“It’s worth a shot,” Lindsey said. “We will have to see what it works well with. The antibodies this produces doesn’t attack the virus directly, which is why, I think, it doesn’t go dormant. Instead, they take it out during the replication process, once the cell replicates, it dies, so maybe something like Interferon?” She lifted her eyebrows at Elizabeth as though looking for approval.
Elizabeth nodded and Lindsey’s face lit up, but it was quickly subdued when the door to the lab swung open and Dr. Mars strode through, her face nothing short of furious.
“Tell me we have something,” she barked. Lindsey visibly flinched, but Elizabeth lifted her chin.
“We do,” she said.
“Then why aren’t we treating patients?” Doctor Mars asked, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“We’re getting ready to,” Elizabeth answered, “we just have to find the right combination, otherwise this will be a null treatment.”
Doctor Mars waved her hand indicating that Elizabeth needed to explain, so she did. She told her what they had learned about the new medication, and how they planned on implementing it, but just withdrawing treatment and switching drugs proved a big risk, one that Elizabeth was not willing to take with Ava’s life.
“Heather survived the code, but barely, her mother is a complete mess, and her sister has been induced into a coma. I don’t think I need to remind you of Ava’s situation. These patients are circling the drain, Doctor Grant. I don’t want to lose another one,” Doctor Mars said as Elizabeth finished her explanation.
“I’m aware,” Elizabeth practically growled. She fought against the implication that this was somehow not important to her. She was working through every possible angle. She knew that she would never be able to live with the guilt if she lost Ava because she took too long to figure out a cure. She met Dr. Mars’ stare with a cool one of her own. Elizabeth didn’t blame the woman. Everything is life or death, and that always brings out the best, and worst, of everyone involved. Elizabeth couldn’t imagine what Heather and Lacey’s mother was going through right now, but she did understand Dr. Mars’ need for urgency.
“I have it!” Lindsey shouted from behind them. Ending their staring contest. Both doctors looked over at her. “Interferon seems to work. It blocks the virus from attacking the other cells while the new drug takes out the replication, all we need is dosage.”
“Go,” Doctor Mars barked and stormed out of the room. Elizabeth prayed that it wasn’t too late. Rushing to the computer she ordered all of the patients to be removed from whatever treatment they were on and to begin Interferon, she would give the drug long enough to work through their system then begin the new drug. She had no idea how much to give to each person, so she hoped that the doctors involved in the original trial kept good notes. She ordered the maximum dosage according to their research and headed down the stairs to start administering them.
Elizabeth went from room to room, checking to make sure that the plan of action was being implemented. She soon realized that the sample she had been sent from the trial was not going to be sufficient. She had enough for each patient to have a dose, except for one. She called the trial doctors back and had some more on the way, but for now she was being forced to make a decision that she didn’t want to make. She could lighten each dose and spread them evenly among the patients, but that was risky for everyone. She needed to see which patient was the most stable and they would have to wait for a few extra hours.
She went room to room again checking vital signs, they had all been put into induced comas, the virus was beginning to get around the treatments they had been trying so far. There was one patient who was arguably more stable than the rest, but Elizabeth’s heart sank when she read the name. It was Lacey. She was only seventeen, if these few hours meant the difference between life and death… Elizabeth couldn’t even consider it. Ava would never forgive her. She wasn’t sure how she knew that, but she did. Her lungs felt as though they were collapsing. She knew what the right decision would be, or at least the one that Ava would be able to live with, but she couldn’t bring herself to make it.
Elizabeth marched down to Dr. Mars’ officewhile she waited for the Interferon to take effect.
“What is it Doctor Grant?” she snapped as she covered the receiver to the phone that was held up to her ear. Doctor Mars had never interrupted a phone call to acknowledge her before, either she was on the phone with someone who needed to know or she was just as desperate as Elizabeth.
“I only have enough of the drug to start treatment on seven of the patients,” Elizabeth said and shook her head.
“But more is on the way?” Doctor Mars asked, though she knew the answer.
“Yes,” Elizabeth nodded, her chest tightened. She was certain Dr. Mars knew where she was going with this, but she didn’t want to say it. She wanted Dr. Mars to force the decision.
“So you take the person who is the most stable off the table for now,” Doctor Mars said, her eyes narrowing. This was the most basic practice in medicine, not something she should be explaining to an accomplished doctor like Elizabeth.
“If I do that, then the person left off the list would be Lacey,” Elizabeth said, finally releasing her breath.
“Ah, I understand,” Doctor Mars said and tapped a finger to her lips. “Ava would never be able to live with that.”
“No, she wouldn’t,” Elizabeth said.
“I can’t make this decision. You have been with the patients almost from the beginning, you are more connected to each individual case,” Doctor Mars said to her, but her expression was soft, understanding. “You know what the right answer is, Doctor Grant.”
“I know,” Elizabeth said as her heart broke into a million pieces. “I know.”
Elizabeth left Dr. Mars’ office and went first to Ava’s room. She looked down at the woman lying unconscious on the bed and her chest constricted. She walked over and gripped Ava’s hand, but it was stiff and cold to the touch. Elizabeth pulled the blanket up around Ava’s shoulders and leaned over to place a soft kiss on Ava’s forehead. Ava’s brow flinched, but she didn’t move.
“Just stay with me a little while longer, Ava,” Elizabeth whispered. “Help is on the way. I just need you to fight a little longer.” Elizabeth’s voice caught in her throat. “Please.”
A strange sensation overwhelmed Elizabeth, she couldn’t explain it, but suddenly saving these patients was all that mattered. She couldn’t stand here and worry over Ava, she had to get the others treated and back to their lives. This horrid virus had already taken so much from Phoenix Ridge and Elizabeth couldn’t allow it to do any more damage. She didn’t have the same attachment to the town as Ava, but it was important. Especially if Ava was going to risk her life to help the others.
Elizabeth leaned down and kissed Ava’s forehead once more before releasing her hand. She squared her shoulders and walked out of the room. She stopped in each patient’s room individually, assessing where they were in their treatment and administering the trial medication. She had worried that Heather and Lacey’s parents would be more difficult to convince to allow their daughters to be given a brand-new drug like this one, but they were ready to try anything.
She injected Heather first and then Lacey. Their parents looked at her with dim hope in their eyes while she assured them that this would work. She only wished that she was as confident as she sounded. Her next visit was Elsie, the last of the survival group. She’d been in and out of a coma almost since she arrived at the hospital. Then she went to Yasmine and the two other paramedics who had been on the team that rescued the survival group from the mountains. Finally, she stopped in with Maria, the CDC technician. None of them had been awake, but all their family members had been more than willing to try something new, anything.
Once the drug was administered, there was nothing left to do but wait and see if it would work. Elizabeth went back to the lab to wait for the hourly samples from each patient. She checked her phone for the status of the next shipment, but the courier was still several hours out. Hopefully, she would at least know how well the medicine would work, though it was terrifying that it would be so much longer before she could even begin to give the medicine to Ava.
