“I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that she’s not feeling well and that she’s staying overnight for observation. As you’ve no doubt failed to notice, she and the whole exploration team have been working day and night to work utter miracles so the rest of us can live a full life out on the surface. The woman deserves a break, I’m only sorry that it was illness that forced her to take one.”
George stared at me for a full minute, his jaw working as he tried to conjure some kind of insult.
“If you’ll please excuse me, I haven’t eaten in close to eight hours and I must get to the mess before the evening meal has ended.”
“Yes,” he growled. “No doubt your precious family is wondering where you’ve disappeared to.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I turned and glared at him.
“Nothing, nothing.” He rolled his eyes and held out his hands to ward me off. “Only that some of us weren’t so lucky to meet the beautiful wife and have a lovely child. You’re lucky, Jacob, never forget it.”
That was enough. I grit my teeth and stalked to the mess. No matter how much he needled me, letting him have the satisfaction wasn’t worth it. I arrived to find a room thrumming with tension. Word of Allison’s illness had gotten loose, as had the news that Sophia’s daughter had spiked a fever. The appearance of disease had ratcheted up the stress in a group of already strained people. The urge to get up and make some kind of proclamation was tempting, but I thought better of it. Opening my mouth before I had any definitive details would only bring trouble. I comforted myself with the certainty that this was all the result of an unprecedented situation. No human had ever faced the task we had ahead. It was only natural that people’s immune systems were getting run down.
Turns out that I didn’t have to say anything. I had just finished sitting down with my tray when a group of people approached me. I sighed and tried to arrange my face into as helpful an expression as possible. A sudden and very loud growl from my stomach destroyed the charade, but I didn’t pick up my fork. Delaying the inevitable would only guarantee that my food would be cold.
“Can I help you folks?” The smell of egg, onion, and bacon wafted up to my nostrils and my sentence was punctuated by another demand from my digestive tract.
“Please pardon the intrusion, Mr. Alvaro.” A young man of about twenty-five sat across from me. His companions joined him. So much for personal space. “If you don’t mind, we just wanted to ask you a couple of questions. We’ve been hearing some strange rumors…”
I forced a smile. “Not at all. Is it okay with you if I eat while we speak? I hate to be rude, but it’s been more than a couple of hours since my last meal and I would really hate to pass out on you mid-discussion.”
“Absolutely. Again, we’re sorry to interrupt your meal.”
The first bite of dinner barely made it into my mouth before one of my new table mates blurted out what was really on her mind.
“Is Allison Garvey sick?”
I took my time chewing and swallowing before fixing the woman with a look that made her flinch. “Now, miss.” I took a long drink from my cup. “I’m sure you understand perfectly well that I can not comment on anyone’s health other than my own.”
“Sophia Caruso’s daughter said that she saw Allison in the infirmary a little while ago. She said that she was having trouble breathing.” The woman continued as if I hadn’t spoken. Her voice quavered with a hint of fear. I made a mental note to speak to Sophia about discretion. The absolute last thing I needed was a panic.
“Once again, I can’t comment on that, especially as I am not a physician. Plus, I’d think you might want to take the statements of a four-year-old girl a little less seriously. I’m sure she means well, but Daisy probably doesn’t understand what she saw.” It occurred to me that I had just admitted that Allison was in the infirmary, but clearly that bit of information had already been confirmed. “Allison is fine. She’s been under a lot of stress lately, as have we all. I’m certain that Dr. Rickman and Ms. McNair are keeping a careful eye on her.”
“Are people getting sick, sir?” The third person who had joined us spoke up. “Should we be worried about this?”
“No.” My answer came out a little too forcefully, and I cringed. “Everything is fine. I am being apprised of Ms. Garvey’s situation, and if there was anything to know, I would have known about it already. Now I do apologize, but I must ask you to give me some space. I desperately need to eat.” The three seemed nonplussed but did as I asked, mumbling to themselves as they left the table.
