So here is chapter 2. Was just browsing my laptop and then realized that I have yet to publish chapter 2. Yeah. Hope its good.
The day was nearing an end. The sun sinking from view under the horizon, the day's end would soon be upon them.
May watched random men as they came to take the dead miner's body. Steven, Brendan, and Alder stood awkwardly to the side, having returned from the overseer's office. Brendan and Alder conversed politely, their eyes constantly shifting to the man. Steven had once more pulled out his pokemon game. The mine overseer himself stood beside May. A gruff expression on his face.
"Mr. Overseer?" piped up May out of nowhere. The overseer glanced at her in surprise.
"Dr. May?"
"Is the death certificate taken care of?"
The overseer took a long huff of his cigarette before answering. "The autopsy man will take care of it."
"I'm not needed anymore than am I?"
The overseer gave a quick nod in affirmation.
"I'll take my leave then. It's getting late." May looked at her watch. The overseer gave no answer, taking it as a "you can go" she walked away.
The roads were covered in soot, since the clinic was so close to the mines. Being as the mine needed a doctor nearby in case anything went awry.
She walked a few more blocks, the soot covering the area around her decreasing the further she went, before standing in front of a marketplace.
She patted her right pocket, making sure her wallet was in there, before entering the marketplace.
The marketplace was full of people, mostly miners who just got off work. People chatted and talked to shopkeepers. She pushed through the large crowd. Children ran around at her feet.
She looked around the place, inspecting the produce. The vast majority of food in the marketplace was fish and seafood, as there is a lake right by the town, and most farms were pretty far away. Fish was the stable food source for the town.
She pushed until she came across one particular stall. The stall vendor sat on the floor, there were multiple woven baskets with different fish species in it. There were different trout species, along with other fish species.
The vendor was an older man, probably in his 50s, he looked up when he saw May approach. He put on his best smile.
"Doctor, what fish are you interested in buying?" Asked the vendor.
"Give 2 pieces of this trout here," said May, pointing to one of the baskets.
"That'll be $15.98," said the vendor reaching for the fish. May blinked.
"What?"
The vendor looked at her. "It's $7.99 a piece. So, it's $16 in total."
"I bought this same fish the other week and it was $15."
The vendor shrugged. "I didn't get a good catch this week. So prices increased. Simple as that."
"The prices have been increasing steadily in the past 5 years… my father used to buy fish from you for hardly $2 a piece."
"And catch has been decreasing over the past 5 years. And so prices increased."
May looked at the vendor, then reached into her pocket. She grabbed out a small swad of cash and counted it.
She had exactly $15.
She gave the cash to the vendor and walked away. The vendor gave her a quick "have a good night" as she left.
She continued on home.
As she walked home, she passed by the lake. She noticed multiple fishermen talking and laughing by their boats. She stopped and regarded them for a moment.
She sighed and went towards them.
One of the fishermen took notice of her, and motioned to his friends about her. The rest of the men turned to look at her.
"Dr. May… what brings you here madam?" Asked one particularly buff man.
"I had just talked to a vendor that said your fish pull had been decreasing as of recently."
The men looked at each other apprehensively. Another one spoke up "Yes doctor, that's true.
Taking note of the sudden weary attitude from the men, May smiled at them. They quickly softened up.
"Sorry if I sound like I'm here to complain. That's not the case at all," she reassured.
The men smiled back, but looked confused. "Ok, but then why did you come here if you don't mind us asking?" Asked one man.
"I don't mind at all. I came here to satiate my curiosity… How long ago did the decrease in fish pull begin?"
"Around 4 years ago, doctor."
May nodded, and then looked towards the distance, where she could see exhaust from the powerplant rising into the air.
"Would you say it could be because of the power plants and mines? They were built and mining began around 5 years ago."
2 of the men frowned in confusion, but the third had a gleam in his eyes. Recognition in his face.
"Actually, I do think that is the cause behind our reduced pull," he said. His friends looked at him in confusion.
"What?" asked the man. "I had gotten concerned with our pull and so I wanted to find out what happened. I did some research and came across coal impacts."
"Oh wow. That's pretty impressive," commended one of his friends. The man grinned from the compliment. The knowledgeable man then turned back to May.
"Why are you asking all this anyway ma'am. Curiosity isn't created from nothing."
May flinched. Then she sighed as she crossed her arms. "It's only fair that you want to know. The death and injury tolls from these mines and powerplants. It's getting tiring. A man just died from rubble falling on him. Fish prices have been increasing so fast that malnutrition among the residents is growing at a concerning rate. I suppose I'm just tired of it."
The solemn face on the doctor's face was evident. The fishermen looked apologetic.
