7

Chapter 7 of Disease

I cannot recall how many times I’ve been surprised in my line of work. The things I have seen, the things I have done, they have deadened my more sensitive side. I cannot feel as I used to, before the world fell. You would all agree. The Burst was a horrific oversight, and one that could have been easily avoided. When we failed to avert it, we all had to bury our emotions so we could scavenge the remains of the dying Earth. But the first time I saw Robert Thurman and the things he was capable of, I was surprised. I was genuinely astounded.

Little did I know, those small surprises were just the beginning.

Robert stood up out of his wheelchair, desperate to get out of this room. There was a feeling that permeated the air, a sense that he should not be in this place. So he stood, ignoring the surprised protests of his nurses.

“Hey! What the Shed is wrong with you?” The nurse yelled, reaching into his shirt. Before he could pull something out, Robert had jumped over and punched him in the face, sending him sprawling to the white floor. The other nurse yelped, reaching into his own shirt and pulling out a handheld radio. He raised it to his mouth.

“Operator, we have a-” That was all he got out, for Robert had thrown the other nurse’s radio, striking him in the temple. He fell, knocked unconscious by the blow. Robert walked over to the body, radio still in its hand, and he squashed the device underfoot. Nothing was going to stop him now.

“I was wondering how long it would take you. Indeed, a few of us were betting on how quickly you would be able to escape.” Robert heard a quiet, Spanish voice say behind him. It was amused, yet somehow sorrowful.

And he knew that voice.

Robert turned around slowly, turning to face the man. Just as he had suspected, it was the guard that had shot him in the cafeteria, but it was also the voice that had spoken to him right before that event. The one who said he was a member of the Caeleste.

“Who are you?” Robert asked, tentatively stepping toward him. The man smiled.

“Oh, Senor Thurman. You should already know who I am. The very fact that you do not question my presence speaks volumes to me. I think that you mean ‘Who do you work for,’. Because that is the single largest thing I have not told you.”

Robert nodded his head, slightly tense at the information the man might reveal. The man turned his head away and sighed deeply.

“I cannot tell you much, or at least the amount you wish to know. If I did, my brothers would undoubtedly Exorcise my authority and sever my ties with my Gods. However, I can tell you this. I am the member of an organization know as the Caeleste, whose power and scope are beyond anything you could ever imagine. We are made up of representatives for different… Subjects… and we seek to preserve the human species.”

“From what?” Robert cut in, anxious to know what he meant. The man turned back to him and smiled.

“Oh, but you already know, Senor Thurman. We sought to preserve the Earth from a certain engineered disease, one that you almost defeated.”

“So it is still alive?” Robert nearly screamed, terrified by the proposition. The man nodded gravely.

“Indeed it is. Your own experience in this prison proves it.” A deep, malevolent rumble began to resound throughout the room. The man sighed again, checking the watch on his wrist.

“I have almost said too much, and my brothers do not like it when I breach protocol. I must leave you, Senor Thurman. But before I do, I wish to tell you one more thing.”

“The world you think of as reality is not. You do not know the entirety of fate, and you certainly cannot know the entirety of the consequences of your actions. Subsequently, you do not know what is real and unreal.”

Robert frowned, exasperated by the circles this man was speaking in.

“Is it possible you could say something clear for once?” he said, a tinge of annoyance seeping into his tone.

“Senor Thurman, I am indeed speaking clearly. Perhaps you are not listening.” The rumble grew louder and began to shake the room. Robert had to steady himself quickly so he wouldn’t fall. The man just stood there, eyes closed, listening intently. Suddenly, his eyes flew open, and Robert could see deep sadness in them.

“I must leave. Beware, Senor Thurman. This world is not what it seems.” he intoned, then disappeared in a puff of deep black smoke.

Robert stood there, trying to wrap his mind around what the man had said. The world was not real? He didn’t know what the consequences of his actions were? What consequences were they even talking about?? His questions never seemed to be answered, and more seemed to pile on top of him. Pretty soon, Robert supposed, there won’t be anything left of me except for questions.

A ragged breath from the other side of the room awoke Robert to reality, and he rushed over to see what it was. His wife was just waking up from her stupor, and she seemed to be having difficulty. Robert wrapped his fingers around hers and pulled them close to his chest. Immediately, Elaine’s breathing stabilized, and she slowly opened her eyes. Tears instantly came back to Robert’s eyes as he viewed his wife’s face again. She looked at him, with her own tears glistening in the void of her deep blue eyes.