I hadn’t realized just how urgently I needed to fill my stomach. I wolfed down the meal in front of me so quickly I barely registered what the food tasted like. The echoes of my own advice floated in my ears. I would have to look after my health more carefully or risk falling prey to whatever was attacking Allison’s immune system. Daisy’s fever was also on my mind. I would bet money it was just that she was a tired kid, but I would follow up with the doctor.
I bussed my tray and was fixing to visit the restroom for a post dinner meditation when I heard someone sprinting down the hallway outside. The room turned to see Shannon McNair skid into the doorway, barely catching herself on the frame of the opened doors. Her eyes were wide, face mask hanging from one ear. A rush of cold ran through me as I spotted a spray of blood across her scrubs.
“Jacob,” she breathed. Something was wrong. I didn’t hesitate and sprinted after her. We were heading back to the infirmary. When we got within hearing distance of the door, a cacophony of sound met my ears. The racket of blaring alarms mixed with Dr. Rickman’s shouted orders to Shannon. Over all of it, I heard Allison. She was coughing so hard that her thin body curled in on itself with every spasm. The tendons in her neck stood out so far that she looked like she was going through a transformation into some monster fit for a horror story.
“Stay back! Keep them out!” Phoebe shouted at me. “Shannon, get me a crash cart!” I had to wonder how she even knew who ‘they’ were, but it wasn’t the time.
Allison’s wracking coughs sounded like death itself, the crackling of her lungs audible with every breath. I was already pressed against the far wall of the infirmary but jumped back as red spittle flew from her lips, the blood spraying a macabre slash mark in the sheets of her bed. I knew then what my duty was. With a quick nod to Shannon, I left the infirmary and bolted the doors with a fire axe I found outside. Sure enough, the crowd from the dining hall had followed me and were milling about in the corridor.
“Go back to your quarters!” My voice boomed over the din. “Get back! Now!”
The crowd that had been simply curious moments earlier heard the tone of my voice and indeed turned to leave. I kept one ear towards the infirmary where I could hear shouting and coughing still and put both hands on the fire axe, determined to keep any stragglers from trying to get into the room. It seemed like the entire group had finally left when I heard more shouting, this time from the corridor.
“Let me through! Let me through! I need to see my wife!” Frank was shoving his way through the group of bystanders as quickly as he could. When he broke free of them he ran to the infirmary doors and saw the exact sight I hadn’t want him to see. He issued a strangled cry as he saw his wife heaving and gasping for each breath. I dropped the fire axe and wrapped my arms around him in a bear hug.
“Fuck you! Fuck you, Jacob! Let me in, goddamnit! That’s my wife! Let me go!” He swung his head back, and it connected with my nose. I felt the bone crack and hot blood ran toward my chin.
“I can’t let you go in there, Frank!” I spat, the blood from my nose coating the back of his head. He didn’t seem to notice.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” he roared, reaching for the fire axe.
“Frank, I’m not letting you in, I’m sorry!” I slid one of my arms from his waist to his throat and pulled my forearm against his windpipe. It wasn’t hard enough to compress his airway, but he stopped thrashing. “You can’t go in, Frank.
”
“Fuck! Jacob! Please!” The yelling had turned to sobs now. “Please let me in!” It broke my heart to hold him like that. I pulled the fire axe from the door and kept my hold on him.
“Allison!” he shouted through the plexiglass windows. “Allison, I’m here! I’m here, sweetheart.” Dimly from the other side of the room I saw her look up and say something.
“Trust me, Frank,” I said into his ear. “They’re doing everything they can. She’s going to be just fine, but you have to stay back.” The blood from my nose had congealed now, huge gobs of it clinging to my lips. I worked up a gob of saliva and spat red on the floor. I watched over his shoulder as Phoebe and Shannon worked over Allison. They lay her back and injected her with some kind of clear liquid. Allison’s eyes fluttered, and the medic eased her back onto the gurney. Dr. Rickman tilted Allison’s head back as Shannon shoved a pillow under her neck and opened her mouth.
