The Y-Virus Ch. 08

I forced myself to keep my composure since I didn't know what to do. Thankfully, Alexis and Nancy walked into the room and everyone's attention was drawn to the direction of the doors they walked through.

The massive cafeteria roared with applause, I among them.

Never before had a cloud of applause seemed so grandiose to me. I think it was because everybody seemed to be feeling the same thing: "Give us something that will give us hope! Please!"

"Settle down! Please, everyone! Settle down!" Dr. Weller pleaded with her hand up in the air.

The clapping continued for at least half a minute before it dwindled down to the point where the two doctors could speak.

"No doubt all of you have been wondering why we've called this meeting. There is good reason, but also reason for each of us to have a pause for thought."

The applause dwindled down after people seemed to realize what the words meant.

We all waited for more information.

"This here . . ." Dr. Weller held up a syringe of a cobalt-blue liquid, "is our first step toward a vaccine of the Y-Virus! We've run test, after test, after test to determine the stability of this vaccine's structure, and, according to the computers, we have found something that will allow the men of our species to walk and live outside the walls of the quarantined areas once more. Suffice it to say . . . we think this latest attempt will save our species!"

The crowd erupted with cheers and applause again.

Tabby Cat squeezed my hand and I give her a smile. But I also felt it necessary to turn my attention back to Akira after a moment and give her the same look.

The duration of the applause seemed to stretch on and on. Most of the adults in the cafeteria were borderline hysterical in their joy. The news was truly the best possible thing I could've hoped for. I thought for a moment about how great it would be to go outside for a change.

After the clapping and cheering subsided, Nancy continued, "I'd like to now turn things over to Dr. Miller. Please give her your undivided attention."

More applause erupted but simmered down much quicker (I think it was due to the deep level of respect everyone had for Alexis).

"Thank you, Dr. Weller. I'd first like to start by saying that we have manufactured only three doses of the vaccine which, I'd like to add, we have dubbed 'The Weller Vaccine' since it was Dr. Nancy Weller herself who stumbled upon the chemical compound used for this latest attempt. I think we should all take a moment to thank her for her dedicated efforts."

Everyone roared with cheers of wild enthusiasm for Nancy. I developed a soft spot in my heart for Nancy from that moment onward. True, she felt it necessary to give me and all the other men prostate exams on a regular basis (whether manually or by use of the XTC), and more so before having sex with volunteer women, but I quickly overlooked all of that in lieu of a vaccine. She was a new kind of savior of the human race and she became a personal hero of mine.

Dr. Miller began again:

"The next step for us—and this is not an easy thing for anyone to ask of another human being—is to administer Dr. Weller's vaccine to a volunteer man. I cannot stress enough that we only feel the vaccine will work based on the conclusions reached by our computers. All of the women who worked on and reviewed this vaccine feel it is the absolute best chance to give all males a future outside the quarantines of the world.

"We have to ask for a male volunteer to be injected with the vaccine. Before any of the men here offer to receive it, I must warn you of the slight possibility that the vaccine might not work. I understand it is a frightening notion, but the only real way to know if the vaccine will work is to administer it to a man and allow him to leave the safety of the CDC quarantine.

"Is there a man here willing to take this risk? I do not ask this lightly. Please take some time and think this decision through before volunteering."

There were a few quiet murmurs among the crowd. I couldn't really hear anything anyone said and I was still much too excited at the prospect of being able to go outside to care about the things other people were whispering. I did, however, think about the gravity of the situation if I volunteered and died because the vaccine was unstable or ineffective. It wasn't an easy thing to contemplate once I realized the danger involved.

No doubt all the men in the CDC wanted to breathe fresh air and feel the warmth of the sun on our backs again, but suddenly the men didn't seem too eager at the idea when it was learned that there was a small chance the Weller Vaccine might not work. Death would ensue six weeks after taking their first breath of fresh air.

After twenty minutes or so, I saw that no men seemed to have a look of confidence on their faces. I understood very well and could empathize with them. I didn't like the idea of leaving, enjoying the sun, air, and rain, only to die six weeks later. I weighed my options as I undoubtedly knew the other men were doing. I suspected that every other man was waiting for another man to step up to the plate so they wouldn't have to, then, if the Weller Vaccine proved successful, they would jump at the chance to have the injection.

