32: Snowed-In

The snow continued falling through the night and by morning it was obvious to all that the day’s planned tours and activities were cancelled, giving the Academy students a holiday, or, at least, for some.

Derek woke up to a stale, putrid smell and low moaning. Wrinkling his nose, he pulled the covers off and got out of bed. "Alex, are you....?" but the question died on his lips as he saw his friend lying on his bed in a pool of vomit and diarrhea, clutching his stomach.

"Damn!" He pulled on a robe and slippers and went to the door, hoping to find someone else awake to help him. He stepped outside and was surprised to see one of the instructors, Dan, he thought, coming along the hall with a clipboard in his hand. He had stopped at the first door on Derek’s side of the hall and was about to knock when Derek called out.

"Please, I need help."

Dan came swiftly to him, and Derek let him in without a word. In the time Derek had been out of the room, Alex had apparently stumbled out of the bed and was now lying on the floor, still clutching his stomach and throwing up again. Dan shoved his clipboard into Derek’s hands and went to Alex, and, ignoring the mess, lifted him into a sitting position with one hand to prevent him from choking, while at the same time, pulling out his cell phone and speed-dialing a number, speaking rapidly in Sindarin before putting the phone away.

"Help will be here shortly," he said to Derek in English. Alex, finished with vomiting, was now weeping tears of pain and embarrassment. "Shhh.... it’s all right, Alex. We’ll get you cleaned up soon." He felt the Man’s forehead. "He’s burning up."

Derek heard the sound of someone running down the hall, stopping at the open doorway. It was Dan’s twin brother, and Barry. Dan started issuing orders in rapid Sindarin. Roy came and knelt on the other side of Alex, placing a hand on his forehead, softly crooning, while Barry left and headed for the bathroom. Derek just stood there, feeling helpless. After a minute, Roy stopped singing, and Derek noticed that Alex seemed almost asleep.

"Let’s get him into the shower and clean him up," Dan said, rising from his crouch and easily lifting him into his arms, seemingly unconcerned by Alex’s soiled condition.

"I’ll grab something to wrap him in," Roy said, also standing. Both men left the room and Derek followed, not knowing what else to do. Dan reached the bathroom door, pushing it open with his body. Derek could hear water running and then Barry was there helping Dan to strip Alex of his soiled clothes.

"We’ll need to burn everything," Dan said over the sound of the water running. "Derek, can you find a garbage bag or something? We need to get rid of these clothes and the bed linen."

"Yeah, sure. I can go to the cafeteria and get something."

"Good. Off you go."

It was a dismissal and as much as Derek wanted to stay, even though he wasn’t doing anything but standing there, he took off, heading for the cafeteria. He met Roy on the way. The man had a pile of towels and blankets in his hands. Derek told him where he was going and Roy nodded. "The cafeteria staff just got here, so you shouldn’t have a problem getting in."

Derek nodded and they parted. It was as Roy said and he had no trouble getting the garbage bag and was soon back in his room to find Loren and Darren were there as well. There was no sign of Alex.

"Here’s the bag," Derek said unnecessarily as he entered his room. "Where’s Alex?"

Loren smiled and took the bag from him, handing it to Roy, who began stripping the bed and shoving the filthy linen into it. "How are you feeling?" he asked solicitously.

"Better. Still a bit weak, though. I’d like to go back to bed, actually."

"But not here," Loren said. "We’ve taken Alex to the clinic and I suggest you take yourself to the showers and then get dressed. After that, you should pack a bag. We’ll put you up at our place until we’ve had this room completely disinfected. Leave your robe and your sleepwear here and we’ll have everything laundered."

"I don’t...."

"It’s all right, Derek," Loren said soothingly. "Go take your shower."

"But Alex... is he going to be all right?"

"He’ll be fine, I promise."

"He’s my friend, and... and I couldn’t do anything... and...."

"Derek."

