Page 13 of Deadly Strain

“I’ll order the quarantine.”

She ended the call and turned to the waiting men. “I’ve got orders from Colonel Maximillian to examine the discovery patrol and collect samples from them. Once that’s done, I need to get the samples to Max as fast as possible. This area is not to be decontaminated until we’re sure we know what we’ve got here. He’s as worried as I am about how fast this infection progresses and the possibility it’s crossed the species barrier. This is a unique pathogen that is already a devastating weapon. If we don’t do this right, we could make things infinitely worse.”

It took a couple of seconds for anyone to respond. “Marshall won’t like it,” Sharp finally said.

“He doesn’t have to. Colonel Maximillian is in charge of this situation now.” She turned to Leonard. “I’m going to check in on the patrol. Can you and Bart contact the base and let them know they have to wait until Colonel Maximillian gives the word before any decontamination can begin?”

“What do you want us to say if Marshall insists on talking to you?” Leonard asked.

He probably would. “I don’t have time for long explanations, but if he wants a short report from me directly, he can have one after I’ve finished with the discovery patrol.” She walked away.

The medical tent was up, but that was all it was: a tent with three sides down, the fourth open to the air. Grace grabbed one of the larger first-aid kits and took stock of what she had. The kit had the supplies to treat everything from broken bones to heart attacks, but not enough supplies to treat multiple patients with the same illness or injury.

She might have to get creative.

She laid a thermal blanket on the ground and went to find the patrol leader.

He waited only a few feet away and started walking as soon as she made eye contact with him, but he stumbled after only a few steps, coughing hard.

She went to him, holding on to his arm and taking some of his weight so he didn’t fall over. It took several seconds for him to calm his breathing and straighten, but when he did, she had to hold back a horrified gasp.

His face plate was completely obscured by blood. The mask wasn’t helping him at all and the filter was probably saturated. “Can you walk?” she asked him.

He nodded and walked with obvious difficulty into the tent. He lay down on the blanket and she slipped the face mask off him. “This isn’t helping you.”

He didn’t complain, just closed his eyes and lay quivering on the ground.

“Are you experiencing any pain?”

“My joints.” As he spoke, she heard popping sounds from deep in his chest, like an old-fashioned coffee percolator.

She picked up his hands and noted slight swelling in them. “Your knees, too?”

He nodded. “Hard to breathe.”

“I’m sorry this is difficult for you, just try to breathe normally.” She couldn’t use a stethoscope without taking her suit off, so she leaned in close to listen to him breathe.

Definitely fluid in his lungs.

He managed two good breaths before he started to cough again. Blood sprayed out from between his lips with every exhalation he made.

Sharp crouched down on the other side of the soldier and used some Wet Wipes to clean the blood off the sick man’s face.

“I need to take your clothing off from your waist up,” she said to her patient.

He didn’t complain, just kept coughing and nodded.

Sharp helped her remove the soldier’s upper body armor, uniform shirt and undershirt. She took a flashlight and peered at his armpits. Small lesions were visible under both arms.

Grace grabbed swabs and sampled the discharge from the lesions, then she drew a couple of vials of blood from the soldier.

“Am I going to die?” he asked her, his eyes dull and frightened.

No doctor ever liked that question. “I need to know more about what’s making you sick. It might be the same thing as what killed these villagers, it might not.” She patted his arm. “I’ll be right back.” She looked at Sharp. “Stay with him, please.”

Sharp was shaking his head before she could finish talking. “I can’t do that, Doc. You know my orders.”

“I’ll stay with him,” another soldier said. One of Marshall’s medics.