Page 76 of Grave Danger

Zenona appeared from a hallway, white doctor’s coat flowing behind her like a cape at the speed she moved. She approached the nurse’s desk and leaned in to whisper to the nurse.

“Notice she didn’t get told to stand behind the line,” Cody said.

The nurse pointed in their direction, and Zenona turned. When she saw them, her expression tightened a bit more.

“What are you doing here?” she said as she walked up to them.

“We brought Deputy Zellmer in with a bite wound,” Demetrius said, then looked around the crowded waiting area and lowered his voice. “From someone at the cemetery.”

“Another one?”

“How many have there been?” Cody asked.

“A lot.” Zenona looked around as well, then gestured for them to follow her. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

She led them down a hallway to the open and airy main lobby of the hospital. Sunlight streamed in through the three story tall atrium, and soothing classical music played from speakers hidden around the space. A small grouping of chairs was situated near some exotic potted plants, and they all sat down.

“Tell me what happened,” Zenona said.

Demetrius and Cody took turns explaining the events, and Zenona’s expression tightened as she listened. When they’d finished, she sat back and looked away, shaking her head.

“This is bad,” Zenona said. “This is really bad.”

“What’s been going on?” Cody asked.

She looked at him and took a breath. “Jugs has been admitted.”

“What?” Cody shot to his feet. “Why? Where is he?”

“He’s resting now, but he was really agitated when Agatha brought him in.” Zenona reached for Cody’s hand and gestured for him to return to his seat. “Come on, sit down. There’s nothing you can do for him right now.”

“We just saw him a little while ago,” Demetrius said. “At the funeral. What happened?”

“The scratches he received became infected, or he’s having a reaction to something that got inside the wounds. The skin around the scratches was necrotizing.”

“What?” Cody and Demetrius said together.

“Dying,” Zenona said. “The skin cells were dying. We had to remove some of the tissue within the wounds as well as around them.”

“What the hell?” Cody sat down heavily, his hands hanging between his knees. “Is he… Is Jugs… turning?”

“I don’t know,” Zenona said, looking sad and defeated. “We’re pushing a lot of fluids and some very strong antibiotics.”

“Where’s Aggie?” Cody said. “What room is he in?”

“You can’t go see him, I’m sorry. With something like this, that’s our protocol.”

“Something like what?” Demetrius asked, already worried he knew what her answer was going to be.

“It could be a virus.” Zenona looked between them. “If Deputy Zellmer was bitten by… well, if he was bitten, he probably has it now, too.”

“This is how it starts?” Cody said, putting his head in his hands. “This is the beginning of the end?”

“No, it’s not that bad,” Zenona said. “We’ve caught all of this in time. We just need to contain it.”

“There are more and more of those things walking around out there,” Cody said. “Who knows how many people have been scratched or bitten? And we don’t even know how many have been killed.”

“No, we don’t know that, yet. But we will. We’re getting this under control.”