Derek turned to see a complete stranger there, not sure how he’d come into the room without his noticing him. He had long golden-red hair and a compassionate look and Derek immediately felt... safe.

"Hello, Derek," the stranger said, giving him a warm smile as he took his arm and started leading him out of the room, grabbing Derek’s toiletry bag on the way out. "My name is Finn. I’m an old friend of Loren’s from when he was in Search and Rescue. Now, why don’t we get you into a shower and I’ll help you pack. Don’t worry about Alex. He’s in good hands."

Derek allowed himself to be led away, feeling somewhat bemused. He went through the motions of shaving and showering. Finn, in the meanwhile, brought him some clothes, so he dressed in the bathroom. Other students were now showing up to take showers, asking what all the commotion was about and Derek told them.

As they were talking, Loren came in, carrying Dan’s clipboard. "Who else is sick on this floor?" he asked. "We’re trying to get a head count so we know who is sick, who has been sick and who isn’t sick yet."

Two students indicated that their roommates were sick and three said they had been but were not feeling too sick now. In the meantime, Finn was speaking to Derek. "I’ve taken the liberty of packing for you," he said. "Let’s get your coat and hat and get you on your way."

"How?" Derek asked. "I’ve had a look outside. I don’t think the streets are even plowed yet."

"Oh, don’t worry about that," Finn assured him. "I have my own transportation."

Derek couldn’t interpret the smile and wink he gave to Loren who merely looked on with amusement. "Go on with...er... Finn, Derek. He’ll see you safely to Edhellond."

"And Alex?"

"As soon as we’ve heard from the doctors on his condition, we’ll let you know, I promise."

And with that, Derek had to be content. He was never afterwards sure just how he got from the Academy to the mansion. He remembered stepping outside with Finn who wasn’t even wearing a coat and didn’t seem too concerned about how cold it was. Derek could see the parking lot consisted of nothing more than mysterious humps of snow that had to be cars. Everything was blanketed in white and nothing was moving. The two of them stood on the porch for a moment, drinking in the view and then Finn turned to Derek.

"Look at me, Derek," he said, and, as softly as he spoke, there was a ring of command to it and Derek had no choice but to comply. He felt himself being drawn into Finn’s blue-eyed gaze, unable to look away and he could hear the man speaking softly but did not understand the words. Then there seemed to be a timeless moment when all consciousness ceased and when he came to himself again he found they were no longer at the Academy but standing outside a mansion.

"Ho...how did we get here?" he asked, his eyes widening and his heart beating wildly.

"Magic," Finn said with a laugh. "Now, don’t worry about it." He brushed his hand lightly over Derek’s forehead and Derek felt suddenly calm and, even as the door opened and Holly was greeting him, he had completely forgotten how he’d gotten there and never afterwards remembered ‘Finn’ who, after giving Holly a merry greeting, walked away, disappearing into the snow.

****

Elrohir tracked Glorfindel down at the college clinic where he was waiting to hear from the doctor about Alex’s condition. The two were in the waiting room, speaking softly in Sindarin.

"We’ve taken everything, including the mattress, to the incinerator to be burned. For good measure, we had Derek’s mattress burned as well. We’ve already requisitioned new mattresses. Barry and Dan are presently disinfecting the entire room from top to bottom. It should be ready for habitation in a couple of days."

Loren nodded. "Good. We’ll keep Derek with us until Alex is able to leave the clinic. What’s the tally so far?"

"We’ve got about twenty people down with it at the Academy," Elrohir replied. "Daeron’s checking with the Admin people to see how badly the college as a whole is being affected. He should have the numbers for you shortly."

"Obviously, we can’t isolate people unless they are suffering from severe symptoms like Alex, but we’re going to have to do some major disinfecting of the entire building."

"That’s a tall order and with this storm, we’re not going to see any supplies immediately. I doubt the janitorial staff has that much disinfectant on hand."

"I know, but if we act now then we’re that much ahead. Call Nicole and Dave Michaelson. They’ll know who to contact for these things."

