by Jen Haeger
The conversation over dinner was heavily weighted towards how things were going in the lab, the upcoming full moon, and other somber topics, but after the first round of drinks at the brewpub, both of their moods lightened considerably. Kim’s cheeks where flushed and she had turned smiley and giggly, which, along with her new shorter haircut, made her appear much younger than twenty-three. Although David knew that she didn’t like the new style, he thought it looked cute on her.
Kim took a long sip off of the new beer. “I feel like I’m an undergrad again.”
“Oh, I have it on good authority that graduate students also drink like fish.”
“That’s true. Maybe it’s the haircut.”
David smiled slyly. “I certainly think it makes you look younger.”
“Are you saying that I looked old before?” Kim said with mock offense.
“I think I’m just going to plead the fifth before I dig myself any deeper on this one.”
Kim winked at him and then turned her attention to the band who had begun to tune their instruments. David stared at her profile trying to recall a time when he and Evelyn had shared a similar night together, and came up short. Evelyn’s last birthday had been spent at the lab in Tennessee and, although he’d brought a Twinkie and a candle, there hadn’t been any booze or much in the way of celebration. Sure there had been some good times with Evelyn in the past two years, and David loved her deeply, but their relationship had been seriously strained for a long time now. Every time it seemed that they were reconnecting, something else would crop up and cause fractures once again. It was nice to just relax for a minute with Kim and forget about his troubles: past, present, and future.
Kim turned back to David. “Where did you go to college?”
“I didn’t, actually. I became infected while in high school and then it didn’t really seem important anymore. If I get the chance, I’d like to take some architecture or graphic design courses.”
“Why architecture?”
David swirled his beer. “Well, I just think that it would be cool to see something that I designed and created in my mind be built and left behind after I’ve gone.”
“That would be cool.”
David felt his mood souring with the talk of a future that might only be a dream, and took a long draw of his beer, leaving only a few swallows. He wanted to keep his buzz and they had taken a taxi so that Evelyn could use the car to get to the lab. Kim noticed his sudden enthusiasm for his beer, and also swigged down another few swallows. The band finished up their preparations then and began a catchy pop/swing/folk song that had Kim’s head bobbing and David’s toes tapping in time to the music, but was loud enough that further conversation would be difficult. The sound coaxed a few tipsy people out onto the dance floor and Kim turned her head to watch them bop around joyfully. David polished off his beer and Kim caught his eye then motioned to the dance floor.
Normally David would balk at the proposition of dancing in public, except maybe at a wedding, but it was Kim’s birthday; he tried not to think about the fact that it could be her last, and he wanted to make it the best he could, so he nodded zealously. He rose and offered Kim his arm in a gentlemanly fashion. She smiled broadly and jumped up from her seat to take his arm as he led her out onto the dance floor. While Kim seemed to be one of those people with a natural sense of rhythm and the grace of a ballerina, David usually couldn’t spell rhythm even with the generous application of alcohol, but she didn’t seem to mind his flailing next to her lithe movements. As he loosened up, he decided that the music was pretty decent, and dancing with a cute girl didn’t hurt his opinion at all.
They stayed on the dance floor for several more tunes, until a slow number resulted in their awkward departure and return to the table. Kim doused her thirst with the rest of her beer.
“I’ve decided that I want a birthday shot. I think that I can even get one for free since it’s my actual birthday today.”
“That sounds like a dandy idea to me. What do you want?”
Kim tilted her head back and forth whilst she considered the question. “I’m not sure…I don’t usually do shots. What do you think?”
“Well, I don’t usually do shots too often either, anymore at least, and the ones that I used to do are definitely not fit for a lady such as yourself…or really anyone for that matter. Why don’t we ask the bartender what she recommends?”
“Sounds good, I’ll go ask and you guard the table.”
