“A little. Some new group trying to put civilization back together. Word reached there?”
“Yes, they’re getting it through militia groups.”
“So when should we expect you?”
“Bill and I will be here for a little bit. We’re needed at the moment. Seems we have some serious post-flu cases of pneumonia. Four cases, tough strain. In fact, I’m at the medical center now rummaging for supplies. All of the patients said the cough never went away after the flu, and now they have these symptoms.”
“I’d like to say we saw this one coming,” Henry stated, “but unfortunately, we all brushed off that possibility.”
“You seeing it on your end?”
“No. Are they residents there that are sick? Or pilgrims?”
“Residents.”
“Don’t dismiss the possibility that maybe a traveler brought something in.”
“But they all have a common denominator,” Lexi said. “They all lived here, and they all contracted and beat the flu.”
“Just don’t dismiss it, in case you find someone who doesn’t fit that pattern. It could be something else.”
“Like what?”
“Lots of things. Hanta virus out west is a big thing, lots of rodents.”
“How do I check for that without proper equipment?”
“You’re in a hospital now. Find a power scope. Vegas runs on the Hoover Dam. Right? You got power.”
“We do. I’m gonna be honest, though. I rely heavily on programs to identify the organism. I’m a field doctor.”
“Find a lab there. Find a scope. Take that and the monitor. Run a sputum sample and blood sample through for me and take pictures with the phone. Hopefully, Lars, Kirk, or I will be able to identify it. We’re old school.”
“I’ll do that, thank you, Henry.”
“Talk soon.”
Lexi hung up the phone.
“Everything okay?” Matt asked.
“Yes. That was the head of the CDC, and he’s with a top virologist now. We’ve got other things to get aside from medical supplies. We’re gonna try to transfer images of our pneumonia bacteria or virus, whichever it is, to them, and maybe they’ll be able to tell me what course to take to beat this.”
“That’s excellent to hear.”
There wasn’t a smell of death. The decomposition smell had long since faded, and it had been replaced with old and musty. Some lights still flickered. The emergency room lobby was packed with bodies, but aside from the hum of the lights, there was another sound.
Coughing.
Lexi turned to Matt. Obviously someone was there, and not only were they coughing uncontrollably, they were dropping things. The cough was deep, rumbling and chesty. They followed the sound to the back hall, where they saw an open storage door.
The coughing clearly was coming from there. The back of the ER was dark; the lights didn’t flicker. They barely worked and the only illumination was what little sunlight made its way through.
Lexi and Matt snapped on their flashlights.
“Hello?” Lexi called as she neared the storage room.
“We know someone’s here,” Matt said. “Do you need help? I have a doctor with me.”
A long five second cough, and then a man replied with a choking, “Yes”.
Lexi hurried to the closet. When she reached the doorway, her flashlight lit the face of the man. As soon as he saw her, her teetered and weakly slid to the floor. His face was gray, eyes dark, lips bloody and cracked.
“I’ve never been so sick in all my life,” he said, then coughed again. “I can’t breathe.”
“We’re gonna help you,” Lexi told him, walked over to him and crouched down. “That’s why we’re here. We’re getting more supplies. Can we take you with us where I am treating others?”
He coughed. “Others are sick too? Is it happening again?”
“No.” Lexi smiled reassuringly. “What you and the others have is a repercussion of the flu. Sometimes the lungs don’t clear after the flu, and pneumonia sets it. It’s a tough strain, but we’ll beat it.”
“That’s all well and fine.” He choked on a cough and beat his chest. “But I didn’t get the flu.”
Immediately, Lexi looked up to Matt. He hadn’t heard what Henry said, but Lexi did. Lexi wasn’t only looking at another patient; she was looking at someone with the same symptoms, only he, unlike the others, was different. He didn’t have the flu to blame.
Journal Entry 7
Well, we aren’t dead and we actually made it. Not home. Not yet. Soon. My last journal entry I was kind of scared. We were staying in a dark store and were walking.
I drove for the first time and I think I’ll be good at it. I hit a big man, but he was fine. He is so big, I bet at one time he dreamed of being a professional wrestler. No one that big doesn’t dream of stuff like that.
His name is Commander Jonah Briggs and he runs what he hopes to be the new Army in the US, he said something about how we have to defend ourselves.
I don’t think he’s with the bad guys that hit the camp because he kept making calls looking for them.
He seems nice enough, except he keeps saying he’ll tell me why he can’t take us back to Lodi.
He hasn’t yet.
It didn’t take long for me not to be scared. He gave us some chocolate for the ride. Emmie peed her pants again. I’m thinking all that potty training her mom did is probably out the window now.
That happens. I remember when Tigger got potty trained; we got a new video game and darned if that potty training didn’t go right out the window.
Right now, I’m all showered and some doctor guy just took a look at me.
We rode through this small town; it looked a lot like Lodi. People were moving about, acting normal, which is cool. Jonah told the doctor guy after he cleaned us up he wanted him to take a look at us.
I told Jonah I was healthy as a horse. He didn’t believe me until the doc said I was healthy as a horse.
But Jonah was right, I think we all did smell. I didn’t notice until I got out of the shower and got a whiff of Tigger. Man…. did he smell.
I’m waiting right now for the others to get bathed. Then we’re meeting with Jonah. Hopefully, then we’ll call home.
12. Batting a Thousand
Las Vegas, NV
It reached the point of rushing. Lexi located not only the equipment she needed but also the supplies. Matt called for assistance to get the man to the main hotel, while he and Lexi loaded the items into his vehicle.
In Alaska at the onset of the outbreak, Bill had learned quickly how to insert an IV. Lexi had him start those on all of the pneumonia patients while she took specimens and samples.
“There’s seems to be a new sense of urgency,” Bill said to her. “What’s going on?”
“I talked to Henry today,” Lexi said, almost exasperated as she finished hooking up the computer to the microscope.
“That’s good news.”
“I asked him if he saw any post-flu cases of pneumonia. He hadn’t and said not to rule out that it is something else. That maybe a pilgrim brought it in.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know.”
“But we have a common factor — all of our patients previously had the flu.”
“Until the latest one,” Lexi said. “He said he never caught it.”
“Yeah, but so did Charlie the slot guy. We found out that was a lie.”
“Well, hopefully I am overreacting, but better safe than sorry.”
“True, but Lex,” Bill laid his hands on her shoulder, “what are the chances and where would these pilgrims get it to bring it in?”