Immunity

1. Expendable

“So let me get this straight- you want us to enter that raggedy, boarded house on the hill and retrieve a heart-shaped locket off of a corpse that’s supposedly tucked away in a coffin in the basement?” asked Thaddeus Lovelady.

“Yes,” answered Sheriff Jeffrey Mans as he unshackled the handcuffs off Thaddeus’ wrists. “It’s been said that Willamina’s locket has her blood inside, which can possibly cure the virus that has already claimed over 3 billion lives.”

Thaddeus, a six-foot, rugged, 16-year-old black kid with dreadlocks and gold teeth was hardly scared of anything, but as he stared at the old three-story house on the top of Sadie Street Hill, a small case of the chills ran up the base of his neck. His grey government-issued jumpsuit was covered with sweat spots.

The scorching sun was setting off in the distance and the darkness of dusk was quickly approaching.

Terrance Ross, an athletically built black male, and Aaron Schultz, a bulky white teenager with a blonde mohawk were already standing outside the Sheriff’s vehicle, rubbing their wrists and flexing their hands open and shut to regain circulation. The three teens were dragged out of the youth detention center by the sheriff and two of his officers, Daniel Rivers and Herbert Gaines.

“And what’s in it for us?” asked Aaron.

Officer Rivers walked up to Aaron and stood uncomfortably close to his face while smacking loudly on a piece of stale bubble gum. He stared into the young boy’s eyes for a few seconds.

“Nothing is in it for you. We own you. Your sorry butts are property of the state of Tennessee. So you will do what we want, when we want. Consider this a part of your community service."

“That’s right,” said Officer Gaines. “Now head up that hill and hush with all the talking.”

The three teens headed up the steep grassy knoll towards the tattered house with the sheriff and his officers in tow; weapons drawn. As they approached the home, a strong breeze carried a rancid odor through the air.

“Jesus Christ!” exclaimed Terrance. “What the hell is that smell?”

“I don’t know,” replied Thaddeus. “But if that smell is any indication of what’s inside that house, this might not go down so well.”

When they arrived at the steps of the house, Thaddeus turned around to address the sheriff.

“Sheriff Mans, you’re sending us in here to retrieve something that you three could go in and get on your own. How many people have died on this mission?”

“What kind of foolishness are you talking about? What the hell makes you think people died on a mission, boy?” sneered Officer Gaines.

Nonchalantly, with a smirk and a light chuckle, Thaddeus replied “Come on, Officer Gaines. Despite the fact that you three are carrying weapons, you’re sending three teenage boys into a house with the stench of death seeping through its doors and windows. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that fear itself has you one fart away from dropping a load in your panties.”

“Listen here you little, nig-”

Sheriff Mans put his hands on Officer Gaines’ chest; stopping him in mid-sentence. Terrance and Aaron chuckled slightly at Thaddeus’ facetious dig at the officer.

“It’s ok, Herbert. I’ll give him the backstory”

Sheriff Mans holstered his firearm and continued.

“Months after the M-50 virus spread across the globe and wiped out half of the planet, my wife became sick. She was an infectious disease doctor on the front lines; working nonstop at Saint Francis Hospital. For three years, she never got sick even after treating all those patients. Nonetheless, the inevitable happened and the virus got a hold of her.”

The sheriff put his head down and took a deep breath in order to keep his voice from cracking while verbalizing the painful memory.

“The disease is worse than anything I’ve ever seen. Cancer, HIV, COVID-19; none of them hold a candle to this thing. It took my wife within a week. A few days before her death, my wife begins rumbling about an old lady named Willamina Mays. A doctor who treated Willamina told my wife that her blood was immune to all diseases and could be the cure to the M-50 virus. Apparently, other doctors learned about Willamina and tried to get her committed to the hospital to get a sample of her blood. Willamina locked herself in this house. It got so bad that government agents, sanctioned by wealthy medical groups, started coming to the house to seize her, only to find out that the house was booby-trapped.”

“So they never captured her?” asked Aaron.

“No,” Sheriff Mans replied. “Rumor has it that she stayed in that house until she died. Per her wishes, her daughter used the basement as a tomb for Willamina. She loved this house and wanted to be buried in it. People have entered this house to retrieve her corpse and none of them ever came back out. Those accounts were quietly kept out of the reach of the media.”

“So why are we looking for a locket? And why us?” asked Thaddeus.

“Willamina’s daughter was a bit of a peculiar person, to say the least,” Sheriff Mans said. “Before disappearing, she sent a letter to the doctor who treated her mother and told her that the cure to this apocalyptic, world-ending plague is inside the locket on her mother’s neck. She said the world and all of its evils don’t deserve a cure, but if someone was indeed worthy of retrieving the locket, then the world would be given a new fate of mercy. And we’re sending you because you’re expendable.”

“What’s the matter, Sheriff? You don’t think you and your two henchmen are worthy?” Terrance taunted.

“Enough talking. You can either test your luck in there or you can test your luck with us,” said Officer Gaines as he cocked his gun.

Thaddeus and Terrance rolled their eyes at Officer Gaines’ gesture.

