Chapter 5: Does Abby hold the key?
Luka bit his lip, afraid to say anything. But suddenly, there was the welcoming beep, beep, beep, of the ECG.
"What the..." Elizabeth started and dismissed it, a look of pure joy came on her face, "He's alive! Carter's alive!" he was alive, but far from well. He began to convulse with violent seizures. As Elizabeth worked on him, Luka motioned to Peter.
"Dr. Benton!" he called.
"In a minute, Dr. Kovac!" Peter said, calmly, still working on Carter. His seizure died down and soon, he was stabilized, but still unconscious. Peter gave Elizabeth a look, using his eyes to ask her if it would be all right to speak to Luka. Elizabeth nodded and Peter turned his back to Carter and faced Luka, glancing sadly once over his shoulder at Carter, drenched in perspiration.
"Yes, Dr. Kovac?" he asked.
"Dr. Benton, I know the cause of this disease! Kayla, Kayla is the key! She contracted the Smallpox virus in Washington DC while staying with her father- please, how is unimportant right now. The virus was created in a lab, and thus, it is artificial. But when it is combined with some simple virus, such as the Flue, it can be very, very... bad," bad. For lack of a better word, Luka used 'bad.'
"And the Hantavirus?" Peter asked.
"That was contracted when she was hiking in the woods with her uncle, after the Smallpox virus, I believe. And since the Smallpox virus mixed with the Flue is bad, the virus mixed with a hemorrhagic fever such as Sin Nombre, the Hantavirus in question, must be very, very, *very* bad!" Luka said. Peter's eyes widened and he looked back at Carter.
"Abby said Carter got the disease by accidentally mixing his own blood with hers, but how did Dave get it?" Peter asked. Luka shrugged, "Go see Dr. Chen and Dr. Weaver," Peter ordered. Luka nearly saluted him because the way Peter said the command was as if he were a colonel giving orders to a troop. Luka sprinted down the hall to Dave's room and noticed Dave's pale complexion and damp sheets, but shivering and struggling to breath. Jing-Mei was about to inject Ribavirin, and antiviral drug used for hemorrhagic fevers into Dave's system, when Luka stopped her.
"Dr. Chen, wait!" he cried. Kerry and Jing-Mei both looked up at Luka.
"Why?" they both asked. Luka repeated what he told Peter to the two women.
"What?" they said, simultaneously again.
"Where did you hear this?" Kerry asked. Luka was surprised by the question.
"Uh... Paula. Why?"
"Paula? Paula who?" Jing-Mei asked.
"Paula Jameson. Kayla's mother."
"How does she know this?" Kerry persisted.
"Please, Kerry, I can't say! I am not allowed!"
"Damn it, Luka, it's important I know what is going on!"
"But I promised Paula!" Luka told her, "Please!" Kerry was about to object when Dave suddenly interrupted them, falling into a seizure. Luka made his exit, wordlessly, and went down the hall. As he was on his way to see Kayla, he ran into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Luka said, helping the man pick up his papers.
"Have you seen Dr. Weaver?" the man asked.
"Uh, yes but I don't think you would want to talk to her right now..."
"Maybe I can tell you. Do you know a girl named Abby Lockhart?" the man asked.
"Yes. Oh God, is she infected?" Luka asked, knowing full well that that was the reason Abby was in quarantine. The man ignored his question.
"We have her test results..."
"Is she infected?" Luka repeated.
"Oh no, quite the contrary!" the man said, "She, Doctor, is the cure!"
"What?" Luka asked, thinking he heard incorrectly.
"I said, Doctor, that she is the cure! You were correct in saying that the disease is in her blood. However, they are not duplicating half as fast as they are in another patient's, say Dr. Malucci's. Her cells have found away to suffocate the disease sufficiently so that the cells slowly decrease in number," The man was smiling.
"How is this possible in her blood and not in Dr. Malucci's?" Luka asked.
"Have you seen Abby take in more of a substance lately, any substance. Particularly that with sugar?" caffeine?" Luka thought for a moment and remembered taking Abby out to lunch the other day. He fell into a flashback.
"Abby, do you need all that sugar?" Luka asked, laughing slightly as Abby poured the sweet powder into her coffee.
"Sure!" Abby said.
"But, you don't normally eat that much sugar. Are you sure it's healthy?"
"Trust me, after a month at my cousins, where all you eat is milk and lima beans, you need sugar!" Abby answered, "It's healthy enough!"
"Yes..."
"Her blood sugar is high, but amazingly, that's what saved her! It's suffocating the virus out of her system!"
"And..."
"Well, this means that, once I study Abby's blood more clearly, I can find a cure!"
"What about Mrs. Jameson?" Luka asked.
"She hasn't seemed to contracted the disease at all," said the man. *So Kayla's not the key, Abby is,* Luka thought.
