Exit 9 pe-2

by Brett Battles

  “No. You are fine. The spray cannot hurt you. It is meant for mosquitoes, not humans.”

  “It still might be dangerous for us.”

  “It’s not. But to be sure, you keep working and I will go check with the managers. They will tell us if everything is okay or not.”

  “You promise?”

  “Of course, I promise.”

  The manager in the office at the time Ayush entered was a man named Dettling.

  “Yes?” he asked as Ayush stood in the doorway waiting to be noticed.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but one of the barrels had opened.”

  Dettling looked surprised. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. The seal has broken on one, and much of what was inside has spilled into the container. The men who were doing the unloading are concerned and want to know if they should see a doctor. I told them everything would be fine, but I had them move on to a new container so I could ask you what we should do with the open barrel first.”

  “Did they breathe it in?”

  The tone in Dettling’s voice worried Ayush. “I think probably, yes. They were in the container for some time before they found the bad barrel. Is that a problem? I’ve been told the spray is harmless against us.”

  “No, no. It is harmless. It’s just…supply is so tight…uh…losing even one barrel could be a…problem.” He paused. “Go back out and tell them everything is fine. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  As soon as Ayush left the office, Dettling rushed over to the door and shut it. He didn’t use the phone on his desk, but instead retrieved the sat-phone from his briefcase to make the call.

  He was greeted with a recorded message, then a prompt. He said, “This is Dettling. Mumbai. I-7.”

  Dead air for a few seconds, then a click. “Go ahead,” a live voice said.

  Unconsciously, Dettling touched the spot on his upper arm where he’d received his KV-27a vaccination. “We have an accidental breach.”

  “Explain.”

  SANJAY WAS BONE-tired when he dragged himself back to the dormitory at a quarter after ten that night. The only thing that kept him from heading straight up to bed was the growl in his stomach.

  In the cafeteria, he piled the food onto his plate and carried it over to one of the common tables. Often, he had dinner with his cousin, but Ayush wasn’t around.

  Though the room was packed, few were talking. It seemed as if the only energy anyone could muster was used to move food from plate to mouth.

  Once Sanjay was done, he made his way up to the dorm. He was assigned to a room that held ten people total. He shared it with others who had been given supervisory roles, including Ayush. Only Ayush wasn’t there, either.

  That was unusual, but not enough for Sanjay to think anything was wrong. Within five minutes, he was deeply asleep, unaware that Ayush and all the others who had been in contact with the contaminated container had been moved to the basement of a building three miles away, out of sight of anyone who might raise an alarm.

  23

  I.D. MINUS 72 HOURS

  GILSTRAP HALL

  HAWKINS UNIVERSITY

  ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

  Corey felt fine when they arrived back in St. Louis just before dawn, but by the time he and Jeannie went out for breakfast at the Perch Cafe, he’d developed a case of the sniffles.

  A cold, he thought, probably brought on by his lack of sleep and exposure to the freezing night air in Chicago. A couple cold tablets plus a few hours in bed and he should be fine.

  At eleven a.m. he woke with a jolt, overcome by a coughing fit. He tried to get out of bed to get some water, but the room began spinning the moment he rose to his feet, causing him to drop back to the mattress. He closed his eyes, willing the dizziness to go away. It didn’t work.

  Maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe this wasn’t a common cold after all. After three tries, he was able to grab his phone off the nightstand. He stared at it for a moment, not remembering who he’d wanted to call.

  Jeannie. Right.

  He spent longer than usual looking for her name at the top of his favorites list before calling.

  “Hey,” she said. “Thought you were sleeping.”

  “I…I…”

  “Corey?”

  “Not…I think…doctor…”

  “Corey, are you all right?”

  Her words faded away as the phone slipped from his ear, and he fell back on the bed.

  Jeannie pounded on the door. “Corey?”

  She gave it five seconds, then tried again. When there was still no response from inside, she went in search of Corey’s resident advisor, Barry Kellerman. Barry wasn’t in his room, so she ran downstairs to the lounge.

  The RA was on the couch with two other guys, watching SportsCenter on TV.

  “Corey’s sick,” she said, running up to him. “He’s not answering his door.”

  Barry pushed himself up. He was a good RA, and knew when to take things seriously and when not to. “Come on.”

  They ran up the stairs side by side, with Barry’s buddies tagging along behind them. When they reached Corey’s door, Barry knocked.

  “I already did that,” Jeannie said. “Just open it.”

  He hesitated a second before shoving the master key into the lock.

  Corey was lying across the bed on top of the covers, his phone next to him.

  Jeannie rushed over. “Corey? Hey, Corey. Can you hear me?”

  She put her hand on his shoulder to wake him, but immediately pulled it back in surprise. He was burning up. She grabbed him again and shook him.

  “Corey. Wake up. Corey!”

  It was no use. He was completely out.

  She looked back at Barry. “Call an ambulance!”

  It took twelve minutes for the EMTs to arrive. In that time, over half a dozen other residents of Gilstrap Hall poked their heads into Corey’s room to see what was wrong.

