Three days after his first symptom, he died.
When Kaylana crumpled to the ground Aurora let go of his hand and rushed into the room.
Akemi stood beside her just as grief stricken.
‘I can’t … I can’t …’ Kaylana pulled her hair.
Aurora dropped to the floor beside her and pulled her into an embrace. Tears ran down both of their faces.
‘We have to do something.’ Kaylana lifted her head from Aurora’s shoulder, glancing toward Rick’s lifeless body. ‘I can’t go through that again.’
Zane watched all of this take place in silence. His feelings were usually more subdued than others and right now he was thankful for his numbness.
Kaylana, Akemi, and Aurora looked like they were barely hanging on.
He moved to the bed and picked up Rick’s lifeless body. He could save them from this.
‘Where are you going?’ Kaylana let go of Aurora as if she was going to protest.
‘It’s okay. I’m just taking him to the hatch. He can’t stay here. You’ve already got samples of his blood work for the past three days. And after Nathaniel’s autopsy, I don’t think we need to do another one.’ Cutting open Nathaniel’s body had taken a toll on all of them and he’d only watched. It wasn’t something Kaylana would be able to get through again. And all it had told them anyway was that the virus was fast acting and attacked their organs. Specifically the heart.
Tears poured from Kaylana’s eyes as she mutely nodded to his reasoning.
Aurora pulled her back into a hug and all fight went out of Kaylana. She mouthed thank you over Kaylana’s head.
Zane nodded.
He left them behind as he carried Rick to the airlock, trying not to notice how cool his body already felt. None of them needed to experience this. It was the fourth body he’d had to dispose of and it still wasn’t any easier.
He laid Rick down while he suited up.
Once he was suited he picked him back up and opened the hatch.
‘Acclimate for EVA.’
When the room was ready he pushed the button to open the airlock to what would be Rick’s resting place.
He pushed his body so that it floated out the hatch and into the void beyond.
Zane watched as Rick’s body expanded, froze, and then splintered into a million glittering pieces.
He didn’t return to the medical bay for several hours knowing they needed their time to grieve. And he needed the time too.
When he did return Aurora seemed to be giving Kaylana a pep talk. She nodded when he walked into the room, acknowledging his presence.
‘We’re going to figure out what’s going on,’ Aurora said, and it sounded like she believed it.
‘Obviously keeping everyone separated didn’t keep it from spreading,’ Akemi voiced in.
Kaylana seemed to be feeling better and determined to keep it from happening again. She threw herself onto a stool and maneuvered a microscopic screen over a blood sample. She leaned closer, voicing her medical mumbo jumbo. ‘Here’s what we know. It’s a virus. And from what I can see, the virus is wedging itself into anything it can find—lungs, heart, cells. Every time it does this, it takes over by injecting a lethal dose of RNA into the victim. Altering their very DNA.’ Kaylana glanced up from the table. ‘After Nathaniel’s autopsy …’ She swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut.
Akemi sat down beside her and rubbed her back in soothing motions.
Taking a deep breath, Kaylana continued. ‘It’s obvious the virus is attacking its way to the heart. Our bodies just can’t keep up with it.’
‘Alright. Well let’s talk it through.’ Aurora moved to the other side of the table. She swiped under her eye, looking determined. ‘How are we getting infected?’ she asked, directing her question toward Akemi and Kaylana.
‘We don’t know. It could be transferred in a lot of ways. Blood, mucus, direct contact, through the air … We just don’t know.’
Wanting to be a part of the conversation, Zane seated himself beside Aurora so that he was facing Akemi and Kaylana. ‘Okay, so let’s forget how it’s spreading for now. What happens once you get it?’ he asked.
‘At first, nothing.’ Kaylana glanced at Akemi as if for confirmation. ‘Nathaniel was probably sick for twelve to twenty-four hours before he started showing symptoms.’
‘And when he did, he only lasted another three days,’ Akemi stated in that quiet way of his.
‘So it’s a quick disease?’ Zane asked.
‘Very.’ Kaylana nodded.
