But the Children Survived (49 page)

“I thank you for your consideration.  I do appreciate it, Gerald.  But please, I need my bag.  I need to remove a splinter from Pat's finger.”  George knew that Gerald's feelings about Pat were neutral.

“Very well, I’ll get it for you.”

Gerald walked to the back of the lab.  He pulled the bag out from under one of the cabinets and brought it to the door.  When he opened it, George pushed his way into the lab.

“Oh, thank, you Gerald; now I just need to get some antibiotics.”

George began to walk to the medicine cabinet.  Gerald followed him and watched as he took out the penicillin and a topical antibiotic ointment.  He also grabbed gloves, sutures, a mild sedative and needles.  Lastly, he took a bottle of alcohol and put the items in his bag.  He turned and Gerald was blocking his way.

“Must be some splinter, George.”

“It is.  He managed to embed it under his fingernail and now the infection may be in his blood.  I have to hurry, Gerald.  Please allow me to pass.”

“Yeah, Gerry, let him pass.”

Gerald turned around and saw Simon standing in the hallway with the bicycle lock in his hand.

“It's not nice keeping the medicine from the doctor now, is it?”  Simon walked away, taking the lock with him.  Gerald chased after him demanding the lock back. 

“I don't think so, Gerry.  I think we need to get everything out of there that you don't need to do your job.  Oh wait, you don't have a job.  All the animals are dead, except for some skinny chickens.  Have you been by to see them lately, Gerry?”

George took this opportunity to check his bag to make sure he had everything he needed and then to slide past Gerald.  He ran back to Maria Elena.

Gerald kept staring at Simon, who stared right back.  As Gerald watched, Simon lifted up the bicycle lock with both hands and bent it in half until it snapped.  He threw it at Gerald’s feet.

“As long as we need what's in there, no more locks.”

Simon walked past Gerald and out the door into the City.  Gerald stood there cursing himself for not having a syringe in his pocket.  He should have put one in his pocket before opening the door for George.  George.  He had forgotten about George.  He wasn’t treating any splinter.

Gerald cursed himself again for not taking better precautions when he took the samples.  Someone must have an infection.  Soon they would know about what he’d done.

Gerald had to think of something fast, before they descended on him.  He went back to the lab and filled three more syringes – one each for Andrew, Simon, and George.  He would keep them in his pocket so he would be prepared when they came for him.

*****

George came through Maria Elena's door with his bag.  He looked at Katie and asked her to go to the Wilmer residence and get Christie.

“Tell her I need her assistance with a patient,” he said.  Katie ran to get Christie.  “Andrew, I think you should go and speak to Simon.  Please, before you do anything, speak to Simon.  He and Pat are in the cafeteria.”

Andrew went out the door and headed for the cafeteria.  George went over to Maria Elena and removed her blanket.  George prepared a dose of the sedative and gave it to Maria Elena to help her through what he had to do next.  He would have to remove the stitches and clean the wound.  It would be very painful.  At least the sedative would help her sleep afterward. 

He waited for Christie to arrive before he started.  She came in the door ten minutes after Katie had gone for her.  She must have been asleep for her hair was disheveled and she was in her nightgown.  She had sent Katie home.

“What happened, George?”  She took one of the kitchen chairs and pulled it over to the side of Maria Elena's bed by her head.  She sat down and began stroking the little girl's long brown hair.

“I think our friend decided to take some cell samples without our assistance.”  Christie began to get up, but George put his hand on her arm.  “No, no, stay here.  I need you.  The men are going to take care of this.  You must help me with this little one.”

Christie fought the urge to run to Gerald’s lab.  While George washed his hands, she put her arm over Maria’s head, sheltering the scared little girl. 

When George returned, Christie held Maria in her arms while he removed the stitches and cleaned the wound.  The little girl screamed with pain and held on tightly to Christie, but she never tried to get away.  She knew they were trying to help her.

George worked fast, not wanting to prolong her agony.  When he was done, the wound was clean, the new stitches were neat and sterile, but the swelling would take a day or two to go down.  George gave Maria Elena some penicillin and prayed she wasn’t allergic.  He applied the topical antibiotic to her wound and put a loose bandage over it. 