“Can you at least give us some flashlights? It’s getting dark,” said Aaron.

“Now where’s the fun in that?” asked Officer Rivers mocking the teenagers. “Walk by faith, not by sight. Getty-up now; in you go!”

The three teens walked up the porch made up of decayed wood that creaked loudly with each step. Thaddeus grabbed the rusty doorknob and turned it. The door was unlocked as if it was an invitation for those who dared to enter. Thaddeus pulled the door open and the boys stepped into the domicile filled with darkness accompanied by the eerie dread of death.

2. Two on Deck, One in the Hole

As they stepped into the house, Aaron closed the door quietly behind him in hopes to not alert whatever enemy might be lurking. The putrid smell amplified intensely once the boys stepped inside.

“Stay still for a second and let your eyes adjust to the dark. Do your best to block out the smell, so it doesn’t distract you,” whispered Thaddeus. “We have to stay alert in here.”

The three boys stood still until they were able to make out shapes and objects in the dark.

“I’ll take lead,” said Thaddeus. Keep your head on a swivel and try not to separate.”

To the right of the boys was a staircase that led to the upstairs bedrooms. To the left was a large living room area. The narrow hallway continued the length of the whole first floor.

“The door to the basement should be straight ahead somewhere. Walk slow. Remember he said the house is booby-trapped,” whispered Thaddeus.

The boys took about three steps down the hallway until Thaddeus felt his shin rub across what felt like string.

“Get down!” he yelled.

Abruptly, A bulk of nails shot out from a wooden statue of a head that was resting on a table in the hallway. The nails hit the wall playing a rhythm of deadly strikes as they barely missed their intended targets.

Not even a second later, a giant flap with spikes on both sides released from the ceiling and swung through the hallway like a pendulum.

“Stay down,” yelled Terrance.

The three boys laid flat on their stomachs in the middle of the dark hallway. They waited until the swinging, spiked flap came to slow stop.

The boys stood up carefully and continued until they got to a closed door in the middle of the hallway.

“This is the door to the basement,” said Thaddeus.

“How can you tell?” asked Terrance.

“Intuition,” replied Thaddeus.

Thaddeus opened the door slowly. Neither he or his peers could see anything. Thaddeus Was able to make out a bannister that slanted downward diagonally. He figured there should be stairs there, but when he tried to plant his foot on a step he felt nothing but air.

“Crap. The stairs are gone,” he said.

“Look. There’s a rope on the doorknob,” said Aaron.

“So that’s the way down,” said Terrance. “How do we want to play this?”

“I tell you what- You two stay up here. It doesn’t make sense in all of us dying. Whoever killed those people, lives down here,” said Thaddeus.

“Nah, bro,” Terrance interjected. “We can’t let you go out like that by yourself.”

“Terrance, trust me. You two stay up here. If I yell, bolt towards that door and get out of here. Willamina is not dead. She's angry, lonely...and immune to death.”

Without any further delay, Thaddeus grabbed onto the rope and slid down until his feet landed on a clump of body parts. Thaddeus could hear the flies buzzing around the dark of the basement. He knew maggots were feasting on the remains of bodies. He was able to make out the silhouettes of the dead bodies that had been lying across the basement floor.

“Willamina, I’m here. My name is Thaddeus Lovelady. I came to talk to you.”

Seconds after he spoke, a pair of red beady eyes appeared out of the darkness just a few feet in front of him. A shadowy image of an old woman with disheveled hair emerged. Her arms hands were long and her legs looked like crooked branches. She moved closer to him.

“Loveladyyyyy! Her voice screeched. “You didn’t come to talk. You came to die.”

Thaddeus’ heart raced but he kept his nerve about him.

“Perhaps I did,” he said. “It doesn’t matter though. I knew my fate the moment I walked in this house.”

“So why come here to die, Loveladyyyy?”

“It doesn't matter, Willamina. If it wasn’t you then the Sheriff and officers sitting outside the house would’ve ended my life, regardless.”

“You speak to me as a man who is not frightened by me, nor death,” said the beastly looking woman as she now stood inches from his face.”

The frightening features of her mug would have made any man’s knees buckle, but Thaddeus remained poised.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said as he locked eyes with her. “Me for the locket. I’ll stay here with you if that’s what it takes to save the world.”

“Finally,” she said softly, grinning and exposing her razor-like teeth. “One with understanding.”

Willamina removed a heart-shaped locket from her neck and handed it to Thaddeus. She touched his forehead and he suddenly lost consciousness.

3. Awakening

Thaddeus awoke on the porch of the house to the warmth of the sun beating on his face. As he woke, he noticed Terrance and Aaron on either side of him wiping their eyes as they also arose from sleep.

“What happened and where is the Sheriff,” asked Aaron.

“They’re gone,” said Terrance. “They probably thought we weren’t going to make it out. But how did we get here?”

Thaddeus opened his hand and in it was the locket. He smiled at his peers.

“By fate. Fellas, let’s ditch these clothes and get this locket into the right hands. The world may not be over yet.”

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