‘How do we stop it?’ Aurora asked, getting to the heart of the matter.
‘We won’t know that until we know what it is exactly and how it’s spreading.’
‘You two keep working on the getting rid of it problem.’ Aurora looked from Kaylana and Akemi to Zane. ‘You and I will work on the how it’s spreading problem.’
‘That’s smart.’ Zane pulled a tablet off the wall. ‘Should we make a list?’
‘Yeah, we’re going to be pros at this whole list thing.’ Aurora smiled, probably remembering the last time they’d had to make one together. Only last time it had been just Aurora’s life in danger.
Zane typed out Tor, Dr Shaffer, and Nathaniel’s name on the screen. ‘Nathaniel was infected first.’ He drew a circle around Nathaniel’s name with his finger. ‘So he’s our first victim. What was he doing his first few days on the station?’ Nathaniel had died their sixth day on Aviary. And a death seemed to happen every three or so days following that.
He swallowed before continuing to think aloud. ‘We’ll have to get his techiwatch to get his schedule.’ Thankfully, Zane had removed Nathaniel’s personal items before he’d been sent to live for eternity with the stars. He’d felt weird doing it at the time, but now was glad he’d thought of it. When he pulled the watch out of his pocket, Aurora’s eyes widened.
‘You have it?’
Zane nodded. Aurora reached out and briefly squeezed his hand. ‘I’m sorry you had to do that.’
‘Me too.’ Zane pushed thoughts of frozen, splintered bodies away and focused on the techiwatch. He turned it over in his hands so that the wide flat screen lay face down and opened the back, exposing the circuit panel. Zane looked through his tool kit, aka his pocket, until he found a thin pressure pin that looked like a small needle. He separated the small white wire from the back paneling and attached it to the port on his tablet screen.
Nathaniel’s last alerts appeared on the screen. Zane read from the last message, the one when his heart stopped, all the way through until the watches stored memory ended.
1215 Heart Rate no longer detected
1205 Heart rate critical. Seek medical help immediately
1203 Atrial Fibrillation detected
1200 Heart rate excessive. Seek medical help immediately.
1147 Heart Rate Elevated.
1103 Breathing Rate Elevated.
0900–1030 Physical Activity Scheduled
0830–Fever detected
0800–0900 Shuttle simulator runs
0700 Breakfast
0612 Sleep Activity Report—REM sleep not reached. Irregular heart and breathing rate detected.
2300–0600 Scheduled sleep hours
1900 Dinner
1500 Physical activity. 1.5 hours
1200–1400 Shuttle simulator runs.
1100 Lunch
0800–1100 Lesson on station structure with Tor.
0700 Breakfast
‘Looks like we only got his last day or so. Doesn’t tell us much,’ he concluded.
‘No, not really.’ Aurora’s shoulders hunched. ‘Do you think Nathaniel and Tor were infected at the same time?’ Aurora glanced down at the tablet. ‘It says they were together at one point.’
‘It’s possible.’ But there was no way to know for sure since he couldn’t exactly ask either of them.
‘What if we tested out how the virus is spreading?’ Aurora asked.
‘What do you mean?’
‘What if I spent the night in the cafeteria, eating a sample of everything,’ Aurora said, like trying to infect herself was no big deal.
‘You think it’s something we ate?’
Aurora shrugged. ‘Maybe. I don’t know. It’s worth trying.’
Zane grabbed her shoulders and turned her so that she was facing him. He leaned down until their noses almost touched. ‘Don’t you dare put yourself in danger,’ he whispered. How many times was he going to have to remind her of this?
‘I’m just trying to help,’ she whispered, the heat of her words brushing his lips.
Zane pressed his forehead against hers, a habit they were quickly developing. ‘I know. I just don’t know what I’d do if you got sick.’ Was it possible that his genetic anomaly would help him if he did get sick? Could his blood hold some sort of cure? And if it did, would he reveal his secret to help them?
He released Aurora before her lips could distract him. ‘I’ll do it. I’ll eat and touch everything. And you can help me keep track. Deal?’
