“The clinic is bombarded. We must have a hundred people waiting to be seen and our staff is overwhelmed. We can’t turn them away but we can’t have them all sitting on top of each other.”
“We can help,” nodded Hex.
“Listen to me. I need everyone to scrub and I do mean scrub. Wear gloves and masks, and do not take them off for anything. Understood?” she asked glaring at them.
“Understood,” they said in unison. Thirty men followed her back to the clinic and were shocked at what they saw, and what they smelled.
“What the fuck?” muttered Tristan. He looked around the room seeing the bedpans, vomit bins, wastebaskets, and other things being used. The smell was nauseating and overpowering.
“Yeah. Vomiting, diarrhea, all of it. Put some of this congestion vapor salve under your nose. It will help. Welcome to triage.”
CHAPTER TWO
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that,” said Jalen as they walked back to the cafeteria. They’d missed lunch, although no one thought about food with those smells. “It was like a pandemic.”
“Don’t utter those words, brother,” said Frank. “Whatever it is, it damn sure has a hold on the community. I assume everyone scrubbed down afterwards?”
“I damn sure did,” said Dom. “We also all changed our clothes.”
“Same,” nodded Jalen and the others. “I did get to meet the new docs and nurses. They all seem great and definitely will fit into this team. Did you see the size of Quentin? That dude is nearly as big as Noah.”
“Bastard is definitely big,” smirked Bodhi, “and I say that having a brother that looks like sasquatch.”
“I heard that,” said Cade. The others only laughed shaking their heads.
Inside the cafeteria, families were coming in, ready for the evening meal. It was warm, out of the biting winds of winter, and the smells that assaulted them were unbelievable.
“I smell gumbo,” grinned Aiden.
“Red beans and rice,” smiled Dalton.
“Shrimp creole,” said Callan. “Out of the way boys, I’m starving.”
As they sat down to eat, the doctors and nurses came in looking exhausted. Cam and the other seniors frowned, moving to speak with them.
“How are things?” asked Luke.
“We had to admit a few people,” said Kennedy. “This isn’t the flu. We’re not sure what it is. It presents like the flu with aches, pains, and fever but some patients develop blisters on their torsos, blurry vision, even vomiting and diarrhea.”
“We were a witness to that,” said Carl. “I’ve never seen that many people sick at one time. Are they all from this area?”
“No,” said one of the new doctors, Darcie. “Hello again, everyone. You were amazing in there. I’m so glad you were all available to help. But to answer your question, they weren’t all from this area. Some were coming from as far away as Bogalusa. They were referred by friends because they’d been sick for so long by other physicians and no one could seem to help them.”
“We’ve got Suzette and Riley working in the lab trying to figure out what the hell this is, whether it’s an old strain just amplified or something new that we haven’t seen before,” said Layla. “It’s terrifying and we have to find a way to stop it before it spreads.”
“Get some dinner and try to get some rest,” said Kennedy looking at her fellow doctor.
“I’ve already eaten,” she smiled. “I’m going to head back and be on hand for the night crew. We know folks will come through the emergency room if they have to.”
“Call us if you need help,” said Callan. “We’re just a few minutes away.”
Layla nodded, Cole standing to walk his wife back to the hospital. No doubt, he would spend the evening sleeping in her office in case she needed anything. Alexandra walked toward her son’s table, bending to kiss him on the cheek.
“Hi Mom,” smiled Luke. “Where’s dad?”
“Your father is having an existential crisis. He’s learning the importance of being able to communicate with the animals.”
“Yeah, we heard that he was arguing with Elvis and Stella. Is there another problem?” asked Luke.