“Robert? Is it really you?” She asked quietly, reverence, disbelief, and awe all shown in her voice. Robert nodded, and he could no longer restrain the flood that was now cascading down his cheeks.

“Yes, my love. It is me. I’m here now. And I will never leave you again.” He said, kissing his wife’s hand tenderly. She too began to cry, and they both collapsed into each other’s arms, weeping of the joy that comes from the resurrection of a loved one.

Excellent job, Mr. Thurman. But no joy lasts forever. The real task begins… Now. Samuel Hunt’s voice said in Robert’s head.

Not a moment later, alarms began blaring throughout the facility, their harsh ring screaming in Robert’s ears. Seconds later, the Warden’s voice came over the intercom.

“All guards to the Dementia Section, all guards to the Dementia Section! We have a rogue prisoner with a possible hostage situation! Repeat, all guards to the Dementia Section!”

Robert looked at his wife with a very apologetic look.

“We have to go,” He said. She nodded, and began to sit up, removing the tubes and wires from her body.

“Easy does it,” Robert cautioned, holding her arm gently.

“I’m fine,” She reassured him, finally sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Slowly, but surely, she stood up, all the while supported by her husband’s strong arm. Breathing heavily from the strain, she began to walk to the door. Only a few steps in, though, she staggered, with only Robert’s hand to keep her up.

“I can’t do this,” She confessed, falling to the ground. “This is too much.”

Robert looked around, and his eyes fell on the wheelchair that the nurses had used to wheel him in. He also saw the nurses on the ground, unconscious from his frenzied attack. An idea started to form in his mind.  He strode over to them, wheels spinning in his mind, and he began to disrobe the bodies.

“Robert? What exactly are you doing?” Elaine asked with a hint of confusion. Robert looked at her, mischief in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, honey. I’m not gay.” He said. I think I have a way to get us out of here.”

Julius stood at the doorway to the Dementia Section, and he wasn’t alone. Two-dozen heavily armed guards were behind them, each nervous from the upcoming mission.

“Hey boss, when are we going in?” One of the younger ones asked, his Brooklyn accent strangely soothing with all the tension in the hall.

“When the Warden tells us to. You think I don’t know how to take orders?” Julius answered, slightly annoyed. He shook his head at the kid, turning back to staring at the door.  He couldn’t stay mad at these guys. He had been working with them ever since he’d arrived in this strange hospital. He knew every single one of them by name, and knew where they’d been born, who their parents were, what things they were interested in. They were almost like brothers. Shed, they were brothers. They might as well be. The kind of things they had gone through would solidify that kind of bond between God and Satan himself. They had been through too much, saved each other’s lives too much to not have that kind of brotherhood. Above all, it gave Julius something to hang on to, something to strengthen him when the times got really bad. They were his crutch, and he couldn’t stay mad at men that were always there for him.

And they were here for him now.

Julius’ radio crackled, the Warden’s voice coming through.

“Unit 0, you are a go. Repeat, Unit 0, you are a go.”

“Roger that, Great Divide. We are a go.” Julius radioed back, and then signaled to his men. They all tensed, forming into lines. Julius swiped his key, opened the door, and ran in. His men followed and flanked him, swinging their guns around, searching for Thurman and his hostage. Doctors and nurses screamed, bolting out of the way of the dangerous men.

“Richter! Lopez! Get these people out of here!” Julius yelled at two of his men, who immediately lowered their weapons and began herding people out of the door, letting the beds of the insane go through first. The more lucid ones screamed and shouted in joy, happy at the prospect of leaving their prison. The dreamy ones looked around in confusion, confused at what was going on.

“Is the King here yet?” One asked, putting her hand over her heart in reverence. Julius rolled his eyes, and signaled Lopez to get her out. He nodded and rolled her bed towards the throng of people trying to escape.

Julius looked around, holding his rifle steady. What had Robert gotten himself into? Julius told him that strike three was not a place he wanted to go. The hospital was not kind to people who continually denied their authority. Julius had seen it happen on numerous occasions. And he did not want that fate for his friend.

