The stuffy nose and slight fever Arthur would get in the next few hours from his lottery present were his antibodies killing the visitor and he would never notice. It would be buried in his grief as he cried on the floor until he fell asleep. Arthur wouldn’t hear the computer give an alarm as the power from the grid was lost at seven a.m. on the dot. The computer turned off the feed from the grid, so it wouldn’t drain the power that the land was producing.
Chapter Twelve
Symptoms show a killer inside
May 6
Coming out of the airlock, Sutton stopped, seeing Sarah looking at him as she tapped her foot. “I came out,” he cried out in the bubble suit.
“I told you to come out an hour ago to eat,” Sarah snapped.
Thinking about running back into the airlock, Sutton cringed as Sarah stepped over to unzip the suit and pull it off of him. “You will eat, then take a nap,” she told him and then cringed her nose. “You will shower before taking a nap,” she added.
Sutton looked at the dressing area where Sarah had a table and chairs brought in and the rest of the team was sitting down eating. None of them even turned around to watch Sutton get chewed out.
An elderly man pushed his chair back and started to stand. “Dr. Skannish!” Sarah shouted and the old man dropped back down in his chair like someone had shot at him. “I told you that you had to eat two plates and drink two bottles of fluids before you could leave!”
Sutton turned to the table as Dr. Skannish pulled his plate back over and continued eating. Dr. Skannish was almost seventy but seemed rather frightened of Sarah, as did everyone else.
Feeling a tap on his leg, Sutton looked down and saw Sarah waiting on him to lift his foot up so she could pull the suit off. “You know, I’ve been doing this longer than you’ve been alive,” Sutton told her as Sarah pulled the suit off his foot.
“Sutton!” Sarah snapped and he lifted his other leg. “You and your team don’t take care of yourselves for shit! I took on this job, so shove it! I’m surprised you get anything done with the way all of you document your progress.”
Sutton stared at her with his mouth agape as Sarah carried his suit over and hung it up on the wall. “Sit. Eat,” she commanded as she turned back around.
Almost running, Sutton moved to the table and dropped down into a chair. Grabbing his plate, he was about to take a huge bite when Sarah darted over and grabbed his hand. “Smaller bites,” she said in a much gentler voice.
“I’ve finished two plates and have taken a shower. Can I go back to the lab now?” Dr. Skannish asked, but didn’t move to get up.
“You will take a nap on the cots or go to sleep in your quarters. If you want, I will wake you in a few hours,” Sarah offered, sitting down at the head of the table. “I put all of your findings in the computer and correlated them.”
“Thank you,” Dr. Skannish said with a gentle smile. “I have to say, with your help we will get to the vaccine much faster, but can’t I go back to the lab?”
“No,” Sarah said, but in a soft voice. “Your next batch won’t be done for two hours and seventeen minutes, so you can rest. I know you want to do that different… whatever,” she said, waving her hand off in the air. “But it can wait a few hours. You were stumbling around in the lab. I know, I was watching through the window.”
Dr. Skannish turned to Sutton as he continued eating in small bites. “Sutton, a little help?” Skannish pleaded.
Shaking his head, “Nope, she knows how to use the intercom and it sounds really bad when she yells over it,” Sutton replied and the others around the table nodded in agreement.
“Hey, I was about to get in a suit and drag your ass out,” Sarah popped off at Sutton. Seeing Sutton emptying his mouth to protest, Sarah threw a hand up to stop him. “I don’t try to understand what you’re doing, but I can interpret the results you send out for me to put in the computer. Since I’ve been here, this group has progressed very quickly. I’ve been monitoring Atlanta and can tell they are just working away. If I was there, that would stop because I can see they are dead tired on their feet.”
“Um, I didn’t tell you to put them in the computer,” Sutton mumbled and then took another bite, holding the fork up for a second to show that it was a small bite.
“I know,” Sarah laughed and everyone loved the sound of her laugh. “But I’m sorry, that is not any of your strong points. You and your team continue to dictate your notes, and I will put them in the computer.”
“You do know I have a great-granddaughter older than you, right?” Skannish asked from the end of the table and Sarah slowly turned and gave him a hard look. “I’m going to take a nap. Will you wake me in three hours?” Skannish mumbled, getting up.
“I would be very happy to, Dr. Skannish,” Sarah smiled and then Skannish walked out, heading to his quarters.
The other four around the table turned to Sarah, holding up their plates to show that they were empty. “Very good. Anyone else want me to wake them in three hours?”
