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dollar… in for dime.’”

Chapter 2
     

Regroup
 
Ryan, Max, & Lisa
3:00 p.m.
Sarah’s House
Woodinville, WA
     
     
    I listened to the raspy breathing across the room—Lisa wasn’t doing well. I found a thermometer and took her temperature: 103 degrees. Max was finally sleeping; I could hear him snoring in the next room. After I’d convinced him that he couldn’t get me to leave, he finally gave in and lay down while I watched Lisa.
    Apparently, Sarah had realized things were going downhill fast and filled the bathtubs with water for drinking and left some food out before leaving the house. For us, or for whoever happened across the house, I guessed. I am not a doctor, but I knew I had to keep Lisa hydrated if she was going to stand any chance at all. I woke her every fifteen minutes or so and forced her to drink some water, half of which I would end up wearing.
    I searched my mind for everything I’d heard about the South African Flu. I knew the mortality rate was extremely high, but I also thought I remembered hearing that most victims succumbed to death within the first 24 hours. Max said she started showing symptoms at ten o’clock the night before. All I could do at that point was wait while my mind wandered.
    I need to finish shoring up the windows and doors before it gets dark… We need to go back to the ferry to get the rest of the weapons and ammunition…
    I went to check on Lisa again, jolted back to reality by her coughing. She was paler than before, her eyes were sunken back in the sockets, and she was still burning up.
    I have to cool her down somehow. I know we need the water to drink, but if I can’t break this fever, she’s going to die, and soon. The decision made, I started stripping off her clothes.
    “Lisa, I have to get you undressed and get you into the bathtub.”
    She opened her eyes but didn’t seem to focus on me. I got her down to her underwear after much contorting of limbs and embarrassed fumbling on my part. She was as light as a feather.
    It is like carrying a burning piece of charcoal, I thought to myself as I made my way down the hall to the bathroom. The water wasn’t cold, but it was much cooler than she was. I lay her gently in the tub, making sure to keep my hand behind her head. I took her temp again: 104!
    Come on Lisa, fight this thing!
    I spent the next two hours stirring water and swishing it over her hair, not sure if it was accomplishing anything.
    I heard Max call out, “Ryan?”
    “We’re back here, in the back bathroom.”
    He came in wiping the sleep from his eyes, looking like hell.
    “Any change?” he asked.
    “Here, switch places with me and I’ll take her temperature again,” I said, as I moved to let him take my seat.
    I slid the thermometer under her tongue while he held her still. It was an old mercury thermometer, and I forgot to shake the mercury back down. I pulled it back and shook it. The thermometer flew from my hand and shattered on the floor.
    “Shit!” I yelled.
    Lisa’s eyes slammed open and she sat up, coughing and shaking.
    “Lisa!” Max turned her head in his hands. “Lisa, can you hear me?”
    She jerked a little and said, “Damn, Dad. I’m sick, not deaf!”
    I laughed loudly and got down next to them. “How are you feeling?” I asked.
    “Like shit, thank you. Can you get me out of this tub? I’m freezing.”
    I looked at Max. “It’s a good sign, I think. It means the fever has broken.”
    Max busied himself helping Lisa up and toweling her off, but I could see what looked like hope in his eyes.
    “Jeez, Dad, you’re going to rub my skin off; easy, would ya!”
    Max smiled then muttered, “Oh, she’s definitely getting better. She sounds just like her mother when she gets her ass up in the air.”
    I just grinned and said, “Come on, let’s get her back to the couch.”
    Once we had Lisa settled back on the couch, I signaled Max to follow me into the garage. We needed to secure the house. Max was so caught up