I glanced over to Nancy from part-way across the cafeteria. She was making occasional comments to Dr. Regina Stills, but more importantly Nancy looked a bit depressed at the fact nobody seemed willing to be injected with her vaccine. I felt sympathy for her when I saw her expression. The poor woman worked harder than any other on making a vaccine against the Y-Virus, but it was beginning to look like the fruits of her labor would go unused and only marginally appreciated. I understood to a degree because I felt underappreciated in the work I did as a custodian and factory worker in the twenty-first century.

The truth was simple: I was just as apprehensive as the rest of the men in having the blue liquid injected into my forearm, but I didn't want to stay in the CDC for the rest of my life. I wanted to be alive for the birth of my children, but most of all I just wanted to be alive. It was that simple.

When it became clear to me that none of the other men would volunteer, I felt an emotional pang in me that I've never felt before or since. I have yet to find the right word to describe it. I didn't want Nancy's tedious work to go unfruitful. I wanted so many things, but none of them would be worth living for if I lost my sanity within the white- and crème-colored walls of this building. How could I be a good father to my future children if I'm bat-shit-crazy? I would only be a burden to the people of the CDC rather than an asset.

That fleeting emotion got the best of me. I couldn't stand the thought of Nancy's work amounting to a great mountain of nothing. I walked up to Nancy. Akira said something to me as I walked away from her, but I only heard broken words of what she was saying due to the banter of the surrounding crowd.

Nancy and Regina turned their attention to me when Regina pointed me out to Nancy.

"I'll do it." I said solemnly.

"What?" Nancy said with what I thought might've been a moment of disbelief.

"I'll volunteer."

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Ryan?" Regina asked.

"I'm as sure as I can be, or ever will be."

"Thank you, Ryan," Nancy said, "I know this is an extremely difficult thing you're willing to do. For what it's worth, I feel very strongly that this vaccine will work."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I just nodded with a half-smile before feeling a hand take hold my own. I turned and saw it was Akira.

"What's up?" She asked with the usual cute look in her eyes, yet the look had a layer of worry to it.

"Ryan was brave enough to volunteer for the vaccine." Regina said.

"What?!" Akira cried. Most of the heads in the cafeteria turned to us. "You can't!" She was now looking at me with consternation.

It was hardly a secret to anyone with eyes that Akira and I had been developing feelings for each other. I did think something like this would happen, but it was a kind of inevitability due to the fact that most of the other men were beginning to establish romantic connections with certain women in the CDC.

"Someone has to do it, Akira. It's clear nobody else is willing to take the risk. Progress can't be made unless somebody does." I tried to reason with her.

"No! Maybe somebody else will—" She cut off her intended statement when she turned her head to realize all eyes and ears were on us. She continued with a voice barely over a whisper, "Maybe somebody else will volunteer. You don't have to do this, Ryan."

"I know I don't have to, but somebody does." I said, trying to match the hushed tone of her voice.

"I don't want to lose you the same way I lost . . ." Akira stopped and tried to keep her composure.

Dr. Miller could easily sense the emotion in Akira's voice even in the lowered tone. She interjected, "I know you don't want Ryan to risk his life. Nobody wants anybody to take this risk, but it simply needs to be done by someone."

Akira remained silent, though clearly still upset.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," I said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Dr. Weller is a talented scientist and medical doctor. Besides, the computers of your age are far more advanced than the ones of my time. If they conclude that the vaccine is stable and will work, then I should put my faith in their analysis. Somebody has to take the risk sooner or later. It's better if I volunteer now rather than have everybody wait for days, weeks, maybe even months for a willing recipient of the vaccine. The sooner we know if it works the better."

I could see the internal struggle in Akira. I think she knew that Dr. Miller and I were right. She likely didn't want to accept the truth that I was the only one willing to take the chance. Perhaps she thought she could convince another man—maybe Keith—to volunteer in my place. Akira forced herself to be steady and remained silent as she nodded her reluctant approval to Dr. Miller and Dr. Weller. She refused to favor me with a look before turning and making her way out of the cafeteria.

