Of Starlight and Plague

Beth Hersant

Description

It began, as big events often do, with small things - a little girl, a little dog, a microscopic virus that leads to a tragedy no one should ever have to face. Having lost his daughter to rabies, Dr. Aaron Pickman tries to derive some meaning from her death. In his search for a cure, he unleashes a virus that will bring the world to its knees. However, just as great tragedies often have small beginnings, great individuals can have humble origins...Tammany, an injured woman running with a baby in her arms, has one slim, heart-stopping chance to save him.Fletch, an infected man, tries desperately to protect his oldest friend.And Louella, an old woman on her Pennsylvanian farm, offers shelter to survivors and becomes the unlikely leader of Camp North Star - one of the last outposts of uninfected humanity.They are all frail, flawed, ordinary people who rise to meet the challenge of this deadly new threat. Yes, it is a time of plague; but in that darkness, they are the starlight.

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 28 août 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781800469570
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 2021 Beth Hersant

The moral right of the author has been asserted.


Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All of the herbal remedies cited in this novel were taken from other sources and the author cannot vouch for their safety or efficacy. Some of the ingredients can be harmful and potentially lethal if used improperly. Hence you should not, on the basis of this novel, try any of the traditional remedies at home. Always seek the advice of a trained professional before using and/or ingesting any of these substances. Likewise the use of drugs and misuse of medications described here are harmful and potentially lethal.
Always follow manufacturer’s instruction for the safe use of NSAIDS.

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ISBN 978 1800469 570

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To Amelia and Matthew, and my Richard — you are my stars.

Also a thank you to Eleanor and Deborah
for listening to me prattle on about this.



“I will love the light for it shows me the way,
yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.”
Og Mandino


Contents
Prologue
Acorn

Part One
Mighty Oaks

Chapter One
Mourning
Chapter Two
Meaning
Chapter Three
Igor
Chapter Four
Abby Normal
Chapter Five
On the Radar
Chapter Six
Unprecedented
Chapter Seven
El Chupacabra
Chapter Eight
Coming Home to Roost
Chapter Nine
Beginning of the End

Part Two
`Round the World with J. Fred Muggs

Chapter One
New Orleans
Chapter Two
Cáscara
Chapter Three
New Orleans
Chapter Four
Reading, England
Chapter Five
New Orleans
Chapter Six
Globe-trotting
Chapter Seven
New Orleans
Chapter Eight
Postcards From Over the Edge

Part Three
Stars

Chapter One
On the Road
Chapter Two
Zombieburgh
Chapter Three
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Chapter Four
And So It Begins…
Chapter Five
Devil in Disguise
Chapter Six
The Fall
Chapter Seven
Day One
Chapter Eight
Brown Sugar and Cheddar Cheese
Chapter Nine
Leaders
Chapter Ten
Roller Coaster
Chapter Eleven
Interlude
Chapter Twelve
The Lost Boys
Chapter Thirteen
Another Brief Interlude
Chapter Fourteen
Rock of Ages
Chapter Fifteen
Queen Takes Bishop
Chapter Sixteen
Rock of Ages (Reprise)

Epilogue
Acorn


Prologue
Acorn
It is said that terrible omens preceded the outbreak of the Black Death in medieval Europe. Frogs, serpents and scorpions fell from the sky. There was thunder and lightning and then fire rained down from the heavens. It’s a dramatic image — but obvious nonsense. Big events are not heralded by a rain of toads. They have simple beginnings and we often find the germ of great horrors in the ordinary and the small. There is the tiny air bubble in the vein, the microscopic not-quite-alive strand of viral RNA that causes Ebola, that last shot of Captain Morgan before getting behind the wheel. After all, mighty oaks from little acorns grow. This was the case with our own Great Plague. And so our story begins with a little girl and a small red rubber ball.
Rachel Pickman sat in a shady spot where the concrete wasn’t too hot and played Jacks. It was a sweltering August day and she looked longingly at the bright blue water of the swimming pool. She wasn’t allowed to go in by herself. She was not a confident swimmer and so either her father or Mrs. Williams had to be present for her to take a dip. It was Mrs. W’s day off and, well, she knew better than to ask her dad. And so she fetched the game that her babysitter had given her as a treat. It was a cloth bag containing ten bronze-colored jacks and a ball. The aim, apparently, was to toss the ball into the air, scoop up the jacks and then catch the ball all with the same hand. To Rachel this seemed impossible. She could not pick up the little metal spikes before the ball ricocheted away from her. One such bounce sent it flying into the large rhododendron bush that lined the yard’s fence.
“Boogers,” she sighed.
It was going to be impossible to find among all those flowers. A part of her was tempted to just forget about it. It was a cheap thing, after all — a little bit of rubber the color of a cherry-flavored gumball with the word CHINA stamped onto it. She could probably replace it with the few coins she had in her piggy bank. But it had been a gift from Mrs. Williams, and therefore important.
Sighing again, she began to shake the branches and pick her way through the bush — carefully in case there were spiders. That was when she heard the growl.
“Rufus?” Forgetting all about the bugs, she squeezed behind the rhododendron to welcome her best friend. Rufus was a small Jack Russell Terrier who belonged to Mrs. Winslow, the old lady next door. Her dad said that Mrs. Winslow had something happening to her brain that made her confused and forgetful. And so Rachel had started feeding the dog, just in case Mrs. Winslow forgot. This was accomplished through the “Doggie Door” — a hole in the wooden fence that separated the two properties. Rachel had widened it to allow Rufus to sneak through and she would meet the dog there, screened from view by the pink flowers of the bush. She didn’t have any dog food to give to the animal, so she saved bacon from her breakfast and chicken from her sandwiches at lunchtime. As you can imagine, Rachel and Rufus were great friends.
Today, however, Rufus did not welcome her with a wagging tail and a belly ready for scratching. The dog hung back and squinted at her through puffy eyes that were little more than slits. His muzzle was wet with thick, white strands of drool. His legs trembled.
“Are you ok, boy?” the child asked.
Rufus answered her with a low growl.
“Hey,” Rachel cooed to him. “Maybe you’ll feel better when you’ve eaten.” She fished the napkin containing morsels out of the pocket of her shorts. “I get grumpy when I’m hungry too.”
Her eyes were not on the dog now, but on the napkin as she extracted a strip of bacon, careful not to drop it onto the loose earth at her feet.
“Here…”. She looked up as she held out the treat.
Rachel froze. A terrible change had come over the dog. His eyes were now wide, crazed and so, so angry. His teeth were bared and they seemed really big for such a small animal. With a snarl, the terrier lunged forward