Chapter 2: Conspiracy Theory
"Carter, what are you saying exactly?" Abby asked, carefully.
"I'm saying I may be infected with this thing!" Carter shouted.
"Sh! Carter, not so loud!" Abby said, trying to calm him down.
"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry..."
"How do you think you became infected?"
"When we were taking her blood?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Abby asked.
"Well, she lashed out in delirium."
"She was delirious?"
"Abby, she has a fever of 103, you would be too!"
"Yeah, yeah, go on, what happened?"
"Well, her mother staggered backwards and knocked over some glass containers and I dropped the needle…" Carter trailed off.
"So?"
"Well, I punctured the vein and it began to bleed freely for some reason. I cleaned the wound and got some of her blood on my hands…"
"And..." Abby asked, waiting for Carter to answer. When he didn't she said, "What did you do, Carter?"
"Well..."
"What did you do!?"
"I then bent to clean up the mess of glass, lids and plastic containers..."
"With gloves?" Abby asked, knowing the answer.
"Well, I had just taken them off before the injection. When I bent to clean it, I cut my finger on the glass… I think my blood may have mixed with hers…"
"WHAT?!" Abby screamed, "You're joking!"
"I'm not!" Carter said. Abby nodded, realizing how serious this situation was.
"All right. I need to take some blood. I'll be right back," she said. As she turned, Carter coughed. She spun back around immediately.
"What was that?" she demanded.
"Just a cough!" Carter protested, but then coughed again, this time more fiercely. He led on to the wall to stay up. Abby helped him to. He held his hand to his mouth as he coughed. When he took it away, there was blood on his hands. Not a patient's blood, not Kayla's blood, but his own. At the sight of this, his eyes widened, as did Abby's.
"Screw the tests!" she said. She swung Carter's arm around her shoulder and led him into an exam room. She sat him down on the bed.
"Stay here!" she said. She poked her head out the door and saw Luka on his way down the hall.
"Hey Abby!" he said, "My shift ends soon, how about"
"Oh, sorry, Luka, for doing this to you right before your shift ends, but could you come her for a minute?" Abby said, feeling bad. Luka sighed and came over.
"Yes?" he asked, sounding reluctant.
"There's a young female, around eleven years old, and she's very sick..."
"Why can't you take her?"
"Luka, I'm *very* busy with something else right now!" she said, her tone almost pleading him not to ask anything more.
"OK. What's wrong?"
"Well, I have no idea, Carter's not feeling well, so-"
"No, I mean, what's wrong with the girl?"
"Oh, that!" Abby said, relieved, "Well, her blood shows she's carrying cells very similar to Hantavirus and with the symptoms, but-"
"Then it's Hantavirus. All right, I will ask them the routine questions, but then-"
"There's more," Abby smiled, despite herself. She knew Luka had interrupted her hoping to leave and just do the routine questions and leave, but that wouldn't happen. Luka sighed.
"What?" he asked.
"Well, there are also things in her blood that's kind of new to me... But I know what it is."
"What is it?" Luka asked impatiently.
"The Smallpox virus," Luka stared at her, surprised, "This combination makes the symptoms appear twice as fast as they normally would. Do you think you can handle this?"
"I guess..."
"Great! She's just across the hall!" Abby said and disappeared behind the door. Luka looked at the ceiling.
"After all I've done, this is what you do!" he said to it and entered the room across the hall.
"Who are you?" asked a red-haired woman.
"My name is Dr. Kovac. Abby is busy right now and I am filling in for her. I'm sorry, she was so wrapped up she forgot to tell me your name!"
"I'm Paula Jameson. This is my daughter Kayla," she said, gesturing to a girl with strawberry-blond hair on the bed. She smiled weakly. She looked so pail and fragile that Luka couldn't leave them like this.
"But what happened to Dr. Carter?" Mrs. Jameson asked.
"Carter?"
"Yes."
"Abby said he was feeling a little sick."
"Oh, all right. How's Kayla?"
"Mrs. Jameson, your daughter..."
"Is it the flue?" Kayla asked, hopefully, "Because that's what I told my mom it was but she didn't believe me."
"Uh... It's not the flue," Luka said. Mrs. Jameson looked concerned.
"What?" she asked, "Then what is it?"
"Mrs. Jameson, does your daughter have some sort of job, or a relative who owns a farm?"
"No."
"Has she been out lately in any forests like when she was camping or hiking?"
"Uh... Yes! Yes she has! She went hiking with her uncle two weeks ago!"
"Really?" Luka asked, "Mrs. Jameson, your daughter has a very rare combination of two types of diseases. In fact I've never even seen it before! No, I never even knew it existed."
"Two diseases?" Mrs. Jameson asked, "How is that possible? What are they?"
"Well, one is Hantavirus..."
"Hantavirus? What's that?" Kayla asked.
