ve blundered into a post-apocalyptic situation which none of us were prepared for. We’ve done okay so far and if we can get to our ranch, we have a cache of supplies which were delivered a month or so ago. I got a confirmation on the drop shipment before we arrived so the early phases of the outbreak didn’t affect planetary shipping. Not knowing how things will go from here on out, we have to take opportunities to resupply as we find them.”

She was surprised although not sure why. “Your ranch? Is that where you’re going?”

Now Jeff was caught off balance. Eyes narrowed, he said, “You’re coming with us, doc. And yes, the ranch is my destination for right now, after we stop at your folks’ place tomorrow.”

“I’ll have to see what my parents want to do,” she said firmly. “I can’t abandon my family. And the situation may be better there.”

As if he wanted to argue with her, Jeff took a deep breath and then paused for a second. She was sure his next words weren’t what he wanted to say originally. “Let’s focus on the immediate task at hand, okay? The second thing I need help with is the medical report attached to the Minutes. I figure you’ll be better at making heads or tails of it than I will.” He offered her a data disk.

Melly took it, enjoying the little spark of attraction between them as their hands touched for an instant. “What am I looking for? What do you need?”

“I’m going to conduct a briefing for all of us after dinner, get the team re-oriented to the overall situation. I’d like you to contribute to the briefing with whatever you find to be highlights in the damnably dense report. Anything helpful, anything cautionary, anything about where government resources may have withdrawn to or been relocated. You’ll know it when you see it, doc. You’ve got a cool head on those shoulders.” He picked up a second data reader and handed it to her. “The APC’s come equipped with all sorts of handy gear, including these. You’re welcome to work in here if you’d like. The desk is plenty big enough.”

“Thanks.” She cleared a corner away from the space he’d claimed and set up the reader. “I picked the blue room by the way, in case you need to find me later.”

He chuckled. “Message received, doc. I never want to lose sight of where you are. Thanks.” He made no comment about her choice of bedroom.

Satisfied the two of them were on the same wavelength when it came to extracurricular activities, even if they weren’t seeing eye to eye on her coming along to the veterans’ ranch site, she inserted the data disk and began scanning the report, which was quite lengthy as Jeff had warned. Soon she was so absorbed in the information she was reading she probably wouldn’t have noticed if an infected had wandered into the room. Dr. Brisendine had been thorough and even though the details were depressing it was a breath of fresh air to be immersed in her own world of medicine. She searched for as many hopeful indications as she could but positive notes were depressingly few.

Zach interrupted them with a respectful knock on the door frame. “Begging your pardon, sir, ma’am, but dinner is served. Did you want us to set aside your portions?”

“We’ll come join the team now,” Jeff said, making the decision for both of them, although left to herself Melly would have remained in the office making notes from the report. He extended a hand to her, which she took, enjoying the warmth of his fingers curling around hers and they followed Zach to the stairs.

There wasn’t a space big enough for them all to eat in the kitchen so they sat at the large dining room table, clustered at one end with Jeff at the head and Melly at his right hand. Cody or whoever was helping him had gotten out the everyday china, with a pretty floral design. As she dug into the steaming pasta and sauce with appreciation, Melly glanced at the huge sideboard and china cabinet where a complete set of fine, gold trimmed dishes was displayed artfully. She was glad the soldiers hadn’t chosen to use those. She felt as if the lady of the house was right around the corner and might appear at any time and she didn’t want to disappoint her by their behavior. Swallowing the deliciously spiced food, she gave herself a lecture on how the stress of the entire situation was causing her to think strange thoughts. The house isn’t haunted. The owners aren’t coming back and I need to concentrate on the job Jeff gave me so I’m ready for the briefing . “This is amazing,” she said to Cody.

“Better than the survival rations anyway,” he said with a self deprecating laugh. “Seconds anyone?”

The men all helped themselves to more and Melly was glad Cody had obviously taken their big appetites into account when he made dinner. There wasn’t much conversation. She supposed the guys were concentrating on the hot meal and really, what could they all talk about except the outbreak and the infected, both of which were depressing. Asking them personal, make-conversation questions seemed wrong too though. Dessert was a plate of obviously homemade goodies, including cupcakes and cookies. The latter were a bit stale but sweet. Melly washed it all down with fresh water from the farm’s well and then pushed away from the table.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’d better get back to the report if I’m going to be ready for the briefing.”

“Want me to walk you up there?” Jeff asked.

“I’m fine. The house is clear and there aren’t any infected in the vicinity, right?” She checked with Cody, since he was the drone master.

