"Let me get this straight," Maris said. "You put the serum in a water bottle. You watched Liz Parker take exactly two little sips of it. And then you sent her home… with the water bottle."
"I didn't know she would share it with anyone else," Alan Sosa said defensively. "It's unsanitary."
"Have you ever met a sanitary teenager?" Maris snapped.
"This isn't my fault," Alan insisted. "You're the one who had me develop the serum. You're the one who told me to give it to Liz Parker. I'm not going to take the blame for this."
"No, Meta-chem will be blamed for it, you idiot!" Maris slammed her hand down on her desk. "Alan, do you even realize what you've done?" she cried. "There is an entire city full of people out there who have ingested nonhuman, possibly nonterrestrial, DNA. They're calling it a virus! Apparently this stuff can reproduce and spread!"
"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" Alan cried. "We never tested it before. Besides, it's not really reproducing. It's not a true virus. The Healer's DNA just seems to attach itself to human DNA. And it doesn't spread like a bacteria."
"I don't care if it lays eggs," Maris cried. "It's hopping from one person to the next, and they're all getting sick. How can they be sick from the Healer's DNA?"
"I told you we don't know how he heals," Alan said. "His DNA attaches itself to the patient's DNA strands. But maybe he does something else while he's healing them."
Maris dropped her head into her hands. This was a disaster.
"There's clearly some link to his healing properties," Alan said. "Because his DNA is certainly affecting people's health."
"Exactly opposite of how we want it to affect their health," Maris said.
Alan turned toward her office door. "You wanted a test, Maris. This is it. This is what the serum does to humans."
His self-satisfied tone brought Maris back to her senses. She sat up and snatched her phone.
"What are you doing?" Alan asked.
"Damage control," she told him. "You're right, this is my test. And I'm going to get the results. I'll see how it affects every single person who's been exposed to it."
"How are you going to do that?" he asked. "The hospital has already called the Centers for Disease Control. They'll take charge of it from here."
"And I'll be helping them every step of the way," Maris said. "Meta-chem will be their new best friend."
Liz felt as if she were swimming though the air. She'd never noticed it before… the way air pressed on your skin. It felt like a light, soft blanket wrapped all around her. She was beginning to get used to it, she thought. It didn't hurt,
after all. It was just a different way of being aware of her body.
Her eyes were still closed, but she could hear enough to tell her everything she needed to know. She could hear Max's breathing, very loud, as he sat next to her hospital bed. She could hear people moaning and crying in the beds all around. She could hear doctors whispering to one another in worried tones. And from out in the main waiting room, she could hear a crowd of people. She didn't hear them individually, just the roaring sound of the whole group. At first the sounds had been too loud, but she seemed to be getting used to them now too.
Liz opened her eyes, and immediately Max jumped to his feet. "Liz," he whispered. It sounded like a normal speaking voice. Liz smiled. Max had learned not to talk too loudly since she'd gotten sick.
"Hey," she said. "Are my parents here yet?"
He shook his head. "I think its pretty crowded out there. They might have trouble getting in," he said.
Liz just nodded. She stared up at the tile ceiling of the hospital. The tiny specks in the tile seemed to be moving around, forming shapes. The lights weren't too bright anymore, but she thought she could see different colors in them. "It's changing," she told Max. "Before, everything was too harsh… the sounds, the lights. But now it's all just… different."
He looked worried. "They haven't even done any tests on you," he complained. "When are they going to come back and examine you?"
"It's okay," she replied. "They checked my heart and my lungs. I'm not in any immediate danger. If it's crowded,
they have to treat sicker people first. Why is it so crowded, anyway?"
Max wouldn't meet her eyes. "Uh, it's some sort of… epidemic."
"What?" Liz cried. "Everyone is sick like me?"
"I don't think so," Max said. "As far as I can tell, everybody is sick in a different way. I heard some of the doctors talking. They don't know what's causing it."
Liz studied Max's face. His eyes were bloodshot, almost as if he'd been crying. He's really worried about me, she realized. Liz reached out for his hand.
"I thought your skin hurt," Max said. "In the car, you couldn't stand anything touching you."
"That doesn't apply to you," she told him.
He took her hand in his. Liz closed her eyes and let the sensations in her skin wash over her. She felt the warmth of Max's body seeping into her, as if his love was a tangible thing. In fact, if she concentrated really hard, she almost thought she could hear his heart beating.
"You have to leave now." The voice was harsh, and loud enough to make Liz jump. Her eyes flew open, and she saw a doctor standing at the foot of her bed. He wasn't looking at her. He must be talking to Max.
"Are Liz's parents here?" Max asked.
"I don't know. But you have to leave," the doctor insisted.
"Max, no," Liz cried.
"I told her I'd stay until her parents… "
"All visitors must leave the hospital now," the doctor interrupted. "We're overcrowded, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on its way to investigate.
They've ordered us to send everyone home unless they're ill."
"The CDC?" Liz whispered.
"Is this a contagious disease?" Max demanded.
"We don't know anything," the doctor said. "But as a precaution, we'd like to separate those showing symptoms from those who are healthy. If it's a contagion, we don't know how it's spreading."
"Everyone is sick with something different. How can it be one disease?" Max went on, raising his voice. "Why is the CDC coming?"
Liz pulled her hand away from Max's so she could cover her ears. Immediately he turned to her. "Sorry," he said, lowering his voice.
"Max, go," Liz whispered. "If something's happening, you'll be able to figure it out if you find Michael and Isabel. Don't worry about me."
He searched her face. "Are you sure?" he mouthed, glancing at the doctor, whose back was turned.
Liz smiled. "I don't think you have much choice. But as long as you're out there trying to solve this, I'll feel better."
"Okay." Max didn't sound too confident. "I love you, Liz."
Then he turned and followed the doctor down the hallway.
Maria bounced her leg nervously. She didn't know what to worry about most. Her mother, who was still wheezing air through an oxygen mask? Her little sister… sister!… whom she'd left at her house with Michael? Her father, who was even more of a jerk than she'd ever thought? Or the entire
city of Roswell, which seemed to be in the grip of a bizarre autoimmune failure?
"Max!" Isabel cried. "Over here!"
Maria spotted Max weaving his way through the crowded room. When he saw them, his worried expression turned to one of confusion. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked. "Who else is sick?" He glanced at Maria's mother.
"She has asthma," Maria informed him.
"And Kyle's inside somewhere," Valenti added. "He sort of passed out."
"And Jesse," Isabel added. "The new lawyer from Dad's firm."