Dead: Winter (38 page)

“Besides biting?” I tried to laugh, but the look on her face closed my throat up before the offe
n
sive sound could escape my lips.

“Yes.”

“Well, I know that everybody was wearing gloves all the time in case they might have a tiny nick or cut where the blood might get in and infect the person.”

“And…?”

She stared at me while I puzzled over it. Then it dawned on me with a force that physically hurt my insides. I met her gaze and the doctor nodded.

“Sex?”

“One of the easiest ways to spread a disease is through i
n
tercourse,” the doctor explained. “There is always a degree, no matter how slight, of abrading that takes place and allows for the exchange.”

That would explain why Teresa died without being bitten; why she turned despite no exposure. That was terrible. No…that was tragic.

“We have to tell the others,” Dr. Zahn said quietly. “If they aren’t informed, then this will happen again.”

“How did you figure it out?” I had to know.

“I started writing down everything I knew about the infe
c
tion and how it was spread.” The doctor picked up a notebook, opened it and thumbed through a few pages as she spoke. “I began to list di
s
eases with similar traits. One by one I found enough differences to cross them out. That is until I reached the AIDS virus. While they are very different, they exhibit a number of similarities that I could not ignore. Of course I will not be able to say with absolute certainty unless I can obtain some test equipment, but I had enough from when I did the blood tests on everybody to at least build a strong case.”

“So when do we tell them?”

“Seeing as how we have two new members and no knowledge of their background, I say we do it now. Plus, I have not seen any signs of it from the others, but if anybody gets st
u
pid and decides to express their sympathy in a physical ma
n
ner for Mister Blossington, then they could be next.”

“Should we tell him alone first?” I asked. I really didn’t have any idea how to do this whole “break it to me gently” ro
u
tine. I would absolutely defer to an expert’s opinion here.

“I think that would be best,” the doctor finally said after a few moments of hesitation.

I was really uncomfortable with this new version of the doctor. The doctor I knew was not one who doubted. She took things head on and never flinched. I wouldn’t have ever wanted to play chic
k
en with the old Dr. Zahn. But this one was full of self-doubt and second-guessing. The look on her face inspired no confidence.

As I walked out into the general area where everybody was filtering in with the newbies in tow, I decided that it would be up to me to give the news to Jamie. I hated to admit it, but I didn’t trust the doctor to do it right at the moment. I spotted Jamie and waved him over.

“What’s up?” he asked. I saw a hint of the young man I’d come to know peeking out from the pain. Being around ever
y
body was probably the best thing for him. We’d made the mistake of leaving him alone to grieve. Well that wouldn’t be the case any longer.

“I need you to come with me for a moment.”

He nodded and followed. I could see the instant look of trepidation on his face. He was far too raw to hide any of his emotions at the moment.

I opened the door and ushered him in ahead of me. He saw the doctor and it was an instant tran
s
formation. I hadn’t realized until just that moment how mature Jamie had become in such a short time. In that instant, he was a frightened school boy. It was like watching Teresa at the end with all of that vulnerability so easy to see.

“Have a seat.” I pointed to the only other open seat in the room. I was going to stand for this.

“W-what’s going on?” he stammered. His eyes didn’t seem to know where to look between me and the doctor.

“We have some news that we need to share with the group, but we needed to tell you first.” I saw a new look and quickly cut off that line of thinking. “No, nobody else is infected. However, we think we know how Teresa might have contracted the infection. We need to stress that we won’t be abs
o
lutely certain until the proper equipment can be brought in for tests.”

“Just tell me,” Jamie sighed. He sounded so tired.

“It seems that the infection can be passed on in ways besides a bite. It is like any other blood borne illness. Any exchange of fluids can result in spreading it from one person to another.”

I sat there silently and watched Jamie. I knew I wouldn’t have to spell it out for him, he was a bright kid. He looked back and forth between me and Dr. Zahn a few times as he puzzled over what he’d heard and the fact that he knew there was a me
s
sage in it for him. When it dawned, it was instant.

“No.” He shook his head very slowly and just kept saying that over and over.

“This is not your fault, Jamie,” I said, trying to be as soothing as I could. Once again I was di
s
covering that I was very much out of my element.

“No,” Dr. Zahn finally stood and approached the boy, “this is my fault.”

Crap
. That wasn’t what I wanted either. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. It was what we were dealing with now in a world overrun by the dead. Nothing was the same. All the rules were out the window. We would have to start from scratch and learn on the fly. The best we could hope for now is to not make the same mistake twice.

“How?” Jamie turned to the doctor. “How could this be your fault?”

“I should have known better.”

