The China Pandemic Read Online Free PDF Page A

head against the cold glass, fighting back the pain. He thought about the answer his father gave him for his question, “Why should I go on?” The old man had replied, “You’ll find a reason or the reason will find you.” He looked down at the boy. Great! My reason’s a pissed off Asian kid?
    Graham sighed and looked down to his boots. They were caked in mud, so he began to wipe them off on the mat but saw how useless that was. He then removed them instead and glanced at the boy’s tennis shoes, which were filthy as well; too filthy to track around his mother’s house.
    “Hey, take off your shoes,” he said.
    “I want to go home,” the boy whined.
    Graham spun him around to face him. “Listen, your mother spent the last moments of her life trying to save yours. She brought you to me and I promised to take care of you. I’ll do that until you manage to get yourself killed. Until then, you will do what I say, when I say it, and if you leave my sight again, you won’t get two blocks before you’re attacked by big, mean dogs. Only this time, I won’t save your ass because you didn’t listen to me. Got it?”
    The boy cried, but he also took terrified glances to the darkening outside and Graham hoped the warning was enough to keep him from running off again. The truth was that he could have easily been mauled to death earlier.
    “Now, take off your shoes,” he ordered again.
    The boy sat down on the carpet and untied his shoes. He still sniffled but at least complied.
    “Are you hungry?” Graham asked, trying for a kinder tone.
    The boy didn’t look up at him.
    Graham didn’t feel like eating now, either. He looked down at his dirt-covered hands. He was concerned the kid might try to run off if he turned his back. “Okay, listen. I’ve got to go shower. You have two choices. You can either promise me you’ll stay here and behave, or get eaten by the dogs outside. What’s it going to be, because I don’t have time for this?”
    Between sobs the boy said, “Stay.”
    “All right,” Graham said. “It’s getting dark in here. Let’s go to the back.” The boy picked up his backpack from beside the door and Graham realized he hadn’t even seen it there before. The kid followed him.
    Since the illness had begun, his family had kept the house mostly dark at night. Graham used a flashlight to light their way to the back of the house. He opened the bedroom door, revealing a pair of twin beds.
    “That’s my bed, by the window. You can sleep there,” Graham said, pointing to the one nearest the door.” He pointed again. “That’s the bathroom, across the hall. I want you to go do your business and wash your hands.”
    The boy looked up at him. Graham started to feel guilty for being so harsh with him, but it was for his own good. The kid walked into the bathroom with the nightlight casting a soft glow, closing the door behind him.
    Graham heard the water running so he waited in the hall for the boy to finish. In the meantime, he leaned his head back against the hall closet wall. He hadn’t eaten anything today but knew if he tried, he wouldn’t be able to keep it down.
    His thoughts wandered back to dawn and his father’s death. Graham couldn’t suppress the tears anymore. He bowed his head, and when he looked down, the boy was standing there looking up at him. Graham wiped his tears away.
    “Are you all done?” he asked the boy, who nodded. He walked him into the bedroom and pulled back the blankets on the bed for him. “Okay, climb in,” he told him.
    The boy climbed up and Graham pulled the covers over him. “I’ve got to take a shower. You’re going to stay right here, right?” Graham asked. The boy nodded, but his lower lip quivered.
    “What’s your name?” The boy hesitated. “Look, my name’s Graham. What’s yours?” he asked him again.
    “Bang,” the boy said.
    Graham wasn’t sure he heard it right. “What?” he asked again.
    “Bang!” the boy said and rolled over,