Antibodies 9

© Copyright BG Taff

Characters.
Nana Bev, Interplanetary prospector.
Jamie, Bev’s younger prospecting Partner.
Dennis Potter Freight manager and old friend of Beverly’s.
Jack Godfrey Yard foreman and walking boss.
Charlotte and Lucy - Jamie’s younger dancing & clubbing friends.
Rose and Violet. Cis-girl friends of Jamie.
Dr Williams Virologist
Jennifer Jamie’s girlfriend. (Sleeping partner.)

Chapter 9

The chimes of the town-hall clock coinciding with the click of the front door lock alerted me to Jamie’s return home. Normally, she was considerate of my sleeping habits and I would not ordinarily hear her. I would sleep on as she crept to her own bed unless she was feeling sociable and she would slip between my sheets.

I would wake up as she crawled between the sheets and usually spooned her bum into my tummy while inviting me to slide my hand over her hip and cuddle her.

Cuddles is all it ever was, for Jamie had been a lonely child and a victim of constant bullying. She was not looking for sex from me, she was looking for a surrogate mother.

I was quite prepared to provide that mothering for it gave me satisfaction to give comfort to another. I felt a sense of worth to find that somebody needed me.

That particular morning, as the fourth chime of the clock died sonorously through the empty streets; I was not surprised to hear that Jamie had brought Jennifer back. I was surprised to hear her sobbing though, and even more concerned when Jamie knocked on my door.

“Nana,” she called softly, “are you awake?”

“I am now, what’s wrong?”

“Tonight; in the club. Somebody was taken ill.”

“Oh shit!” I cursed softly before asking, “Verdo-spiro”?

“Looks like it. We’ve been told by the police that everybody has to self-isolate for twenty-one days.”

I turned to look at Jennifer who was fretting tearfully.

“Did they close the club?”

“Ye-es.” She sobbed. I was right by the guy that collapsed.”

“How close?” I demanded.

“He staggered sideways then collapsed right beside me and he clutched at my bare arm as he went down. I couldn’t shake him off and before I realised it, the dancing group around me had parted like the red sea! I was alone with this sick stranger right in the middle of the dancefloor. They closed the club immediately and then they tried to get me to take him home. Everybody thought I was his girlfriend or something.”

“I had to tell the doormen that Jenny was with me and nothing to do with the sick guy.” Jamie added as she eyed me pleadingly.

“Where the old bill there?” I pressed.

“Yes, eventually, but we got away before they got organised. Jenny gave a false name to the doormen and a false address.”
“That will only make things bloody worse!” I cursed softly. “Suspicions get raised and they’ll intensify the hunt if they think somebody is hiding something – anything!”

“Wha- what am I going to do?” Jenny wailed. “I’m almost certainly infected!”

She slumped onto the kitchen table as deep sobs of terror wracked her frame while Jamie stared at me over Jennifer’s heaving back.

“We’ll have to tell her.” Jamie mouthed.

I wagged my head and motioned my head towards my bedroom. Jamie released her arms from around Jenny and joined me in my en-suite bathroom.

“The moment we offer her our blood, she’s bound to twig.” Jamie frowned.

“Not if I can knock her out and transfuse the blood while she’s unconscious.” I pointed out.

“How are you going to zonk her?”

“Slip something in her tea then we’ll transfuse the blood directly.”

“I thought that’s what you’d suggest,” Jamie grinned. “I’ll give my blood. I owe you that at least.”

“Right. You make her some tea while I sort out the knock-out drops.”

I heard Jamie explain to Jennifer.

“Nana’s giving you something to sleep and your head will be clearer in the morning. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Jennifer and Jamie were already ‘lesbian’ lovers and she helped Jenny get undressed for bed while I sorted the cocoa. I had decided against tea because the cocoa better disguised the sleeping draught.

As Jamie reassured Jenny by lying alongside her on the bed, I hastened to my garage and took out my portable transfusion kit from my car. Jamie and I now carried this in my car wherever we left the apartment, ‘just in case.’ The situation with Jenny was precisely one of those ‘jics’ (just-in-case) moments. I returned to find Jenny already zonked while Jamie had thoughtfully prepared an exposed vein on Jenny’s foot.

“Good thinking girl,” I smiled.

If Jenny awoke to find a puncture fistula in her arm she’d get suspicious, but a puncture wound on her foot could be ascribed to an injury as Jamie had helped her to the bed.

Within minutes, we had transfused at least thirty cc of Jamie’s blood into Jennifer’s foot. Half as much again as was normally transfused by Doctor Williams at the inoculation station that had been hastily set up near Oxford..

“That should be more than enough.” I declared as I bandaged both Jamie’s arm and Jenny’s foot .

Jamie smiled and gave me a hug as Jenny slept peacefully.

“What would we do without you Nana?”

“Learn to do transfusions yourself,” I grinned as we smiled across the breakfast worktop. “Besides, that was a good idea about the foot.”

Having done our good deed for the day we slept together and left Jenny to wake up in Jamie’s bed sometime around noon. I was preparing lunch and Jamie had slipped down to the shops to get a bottle of wine when Jenny surfaced.

“Morning Nana,” she mumbled as she shuffled her bum onto the breakfast bar seats.

“How’s your head?” I asked.

“Still a bit groggy. Where’s Jamie?”

“Down the shops. A she's buying a few extra odds and ends to feed three.”

“How did I hurt my foot?”

“Jamie was moving you and your foot got caught by a screw sticking out of the foot of the bed, so we decided to leave you in her bed. She slept with me.”