"I'm sorry you have to go through that. Thank you for dealing with death when no one else can," said one of the men. May nodded, unsure of what else to do.
"Well, what did you learn from your research?" Asked May.
"I learned it online. As I said, I got curious."
"What did you learn?" Asked May.
"So the basic explanation is that CO2 enters the water, I'm guessing which is from the coal power plant, it reacts and makes Carbonic acid. This acid then decomposes making H+ ions and Bicarbonate ions. The Bicarbonate ions then split into more H+ and Carbonate Ions. The H+ ions decrease ocean pH levels, which makes the water more acidic. When the water acidity gets lower than the zone of tolerance for species, the population decreases. This led to a decrease in our pull since all the fish are dying. The less pull leads to more expensive fish."
May and the other fishermen looked impressed.
"And that's all the correct information? It sounds correct." said the man's buddy.
"It is, I remember it very well," said the knowledgeable man, grinning in triumph.
"Well, it indeed does. I'll double check it, but thank you so much sir. Your help was very much appreciated," May said smiling. The men looked pleased with themselves.
"Thank you for all your help doc, it was the least we could do."
May said her goodbyes to the men and left. The men looked as she left, before verbally teasing the man who had given them the whole scientific explanation.
Wally looked up from his newspaper as he saw his wife walk into the house. He folded the newspaper up and pulled his leg up on the couch, he folded his leg onto his other leg, holding the foot so it doesnt fall off.
He looks at her with a smile, before frowning at the small plastic bag in her right hand.
"What's that?" He questioned, leaning forward to grab the bag from her when she got close enough.
"The fish for today's dinner, and the fish to last us the next week," she responded as she passed the fish to him.
"That's it? Why? I thought you had enough money for more fish than this?" He asked, perplexed. He shook the bag as if expecting the action to multiply the fish inside. He looked sad when he realized when it didn't work.
"The fish prices have been increasing like crazy recently, and this is the product of that price increase."
"I see, that explains it." He looked very disappointed at the lack of meat at his dinner table. May simply shook her head.
"You can survive without meat every other day. It's just fish," she lightly scolded him with a smile.
"I know, but fish and meat tastes so good."
May didn't say anything as she went to the bathroom to clean off. When she came back, she dropped herself on the couch, right beside Wally.
Wally had resumed his newspaper reading, and gave her no mind when she sat down next to him. She saw a cup of coffee on the table in front of her and picked it up and drank it. She grimaced.
"I don't understand how you can drink pure black coffee," she said as she passed on the remainder to her husband. Wally simply grinned.
"I don't understand why you don't like it," he remarked as he poured the rest of the coffee down his throat.
The two sat in silence for a while. One reading the paper, the other looking out into space. Suddenly May speaks up.
"The mine was… what's the best way to say it…?"
"Coal excavation began?" Said Wally, still reading his newspaper.
"Yes. that. Coal excavation began 5 years ago, right?" She continued.
Wally got off the couch, he went toward the sink and placed the coffee mug into it. "That is true," he said as he put the tap on. He placed his hands under the flowing water, and slowly scrubbed them.
"I've also noticed the population of this town has increased significantly over the last 5 years too. I used to know everyone in the town, but I began to notice new faces coming into my office."
"Yes, people came due to the new jobs that appeared here in this town. They needed a huge number of miners. I'd say… around 500 people moved in to work at the mines and powerplants. Some brought their families, but not all. Why are you asking all of this suddenly?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her in confusion. She frowned at him.
"I just wanted to confirm my thoughts. Disease and malnutrition has skyrocketed in the past 5 years. The main reason being coal, but the coal deposit being discovered led to many domino effects. The coal deposit brought in new people, more congestion, and less food from the river. Less food but more people. I'm a doctor, I have to know the causes behind my patients' suffering. I've known this for a while now, but I guess the connection of all the dots is hitting me only now."
May sighed as she threw her head backwards on the couch, looking up. Her arms flayed on the head of the couch.
Wally regarded her with a sad look. "Don't knock yourself out worrying about this now. Go to bed and get some sleep. Worrying won't do you any good."
"Do you think we can lobby?"
Wally looked up from the sink in surprise. "I'm sorry what?"
May sat up straight and looked at him with new resolve.
"Do you think we can lobby? Build a case against the mine corporation. Tell them to put more effort in human and environmental health. Do you think we have what it ta-"
"No."
May looked aghast.
"Why not?"
Wally groaned. "The mine is owned by a huge corporation. Do you really think some small town doctor can build a case against a group of people with access to the world's best lawyers, and who can even bribe judges for their favor? It's a waste of your time."
"Well I can try. It can't hurt." May argued back lightly.
