“What if the virus has different incubation periods, depending on the person who is infected?” “Because the antibodies of each individual are different, maybe that’s why it had taken longer to show in everyone else,” Dr. Meacham said. “If you are right about these, we are in a time bomb and I don’t want to be inside this building went it goes off,” Dr. Moore said.
“Chris, I need you to lock down the building, nobody comes in, and nobody goes out. I will also need you to gather a few more personnel and conduct blood tests on everyone in the building. I need this to happen ASAP. You got it?”
“Yes,” Dr. Moore answered with an attitude. He knew Dr. Meacham was his supervisor, but he didn’t like to be bossed around. He knew this was bigger than him, or anybody else in this building. If, in fact, this was a new virus, and it was airborne, that meant everyone was infected, and it was going to be a terrible day for all. He hoped that Dr. Meacham was wrong and that he was just having a bad day. Dr. Moore could not imagine, or even believe, that a virus, fungus, or whatever it was, could become airborne in a day.
The only possible way would be if the virus had mutated a long time ago and for some reason the incubation period came to a halt. But, these were all theories, speculation his mind was working on. He knew that if anyone could fix this, or find a cure, it would be Dr. Meacham. Dr. Meacham had been working there much longer than he had. Dr. Moore could still see that Dr. Meacham was worried, and that made him a little uncomfortable since he never worried during this type of situations. This time something was different. Something was not right, as if Dr. Meacham had known this would happen. But could he? Dr. Moore thought about it. Dr. Meacham was a little worried about the whole situation, but he was still acting quite calm.
Dr. Moore turned around and looked at him; he was still staring at Dr. Whitney through the glass window. Dr. Whitney had not been working there for long, but she was still part of the team, part of the family. They spent so many hours in the same place that sooner or later they all became family. Dr. Moore knew that was probably the reason why Dr. Meacham was feeling a little down. Seeing one of his fellow co-workers dying in front of his eyes had to be extremely difficult for him. It’s not like having a car accident or being murdered, the person he knows is right in front of him, and he cannot do anything to save her or even prolong her death. Dr. Moore knew Dr. Meacham needed time to think by himself to analyze the situation at hand. Dr. Moore decided not to waste any more time, he slowly opened the door, so not to disturb Dr. Meacham. Dr. Moore exited the room and closed the door behind him.
The sound of the door brought Dr Meacham back to reality. He pulled a chair in front of the glass wall and sat down. He never broke eye contact with his patient. A million thoughts were going through his mind. He didn’t want to let anyone down, but this was something he was not going to be able to fix. He stood up, walked toward the little desk inside the office, and picked up the phone.
“May I speak with Dr. Spranger?” Dr. Meacham asked the receptionist on the other end of his call. “He is currently in a meeting,” the lady on the phone said.“I don’t care if he is in a meeting, or in the bathroom looking at porn, you need to get him on the phone! You need to tell him Dr. Meacham needs to talk to him, and is an emergency! Do it NOW!” Dr. Meacham could tell the lady’s attitude had changed, and she was going to comply to his demand.
“Sir, give me a second,” the lady said. A few minutes passed before he heard a man’s voice through the phone. “How can I help you?” the man said. “I’ve got a situation that is currently unfolding here in my building and I don’t really have a starting point for it. I was wondering if you can review some specimens I have? You know I would never ask for your help unless I really needed it. I understand we are not on the best terms anymore, but I think my situation could also affect you and your people. Let’s leave the past mistakes in the past,” Dr. Meacham said.
“For you to call me and pretty much beg for my help, it must really be some situation you’ve got there. You know I don’t respect you as a person anymore, but I do respect your work and your research. So if you need my help, something really big must be happening. Send me what you’ve got and give me a few hours,” Dr. Spranger said.
“Everything is already in your email; I was going to send it to you even if you had said no,” Dr. Meacham said. “Cocky as always. I’ll reply in a few hours. I’ve got my own share of situations over here,” Dr. Spranger said. “Just do me a favor, when you read my email, please prioritize on the last question, ok?”“No problem” Dr. Spranger said.
CHAPTER THREE
Emma Smith
If Emma would have known about the events that were about to unfold, she would have done things differently the day before. Shit, she would have even gone to bed early, but instead Emma spend all night talking on the phone with Jason. Being grounded didn’t make a difference. Even if Emma’s parents took her cell phone and computer away, she was fine by it. She was prepared for these type of situations. She always had a back-up plan; even her mother said that she was way too mature for her age. Emma always saw them as ignorant, and she prided herself as being the smart rational one of the family.
Emma was glad that Jason had given her a pre-paid cell phone for her to have in case she ever got grounded, which by his calculations, was about every other week. After all, every time Emma was in this type of predicament it was because of him, so in a way he was trying to make it up to her. Emma really didn’t care since the money was not coming out of her pocket. Emma didn’t think about herself as a gold digger or anything like that, but shit, how could she say no to stuff someone else was buying for her? It’s not like Emma was sleeping with anyone in exchange for stuff. Emma knew a few girls in her high school that would do sexual favors for old guys around the neighborhood. Emma even knew about the relationship between Katy Huffman and Mr. Edwards, the math teacher.
Emma saw them going into the math classroom and locking themselves up inside after all of the other students were gone. “I guess you’re stupider than you look, to get a B minus instead of an A after you let that nasty old man doggy hump you for an hour,” Emma remembered telling Katy. It was true, Emma always thought about Mr. Edwards as a disgusting old man, already in his forties, and still trying to pick up young girls. “Only stupid girls would fall for that bullshit,” Emma said. Emma never mentioned a word to anyone about the thing she had seen.
She had the tendency to say what she needed to say to that person’s face and no one else’s. That was one of the things Jason hated about her, and was trying so hard to change, but she was too stubborn to listen to him or change on her own. Maybe one day she would change, but not now. She didn’t want to be like her mother, always following her dad around and doing everything he said, like sheep following direction from a Labrador. Emma hated how her mother was so simple minded, always repeating and reassuring everything her dad said. Emma used to call her “K.A.E or Kiss Ass Echo.” Her mother never knew the meaning of it, but she knew it was not pleasant. Emma found it so annoying. It was funny when she was little but not now.
But for Emma everything she knew was about to change forever, and today was the day. The day that her whole life would alter, and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.