"It's a respiratory illness," Luka replied.
"And the other?"
"I have no idea how she could have contracted the other. A case hasn't been seen in at least one hundred years... Supposedly it was erased."
"What is it?" Mrs. Jameson asked.
"It's Smallpox," Luka replied, "And it can be contagious."
"Smallpox?!" Mrs. Jameson shook her head. She could not believe what she was hearing, "No, you have it wrong!"
"Mrs. Jameson, if I could just speak to the father-"
"He's out of town!" she said, interrupting him.
"Where?" Luka asked, calmly.
"Washington DC. Some government project..."
"Government project?" this got Luka's interest, "Has Kayla gone to visit her father?" Mrs. Jameson shook her head, a tear in her eye.
"No," she answered, "No, she has not. And even if she did what would it matter? He's a military man! He can't watch a young girl when in the middle of something important!"
"You're husband's with the military?" Luka was becoming more and more interested in this case. He felt as if he was stepping into a government conspiracy, which, he reminded himself, I very well might be.
"Yes! Why is it important?"
"It is important because if Kayla visited her father in Washington, perhaps she could have contracted the virus over there!" What he wanted to say was that maybe the government had the Smallpox virus contained and they were using relatives of military men as test subjects but he knew, even in his head, it sounded like the plot for some bad movie.
"No," Mrs. Jameson shook her head firmly, "No she has not seen her father for a month!"
"Very well, thank you for your cooperation," Luka gave them a smile and informed them Abby would be in shortly. He walked across the hall to the room he had seen Abby in. He was about to open it when it opened from the inside and Abby appeared.
"Luka!" she said, shocked, "You scared me!"
"Sorry," Luka apologized, "The girl went hiking with her uncle two weeks ago and her father is with the military but according to the mother, she hasn't seen him for a month."
"Thank you, Luka," Abby said and kissed him.
"Well you're welcome!" he smiled.
"You can leave if you want now."
"How's Carter?" Luka tried to look over Abby into the room but Abby made sure he didn't see. Abby glanced behind her.
"Um... I'm not sure..."
"Tell him I hope he's OK!"
"Sure thing!" Abby said and watched him leave. She turned back to Carter who was shaking violently on the bed. She walked over to him. He curled himself into a ball like a small child. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to stop.
"My back hurts," he muttered.
"Hantavirus," Abby told him. Suddenly, the door burst open.
"Abby? It's Dave," said Peter.
"What about him?"
"This is no flue..."
"Carter, what are you saying exactly?" Abby asked, carefully.
"I'm saying I may be infected with this thing!" Carter shouted.
"Sh! Carter, not so loud!" Abby said, trying to calm him down.
"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry..."
"How do you think you became infected?"
"When we were taking her blood?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Abby asked.
"Well, she lashed out in delirium."
"She was delirious?"
"Abby, she has a fever of 103, you would be too!"
"Yeah, yeah, go on, what happened?"
"Well, her mother staggered backwards and knocked over some glass containers and I dropped the needle…" Carter trailed off.
"So?"
"Well, I punctured the vein and it began to bleed freely for some reason. I cleaned the wound and got some of her blood on my hands…"
"And..." Abby asked, waiting for Carter to answer. When he didn't she said, "What did you do, Carter?"
"Well..."
"What did you do!?"
"I then bent to clean up the mess of glass, lids and plastic containers..."
"With gloves?" Abby asked, knowing the answer.
"Well, I had just taken them off before the injection. When I bent to clean it, I cut my finger on the glass… I think my blood may have mixed with hers…"
"WHAT?!" Abby screamed, "You're joking!"
"I'm not!" Carter said. Abby nodded, realizing how serious this situation was.
"All right. I need to take some blood. I'll be right back," she said. As she turned, Carter coughed. She spun back around immediately.
"What was that?" she demanded.
"Just a cough!" Carter protested, but then coughed again, this time more fiercely. He led on to the wall to stay up. Abby helped him to. He held his hand to his mouth as he coughed. When he took it away, there was blood on his hands. Not a patient's blood, not Kayla's blood, but his own. At the sight of this, his eyes widened, as did Abby's.
"Screw the tests!" she said. She swung Carter's arm around her shoulder and led him into an exam room. She sat him down on the bed.
"Stay here!" she said. She poked her head out the door and saw Luka on his way down the hall.
"Hey Abby!" he said, "My shift ends soon, how about"
"Oh, sorry, Luka, for doing this to you right before your shift ends, but could you come her for a minute?" Abby said, feeling bad. Luka sighed and came over.
"Yes?" he asked, sounding reluctant.
"There's a young female, around eleven years old, and she's very sick..."
"Why can't you take her?"
"Luka, I'm *very* busy with something else right now!" she said, her tone almost pleading him not to ask anything more.
"OK. What's wrong?"
