# 'Get Busy Living' PAW Fiction Story



## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Since Angie posted a link to "We Interrupt this Program" (an excellent story - I highly recommend it) I thought I would post one of my short stories. Comments are welcomed.

*Get Busy Living &#8211; The High Roller*


This is actually my second story in my &#8220;Get Busy Living&#8221; series, however it stands alone and is a short story.
The only thing you really need to know from the first story is that the E2 pandemic (deadly flu-like virus) started in Africa and is now spreading.

*Chapter 1 *

James Brookshire was a car salesman and a good one, he was one of the ones that actually made a decent living doing it. It helped that the dealership in Las Vegas he worked for dealt only in late model used cars usually purchased from the rental agencies in town in bulk, and also in exotic cars. In Las Vegas there was a big market for the Exotics. High Rollers win big and want something to show off and the dealership where James worked was known for being able to supply that. Ferrari&#8217;s, Bentley&#8217;s, Maserati&#8217;s, Lamborghini&#8217;s, Porches, you name it and they had it and boy was the markup good on those, it wasn&#8217;t uncommon for Jim to make a commission of $3,000 or more on those and it was not uncommon for him to sell two or three dream cars a month, along with a number of the late models regular cars which didn&#8217;t bring near the commission the dream cars did. This was the only town he could do it in, the only town that had the easy money that people would trade for their dreams. Saturday evening shortly before closing a customer arrived by limo &#8211; a high roller for sure and Jim was &#8216;up&#8217;.

The customer was headed for a Ferrari, James gave him a minute alone at the car and then walked up and introduced himself. The man had an accent; sounded eastern European of some kind, as they shook hands, what James didn&#8217;t know was the man was infecting James with the deadly E2 flu germs. 90 minutes later the man drove out paying full sticker price in cash, no one paid sticker price, but this guy did. Sticker Price meant James would get over $6,000 in commission, if he lived to collect it.


*Tuesday Morning*

"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" Kate Brookshire asked her husband James.
"Yeah, it&#8217;s just a touch of the flu or something. You go on to work, I'll stay in bed today and be fine by the morning." her husband James answered.
"Do you think you should go to the clinic?" she asked, "You have been running a fever all night long."
"Its only 101.5" he replied.
"Yeah but it was 103 last night." She answered back.
"See, I'm getting better already." Jim retorted just as he went into a coughing spasm that left him breathless.
"Yeah, I can tell." Kate replied sarcastically.
"I promise I'll stay in bed all day and I'll call you if I get worse, ok? Besides I don't want to give you any of my germs." He told her.
"Too late for that, I'm sure." She said.
"Seriously, I'll be fine, just go." He urged her.
"OK, but you call me if your fever starts going up again. I'll have my cell on and I'll call you when I go on break." Kate said.
"I love you." He said.
"Love you too." She replied finally grabbing her keys and walking out the door of their townhouse in the Las Vegas suburbs."
"Whew!" she said walking out into the heat, 'May 31st and the temp was in the high 80's at 9AM' she thought to herself.


Kate was a chef at the Newport Casino just off the Strip. She came to Vegas 2 years ago; originally from Missouri, she had attended the Culinary Institute in Texas then moved to Vegas two years ago driving her 14 year old Chevrolet with 2 suitcases, a couple of pillows and blankets and an old stuffed Teddy Bear in the back seat and $800 dollars in cash and a Visa Credit card in her pocket. She got a job and a roommate the first week she was in town. The job was at a restaurant in one of the off strip Newport Casino and the roommate, Gretchen was another young chef that worked there. 6 months later she met her soon to be husband when her old Chevy died and she bought a car from him. Jim was a car salesman and it was love at first sight for both of them, or at least lust at first sight. He gave her a really good deal on a 3 year old Nissan and asked her out on a date for that night. 8 months later they were married at a small wedding chapel in Vegas with his friend Tom and her roommate, friend and co-worker Gretchen standing in as witnesses.



Now 7 months later they lived in a townhouse in the suburbs of Vegas. Her husband had started getting sick Sunday, tried going to work Monday but was sent home after a couple of hours after spreading his germs directly to the receptionist, the sales manager, 4 other sales people, and 2 customers. 

