Page 49 of Rebirth

This…is no woman. Not anymore. Whatever happened to the Kara they knew is gone. Stripped of everything, including her humanity.

Her eyes are wild as she snaps and tries to come after me once more, only the rope binding her other arm and tied to something that keeps her in that spot stops her from fulfilling her sole purpose—which is to sink her teeth into my skin.

She’s emaciated. Far thinner than I’ve ever seen a human being go to and still survive. I’ve seen malnutrition, when resources are scarce and people are left with skin hugging their bones too tightly, eyes too large in gaunt faces. I’ve seen cholera, where healthy people turn into hollow shells in a matter of days. I’ve seen what things like cancer and autoimmune diseases can do and through my training, I’ve been taught to approach each case with a level of detachment, to see the disease and not the person it was killing. But it isn’t always easy.

For although Kara is far gone…I can still see the person she once was.

Her clothes hang off her emaciated frame, torn and filthy. Bones protrude sharply where once there was softness. Deep scratches mar what little skin remains uncovered, proof of her struggle to escape this cage.

But it is her eyes that strike me most forcibly. Dull and lifeless. Though her body jerks and twitches, there is no thought or recognition behind that vacant, bloodshot stare. Once they would have held life, emotion, thought. Now they are dim, hollow sockets.

And I’ve seen those same eyes before.

Just last night.

In that deer.

I kneel in front of her, voice measured and even, hoping beyond hope that there’s a light in the darkness here. “Kara…”

On every spot of her skin I can see, thick dark veins run deep like a network of tattoos embedded underneath her skin.

Like the deer. Like the woman floating in that cylinder on He’rox’s ship. Like that chamber in the cave. That hole in the forest.

It’s all connected.

“Kara,” I say again. For despite my father’s morose warnings, I’ve never actually given up hope. My whole point of becoming an epidemiologist was so I could prove him wrong.

If we can understand the disease, then we can beat it. And if we can beat it, then we win.

For a moment I imagine I see a spark of awareness in the woman’s eyes, but just as quickly it fades.

With a snarl, she lunges forward, jaws snapping inches from my face. I fall back with a start, heart pounding.

“How long has she had these symptoms?” My gaze snaps to Bert, noting the increased sweat on his brow. He’s infected too. Whether the others realize, that’s unclear, but all I know is I have to be careful.

Whatever this is, it’s transmissible to humans. And if it’s transmissible to humans, that means the longer I take to figure out what it is, I’m in danger. If it’s airborne, I’m already fucked.

“Started with the fever ‘bout a week ago,” he says. “Thought it was just a bug at first. But she got worse each day. The snarling. The shakes. We’ve been trying to break her fever but nothing’s worked.”

I stare at him before my gaze shifts to Nathan and Maisie. They can’t really think this is just a fever. They see the dark veins all across her body, don’t they? They see the fact that she’s obviously gone out of her mind.

I nod before turning my attention back to Bert, keeping my voice low. “This looks like Rahzer’s fever. Has anyone else been showing symptoms?”

His eyes widen. “No, just her. You sure? Never heard of that one before.”

I nod, standing and putting some distance between me and the still-snarling woman. Despite being emaciated, she moves as if she has the strength of a well-fed male. When Bert talks, her attention turns to the other three in the room and she snarls at them too.

So it’s not because I’m a stranger.

I make note of that before meeting the other’s gazes, building on this fake disease I’ve just made up. I nod. “The rash, fever, swollen tonsils. It’s textbook. How long since the outbreak?”

“There hasn’t been an outbreak,” Bert says, shaking his head. “How soon until she gets better?”

My gaze slides back to Kara. “That depends,” I say.

“On what?” It’s Nathan that speaks this time and I glance at Maisie before answering. Can she even speak? She hasn’t said a word since I’ve met her.

“You said there were about fifty people here.” I meet Nathan’s gaze. “If there are others with the flu, it will just keep reinfecting the whole group. But I don’t see fifty people outside.”

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