Isolation (Book 3): Starting Anew, page 5
part #3 of Isolation Series
“This again.” The man rubbed the bridge of his nose, expression weary. “Yes I remember, ma'am. But that doesn't mean you might not have come in contact with it between there and here, so you still need to go through some sort of isolation for 21 days, even if it's not in our quarantine camp.” His scowl abruptly returned. “Besides, didn't we already agree that it's fine if you stay at the Norsons' place for your-”
“Sorry for the misunderstanding,” Ellie cut in as patiently as she could. “But this isn't about that. What I meant to say was that thanks to my line of work I have extensive experience in management and conflict resolution. While I was in the Colorado Springs camp I took an active part in organizing the camp's residents, so they had something productive to keep them occupied. My results were highly praised by the relief workers there, and I was even credited for helping to prevent a possible riot.”
Darrel perked up at that, finally taking an interest. “Really, now? Because we sure could use all the help we can get at our camp. If you're offering to run the place . . .”
She stared at him in genuine bafflement. “Sorry, you say that as if at the moment nobody is.” She'd thought whoever Stanberry had put in charge of the camp was just lazy or incompetent, but if nobody was doing it that would be beyond outrageous.
He reddened slightly, in anger or embarrassment or possibly both. “Well, we've got the guards who keep the residents from approaching the volunteers who bring them supplies, as well as making sure they don't go near the city limits. But aside from that no, we've given them a place to stay and they're sorting the rest out for themselves.”
“But what about medical aid?” Ellie demanded. “Ensuring clean water and sanitation? What about making sure everyone has the supplies and shelter they need?”
The man scratched at the back of his head beneath his cap, looking a bit resentful. “Well, we're not their babysitters. They need to take responsibility for that stuff themselves.”
“It's not a matter of responsibility! These people have come to you with little more than the clothes on their backs. They're not capable of managing an acceptable standard of living without help. To say their survival is on their own heads without offering the slightest consideration for their situation is inhumane. Borderline monstrous!”
His patience abruptly snapped. “You want to judge us when you have no idea what we've been through, what our situation even is?” he shouted, snatching off his baseball cap and crumpling it in his fist. “We didn't ask them to come here! We've got all we can do just to make sure that many people have the bare necessities and aren't murdering each other or trying to sneak into town and get us all sick! And for that matter, you're a guest in Stanberry too, so you could at least pretend to show a little gratitude.”
Hal, who'd been doing a good job keeping out of it up till now, made an angry noise and started forward to intervene. Ellie shook her head at him sharply, taking a deep breath to curb her own anger. “It's a difficult situation for everyone,” she said as patiently as she could. “You're doing your best, I'm sure, but it's possible you don't know what exactly is needed. Since I have some experience with how a quarantine camp is organized, and at the moment nobody else is doing the job, I would be willing to take that responsibility.
“However,” she continued in a firm tone as the man began to relax, “I'm going to need Stanberry's cooperation and support to do the job properly. My requests will be reasonable, but I will need more than just the bare minimum.”
Darrel darkened and started to open his mouth, but Ellie spoke right over him, poking a finger in his direction. “You want to talk about responsibility? You decided to organize the refugees that came your way into a proper camp instead of sending them on their way. You committed to giving them what they needed while they remained in that camp.
“From what I've seen, and which you've just confirmed you're aware of, this camp is home to real human suffering. Which will only grow worse as time goes on and its numbers grow. If you want me to try to fix your mess there, you should at least be willing to give me the tools I need.”
The man had gone back to rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Can I ask you a question, Miss Feldman?” She hesitated, then nodded cautiously for him to go ahead. “Well, from what I've heard you were married to Statton, recently divorced?”
She nodded again, surprised that he knew that and cautious about where he was going with this.
Darrel snorted and jammed his baseball cap back on his head. “Well considering what a headache that guy's been from day one, and going by this delightful talk we're having at the moment . . . which of you was the most unbearable to the point they finally forced the other to ask for a divorce?”
Ellie decided she didn't like Darrel Folsom. Or at least confirmed her initial impression of him. “I take it you're agreeing to me managing the camp, and will do your best to provide me with the resources I need for the job?”
“After you run it by the Mayor, and he runs it by the City Council, and they agree it's reasonable.” He turned to stomp back to his ATV, although he paused to call towards Hal, “You can stop giving me the stink eye and come pick up your bag, dude.”
She decided she really, really didn't like the man. “I'm going to be at the quarantine camp!” she shouted at his back. “Please ask the Mayor to meet me there as soon as he can so we can discuss this further.”
The man just grunted and shoved his cap back into his back pocket, then settled onto the four-wheeler's seat and started it up. He roared away without a backwards glance.
Ellie watched him go. She honestly hadn't expected to have this sort of job dumped in her lap the moment she offered, without having to provide more detailed references or do any convincing whatsoever. At most, she'd expected to be working under someone in town, having to try to convince them of the necessary changes that needed to be made in the camp.
