✔ 03 | Point Of Exposure

CAPITULUM 09

Eastwood Elementary School
3:04 p.m.

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"Madalas nagpupunta siya rito dahil hatid-sunod niya yung mga bata," paliwanag ng guro. Maya-maya pa, dinagdag nito, "Pero nitong nakaraan, napansin ko ngang parang matamlay siya... Lumala siguro kaya kumuha na lang sila ng service. Mula 'non, hindi ko na siya nakita. H-Hindi ko alam na..." Mrs. Gozon's eyes misted, already informed about Mrs. Taves' death.

Nova nodded and handed her a tissue, "I'm sorry. May mga bagay talagang hindi natin kontrolado, and that's why we're here to at least know the truth about Mrs. Taves' passing."

"S-Salamat, hija." The elderly educator accepted the tissue.

"Nitong nakaraang buwan ba, may napansin pa kayong kakaiba? Wala ba kayong nakikitang madalas kasama ni Mrs. Taves, bago siya nagkasakit?"

Sandaling nag-isip ang guro. Maya-maya pa, umiling ito na agad na ikinalungkot ng mga detective. "Wala naman. Palagi lang niya noon sinasamahan ang mga bata... Isang mapagmahal at mabuting ina talaga."

Umismid si Nico mula sa pagkakaupo nito sa rehas balkohe, murmuring something along the lines of "well, lagi naman nilang sinasabing mabait ang isang tao kapag patay na". Sandali siyang tinapunan ng masamang tingin ni Nova. 'Gosh! How insensitive can this asshole be?'

Halos isang oras pa lang silang narito sa eskwelahan kung saan nag-aaral ang mga anak nina Mr. at Mrs. Taves. Nico called her earlier to meet up here and try to gather any useful information, lalo't nalaman nito kay Scorpio na madalas napapadpad dito noon ang biktima. So far, they haven't gained anything yet since Mrs. Taves seems to have a limited social life.

Now, the question silently hung in the air between them: how did she get exposed to the virus?

Nang nag-volunteer si Nova para ihatid sa kanilang classroom si Mrs. Gozon, nabigla ang dalaga nang sinalubong siya ng yakap ng kanyang nakababatang kapatid.

"Hi, ate!"

Nova blinked in confusion. "Nirvana? Teka... Ito yung room niyo?"

The kid nodded and started pulling her inside. Doon lang napansin ni Nova ang mga dekorasyon at musikang nanggagaling sa loob. Muntik na niyang nasapo ang kanyang noo nang ma-realize niyang Christmas party nga pala ngayon nina Nirvana.

'But then again, all the work has been keeping me busy.'

Still, Nova felt guilty for knowing so little about about the details. Pero sa kabila nito, nanaig ang kanyang takot. Kung magkaklase pala ang mga anak ni Mrs. Taves at ang kanyang kapatid, hindi kaya...?

No.

No, she doesn't even want to think about the possible danger.

Not now.

"---tapos nagdala yung papa niya ng spaghetti kanina! Look, we're just in time for the games!"

Nova stopped in her tracks and hesitantly smiled at her little sister who only gave her a confused look. "Nirvana, I can't stay. Nasa kalagitnaan kami ng isang imbestigasyon. Sunduin na lang kita mamaya, okay? Enjoy your party." Nova lightly tapped her chubby cheek.

"Okaaay po. Teka, imbestigasyon? Edi kasama mo po si Kuya Chinito?" Kuminang ang mga mata ng bata. "Ayieee!"

Nova sighed, ignoring her sister's teasing. "Hintayin mo lang ako rito mamaya ha?"

Tumango ang bata at mabilis na tumakbo papalapit sa kanyang mga kaibigan. All the while, Nova was still distracted when she walked back to where her partner is.

"You just discovered your sister's here, attending one of those childish Christmas parties, and now you're feeling anxious that she might've been exposed to the virus?"

"I'm not even gonna ask how you deduced that, Yukishito. Wala pa bang balita sa ECDCP?"

"The director and Dr. Clover assured us that they'll keep in touch as soon as they finished studying the virus' genetic material and compared it with the samples they have," he answered. "Sa ngayon, abala sila sa gaganaping press conference mamayang gabi. The case is already out in the open, thanks to media. Ipinatawag na rin kanina si Inspector Ortega sa city hall."

Nova stayed silent. 'Well, hopefully we'll be able to prevent having anymore infections,' she thought.

"This somehow reminds me of the 2001 anthrax attacks."

She raised an eyebrow. "The one with the anthrax killer?"

"That's the one," Nico confirmed. "The anthrax attacks or code name 'Amerithrax', began in September 18, 2001---a week after the 9/11 attack. The killer, Bruce Ivins, used letters laced with anthrax spores to expose his victims to the bacteria. As a result, five died and about 17 others became sick. Now that I think about it, it's understandable why he chose anthrax... Ang 'anthrax' ay nangmula sa bacteria na 'Bacillus anthracis'. It's commonly found in soil, it can be produced in a lab, and it can last for a long time. A bacteria that can easily be used against mankind. Ito ang rason kung bakit siya na-categorized bilang isang biological weapon."

"Do you think UD did the same trick?"

Kapansin-pansing napangiwi si Nico sa pangalan. Nova made a mental note to mention it more often just to get back at him for leaving her at lunch.

"We can't determine that without knowing the nature of the virus first. At isa pa, mukhang matagal na niyang pinagplanuhan ito kung ngayong buwan lumalabas ang mga sintomas. Viruses have incubation periods," Nico pointed out.

That was something she was familiar with.

Ang "incubation period" ay ang kung gaano katagal mula noong na-expose ang biktima sa virus hanggang sa makita ang mga sintomas ng sakit. Sa madaling salita, nagiging "dormant" ang virus sa katawan ng host, kaya wala itong kamalay-malay na infected na pala siya. Iba-iba ang incubation period ng iba't ibang virus. For example, coronavirus has an incubation period of 14 days. When you get infected now, the symptoms will only appear after about two weeks. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit inaabisuhan ang pagse-self quarantine ng dalawang linggo. Kapag lumipas ang dalawang linggo at walang nakitang sintomas sa'yo, only then will it be safe to say that you're not infected with coronavirus.

'Kaya ibig sabihin nito, posibleng last month pa nahawaan si Mrs. Taves,' Nova realized. 'But how many people have already been exposed?'

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