“Small group straggled by about three miles away but they showed no interest in coming after us,” he reported. “I think we’re far enough off the road and any other people to stay under their sensors. Or whatever the infected use to find prey.”

“See you in an hour then. Are we doing the briefing here?” she asked Jeff, indicating the dining room.

“Only place in the house big enough,” he replied. “Except the living room and I prefer to have a table.”

She nodded and left the room, climbing the stairs to the third floor and re-entering the office. Her notes and the report were waiting so Melly didn’t waste any time diving in.

She reread the salient points for the third time, checked her notes on what she wanted to share, not that she planned to keep any secrets from Jeff and the others but the captain had been pretty clear about the level of detail he wanted. There were still a few minutes until the time set for the meeting downstairs so on a whim she got out her handheld and called her family home.

This time the com connected and she was astonished but grateful as her father’s voice gave the standard greeting to leave a message. “Dad, Mom, this is me, Melly. I’m on Randal Four and I’m on my way home to you with a group of soldiers?—”

There was a harsh buzzing sound and the signal dropped. She tried again to no avail and sat with her head down, the device in her hand on the desk, tears flowing.

“Hey, you okay?” Jeff walked in, coming straight to her and going to his knees beside the chair. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

She waved the handheld at him, sniffling and dashing away tears with her free hand. “I got a signal, so I called my family. It went straight to voicemail but hearing my Dad’s voice on the outgoing message was so wonderful. So reassuring.”

He rose to his feet and pulled her from the chair into his arms, where he folded her into a comforting hug.

“They’re going to be there, I know it,” Melly said stubbornly, not sure if she was trying to convince Jeff or herself. “I have to get there.”

“Tomorrow, I promise,” he replied, kissing her cheek. “I hope for your sake they will be in residence and doing fine.”

“But you’re not optimistic. I know.”

“Optimism right now is a luxury,” he said. “But I’d like nothing better than to be wrong and have the chance to meet your mother and father.”

“And my kid brother,” she reminded him. “Mike. Well, Michael Benjamin Jericho to be exact. He’s ten now. He was so little when I left for medical school but we stayed in touch. It was worth the cost of interstellar coms to exchange holos and hear all about his life at school. He plays all kinds of sports too, you know. He’s terrific at tisba.”

“Can we set this aside until tomorrow and go brief my team?” he asked after a moment of silence.

“Of course.” Melly went on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his lips and broke free to grab her notes from the desk. “I’m ready. Did you want an executive summary right now, first?”

“Any game changers? Anyone find a cure for this?”

Shaking her head, she had to lay it out. “Nothing so hopeful.”

“Tell it to all of us at the same time then.” He linked his fingers in hers and they headed out of the room.

The atmosphere in the dining room was serious. The Moellars hadn’t been coffee drinkers, which was hardly surprising given their occupation as farmers and the level of income that probably generated. Nowhere near enough for indulging in the rare Terran coffee. The kitchen shelves held plain label synthcaff though and the men were nursing mugs. Melly had opted for herbal tea and was using a teacup from the wedding china, in a defiant mood now, wanting the dishes to be enjoyed by someone for what was probably the last time ever, given the way things were going.

“All right,” Jeff said, rapping his knuckles on the table. “Current sitrep?”

Cody spoke up. “Drones out on a three mile perimeter, nothing coming our way.”

Nodding as if satisfied by the status, Jeff turned to her. “Doc, I hereby give you the floor—tell us what you found in the huge medical report.”

“With footnotes no less.” She sipped her tea. “Maybe the most surprising thing was they had a name for this on Old Terra. A researcher dug up the fact early on in the outbreak.”

“The ancestors had this on the home world?” Trent was incredulous. “I never read about it in any history class.”

Melly shook her head. “It was a dead end, forgive the pun. Apparently for them this scenario was an entertainment genre.”

“Those people should have come to Randal Four and lived it,” Samms muttered, grabbing a cookie and dunking it in his synthcaff. “Not much entertainment value.”

“The ancestors called the infected zombies. Lore was they could only be stopped by a head shot or a big enough blow to the head to destroy whatever’s left of the brain.” Melly found it fascinating the ancestors had actually enjoyed thinking about a post-apocalyptic world like the exact situation she was living through with no enjoyment whatsoever.

“Which we already know,” Jeff said, drumming his fingers on the table. “Fascinating as this is, can we get to more current news, doc?”