Stanberry's leaders must've been beyond desperate for someone to step up and take responsibility, even a complete stranger who'd just arrived in town. That wasn't a good sign; she just hoped she was up to the task she'd volunteered for. The residents of the quarantine camp couldn't afford for her to fail.
“Well that was . . . an encounter,” she told Hal as he joined her.
“That's about the most reasonable word possible for it,” her boyfriend grumbled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a comforting squeeze. “So . . . we really stepped in it, didn't we?”
“If by that you mean we have an opportunity to really improve conditions in camp if we're up to the task, then yes.” Ellie kissed his shoulder then gently extricated herself, striding purposefully back to her car.
Although she didn't get inside right away. Instead she strode behind a row of bushes blocking her view of the roadblock and began furiously pacing, letting out the simmering anger she'd been fighting down ever since her first view of the quarantine camp. Which had threatened to boil over after her less than pleasant conversation with Darrel.
Hal watched her, bemused. “Is this a bad time to say you've got a great poker face? I had no idea you were this bothered by talking to that guy.”
“Forget that guy,” she said, speeding up a bit. “You heard him say it, right? They haven't had anyone taking responsibility for the camp. No wonder the place is struggling with basic necessities like clean water and sanitation!” She clenched her fists at her sides, staring east towards the out of view camp. “Were they trying to turn the place into some kind of catastrophe of human suffering?”
“What's that quote about not attributing malice where incompetence is the likely reason?” Hal asked, tone gentle. The next time she passed close to him he reached out and snagged her, pulling her into his arms and kissing the top of her head. “The important thing is we can do something to help them now, right?”
Ellie nodded reluctantly; it was hard to stay mad while he was hugging her. “We'll need hazmat suits. And we'll have to get the camp's residents to volunteer for most of the tasks that need to be done. Maybe we can scrounge together extra rations to motivate them, like they did at the Colorado Springs camp.”
He grunted. “Can't wait to get started. You know, I seem to recall saying I never wanted to see another quarantine camp when we got out of the last one.”
She felt a smile slip through her pique. “Well that was your mistake for tempting the universe.”
“Yeah, the universe can be kind of a petty, vindictive SOB.” Her boyfriend paused a beat, tone becoming joking. “Kind of like that dude you were just talking to.”
Ellie laughed in spite of herself. “He was something else, wasn't he?” She pulled away, playfully slapping his rump as she stepped past him. “Come on, let's head to the quarantine camp. We can start making plans, maybe begin coordinating with the residents, while we wait for Darby to show up.”
✽✽✽
A handful of people immediately stood out from the crowd in the camp, particularly when it came to finding volunteers who were well respected and had the leadership ability to help Ellie organize things there.
She'd met most of them earlier, when she'd been talking to people about the conditions they were enduring. There was Tim Starr, a gruff old man who led of a group of fifty people, mostly relatives or close friends. He'd served in the Army for over two decades, and she hoped his no nonsense demeanor would help him gain the cooperation of the other residents.
And it didn't hurt that he already had dozens of people who jumped when he gave them a task.
There was also Johnny Hardy, a man in his 40s who'd already organized over a hundred of the camp's residents. He'd figured out that help wasn't forthcoming from the town, so he'd got to work getting his fellow residents to do what they could to improve conditions themselves.
Needless to say, he was a bit dubious when Ellie announced she wanted to help get the camp running more like an official quarantine camp. Especially since she hadn't officially been given the job yet. He was polite, but his attitude seemed to suggest that unless he saw a miracle from her he was going to keep working on his own.
Even so, Ellie thought he'd be perfect to lead the efforts from within the camp itself. He was a natural leader, able to get people to first like him and then, far more difficult, actually follow him. Unfortunately, he obviously lacked experience in the job he'd taken on, and hadn't gotten a close look at a quarantine camp so he couldn't try to copy their methods.
To be honest, he was basically just taking the usual steps people took while camping, and trying to expand them to a camp of over a thousand people. That came with problems he couldn't anticipate, although apparently he'd been working with Starr to get his input on how military camps were structured.
That was making a big difference.
Most of the other people who stood out to Ellie were already working with one of those two men. Aside from the last person whose cooperation she'd really benefit from having: Betty Griegs, a nurse from St. Joseph with over a decade of job experience, who'd taken charge of the people caring for the Zolos survivors.
Ellie could admit she'd been a bit curious as to why the woman had ended up in an unofficial quarantine camp outside a small town in northwestern Missouri. Especially since she'd learned from Cathy in the Colorado Springs camp, although honestly it came as no surprise, that trained medical personnel were in extremely high demand.
Pretty much anyone with the slightest bit of training had been put to work, and were running themselves ragged trying to help manage this pandemic. Those who were Zolos immune were especially invaluable, since they could care for patients without needing to take time-consuming precautions.
No need to worry that they might get sick and become another patient themselves. Ellie could hardly imagine what a huge relief that would be, although the risk required to gain that immunity was one nobody would accept unless forced to.
Betty had shut down like a statue when she'd broached the question of how she'd ended up here, stony expression not quite able to hide a combination of guilt and bitterness. On seeing it Ellie had immediately changed the subject; it was none of her business, and she felt bad if she'd prodded at fresh wounds.
