“Well, it appears you may have an infection. It could be anything. An ear infection, strep throat…heck, it could even be chicken pox.” She stripped the sterile gloves from her hands and dug through her leather bag. “Here are some general antibiotics. It’s just a Z pack, so take two tonight and one a day until they’re all gone. If this doesn’t clear it up, then it’s probably viral.”
Jason’s head popped up and he stared at her wild-eyed. “Wait…did you say virus? Like—”
Vivian held her hand up. “When it comes to bugs that make us sick, they’re either bacterial or viral. Antibiotics will help with bacteria, but they don’t work on viruses.”
“But does that mean she might be starting to get sick from the virus? Or…maybe one of the mutated strains you talked about?”
She shook her head. “Her eyes are still clear. She doesn’t display any of the other symptoms that the infected have, so my best guess is absolutely not.” She patted the young man’s hand to reassure him. “It’s probably nothing.”
“But it could be something, right?” He sounded desperate.
“Jason, stop it.” Bren pulled the covers up closer to her neck and leaned back on her bunk. “It’s probably some silly bug.”
“More than likely it’s something common.” Vivian closed her bag and gave him a reassuring smile. “Remember, you two were on your own for a very long time. People actually catch the majority of their illnesses from being around other people. They get sick and infect the area with their germs. Once they are over the bug, they have a natural immunity to it, but the germs are still there. Now that you are back around other people, odds are, you’ll both suffer from a few different bugs we’ve had here on the ship.” She stood and reached for the door. “I recommend lots of fluids and rest. Call me if anything changes.”
Jason pushed the door shut behind her and turned to Bren. “I saw what they were doing.”
Bren nodded and closed her eyes. “Working on a cure?”
“They were testing your blood on the crazies.” He swallowed hard and waited for her response. She nodded absently and leaned her head farther into her pillow. “Didn’t you hear me? They were using the infected as guinea pigs.”
Bren slowly opened her eyes and stared at him. “So?”
“So?!” He sat down and stared at her expectantly. “What do you mean, so?”
“Jason, I don’t care if they hang them all off the edge of the ship and set them on fire, not if it helps to find a cure.”
Jason didn’t realize his mouth was open until he felt his jaw moving and no words came out. “I can’t believe you would say that.”
“I would, and I did.” She slid farther into the mattress and cracked an eye open to look at him. “They’re infected. If they find a cure and it helps them, then yay. If they test on them and it kills them, there are literally millions more back on shore that they can keep testing on…until they’re all gone. I really don’t care.”
He fell back into his chair and stared at her. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“I did.” She rolled away from him and pulled the wool blanket up farther across her shoulders. “I’m tired, Jason. I just want to sleep now.”
“Bren, they’re using those people as guinea pigs!”
She sat up suddenly and glared at him. “They aren’t people, Jason. They’re monsters. Given the opportunity, they would run you down and eat you for breakfast. They don’t care. They don’t think. They don’t even feel…not the way you or I do. So, if they want to use them as guinea pigs, I say to go for it.” She jerked the blanket up and glared at him once more. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m tired.”
He watched her roll back over and snap the blanket around herself. He tried to argue with her, but he couldn’t.
“Fine. I’ll just go and…and…find some coffee or something.”
He waited a moment and she refused to respond. He jerked the door open and marched outside. He tried to slam the door behind him, but the hydraulic catch at the top prevented him from making a dramatic exit.
He stomped to the cafeteria and sat alone in the corner with his cup of coffee. He sat and stewed while it cooled, and he couldn’t understand why he was so mad.
Of course, they’d have to test any potential cures, and who better to test them on than somebody who was already infected. You couldn’t very well inoculate a healthy person and then expose them to the rage virus…that could be catastrophic if the vaccine didn’t work. Besides, who in their right mind would volunteer for such a thing?
He sipped the coffee and tried to get his feelings under control. Why was he so angry? Because they didn’t tell him every little thing they would do? Because he felt like he and Bren should have some kind of say over their actions? It was her blood.
He continued to sip at the coffee and try to think his way through the mix of emotions. They weren’t exactly people any longer.
Or were they?
Was that why he was so mad?
He turned and stared at the personnel who came through the cafeteria and tried to imagine which of them would be used to test potential cures. He tried to imagine each of them at their jobs…fixing engines or tying knots or…whatever the hell it was they did on these floating cities. How would they do their jobs if the cure failed?
He drank down the last of the coffee and stared at the exit. Maybe Dr. LaRue would be more forthcoming with information if he simply asked her what was going on? Would that make him feel any better?
He stood and placed his cup on the line where they all placed their dirty