"You can, but don't cling to false hopes. The mines are what feed many families, at the risk of losing their jobs and starving, what do you think they will choose? They will risk death, but not risk their jobs. That's the situation the majority of them are in right now. No one will help you."
May remained silent at his grisly argument. She pushed herself off the couch, unable to say anything else.
"I think I'm gonna go to bed," she said after looking at the time. Wally nodded at her apologetically. He watched his wife leave the room and disappear into the house. He went to collect the fish off the coffee table, and placed it in the fridge, before he too retired for the night.
2 years later
2 years came and went. The cases and deaths never stopped, they increased at an exponential rate. May often found herself worked to the core as she had to tend to malnourished and asthmatic patients. The bodies she had to sign off had been increasing as well. She sat in the clinic, taking a short nap on her seat when she was shaken awake.
She groggily opened her eyes to see the blurred image of her husband above her.
"What?"
"I just came to check up on you," he said, as she stretched her arms and legs. She gave a loud yawn.
"You on break?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I brought you lunch," he said. He lifted up a small plastic bag and placed it on her lap. She unwrapped the box from the plastic bag and opened it. It was fish curry and rice.
"You made this?" She asked as she took a fork from inside the bag.
"Yes, this morning. You left early in the morning so I took it upon myself to cook lunch for us both." Wally said, as he took a seat on the empty bed next to him. He placed a hand on the bed, and looked down on it.
"Where are the bedsheets?" He asked.
"In the washer. Just had a patient cough all over it before he died. I need to clean it before it can be reused. I have to put in a new bed sheet until then, but I fell asleep before I could do that," she said. "How much was the fish this time?"
Wally winced. "Increased to around $12 a piece. Inflation is getting wild. The fish keep dying and dying."
"This is why we have to start a case against them. Inflation and pollution is killing us all,"she said in between quick bites. Wally sighed and shook his head.
"Don't inhale the food like that, the food is not going anywhere," he warned her.
May stopped eating for a second, before continuing. She resumed eating, but lessened her pace at Wally's request.
The two sat in slight silence for a while. The only sounds being May's chomping.
She only looked up when she heard someone coughing. Wally had his hand to his mouth, and was coughing viciously. May assumed sooner or later that he would be able to cough hard enough to vomit his own organs out.
"Are you sure you are ok?" She asked him finally. "You're always coughing harshly, and you say you are ok. I don't believe it."
"I know my body well, I will be ok." retorted Wally as soon as his coughing episode paused. He quickly resumed coughing after he finished his sentence.
"And I am a doctor. In the years I've been practicing medicine, I have found out that people don't know their bodies as well as they think they do," she said back calmly. She placed the rice and fish in her mouth and continued eating. "I'd honestly recommend you quit. I can handle being the breadwinner for the both of us, until you find another job."
Wally placed his head in his hands, leaning forward on his lap. He ran his hands up through his hair before settling them back on his lap, clenched together.
"We have had this same conversation many times before. You… are a small town doctor of a small poor mining town. Any money your patients give you go straight to the equipment and management of your one-person run clinic. The money they give hardly pays to run this clinic. It's alright, we… I will be alright. Don't worry."
Wally got up to leave, he put a hand on his wife's shoulder before he opened the door and left. May spun a bit in her chair, hoping she couldn't have any more patients that day.
And as usual, she was wrong.
The next few days went by in a blur. Miners with failing lungs, hearts, and other deadly and injurious problems came to see her. She prescribed medicine, which they took, she described bed rest, which they declined. All before returning to the powerplant or mine jobs the very next day.
People fainted on the streets due to the malnutrition from soaring fish prices. In a town like this, the poor relied on the cheap fish catch. When it rose to such expensive prices, people were running out of cash to feed themselves.
May was in her clinic taking notes when she heard someone walk in. She looked up to see a gruff middle aged man at her door. She immediately recognized him.
It was the mine overseer. May stood up quickly, she lost her balance and had to right herself out before meeting the man by the doorway.
"Mr. Overseer. What a pleasant surprise to see you here," she stuck her hand out to greet him. The man accepted the hand shake with a firm grip. "What can I do for you?
"We were wondering if you could give some of our boys, miners and powerplant lads, check ups. The boys haven't been in that great of health, and there have been numerous complaints from families of the miners."
May raised her eyebrows. "The only reason you want me to check them over is because of the backlash you've received from the families?"
"Yes," said the Overseer gruffly.
May shook her head. "I can come over. After…" she looked down at her watch. "After 4 p.m and give a quick general check up. Am I getting paid for this? Meet me outside the mine's west entrance "
"The company will pay for the check-ups."
May nodded. "Ok, I'll see you in a few hours overseer."
The overseer nodded. He then turned around and left. May prepped her bag for the mines.