  At the hospital, he was put on fluids and anti-viral medication within two minutes of arrival. One of the upshots of the Sage Flu outbreak earlier that year was improved isolation protocol across the nation. Because of this, Corey was placed in a quarantined room. In addition, one of the nurses gathered all the names of people who might have come in contact with him.

  Another improvement was the development of the Sage Test, a blood test that had an 85 % accuracy at diagnosing Sage Flu. Several in the medical community thought this was overkill, their opinions gaining strength as months went by without any new Sage cases springing up, but after the outbreak, the public demanded its enforced use. That was the only reason the test was run on Corey.

  Marcie Hayward was the doctor on duty. While Corey was in obvious distress, the doctor assumed it was just a particularly severe case of the flu. That in itself was disturbing, of course. The last thing they needed was a flu bug spreading through the school, but if there was one case now, there were bound to be others later. He told Nancy Batista, the senior RN on duty, that they should be sure they had enough supplies for a sudden influx of patients. He hoped it wouldn’t be necessary, but knew the hospital couldn’t afford to be caught off guard.

  He then moved on to a broken arm suffered during an intramural game of flag football.

  It was over an hour before Corey’s preliminary lab results came in. Dr. Hayward was in the middle of a nasty case of road rash on the thigh of a girl who’d fallen from her bike when Nurse Batista rushed over.

  “Sorry to disturb you, Doctor, but I need to see you for a moment.”

  Dr. Hayward smiled at his patient, and unintentionally lied. “I’ll be right back.”

  Once they were outside the exam room, Nurse Batista showed the doctor the lab results. He read them twice, and looked at her in surprise.

  “Are we sure?”

  “I’ve drawn a new sample, so they can run it again.”

  That was also protocol if a positive result for Sage Flu was ever returned.

  “Okay,” he said. “But until
we learn different, we need to assume this is correct. I want everyone who’s been in contact with him isolated, including everyone on this floor. I’ll inform the administration and the state health department.”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  There was fear in her eyes as she ran off, the same fear that was probably in his. Both he and the nurse knew that the Sage Flu in its most virulent form meant one thing.

  Death.

  Matt Hamilton was in the Bunker cafeteria watching the video Tamara and Bobby had just emailed him. It wasn’t the full WC report, just what they’d already completed over the previous months.

  Tamara’s voiceover-for the first time unfiltered so that it would be recognizable-had been done in an even, sure tone. There were no hysterics, just facts of the story. Even then, he couldn’t help but frown. It played more like an over-the-top Hollywood thriller than something that could actually happen. But it was what it was. Besides, if they ever did need to play this video, it would mean the pandemic had started, and chances were people would be more keen on listening and believing.

  Jordan was watching alongside him. With Pax gone, the younger man had assumed the role of Matt’s top assistant. It was a job that would have normally fallen to Michael, but he was still watching over Janice, whose illness had turned into pneumonia after spending too much time on the freezing roof of the Bluff.

  As Matt jotted down a few notes, he heard someone running through the hall toward the cafeteria.

  “Matt!” Rachel’s voice.

  Forewarned by her tone, both he and Jordan jumped up and rushed into the hallway.

  “What’s going on?” Matt asked.

  “Come! Come! I think it might have started.”

  With a feeling of dread, the three of them raced to the communications room. Nearly a dozen people were already there, including Billy. The TVs on the table were still tuned to the different networks, but only the volume on the PCN broadcast was turned up.

  The image was a night shot of a multistory building. The graphic at the bottom identified it as Hawkins Medical Center, Hawkins University, St. Louis, Missouri. The voice speaking belonged to Catherine Minor, one of the PCN anchors.

  “…this time. We don’t have the name of the patient yet, but we’ve been told he’s a student at Hawkins University. The dormitory where he lived, and the emergency services area of the hospital have all been quarantined. Right now we need to go to a break. We’ll have more when we return.”

  The image stayed on the screen for a second longer, then cut out and was replaced by a commercial for deodorant.

  “What happened?” Matt asked.

  “Apparently a student was brought into the hospital with flu symptoms,” Billy told him. “When they ran the Sage Test, it came back positive.”

  “Just one case?”

  “So far. According to the news idiots, they’ve isolated everyone he’s come in contact with.”

  “Any reports from other locations?” If the Project had initiated Implementation Day, there should have been hundreds sick already, not just a single student in St. Louis.

  “Nothing yet.”

  Matt nodded tensely.

  An hour passed, then two. Through it all, the only words spoken were by those using the phone to see if there were outbreaks elsewhere.

  As the end of the third hour approached, it was becoming clear that this was an isolated event. How? Sage Flu was not a naturally occurring disease. The student had been exposed to it somewhere. They needed to know where that was. It could provide crucial information.

  He glanced over at Billy. “I want you in St. Louis as soon as possible. Jordan, you go with him. Find out how this happened.”

  “How did they get in?” the DOP asked.

  “Through the roof, sir,” Ross said.