Elrohir nodded and stood. "I’ll get right on it. Any news on Alex?"

Glorfindel shook his head. "I’m waiting to speak with Dr. Lawrence."

"Call me or Dan if you need us here," Elrohir said.

"Thanks. I will."

Elrohir left and Glorfindel schooled himself to patience. He wasn’t too surprised when he found Fionwë sitting next to him still in his ‘Finn’ persona, giving him a grin. No one else in the waiting room noticed his sudden appearance.

"Thank you for helping me out with Derek," Glorfindel said quietly. "I could tell he was beginning to go into panic-mode."

"My pleasure. Derek is safely in Edhellond where Ercassë is happily plying him with herbal tea and motherly love, something the poor child hasn’t had in a long time."

Glorfindel nodded. "Anything else?"

"Farrell is presently holed up in his hotel room cursing everything and everyone under the sun. He tried to reach Alex by phone with no luck. He doesn’t know about him being sick yet. The five agents we sent north are still trying to escape from their imprisonment."

"Who’s watching them?" Glorfindel asked. "I never did think to ask. I hope whoever’s there isn’t too bored with the assignment."

"Bored?" Fionwë exclaimed with a broad smile. "Not likely. My Lord Manwë gave the assignment to Ilmarë with Lady Varda’s permission. When I checked in with her she told me she hasn’t had this much fun since… well, let’s just say it’s been a very long time." He gave Glorfindel a conspiratorial look, leaning closer and whispering, "The other Maiar are jealous and keep begging Lord Manwë for the chance to… er… ‘play with the cute Mortals’, as one of them put it."

"Cute?" Glorfindel started laughing. "These are trained government agents with a license to kill. There’s nothing ‘cute’ about them."

"From your perspective, perhaps," Fionwë averred, "but from our perspective, you’re all cute. At any rate, Ilmarë is having fun coming up with unique ways to deter them from escaping. She’s even appeared to the village shaman in his dreams to warn him of some of the escape attempts. By now those five men have a healthy fear of that shaman and his supposed powers."

"Will we have a fight on our hands when it’s time to release them from durance vile?" Glorfindel inquired with a sly grin.

"No, I promise, there will be no attempts to… um… keep them there any longer than necessary."

"Good. They are not necessarily evil men and they must have families or friends who will worry over their absence."

"That is something that neither I nor any of the Maiar can do anything about," Fionwë said. "Ah, I believe that’s Doctor Lawrence looking for you now. I will leave you."

Glorfindel was relieved to see the Maia simply get up and walk away and then his attention was on the doctor who held out his hand in greeting as he stood. "Loren, good to see you again. Alex is resting comfortably at the moment. We’ve got him on saline and glucose and that’s about all we can do for him. The virus will have to run its course."

"He seemed to have been affected more strongly than others," Glorfindel commented.

"There are a few cases where someone suffers more than usual from the Norovirus."

"It’s confirmed then," Glorfindel said and Lawrence nodded.

"So far Alex seems to be the only one who has had a very severe reaction to it, and we can thank our lucky stars for that. Unfortunately, the number of new cases is growing and there’s evidence that it’s spread into the town. There are going to be a lot of very unhappy people for a time until this is all over."

"Can I see him?"

"Well, seeing as how you’re an Elf and all, I guess I can allow it," Lawrence said with a smile, which Glorfindel returned. "He’s probably asleep, though, but you can go in for a few minutes, if only to assure yourself that he’s okay. He’s been moved to the ward, room twenty-seven. Just take this hall and make a left."

"Thanks, John. I appreciate it." He shook the doctor's hand and made his way to room twenty-seven where he found Alex lying in bed, hooked up to an IV, his eyes closed. Glorfindel moved silently to the bed and brushed a hand through the Man’s hair. Alex opened his eyes and Glorfindel smiled.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Not good," Alex croaked. "I’m sorry about…."

"No need for apologies, Alex. These things happen. The important thing is that you’re on the mend."

