The Complex (The Omega Protocol Chronicles Book 3)

by Courtney McPhail

  “I think there is something really wrong with him.”

  Quinton jumped and spun around, finding Lorraine standing in the doorway, wringing her hands.

  “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

  She ignored him and stepped forward. “He was over on that other island where all those people were sick. What if he caught something?”

  “Then we’ll treat it,” Quinton said, grabbing a throat swab pack from the shelf. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “How can you not be worried about it?” she cried out, her voice shrill. “All those people died! Craig could be dying right now!”

  “Hey, hey, hey,” Quinton said, “You aren’t going to help him if you’re panicking like that. You’ve got to calm down.”

  Lorraine nodded furiously and took a deep breath, still wringing her hands together. He handed over the throat swab kit and the ibuprofen, giving her something to do with her hands.

  “Now, we’re going to go in there calmly and do the tests,” Quinton said. “There’s no reason to panic until we know for sure what we’re dealing with.”

  “But--”

  “Look around you, Lorraine,” Quinton said, holding his arms out to indicate the supply room. “We’re stocked to the gills here. That’s the one advantage we have over those people on that island. You and I both know that it is easy to die from not treating common illnesses correctly. It’s why we had jobs back in the day, right?”

  She nodded, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes. “You’re right. Okay, get the blood test kit and let’s go.”

  Quinton was glad to see she could pull herself together. He didn’t need his nurse freaking out.

  He understood her worry. She’d been with Craig since all this started and they’d almost lost him when he got shot. The two of them had been through a lot and she had a special place in her heart for him.

  He also knew that she had legitimate reason to worry. He hadn’t given much thought to whatever mysterious illness had taken those people but maybe he should have. He might have been prepared for this possibility.

  Subject File #742

  Subject: If anything happens to them, I won’t forgive myself.

  Administrator: You didn’t do this.

  Subject: I’ve should have seen it coming.

  Administrator: You aren’t psychic. No one could have known.

  “I love seeing my two favourite men hard at work.”

  A sly grin spread over Malcolm’s face when he looked up from the kitchen island to find Kim leaning in the doorway. He gave her a wink and finished dicing the last carrot for the salad.

  “You just like seeing me in an apron.”

  “You do look handsome,” Kim said, eyeing him up and down as she pushed off the doorway and walked to the other side of the island, “But I mostly like seeing someone else cooking. What’s on the menu?”

  Malcolm slid the carrots off the cutting board into the salad and gave it a quick toss. “Fresh trout from Javier and the boys morning fishing trip, vegetable fried rice and salad. Oh, and peaches for dessert.”

  The food they were able to make was definitely improving with the garden now yielding more vegetables.

  “Sounds great,” Kim said. “I thought you two would go for mac and cheese.”

  “You really doubt out gourmet skills?” Malcolm said, feigning offence as he looked at Trey. “She thinks we don’t know our way around the kitchen.”

  “I know that boy hasn’t cooked himself anything other than nuking Pizza Pockets and Hungry Man dinners,” Kim replied, cocking an eyebrow at her son.

  “Mom, just because I didn’t cook, doesn’t mean I don’t know how,” he smirked as he scooped the rice into a serving bowl.

  “Good to know. I’ll make sure Elaine adds more cooking shifts to your schedule,” she said and Trey groaned. “You’ve got nobody to blame but yourself.”

  “So, you just here to bug us or what?” Trey asked.

  “I figured I’d do the lunch delivery and bring a plate out to Janet,” Kim said.

  “The boys are still down?” he asked and Kim nodded.

  Claudia had told him that the boys were feeling sick when she brought Ruthie for breakfast. He had wanted to go check on her after breakfast but he’d got caught up talking to Javier about a problem he’d noticed with the Lund’s motor. By the time Malcolm had looked over the boat, it was time to start the lunch shift in the kitchen.

  “I should probably be the one to bring her lunch,” Malcolm said, feeling guilty that he hadn’t made time to check on his nephews. “See if they need anything.”