“I would prefer leaving the wound open, but she may thrash around during the night.  We can take it off and see tomorrow.  Please stay with her.  I have to go and see what Andrew is planning.”

George left Christie with Maria Elena.  Christie got on the bed and rocked her until the little girl finally went to sleep.  Christie gently let go of Maria Elena and lay down on the sofa.  Soon she, too, was asleep.  During the night, Maria Elena would moan, but she didn't wake up.  George had done a good job.

Chapter 61

George joined the men in the cafeteria.  Their faces were glum as they decided the fate of Gerald Todd. 

“I wanted to bust him right there,” Simon said.  “I should have.  He’s the most useless man on the planet.”

“We have to figure out a way of keeping him somewhere.  He can't be allowed to be around the kids.”  Andrew was so angry he had to hold himself to the chair with his hands.  “I really want to kill him.”

“Don't go near him,” Pat said suddenly.  “He's got something planned.  I know.  I'm a skinny guy and when I get around big guys like you, I have to have a plan.  Something sneaky that will give me an edge.  And that guy is nuts.  I saw him the other day when I was in here havin' breakfast.  He walked by and looked at me.  He had crazy eyes.  And I got to thinkin' about how he was the one that put the animals down when they were sick.  That made me think he's got somethin' up there that could put us down.  One quick shot in the arm and bingo – all the big guys are down.” 

They all stared in amazement at Pat.  He usually didn't talk much, or contribute anything of particular value.  He was funny, and the guys liked him.  He did as he was told and usually didn't complain. 

But this was a whole other side of Pat.  This was the kid who grew up in Brooklyn and had learned how to survive.  And what he was saying made a lot of sense.  Gerald was definitely acting crazy, and he did have access to drugs.  They would have to catch him off guard.  But where would they take him?

“Take him to the basement,” Pat said.

The basement had one access, the door in the floor of the kitchen at Wilmer's residence.  That would be easy to monitor.  But what would they do with him?  They couldn't just keep him in there.

“We need a more permanent solution,” Simon said.  His look was mean.  He had had enough of old Gerry. 

“You’re talking about murder, Simon,” George said.  “We don't have the authority.” 

“I'm alive; that's my authority, George.  The son of a bitch needs to die.  That's the only way any of us will be safe.”

Simon got up and walked away.  He was going to the bench to watch the lab door.  Andrew suddenly remembered Calvin. 

“Listen, I have to tell you something.  Pat, go tell Simon to come back for a minute.” 

Pat got up and walked to the door of the cafeteria.  He waved at Simon to come back.  Simon waved back that he wasn’t interested in coming back, and Pat came back to the table. 

“Oh well, you can tell him when I'm done,” Andrew said.  “I saw Calvin today.  He’d been down to St. Pete to see that little girl, you know, the one with the dog.  He said she found her parents.  He said they’ve been riding around for a week without suits.” 

Andrew stopped and let that sink in.  George and Pat realized what he was saying.  “That's right, no poison in the air.  They had two busloads of kids with them that they picked up along the way from Vegas.  They’re just like our kids.  They’re coming here tomorrow morning.” Andrew paused for effect.  “Guys, we can go
outside
.” 

George and Pat broke out in huge grins.  Pat jumped up and ran out to Simon.  He came back a minute later with Simon in tow. 

“We can go outside?”  Simon said to Andrew.

“Yup, we can go outside.” 

Simon walked away as fast as he could.  He headed straight for his quarters to pack.  He wasn’t staying in this loony bin another minute.  Pat chased after him and asked him where he was going.

“I'm packing, kid.  I gotta get outta here.” 

“But Simon, there's nothing but dead bodies out there.  Why don't you stay until we figure out what to do next?  We really need your help with Gerry.”  Pat was almost running, trying to keep up with him. 

“Look kid, I know, but I can't stand this place.  My solution is to kill the bastard.  End of story.  I'm done.  If you guys want to deal with him, then be my guest.  But I'm leaving.” 