"Akira . . . please . . ." I called after her with a few steps in her direction.

I felt a pain in my heart as she kept walking. She had never been upset at me until this moment. I always hated it when I unintentionally made people upset, especially women I felt strongly about. I often thought of myself as a peacekeeper of sorts, but that day I felt very lowly about myself despite knowing that I made the decision not in the spirit of spite. I did it because I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that nobody else would've volunteered.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, "It's okay, Mr. Barber." It was Alexis, "Let her go. I'll have a word with her later tonight to set things straight. Right now we should prepare you for the vaccine. If you need a few minutes to yourself, or if you wish to spend a few minutes with some of your friends, I'll understand."

I turned, looked down at my feet, and kept silent. I wasn't thinking about my other friends in the CDC in that moment. I only felt terrible. I even forgot to worry for myself if the vaccine failed.

"Ryan?" Alexis said with a bit more force in her voice. It got my attention. In just that one word I heard 'Goddess Athena' speaking to me.

"I'm alright," I lied, "I'll take a few minutes."

"Very well. When you're ready, come to the exam room for the vaccine and I want to give you an important briefing before I allow you to leave the quarantine."

"Yes doctor."

Alexis and Nancy turned and made their way out of the cafeteria, but not before Nancy looked at me and mouthed the words "thank you" and smiled. I couldn't bring myself to return the smile because I still felt so bad for Akira.

I went to Tabby Cat first and told her what she already knew. In fact, everybody I talked with after Tabby Cat already knew. It wasn't difficult for people to put the pieces together on their own. Tabby Cat said she would try to convince Dr. Miller to let her come with me when I would inevitably leave the quarantine. She assured me that Dr. Miller would only be a fool to let me go out into the new world without adequate protection and without people who know what that world is like. I told her that I would welcome her company if Dr. Miller agreed to it. I saw no reason she would be denied. I knew that women who were impregnated were encouraged to stay in quarantine in the last few weeks of their pregnancies even though it was widely known that newborn males would only become infected after leaving the womb. Dr. Miller also didn't want pregnant women being discovered in the outside world—it would only raise questions in the minds of other women as to where they received sperm samples since nearly all sperm banks outside the CDC were devoid of samples after the first year of the plague. Dr. Miller didn't want to draw unwanted attention to the CDC if it could be helped. We didn't need an influx of women who could very well be violent or spies for the Black Widows. We could only trust Amy Hocke and Kristine Lane's judgment on new women and girls being let into the community.

I spoke next with Keith. He thanked me for being the one to volunteer. He admitted to giving thought to volunteering himself for the vaccine, but despite being one of only two gay men in a building filled with mostly women and girls, he wasn't willing to risk his life just yet. He explained that he wanted to live to finish his journal, and he seemed ashamed of himself to admit that he was never a risk-taker or gambler. He was certainly not ready to gamble with his life. I reassured him that he wasn't to blame for anything and he shouldn't feel poorly about not volunteering. It was a heavy decision for any man to consider. Keith wished me "every form of luck under the sun" and we hugged. There was nothing romantic about it, we were just very good friends who cared for one another.

Continuing with the trend of saying goodbye to friends and acquaintances, I was thanked and wished the best of luck. Most reassured me that Dr. Weller knew her stuff and that everything would be fine in the end. I knew they were only saying these things to make me feel better. The men felt the same sliver of uncertainty as I did when considering volunteering and the women didn't want to risk putting me off to the idea. The women wanted to see men walk outdoors once again just as much as the men themselves did.

Hanna was the last person I spoke with before going to meet with Dr. Miller and Dr. Weller. She was already crying by the time I got to her. She was young and clearly didn't want me to be the one to volunteer. We had grown very close over the time I spent in the CDC. She was caught somewhere between being mad at me and sad for me. I learned quickly that it's very hard to convince a young child of something with logic and reasoning, especially when said child had experienced the apocalypse unfold all around her at the vulnerable age of five. Even though she was mad at me in many ways, she still hugged me as tightly as her little arms could when I told her I couldn't keep the doctors waiting.