  Kim stood on her toes to press a kiss to him on the cheek. “You’re a good brother.”

  “I try,” Malcolm quipped. They made up the plates for Janet and the people on watch and he packed them in one of the baskets. “I’ll be back to help with cleanup.”

  Malcolm left out the back door and as he descended the steps, the clinic door flew open. Quinton rushed out, taking the steps in one leap. Malcolm could see he was white as a sheet, eyes wild as he charged down the path.

  “Quinton! What’s going on?” Malcolm called out, running towards him and Quinton waved the paper he was clutching in his hand at him.

  “We have to get to the twins now!”

  Quinton bolted off in the direction of Janet’s cabin without further explanation. Malcolm had no choice but to follow, trying to close the lead Quinton had with his head start but Quinton had longer legs and was able to outpace him as they ran up the path.

  Malcolm dug deep to make a final sprint as Janet’s cabin came into view, reaching out to grab hold of Quinton’s shoulder to bring him to a halt. Quinton fought him for a moment but Malcolm held tight.

  “Stop!” he gasped out, his breathing laboured as his heart pounded in his ears. “You’re...gonna...scare...her.”

  Quinton rounded on him, his eyes wide and fearful, panting heavily. “It’s bad...real...bad.”

  “What is it?”

  Quinton held up the paper again. “Meningitis.”

  “What?”

  “Craig has meningitis,” Quinton explained. “He came in this morning feeling sick. I ran some tests. He has meningitis. Claudia told me the twins weren’t feeling well today.”

  Malcolm’s stomach bottomed out as he realized what Quinton was saying. He looked at the cabin, fear filling him.

  “We need to get them to the clinic ASAP, run the tests so we know for sure,” Quinton said.

  “Alright, you’re right. Let’s go in together but we have to stay calm. We don’t know they have it. We can’t scare Janet.”

  Quinton nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself and Malcolm did the same. He noticed his hands were trembling and he clenched them into fists. He needed to be the strong one here. Janet would need him.

  Malcolm knocked on the screen door and Janet appeared from one of the bedrooms. She frowned as she looked at Quinton and then back to Malcolm. “What are you doing here?”

  “I need to check on the twins,” Quinton said, taking a step forward but Janet was quick to block his entrance.

  “Why?”

  “Janet, let us in,” Malcolm said. “There’s been an issue with Craig. He has meningitis.”

  Her eyes widened and she looked between the two of them again. “What does that have to do with the boys?”

  “Janet, let Quinton check on them.”

  “It’s just a summer cold, that’s all,” she said, her voice starting to tremble. “I’ve been checking their temperature. It’s only 101.”

  Malcolm reached out for his sister, taking her hand off the door jamb. “I’m sure they’re fine but you need to let Quinton check on them.”

  Janet nodded and stepped back, Quinton passing by her and hauling himself up the ladder.

  “I don’t understand,” Janet said as she followed behind Quinton. “How did Craig get meningitis?”

  “I don’t know,” Malcolm said, though he had a suspicion that it had to do wit
h the dead people they had found on that island. A sickness had wiped them out and now Craig was sick. It wasn’t that hard to put the pieces together.

  The boys were both in their beds, Quinton already kneeling beside Mark, checking him over. “Hey Mark, how are you feeling?”

  “My neck’s sore,” he groaned and Quinton began to palpate his throat, eliciting more moans of pain.

  Quinton looked over his shoulder at Malcolm. “We need to get them to clinic.”

  Janet let out a pained sound. “No, it can’t be that bad. It’s just a cold.”

  “It’s okay,” Quinton told her. “We’ll get them to the clinic and get them on antibiotics.”

  “Are you sure they have meningitis?” Malcolm asked.

  “I won’t know for sure until we run the tests but they have all the symptoms.” Quinton reached under the blankets to pull Mark into his arms. “Malcolm, get Matthew.”

