I was up before dawn. Left Melody in bed and tried to call Gramps. Still nothing. The only thing to do was to figure out how to get there and find out what had happened to him. Was he even alive?

   I called Van to tell him about our cases of CovId and an unfamiliar voice answered. I said, "Who is this? I'm calling Van Nguyen…"

   A young face came into view in a darkened room and the voice said, "This is Quoc, his son. He can't come to the phone right now." 

   "Oh, why not?"

   "I sent him to the infirmary on the Rambler last night having trouble breathing. Had to use the dinghy because the dock is still under 3 feet of water. We had to take others, too. The captain put them all on quarantine. We're all on quarantine, too--one week. But we have to work… The flood…"

   I could hear him struggling to talk to me and unsure what to do or say. I tried to help. "Quoc, I'm really sorry to hear that. I lost my father, so I know. Derek and I hope that he recovers, like we did, after seven days in fever. Stay quarantined and call me at this number if you have any questions."

   We had quarantined the best we could the night before when the three infected came in. I wanted to find out about them, so I called Marsha.

   When she came on the line she looked haggard like she hadn't slept. I asked, "How is everyone doing?"

   "I asked the girls to quarantine with the kids. No use exposing them. It's hard but I'm doing it alone. Augie is dead. I will wrap his body this morning and drag him out back of my house so that you can bury him or whatever Ginger wants to do with him. Rocky and Viktoria are feverish but sleeping and stable for now. Only time will tell.

   We were in a whole new world. Our only communication was our mobile phones. We had to wait it out until we were all clear of infection or even reinfection. Derek and I might become infected if this was yet another strain. 

   We broke quarantine that afternoon when I got together with Derek and we transported August Palmer's body to the house they were staying in with my four wheeler. After talking to Ginger on the phone, she decided that she wanted to wait until Rocky recovered before they would decide what to do.

   Covering Augie's body in a double layer of plastic over the sheets that Marsha wrapped the body, we dug a shallow grave near the garden and buried him there. Ready to be dug up if necessary. While there, we weeded the garden and watered it. By the time we were through it was getting very hot outside. We retreated to our air-conditioned houses and back in quarantine.

   The next few days were filled with phone calls and occasional trips away from others to get urgent things done, like tending to the gardens and providing anything that Marsha needed. Still couldn't get a hold of Gramps.

   Melody and I ran out of things to talk about the next day, so I went hunting in the evening, waving at Daphne as I passed. Brought home a young buck and five quail so I was busy until midnight tending to all that meat. Melody was a big help. In the morning we left packages of meat will will will on several doorsteps with Wondah quarantining and Derek opening the gates for us remotely.

   The next day, Ray had 15 of us, in separate vehicles, drive down the beach and assess the situation. What we found was astounding!

   On the beach close to the pier was a thousand pound sea lion floundering for its life. Covered with thick oily tar and chemical burns, it was on its last legs and struggling greatly like the dolphin had before. Ray pulled his pistol and put the poor animal out of its misery.

   First things first. The sea contained much less oily slick, but the beach was soiled as before. So we immediately set it on fire. I knew that the fire didn't go all the way down to the port because, according to Quoc, "We didn't get any fire here, but had lots of oily mess in the water until the flood washed it all away."

   This time, the pier wasn't as threatened as before and it took around 10 people to keep the wooden supports from catching fire. The rest of us violated quarantine, including Derek and me, helping Ray cut up the beast. The big male provided us with some very fine steaks and valued organs like the liver and to take back home with us.

   I called Quoc. "How's your dad?"

   "Not good. He's barely breathing. They have him on oxygen and he's not responding."

   "That's not good. The reason I'm calling is we just killed a sea lion that was suffering from chemical burns and we had to put it to death. We are getting a lot of meat. I'm suggesting you watch out for animals like that and kill them before they die for meat until we are able to get animals from the Valley."

   "That's a good idea, Drake. I will keep you posted on dad. We are all praying. I hope that helps. I'm not Catholic or Buddhist like some. Already, we have enlisted a friend, Val Le, a fellow boatman, who has agreed to lead us through this trying time. I'm afraid I'm not up to it."

