Skeeter worked her way into her room and tried to quietly slip into her cot. The other girl in her room rolled over, and in the moonlight from the window she could see that her eyes were wide open. “Did he say anything about the Free Zone tonight?”
Skeeter shook her head. “Naw. Said he was too busy scrounging up supplies.”
The other girl sighed in resignation and rolled onto her back. “Do you think we’ll ever make it to a Free Zone?”
Skeeter settled into her own cot and stared at the ceiling. “I sure hope so. I’m sick of hearing them scream all the time.”
“Me, too.”
“I’d love to have a place where there’s no Zulus. Just healthy people and food and clean water.” Skeeter smiled to herself.
“I heard that some of the Free Zones have electricity and everything. Just like before.” Her voice sounded so hopeful, as if simply saying it and hoping for it hard enough would make it so.
“That would be nice.” Skeeter closed her eyes and tried to imagine the place they described. “You know what I miss? I mean, I never thought I would, but I really do.”
“Boys?” the other girl giggled.
Skeeter choked on a laugh and shook her head. “No. I miss school.”
“School? Why?” Her roommate sounded disgusted at the very idea.
“Just getting up and going to school every day. Hanging out with my friends. Everything.”
“I miss hot showers,” the other girl added sadly. “And television.”
Skeeter nodded. “Yeah. And ice cream. And pizza. And movies. And—”
“Okay, stop.” Her roommate rolled over. “Now you’re just depressing me.”
Skeeter opened her eyes and stared at the peeling ceiling. “Yeah, me, too.”
Hatcher started to knock on the infirmary door and noticed that Wally and Henry were already inside waiting for him. “Sorry I’m late. Did I miss much?” Hatcher smiled at the others and Vicky waved him in.
“Shut the door, Daniel. We need to have a meeting.” She pulled a chair around for so the group could sit facing each other.
“This sounds sort of serious.” Hatcher checked the hall, then pulled the door shut. “What’s going on?”
“It’s about the new people that came in tonight,” Vicky began.
“Oh, no.” Wally stood up defensively. “One of them’s infected, ain’t they?”
“No!” Vicky stood and calmed the large man down. “No, they’re not infected. At least, not that I can tell.”
Once Wally was seated, Henry leaned forward. “Then what’s the problem?”
Vicky cleared her throat and looked each man in the eye. “I can’t be certain just yet, but I think there’s a distinct possibility the female may be immune.”
As expected, her statement caught the group by surprise, and the murmuring of the group almost broke into shouts. “Okay, wait! Calm down, let’s hear her out,” Hatcher almost shouted. “Go on Vicky. Tell us what you found.”
“Well, as I was doing the inspection, I found a scratch.” She held her hands up to stop the men before they could interrupt. “It was an older scratch. It was nearly healed, and was really more of a scar. The young lady said they ran into the woods to get away from a Zulu and either it scratched her, or a branch got her.”
“Well, then a branch had to have gotten her. We all know that if you’re scratched or bitten, you’re as good as gone,” Henry stated matter of factly.
“Hank, I’ve worked in a clinic most of my adult life. I know what a deep scratch from another human looks like. That was no branch.” Vicky’s eyes convinced him that she was already convinced.
The group sat in silence for a moment as they considered the ramifications. Finally, Wally spoke up, “So what does this mean?”
Vicky shook her head. “For us, not much. I mean, I’m just a nurse. I’m not trained for that kind of stuff. We’d need a virologist or immunologist or…”
“Or the CDC,” Hatcher interrupted.
They all turned and stared. Henry shook his head. “Surely the CDC is gone by now. I mean, they were on the frontlines trying to fight this thing. If they were still up and running, surely by now they would have made some kind of leeway.”
Hatcher shrugged his shoulders. “Unless they lost power, too. Or had to seal themselves inside to protect themselves from the Zulus. Who knows what condition the CDC is in.”
“Man, the CDC is clear across the country in Atlanta.” Wally was on his feet now. “There’s no way we could get that girl that far.”
The group instantly felt defeated until Hatcher stood up, too. “Fort Collins.” He snapped his fingers.
“Fort what?” Vicky asked.
“Fort Collins!” Hatcher was nearly giddy with excitement. “Think of it as a military CDC. They do virus stuff there.”
“How the hell do you know that?” Henry asked.
Hatcher paused and stared at the trio. He exhaled hard and sat back down. “I ran into a military guy that was from there. He told me some stuff. I don’t remember all the particulars, but I remember he was from Fort Collins and he dealt in viruses.”
“Like, weaponized viruses?” Vicky asked. “Could that be where this came from?”
Hatcher shook his head. “I don’t really know for sure where or what this thing is.” He looked around at the group. “But Fort Collins isn’t that far, and it’s a damn sight closer than Georgia. If anybody can check out this girl and see if there’s a way to get a cure or, or…a vaccine or something from her blood, then my money is it’s at Fort Collins.”
Vicky held her hands up to stop them. “Before we go too much further, there’s a guy who used to be an EMT. He offered to assist me if I ever needed it. So, before we go planning any out of state trips, I think we