David agreed to stay at the table since now it had only empty beer glasses occupying it and was likely to be cleared by the wait staff and then subject to usurping by the swelling crowd of students. After around ten minutes, Kim returned with two rocks glasses half-full with a vile-smelling liquid and two shot glasses filled with an equally noxious black fluid precariously balanced between her fingers. As she got closer David leapt up to aid her in getting the drinks to safety. He took one of the rocks glasses and one of the shot glasses from her and ferried them over to the table.
“And what do we have here?”
“This, my friend, is a Jaeger bomb!”
“How does it work?”
Kim held up the glass and shot in turn. “This is Red Bull and this is Jaegermeister. You drop the shot into the glass and then drink them both down as quickly as possible,” Kim announced cheerfully.
“Really?” David asked as the fumes of the drink components combined unpleasantly in his nose.
“Yep.” Kim lifted the shot, grabbed onto the glass, and then held the one over the other. “Ready?”
Not wanting to disappoint, David scooped up his drink and shot. “Ready!”
Sploosh! Sploosh! Gulp, gulp, gulp…
Kim slammed her glass down on the table first, her face twisting. “Yuck!”
David mimicked her down to her expression. “Oh God! I’ve heard that these energy drinks are nasty, but that stuff tastes like cough syrup!”
They both laughed harder than was strictly warranted by the lame joke, their mirth buoyed by the rising levels of alcohol in their respective bloodstreams.
“Shall I order us another?” Kim snorted.
“No way, but if you want something else I’ll go this time.”
Kim worked her mouth in an exaggerated way to indicate that she was trying to get the bad taste out of her mouth. “Okay. But ask for something sweet this time, like…um, an Oatmeal Cookie? I think I remember that being a shot from a movie I saw.”
“Okey dokey, will do.”
David left Kim and headed over to the bar feeling lighter on his feet than usual. The bartender was busy, but after catching a glimpse of David, she made his order a priority.
“What can I get ya?”
“Two Oatmeal Cookies please.”
She raised her eyebrows, one was pierced. “I know that the customer is always right, but isn’t that shot a little sugar-coated for you?”
David smiled and pointed back at Kim waiting patiently at the table with her eyes on the band. “It’s for a friend.”
The woman’s face turned a little less friendly, but her voice remained upbeat as she reached for the liquors to make the shots. “Oh yeah, Birthday Girl. How did you guys enjoy your Jaeger Bombs?”
David stuck out his tongue. “Blecch.”
“If you think that’s bad, you should try a cement mixer.”
David cringed at the memory of a very bad night from high school. “Yeah, no thanks. Those I’ve heard of.”
The barmaid snorted in response as she finished preparing the shots and ran David’s credit card. She slid the check over for him to sign, and he scribbled something out on the slip before handing it back over to the girl. “And that’s for recommending the Jaeger Bombs instead.”
The bartender glanced down at the receipt and her eyes got a little wider. David winked at her as he picked up the Oatmeal Cookies and headed back to the table. In his experience making friends with bartenders and tipping big usually resulted in better things alcohol-wise,
although he hadn’t drunk like this since his wild high school days. When he got back to the table Kim was once again bobbing in time to the music.
“You sure took your sweet time.”
“Hey, you can’t rush such a finely crafted beverage such as this,” he said handing her one of the shots.
She clinked her shot glass against his. “Bottoms up!”
“Happy Birthday, Kim.”
They both downed the few ounces of alcohol but with much less drama this time around. David smacked his lips. “Not too bad.”
“Yum!” Kim rotated her shoulders and arms as though holding maracas, and pointed to the dance floor. “Ya ready to head back out there?”
“I’m ready if you are, but we’ll probably lose our table.”
“That’s okay. It’ll just mean that we’ll have less of a lag time between drinking and dancing if we drink our drinks at the bar.”