But why had Robert gotten a hostage with him? That kind of thing was so unlike him. He knew the Man, knew what kind of a person he was. Why would he suddenly go off the deep end like that? Whatever the case, Julius had to put aside personal friendships. This was a moment of crisis, and he had learned to love the people in this place He wouldn’t let a single one get hurt because of his stupid friend.

“Excuse me, Mr. Soldier?” A high, scared voice said behind Julius. He spun around, weapon at the ready. A man in scrubs and a mask jumped back, hands in the air. He had a woman in a wheelchair with him, and she didn’t seem to be doing too well. Her hair was matted with sweat, and her breathing was ragged.

“We need to get this patient out of here. She just went through a seizure, and all of this commotion may cause her further pain.” The man said with a trembling voice, eyes flitting back to gun Julius held in his hand. Julius sighed and lowered his weapon.

“Just keep going down this hallway, sir. I’ll make sure my men keep it as calm as possible.” He said, and then spoke into his mic. “Hey guys, try to keep this as calm as possible. We have several unstable patients in here, and we don’t want to cause any more problems than they already have.”

“Roger that, boss.” Lopez said. The man nodded in thanks, then wheeled the woman away.

Julius gathered his men and began searching through rooms, looking for the dangerous rogue prisoner. They would open a door if it was unlocked, and break it down if it was locked. Looking into it with gun in hand, they would check to see if it was clear, report it, then move on to the next.

It was a good system, but at the moment it wasn’t bringing forth any fruit. Every room they checked was empty. There was no sign of Robert Thurman or Elaine Nelson anywhere.

“Hey boss! You might want to come see this!” Julius heard Voyeur yell, and he sprinted to the room where he was. Voyeur was standing there waiting for him.

“I found these two like this. They were the nurses in charge of Mr. Thurman, and they were taking Mr. Thurman to Ms. Nelson’s room to care for her while they saw to other patients. And, well…” Voyeur trailed off, gesturing inside the room. Julius looked inside, and nearly burst into surprised laughter.

The two nurses stood there, one with a large bump on his head and the other wrapped in the sheet from the bed. He appeared to have no other clothes on him. His face was, unsurprisingly, beet-red.

“I don’t know what happened, sir.” The dressed one said. “One minute he was there next to her bed, and the next he was out of his wheelchair and and punching me in the face.”

“Yeah, and he threw his radio at my face, hitting me right here.” He lifted his hand to point at his temple, in the process dropping the sheet off his body. Julius and Voyeur averted their eyes, groaning in protest. The man quickly grabbed the sheet and wrapped it back around his body, face becoming even redder.

“Do you know what the woman looked like?” Julius asked. The nurses nodded and showed him a clipboard with all of Elaine’s information. Julius looked at it, swore, and threw it on the ground.

“Shint!” he yelled, losing his composure for the first time in months.

“Boss, what’s up?” Voyeur asked cautiously. Julius threw the picture at Voyeur, who grabbed it with confusion.

“She was one of the women who I let go past.” He seethed, hands trailing madly through his hair. “The guy who was with her said she had a seizure, so I let him through.” He kicked the bed in disgust. ‘That was probably Thurman all along!”

Oh Julius, and I thought you were smart enough to see that. Omnipotence said in his head. I truly had faith in you.

“That was too close.” Robert said, pulling off the nurse’s cap and mask and breathing deeply. “Let’s not try that again anytime soon.”

Elaine slowly stood from her wheelchair, grabbing Robert’s arm for support.

“I agree,” She said.

They had managed to escape back to a storage closet that was in Robert’s cellblock. The disguise had worked perfectly. No one had questioned their presence, and they had walked all this way without fail. Now, though, their problem was where they would go after this. The entire complex was hunting them. Where could they go?

Elaine was walking around, testing her strength. She seemed to be recovering quickly from being in bed for so long.

“I have to get out of this,” She said, pulling at her hospital gown with a look of disgust. “Not only is it not my color, it sort of makes me stand out from the rest of the prisoners.”

Robert chuckled at her little joke, and then started poking around the storage closet. There had to be an extra set of clothes somewhere.  Eventually, he managed to find a jumpsuit behind a pile of toilet cleaner. He handed it to her, then averted his eyes so she could change

“What, are we not married or something?” She said, looking at him funny.

“It’s been so long,” He replied. “I figured we should take some time to get to know each other again.”

