Page 56 of A Wilderness Within

Black vomit. Terror the likes of which I have never known swept over me. I kicked the man in the stomach, and he released me. I ran from the apartment and stopped in the front yard, gasping as I dragged the mask off my face and stripped off the protective gear. I tossed the contaminated items on the ground and started weeping. Protocol didn’t matter anymore. The damage was done. He had vomited in my eyes, and I hadn’t worn any protective goggles. I knew what would happen now. I was among the dead, and my days were numbered.

Caroline stared up at the pristine interior of the CDC lobby as she and Lincoln followed Sheriff Andrews through the maze of the expensive light-gray leather chairs and the clean white tables at the café in the main waiting area. They caught an elevator up to the third floor, and Caroline couldn’t believe she was surrounded by electricity.

“They really do have power?”

The sheriff nodded. “There’s a generating station a few miles away that we’ve been able to keep running. It’s powering this area and extends for about a hundred miles. The CDC was running off gas generators until a month ago. Then Erica was able to figure out how to get the station running. We have men and women working shifts to keep things operational.”

“Do you know where the other generating stations are in the area?” Lincoln asked.

“No, but city hall would still have paper records. What are you thinking?” Andrews asked.

“Caroline thinks we need volunteers to start moving out to the areas where the stations are. We need to expand the grid. It may take a few years, but we could get the whole state back up and running with some effort and coordination,” Lincoln suggested.

Caroline’s heart swelled with pride as she watched him get involved. He’d been listening when she’d talked the other night about how she’d try to get the power back on.

“We can start talking about that tonight, especially with the people who’ve already given samples. They’re looking for something to do to help.”

The elevator opened, and they stepped into a laboratory.

“Dr. Kennedy, we’ve got visitors,” the sheriff called out.

“What?” A dark-haired, Indian woman emerged from the nearest closed door with a hazard label on it.

“Caroline Kelly and Major Lincoln Atwood are here to see you.”

“Oh my God!” Erica rushed to embrace them as though she’d known them all her life. “Sorry,” she said with a laugh, eyes bright with emotions. “I can’t believe you’re actually here.”

“It’s okay.” Caroline’s eyes stung with tears as well. “We were worried when we didn’t hear any more broadcasts from you after that first time.”

“I’m so sorry. I was listening to you every night. Then people started arriving by the hundreds, and I’m down to two lab technicians aside from me who can handle the level 4 hot zone viruses. I’m trying to train the remaining staff of eight that we still have. We’ll need all the help we can get once we have a working vaccine.”

“Level 4 what?” Caroline asked.

“Level 4 hot zone is a certain level assigned to severely dangerous viruses. Viruses like Hydra-1 are so dangerous that they require special training for those who come in contact with them, or else the technician can spread the virus by accident and cause a fresh outbreak.”

“Okay… But all the people outside are immune, right?” Caroline was worried about all the people she’d seen outside.

“As far as I can tell. Most of them explained during their blood draws how they had come into close contact with some of the infected Hydra-1 victims and they didn’t contract the disease. Like me—I had one of those early victims vomit on me. I survived, by the sheer grace of God, I’m sure.” Erica’s gaze grew distant for a moment, as though she was plagued by dark memories. She shook herself out of it. “Sorry. Why don’t you come this way, and I’ll get your blood samples and your medical histories.”

Caroline went first, sitting in the sterile plastic chair of the exam room while Erica withdrew a vial of blood.

“Now, Caroline, what was your exposure?”

“Well, I was at the O’Hare airport—”

“What?” Erica gazed at her, stunned. “You were the sole survivor who was quarantined, weren’t you? I thought you might have been a rumor. I wasn’t high up enough in the CDC at the time to be at your location when you were discovered. I heard about you in a briefing, but I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to try to find you, but the papers regarding your information were lost, and the hospital was abandoned. We all thought you were dead.”

Caroline shivered, and Lincoln wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned in, kissing her temple. “I survived the terminal and the hospital. By the time I escaped, I didn’t fully understand the chaos around me. Everyone was panicking. I returned to my apartment and hid for a week. By the time everything went quiet, I realized what that meant…” Her voice broke. She didn’t want to ever relive those days, the bodies everywhere, the danger and the fear. And that awful silence, so loud that it seemed to roar like a jet engine.

“I know.” Erica’s voice was dead and world-weary. “Everyone is gone. I lost my husband and my two children.”

“I’m sorry,” Caroline whispered.

Erica nodded and took a deep breath, focusing on her work. “You’re next, handsome.” Lincoln sat down and offered up his arm without a word.

“I’ll get this tested right away,” Erica said as she finished.

“Doctor, are we any closer to developing a vaccine?” Lincoln finally asked.

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