Not to mention the woman was working herself into the ground caring for all the Zolos survivors in camp, so she really had nothing to be guilty about.
After about a half hour of talking to each of these people in more depth, planning for really jumping into organizing the camp as soon as Stanberry gave Ellie the go-ahead, she finally heard the rumble of an approaching ATV engine. She spotted Darrel's four-wheeler bouncing across the field, a tall, more formally dressed passenger perched behind the surly man.
Darrel stopped a good hundred feet away, letting the other man off, then without even a wave turned his vehicle around and tore off. That left the tall man to cautiously approach Ellie and Hal, waving politely as they moved to meet him halfway.
He looked to be in his early 40s, dark blond hair neatly cut and styled. That sort of grooming stood out when most people had more pressing worries these days, lending to his authoritative air.
“Mayor Darby?” Ellie guessed.
The man nodded, stopping a good twenty feet away and motioning for them to do the same. “And you're Ms. Feldman?” he called back. He turned to Hal. “And, um . . .”
“Hal Westmont,” the young man supplied politely. “Good to meet you, sir.”
“Good to meet you too, Hal,” Darby said, giving a smile that seemed genuinely sincere. That smile faded slightly as he turned back to Ellie, looking slightly uncomfortable. “I feel like I should start off by clearing up a misconception, Ms. Feldman.”
Ellie felt her heart sink. “You don't want me in charge of the camp?”
The Mayor hastily patted the air, looking almost alarmed at the possibility she was backing out. “Not at all, ma'am, not at all! I think it's a good suggestion, but there's, ah, formalities to observe.” He shrugged, a bit sheepishly. “My cousin works very hard to protect the town, and he takes his duties seriously. But when it comes to the quarantine camp he's been far more . . . reluctant to jump in with both feet.”
Ellie hadn't been aware that Darrel was Darby's cousin, and wouldn't have guessed it considering the lack of resemblance and the fact that there had to be at least ten years in age between the two men. Nick hadn't mentioned it either, so if he'd known he hadn't bothered to say anything.
“So it stands to reason that he'd be eager to pass on the task to someone else if he could,” Darby continued briskly. “However, it wouldn't exactly be responsible of us to just give the job to the first person who comes asking, before we even know your qualifications.”
Any first person who comes asking would probably do a better job than no one at all, Ellie thought. But she kept that to herself.
Even so, Darby must've guessed at least some of what she was thinking. He clasped his hands and leaned forward slightly. “I'll admit I have little experience in camp management, but I have plenty in determining whether personnel are qualified for the job they're trying to get. So perhaps you could be more specific about this expertise?”
Fair enough.
She went through the usual spiel whenever anyone wanted to know her work experience and skillset. She also added an extensive description of her activities at the Colorado Springs quarantine camp, and what she'd observed of its organization and operation.
Darby definitely began paying attention at that point, and the longer she went on the more eagerly he listened. Ellie had just begun describing her ideas for immediately improving conditions at the Stanberry camp when he quickly raised a hand.
“If you don't mind, Ms. Feldman, I'd like to bring a group of the town's leaders to listen to all this,” he said. “As you can imagine, with the camp now larger than the town itself it's a pressing concern for everyone in Stanberry, and if you can offer solutions and carry through with your ideas then we're prepared to give you our full support.”
That was definitely a relief to hear. “So you approve of my qualifications?” she asked, injecting a little dryness into her tone.
“Well you're no trained federal relief administrator, here with a fleet of supply trucks and workers and soldiers to whip this camp into shape,” the Mayor replied, tone equally dry. “But you're what we have. And when no one else is willing to take the job, the first person to volunteer immediately becomes the best qualified.”
Ellie couldn't help but think with amusement that the man was inadvertently insulting his cousin. Then again, if Darrel had been responsible for this place and dropped the ball so spectacularly, he deserved more than a little condemnation. If for no other reason than that he hadn't admitted he wasn't up to the task and insisted it be passed on to someone who could do it properly.
She'd also noticed, though she wasn't about to mention it of course, that in spite of Darby's insistence on making sure she was qualified, he seemed just as relieved as Darrel had been to pass the problem of the camp onto someone who might be able to solve it.
She fervently hoped that was her, although at least meeting a few of the camp's leaders had given her more confidence that the job was doable.
Darby excused himself to get the other town leaders, leaving Ellie and Hal to return to the camp to talk to the residents and continue making their plans. Johnny seemed more willing to hear her out after seeing her talk to the Mayor, while Starr didn't seem to care either way. He was mostly worried about his own group, although he was willing to help out the camp in general if someone else wanted to take charge.
When the Mayor finally returned, walking across the field from the direction of the south roadblock, he led a group of a dozen or so people. Including, Ellie was surprised to see, Bruce and Winn Norson.
And Darrel, unfortunately.
Darby quickly introduced Stanberry's city council members, along with a few notables among the volunteer citizens, like the Norsons. Then, as Ellie had expected, she was once again asked to give her credentials and present her case for improving the quarantine camp.