She lightly touched his shoulder, turning him around to face her.

“For a genius,” She said warmly, “You’re pretty stupid.” She kissed him for a few seconds, and then went back to changing.

As soon as she was done, Robert opened the door to the closet a crack and listened. He could hear loud footsteps echoing throughout the complex, and shouts from men. Probably the guards.

“We have to get out of here,” He whispered, looking around for some way they could get back to somewhere safe.

Perhaps you could ask for help. A different voice said in his mind. Your friends in high places are very willing to come to your aid, Mr. Thurman. We rather like you.

Robert spun his head around, looking for the voice. It was different from the quiet, Spanish voice of the first man. This one’s was deeper, sounded Arabic, and was much more condescending in its tone.

All right, Mr. All-Powerful, where am I supposed to go from here? Robert asked the Voice in his head.

No, no, Mr. Thurman. You mistake my identity. I am not all-powerful. I simply represent them.

Now, The Voice continued, look to your left. See the hallway?

Yes. Robert replied, feeling a little strange with the nature of the conversation.

At the end of that hallway there is a door leading to another hallway. Ambiguous as it may sound, that is where you must go. Once you arrive there, I will give you further instruction. Go.

Robert wasted no time in the execution of his task. He grabbed Elaine’s hand, pulled her out of the door and starting running quietly down the hallway.

“Honey, where are we going?” She asked, pulling a little against his grip.

“Just trust me, dear. I know where to go and what to do. It’ll be alright. He replied, constantly looking behind them to see if they were being followed.

“Is that what the Voice is telling you?” She asked quietly, making sure to keep up with him.

That wasn’t necessary, as Robert stopped in his tracks and whirled to face his wife.

“How do you know about that?’ He asked, accidentally making his tone sound harsh.

“Robert, they speak to me to. The Voices. I know that they’re there. All the time, and all kinds of them. They tell me what to do.” She said, recoiling a bit at his words.

Regardless of whether I speak to you or her, The Voice said impatiently to Robert, It does not matter. What matters is that those guards, being led by your former friends, are pursuing you. And unless you do exactly as I say, they will find you, and they will punish you. Am I clear?

Robert sighed, and turned back to the door that the Voice had specified. Yes, he said. He and Elaine resumed running again, feet pounding on the ground, and soon they had made it through the door.

They found themselves in a part of the facility that neither had ever seen before. The prison that they had seen before this had been pristine, clean, and white. This was more like the underbelly, the background where all the work was done. There were air conditioning ducts, pipes, cracks in the wall. It was much more rugged and used than the previous environment.

Shall you continue to admire the décor, the Voice said, exasperation creeping in, or will you remember the haste you shall need in your endeavor? I need not remind you of the consequences of your capture, to say nothing of the millions of lives that would be lost. I hope you will take that into account the next time you decide to view the aesthetically pleasing sections of a dreadful hallway. Now, at the end of this hallway there are several doors. Open none of them. Instead, open the air shaft on the lower left. Follow the shaft for about fifty meters, and there you shall see a drop. Go.

The pair ran down the shaft, ignoring the sirens that had begun to ring and the sound of shouts and footsteps sounding somewhere beyond the scope of their vision. Whoever was following them, they were obviously getting closer. It was no help to their paranoia and fear of being caught, and they constantly were looking over their shoulder to be absolutely sure that the men weren’t gaining on them.

Soon they saw the exact formation the Voice had described. Robert pulled his leg back and kicked open the shaft, ignoring the loud clatter it had created.

“Come on,” he said, getting down on his knees and preparing to enter it. Elaine made of a look of disgust, like she had smelled a noxious odor.

“We’re really going in there?” She asked skeptically, peering at the inviting doors next to them. Robert grabbed her hand gently, massaging it between his rugged fingers. Elaine relaxed as he spoke calmly to her.

“Trust me, my love. I know what I’m doing. And besides, we’ve been in worse, right?”

Elaine actually smiled at the comforting remark, and nodded her head. Robert, remembering the role of a gentleman, scooted back and allowed her to enter the shaft first. Crouching, he pushed himself into the air duct.

He was enveloped in darkness, barely able to see anything, and was glad that he was able to feel Elaine’s foot in front of him. He couldn’t see a single thing.

Remembering that Elaine didn’t know where they were going, he began to relay the instructions that the Voice was saying to him.

