Chapter 34
“A curse of the periodic table.”
-Cam
Bits and pieces of the last few days come barreling back to me. Jogging in Legacy Lakes, then throwing up on a garden gnome. Nurses jabbing needles into my arms. A head-splitting alarm. Aaron holding me up in the world’s most uncomfortable shower.
I blink awake and look around the room.
Shit. I’m surrounded by plastic. There’s someone in a HAZMAT suit taking vitals.
“Excuse me,” I croak out. Damn. I could use some water. I clear my throat. “Excuse me?”
HAZMAT Person turns. “Oh, good. You’re awake.”
“Seems that way. Who are you?”
“Dr. Eloise Galen,” she comes closer to the bed. “I’m from the Centers for Disease Control. How are you feeling?”
“Like a pincushion.”
The doctor laughs. “That’s a good sign.”
“What is?”
“Your sense of humor is back,” she smiles at me. “You weren’t so amenable the first few days.”
I shake my head. “I don’t remember much. So, hit me with the bad news, doc.”
“You were exposed to Zendantium. A radioactive substance.”
I frown. “What the actual FUCK? How? Where? What is Zendantium?”
“All good questions,” she nods at me.
I motion for her to get the hell on with it. “That I’m sure you can answer, being with the CDC and all.”
“I’ll tell you what I can,” the doctor hedges. “First of all, Zendantium is commonly found in hospitals. It’s used to calibrate certain equipment.”
“It’s found in hospitals but also landed me in the hospital. That’s not at all hilarious. Or alarming.”
The doc pauses. “Never thought of it like that, but yes. I guess that might be considered humorous. And frightening.”
“Hospital equipment wouldn’t have enough of that radioactive stuff to land me here, though,” I point around the room.
“No.”
“Was it in the bomb that went off in the forest? Was this a dirty bomb?”
“No. Teams scoured that area and found only slight evidence of Zendantium. It didn’t come from the improvised explosives you encountered. And not enough of a dose to make you sick like you are now.”
“So, where did I come into contact with it, then? What does it look like?”
“It can be in liquid form, but when added to other elements, it forms an odorless crystalline shape.”
“Shit fire, cocksucker VirgilFuckingTroutwine!” My stomach flips over. I try to sit, but my head still pounds with the headache from hell.
Dr. Galen pushes me back on the bed. “Take it easy, Ms. Saber. Is Virgil Troutwine the man who lived in the cabin?”