“Of course, sorry. According to the records, the first cases of this mysterious virus occurred in the highlands up north, in a small town called Hastings Corner. Patient Zero appears to have been a five year old child who said he was bitten by a stray cat. No evidence of rabies or other feline-related viruses. Five other people in town fell ill at the same time and three had been bitten or scratched by a cat as well.”

“Not to self—avoid cats,” Cody said.

“The vector could be any warm blooded animal,” Melly said, “Although there weren’t any later reports I found mentioning animal bites in that locale. Transmission switched over to human to human. The boy ran a very high fever, appeared to die and then reanimated, biting his family members and the attending doctor and nurse in a wild frenzy, judging by the incident notes. At that point everyone from the town who was sick was airlifted by the military to the main hospital in the city we just left. The authorities quarantined the town but then there were similar incidents in three other rural communities. A visitor to one of the towns flew home on a commercial shuttle, unaware they were contagious and turned on the flight, biting the people who helped restrain them.”

“I can see the pattern,” Jeff said. “It gets out of control given the slightest chance and people don’t want to believe they’ve got the killer bug or they hide it until it’s too late.”

“Odd it started in rural towns,” Samms commented.

“Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” Jeff responded, raising his eyebrows.

Melly shifted her gaze from one man to the other. “You think this was a manufactured virus? Someone was testing it, using innocent men, women and children as lab animals? Who would do such an unforgivable thing and why?”

“Excellent questions, doc,” Jeff said. “Were there any answers in the report?”

“No, this line of speculation never arose.” She thought it over. “Or was suppressed or redacted.”

“We’ll table it for now then.”

Melly suspected Jeff and his men knew facts she didn’t but decided now wasn’t the time to press for answers. “Symptoms are the same as we’ve seen for ourselves in Paulson at the cargo warehouse—high fever, much higher than a human can normally survive, violent nausea, convulsions, apparent clinical death and then reanimation with the glowing eyes we’ve observed and the overwhelming desire to eat raw flesh and kill anyone in the vicinity. All traces of the previous personality disappear as does any higher functioning such as language or the ability to perform tasks, not even simple ones like opening a door.”

“You said there was no cure and no vaccination?” Jeff prompted.

“A small group was working on it at the university biosciences and medical lab and I believe they might have been making progress. Dr. Brisendine was irate to learn they’d disappeared overnight recently, spirited away by unknown parties. He was going to demand answers but of course as we all saw on the holo of the meeting, he never got the chance.” Melly shook her head at the missed opportunity. So frustrating to know there had been research which might have helped and then was cut off for unknown reasons. “Oh and before I forget there had been reports the time from being bitten to turning was decreasing drastically as the virus mutates.”

“Anything else?” Jeff asked.

Mentally reviewing her notes, she said, “One other thing—the authorities set up a camp for the uninfected who were coming into the city and flooding the hospitals seeking reassurance or treatment for their loved ones. It was at the city’s municipal stadium and had extensive resources as well as military medical staff and security. I strongly urge we check it out.”

“Already done, doc, and the results weren’t encouraging.” Jeff nodded to Cody. “Show us.”

“Captain found mention of the place in the Minutes so I sent drones to get an overview,” the soldier said.

Melly blinked and there was a holo in the middle of the table, showing the stadium from above and then zooming in ever closer. She gasped and closed her eyes at the terrible scene of carnage—bodies on the field and in the seats. Before she averted her eyes she saw a few infected roaming the stands and lumbering through the playing field.

“My guess is the guards didn’t screen well enough, let in a few people they shouldn’t have and when those victims turned, uncontrollable mayhem happened,” Jeff said. “The military medical facility in the parking lot is much the same scene, totally deserted except for the truly dead.”

Shaken, she sipped at her now cold tea. “I guess the only other relevant facts I gleaned are that a few patients simply die from the virus and don’t reanimate at all. And again as we’ve seen, if the infected ravage the body of an uninfected drastically enough, the victim doesn’t reanimate either. The authorities increased the mortality rate estimate from 95% to 99%. Based on preliminary data the indications are about 1% of humans can be bitten and not become infected. Of course they might die from side effects of the bite or scratch if not treated promptly but the virus itself never takes hold. That’s what the research team was focusing on, trying to develop a formula to replicate what the 1% were born with in their DNA The exact sequence was in the notes, so if I had the right equipment I could test us or anyone else to check on immunity status.”

“Can you work on the cure, doc?” Jeff asked, leaning forward.