After pointing out where Jamie had ‘removed’ the offending screw; I pushed the mug of tea and a single round of toast across the breakfast bar to her. Jamie looked at it hungrily so I explained.

“You’ll be having Sunday lunch soon, so we don’t want to spoil it.”

As she nursed her mug she asked nervously.

“D’ you think I’m infected?”

“I can’t say love. Did any of his body fluids touch you.”

“He was covered in perspiration. We were behaving responsibly but he sort of staggered sideways across the two-metre gap then stumbled against me. His sweat certainly scraped against my arm.”

“Oh dear. Well we’ll know by this evening if you begin to feel woozy.”

“Aren’t you afraid, I mean Jamie almost carried me to bed.”

“Well nothing’s certain,” I stone-walled to reassure her, “if you feel sick by tonight, you’ll know.”

I was laying the table when Jamie returned with a troubled look. I gave her a questioning look and she explained.

“There were about twenty people at the club last night who were carrying the infection before they went in. They were tested positive and immediately put into quarantine.”

“Any news about the one who collapsed against Jenny?”

“He was tested positive and taken immediately to the quarantine camp as well. They think he’s too far gone to save and there’s insufficient vaccine anyway. The volunteers from the spaceships the government sent to Jupiter have not yet developed the antibodies. They reckon it’ll be a few weeks before that comes to maturity. There was talk of putting the gay village into lockdown.”

I harrumphed irritably.

“Here we go again. Always blame the gays!”

Jenny nodded dispiritedly but Jamie gave her a squeeze as she tried to reassure her.

It was hard for Jamie to show deep concern and an apparent fear of impending death whilst yet knowing that Jenny was almost certainly safe. Almost every reassuring word threatened to give our secret away for if Jamie was too optimistic, Jenny was bound to pick up on something. To try and balance the mood, I made pretence of being overly pessimistic whilst not wishing to talk too much. My silence alone, tended to frighten Jenny but there was little I could do to avoid the impasse.

For three days when we self-isolated, the mood in the apartment became tenser and tenser and the only relief to be had was watching the news while dipping into Jamie and my ‘famine cupboard.’

Jenny was at least happy for a sufficient supply of food.
On the fourth day, Jenny took a turn for the worse. Firstly she became feverish then her temperature rose and we put her to bed. That night, her stomach started to hurt and Jamie and I realised the important climax was due. For another day, the stomach cramps gripped her and she became terrified as the nausea caused her to vomit.

Finally the last terrifying symptom manifested itself.

That morning there was a scream from the bathroom and Jenny pitched forward off the lavatory pan.

Jamie, who was sharing with me while Jenny went through the throes and rigours of the Verdovirus, was the first to reach the bathroom. By the time I had reached the en-suite bathroom attached to Jamie’s bedroom, Jamie had lifted Jenny to sit in the bathtub before turning to me and nodding towards the pan.

Jenny, like just about everybody on the planet was fully aware of the deadly final symptoms, namely faeces turning green followed by extreme gastrointestinal pain. As I entered the bathroom, Jenny looked up.

“I’m done for Nana; we’re all done for. It’s green.”

I hesitated as I picked my words carefully. If Jenny survived this and her demeanour told me she wasn’t suffering debilitating stomach cramps, then Jamie and I would have to come clean. I looked at Jamie who gave me the most cursory, secretive nod then turned away. The ball was in my court.

“How are the stomach cramps?” I asked sympathetically.

Jenny looked up at me with some confusion.

“Just as they were before. They haven’t got worse yet.”

“Good!” I let out a short sigh. “There may be some hope yet.”

“What d’ you mean?” She almost cried.

“It’s the cramps that are the final symptom. The violent abdominal convulsions destroy the weakened intestinal lining and the gut ruptures to cause peritonitis. That’s what causes victims to scream if they don’t get pain killers.”

“I know that. Everybody’s learned that bit. When does it start?” Jenny pressed.

“Normally it’s simultaneous to the first green defaecation.” I replied.

“So what’s not happening?” Jenny stared at me in fear. Why aren’t I in worse pain?”

“I’ll be able to explain a little later. For now, get yourself cleaned up in the shower, while Jamie and I clean up the mess.”

“Don’t touch my shit, it’s highly infectious!” Jenny squealed.

“Tell us something we don’t know!” Jamie almost choked on her suppressed laugh.

Jenny stepped out of the tub to use the shower but she turned fearfully.

“What’s going on with you two. You don’t seem afraid!”

“Get in the shower love.” I ordered.

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Jenny continued staring at Jamie and me and I had to be a little more forceful.

“Get in the bloody shower, I’ll explain when you’re cleaned up!”

Jenny stepped in and I handed her a large plastic bottle of antiseptic body gel.

“Use this and wash yourself down thoroughly, even shampoo your hair with it, at least twice. You’re right about the green faeces thing”

Gratefully, she snatched the economy-sized squeezy bottle and liberally covered herself from head to toe while Jamie and I washed and sprayed the bathroom. When Jenny emerged from the shower, Jamie handed her a disinfected bathrobe and took all her towels to the washing machine.

As she returned to Jamie’s bedroom, Jenny sniffed inquisitively for our whole apartment stank of disinfectant.

“Jeeze! You’ve gone overboard!”

“Yeah!” I confirmed, “now sit down and we’ll explain.”

She sat shivering on Jamie’s bed while Jamie brought in some warm sweet fruit-juice.

“Here, Drink this, you need to replace fluids. Nana’s going to explain.”

Jenny glanced between us and frowned.

“Yes. I think I deserve that.”

And so I began.

ooo000ooo