The Z Contingency

Chapter 41

As Earl pulled up the driveway of the hospital he noticed an unusual number of cars in the parking lot. He followed the signs to the door marked Emergency and parked at the curb. A man with really red eyes, coughing uncontrollably and spitting into a bloody handkerchief, lumbered past him and made his way through the door. A woman with similar symptoms followed. Man, I hope I don’t catch anything while we’re here.

Bubba ran in and was able to find a nurse with a wheel chair. He showed her to the truck, and after carefully easing Roy into the wheelchair, they headed through the door of the emergency center. By that time, the rest of the group had parked in the small lot and caught up with them.

 “I was afraid we weren’t going to be able to park. Luckily we were able to find spaces near the dirt lot on the far end. Something must be going on with all of these people here.” Natalie looked around as they walked towards the emergency room waiting area. All available seats were occupied, forcing people to find spaces against the walls, or in the hallways. Two police officers were standing by the registration desk.

 Given the severity of his injury, the nurse immediately rolled Roy back into the exam area. “I’m going with him Natalie... get him situated. You all stay here and see if you can find out what’s going on. I’ll let you know what’s happening with Roy as soon as the doctor sees him.” Bubba followed Roy back through metal double doors into the patient exam area, feeling self-conscious, as he looked down at the floor and tried to be inconspicuous with his concealed weapons while passing the two police officers.

 Natalie went hunting for a vending machine, realizing she was quite thirsty. As she scanned the room, her gaze rested on a thin, dark-haired woman wearing black who looked tired, but didn’t appear to be suffering from the same symptoms as others in the room. She was camped out on a chair, quietly sipping her beverage.

“Mary?” Natalie recognized the woman they had lunch with at the ramp festival six days ago. “I didn’t expect to see you again. What are you doing here?”

Mary looked up, her expression brightening as she recognized Natalie’s face. “Oh, hello... ramp festival, right? It’s my boyfriend, Danny. He really started getting sick the day after we left you. We had to check him in a few days ago, and he’s been here ever since. I thought I was coming down with something too, but ended up feeling okay. A bit tired and achy, but Danny got the worst of it.”

“Wow, I remember he looked a little ill when we were sitting at the table, but it didn’t seem that serious.”

Mary gave a feeble smile, “At first I joked with him that he should have eaten the ramps... that anything smelling so strong had to scare away any germs. Like garlic.”

Natalie recalled something her mother told her long ago. “Actually, there’s some truth to that. I grew up in this area and my mom used to tell me that ramps could ward off colds and stave off infections.”

At that point Mary glanced around and looked concerned, then started talking again in hushed tones.

“They’ve isolated some of the patients in back. They wouldn’t let me stay with him. I’m kind of worried there’s something going on. I overheard some of the patients talking to the staff. I think they were all at the jazz festival in Atlanta. I heard them say something about the CDC. You don’t think it’s some kind of poison do you?”

Natalie found herself fully attentive at mention of her agency.“Did you say the CDC?” Then it hit Natalie all at once. She was witnessing the start of an epidemic. She’d been out on the A.T., backpacking in the middle of nowhere, out of touch with civilization. Reflexively, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and turned it on. Twelve missed calls! Damn it.