Kim wobbled a bit when she stood, but turned it into a stable shimmy as she led David back out onto the dance floor. David was also feeling the effects of the few strong shots of liquor mixing with the beer, and he briefly wondered if his uncharacteristic binge drinking wasn’t more due to the Vulke, rather than him trying to help Kim have a good birthday despite the severity of the situation. But then they were on the dance floor and Kim was happily swinging her hips very close to him and his thoughts drifted away on a warm wave of alcoholic bliss. This time when a slow song cropped up David and Kim remained on the dance floor swaying as Kim semi-waltzed them around and around.
A few hours and drinks later Kim announced that she wanted to walk back to the condo. David thought that this was a good plan in that it would avoid being inside moving vehicles which might have ended messily, and would offer some fresh air for both of them. The night was cool and pleasant and Kim skipped along merrily while pointing out first interesting stores and restaurants she might like to eat at, and then nice houses or lovely flowerbeds. David mainly just nodded here and there following her along and basking in the wake of her good mood. After about half a mile they came upon a park and Kim gave a delighted squee as she pranced over to a swing set and motioned for David to follow her.
At first she pumped her legs vigorously and swung higher and higher, but then had second thoughts as the motion made her dizzy. “Whoa, okay, enough of that now.” She dragged her feet in the cushioning wood chips and slowed the swing to a stop. David sat down on the swing next to her and they rocked gently in silence, then Kim spoke quietly. “You’re a very handsome man you know.” David didn’t know what to say as Kim caught his eye and held his gaze. “But you’re in love with Evie.”
David answered without hesitation. “Yes.”
She nodded seriously.
David looked away. “But it’s complicated.”
“How so?”
David poked at the wood chips with his foot. “Well, for one thing, she hates me.”
“What? What are you talking about? I’m pretty sure she loves you too.”
David thought for a moment. “That may be true, but she also hates me. I ruined her life.”
Kim was confused. “But I thought that you saved her from the Vulke.”
“Her life never would have been in danger if it weren’t for me. They’d have never known she even existed, and she also wouldn’t be…”
“Infected?”
David nodded.
“David, I don’t think that she blames you.”
David turned to face Kim, his eyes glistening. “Maybe she should blame me. And anyway, it doesn’t matter if she does or doesn’t blame me…it…it changed everything. I’m not sure that we can get it back to the way it was before. And I’m not sure if we should try.”
“You think it’s too hard?”
“No. I’d be willing to try, but I’m just not sure if it’s fair to Evie to try to force her to get over what’s happened, what I’m responsible for. It puts all the burden on her. She’s never done anything to me but tried to help me. I don’t have to forgive her for anything.”
Kim put her hand on David’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s not her that you have to forgive. Maybe you have to forgive yourself.”
David stared into Kim’s eyes. “See, complicated. Things could be so much easier, less painful, for both of us if we let go of each other. They could be so much easier with someone like…”
“Like who?”
“Like you.” David leaned forward and kissed Kim on the lips. She smelled like honey and tasted sweet. Her mouth was warm and inviting and for a brief instant everything else melted away, but then Kim pushed him away. Her face was flushed with pleasure but her expression was grave.
“We can’t, we’re drunk, we shouldn’t...” She got up from the swing and clumsily retreated towards the sidewalk.
David was close behind her. “Kim, I’m so sorry.”
“No, no, I’m sorry, I mean it’s okay Let’s…let’s just get back to the condo, okay?”
“Yeah, right. Okay.”
17
Evelyn worked for three hours on recording the food from Kim’s apartment then decided that she had to get out of the deserted condo. As she stepped into the corridor that housed the lab she was struck by how creepy the basement was at night when one was all alone. She hadn’t yet gone without Kim and she found herself jumping at every imagined sound in the echoing corridor, however, once shut in the actual lab she let out a breath as her shoulders drooped. Setting down her backpack of notes at a desk outside the yellow tape on the floor that designated the no contamination zone, she unzipped the bag and pulled out a large three-ring binder and a hardcover lab notebook, opening it to the next fresh page. She retrieved a four-color pen from a smaller pocket of the pack then set the pack on the floor next to the desk.
