When the screen shifted from blank black, it showed a small closet and Nella's ears were filled with the incessant buzz of an old florescent bulb and the muffled sobs of a woman somewhere outside the closet. Occasionally there was a sharp, rhythmic banging.
"Don't do this Robert!" Dr. Schneider's voice was pleading and raw even through the wall. "I'm not sick. You can see that I'm not sick."
"I'm sorry Gerta. I have to do this. I can't trust you to maintain quarantine voluntarily. Ann is locked in as well and I'll be locking myself in next."
"Someone's going to come looking for us," sobbed Dr. Schneider, "You won't get away with this."
"Someone might come along, but they'll have to ignore some pretty massive signs warning them. Then they'll have to break through several palettes I nailed across the door."
Nella paused the video. "Mr. Courtlen, I don't know if I should see this. Dr. Pazzo isn't charged with kidnapping but he could be."
He ran a hand over his head for a second. "I know you don't have to keep anything confidential, and I'm not asking you to. I don't think a kidnapping charge is anything Dr. Pazzo has to worry about. Not just because I don't expect him to win his case in this trial. Holding Ann and Schneider was necessary to protect the public. I don't think he will be charged even if it gets that far."
Nella was worried by his bleak outlook. She started the video without further comment.
The banging resumed for a few moments. "What's your brilliant plan for getting us out of here once our quarantine is done?"
There was a lengthy silence. The electric hum of the lightbulb seemed overwhelming.
"Or are we just supposed to slowly starve to death in here?" Her voice wavered like a candle in a breeze. Nella winced, sensing Dr. Schneider had been on the verge of hysterics.
"We're not going to starve. There was an emergency supply of food and medicine in the basement for just this sort of incident. I've supplied each of us with enough for almost a year. If I'm overreacting, then someone will break the quarantine before then. If I'm not- well, I guess if you are still not sick by then, you'll have the strength to break through these few boards. If you are really prepared to live alone in a dead world."
"You're mad Robert! We're fine, we're not sick."
"Speak for yourself Gerta."
"It was just a bad reaction that Ann had. We'll fix it together. But I can't do it in an office kitchen." There was only silence. "Robert? Robert!"
There was a squeal of hinges as the closet's metal door opened. Dr. Pazzo stumbled through and grabbed the camera, his face filling the screen.
"I can't remember what video number this is. I'm sorry. I'm having trouble with the details now. I'm making this particular entry in case I've been wrong about this whole thing and I need to defend my actions." The camera spun around to show the closet's interior. "Of course, if I'm right about the extent of damage this disease can cause, our collection of video diaries may help survivors figure out how this happened and maybe, someday, a way to cure what we have done."
The closet had been cleared and all that remained was a low cot, a pile of books, and a mop sink. It still looked cramped.
"As you can see," Dr. Pazzo began, "I have provided us with the basics. For water and toilet necessaries, we all have a drainable sink- actually Ann has a basin that is automatically filled regularly as part of animal care. But both Dr. Schneider and I have sinks. I've loosened the spigot in both, so that there is a constant small stream of water. For when we can't remember to turn it on by ourselves."
The camera shook and Nella realized Dr. Pazzo was crying silently. She heard Mr. Courtlen utter a strangled sigh beside her.
"Anyway," continued Dr. Pazzo in an exhausted voice, "We don't have to worry about water or light, since the lab was converted to solar power during the university's green initiative last year. The gas generator should kick on if the snow covers the panels and we have enough for a long while." The camera spun around to show a small shelf cut into the wall. "This is a food dispensary of sorts. I've programmed the timer for the animal room to release ration packets once a day to all of us. With the reluctant help of Dr. Schneider and some spare vent hoses from the maintenance room we should be well supplied for about a year. You may be wondering why I felt this system was necessary." Dr. Pazzo walked out of the closet. Nella saw with some shock that the desks and lab tables were gone, nailed in large panels over the visible doors and windows. The lab was left a gray wasteland ruled by a silver web of exhaust hose draped from the ceiling. Even the loose cords and computers had been carefully bundled to the far side. For a moment she wondered why such care had been taken in what had surely been a very hasty preparation. Dr. Pazzo lurched forward and stumbled, almost dropping the camera. Nella guessed that he must already have been very ill at the time of the video.
"It has been almost two weeks since we discovered Ann was infected and her symptoms have become dramatically worse." The camera swept over toward the glass window of the animal room. Nella wanted to cover her eyes. She heard Mr. Courtlen draw in a sharp, shocked breath. The window was smeared, edge to edge, with blood and fur and greasy matter. It was almost opaque with gore, except where the light shone through the yellow fats like a greasy paper bag.
"I have been into the animal room twice since she killed the first monkey. Once to move a cot in for her and once to attempt to clean that. But Ann attacked me so violently that I would have had to harm her to stop her. So I left and have not tried again. Instead I have relied on the internal video feed to observe Ann's symptoms." Dr. Pazzo paused and when he continued, his voice cracked.
