The McClane Apocalypse Book Three Read Free Page A

her like that now. So naturally Reagan turns
quickly back to her grandfather.
    "I agree. It's symptomatic of influenza, but
the wet chest isn't. The erratic, faint heart rates, low bp, the
liver. It's got me puzzled, too," Grandpa agrees and scratches his
messy hair.
    "At first I thought TB. Easy diagnosis,
right? But it just doesn't add up and wouldn't matter anyways. We
don't have any of the three or four drugs that are out there to
treat TB. Unless, of course, someone wants to do that run to the
C.D.C. or the W.H.O., which is probably a waste of time anyways.
Their lymph nodes are swelled huge."
    "Right, Reagan. This isn't an easy diagnosis
for sure. Maybe we should get the goat…"
    "Holy shit!" Reagan interrupts loudly and
runs for the house. She can hear John and Grandpa discussing her.
She sprints straight for Grandpa's study, nearly running Grams and
Hannah down in the hall. Once she's in his office, she rummages and
digs until she finds the book she's looking for and then races back
out the kitchen door again, leaping from the porch and not
bothering with the stairs.
    "This is it!" she blurts and starts flipping
through the journal with lightning fingers.
    "What's it? What the heck are you doing?"
John inquires uneasily.
    "Don't be scared, John. This is just how her
little brain works. She's done this ever since I've known her,"
Grandpa explains.
    Reagan would like to tell them both to quit
talking about her like she's not right in front of them, but she's
almost found what she is looking for. Grandpa casually pulls his
pipe from his pants pocket and starts packing it full with tobacco.
He still wears his cotton, button down shirts and khakis or navy,
cotton slacks most days. The only thing that is missing from his
old work uniform is a tie. He's just never going to fully retire
from being the town doctor.
    She jabs her finger at the page. "Look.
Look. Right here!"
    "What'd you find, honey?" Grandpa asks.
    His tone is patient, just like he used to
speak when she'd bring in an injured bird or want to look for the
millionth time at something under his microscope at his office.
    "All the symptoms fit. Remember when I was
thirteen and I went through that phase where I wanted to study the
plagues of the dark ages and how they can reoccur?"
    "Yeah, because that's what most thirteen
year old girls want to study," John remarks.
    Grandpa smiles and nods over his shoulder at
John. Reagan ignores them and continues.
    "Whatever. Well, when we were talking about
the goat sacrifice and the Old Testament reference, it came to me.
This is a plague. That's why neither you nor I have ever actually
seen this. It's 'cuz we haven't ever seen it. Understand?
This is pneumonic plague," Reagan rushes so fast that some of her
words blend. John's still staring at her like she's an alien life
form.
    "Depending on where these people hale from,
your theory could prove true. It says here that the southern to
southwestern states have had this problem in the past," Grandpa
says more calmly. "How the hell did you even remember this?"
    Reagan shrugs and shakes her head in
response. John is giving her that weird look again. She returns it
with a scowl.
    "Parts of those states aren't even there
anymore," John adds when he's done staring at her.
    "That's true. But this could be an all new
occurrence of the disease because of what's happened. Every single
symptom fits," Reagan explains. John looks strangely at her again
as she continues. "Sometimes diseases spread because of filth and
sickness. Just like cholera outbreaks or typhoid fever. But I'd
already ruled those out, of course."
    "Of course," John says with a smirk.
    Grandpa chuckles. What was that supposed to
mean?
    "Reagan, if they both have this pneumonic
plague it says here that if it's not caught and treated within the
first twenty-four to forty-eight hours, then the disease is fatal,"
Grandpa reads.
    "I know," she answers quietly. "I already
knew that part before I even went to find this book.