Read The China Pandemic for Free Online Page B

She had stored Jasmine, Calrose, Long Grain and Basmati.
    He and his dad jokingly fought over which bag they would open next, finally settling on a system of rotation. Graham favored the Jasmine, but Dad preferred the short sticky grain, Calrose. His father argued the benefits were that it, “stuck to your ribs,” and said, “Now that’s rice that’ll get you through men’s work.”
    Here I go again, stirring up memories that will do nothing but hold me back today. Though Graham knew it was probably normal to go through his memory file after someone important passed away, he wondered if Bang also had the same issue. He hoped not, since he had the benefit of being in different surroundings. There were not as many stimuli to provoke such memories. Once they got to the cabin Graham hoped the reminiscences would subside a little. He did not want them to go away completely, just enough to prevent him from going insane.
    After showing the boy how to continue the task, he said, “I’m going to go right over there to the garage to work on a few things. I’ll leave the door open, so if you need anything, yell.” Bang just looked up at him, nodded, and then continued his work, but Graham noticed the boy glance over to the couch where his mother had died. His memories were there too.
    Leaving Bang to his task, Graham propped open the garage door with the petrified rock his dad kept there for that purpose. The first thing that came to him in the darkness was the scent of his father.
    He flipped on the light and looked at the bikes neatly stored along the ceiling hooks. He pulled down the one his dad often rode as well as his niece’s pink Barbie bike that his parents kept for their granddaughter’s visits. He cringed at the pink sparkly tassels. Being a boy himself, he would not have dared be seen on one of these at Bang’s age in normal times. However, these were not normal times and the kid would just have to deal with it. Graham quickly pulled off the tassels and the basket, but that was the best he could do right now.
    He brought the little bike over to his dad’s workbench. He looked around and could sense the man who usually worked there on various projects. He considered using the noisy air compressor to fill the tires, but it probably was not worth the risk of attracting attention, so he opted for the handheld pump they’d always taken with them on long rides.
    Graham grew uneasy at the silence from the kitchen and went back to the door to check. The boy was still busy at the bottom of the big bag so he said, “Come out here when you’re done.”
    He’d taken care of his niece a few times, but never held the sole responsibility of a child. He decided he both liked and disliked the duty. He could not quite pinpoint why the job came as a hindrance to him, but it made him feel vulnerable somehow. He had only been the boy’s guardian for twenty-four hours now. He knew he’d have to kill anyone who would want to harm the boy and for him that came as a shock. He’d never before adopted what he thought of as the macho-man attitude but there it was.
    Back to the little bike, Graham put it down on the concrete floor and pressed his own weight down on the seat and handlebars, rolling it across the garage. He wanted to listen to the noise it made or rather see if the noise attracted attention. Noticing the typical clickety-click of the chain, he heard something unexpected. He knelt down and saw bunches of pine needles wrapped around the back wheel-slot and bits of brush in the spokes. He picked them out and cleaned it up. Next, he oiled the chain and spun the pedals to work it in. Satisfied that he’d made the bike as soundless as possible, barring the typical chain noise, he turned his attention to his own bike, doing the same.
    Next on the list, his mom’s bike cargo trailer they’d often taken along for picnics. This one consisted of a two-wheel configuration that attached with a hitch to the back wheel joint. The