I stood helpless now as two people that were dear to me b
e
gan to heap burning coals on their own heads. It was a fight for who was more to blame and neither of them could win, but both could lose.

“When I got bit…when we thought I might be infected, we should have stopped having—”

He stopped short of saying it. His mouth hung open and the look on his face just continued to worsen. I’d never seen such inner pain etched on somebody so clearly. He was devastated. I didn’t know if anything could bring him back from the edge this time. I could post a watch on the door for a while; but for how long? When would it be long enough for him?

“I am so sorry, Jamie,” I said. The words felt hollow and useless. What good could they possibly do him?

I stood for a moment longer and decided that there really was not a single thing I could do here. All the votes of conf
i
dence I’d received lately from the group, from Melissa…and from Teresa…they all seemed equally useless now. I left the room.

“I need everybody to gather around,” I announced.

Heads turned my direction and everybody made their way to the long tables we sat around during meals. I waited until they were all seated and moved to where they could all see me. I needed to be certain that they understood not only what I was letting them know, but also, what it had meant in r
e
gards to T
e
resa.

“I just met with Dr. Zahn and she has made a disturbing…” I paused. It wasn’t really a discovery yet. It was still going to need some research and some tests before she could be absolutely certain. “Hypothesis.” I’d heard the word before and now seemed like as good of a time as any to use it. “The infection, as many of you know, is transmitted by a bite. However, it has come to our attention that it acts like any other blood borne illness in its abi
l
ity to be spread. It is Dr. Zahn’s belief that a bite is only one way the disease can be transmitted.

“Additionally, we know that it is not a one hundred percent certainty that a bite means you will be turned. Some have shown immunity. We have also discovered that an individual who is immune will turn after death. That means that they still carry the virus or whatever the hell it is.

“That leads us to the newest and very unfortunate discovery. It would appear that the infection can also be spread through e
x
change of bodily fluids between a person who is infected but immune and a person who is not infected.”

I waited for a moment and let all of that sink in. A few faces changed their expressions as they began to realize what I was saying. Melissa was one of the first and I saw the tears welling in her eyes.
She knew
.

“Teresa was not infected by a bite,” I said. I had to pause again to work up the courage to say it out loud. “It is believed that she contracted the infection through sexual contact.”

The room was silent and then an outcry rose as everybody tried to ask questions at the same time. I raised my hands in order to qu
i
et the crowd and finally got everybody to settle back down.

“Should we be taking precautions with the food prepar
a
tion?” Jake was the first to raise his hand, so I had pointed to him.

“No,” I said. “Look…this is like the AIDS thing. When it first hit the mainstream, people started freaking out and coming up with all these insane ways you could supposedly catch AIDS. So, to a
n
swer your question; no. And the same goes for hugging a person. It doesn’t work that way. Dr. Zahn has way more to say about this than I do, but just rest assured that it won’t just jump to you from somebody who is immune. We had people with us before who were immune. This is a specific inc
i
dent of two pe
o
ple who were sexually intimate.”

As I finished speaking, I looked around the room. My eyes stopped on Thalia and Emily. They both had confused looks on their faces and Melissa was busy whispering to them both. They didn’t look like were understanding any of this any better, even with Melissa’s explanation.
Super
, I thought,
another “daddy” talk that I was very unprepared for
. I looked over at DeAngelo and Melinda and saw a similar scene playing out with them and the two children, Levent and Rabia.

A few more general questions about how Dr. Zahn knew this without testing came my way and I deferred them for the doctor. I wasn’t about to try and explain her guesswork.

“I need you all to step up and help me keep an eye on J
a
mie,” I finally said at last. “When Teresa died, he stayed alone in the back. That isolation is what I believe led him to attempting to commit su
i
cide.”

There were nods and assurances from everybody. Satisfied that I’d done all I could, I adjourned the hastily called emerge
n
cy meeting. Melissa came to me with the girls and wrapped her arms around me. It felt wonderful. The girls hugged me and started in almost immediately with the questions.

“Are you and Melissa doing sex?” Emily asked.

“Okay, girls,” I knelt to look them both in the eye, “I am not very good at this stuff. So listen carefully; what happened to T
e
resa was an accident. It was what we used to call a fluke. Basically, Jamie gave a sickness to Teresa that he didn’t know he had. The way it happened is not important right now. What is important is that Jamie is gonna be really sad for a while. I need you girls to try and be happy around him. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, daddy,” they both said in unison.

“Now maybe you should go get cleaned up and see if you can help Sunshine with dinner.”

The girls ran off and Melissa waited until they were gone. “He has to be devastated.”

“Oh yeah,” I agreed. “But Dr. Zahn is almost as bad. I’ve never seen her like this.”