Smoke.
He stared at the dark column that rose up and formed a small dark cloud on an almost pitch-black sky. If it weren’t for the nearly full moon, he’d have never seen it. He slowly lowered the glasses and continued to stare in the same direction.
“Looks like we’re heading south in the morning.”
Dr. LaRue peeled her gloves off and practically fell into her chair. She reached for her coffee and her face puckered at the cold liquid. “I’ve got to stop losing myself in this project.”
She pushed herself slowly from the chair and dumped the cup in the sink. She didn’t bother to rinse the cup before filling it again with fresher, hot coffee. She sat down gingerly and let a low sigh escape.
She closed her eyes for a moment and was startled awake by a commotion in the lab. She reached for the coffee again as she stood up and was surprised that this cup was cold as well.
How long was I out?
She pushed into the lab to find a flurry of activity. “What’s going on?” she demanded.
“One of the orderlies!” Dr. Francis yelled as she tried to hold a man down.
“What happened to him?” Vivian pushed into the lab and saw three coworkers holding down a young man, his eyes blood-red and his mouth beginning to foam.
“How did this happen?” Vivian pushed a gurney near them and the four wrestled the man down and strapped him to the wheeled bed.
Dr. Frances practically fell against the counter and blew out a heavy breath. “I have no idea. One minute he was doing his duties, the next minute, he complained of a bad headache, then…this.” She pointed to the man thrashing on the gurney. “I have no idea how he might have gotten exposed.”
Vivian felt her skin grow cold as the fear of the virus becoming transmittable through the air seized her. “Level three protocols! Now!” She ran to the nearest locker and ripped the door open. Each of her coworkers scrambled to find the rubber suits with air filtration systems.
She could feel her hands trembling as she fumbled with the suit and for a moment feared that she was going into a full-blown panic.
“Wait a moment.”
She turned and saw Charles standing over the orderly. He pulled the man’s scrubs to the side and a bloody scratch was visible near his navel. “This shouldn’t be here.” He gave Vivian a stern look. “Something tells me that he was less than forthcoming with some sort of incident.”
Vivian sighed, but left the rubber pants cinched at her waist. She walked slowly toward the orderly and peered at the spot that Charles had seen. “We can’t be certain that’s the source of—”
“Occam’s razor, doctor.” Charles motioned toward the empty air. “Which would make the more probable assumption? That the blood-borne virus suddenly mutated and this fellow was the first to feel its wrath, or that he screwed the pooch and allowed himself to be scratched somehow?”
Vivian sighed and nodded slowly. “I still want to know how this could have happened.”
One of the orderlies raised his hand. “There are security cameras all over. Surely…”
Vivian nodded. “Find the Master at Arms, check the footage. I need to know if this scratch came from an infected.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The orderly slipped out and Vivian turned to the others. “I still think that we should maintain level three protocols until we know for certain.”
Charles groaned. “You know how bad those suits are, Viv. I sweat like a pig in those damned things.”
“We all do, Charles.” She walked back to the locker and picked up the tunic. “But I’d rather be safe and wrong than right and dead.”
He dropped the man’s scrubs and nodded. “Agreed. Level three people. Come on, move!”
She pulled the helmet over her head and affixed the air hose. She could feel the temperature already rising inside the suit and prayed that the orderly returned quickly with a definitive answer.
Candy limped into the warehouse and fell into a chair. It hurt to bend over, but her leg was throbbing from the car accident. She didn’t think she’d caused any real damage, but Vicky was already poking and prodding at her.
“I’m fine, Vick. Really.” She tried to push their resident nurse away. “I’m more worried that some of the people trying to hold back the Zulus will need your help a lot more than I do.”
“They might, but right now, you’re my only patient.” She gave her a quick smile. “Now be nice and cooperative and when we’re done, Nurse Vicky will give you a lollipop.”
“You’re not funny.”
Vicky found the sore spot and Candy winced. “I’m betting there’s a real nice contusion under those pants. But it looks like it’s only soft tissue damage. I doubt seriously there’s any broken bones or you wouldn’t have walked in here.”
“I wouldn’t call it a walk. More like a hobble.” She gave Vicky a quirky grin. “Now seriously, get to the infirmary and prepare for wounded. Those sumbitches are throwing rocks now.” She stood up slowly and leaned against the wall. “The way their behavior is evolving, I give them a month and they’ll invent their own guns.”
Vicky found herself being gently pushed toward the infirmary and fought the urge to argue. “I’ll be back to check on you when this is over.”
“I would expect nothing less.” Candy turned slowly back toward the door. “We need reinforcements on the roof. Tell them to bring more flammables. We have to keep the Zulus away from the fences. There’s too many for that fence to hold.”
“I can get sharpshooters up there.” Dennis wasn’t much to look at, but he knew how to handle himself in a fight. Candy knew that by sharpshooters, he meant himself. The man could drill a hole through the center of a nickel at 100 yards with open sights.
She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Not yet. I’m hoping