   "I understand Quoc, can you put Val on?"

   "Sure, on a three-way. That way you can get his number and we can all talk together even though we are quarantined."

   I heard him ring, and a Vietnamese face with long blonde hair and a ruddy look appeared alongside Quoc.

   "Hello Val! Quoc tells me that you are filling in for Van who is on the ship in the infirmary. Is that right?"

   "Yeah I am, bro. You may not remember but I was alongside of Van when we were meeting with Captain Jensen the other day."

   "Yes, you were the one with all the questions."

   "I like to know what's going on. Van actually picked me as a replacement in a meeting we had dealing with the rising flood. Fortunately, the flood has subsided now and I expect, by tomorrow, we can walk on the dock to assess the damage and start making repairs."

   "Are your boats okay?"

   "They sure are. Quoc suggested we tie them to the Rambler and we did before the water rose. It kept them from breaking their moorings and drifting out to sea like so many other boats we saw being carried out. What a shame." I could see in his face and hear in his voice what that meant to a fisherman--his livelihood.

   "Yeah, we saw several boats that were washed up on the beach at Santa Monica. When we accidentally lit fire to the floating oil and gasoline, fire raced up and down the coast and caught most of those boats on fire. Did you see any of the fire your way?"

   "No. We saw the fires up the coast a couple of miles away from the hotel. But we didn't have any. Probably because the flood was so strong, it washed all the chemicals, oil and gas out to sea, I guess."

   "That's good news. We've had too much bad news. Let me know when I can come on down and help you out with repairs. We have nearly fixed everything here. Just have to deal with the return of the virus in our community worse than yours. Stay safe."

   We said our goodbyes and I knew that the port was in good hands even without Van. I hoped to talk to Val again very soon.

   My phone rang. It was Daphne. "Dre, I just got a call from two producers, friends of dad, Sean O'Flannery and Renée duPont. They've been holding out at his estate in the Hollywood Hills. They had solar power and water from a large cistern, but have totally run of food and are starving."

   "I understand the problem, but we are under quarantine and I'm not sure what these two people can do for us without becoming a burden."

   "Sean tells me he killed every, rat, squirrel and rabbit, as well as some pet peafowl he had on the property. Even trapped pigeons and crows. He says that he will hunt every day for us in the state reserve out back. You know yourself that we can get game from there.

   "Renée says that she will teach, take care of kids, garden with me… Whatever it takes to prove her worth. She says they are so emaciated they can't come to us. She says that they'll both be dead in a couple of days only drinking water." The look on Daphne's face told me all I needed to know.

   "Okay, I wasn't looking forward to another day locked up in here, so give me the coordinates, and Melody and I will try to go get them before they die, today."

   Daphne gave me their address and Melody and I left immediately.

   This trip was different from the ones to rescue Daphne, twice before. While Cal 2 took us into Beverly Hills quickly, when we got on the streets it was a different matter. Not only were there abandoned vehicles, debris from the hurricane and washouts that had to be navigated. My four-wheel-drive got me through most of them, but in a couple of cases, we had to detour around, slowing our progress.

   When we got into the hills, it was worse. Not only were there washouts, but mudslides blocking our way. After a half hour of navigating around these we came to a massive one about two blocks from our destination. We had to walk. We both filled backpacks with power drinks, power snacks and some smoked fish and jerky.

   We rang the doorbell and the gate opened for us when the cameras, one of which was shot out, showed who we were. It was a long uphill walk to the circular drive in front of the huge house. An emaciated woman greeted us at the ornate double door.

   I called out, "Renée duPont?"

   She didn't answer but made a brief motion with her hand for us to come. She had a really sad, defeated look on her face when we got close. Her lips were cracked. All she could do was whisper to us.

   "Daphne sent you? I'm sorry, but Sean is unable to come to the door. He is too weak."

   Inside the huge entryway I could see three kids peeking from a side entrance. "Who are those kids? I asked.

   "Neighbors… survivors. Sean's upstairs. You will have to get him."

    We immediately took off our backpacks and opened them to gave Renée and three kids some power drinks and snacks. Then, we ran upstairs searching for Sean and found him in a palatial sized master bedroom with a matching circular bed, too emaciated to get up. He waved his hands and pleaded with his eyes. His throat too dry to talk. Only a raspy whistle came out. He was in bad shape.