Luka bit his lip, afraid to say anything. But suddenly, there was the welcoming beep, beep, beep, of the ECG.
"What the..." Elizabeth started and dismissed it, a look of pure joy came on her face, "He's alive! Carter's alive!" he was alive, but far from well. He began to convulse with violent seizures. As Elizabeth worked on him, Luka motioned to Peter.
"Dr. Benton!" he called.
"In a minute, Dr. Kovac!" Peter said, calmly, still working on Carter. His seizure died down and soon, he was stabilized, but still unconscious. Peter gave Elizabeth a look, using his eyes to ask her if it would be all right to speak to Luka. Elizabeth nodded and Peter turned his back to Carter and faced Luka, glancing sadly once over his shoulder at Carter, drenched in perspiration.
"Yes, Dr. Kovac?" he asked.
"Dr. Benton, I know the cause of this disease! Kayla, Kayla is the key! She contracted the Smallpox virus in Washington DC while staying with her father- please, how is unimportant right now. The virus was created in a lab, and thus, it is artificial. But when it is combined with some simple virus, such as the Flue, it can be very, very... bad," bad. For lack of a better word, Luka used 'bad.'
"And the Hantavirus?" Peter asked.
"That was contracted when she was hiking in the woods with her uncle, after the Smallpox virus, I believe. And since the Smallpox virus mixed with the Flue is bad, the virus mixed with a hemorrhagic fever such as Sin Nombre, the Hantavirus in question, must be very, very, *very* bad!" Luka said. Peter's eyes widened and he looked back at Carter.
"Abby said Carter got the disease by accidentally mixing his own blood with hers, but how did Dave get it?" Peter asked. Luka shrugged, "Go see Dr. Chen and Dr. Weaver," Peter ordered. Luka nearly saluted him because the way Peter said the command was as if he were a colonel giving orders to a troop. Luka sprinted down the hall to Dave's room and noticed Dave's pale complexion and damp sheets, but shivering and struggling to breath. Jing-Mei was about to inject Ribavirin, and antiviral drug used for hemorrhagic fevers into Dave's system, when Luka stopped her.
"Dr. Chen, wait!" he cried. Kerry and Jing-Mei both looked up at Luka.
"Why?" they both asked. Luka repeated what he told Peter to the two women.
"What?" they said, simultaneously again.
"Where did you hear this?" Kerry asked. Luka was surprised by the question.
"Uh... Paula. Why?"
"Paula? Paula who?" Jing-Mei asked.
"Paula Jameson. Kayla's mother."
"How does she know this?" Kerry persisted.
"Please, Kerry, I can't say! I am not allowed!"
"Damn it, Luka, it's important I know what is going on!"
"But I promised Paula!" Luka told her, "Please!" Kerry was about to object when Dave suddenly interrupted them, falling into a seizure. Luka made his exit, wordlessly, and went down the hall. As he was on his way to see Kayla, he ran into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Luka said, helping the man pick up his papers.
"Have you seen Dr. Weaver?" the man asked.
"Uh, yes but I don't think you would want to talk to her right now..."
"Maybe I can tell you. Do you know a girl named Abby Lockhart?" the man asked.
"Yes. Oh God, is she infected?" Luka asked, knowing full well that that was the reason Abby was in quarantine. The man ignored his question.
"We have her test results..."
"Is she infected?" Luka repeated.
"Oh no, quite the contrary!" the man said, "She, Doctor, is the cure!"
"What?" Luka asked, thinking he heard incorrectly.
"I said, Doctor, that she is the cure! You were correct in saying that the disease is in her blood. However, they are not duplicating half as fast as they are in another patient's, say Dr. Malucci's. Her cells have found away to suffocate the disease sufficiently so that the cells slowly decrease in number," The man was smiling.
"How is this possible in her blood and not in Dr. Malucci's?" Luka asked.
"Have you seen Abby take in more of a substance lately, any substance. Particularly that with sugar?" caffeine?" Luka thought for a moment and remembered taking Abby out to lunch the other day. He fell into a flashback.
"Abby, do you need all that sugar?" Luka asked, laughing slightly as Abby poured the sweet powder into her coffee.
"Sure!" Abby said.
"But, you don't normally eat that much sugar. Are you sure it's healthy?"
"Trust me, after a month at my cousins, where all you eat is milk and lima beans, you need sugar!" Abby answered, "It's healthy enough!"
"Yes..."
"Her blood sugar is high, but amazingly, that's what saved her! It's suffocating the virus out of her system!"
"And..."
"Well, this means that, once I study Abby's blood more clearly, I can find a cure!"
"What about Mrs. Jameson?" Luka asked.
"She hasn't seemed to contracted the disease at all," said the man. *So Kayla's not the key, Abby is,* Luka thought.