  He stared at his aide for a moment. “The roof?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The DOP knew it wasn’t worth getting upset over. Even this minor outbreak couldn’t stop anything. It was annoying, though. It meant some people would be more cautious in the weeks to come, potentially skewing the survival rates in the wrong direction. Initially, anyway. At some point they would become exposed to the virus. This just meant that deaths might continue for months longer after the main event than he’d hoped. Statistically, the number would be infinitesimal, but it could still mean dealing with millions of sick people when they should already be moving on to the new reality.

  “The factory needs to be destroyed,” he said, forcing himself not to be distracted.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Immediately.”

  “Consider it done.”

  24

  I.D. MINUS 54 HOURS

  Sanjay knocked on the door of the managers’ office.

  “Come in,” a voice from inside said.

  Reluctantly, he opened the door and walked in. In truth, he wasn’t sure if he should be there at all. The last thing he wanted to do was anything that might upset his bosses. The money he’d already saved from the work they’d given him was more than he’d ever had at one time, and there was no sign this was going to end.

  Though there were four desks in the room, the gray-haired senior manager was the only one there. The rumor was that he was German. Sanjay had never asked him, of course.

  “Yes?” the man said.

  “I am sorry to disturb you.”

  “What do you want?”

  Sanjay hesitated for just a second, as he once more recalled the words he’d rehearsed. “I’m wondering if you might know where my cousin has gone.”

  “Your cousin?”

  “Yes. His name is Ayush. He’s a coordinating officer. He was here yesterday, but last night he did not return to the dorm.”

  “Ayush? How do you spell that?”

  As Sanjay told him, the man typed his cousin’s name into the computer. When he was through, he read the screen, and seemed to soften a bit. “Ah, yes. He’s your cousin, is he?”

  “Yes.”

  The man smiled. “Nothing to worry about. Ayush and one of the work squads have been assigned to a task outside the city. They should be back in a few days.”

  “Thank you,” Sanjay said, relieved. Then, feeling it necessary to explain himself, he added, “Usually we tell each other if we’ll be gone, but he must have forgotten.”

  “You’re probably right. It did come up quickly, so perhaps he looked for you but couldn’t find you before he had to go.”

  “Thank you again.”

  Sanjay would have left it at that-in fact, had intended to leave it at that-if it were not for one thing. When he got back to the dorm that evening, someone else was using Ayush’s bunk.

  Why would someone else be given his bed if he was coming back in a few days? Sanjay asked around to find out who else had been assigned with his cousin, then discovered that their beds had also been filled.

  So far, he had enjoyed working for Pishon Chem. Mainly it was the money, of course, but they had been fair in their other dealings, too. This seemed out of character, and he didn’t like what it might mean about things to come.

  A job is a job, a voice in his head reminded him. Ironically, it was Ayush’s. And it was right. A job was a job, and questioning it after having spent so much time without a real one was not advised.

  He headed out into the dark, warm night, thinking he just needed to take a walk and clear his mind. As he neared the building the managers used, he saw the youngest of the bunch, a man named Mr. Dettling, smoking a cigarette outside the main door.

  Dettling had always been nice to Sanjay, and had been the person who delivered the news of his promotion. Maybe, if Sanjay worded things carefully, he could find out if there was anything going on he should be concerned about. He changed his course and headed toward the European.

  “Good evening, sir.”

  Dettling jumped. “Sanjay. Jesus. I didn’t…see you.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “What are you
doing out here? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

  “I was just out for a walk.”

  “Well, don’t walk too long. Tomorrow’s going to be really busy. We’re just a couple days from starting.”

  “A couple days?” Sanjay said, surprised. “I did not know the official date had been set yet.”

  “Keep it to yourself for now. We’ll make an official announcement in the morning.” He tossed his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his foot. “Well, I should get in. Have a-”

  “One question, Mr. Dettling.”

  The man looked at Sanjay expectantly.

  “I was told my cousin, Ayush, and several others would not be back for a few days. Will they be back in time? He is important to making sure things run smoothly.”

  For a second or two, there was uncertainty in the man’s eyes, almost…fear. This was quickly pushed away by an accommodating smile. “They were needed elsewhere in the city. Your…your cousin will be replaced by someone else here who will do a fine job.”

  “Elsewhere in the city? But I was told-”

  “I really need to go,” Mr. Dettling said. “You should head back, too, and get as much sleep as you can.” He turned toward the building.

  In the city? The gray-haired manager had told Sanjay that Ayush and the others had been assigned somewhere outside the city. Was it possible Mr. Dettling just didn’t know the details? Yes, but it seemed unlikely. In Sanjay’s experience, the managers had always been in sync on information.

  Could it be Mr. Dettling just forgot? Sanjay would have believed that more readily except for one thing-that look of uncertainty and fear before he answered. It almost seemed to Sanjay as if the man were making up a response that he thought would be satisfactory.

  Sanjay didn’t like this. Not at all.

  Had Ayush gotten into trouble? Was he being punished or something? Or had he really been assigned to a new project? Whatever was going on, Sanjay wanted to know. Ayush was as much a brother as a cousin, and it was better to be sure that everything was all right than to wonder.