Part 23 (2/2)
”Can you put Pepsi in Cup-a-Noodles?” Dekka wondered.
They leaped at the shrink-wrapped pallets and ripped cans free.
Crack psst!
Crack psst!
Crack psst!
The sound that had not been heard in the FAYZ for months was heard once again. Pop-tops were popped, and Sam, Dekka, and Toto drank deep.
”Oh,” Dekka said.
”So good,” Toto said.
”It's ... It's like life is all right again. Like the universe has finally decided to smile at us,” Sam said with a huge smile.
Burp.
”Oh, yeah,” Dekka said. ”Soda burp.”
The three of them were grinning. ”Jack!” Sam yelled.
”I'm busy!” he called back.
”Get over here. Now!”
Jack came running like he was expecting trouble. A grinning Sam held a can out for him.
”Is that ... ?”
”It is,” Sam a.s.sured him.
Crack psst!
Burp.
Jack started crying then, sobbing and drinking and burping and laughing.
”You going crazy on us, Jack?” Dekka asked.
”It's just ...” He couldn't seem to find the words.
Sam put his arm around Jack's shoulders. ”Yeah, dude. It's too much, isn't it? I mean too much like the world before.”
”I eat rats,” Jack said through his tears.
”We all eat rats,” Dekka said. ”And glad to get a good juicy one, too.”
”True,” Toto muttered with some concern. ”They eat rats. They didn't mention rats before, Spidey.”
The sun was well past noon. Sam said, ”We need to check the last containers. Then get moving. Just because we're living large doesn't mean people at home are.”
”We don't need to find water, we have Pepsi!” Jack said.
”Which is great,” Sam said. ”Might last a few days. If we could get it back to town.”
That sobered Jack. He nodded briskly and said, ”Yes, you're right. Sorry. I was just ... I don't know. For a few minutes there it was like maybe it was all over.”
Just to do something different they went to the boxcar. The instant they rolled back the door they were a.s.sailed by a sickly sweet smell.
The boxcar had been full of oranges. But this was only obvious because of the perky labels on the flats. The oranges themselves had long since rotted in the heat. A sticky liquid covered the floor of the car. Some of the crates sprouted fantastic growths of furry mold.
”A little late on this one,” Sam said regretfully.
”Oranges would have been good,” Toto said.
The very last container was a mixed load: Stanley brand screwdrivers and saws and a.s.sorted hand tools, and exercise equipment of various types.
But by then no one cared, because it was the next-to-last container that weighed on their minds.
The thirteenth container had been loaded with shoulder-fired missiles.
The so-called hospital had sounded even worse after the fire. Because then kids had been screaming. Screaming Lana's name.
No screams this time, Lana noted. Coughs. Lots of deep, rasping coughs. Like kids were trying to cough their lungs right out.
Dahra was standing over one of the cots, laying a wet cloth on a kid's head. She hadn't noticed Lana walk in with Sanjit.
Lana did a quick count. Twenty? Twenty-one? Some of them were on cots, some were on mattresses covered in piled-high blankets from a dozen homes, a dozen beds. Some were lying with very little clothing on the cool tile floor.
And most were coughing, coughing, coughing.
Dahra looked up at the sound of their voices. ”Lana. Thank G.o.d. You want to try again?”
Lana spread her hands helplessly. ”I'll do whatever. But the magic isn't working on this thing.”
Dahra wiped sweat from her brow. She looked like she hadn't slept. Maybe ever. ”Look, secondary infections, they're called. Someone gets a virus and then something else moves in, too. A lot of times that's what kills people.”
”You're the boss,” Lana said. She meant it, and she meant it only for Dahra.
”Her.” Dahra pointed. ”Start with her. One hundred and six fever. That's what Pookie was before ...”
Lana went to the girl. She looked familiar; Lana thought her name might be Judith, but it was hard to recognize someone whose face was red from coughing, drenched in sweat, hair plastered down, eyes scared, bleary, and defeated.
Lana laid her hand on the girl's head and almost yanked it away. She was hot to the touch. Like touching a plate fresh from the dishwasher.
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