"Ann can no longer speak articulately. She will sometimes shriek or grunt, but no one has heard a word from her in a week. She also no longer seems to recognize us by sight or voice. Even the animals- Ann used to lobby for us to treat our lab animals with all the kindness we could. Without fail she would bring them toys or interact with them even through the plastic suit we had to wear . . .
She killed them all. All the monkeys, one after another. Within two days, fifteen in all. She gorged herself on them. The only thing I can think is that she is suffering from a strange compulsion. She is certainly not hungry. I don't know, however, how much is just the constant aggression and hostility she is displaying and how much is the need to eat. Anyhow, this is why I put the food distribution system in place. So each of us would get the calories we needed every day without killing ourselves by eating too much, too quickly."
Dr. Pazzo walked over to a bank of light switches. "It became clear that we would have to separate ourselves not only from the outside world, but also from each other after Ann's numerous episodes of violence. And since we do not know when or if we will all suffer from the same symptoms, we had to act as quickly as possible. This is why we are in isolated, secure cells. Ann's is locked from the outside. Gerta- Dr. Schneider's kitchen has no lock, so I boarded the door with a few slats. It won't be enough to hold her back for very long as long as she remains well and rational enough to use tools. But it will discourage anything as impaired as Ann has become. Whether that thing is trying to get out or trying to get in. God, how I hope I'm mad and this will all be over soon."
Dr. Pazzo began flicking light switches, consigning section after section of the lab to windowless dark. The animal room glowed pink and yellow, a smeared cathedral window into hell. A crack of gold outlined Dr. Schneider's kitchen and a thin path to the closet drew Dr. Pazzo down it toward his prison. Dr. Pazzo sobbed loudly when he reached the door. Nella felt something in her chest snap in sympathy for his loneliness.
"I don't know if I'll have the dexterity or intelligence to use the key once the disease truly takes hold," he said, and then rolled a shimmering key in his hand so that the camera picked up its light. "But I'm not going to take the chance." Dr. Pazzo placed the camera on the floor facing the doorway. For a long, long minute nothing happened. Nella could hear a lo
w, drawn out moan as Dr. Pazzo wept. Then a shaking hand carefully placed the key in front of the camera. Nella felt pure, irrational panic reach up and choke her. The hand pushed the key, shooting it through the crack at the bottom of the door, off into the sea of darkness beyond.
Dr. Pazzo picked up the camera and spun it to face him. "That will do for this video I think. I will try to record more if I can, so that any future researchers will be able to track the symptoms of this disease." The screen went black.
Nella turned toward Mr. Courtlen. "How long were they like that?" she asked.
"Ironically, they were some of the first Infected to be Cured. But I think Dr. Pazzo said he and Ann were there about fourteen months. Their rescuers said both were very emaciated, to the point that a few days more might have meant they starved to death. Dr. Schneider escaped after only about two weeks after being confined and has never been seen again, that we know of."
"Funny," said Nella, "I could swear I've seen her face before, but I've wracked my brain and I can't place where or when."
"Maybe you knew her Before? I gather she was quite well known in scientific circles."
"Maybe," answered Nella doubtfully.
"If you do remember, the prosecutor would certainly like to speak with her."
"I'm sure most of the world would like a chance to speak with her. Maybe she just has one of those faces." Nella shook her head.
"It looks like there is only one video left. I know it's been a long day, but we should try to get through it." Mr. Courtlen looked for a moment and Nella's bandaged hand before continuing. "Should we stop for a minute and get you some more painkillers?"
Nella's brain screamed an emphatic yes. Her hand was a pulsing, creeping fire. But she knew how precious each pill was, so she clenched her teeth and then said, "No, I'm okay." Her smile was hardened plastic. "Besides, I wouldn't be able to drive home if I took anything."
Mr. Courtlen hesitated and then nodded and started the last video.
Dr. Pazzo was propped against the closet wall. His beard was full and thick, but Nella could see large patches of hair on his head were missing. She wondered if it were part of the disease or simply stress.
"Um. I can't remember which video this is. My watch says it's been about ten days since I locked us away."
He sounded slow, almost drunk, and he concentrated hard on every phrase. "My speech has been getting worse, though I didn't realize how much until now. My conversation to this point have been limited to a few words spoken through the wall to Dr. Schneider. She seems fine, but refuses to tell me if she is seeing symptoms in herself or not. I don't have much room in here to turn around, so testing the deterioration of my motor skills has been a little inconclusive. I do know they were deteriorating rather rapidly before I locked myself in here."
Dr. Pazzo paused for a minute and Nella could see him blushing. At last he said, "I'm having considerable difficulty concentrating on the words in my books." He turned the camera toward a pile of shredded paper. "As you can see, I became very frustrated yesterday. I don't even recall what finally set me off. I do, however, remember actually doing it. It was an exhilarating moment to just be ripping and tearing. I find that disturbing, but I'm not sure what I can do to stop it."