Today was Tuesday, 2 people had called in sick so Kate was kept busy, it wasn&#8217;t until near the end of her shift that she had time to call Jim, she got voicemail and figuring he was sleeping she just left a quick message that she&#8217;d be home shortly.
Luckily her evening replacement was on time and she was able to leave at her normal time. She quietly entered the house in case he was still resting, but shrieked when she saw her husband sprawled on the stairs going up to their 2nd floor bedroom.


&#8220;Jim!, Jim!&#8221; she yelled running up to him, she struggled to get him turned over, his breathing was labored and he was unresponsive. She got her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. The paramedics were there in less than 10 minutes but to Kate it seemed like an eternity.


She rode in the ambulance to the hospital with him, coming in via ambulance always got you moved to the front of the line in an emergency room and Jim was taken to a room immediately and a doctor saw him within a few minutes, they started a IV drip as Kate explained that Jim started with flu like symptoms and had run a high fever last night but it was down this morning. He was still not responsive and his fever was up to 104F they started him on antibiotics and a while later moved him to ICU.

It had been about 4:30 when Kate had gotten home, it was now 9:30 when a nurse came in Kate asked her &#8220;Shouldn&#8217;t he be awake at some point?&#8221;
&#8220;In cases like this it can take some time for the antibiotics to work, what his body really needs is rest now, so that&#8217;s what he is doing. I&#8217;ve seen cases like this where people would sleep for a day or two or even three days while the antibiotics and fluids worked on them.&#8221;
&#8220;So it could be a while?&#8221; Kate said.
&#8220;Could be quite a while, why don&#8217;t you go home and get some rest yourself, we have your number if anything changes.&#8221; The nurse said.
&#8220;Yeah, I suppose I should. I&#8217;ll have to see if I can get a ride since I rode in the ambulance on the way here.&#8221; Kate said.
A few minutes later Kate had gotten a hold of Gretchen, her co-worker and former roommate, Gretchen told her she would pick her up in 15 minutes so she gathered her stuff and bent over and kissed her husband, and went down to the main entry to wait for Gretchen. Kate had been infected since Monday evening but was not yet showing signs, now 24 hours later she was infectious and passing along her germs to Gretchen.


&#8220;So how is he doing now?&#8221; Gretchen asked.
&#8220;His fever is still really high and he hasn&#8217;t woken up yet.&#8221; Kate told her friend, not realizing her breath was infecting her friend with the deadly E2 germs even as they talked.
&#8220;I hope it&#8217;s not that stuff going around in Africa right now.&#8221; Gretchen said.
&#8220;E2? No, that hasn&#8217;t spread to the U.S.&#8221; Kate replied.
&#8220;At least that&#8217;s what they tell us.&#8221; Gretchen told her.
&#8220;Oh great, another thing to worry about.&#8221; Kate said.
&#8220;Sorry.&#8221; Gretchen replied as she pulled up to Kate and Jim&#8217;s townhouse.
&#8220;You better not answer the phone in the morning if you don&#8217;t want to be asked to work. Both Jane and Tony called in sick today and I&#8217;m going to leave a message that I&#8217;ll be out for a few days, at least until Jim is out of ICU.&#8221; Kate told Gretchen.
&#8220;Thanks for the heads up, I&#8217;ll make sure to let my phone go to voicemail.&#8221; Gretchen said. &#8220;If you need anything call me!&#8221; she shouted as Kate opened the door.
&#8220;Will do, and thanks again.&#8221; Kate shouted back.


*Chapter 2*

Kate was up at her regular 6AM even though the visiting hours in the ICU didn&#8217;t start until 10 AM. She had the early news shows on while she was getting ready and heard that the deadly E2 flu had jumped into Europe and Asia in the last couple days and also that the President would be addressing the nation later that night.
&#8220;Wonderful!&#8221; she said out loud. It was now only 8AM but she decided she would go to the hospital anyway. Arriving at the hospital she went up to where James was and he wasn&#8217;t there. Running to the nurse&#8217;s station she asked frantically
&#8220;Where&#8217;s my husband? James Brookshire?&#8221;
&#8220;Lets see&#8230;..He was moved into the isolation ward early this morning.&#8221; The nurse replied.
&#8220;Isolation? Why?&#8221; Kate asked. &#8220;It&#8217;s not E2, is it?&#8221;
&#8220;We don&#8217;t know what it is right now but have been instructed by the hospital to err on the side of caution.&#8221; The nurse answered.

