?I?m not really in a ?pleasure? place,? I said. ?Maybe after I have some pants on.? Standing around and grousing wasn?t going to get me to my clothes, or my brother, any faster. Closing my eyes, I removed the UV blocker, took a deep breath, and held it.
The smell of bleach and disinfecting agents filled the room as a cool mist drifted down from the vents in the ceiling, blanketing me. I forced myself to keep holding my breath, counting backward from twenty. I?d reached seventeen when the fans kicked on and the mist pulled away, sucked into drains in the floor. It would be pulled into channels of superheated air, baked until any traces of infection that had managed to survive the chemical bath were burned away, and then pumped into an incinerator, where it would be destroyed. The CDC does a lot of things, but it doesn?t fuck around with sterilization.
?You can open your eyes now, Ms. Mason.?
Sliding the UV blocker back into place, I opened my eyes and proceeded to the door on the air lock?s far side. The light above it was green, and when I touched the handle, it swung open without resistance. I continued on.
The duty station was one of those hybrid beasts that have become so common in the medical profession over the past twenty years: half nurse?s station and medical triage, half guard point, with alarm buttons posted at several spots around the walls and a large gun cabinet next to the watercooler. A good medical duty station can provide an island of safety for the uninfected, even as an outbreak rages on all sides. If your air locks don?t fail and you have enough ammo, you can hold out for days. One duty station in Atlanta did exactly that?four nurses, three doctors, and five security personnel kept themselves and eighteen patients alive for almost a week before the CDC was able to fight through the outbreak raging through the neighborhoods around the hospital and get them safely out. They made a movie about that incident.
Shaun, who had his own clothes on, the bastard, was sitting atop the counter with a cup of coffee in his hands. A man I didn?t recognize was standing nearby, wearing a white doctor?s coat over his clothes, and Senator Ryman was beside him, looking more anxious than the other two combined. Nurses and CDC techs moved past the station, talking among themselves like extras in a movie background?they completed the setting, but they weren?t part of it, any more than the walls were.
The senator was the first to acknowledge my arrival. He straightened, relief radiating through his expression, and moved toward me, catching me in a tight hug before I had a chance to register what he was planning to do. I made a soft ?oof? noise as the air was shoved out of my lungs, but he just squeezed tighter, seeming unfazed by the fact that my arms remained down by my sides. This was a hug for his comfort, not mine.
?Don?t think she can breathe over there, chief,? drawled Shaun. ?Pretty sure she hasn?t kicked the oxygen habit just yet.?
The door opened and closed again behind me, and Rick said, sounding surprised, ?Why is Senator Ryman trying to crush Georgia??
?Post-traumatic shock,? said Shaun. ?He thinks he?s a boa constrictor.?
?You kids can laugh,? said the senator, finally letting go. Relieved, I stepped back before he could decide to do it again. ?You scared me to death.?
?We scared ourselves pretty badly, too, Senator,? I said, continuing my retreat until I was next to Shaun. He put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing. There was a world of relief in that simple gesture. I leaned into his hand, looking toward the stranger. ?Joe, I presume??
?Dr. Joseph Wynne, Memphis CDC,? he said and walked over to extend his hand in my direction. I took it. His grip was solid without being crushing. ?I can?t begin to say how glad I am to speak with you face-to-face.?
?Glad to still be in the shape to speak,? I said. Pleasantries accomplished, I frowned. ?Now, can someone fill me in on why I was standing next to a highway, doing my civic duty, and suddenly woke up in a CDC iso ward? Also, if I could get hooked up with my clothes, that?d be awesome. I feel kind of naked here, and that?s weird when there?s a United States senator in the room.?
?That?s a funny story, actually,? said Shaun.
Releasing Joe?s hand, I craned my head around to eye my brother. ?Define ?funny.? ?
Shaun picked up a bundle from the counter on the other side of him and passed it to me. My clothes and a plastic bag containing my gun and all my jewelry. As I hugged the bundle to my chest, he said, with all apparent sincerity, ?Someone called the CDC two minutes before you did and told them that we?d all been killed in the accident.?
For a moment, all I could do was stare at him. Then, swiveling my head around to direct the stare to Joe and Senator Ryman, I demanded, ?Is this true??
Looking distinctly uncomfortable now, Joe said, ?Well, darlin?, we have to react to every call we get??
?You had test results from us. You knew we weren?t dead.?