He turned the camera back to his face. "I think I'll give up reading for a while," he said with a rueful grin, "at least I'll have some toilet paper when I run out. If I'm still aware enough to want it. God knows Ann wasn't." The grin turned into slow tears that Dr. Pazzo mopped at clumsily with one arm. He cleared his throat.
"Unfortunately, I feel physically fine. We've made the strain both too resistant to be cured and too weak to cause any real damage until it is already well entrenched in the brain. It's never going to kill the host by itself. Hosts may kill each other due to hostility resulting from the bacteria's effect, but it's probably not going to burn itself out like other epidemics. It's not even going to show up in doctor's offices or hospitals until it is far too late. It's so mild until the end, that no one will seek medical attention for this. I can only pray that we caught it in time, that we are the only three who are infected. And if that's not the case, I hope that someone has a new antibiotic waiting in the wings that will work on this superbug we have created-"
"Robert? Is that you?" The voice was muffled but Nella could understand what was said. Dr. Pazzo rolled his eyes without even looking at the camera.
"Yes, of course, who else would it be?" Nella was surprised by how snappish his response was.
"I have something I need to confess."
"Are you finally admitting that you are sick?"
"What does it matter if I am or if I'm immune? I'm going to die here either way."
Dr. Pazzo ran a hand through his thinning hair and closed his eyes. He gently knocked his head against the wall, thick tears leaking through his beard. He took a deep breath. "All right, what sordid thing did you do? I hope it's naughty," he said with a faint smile.
"No Robert, this time I'm serious."
The smile dropped from his face and he opened his eyes.
"Robert? Are you still listening?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Remember how we discussed developing a strain with NDM plasmids?"
Dr. Pazzo sat straight up, his eyes flying wide. Nella watched his adam's apple jump and throb like an erratic heartbeat. "Gerta," he called, his voice raised more now, "We said we weren't going to do that, that normal resistances were good enough. We said we weren't going to play with anything that dangerous."
"I know we said that."
Dr. Pazzo stood up, the camera in one hand. He leaned against the wall between him and Dr. Schneider, his ear resting on it. "Gerta, please don't tell me that you went ahead and tried it anyway."
"It was supposed to be harmless, Robert. You said it would be harmless. It was controlled, only the one plasmid changed."
"Jesus," Nella whispered.
Mr. Courtlen paused the video. "What is it? What are they talking about?"
"It's been a long time since medical school but I believe they were talking about creating a strain of bacteria that is completely immune to all antibiotics. Something for which there is no cure, there can be no cure, not even a miracle one like the one that saved us this time. And a different strain means even the Immunes wouldn't be safe this time."
Nella could feel the sweat gathering at her hairline, but she shuddered and hugged herself.
Mr. Courtlen stared at her in shock. His face was so pale that his scar was like a shadow at midnight. "They couldn't have. He would have told me. He would have warned someone."
"We have to know." She grabbed the remote and started the video again.
"Good God. Why? Why would you do this? You didn't even finish the testing with this strain."
"I thought we could test them at the same time, get both pushed through at once. I wanted to patent the stronger strain and have the weaker one as backup. It was supposed to be harmless, why would anyone need to cure it? If it could withstand everything, then everyone, even people with chronic illness could benefit from it."
Dr. Pazzo was shaking. He stroked the wall with his free hand. "Please Gerta, please tell me you only thought about it. Please tell me we aren't infected with an NDM strain."
"No, we are infected with your strain."
"Thank God."
"But I did create it. It's stored in a private laboratory. I didn't tell anyone about it. It's locked away, but I didn't expect this to happen. I don't know if it's safe, that's why I fought you on the quarantine."
Dr. Pazzo started laughing.
"This isn't funny Robert."
"What does it fucking matter? The disease we released needs a miracle cure. By the time anyone realizes it, all the labs, all the governments, they'll all have collapsed. There's no cure coming. The disease that lurks in your lab has no cure at all. What does it matter? The world is going to t
ear itself apart human by human."
"Stop talking like that Robert. You're crazy."
Dr. Pazzo stopped laughing. "I'm crazy? I'm crazy? You delusional bitch. This whole thing is your fault. You're greedy and impatient. You couldn't wait to follow protocol so you purposely exposed Ann. Then you let her walk out into the world. You murdering bitch. You've killed us all for the sake of a few dollars."
Dr. Pazzo pounded on the wall with every sentence. Nella could see his face twisting into a bitter rage.
"I have to leave Robert. I have to undo this and see if I can stop the NDM bacteria from being discovered and released."
"Don't you dare!" roared Dr. Pazzo, thumping the wall. "You will infect everyone you meet, you'll kill the world even faster."
"I have to Robert. I can't stay here any more." There was a splintering squeal of breaking wood.
"No! You can't leave! You can't do this!" Dr. Pazzo was banging and kicking the wall, forgetting the camera in his hand. There was another crash from beyond the wall and Dr. Pazzo roared, no longer forming words. The camera bashed again and again into the wall and the guttural roar was unending. At last the camera's image shattered into bright white pixels and the video stopped.
Frank Courtlen
After the Cure Page 14