She blinked in astonishment. “Me? I’m a newly licensed general practitioner, not a research scientist. I’m not even a specialist in any remotely applicable branch of medicine. I suppose if I had a formula and instructions for a cure and the right ingredients, I could follow it and create a vaccine or an antidote.”

“Cody’s a good cook—he could help you,” Trent said, slapping his friend on the back. Everyone laughed and Melly was relieved at the way the joke broke the tension in the room.

“We’d need a lab,” Melly pointed out. “Can’t whip up a complicated substance like this would be in the kitchen of a farmhouse. But there aren’t any notes in the report with details of what the researchers were doing. Probably too esoteric and complicated for the audience Dr. Brisendine had at the meeting we saw.”

There was a brief silence before Jeff spoke up again. “Our job is to not get bitten or scratched. We’re not testing our luck on being among the 1% and I’m tabling any further discussion of us making a cure. Samms, you’re up.”

“Using the APC’s comdeck, I searched for anyone broadcasting anywhere on the planet,” the soldier said crisply. “There’s a recorded message on a four hour cycle offering shelter, food and medical help, originating somewhere out in the remote territory. Caught flashes of what might have been military traffic, again in a remote area on the other side of the third biggest city. A few civilian rigs making calls with old style tech.” He shrugged. “They mostly sound pretty desperate. Isolated. One with a good strong signal cut off in the middle of a broadcast and I gather the infected had broken into their bunker. Never came back.”

“Log them all. See what you can find on the military traffic. We might want to try hooking up with them in coming days,” Jeff said. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, a real strong, encrypted signal blast, probably carrying a fuck ton of data.” Samms looked around the table and Melly could tell he was about to deliver a bombshell piece of information. “Sending offplanet.”

He got the reaction he was probably hoping for as the group exclaimed in surprise.

“Not the emergency warn off beacon?” Melly asked even though she was sure Samms was too much of an expert to be confused.

“Definitely not,” he said. “This signal is tightly focused and going to parts unknown.”

Jeff didn’t seem interested in any more information on the mystery signal. Melly wondered if his attitude was because she was there or whether this was related to whatever he and his men were really doing on Randal Four but she didn’t ask. Military secrets weren’t her concern.

“There’s an obstacle on our way to reaching your home tomorrow,” Jeff said to her, taking her by surprise. “Cody, show her the holo of the bridge.”

“Sent my drones to check out the route for tomorrow and found this,” the soldier said, gesturing at the table. A holo of the Danna River bridge sprang into being.

She blinked. “That can’t be right. What the seven hells happened to it?”

The bridge ended midspan in a mass of broken, contorted roadway, struts and support wires. A ground truck dangled off the end, threatening to plunge the rest of the way into the torrent. Groundcars and other vehicles were jammed into all lanes of the bridge, and clearly there had been a mass exodus underway. The center span was missing completely, although when she forced herself to pay attention to the details she observed pieces of it in the river, impeding the flow.

“Did it collapse from the weight of all the cars?” she asked in bewilderment.

Shaking his head, Jeff said, “It was deliberately blown. Could have been the authorities, trying to stem the outflow of potentially infected or it could have been insurgents from the communities on the other side of the river, to keep the horde out.”

Melly sank back in her chair, stomach in knots. “But we have to cross the river to get to the suburb where my parents live. What are we going to do? Return to the city and try to steal a flyer?”

“Good idea but fortunately no. We found a place upriver where the flow is less and although the bridge there was destroyed as well, we think we can get across in the APC’s.”

“Now you’re telling me those hulking metal boxes can float ?”

The soldiers exchanged amused glances and Samms stifled a laugh.

“Not exactly,” Jeff said patiently. “They can wade across or even make it submerged if the water isn’t too deep. The vehicles can be made airtight for a short period of time.”

Melly examined the new holo which Cody had placed next to the first. The river did appear narrower and more placid at the new spot. She ignored the broken bridge in the new locale. “If this is the Sanmira Crossing, it’s miles out of our way.”

“No choice,” Jeff said, not unkindly. “I wanted you to be prepared for the detour tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” she gritted out although at the moment she wasn’t feeling grateful in the least. The necessity for more delays on getting to her family tore at her. “Are we done?”

“Sure thing, doc. We’ll be leaving bright and early so get a good night’s sleep.”

She could sense Jeff’s eyes on her as she left the room, heading for the stairs and her temporary bedroom. Behind her a discussion broke out about the interplanetary signal Samms had found but Melly didn’t care about any of that right now, unless help was coming to Randal Four as a result which didn’t seem likely.