Chapter 55
Millen sat in a folding chair, taking in the Sunday afternoon sun, watching Elim walk across the dusty field outside Mandera Referral Hospital. The older woman from the village, Dhamiria, helped him as he walked, encouraging him in Swahili. Halima recorded his progress, and Tian moved things around, providing a sort of obstacle course for Elim to walk around and step over. The six-year-old boy delighted in the task.
Millen played music from his phone, which all four Kenyans seemed to enjoy. He wouldn’t have dared expend the phone’s battery without the solar charger, but for the moment, sunlight and power were two things they had in abundance. The music and Elim’s rehabilitation had been their routine for the past two days while they waited on the transport Elliott had arranged. Millen was eager to get home. On Friday night, a few hours after arriving in Mandera, he had slipped the satsleeve on his phone and opened Google News. The first article had shocked him:
US Stock Markets Tank on Pandemic Fears
Growing concern over the scope and severity of the X1 outbreak has finally infected markets. Stock indices in the US declined over 25% today during the short session that ended at 1 p.m. in what is being called Red Friday. The decline is the largest stock market crash in history. The drop eclipsed even Black Monday—October 19th, 1987—when the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed over 22% of its value in a single day. As with the crash in 1987, the rout began with Asian markets and spread west to Europe and the US…
Millen had clicked the next headline.
World Goes Into Lockdown as Two Separate Outbreaks Spread
Though the WHO has stopped providing estimates on the number of X1 cases, experts project that at least 50 million, and possibly many more, are already infected worldwide. Nations around the world are resorting to drastic measures.
The UK announced this morning that it would close its borders. Germany, France, Italy, and Russia quickly followed suit.
Perhaps the most alarming and mysterious aspect of the X1 outbreak is the virus’s seemingly unlimited reach. Cases have been reported aboard military vessels on long-term deployment, in remote villages, and on cruise ships with little outside contact.
The most deadly outbreak, centered around Kenya, has also finally forced the world’s hand. The Ebola-like disease, currently called the Mandera virus, has killed thousands thus far. Infection rates are not known. In hopes of containing the epidemic, an unprecedented alliance of Western and Eastern powers, including the US, UK, France, China, Japan, Australia, and India, has announced a full-scale blockade of all East African ports—from the Red Sea to South Africa.
Details of how the blockade would be carried out were not immediately available.
Despite an hour of searching, Millen hadn’t found the news he was looking for: an update on the search for the missing CDC and WHO workers, especially Dr. Shaw and Hannah. It seemed their abduction had been forgotten in the chaos sweeping the world.
He had awoken Saturday morning to find Elim again walking around the tent complex, giving it his all. Dhamiria held his arm. They were both smiling and laughing. Their conversation was in Swahili, and although Millen couldn’t understand it, their body language told him everything he needed to know.
He closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. If the headlines from the previous night had told him anything, it was that tender moments and simple pleasures would be hard to come by in the days ahead.
Later on Saturday, Millen had searched the headlines again:
Kenya Burns as Ebola-Like Virus Spreads
Rioting overnight gripped Kenya’s largest cities as crowds demanded that the faltering government act to combat the mounting death toll from the Mandera virus. The death count from the fires and fighting in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Garissa is unavailable at this time, but sources within the Ministry of Health estimate that over 40 thousand have died from the virus, and many more are infected.
The crisis in Kenya’s largest cities caused an exodus as residents…
Millen scrolled through the pictures. Bonfires at intersections. Overturned cars. Mobs pressing against police in riot gear. He decided not to show them to Elim or the villagers. They were having a good day—a day he didn’t want to ruin. Elim was learning to walk again. The four Africans were living proof that the virus could be survived. It almost felt like the whole world wasn’t falling apart.
Millen felt hope. And a reason for faith.
Elim had grown stronger with each session of his makeshift rehabilitation program. His naps grew shorter, and he walked on legs more sure and firm. After dinner on Saturday, he took Millen aside for a conversation the younger man had been expecting.
“I’d like to talk with you about what happens when the plane arrives tomorrow,” Elim said.
Millen wanted to spare the man from having to ask the question. “If she wants to stay, she should.”
“She does,” Elim replied. “However, she’s made a commitment. An important one. Finding a cure is vital.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Millen said. “If we take enough samples from you and her, we should be fine.” He paused. “Or, there is another option.”
Elim raised his eyebrows.
“Come with us.”
Elim shook his head. “My place is here. Now more than ever. My country needs me.”
Millen was packed and ready when the call came on Sunday.
“Dr. Thomas, we’re on approach to the Mandera airport.”
“We’ll be there,” Millen said.
At the airport, he led the two young villagers into the private plane, then returned to the SUV, where Elim sat behind the wheel, Dhamiria in the passenger seat.
“Where will you go?” Millen asked.
“Wherever we’re needed,” Elim said. “We’ll head south and take it from there.”