It was the only way he’d allow them to do this.
Aurora fiddled with her necklace, probably trying to figure out a way she could help too. Zane knew she didn’t like the idea of him being the only one to take all the risk. When Aurora met his eyes, she sighed like she’d just lost a battle.
‘Deal,’ she said quietly.
But Zane knew she’d just lied, her words didn’t match her determined eyes.
***
Shoving forkfuls of food into his mouth had never felt so wrong. Who would have thought he could ever get sick of eating? After testing multiple food containers, his belly was starting to protest.
‘Okay that’s it.’ Aurora grabbed the fork before it got to his mouth. ‘You’re miserable.’
‘I haven’t tested everything yet,’ Zane insisted, not wanting her to try and take over. When she’d suggested they try to get infected, he’d wanted to shove her in the closest airlock where she’d never have the chance to get sick. It was a great idea, but only if he was the one to do it.
He shoved a mouthful of peanut butter in.
Aurora selected peanut butter on the tablet that they were using to keep track of all of the food he’d tried. ‘We did enough for today. Now we have to wait a few hours and then test your blood for the disease.’ Aurora swallowed. ‘This was an idiotic idea. What if it works?’ Aurora’s voice cracked. ‘What if you test positive for the virus?’
Zane grabbed her hand, stroking his thumb over her palm. ‘We need to figure out how it’s spreading. Testing it was a good idea.’
‘Yeah, but it’s not worth risking your life for.’
‘My life’s already at risk. Until we figure out how it’s spreading, everyone on this station is at risk.’
Aurora squeezed his hand. ‘Okay. But that’s enough for today.’ She pulled him onto his feet.
He immediately sat back down. ‘I’m too stuffed to move.’
Aurora glanced around the empty room. ‘Want to get out of here?’
‘Yeah. We should go to the medical bay and update Kaylana.’
‘She’s going to be mad at us, you know.’
Zane shrugged. ‘She’ll get over it.’
When they arrived in the medical bay, Kaylana and Akemi were both hunched over a microscope, their legs touching.
‘Anything new?’
‘No,’ Kaylana huffed. ‘Only that this sucker can annihilate our white blood cells and turn our entire immune system against us very quickly. The virus travels through our blood into our lungs and heart, infecting us immediately.’
‘If we were at home, we could just print off new organs and put the infected in surgery, but we don’t have that kind of equipment here.’ Akemi glanced around at the bare room.
‘We did manage to speak with an Alliance doctor again. We showed him our autopsy report and blood work, but he seemed just as bewildered as to what’s going on as we are,’ Kaylana reported.
Knowing the Alliance hadn’t completely forgotten about them was a relief. Even though they were the ones that quarantined them, at least they were still trying to help, even if ineffectively.
‘What have you two been up to?’ Kaylana inquired.
‘Just trying to get infected,’ Aurora replied.
‘Excuse me?’ Kaylana sputtered.
Zane stepped forward, putting his hand in Aurora’s. ‘Actually, it was just me.’
‘Explain,’ Akemi said, looking almost as mad as Kaylana.
‘We figured if we could determine how people were getting infected in the first place, then that would be a big help.’
‘That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard!’ Kaylana’s voice echoed throughout the room.
‘No, not really. If we can determine the source, we have a better chance at overcoming it.’
‘But we have no cure.’
‘No, but any one of us can get sick at anytime. I know I’d rather get infected with a purpose and not by accident,’ Aurora said, her words firm.
Zane swallowed. He was definitely going to have to keep an eye on her. It was one thing for him to risk himself intentionally. Aurora needed to be kept as safe as possible.
Chapter 39
Aurora
‘We have to figure out how it’s spreading.’ Kaylana paced the medical bay. ‘It’s like Professor Fontaine knew what was going to happen.’
They were having this same conversation again and Aurora hoped they’d eventually get somewhere with it.
‘I don’t think he knew this would happen. I just think he was aware that living in space, anything could happen. Even something unexpected,’ Aurora responded.
