Greg Krojac - The Schrödinger Enigma

Sitara felt a bit uncomfortable.

“Isn’t it stealing? Looting actually?”

“Yes, it is. But it’s no good to them, and if we don’t take it, somebody else will. It’s going to get taken – it may as well be us that gets the benefit.”

Sitara knew that Jason was right – soon looting would be the norm – acceptable behaviour. She’d have to get used to it, but until that time arrived, she just wanted someone else to authorize the theft and appease her conscience. A few minutes later the car was loaded with three boxes containing tins of Heinz Alpha-Getti Pasta, and three other boxes containing Heinz British Style Baked Beans (a catch that particularly pleased Jason). It wasn’t particularly nutritious food, but it would do; beggars can’t be choosers. They did allow themselves a few luxury items too, picking up toothbrushes, toothpaste, liquid soap, more toilet paper, several more packets of Oreos and some bars of chocolate. A box of Gatorade was also among the booty. As the men loaded the car, Sitara started walking in the direction of the outlet centre. She hadn’t forgotten that she needed a change of clothes. There was nothing wrong with what she was wearing, but how could she get the scenes of her nurse’s death out of her mind if she was still wearing Suzy’s clothes? Jason followed behind her, leaving Enak to look after the car. He walked alongside her.

“You can’t just go wandering off on your own. It isn’t safe.”

Sitara found a shop that had good quality jeans, T-shirts, shirts, and even footwear. Jason kept a lookout while she popped into the fitting rooms with a large bundle of clothes in her arms. She felt a little wicked as she suddenly realized that she had never been into a shop’s changing room with more than three items before.

She emerged wearing a pair of black denim jeans, and a white cheesecloth blouse over a white T-shirt. The outfit was complemented by a rather chic pair of cowboy boots. She gave a twirl for Jason and laughed. It was the first time for a while that she had felt like laughing.

“All I need now is a cowboy hat.”

Jason helped her stuff extra pairs of jeans and shirts into one of the large customer shopping bags that hadn’t been used since the shop staff had evacuated the premises. They were just about to exit the shop, when Sitara suddenly stopped by a large wire container.

“Mustn’t forget these.”

Once she had stuffed some bras and about a dozen pairs of panties into the bag, she was ready to leave. Both were secretly relieved to see Enak still standing by the car, and were about to join him when Sitara spotted a drugstore in the corner of the lot.

“Hang on, Jason. I need to check this out.”

Jason watched for a few seconds as Sitara ran over to the drugstore and then sprinted after her. He didn’t know what she was after, but he decided that he’d better follow her. Just because the clothes shop had been safe, it didn’t mean the drugstore would be. He arrived at the door just as she was coming out of the store. A new plastic bag was stuffed to the brim with tampons and panty-liners. She grinned at Jason.

“They may not be important to you, but they’ll be a lifesaver to me and Miriam. Maybe Ruth too.”

It wasn’t long before they arrived at Mechanicsville. It looked pretty much how all towns and cities were looking nowadays; a wasteland of looted and vandalised shops, interspersed with dead bodies. It was hard to believe that such chaos had occurred in such a short time. They passed through the city without stopping, heading out until they reached Route 236 and the St. Mary’s County Amish Settlement. It was a long shot but, given the Amish lifestyle and their insular way of life, perhaps the pandemic had bypassed them.

A few Amish homes and farms were dotted along the two-lane highway, with several dead-end side roads branching off. It was as they had just passed one of these side roads that Sitara spotted a grey-roofed buggy heading down the track away from them. Jason turned around and drove slowly down the side road to follow it, so as to frighten neither buggy-driver nor horse. The man halted his vehicle and jumped down from his seat to face them.

The buggy driver was in his very early twenties, dressed in the plain practical and traditional clothing that unmistakably identified him as Amish. He was also clean shaven, signifying that he was, as yet, unmarried. He spread his arms wide, not appearing at all frightened by the trio.

“Good day, travellers. How may I help you?”

Jason got out of the car and shook hands with the young man.

“My name is Jason, and the two in the car are Sitara and Enak. We’ve just come from Bethesda. We were hoping that perhaps we could stay with your community for a few days, until we decide what to do next.”

The young man looked forlorn and then his smile returned.

“There’s not much of a community left now, just myself – I’m Samuel – my father Jacob, my mother Ruth, and my younger sister Miriam. We live on a small farmstead at the end of this lane.

Jason beckoned Sitara and Enak to get out of the car and introduce themselves, and Samuel invited the group to follow him to the farm. He parked the buggy next to a barn, and Jason did likewise with the car. The three waited outside the house while Samuel went inside to talk to his parents. A minute later, the rest of the family came outside, Samuel’s father stepping forward to shake hands with his visitors. Enak was unsure what this gesture signified but it seemed to be tradition and customary, so he just copied Jason and Sitara. Jacob rubbed his hand a little after retrieving it from Enak’s grip.

“We are the Miller family, and you are most welcome to our home and our hospitality. Please come in and take supper with us.”

Jason spoke for the group.

“Thank you very much Mr. Miller…”

“Please call me Jacob.”

“Thank you, Jacob. We don’t intend staying too long. Just for a few days until we decide our next move. And I can assure you that we’re not infectious. We’re all immune.”

Jason included Enak in that statement, although, of course, he couldn’t be sure that he was telling the truth. [21] wait, he’s not sure? But he’s exposing people to an alien who might be infectious anyway? It seems to make more sense that he would want to know everything he could about the alien before traveling with him any more, or introducing him to more humans In reality, he was making a grand assumption but his gut was telling him that Enak was immune, and his gut had saved him from danger in the past. However irrational it may seem, he trusted his gut now too.

Looking through the car windows, Jacob had a final request before admitting the visitors into the house.

“If you wouldn’t mind putting your vehicle in the barn, and leaving the weapons inside it.”

The car and guns safely secreted, the group followed Samuel’s family into the Millers’ home. The house was spacious, as were most Amish homes, a necessity as the Amish often had six or more children. With just the two children, Samuel and Miriam, the Miller family was a little unusual. The interior of the house was painted white and there were no electrical sockets or telephone lines. A wooden perpetual calendar hung on one wall, alongside a banner, upon which were written the Ten Commandments. A beautiful but functional wall clock continued the theme of practical decoration. The living room furniture, rather surprisingly, was upholstered and looked quite comfortable. Sitara was even more surprised to see a refrigerator in the kitchen, believing that the Amish shunned modern conveniences. However, it had been adapted to run on propane gas (which was also the fuel used to light the house at night). A propane gas stove completed the ‘mod-cons’.