  Malcolm went over and picked the boy up, who moaned a bit and then nestled his head against Malcolm’s shoulder. They slowly climbed down the ladder, being careful with the boys who let out pained cries with any sharp movements. Janet held the screen door open for them and they set off back to the clinic.

  “You’ll be able to make them better, right?” Janet asked Quinton between puffing breaths as she ran to keep up with them.

  “We’ve got plenty of medication to treat them,” Quinton said. “We’ve got to get them on IVs to replace their fluids. The fever’s only going to get stronger.”

  “But you’ll be able to make them better?” Janet cried out, her voice rising in panic.

  “I will,” Quinton promised as they reached the main lawn, the clinic in sight.

  Janet ran ahead of them to pull open the clinic door and they rushed the boys into one of the exam rooms. Craig was already in one of the beds, hooked up to an IV and Lorraine had arranged two more beds for the boys.

  Lorraine was dressed in a sterile gown, gloves and a mask. “You all need to get a mask and gloves on. We need to maintain a quarantine.”

  Malcolm went to the cupboard and pulled out masks and gloves for him and Janet, helping her to put them on as she stood in the doorway, her eyes glued on the boys.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he told her as he fastened the mask on her face and then put his own on.

  It might be an empty promise though. He thought of the others who had died on that island. It couldn’t be a coincidence that a few days after being there, the others were getting sick.

  Damn it, they never should have set foot on that island. He’d been greedy for what they had, determined to be a scavenger. If he hadn’t this wouldn’t be happening.

  Subject File #750

  Administrator: I am deeply concerned at this recent turn of events. Subject seven-five-zero has been showing improvement in keeping her anger in control however this latest event may end all that progress.

  Veronica had considered heading straight to the lodge for lunch but she really wanted a shower. She’d overslept that morning and had to scramble to get dressed and make it out to the north point in time to relieve Travis.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so well. Probably before the world ended. There was something to be said about the mind numbing power of good sex.

  A smile curled her lips and she felt her cheeks warm as memories of her night with Jackson played through her head.

  It had been even better than their first night together. That first night they’d been forced to get dressed not too long after when Claudia brought the girls back.

  But last night they’d both had the night off watch duty so when the girls had gone to bed, she and Jackson had retreated to their own room.

  It had been magical and beautiful and every other cheesy word she could think of to describe sex. It wasn’t just the pleasure, though that had been great. It was the intimacy she had experienced with Jackson.

  She had known that her mental connection with him was deeper than he had with anyone else and that had always made her feel special. But this, this physical connection with him, it was so much more. Something that she hadn’t realized she needed.

  It was also something that was completely new to her. None of her past relationships had felt like this. She’d never been a believer in the idea of soulmates but that was before she’d met Jackson.

  She felt like a teenager for thinking like that but she couldn’t help it.

  Life was good.

  She spotted Audrey sitting on the porch of their cabin, reading a book.

  “How was your morning?” she called out.

  “Good,” Audrey replied, marking her place in her book before closing it. “We helped Raquel at the garden. She showed us the beehives too. They’ve started making honeycomb.”

  “Cool,” Veronica said, taking a seat next to her on the porch. “Did you guys grab lunch already?”

  Audrey shook her head. “Hannah said she was tired and wanted to come back here to lie down. I think she got too much sun.”

  Veronica frowned. It wasn’t like Hannah to want to nap. She knew that the twins were down with some bug. Claudia mentioned it that morning when she ran into her at the lodge at breakfast. Maybe Hannah had caught it too.

  “I’m going to go check on her.”

  She found Hannah curled up on her bunk, a fist tucked under her chin. She stirred when the mattress dipped under Veronica’s weight when she sat down.

  “Hey there, how you feeling?” Veronica asked, putting her hand on the girl’s forehead. It was warm.

  “I don’t feel good,” Hannah mumbled, blinking rapidly as she tried to focus on Veronica. “My neck hurts.”

