“Order the preventative practices and isolate the patients,” Ava said. She really hoped that she was being overly cautious. “When the others get here, quarantine them as well, and get blood cultures.”
Doctor Mars relayed the message to the second floor, and poor Lindsey audibly gulped.
“Were you exposed?” Ava asked Lindsey gently, low enough that Dr. Mars couldn’t hear.
Lindsey shook her head and Ava sighed in relief. Lindsey was a better technician than that; she would not expect her to make that kind of mistake, but the fear that she saw in Lindsey’s face made her worry.
“Keep looking,” Ava said to her. “Send what you have down and we will start with the antivirals.”
Lindsey nodded again and her face morphed into an expression of determination. Ava walked back to Dr. Mars, who had just slipped her phone back into her pocket.
“If this is unprecedented, we may need to involve the CDC,” Ava said quietly. She couldsee Lindsey straining to hear their conversation.
“I agree,” Doctor Mars said. “As soon as the others get here we will make a determination. We will make sure to test all of them for the virus.”
Ava nodded and they went back to the elevator. They went back to the second floor, and the air was tense. The nurses and techs were working to create the quarantine section for the patients, but there was an undercurrent of worry.
“What is going on, Doctor Mars?” Kellie came up and asked them. Of all the people in the hospital, Kellie did not care that Dr. Mars was the chief of medicine; her first and only concern was the safety of her team. Ava had to suppress a smile at her tenacity.
“We are being cautious,” Ava explained. “This is something we haven’t seen before, and I have no reason to believe that all this is completely necessary, but I would rather keep everyone safe, just in case.”
Kellie’s eyes tightened, but she nodded. “So you don’t think we’ve been exposed to something?”
“I do not,” Ava said. “But I can’t be sure, so keep your diligence, make sure you’re following all protocols and inform someone if you feel like something is wrong. We will know more once Dr. Grant arrives tonight from New York. Infectious diseases are her speciality.”
A machine started screaming across the room. Kellie turned and sprinted as Ava heard someone shouting for a crash cart. Ava’s chest tightened in concern and she turned to Dr. Mars. “You should probably call the CDC.”
Doctor Mars’ jaw was set, but she nodded curtly and went back to the elevator. Ava set off to the chaos-filled room. The floor doctor had it under control. The patient was Jesse, the one who had first mentioned feeling symptoms, and it didn’t look good. Ava stood and watched as the life fell away from the patient. She clenched her jaw; if she’d ordered the rabies treatment maybe it would have slowed down the progression. She shook her head; she couldn’t start blaming herself. This was something they’d never dealt with before, and she was doing everything the way she knew how. For all she knew, the rabies treatment wouldn’t have done anything, or even made the virus progress further. Still, she felt like she was handling this all wrong.
Jesse fought as long as she could, but after several shocks and every person fighting as hard as they could, her body couldn’t take any more. The doctor pronounced her dead, and a weight settled over everyone. Worried glances were exchanged and directed at Ava, who struggled against tears. She didn’t know this woman, but she looked young. She didn’t deserve this.
“Doctor Jackson,” Kellie’s voice was soft as it interrupted her.
Ava wiped quickly at her eyes. She shouldn’t be crying over a stranger. She looked down at Kellie and lifted her brows, afraid to speak.
“The others have arrived. They’re bringing them up now,” Kellie said gently. The lines on Kellie’s face were deeper; this situation was bothering her, too. Now that they’d lost one of the patients, it made everything so much heavier.
“Thank you,” Ava said and pulled in a deep breath. “Thank you, Kellie.”
Kellie nodded and walked off, her shoulders slightly sagged. Ava turned to the room and helped the staff as they set up quarantine rooms for the new arrivals. The nurses and aides were all wearing masks and gowns as the other three from the survival group exited the elevator, and their worry was etched on their faces. Ava did not recognize any of them, but that was not surprising as most of Sandra’s clientele travelled from all over the country to join her groups. She was certainly a well known expert in her field.
They moved them into quarantined spaces, and Ava could feel their tension rising with each question, each movement, each act of caution taken by the medical staff. Ava put on a mask before approaching the newcomers, mostly to assure the staff that they were doing the right thing, and she went in to talk to the others.
“We’ve answered all these questions a hundred times already,” one woman was almost shouting. “There weren’t any animals that could have bitten us, and if you want me to notice something unusual, you’re asking the wrong person. I’m fromDenver. That’s why we wanted to go on this stupid trip.”
“I understand, but anything you can remember will help,” Kellie assured the woman.
“I feel like we are under interrogation or something,” the woman said. “I said I feel fine!” she shouted at the tech who came in to draw blood.
“We just want to be sure,” Kellie said, her voice was tight, trying to keep her calm.
“What’s your name,” Ava said as she walked into the room.
“Heather,” the woman snapped. She was wearing leggings and a loose shirt that looked brand new, though a little dirty from this morning.
“You’re the one that called for help,” Ava said and stepped a little closer.
“Yes, I did. I had to,” Heather said. Her pale face was pinched. “Even the guide started going into spasms, I didn’t know what else to do.”