"Well, I have no idea, Carter's not feeling well, so-"
"No, I mean, what's wrong with the girl?"
"Oh, that!" Abby said, relieved, "Well, her blood shows she's carrying cells very similar to Hantavirus and with the symptoms, but-"
"Then it's Hantavirus. All right, I will ask them the routine questions, but then-"
"There's more," Abby smiled, despite herself. She knew Luka had interrupted her hoping to leave and just do the routine questions and leave, but that wouldn't happen. Luka sighed.
"What?" he asked.
"Well, there are also things in her blood that's kind of new to me... But I know what it is."
"What is it?" Luka asked impatiently.
"The Smallpox virus," Luka stared at her, surprised, "This combination makes the symptoms appear twice as fast as they normally would. Do you think you can handle this?"
"I guess..."
"Great! She's just across the hall!" Abby said and disappeared behind the door. Luka looked at the ceiling.
"After all I've done, this is what you do!" he said to it and entered the room across the hall.
"Who are you?" asked a red-haired woman.
"My name is Dr. Kovac. Abby is busy right now and I am filling in for her. I'm sorry, she was so wrapped up she forgot to tell me your name!"
"I'm Paula Jameson. This is my daughter Kayla," she said, gesturing to a girl with strawberry-blond hair on the bed. She smiled weakly. She looked so pail and fragile that Luka couldn't leave them like this.
"But what happened to Dr. Carter?" Mrs. Jameson asked.
"Carter?"
"Yes."
"Abby said he was feeling a little sick."
"Oh, all right. How's Kayla?"
"Mrs. Jameson, your daughter..."
"Is it the flue?" Kayla asked, hopefully, "Because that's what I told my mom it was but she didn't believe me."
"Uh... It's not the flue," Luka said. Mrs. Jameson looked concerned.
"What?" she asked, "Then what is it?"
"Mrs. Jameson, does your daughter have some sort of job, or a relative who owns a farm?"
"No."
"Has she been out lately in any forests like when she was camping or hiking?"
"Uh... Yes! Yes she has! She went hiking with her uncle two weeks ago!"
"Really?" Luka asked, "Mrs. Jameson, your daughter has a very rare combination of two types of diseases. In fact I've never even seen it before! No, I never even knew it existed."
"Two diseases?" Mrs. Jameson asked, "How is that possible? What are they?"
"Well, one is Hantavirus..."
"Hantavirus? What's that?" Kayla asked.
"It's a respiratory illness," Luka replied.
"And the other?"
"I have no idea how she could have contracted the other. A case hasn't been seen in at least one hundred years... Supposedly it was erased."
"What is it?" Mrs. Jameson asked.
"It's Smallpox," Luka replied, "And it can be contagious."
"Smallpox?!" Mrs. Jameson shook her head. She could not believe what she was hearing, "No, you have it wrong!"
"Mrs. Jameson, if I could just speak to the father-"
"He's out of town!" she said, interrupting him.
"Where?" Luka asked, calmly.
"Washington DC. Some government project..."
"Government project?" this got Luka's interest, "Has Kayla gone to visit her father?" Mrs. Jameson shook her head, a tear in her eye.
"No," she answered, "No, she has not. And even if she did what would it matter? He's a military man! He can't watch a young girl when in the middle of something important!"
"You're husband's with the military?" Luka was becoming more and more interested in this case. He felt as if he was stepping into a government conspiracy, which, he reminded himself, I very well might be.
"Yes! Why is it important?"
"It is important because if Kayla visited her father in Washington, perhaps she could have contracted the virus over there!" What he wanted to say was that maybe the government had the Smallpox virus contained and they were using relatives of military men as test subjects but he knew, even in his head, it sounded like the plot for some bad movie.
"No," Mrs. Jameson shook her head firmly, "No she has not seen her father for a month!"
"Very well, thank you for your cooperation," Luka gave them a smile and informed them Abby would be in shortly. He walked across the hall to the room he had seen Abby in. He was about to open it when it opened from the inside and Abby appeared.
"Luka!" she said, shocked, "You scared me!"
"Sorry," Luka apologized, "The girl went hiking with her uncle two weeks ago and her father is with the military but according to the mother, she hasn't seen him for a month."
"Thank you, Luka," Abby said and kissed him.
"Well you're welcome!" he smiled.
"You can leave if you want now."
"How's Carter?" Luka tried to look over Abby into the room but Abby made sure he didn't see. Abby glanced behind her.
"Um... I'm not sure..."
"Tell him I hope he's OK!"
"Sure thing!" Abby said and watched him leave. She turned back to Carter who was shaking violently on the bed. She walked over to him. He curled himself into a ball like a small child. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to stop.
"My back hurts," he muttered.
"Hantavirus," Abby told him. Suddenly, the door burst open.
"Abby? It's Dave," said Peter.
"What about him?"
"This is no flue..."