Page 84 of Smoky Lake

“They’re coming? Who’s they? Is that why you need me to leave? Are you meeting them here to hand over your research? Is that why you didn’t tell Dr. Christianson about it? You want to make money from all your hard work? I can understand that, I suppose. It wouldn’t be the first time a scientist sold out.”

Sweat ran down Victor’s face. “You don’t understand anything. I’m not selling out. I…I would never do that. I want to help people. I’m so close. Imagine stopping all viral infections forever. Just imagine it!”

“That’s beautiful. So why do you have a gun aimed at me? I’m not stopping you. Is someone else trying to? Maybe I can help you.”

“You can’t help me. You can’t. You don’t understand. It’s over our heads. I’m in over my head, I know that. This is the only way out. The only way out is through. I thought I could beat them but I can’t. And now…”

“Now?” He waited, but Victor was trembling too much to continue. “Come on, man, you got me into this. You’re the one who asked me to watch out for Ani. You have to trust me.”

“It’s too late,” Victor cried. He looked out over the lake. A floatplane appeared over the misty surface, angled for a landing. Gil knew all the local flying services, and this plane didn’t belong to any of them. “They’re here. Just go. If I don’t give them what they want, the whole town could be in trouble. I have no choice.”

This time Victor’s hand was steady as he aimed the gun at Gil. “Go. While you still can.”

40

The old boardinghouse had originally been constructed as a brothel in the 1930’s during the mining era. It eventually adjusted to the times and became respectable, and was now known as “Granny Apple’s Boardinghouse.”

When Ani walked in, a young medic in a white coat waved her over to an antique desk in one corner of the room. “You’re Ani Devi?”

“Yes. How’s everyone doing?”

“Pretty well, all things considered. We have five patients, the youngest is five, the oldest thirteen. We’re just treating symptoms, obviously. Two children are receiving IV fluids. We’re seeing fever, body aches, typical flu-like symptoms.”

“Any hallucinations or disordered speech?”

He squinted at her with a puzzled expression. “Not that I’ve seen. But you’d have to ask Mindy.”

She thought about Victor’s experimental plant cocktail and eliminated it from consideration. Even if she had access to it, would parents agree to give their children something that caused “wrong tongue”? Maybe it could be a last resort, if nothing else was working, but they weren’t there yet.

“How can I help?”

“You can relieve Mindy. She’ll show you the drill. We’re tracking all symptoms very closely for our database, and when the kids are up for it, trying to narrow down their exposure vectors.”

That caught her attention. Apparently they still didn’t know all the ways the virus was transferred. “Are there vectors aside from other humans, as far as we know?”

The medic shrugged. He was on the young side, or maybe his baby face threw her off. He must have gone through all the Army training provided to medics. “That’s the thing, we don’t know much. All the patients know each other, because it’s such a small town. Everyone is connected somehow. A place like this has special challenges.”

“Why’s that?”

“We don’t even know how many people live here. It’s so off-grid, there’s no way to be sure. Did you know the last census-taker who came through here reported only fifty residents?”

She had to laugh. “Nice round number. I wonder if they just made it up.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised.” He gestured toward a sink set up as an antiseptic station. “You can get started there.”

Ani washed up and headed toward the stairwell. The treads were so old they dipped in the middle. As she reached the first step, she caught sight of Bear pushing open the front door.

He beckoned to her. “Can we talk for a second outside?”

A frisson of fear went through her. Was this about Lila? But no, she’d just seen Lila, and her friend was fine.

She stepped out into the quiet main road. Dust lingered in the air from Bear’s old pickup truck jerking to a halt. He took off his mask—black, badass—and said, “I’ve been making food deliveries to some of my old-timers. At least three are sick, but they don’t want me to tell anyone who works for the government. That’s not you, is it?”

“No, but I am working with them.”

Bear pushed a hand through his dark hair, which hung to his jawline. Ani had found him intimidating at first—he towered over her—but in time she’d come to appreciate his marshmallow side. “Fuck, I don’t know what to do.”

“When I’m finished here I’ll go out there with you,” she promised him. “As long as they have enough water to drink and a bed to sweat it out in, they should be okay. And green tea. Can you take everyone some green tea?”

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