“Now, the Voice said that there would be a small drop about fifty meters in.” He said. After a minute he added, “Do you feel it?”

Elaine gasped, holding back a screech.

“Feel it?” She whispered sardonically. “ I nearly fell down into it! Are you sure the Voice said to go this way?”

Robert listened for any advice the Voice felt like giving.

Excellent. You are finally able to show signs of intelligence, instead of blindly striking off onto your own path. Marvelous. Now, go down the drop. It is not as large as your imagination would want you to think.

“The Voice says that you should drop into it, because it isn’t as big as we think it is>” Robert relayed, feeling a little silly.

He heard a little scuffle, then a muted grunt. A sliding, scratching noise sounded, then Elaine’s voice followed.

“It was right! It’s only a couple of feet. I’m into the next part of the duct, so you can follow.” She called to him. Robert nodded, more to assure him than her, and followed her instructions. He dropped a couple of feet down in the darkness, letting out a sharp grunt when he hit the bottom. He was worried by the amount he felt the floor wobble. This might not be as safe as he thought.

They crawled along, with Robert anxiously waiting for the next set of instructions from the voice. Eventually, it came.

Brace yourself.

Robert was puzzled by the remark. What did it mean, brace himself? From what? He continued to mull over it, when he heard a large creaking noise echoing through the spacious tunnel. He and Elaine stopped, listening for the next one.

Suddenly, the shaft tilted steeply, and they began to fall. Down and down they went, both somehow able to suppress their urges to scream. They soon hit the floor, a snap coming from Elaine, who wailed in agony. Robert landed strangely unharmed.

He shook off any dizziness and immediately went to his wife, alarmed at the sudden drop. They had fallen into a light hallway that looked dimly familiar, and Robert could see Elaine writhing on the floor, clutching her foot.

“I don’t think it’s broken,” She said with effort, teeth clenched to fight the pain. “It hurts too much to be that.”

“Are you able to walk?” Robert asked, worried that she wouldn’t be able to escape their captors.

She shook her head. “I’m barely able to lie like this. Walking would be almost as painful as the Eaters.” She said jokingly. Robert knew that the humor she had attempted at was a device used to distract him from her predicament, which only went to show him that the situation was indeed dire.

I apologize for that, the Voice said, and it seemed sincere. I did not mean to hurt her. I wanted her to come with you. Look around, Mr. Thurman. You know where to go from here.

Robert tore his eyes away from his wife, and he looked around. He almost jumped five feet in the air from the shock of seeing where they were. They were at the entrance to Section 0. The mouth of the tunnel wasn’t five feet away from them.

“Robert?” Elaine asked, fear creeping into her voice. “Where exactly are we, and what is that?”

Robert was about to answer, when he heard shouts coming from nearby.

You don’t have time to sit and talk, Mr. Thurman. They are almost upon you. You must go into the tunnel once more, and without any of the gear that your Warden gave you. There is a flashlight just inside the mouth of the tunnel, but other than that, you are on your own.

Robert stood where he was, mulling over the choices. After thinking about the matter for a small moment, he decided that he would indeed have to leave his wife. He walked over to her and knelt down.

“My love, I’m truly sorry. I can’t let them find me.” He said, tears springing to his eyes. A tear of her own trickled down Elaine’s cheek, and she nodded before throwing her arms around him and kissing him hard. He returned the gesture with equal force. They broke apart, and Robert turned to look at the looming tunnel. He hoped that the Voice really was helping him. This would be an effort of Herculean proportions.

Accurately put, the Voice said sarcastically. Zeus would be proud. Now GO.

Robert started walking slowly toward the mouth of the tunnel, when he heard a bang from the doorway.

“Robert! Stop right now!” He heard Julius shout, and he quickened his pace tenfold. The Voice was correct. Just inside the mouth was a new flashlight, which Robert was delighted to see. He scooped it up, flicked the switch, and set off into the dark tunnel once more.

Robert got to the lab and immediately began to work on this strange disease. He took a little sample of the water he had collected, put in on a slide, and slid it under a microscope. Peering into it, he nodded grimly. It was there all right. AD-952. Thousands of them, moving around quickly through the water. What amazed him, though, was the fact that there didn’t seem to be any impurities in the water of any kind. Not a single one. The bacteria had done its job, all right, but apparently a few bits of pollution weren’t enough to sustain the bacteria’s appetite. It needed something more, and organic material was the perfect thing for the job.