"Derek?"

"He’s spending a few days with us until you’re ready to be released. We’re having the room disinfected and it should be ready for you by the time you leave here. In the meantime, rest and get well."

"Farrell…."

"Is being watched and nothing will happen soon. There’s a blizzard on and everything is at a stand-still. I think we’re due for an ice storm as well. I can smell it in the air. Now, rest. I’ll stop by later to see how you’re doing."

Alex nodded and closed his eyes, already asleep as Glorfindel let himself out of the room. He made his way out of the clinic and headed for the Academy, lightly walking on top of the snow, unconcerned as to who might see him.

****

Daeron looked up at the perfunctory knock on his door and motioned for Glorfindel to come in. "This doesn’t look good," he said, staring at his computer screen. "We have a total of eighty-five confirmed cases of Norovirus on the campus and I just got a call from St. Luke’s. There are seven confirmed cases from the town and they predict that number will rise rather quickly with everything shut down and people trapped in their homes until they can get the plows out."

"There’s an ice storm coming, as well," Glorfindel said, leaning against the door jamb, his hands folded across his chest. "That’s not going to help matters at all."

"I know, but we’ll do our best."

"We have generators in case we lose power," Glorfindel said, "but as far as I know, they've never been tested. Have Conan take a look at them, will you? I want to make sure they're in proper working condition and there’s enough fuel to last us if the power is out for too long."

"He’s out front, helping to clear the parking lot so people can get to their cars. No sense letting batteries die."

Glorfindel nodded. "How are we for food and water?"

"I checked with Grace. Thankfully, there was a shipment of supplies over the weekend so the pantries are full. She told me that she’s good for meals for a week or maybe a little longer if she stretches things a bit. Hopefully, by then, the weather will have cleared."

"The kitchen has its own generator, doesn’t it?"

"Yes. My main concern is keeping the dorm rooms heated if we lose power for any length of time. That main generator isn’t going to be sufficient to heat all the rooms. It’s really designed to provide enough electricity for people to see by."

"If we have to, we’ll move everyone into the cafeteria. That at least will be warm from the kitchen generator."

"And all those people breathing on one another," Daeron said with a grimace.

"One thing at a time. We may not lose power or only for a short amount of time, but let’s make preparations just in case. I’m going to have some of us move into the Academy for the time being to help keep order."

Daeron nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. We can take shifts. By the way, how’s Alex doing?"

"He’s one sick little puppy but John Lawrence assures me he’s on the mend. Holly’s looking after Derek."

Daeron smiled. "I know. She called awhile ago to tell me the child fell asleep in the middle of sipping some broth. She had Ron put him in the Lórien room."

Glorfindel nodded his approval, straightening. "I’m going to go walk the halls, see how things are. If you need me, just call me or come find me. Once I’m sure everything is under control I’ll be in my office."

"Will do."

Glorfindel left the loremaster and headed towards the women’s dorm, making a slow circuit through all the halls on each floor, stopping to speak with anyone who happened to be about, asking how they were faring and answering any questions they might have. Most seemed worried about being snowed in for any length of time, especially those who had never experienced a blizzard before. Glorfindel assured them that everything was under control and they should only concern themselves with either getting well or staying well.

"There won’t be any classes until we dig out," he told them, "so spend the time relaxing and catching up on your emails and such."

Eventually he finished his walkabout and went to his office where he sat without bothering to turn on the light, staring out the window. It was only early afternoon but the sky was dark with clouds and the snow, which had stopped earlier, now resumed falling. In his bones he could feel the ice storm heading their way, though he had heard no reports to that effect as yet.

"Tomorrow... or Thursday," he muttered to himself. He reached for his cell phone and speed-dialed a particular number. "It’s Glorfindel. The honeymoon is over. I need you two back here as soon as possible. Alex has caught the Norovirus and he’s in a bad way." He closed down the phone and put it on his desk, then turned to look out the window at the falling snow, contemplating many things.