Chapter 192: We need a blood sample

Mr. Cross had one chance to reach his wife. Instead, driven by something equal parts desperate and selfish, he sent two of his remaining scientists to retrieve her while he turned and ran back toward the secret lab, chasing the last vial of the cure before the system finished collapsing around them.

He reached it just as the countdown hit its final seconds.

The explosion started in the lab and rolled outward, swallowing hallway after hallway in fire.

Mrs. Cross refused to leave without him. She stayed, and the flames took her too, along with her husband, along with the entire facility every file, every sample, every trace of the research that had cost so many lives to build.

The few workers who did manage to escape came out already infected, scattered afterward to various regions around the world, carriers now themselves, whether they understood it or not. Aria was one of them, sent quietly toward West Philadelphia, just as the map inside Don Konstantin’s system had predicted.

At the airport, Aria kept her mask pressed tightly to her face. Every few minutes, a cough rose in her throat, and she doubled over slightly, covering her mouth completely each time, holding her breath afterward, desperate to keep whatever was inside her from reaching anyone else around her.

The flight landed in Philadelphia just after dawn. Aria barely remembered walking through the airport.

She had been feeling weak for hours, but she kept telling herself she would find a quiet place and stay there, and she would live her last moment there. She just needed to get somewhere far from people.

Then her vision blurred. Aria stopped walking. One of the people beside her noticed.

"Ma’am?" She tried to answer. Nothing came out. Her knees gave way.

She collapsed. Everything after that happened quickly. Airport medical staff rushed toward her. Someone called an ambulance while another person tried to keep the crowd back.

Aria was struggling to breathe.

Her face was covered with a mask and protective equipment she had been wearing during the journey. The medical team initially assumed the equipment was making it harder for her to breathe.

"Take it off." They removed the mask and part of the protective covering. Aria drew in a sharp breath.

Then she began coughing. Hard. The sound made everyone around her step back. A paramedic frowned.

"She’s been coughing like this?" Aria tried to speak.

"Get... away..." She coughed again. Then, between breaths, she managed to say,

"I’m sick." The paramedic looked at her.

"What kind of illness?" Aria shook her head. "I don’t know."

Her eyes filled with tears. "But it’s contagious." The room changed immediately. The paramedics exchanged a look. One of them stepped back and reached for his radio.

Within minutes, the hospital receiving Aria had been alerted. By the time she arrived, the hospital had already begun restricting movement.

Patients were kept in their rooms. Visitors were turned away. Staff members who had been in direct contact with Aria were separated and assessed.

Then came the call that frightened everyone. The airport had to be placed under emergency restrictions as well.

Anyone who had been in close contact with Aria was being identified.

The head nurse stood outside the isolation room, staring through the glass at the young woman lying on the bed.

"How long before symptoms appear?" she asked the doctor. Aria heard the question. Her eyes opened slowly.

"About two weeks," she whispered. The nurse turned toward her.

"You know that?" Aria nodded weakly. "Sometimes longer."

She began coughing again. The nurse immediately stepped back from the door.

"Can you tell us what this virus does?" Aria closed her eyes.

"I can tell you what I know." Her voice was weak. "But I need to speak to someone first."

"Who?" Aria reached for the phone.

"Sienna Vale."

—--

Sienna’s phone rang in the middle of the night. She looked at the screen. The number stopped her breathing. It was a local number.

She answered immediately.

"Aria?" For several seconds, there was only coughing. Sienna sat upright. "Aria? What’s wrong?"

"I..." Aria struggled for breath. "I’m sorry." Sienna’s heart dropped. "Why are you saying that?"

"I didn’t want you to hear it from someone else."

"Aria, tell me where you are." A shaky breath came through the phone.

"I’m in Philadelphia." Sienna went still. She looked at the number again.

The local number. She understood immediately. "You came back." Aria started crying. "They killed my parents, Sienna."

Her voice broke. "I have nothing left." Sienna covered her mouth. "Aria..."

"I thought I could run from all of this." Another cough. "I thought if I stayed away, maybe I’d not infect anyone."

"Listen to me." Sienna stood from her chair. "You are not alone."

"I am."

"No." Sienna’s voice hardened. "You have me," Aria said nothing. "You have me, Aria. Do you hear me?" A quiet sob came through the phone.

"I have been working with some professors. We’ve been studying the information we have. If this is the virus we think it is, we’ll find a way to understand it."

Sienna looked toward the research papers scattered across the table. "We’ll work on treatment. We’ll work on a vaccine. Whatever it takes."

Aria laughed weakly through her tears. "You really think you can save me?"

"I know we’re going to try." Sienna’s voice softened. "So you don’t give up. Not yet."

There was a long silence. Aria wanted to believe her. God, she wanted to.

But lying alone in an isolation room, with the monitors beside her bed and the knowledge that her parents were gone, hope felt almost cruel.

"I don’t know if I can do this," she whispered. "You don’t have to do it alone." Aria closed her eyes.

"I love you, Sienna." Sienna’s throat tightened. "I love you too. Stay strong me friend."

The call ended. Sienna lowered the phone slowly. Viktor was already watching her.

"What happened?"

"Aria is in Philadelphia." His expression changed. "She’s sick." Sienna turned toward the research table. "We need a blood sample."

Viktor understood immediately. "Her blood?"

"Yes." Sienna began gathering the papers. "It could tell us something about how the virus is behaving in her body. We need samples from different stages if the doctors can safely collect them."

Viktor nodded. "I’ll go to the hospital." Sienna looked up sharply. "Don’t take unnecessary risks."

"I won’t."

"And wear a protective suit." Viktor gave her a brief nod. "I will." He turned toward Marcus, who was already waiting near the door.

"Come with me." The two men left.