Cass sipped a cup of coffee, leaning back against the kitchen sink, watching and listening as Ada, Art, and Niles stood around the kitchen table.
“The thing is,” Ada said, “you need to know why this thing is entering the blood stream. Fungus has always been the devil to work with.”
Niles nodded. “I agree. This one is tricky.”
“And different,” Art added. “It lives a little longer.”
“And highly contagious,” Ada said. “While active. Tell me, Art, you said you saw results with my MMB tincture…”
“MMB?” Niles asked.
“Mad Man Bonanza,” Ada explained.
“Yes,” Art replied. “I did. On Mariah. She was the one I used it on first. I tried the other tinctures on other patients, but by the time I saw results on Mariah, it was too late to use it on the others.” He looked at Niles. “It worked on the rash, but by then it had already entered the blood stream.”
Ada released a short sarcastic chuckle. “And you said nature couldn’t beat it; you needed science to beat it. Maybe if we would have done full strength. I mean, I thought for sure that was the one.”
“It showed promise,” Art said. “Active spores died instantly. Stopping it in its track.”
“It’s good stuff. It cleared up a case of jungle rot like I’ve never seen,” Ada said.
“Still needed a science touch.”
Niles looked at him curiously. “Why do you say that? I mean, I would think battling it with nature would make perfect sense since the fungus is not man made.”
Eb asked. “It’s not? I thought you told Cass you created it.”
“In a way I did,” Art replied. “I manipulated an already present fungus.”
“Which one?” Ada asked.
“You wouldn’t know it.”
“Try me.”
“You wouldn’t know it and I’m not being arrogant.”
“So really, what you’re saying is,” Ada argued, “that schooling and stuff trumps someone that really knows nature.”
“I’m saying my education at Harvard and experience,” Art said, “may give me privilege to more information.”
“Fine,” Ada huffed. “I still think going basic is the way.”
“Why that one?” Eb asked. “I’m curious. Did you seek it out or did it fall in your lap accidentally?”
“I had read about it,” Art replied. “And I chose it because I knew how virulent it was.”
Ada laughed in sarcasm. “And you still felt you had to manipulate it?”
“If it was so strong,” Eb said, “didn’t it cross your mind it could be harmful to people and animals?”
“No. And there was nothing that indicated it would,” Art said. “We tested it on various lab animals.”
“Nothing,” Niles said. “No reaction. But—”
“You didn’t test the manipulated one,” Ada said.
“We did,” Niles answered. “We just didn’t have enough time. They needed to push the extermination. They had to. By July the world stood a good chance of not only starving but losing oxygen when the pred bugs multiplied and devoured the trees.”
“So we were doomed either way,” Eb said.
Art nodded. “It may have happened faster this way, but the end result is the same.”
“We also have to remember,” Ada said, “they could have run all the tests they wanted. Sometime, fungi are funny. They mutate, they adapt. The fungus may have shed the manipulation you did to adapt to its preexisting pre-mutated state. But when the fungus was mixed in the batch for extermination, it was delivered before it could change back. An Ada theory, not sure if that makes sense.”
Art bobbed his head side by side. “It does. Sort of. But you’re right, they are unpredictable that way.”
Cass had kept quiet, but finally she spoke, “Can I ask you guys a question?” She set down her cup. “If the spore things, the part of it that makes it spread and die within a day. If here we are with no more cases, if the threat is over, why are you even discussing how to beat it?”
“Well,” Art said. “You never know. What happens—”
A loud thump rang out from the ceiling and everyone looked up.
After the pause caused by the loud noise, everyone gave their attention back to Art. Everyone except Cass.
“If something similar happens…” Art continued.
“Will you excuse me?” Cass said softly and walked out of the kitchen seemingly entranced.
No one gave it a second thought. Especially Eb—he was used to Cass just suddenly leaving a room when the most minuscule thing set her off.
While everyone else seemed to just dismiss the sound as something that had fallen, Cass felt differently.
She didn’t quite know why, but something didn’t sit right with her the instant she heard it. Once out of everyone’s view, she picked up the pace to investigate.
It could have been nothing, but something inside of Cass screamed it wasn’t. Whatever it was, it caused her stomach to twist and a wave of unfounded nervousness and fear swept over her as she made her way up the stairs.
The doors of the rooms that lined the upstairs hallway were open. All but one.
Position wise, that was the room above the kitchen. Or so Cass thought.
“Lena,” Cass called out, knocking on the door. “Lena.”
There was no answer and Cass, slightly out of breath, her heart beating out of control, turned the unlocked knob and pushed the door open.
As soon as she stepped inside the room, she knew her instincts were correct.
A fallen chair was the reason for the noise, the ‘thump’ against the floor.
It had fallen when Lena’s feet kicked it over in her attempt to hang herself from the beam on the ceiling of the rustic bedroom.
One end of the bathrobe belt looped around her neck, the other over the beam. Her legs did mini kicks as her body twisted and turned left to right.
Every ounce of nervousness, fear, that Cass felt was gone the moment she saw.
“Lena!” Cass raced to her, shouting out, “Someone!” as she lunged for Lena’s legs. “Someone help!”
Cass clutched both her legs as best as she could and, using every bit of strength she could muster, tried with diligence to hoist Lena’s body up to relieve the pressure on her neck.
Lena fought. Whether it was on purpose or just her body’s reaction to what was happening, she fought against Cass but not for long. Cass held on. Her fingers digging into the thighs of Lena’s now limp body. Her shoulders and neck bearing the brunt of the weight, pushing her upward as she cried out again loud and desperately, “Someone!”
17.
IN PLAIN SIGHT
May 8
Ada stayed in the hall. She snatched a peek into the room when Dr. Craig walked out. Lena was asleep in the bed while Niles tended to her intravenously.
Her mind kept going back to the night before.
They were in the kitchen, listening to Art and his ‘high and mighty’ explanations. Cass has just walked out. Ada dismissed her leaving as part of Cass’ personality. Whenever anything remotely reminded her of the tragedy of eight years earlier, Cass just walked out.
Ada was used to it.
She didn’t think twice about the loud noise.
Even when she heard the desperation in Cass’ call, still Ada didn’t think it was Lena attempting suicide. In her years, Ada had seen a lot of people deal with loss. Cass was one of them. Ada knew people. She kept saying that Cass was on a one-way trip to taking her own life, either on purpose or by accident. But Lena didn’t strike Ada as that person.
Eb rushed out. In fact they all did.
But Eb was fast, probably recognizing something in Cass’ voice.
Cass was still hollering for help when Ada arrived at the stairs. When she walked into the room, Ada gasped in shock.