She only let go of me when I made the sincere promise to spend time with her outside the facility. I promised to keep teaching her chess and that I wouldn't stay away from the CDC for too long. I felt it necessary to tell her that at some point I wanted to visit Allen Park, Michigan (my former hometown). I wanted to see what 281 years had done to that part of my past.

I smiled and patted Hanna on the head before turning to meet with Alexis and Nancy.

Even though I still felt bad as I walked to the exam room, I also started to feel that I was doing the right thing. Somebody had to be the guinea pig. It might as well be me. I figured that if by some turn of bad luck or some miscalculation I was to die from the Y-Virus, at least I had done some good before my death. Also, I had impregnated three women at this point and many of my sperm samples were kept safe. A part of me would still live on even if I didn't.

I went into the exam room. Nancy was there and she directed me into a smaller secondary room that was adjoining the larger main room. The smaller exam room had less equipment, but suited our purposes perfectly. Alexis was in the room already, holding her DataPad closely to her breasts.

"Mr. Barber, please have a seat." Dr. Miller said with a gesture to the only hover-gurney in the room.

I sat.

"First, both Dr. Weller and I would like to thank you for volunteering."

Nancy interjected, "Thank you, Mr. Barber. For a few minutes I was worried all our hard work would've amounted to very little."

Alexis continued, "Second, the vaccine should take a few hours to travel through your entire circulatory system. But in the interest of playing things safe, we cannot allow you to leave the quarantine for at least twelve hours after initial injection.

"Third, whenever you leave the quarantine, I will assign no less than three of our guards and a trained medical professional to accompany you at all times. I won't risk any harm coming to you."

I had to interrupt Alexis when she brought this up. "Dr. Miller, would it be alright if I asked you to allow Tabby Cat—I mean, Tabitha Dole to join me outside? She really wants to be with me out there. She claims to know the area well. I have no reason to doubt her, especially since she was born and raised in Georgia."

"As long as Ms. Dole agrees to the protocol I issue to her and as long as we can find a volunteer to cook in the kitchen while she is outside with you, then I see no problem in letting her accompany you."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Fourth, I don't expect you to remain within a two hundred meter radius of the CDC. I'm sure you will have the itch to explore. I must advise against venturing off too far into areas that haven't been investigated by my scouts . . . but you are an adult, and you have the right to go wherever you please. I won't hinder your basic human right to go where you want; however, during your time outside," Dr. Miller reached into a pocket of her lab coat and pulled out something shiny and circular, "I'll require you to wear this tracking device. It has a distress button on the side." She pointed to a small red button on the metal bracelet/anklet, "In order to activate the distress signal press and hold the button down for three seconds. Since we'll know where you are anywhere in the world with this device, we will be able to retrieve you wherever you find yourself in need of help."

"I understand, doctor. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"In the off chance you do decide to wander off, I recommend locking the bracelet around your ankle and rolling your sock over it to hide it from unfriendly eyes."

"What if it gets wet or something? What if it rains?" I asked.

"It's waterproof."

"Oh . . . cool."

Dr. Miller handed me the bracelet/anklet, "Please try to put it on. I need to make sure I grabbed the right size."

I took it from her. The tracker opened and closed on a hinge (just like the TestiTrackers). The tracker Alexis handed to me was already unhinged. I brought my left ankle up over my right knee and tried to lock the tracker around it. The tracking device was a little too small, so I handed it back to Alexis. "I'm sorry, doctor, but I think I need a slightly bigger one."

"It's alright. I'll just have to get another one. Dr. Weller, do you have the syringe ready?"

"Yes doctor." Nancy picked up the syringe containing the cobalt-blue liquid off the counter. The plastic shield was still covering the needle.

"Good. I'll be back in a minute or two with a new tracking bracelet." Dr. Miller turned and walked out of the small exam room. My eyes followed her rear end as she walked away, but there wasn't much to look at because her lab coat hid her best physical feature. It was, however, nice to see her hips sway a little.