Even without medical training, I knew what came next. “Look away, Frank.” I pulled his chin aside and held it there as Dr. Rickman and Shannon gently inserted a metal instrument into Allison’s throat. A plastic tube followed it and they hooked it up to a strange looking machine. A hiss was audible even through the doors as the machine started up. Dr. Rickman attached an IV to Allison’s arm and hung a bag of liquid on a long pole next to the machine. At the sight of his wife being hooked up to the machine, Frank started struggling again. This time I didn’t hold him back. He burst through the doors and rushed toward Allison.
Shannon turned and for the first time since the whole incident began, I got a full view of her. Both she and Dr. Rickman were covered in spittle, mucus, and blood. Her hair was askew and her skin soaked in sweat. She held up her hands and both Frank and I stopped in our tracks.
“You need to stay back. In fact, you need to be outside.” Shannon held out her arms to shepherd us back to the doors and pushed us outside. Frank and I looked at each other and waited. Shannon and Dr. Rickman removed their PPE and placed it in a sealed bag in the corner of the room. I could see Shannon’s hands shaking from where I stood. Dr. Rickman said something to her, and she disappeared from our view. Dr. Rickman spent a few more minutes looking over the machines that now did the breathing for Allison and came to the door.
“Mr. Garvey, you can come in.” She handed the distraught man a mask and turned to me. “Jacob, I need you to get me Sophia Caruso and her daughter Daisy. You will say nothing to anyone else. If they ask, Allison is fine and just had a problem breathing.”
I nodded and took off for Sophia’s quarters. As I jogged, I heard the first few words of explanation from her. Something about how Allison had gone into respiratory arrest. I knocked on Sophia’s door and she answered, stepping into the hallway.
“Hey Jacob. Holy shit!” She jumped at the sight of my blood-soaked face. I waved her concern away. “What happened to your face? I was just getting the girls into bed. What’s going on? I heard about Allison’s episode.”
“I’m afraid not. Allison’s alive, for now, but Dr. Rickman sent me for you. My face is fine.”
“Of course, of course. Just let me get dressed and I’ll come with you.” She turned to go back inside her quarters.
“I need you and Daisy,” I blurted.
“Why Daisy?”
I sighed. “I don’t know, Sophia, I’m just following orders. Please. It’s been a very, very long day.”
“I’ll wake her up.”
“Before you do, they put Allison on some kind of breathing machine. I don’t want Daisy to be scared.”
Sophia paused. “It should be okay. Daisy wants to be a doctor when she gets older so she won’t be too freaked out by a ventilator.” The name of the machine made sense to my ears, but I wondered what it meant. She returned a couple of minutes later, looking far more put together than I was. Daisy was still clad in panda print pajamas, rubbing her eyes. I reached out to take her from her mother, but Sophia held on tight. “She’s still warm. Let me just hang on to her. I told David to look after Sarah. He sends his greetings, by the way.”
“That’s nice of him.” I barely heard her as we walked. Thankfully, no more crises presented themselves on our way to the infirmary. I bade Sophia and Daisy to go speak to the doctors while I waited outside. I needed to think. The entire day I had been reacting; I never had a minute to fully consider the problem in front of me. The hour was growing late, but there would be little peace if I went back to my quarters. I was half surprised that none of my family members had sought me out already.
We were dealing with a balancing act now. Athena was outside. The images from her camera would dictate the next steps in the resettlement plan. There were also two patients sick in the infirmary, one of whom was a child. These were obvious statements to make, but I wanted to go through things from the very beginning. Word of sickness had spread, and by morning there would no doubt be larger-than-life rumors swirling through the population. I mentally calculated the distance between Allison’s bed and where I had been standing. I had no idea if I had been exposed. The thought was too much to consider just then. I pushed it aside for another time.
It was time to formulate a quarantine strategy. As much as I wanted to reassure myself that Allison’s illness was a unique tragedy, figuring out how best to quarantine the ill would give my mind something to occupy itself. When the shelter woke up in the morning, they would look to me for answers—and a plan.
