The "Us" in Virus

~4~

When the first drop of rain came, the dentist was still sitting in place ruminating on what the old woman had said.

"You take risks for the things that are important to you."

He thought about her roaming the world, eyes fixed on a goal, throwing caution to the wind. And then he thought about himself, rushing home so that he could lock himself inside indefinitely to stay safe. Was it worth it? Was safety an end in itself? What was his green lightsaber? 

He was on the cusp of a philosophical breakthrough that would solve all his problems, but a loud crack of thunder made him completely lose his train of thought. He looked up at the black cumulonimbus clouds just as they unleashed their fury on him. Rain poured down. Thick, fat, heavy rain. 

The dentist was not deterred, for he had seen the clouds coming. He just pulled his jacket hood over his head, made sure his Dasani rainwater collection apparatus was right-side-up in the wagon, and then proceeded along the road. 

He made pretty substantial headway at first, but then the small, treadless wagon wheels started struggling in the mud and puddles. Soon, one of the back wheels went flat -- he didn't even really know that toy wagon wheels could do that -- and the front right wheel inexplicably turned perpendicular. He tried everything in his power to remedy the perpendicular wheel: he used brute force, doused it in holy water, and even asked it nicely using "pretty, pretty please" instead of his normal "pretty please." But it was all useless. The wheel remained perpendicular, and the dentist's hopes plummeted. Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn that he saw the old shopping cart wheel quickly flit between two dumpsters, mocking him. 

He loudly sighed and decided to take a quick rest. He sat down on the stack of water bottles in the wagon, but that just caused the other back wheel to pop and go flat. At this, he sighed even louder and put his head in his hands. He couldn't tell if the water on his face was from crying or just the rain. 

Looking for something to elevate his hopes, he checked his rainwater collection apparatus to see if had worked. He had been thirsty for some time now, but had briefly forgotten about it during his strange encounters. Some good might come from this torrential rain. But when he picked up the bottle, his jaw dropped.

It had not collected a single drop of water. 

The dentist guffawed. He was hysterical. It was statistically impossible that not a single drop of water would land in the bottle. Just as he pulled out his abacus to check his math, he saw a raindrop plop down right in the middle of the Dasani bottle. But then, there was a sizzling noise, and the dentist watched as the water drop evaporated before his very eyes. 

His right eye twitched. He clenched his teeth. Then, he could bear it no longer. The dentist screamed in rage. It was a primal scream that did as much damage to the surrounding windows as it did to his vocal chords. Dogs howled, alley cats screeched, and a rogue rockhopper penguin decided at that moment that maybe the United States wasn't the right place to raise a family of four. The dentist cursed, spat, stomped, cried. In his fury, the he even lobbed his remaining holy water at the Dasani bottle. 

Immediately, the Dasani bottle erupted into green flames. The flames spattered and crackled around the bottle, which remained unscathed by the heat. In fact, the bottle seemed to grow a little bit as the fire hissed and the sky grew darker. 

The dentist saw this and narrowed his eyes in rage. He snarled and planted his feet on the ground, ready to end this once and for all. Swiftly, he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and rummaged around, trying to find that card that's always in the very front until you need it. And then, right behind his expired Sam's Club card, he found it. It was from his days as a professional curler. He hadn't used it in a while, but he was positive that he still had it in him. 

The passage he needed was right next to the tip table that curiously only went up to 15 %. The dentist took a deep breath and then started reading, his voice dropping three registers: "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas..."

The green flame grew as the wind and rain battered the dentist. The clouds overhead turned so dark that the flame and feverish flashes of lightning were the only sources of light. Everything else was deathly black. As he continued reading, trees around him began to creak and snap as the unrelenting wind sped up even more. 

The dentist grit his teeth as he drew closer to the end of the exorcism. The ground rumbled, and the ablaze Dasani bottle shook. The dentist was now blinded by the torrential rain and gale-force winds. 

"...Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos." 

He finished.

There was a blinding flash of red and an inhuman screech. A vicious burst of wind threw the dentist back ten feet. Everything was black and wind and swirling and rain. 

But, then, it stopped. 

The rain died to a sprinkle, the wind to a nice breeze. The rockhopper penguin sneaked a peak back at the scene and beheld a Dasani-less, normal red Radio Flyer wagon. All of the wheels were fixed, the fuchsia paint gone. The only remnant of the event was a small star of David seared into the area where the Dasani bottle had been. 

Ten feet away, the dentist lied on the ground, unconscious. Rain pooled around him, and small gashes on his wrists leaked blood onto the sidewalk. The now-gentle rain slowly washed all the dirt and ash off of him, revealing his blindingly white skin underneath. He lied there minute after minute, hour after hour, until the sun began to set and dusk crept in. The last rays of the blood-red sun clung to the horizon for as long as they could, but eventually, they faded into night.

A shroud of darkness now consumed the city. It was a starless night, silent other than the soft patter of the rain. 

When the new moon reached its zenith, the silence was finally broken. The distant sound of muffled footsteps grew louder and louder. They splashed through the puddles of water on the pavement, crunched through the debris and gravel. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. By the wagon stood a dark figure. It cocked its head at the wagon and bent down to observe it. Immediately, it fixated on the Aquafinas. The figure tapped them as if to make sure they were real, and then began caressing the wrapping.  Lightly, slowly, it dragged its fingers over the smooth plastic. The figure was just about to wheel the wagon away when it turned and saw the form of the dentist, his feet together and arms sprawled out to his sides. Even in the pitch black, the whiteness of his skin seemed to glow from within. 

The shadow pulled the wagon over to the dentist. Similar to with the Aquafinas, it tapped him, but it didn't dare stroke him without clear verbal consent. The dentist remained unresponsive. Then, the figure clumsily threw his unconscious body on top of the Aquafinas, and lugged him away into the night.

The new moon began its descent. The squeaky wheels of the wagon sliced through the tranquil sound of the rain. 

Now, the only thing that remained of the scene was the pool of water that had turned red from blood.