&#8220;Can I see him?&#8221; Kate asked. The nurse directed her to the isolation ward where they made her put on a mask, gloves and gown before she was allowed in, she would need to keep them on while she was visiting and then remove them at the door as she left. She also could not bring anything in that wasn&#8217;t being left. They showed her to a locker for her purse and a book she had brought to pass the time.


When she got into her husband&#8217;s room she saw that he had gotten worse, his breathing was labored and he obviously was still running a temperature. She took his hand, his eyes opened slightly, &#8220;Kate?&#8221; he mumbled.
&#8220;Jim, I&#8217;m here.&#8221; She said.
&#8220;Don&#8217;t feel so good.&#8221; He mumbled.
&#8220;Yeah, you&#8217;re at the hospital.&#8221; She said.
&#8220;thirsty.&#8221; He managed to say. Seeing a cup with water in it on the bed table she held the straw to his lips, he pull in a little bit of liquid, but started coughing, when the coughing subsided he closed his eyes once again and didn&#8217;t say anything else. Kate sat holding his hand. Jim&#8217;s breath grew more labored. Eventually a doctor came in to examine him, hearing his labored breathing and seeing his oxygen levels she turned up the oxygen.

&#8220;He seems to be getting worse.&#8221; Kate asked more than said to the doctor.
&#8220;He&#8217;s not doing well.&#8221; The doctor agreed.
&#8220;Shouldn&#8217;t he be getting better?&#8221; Kate asked.
&#8220;We&#8217;re doing everything we can for him, these things take time.&#8221; The doctor replied.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not E2, is it?&#8221; Kate asked.
&#8220;According to all reports E2 hasn&#8217;t made it to America&#8221; the doctor replied.
&#8220;That wasn&#8217;t really an answer.&#8221; Kate replied.
The doctor smiled &#8221;Honestly we don&#8217;t have a lot of information on E2 yet, we&#8217;re treating your husband as if it&#8217;s a bad case of the flu, which it is. He&#8217;s only been treated for about half a day so far, it&#8217;s still very early for him to be responding to the regular variety of flu. The Asian flu, swine flu, bird flu, H1N1 and all the other varieties of flu are all dangerous enough in themselves to be worried about E2. We expect him to start responding to the medication in the next 24 &#8211; 36 hours, until then, there&#8217;s nothing to do but continue the medications, keep him hydrated and wait.&#8221; 



Kate sat by his side all morning but could only take so much daytime TV and Jim still hadn&#8217;t woken up again, about 2PM she decided to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. She took off the mask and gown at the door, used the sanitizer outside the door on her hands and arms and took the elevator down to first floor where she passed along death in the form of E2 germs to everyone she passed just from the breath she breathed out; to the 3 nurses in line ahead of her at the cafeteria, to the person who took her order, along with the cashier and even to the little boy waiting impatiently for his father to finish his meal. On the way back to the room she stopped off at the hospital gift shop to buy a magazine to help pass the time since she couldn&#8217;t bring her book in unless she was leaving it, and passed along more germs; to the young father buying flowers for his wife who just delivered their new born son, the older woman buying a card for her father and of course the young woman running the cash register, each of the people she infected would become contagious themselves within 12 to 24 hours, a good 2 to 5 days before their first symptoms showed up passing the germs along to everyone they would contact. The ER personal from last night and the EMT&#8217;s that picked her and her husband up were already contagious and starting to spread the germs along to other people they were in contact with. One of the EMT&#8217;s from last night had started his vacation today with his wife and 2 children and just this afternoon had flown from Vegas to Los Angeles passing though both the airport in Vegas and LAX in turn infecting about 200 directly and millions indirectly, they were spending their vacation at Disneyland. The paramedic was were infectious now, his family would be in a few more hours but would not become sick for 3 &#8211; 4 more days after spreading their germs to a few thousand other people at both airports, the airplane, the theme park, hotel and restaurants.


Kate got back to Jims room and in the mask and gown by about 3:30, he looked worse. Looking at the monitors he was hooked up to she saw his oxygen levels were down again as was his pulse and blood pressure. A short while later a nurse came in to record his readings and take his temperature what she saw alarmed her enough that a few minutes later the doctor came in.