After she wrote down the date and time in the lab book, Evelyn paused and peered at the latest results in the binder. She and Kim were in the process of tracking down the sites in the Wolfkin genome where the retrovirus had inserted viral DNA. Given that the human genome has twenty-thousand protein-producing genes and that every cell holds three billion base pairs of genetic code, the task was daunting, especially since not all the DNA was part of a protein-producing gene and not every gene’s purpose was known. Evelyn’s proposed tactic was to find several key sites where the viral and wolf DNA was commingled with human DNA and try to snip out the viral DNA using special enzymes. It was Evelyn’s hope that all of the sites would have similar, recognizable retroviral code segments at the beginning and end of the viral insertions so that all sites would respond to one enzyme. The trick would be not to damage the remaining human DNA.
The other problem was that a Wolfkin’s bloodstream contained the highest levels of infectious virions during the five days around the full moon. These virions had a protective capsule that would make them immune to the enzyme that she would use to excise the viral DNA from the human cells, and therefore could infect the “cured” person again, given time. Because of these virions, a strict antiviral regime would have to be adhered to after the vaccine to prevent Languorem luporum from implanting itself into the host Wolfkin’s genome again. The virus was stubborn, but Evelyn predicted that with no new virions being produced, an infected person’s body would eventually be able to clear out the remaining virions.
Evelyn considered the latest sequencing results then wrote down a quick entry in her notebook about what she planned to do that night and what outcome her effort should have. Then she began to put on her PPE, personal protective equipment, to prepare for her actual work in the lab. As she was pulling on her gloves she noticed a sticky note on the negative-eighty-degree freezer. It read: “Confused blood sample LlDJ-5 with one of my own samples, hematocrit tube exploded in centrifuge and cut my finger. Dr. Jonson told me to contact you about possibility of infection. What zoonotic agent are you working with? Please contact Melissa.” There was a phone number and an e-mail address.
LlDJ-5: Languorem luporum, David Jenner, sample five. Evelyn dropped
the glove that she had been about to put on her hand and reached over to grab the note. She read it over just to make sure that she hadn’t missed anything.
“Oh no.”
Evelyn didn’t bother to remove the gown and booties, but grabbed for the phone on the wall by the desk and then remembered that it was around two o’clock in the morning, so instead sat down at the desk again and logged on to the older desktop computer there. She clicked into her e-mail and wrote the girl an urgent message, telling her that Evelyn needed to see her and take a blood sample as soon as possible. She wrote that Melissa should try to come in before her classes the next day, and that Evelyn would meet her in the lab. Evelyn almost sent the message then, but after reading it over, she softened the wording slightly so that the girl didn’t panic and go to an emergency room.
After Evelyn sent the message she got up and paced within the unclean confines of the tape. She was horrified that she might have caused the infection of some poor vet student by sharing the lab with her, but how could she foresee such an event? She had clearly labeled all of her samples and tried to keep them separate from the other samples in the freezer, but the freezer was crowded with samples. Kim or Evelyn could have easily placed their box of samples where Melissa normally kept hers or accidentally placed a sample in the wrong box or someone may have spilled two boxes of samples and then placed samples back in the wrong box. Additionally, none of that should have mattered in the least, since no one in the lab should have been without PPE and therefore protected from infection, and not only that, but most of the test tubes used in the lab were plastic. For Melissa to have cut herself through her glove with the thin glass of the hematocrit tube while working with a sample of Languorem luporum that was not the mutant strain, a whole series of unfortunate events had to occur in tandem.
Evelyn stopped pacing. Although, she thought, maybe there’s something that I can do in time to prevent Melissa from becoming infected. It would require some amount of disclosure to the girl as to the sensitive and dangerous nature of the virus, and Evelyn prayed that the girl understood that working in a level three laboratory such as this was not without risk, although Brucellosis was a treatable disease. Evelyn dug through her backpack and pulled out her cellphone and dialed Roberto’s number. After six rings a very grumpy-sounding Roberto answered the phone.