   I wasted no time and hoisted him onto my shoulders in the fireman's carry I learned in scouts. The first time, other than practice, that I actually had to use it. He was light, seemed like about 100 pounds. I carefully descended the long curving staircase as rapidly as I could.

   When I reached the entrance again the kids had run out, being in better shape than the adults, to a awning covered surrey electric cart that could carry us all. I breathed a sigh of relief as Melody helped Renée up on a seat and I placed Sean between them so they could support him.

   The oldest boy, about 10, took the helm and I sat alongside of him as he drove us through the gate that opened automatically and down to the mudslide where we carefully put the surrey under the shade of a palm tree that had survived the hurricane and well behind a tall wall.

   Once again, we hobbled and scrambled up over the 50 foot high mudslide filled with trees and pieces of buildings and walls that couldn't withstand the landslide.

   It was rough going carrying Sean, but he was light and I was very careful not to make him fearful of falling. We all made it to the truck in good shape.

   I took three kids up front with me and Melody tended to  Renée and Sean in the second seat. Renée was able to munch on a power bar, but Sean couldn't. Melody gently put pieces of smoked fish in his parched lips and held a sports drink with a straw so that he could sip a little at a time. Sitting between the two women, they both held onto him as I navigated the rough spots. Taking it very slow taking much longer going back then coming.

   Along the way, the kids, feeling much better and now chewing on jerky followed by power, were really curious about everything they saw.

   I asked the 10-year-old what his name was. He was glad to tell me. "I'm Cruz Martinez. I'm 12. My sister and I lost our mom and dad, the actor Carlos Martinez and mom, Virginia. This is my sister, Selena. She's 10. In the other girl is Carla Gomez. She's our groundskeeper's daughter, but like family. She lost her parents, too."

   "I know your father well, I've seen all of his movies. So sorry to here that you lost your parents. I lost my parents, too. How did you get to the O'Flannery's?"

   "I was sick my sister and Carla weren't. We searched both houses for food and there was a lot, especially frozen. Carla knew how to cook it for about two weeks. And then, bad guys came. We ran to the treehouse and yet there while they ransacked everything. All of our food was gone. We all cried, but I had a plan."

   Planning's good. I'm planning all the time, trying to keep up with everyone we're helping."

   "When it was daylight, we snuck along the walls looking for homes that the bad guys didn't get into. When we came to this one where we knew Renée was because our parents told us sometimes that they were going to parties there. But we couldn't go because they had no children. We rang the doorbell, and Renée let us in.

   "They were so kind. Gave us most of their food and Sean showed me how he was hunting and trapping until he got feeling bad a few days ago. We loved that wild meat that Renée cooked for us. But it didn't last. I tried to hunt after Mr. O'Flannery couldn't, but I didn't catch or shoot anything." For the first time, Cruz looked down like you failed. He had been so upbeat earlier.

   But like all kids do, he quickly recovered and started asking all kinds of questions about where we were going and what we were seeing along the road. The girls started answering questions, too, and I tried to answer them as best as I could.

   I called ahead to Marsha. She looked even more tired than before. I had her two IV stands out in front of the garage with ample saline solution to help Renée and Sean recover from dehydration quicker.

   So I stopped there first. Melanie and I got the IV equipment, and within five minutes I was carrying Sean upstairs to a bedroom that Daphne had prepared. In another 30 minutes both of them were on IVs. Renée's was normal, but Sean's was very difficult because his veins were shrunken and difficult to get a needle into. But, before we left, both were talking again from straw sipping power drinks helping their dry mouths recover enough to speak.

   We left them in Daphne's care and returned to our self-imposed quarantine with two days left. I had a lot on my mind. Especially, when I called Gramps again and still got no answer. Was even alive? I didn't know.

   I had to find a way to get there as soon as I could. I set my day to leave the morning after our quarantine. Got on the phone to others to see if I could get a caravan together in time. For us, it would be leaving our quarantine to get trucks and supplies for the trip.

Copyright 2023 © Ronald W. Hull

8/7/23