‘But he pushed me to think about the medical ramifications of living on the station.’
‘You’re in the medical AOC and he only started asking you questions after you pestered him with them.’
‘Yeah, but still.’
‘Okay, what exactly did he ask you?’ Aurora asked, playing devil’s advocate.
‘Well the whole topic was about how we have to be very careful in space. That we never know what can happen.’
‘Yeah. That’s true.’
‘And then he said we needed to be very careful about germs and we need to sanitize everything often.’
‘That’s true too,’ she said. ‘That’s why there are sanitation gel dispensers every few feet. Keeping things clean isn’t a new concept.’
Kaylana chewed on her lip, thinking for a few quiet moments. ‘Alright. How about this? He asked me what my medical instructor’s taught me about sickness aboard the station.’
Aurora thought back to that lesson. Had the professor been trying to warn them? Did he somehow know they were going to get sick?
‘I guess we can’t discard it, but I just don’t see Professor Fontaine helping to kill people.’ Aurora’s gut told her that Professor Fontaine had nothing to do with this.
Kaylana huffed.
‘Wait.’ Aurora had just remembered what else he’d said. ‘He also said that things adapt. Do you think a virus could too?’
Kaylana opened her eyes. ‘Maybe. Well, definitely, but it would take a longer period of time for a virus to adapt to zero gravity. So if a virus was changed so significantly that our vaccinations no longer worked, then it was intentionally done.’
‘Intentionally?’ Aurora’s palms began to sweat. This whole situation was becoming eerily similar to last semester.
‘Yeah, intentionally,’ Kaylana continued, unaware of Aurora’s thoughts. ‘Someone could alter a virus.’ She gestured a hand in the air. ‘A super virus. And on a space station, there would be no limits. A virus doesn’t fall to the ground and just stay there. It floats. Anywhere and anytime.’ Kaylana’s voice cracked on her last word.
‘But how would it get on board?’ Aurora’s voice was going high pitched again. Would Rowan really be able to attack her here? Would he really kill anyone to get to her? That just didn’t make sense. Hating Titon Technologies was on
e thing, killing a group of people just to get to her would go beyond hate. Evil.
‘A million ways. All it would take would be a single touch.’
‘So is that how it’s spreading, by touch?’
Kaylana shook her head, causing the hair to sway back and forth. ‘I don’t think so. If that were the case, everyone on board would be sick by now.’
‘Then how?’ Aurora knew once they figured out how and why it was spreading, they’d be able to figure everything else out. They just needed to unravel that one string and then everything else would fall apart. It’s why she’d suggested trying to infect herself.
‘Well, it’s not in our food,’ Kaylana muttered.
No, after Zane had tested everything in the kitchen, they’d been able to rule out that possibility. His blood showed no signs of the virus. It was completely clean.
‘If it’s such a super virus, why did it take a few days to start infecting people?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘After Tor and Nathaniel were infected, how long was it until Dr Shaffer got sick?’ Aurora could feel the pieces lining up.
‘Twenty-four hours?’ Kaylana guessed.
‘And then Mercury? She was about the same time right? So someone gets sick every twenty-four hours?’
Kaylana looked startled by her statement. ‘That means someone else will be infected—,’ Kaylana glanced down at her techiwatch, ‘—in twelve hours.’
‘So that’s the pattern? Every twenty-four hours?’
‘I guess we’ll know for sure in twelve hours.’
Aurora nodded. Twelve hours to wait and see if she was right. Twelve hours until someone else she cared about got infected. What if it was Kaylana? Zane? Akemi? Or her?
There was no way Aurora was going to sleep tonight. Instead she thought about all the ways a virus could spread on the station. Where was it coming from? And why every twenty-four hours?
***
Aurora studied Nathaniel’s techiwatch for the millionth time, but it still wasn’t giving her any answers. Was their twenty-four hour theory right? If so, where were they getting infected? Had they all been at the same place just separated by time? Aurora rubbed her forehead. Of course, they’d been near one another. They were stuck on the station!
Airborne Page 17