Pat watched him go to the field.  Simon's quarters were behind Christie's office.  He also had chosen to be away from the others.  Pat followed him to the field.  Simon turned around and grabbed Pat by the throat. 

“Get away from me now or I'll kill you.”  Simon said.  He stared at Pat.  Pat looked into Simon’s eyes and then looked away.  He’d never been afraid of Simon, but the big man was scaring him now.  There was murder in his eyes.  When Simon was sure Pat understood, he let him go.  Then he walked away. 

Pat watched Simon leave, and then he turned and ran back to the cafeteria.  When he got there, George and Andrew were just getting up to go to bed.  He was still shook up from his confrontation with Simon, but he his feelings about Gerald had intensified.

“You guys should stay away from Gerry,” Pat said.  “I just have a bad feeling.” 

George and Andrew looked at each other. 

“Well, one of us needs to keep watch tonight.  The other will sleep on the benches down here,” Andrew said.

“I’ll keep watch,” Pat said.  He went to the store and grabbed an energy drink.  He brought it back and sat at one of the tables. 

Andrew and George each picked a bench and lay down.  They dozed a little, but never really got to sleep.  Every noise roused them.  They were a little afraid of Gerald after Pat had told them about Gerald's ability to put things to sleep. 

As Pat was sitting in the cafeteria, Austin walked in. 

“Hey, buddy, what are you doing up?”  Pat asked him.

“I have this thing on my leg.”  Austin was wearing a tee shirt and his underwear.  He walked over to Pat and showed him his wound. 

Pat hadn't seen Maria Elena's wound, but he guessed it looked like this.  It wasn't as swollen, but it was nasty.  Pat hated doing it, but he woke up George and showed him Austin's leg. 

George took Austin back to his house and treated his leg.  For all Austin's complaining, he was very brave and hardly yelled as George cleaned his wound and re-stitched it.  George was hoping this was the last child he would have to treat.  He was very tired and lay down on Austin's sofa.  He was soon fast asleep. 

Pat somehow managed to stay alert most of the night.  He dozed off around 4a.m. Gerald hadn't made an appearance.  Pat was hopeful he wouldn't show his face down here.  Fortunately, Pat was right. 

*****

The morning came and the kids started piling out of their houses.  George woke up and checked Austin's leg.  It looked good.  He then walked over to Maria Elena's house and checked her leg.  It, too, looked good.  He had her get up and walk.  She had a little limp, but that would go away as she healed.  She gave George a big hug and thanked him.

Christie stirred when she heard them talking.  She got up off the sofa.  She asked George how things were out in the City and he said the night had been uneventful.  She sighed in relief.  “So much for my vacation,” she thought.  He told her about Austin and she was now sure it had been Gerald. 

“He's dangerous, Christie.  Let him alone.  The men are going to handle him.  Please, we need you.  Stay away from him.” 

George had his hands on her shoulders.  She knew he was right, but her rage was so great she could barely contain it.  She told George she would be fine and he left Maria Elena's house.

Out in the city, George began to notice some of the other children limping slightly.  He stopped them one by one and found eight more children with wounds like Austin's and Maria Elena's.  By some miracle, their wounds hadn't become infected.  He applied the antibiotic ointment and a loose bandage and told them all to take the bandage off tomorrow. 

George could now understand Christie's need for revenge.  These children had been assaulted in their sleep by a maniac.  Thank God Gerald hadn't killed them. 

George found Andrew in the cafeteria drinking coffee.  Pat was getting the food ready for the kids' breakfast.  George sat down with Andrew.

“We have to kill him,” George said.  Andrew's eyebrows shot up.

“I thought we didn't have the authority, George.” 

“He's a mad man.  No one will be safe as long as he lives.”

“George, we can get out now.  We'll take him somewhere, like a jail or something.  I just don't think I can handle murder on my conscience.  I don't think any of us can, with the exception of Simon.  He's...different - but not you George, and certainly not Pat.” Andrew paused.  “We have to think of something else.  In the meantime, we watch each other's backs.  We post somebody at the lab door to make sure he doesn't get out.  We take food up there.  We leave it outside the door.  That's it for now.”