The doctor checked his eyes for pupil response and apparently didn&#8217;t not like the results, looking at the oxygen level she said &#8220;We&#8217;re going to have to intubate him, he&#8217;s just not getting enough oxygen.&#8221; As the nurses went to get the equipment the doctor had ordered the alarms on the monitor suddenly started going off as the monitors one by one flat-lined, Kate felt like her heart dropped into her stomach. Suddenly a number of hospital personal were rushing into the room, the doctor has already pulled the hospital gown away from Jims chest, a nurse pulled Kate back towards the door as they got ready to try to jolt Jim&#8217;s heart back into action.

&#8220;Clear&#8221; the doctor said lowering the paddles to Jims chest, suddenly Jims body jumped as the electrical voltage pulsed through his body. The doctor checked Jims vital signs, turned a dial on the cart and said &#8220;Clear&#8221; lowering the paddles again to Jims chest. The nurse had Kate out the door by then.
&#8220;We have to give them room to work on him.&#8221; The nurse said guiding her to a chair in the hallway 
Time had pretty much stopped for Kate, luckily she was at the chair as her knee&#8217;s gave out, she couldn&#8217;t see through the tears. The nurse having been through this a number of times stayed with her, trying to comfort her.


20 minutes later the doctor came out and said &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry, we did everything we could.&#8221; Having called the time of death 5 minutes earlier, the call had gone down to one of the hospitals counselors who was trained to guide people through the death process as far as the hospital went. 
Kate was told that in cases like this an autopsy would have to be done, she was asked if there was a family or a minister that they could contact but Kate said their family was all from out of state and that they weren't really Church going people. After some more explanations and questions the counselor got the name and phone number of Gretchen and after explaining what happened, Gretchen once again came to the hospital to pick up her friend.


Kate was totally numb and couldn't stop the tears as they drove back to Kate&#8217;s townhouse. The doctor had given Kate a prescription for tranquilizers and Gretchen dropped it off at the drug store on the way back to Kate&#8217;s. Gretchen having already been infected herself, infected the girl at the counter that she gave the prescription who would go on to infect a hundred or so customers the next two days before showing symptoms herself. On the way out of the pharmacy Gretchen passed along her germs to the man who held the door open for her, the next day he would go out to dinner with his wife and kids and infect not only his family but about 50 people in the restaurant where they ate. 


When Kate and Gretchen got back to Kates home, all Kate did was sit on the couch and cry, Gretchen&#8217;s attempts at conversation got at most one or two word replies.

Being a good friend Gretchen stayed with her, about an hour later she told Kate she would pick up the prescription and also some dinner. Getting a mumbled ok from Kate she drove to the pharmacy, infecting the night cashier who had just started his shift and three people waiting in line, and then to a local Chinese restaurant to pick up dinner where she spread death to the people behind the counter and eight others that were waiting for their food including a young mother with twins. When she got back Kate was sitting on the bed, not interested in dinner she did however take one of the prescribed sedatives. Gretchen said she&#8217;d spend the night and went back downstairs. She turned on the TV as she was eating dinner. The news was finishing and the talk was about the deadly E2 virus and the upcoming Presidents message.

*Chapter 3*

The President announced he was shutting the borders and a couple days later declared a quarantine and martial law. By then Kate and Gretchen were both dead, as were about 50 people so far that they directly infected, a couple hundred more were already sick and would no doubt end up dying. Thousands were infected, all from one High Roller originally from Eastern Europe who had won big and wanted to buy his dream car.


*The end*

If you enjoyed it, here is a direct link to the first story in this series.
http://www.pawfiction.proboards.com/thread/364/mnn-fiction-busy-living-completed


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

I love a happy ending!


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## Alice Kramden (Mar 26, 2008)

Thanks for a good story. I love to read PAW stories and have read just about everything out there on the net. In fact, I am constantly searching for new ones, and wishing the ones that are "in progress" would be added to or finished. 

One can't even get to the old stories at Frugal Squirrel anymore, the Wayback machine only goes so far. 

Please, write some more, make some longer stories, and post them. You write very well, and have a good knack for it.


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