  Veronica pressed the back of her hand to Hannah’s flushed cheeks, feeling the heat coming off of her. She touched her neck, the narrow column stiff as a board. Veronica felt her stomach bottom out as she realized that this wasn’t just a simple cold.

  A vision of the graves on the other island flashed through her mind and she shuddered at the thought.

  No!

  This wasn’t the same. It couldn’t be.

  “Okay Squirt, we’re gonna go to the clinic to see Quinton,” Veronica told her, pulling back the blankets around the girl. “Do you think you can walk?”

  Hannah gave a little nod and then pushed herself up, her little feet dropping to the floor. She stood for a moment but then her knees began to wobble. Veronica’s arms shot out and grabbed the girl to steady her. No, it didn’t look like she could walk.

  “Nevermind, sweetpea, you get back into bed and we’ll get Quinton to come here,” Veronica said, trying to stay calm as she helped her back into the bunk. “I’m just going to go tell Audrey to get him. I’ll be right back.”

  She forced a smile on her face as she walked to the door, not wanting to alarm Audrey. “Aud, can you go get Quinton and ask him to come check on Hannah?”

  Audrey frowned. “Is something wrong?”

  She tried to keep her voice light. “She’s got a bit of a fever. I want him to give her a checkup, that’s all.”

  Audrey nodded and ran off to the clinic while Veronica went back inside. She got Hannah a glass of water and damp washcloth. She urged Hannah to sit up and take a few sips of water and then placed the washcloth over her forehead.

  “Better?” Hannah nodded. “Good. How about I read to you from your book?”

  Truth was, Veronica needed the distraction. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the hotel. The sweaty rumpled sheets. The medicine bottles scattered on the bedside table. The graves. They’d been sick and it had killed them.

  She snatched up the book and began to read to Hannah. They’d finished The Secret Garden and had moved on to Black Beauty. She read aloud and let the story take her away for a time, though her eyes would dart to Hannah every once in a while to check on her.

  She only stopped when she heard the snap of the screen door opening and closing. The book slipped from her fingers when Malcolm appeared in the bedroom doorway, dressed in a sur
gical mask and blue latex gloves. Something was very wrong.

  “What is it?” she asked even though she was terrified of the answer.

  “We’ve got to get Hannah to the clinic,” Malcolm said and crossed the room to the bunk. “Hey little miss, I’m gonna carry you to the clinic, okay?”

  Hannah nodded and Malcolm easily scooped her up in his big arms.

  “What is it?” Veronica repeated in a shaky voice. She grabbed Malcolm’s arm, digging her fingers into his skin to get his attention.

  “Craig and the twins have meningitis,” he told her. “Quinton wants Hannah at the clinic to do tests.”

  Panic crawled its way up her throat and she struggled to take a breath. There had been a meningitis outbreak at one of the schools in the district she taught in. Ten children had ended up hospitalized with it.

  But no one had died, she reminded herself. They’d been treated and gotten better.

  “Okay,” she said, her voice steady now. “Let’s get her there.”

  It was only after they had left the cabin that she realized she hadn’t seen Audrey. “Where did Audrey go?”

  “She’s in quarantine at the clinic until they can do bloodwork on her,” Malcolm replied. “He’s checking everyone who has been exposed to the people showing symptoms. He’ll want to check you too. Angela’s grabbing Jackson off of watch to come get tested.”

  “How bad are the others?”

  “They don’t look great,” he admitted, “But Quinton and Lorraine have it under control.”

  She wanted that to reassure her. They had medical professionals and plenty of medicine here. There was no reason to worry. Quinton would fix this.

  Repeating that mantra on the way to clinic only barely kept the panic at bay. Elaine was standing at the clinic door when they arrived and she held out a mask and gloves to Veronica before opening the door for Malcolm to bring Hannah inside.

  “They’ve set up another bed for her in the exam room,” she said as Veronica pulled on the gloves and tied on the mask, her shaking fingers fumbling with the ties. “Here, let me.”

  Elaine helped her tie the mask and laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”