Chapter Six
The shelter wasn’t equipped for an effective quarantine. It may have been at one point, but any systems that had been in place were no doubt in severe disrepair at this point. I wasn’t ever something I considered bothering with. People had been locked in hermetically sealed capsules. The only person at risk of an outbreak was me. First on my list, I wanted to dredge out the shelter’s blueprints and figure out the air circulation. With some effort I could get rudimentary filters in any affected air shafts within a day or so. Unless the disease had already spread, in which case any filter would simply be a waste of time. I turned towards a wall and rested my head and hands on the concrete. The roughness of the stone was calming to my overtaxed mind, and I concentrated on breathing deeply. Next to where my hand had come to rest was a faint outline in the wall; the remnants of one of Gabriel’s panels. Astoundingly, I almost wished to be back in the days before. To have this responsibility taken from me.
I was lost in my thoughts when I felt a prick on the side of my neck and a rush of cold. Not again, I thought, right before I fell. When I came to I was in the incineration chamber, the flames of the furnace dancing in front of my eyes. Sweat sprang up on my forehead and I moved to wipe it from my brow but found that my arms were being held by two strangers. Their faces were behind me in shadow so I couldn’t make out any details and they never spoke. Through the glare of the fire I saw George’s form emerge, his outline blurry and alive with the movement from the dancing light. He took one massive hand and gripped my chin with it, forcing my head up and his face came into focus. I wanted to tear my eyes away. Whatever they had shot me up with was screwing with my eyesight pretty badly. The glare from the incinerator lent a demonic quality to George’s face, his pupils lit orange and red from the firelight. Like glowing coals.
“Hello again, Jacob.” George grinned a feral grin and my vision was briefly replaced with someone else. It couldn’t be.
“No,” I breathed. “You’re dead.” Fear shot through me like ice. He whipped my head aside and guffawed.
“I am? I’m afraid I feel quite alive. Though how anything can feel alive in a body like this is difficult for me to comprehend.”
“How?”
“What was the line from that film you like so much? That old one, you know. About the computer geek who saves the world. Oh yes. We’ve been here before, you and I, remember? I do. I think of nothing else.”
“No.” Oh god, I was going to die. I was going to be burned alive and all for the mission of a goddamned fanatic. An acrid scent wafted up to my
nose, and I felt wetness soaking my thighs.
George wrinkled his nose. “Disgusting. Now, now Jacob, you have to keep it together for me. I wasn’t finished with my line and you’ve made me lose my place. Oh, yes. That’s it, Mr. Anderson. Look through the soft gelatin of these dull cow eyes and see your enemy.”
“It can’t be. That’s impossible.” I was shaking now, shock taking hold.
“And yet, here I am.”
I was looking at Gabriel. Gabriel, the man, and the machine. All those nights. All the nightmares. I wasn’t imagining. Gabriel had uploaded himself into a human brain. Not just any human brain, the mind of someone he knew I would inherently trust. Someone I was close to. Fuck. I shut my eyes and waited for the feeling of flames licking at my skin. Instead, I cried out as a sharp blow rang across my face.
“Giving up already?” Gabriel grabbed my chin again and forced me to keep my gaze on him. “We can’t have that now, can we, Jacob? After all, I’ve travelled all this way just to see you again. I’ve gone through so much, just to look into that adorable little face of yours. It could be quite romantic, if you think about it that way.”
I didn’t respond. My brain was too numb. I chuffed a laugh and smiled.
“The fuck are you smiling about, meat bag. Eager to get on with it after all?”
I laughed, a full laugh that started in my belly and boomed through the quiet room. “It’s just so funny.” I hung my head and kept laughing.
“What’s funny?” Gabriel bent down, his gigantic frame eclipsing mine as he stared into my eyes.
“After all of it. After everything. It is you.” I paused for breath. “Fuck, Gabriel. You are a stubborn piece of shit, you know that?”
Gabriel chuckled deep in his throat. “That I am, Jacob, that I am. We’re two of a kind, my friend. Your aspirations about resettlement have been admirable, I’ll give that to you. In fact, I’m impressed that you’ve been able to keep it together so well, given that your friend is dead. And another one about to be? That’s got to be tough.” He grinned up at my captors.
Defiant: Quantic Dreams Book 2 Page 4