“Reports suggest that this kind of dangerous rainfall is being seen all over the world, and citizens are being urged to stay indoors and out of the deluge. Governments want as few casualties as possible.” Robert heard a newscaster say in the other room, and then the door opened. Robert’s friend Terrence stepped into the room, eyes wide in shock.

“You seeing this?” He asked, gesturing to the television. Robert held up his hand for the man to see. Terrence’s eyes went even wider, and he made a motion as if to grasp it and examine it. He held back, though, and looked at Robert with sadness in his eyes.

“What can I do to help?” He asked.

“Help me beat this thing.” He replied curtly, going back to the microscope. Terrence nodded, and went to go retrieve his tools. He then joined Robert in his work.

They worked like that day after day, week after week, never being able to understand why the bacteria hadn’t worked or how they could neutralize it. And slowly the world got worse and worse. Robert’s predictions were right. As the rainfall killed livestock and crops, the world started panicking over the availability of food. Supermarkets began to empty quickly, and shipments couldn’t come fast enough. Robert and Elaine took off one day just to fight the crowds and the nearest store, coming home with several carts full of non-perishable foods. It proved to be the smartest decision they had ever made. A week after that day, stores all around them began to shut down. The food was just all gone, taken by the greedy and the desperate. Riots began to flare up, with huge fights erupting over small amounts of goods. Robert could even recall a time when several men died over a few bags of flour. Bottled water became as valuable as gold, as only boiling rainwater would kill the bacteria, and not many people had access to gas anymore. With no one willing to work the power plants or refineries, people’s utilities were beginning to shut down as well. People began to burn anything they could get their hands on, just so they could be able to have something to drink.

And the rain kept falling, day in and day out. There would be a couple of hours of respite, but eventually it would just flare up again. Robert heard from one of the few people with a shortwave radio that there were a few scattered reports about the disease starting to eat away the ozone, allowing more heat and quicker evaporation of water to occur. That combined with the added weight of the bacteria in the atmosphere made rainfall a much more common and deadly occurrence. People began to seek shelter in such areas as Carlsbad, the caverns providing a safe place to hide from the destruction.

And what a destruction it was. Forests were leveled within days, and fields and prairies were decimated as well. People began to try and grow their gardens indoors, and if you managed to get one of those, you were one of the wealthiest people around. Food was a constant battle. Rationing was instituted throughout the country, but there were soon not enough men willing to risk their lives to make sure others ate well. Soon no one was willing to even try and govern the world, and societies disappeared.

And what rose in their place was far more horrifying.

Rumors began spreading of men that had been driven insane by the Burst and the dwindling supply of food. They had gone rabid from starvation, and began to realize there was a far more abundant food source around. Their own species, to be exact. Stories were told about the “The Hungered”, and the horrible acts that had been committed by them. Men were found horribly mangled, lying in secluded areas with limbs torn off by human jaws. They were often still alive. Those who witnessed acts such as this often allowed only one thought to break through the wall of sheer terror they had thrown up in their minds: if you can’t beat them, join them. The Hungered began to be a plague all on their own, bringing flocks of insane people crowding into their dark dwellings.

Robert paid no attention to these stories, until one day it happened in his own yard. Literally. Predicting that gas would be one of the first commodities to go,  he and his family had made a trek with their food supply to live in an abandoned store that was right next to his lab, so they wouldn’t have to waste gas on Robert’s commute to the place. As he left for the lab one day, he happened to look outside, across the street.

The sight there horrified him. A human body had been left under an awning, completely unharmed by the bacteria in the rain; however, it had been ravaged, It’s abdomen was torn open, with organs spilling out of it. The flesh of the legs had been consumed down to the bone, and the arms didn’t have much left on them. The head was completely gone.

That day, Robert went to the nearby police station and had managed to locate three guns for his family. Two rifles and a shotgun, nothing more. He wanted other people to be able to defend themselves as well.

It was a serious mistake.

Reviews

[Cielle Merbien]

"...said. I think I have..." There should be quotation marks before "I".
"...in this place He..." Missing full-stop.
"...speak to me to." Two O's, not one.
"...it is>”" Incorrect punctuation.