Chapter 193: I don’t know if I can do this

Sienna watched the door close behind them. Then she turned back to the professors. For a moment, she simply stood there.

Aria’s voice was still in her head. I don’t know if I can do this. Sienna pulled a chair closer to the table.

"All right," she said quietly. The professors looked at her. "Let’s get back to work."

She picked up the first set of notes. Outside, the city was beginning to wake. Inside, nobody noticed the passing hours. Viktor arrived at the hospital less than an hour later.

The moment he stepped through the doors, two medical officers approached him. They were already wearing protective suits, their faces covered behind masks and shields.

"I need to speak to whoever is in charge," Viktor said.

"I’m the head doctor." Viktor looked at him. "My niece is here. Aria Cross."

The doctor’s expression changed slightly. "You’re Viktor Kessler?"

"Yes."

"Come with me."

They moved quickly through the hospital, passing nurses who were rushing between rooms. The atmosphere was nothing like a normal hospital anymore. Doors were being closed. Patients were being separated. Staff members were speaking in low, urgent voices.

Once they reached a private room, Viktor told the doctor everything.

He explained where Aria had come from, when she had started showing symptoms, what she had told Sienna, and what they already knew about the virus.

"And my wife is working with a group of professors," he added. "They’ve already started investigating the virus. They’re trying to understand how it works and find a way to treat it."

The doctor listened carefully.

"How many professors?"

"Four of them."

"And your wife has access to the samples?"

"Yes, but I don’t know the details. She wants a blood sample from Aria." The doctor sat back for a moment.

"This is bigger than this hospital."

"I know." The doctor picked up his phone. "I need to make a call." Within the hour, the situation had moved beyond the hospital.

The doctor spoke directly with the minister, explaining what had happened and how quickly the number of suspected cases was increasing.

An emergency response was activated.

A temporary medical center was established away from the main hospital. Patients who had already been exposed were transported there under strict isolation procedures. Medical teams were brought in from other facilities. Additional beds, oxygen supplies, protective equipment, laboratory equipment, and medication were sent in.

The airport was placed under emergency monitoring.

Anyone who had been in close contact with Aria or the other suspected patients was identified and contacted.

And then the government made another decision. Sienna and the professors would have everything they needed. Laboratories. Equipment.

Medical researchers. Doctors. Nurses. Samples. Money. Whatever resources were required, they would be provided.

There would be no waiting for approval and no limit placed on what they could request. For the first time since the crisis began, Sienna had the resources of an entire government behind her.

But even with all of that, there was no guarantee they would succeed.

Days passed. Sienna barely noticed them.

She slept whenever her body forced her to, sometimes for only an hour or two before returning to the laboratory. She ate because the professors reminded her that she couldn’t keep working on an empty stomach.

Most of her time was spent surrounded by doctors, researchers, computers, samples, and notes.

But every day, she found her way back to Aria. There was a glass wall between them. Sienna would stand on one side. Aria would lie on the other.

The first day, Aria had still been conscious enough to lift her head when Sienna appeared. Now she could barely move.

There were tubes around her. Oxygen helped her breathe. Monitors surrounded the bed, displaying numbers Sienna had learned to watch even though she wasn’t a doctor yet.

Some days the numbers looked slightly better. Most days, they didn’t. Sienna stood in front of the glass.

She pressed her palm against it. Aria slowly opened her eyes. For a moment, they found each other. Aria lifted her hand. It shook badly. She reached for the glass.

Sienna immediately placed her hand against it. "Hang in there, sister," she whispered. Aria couldn’t hear her.

The machines were doing too much of the talking now. The hiss of oxygen. The steady beeping of the monitors.

The sound of the ventilator helping her breathe. Still, Sienna kept talking. "I’m here." Her voice broke slightly.

"You hear me? I’m right here." Aria’s fingers rested against the glass. Sienna smiled through the tears gathering in her eyes. "Just hold on."

Every day, she said the same thing. And every day, Aria felt Sienna’s presence through the glass.

As if somehow, even though she couldn’t hear the words, she understood them. As if Sienna’s hand was enough to remind her that she wasn’t alone. But Aria was getting weaker. And she wasn’t the only one.

The emergency center began filling. Patients from the hospital started showing symptoms. Then some of the people who had been at the airport.

Then people who had been in close contact with them. One patient became five. Five became fifteen. Then thirty.

Every morning, more names appeared on the list. Every evening, more beds were occupied. The doctors were working around the clock. So were the nurses. And so was Sienna.

One afternoon, she stood outside Aria’s room again. She had been there for several minutes without moving. Her eyes were fixed on Aria. She looked exhausted.

Her hair was tied back carelessly, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes. A file was tucked underneath her arm, but she hadn’t opened it once.

She simply stood there.

Watching. Then she heard someone behind her. "Sienna." She didn’t turn immediately. "Sienna, we found something."

This time, she looked over. One of the doctors stood a few feet away. His expression was different. Not happy.

Not exactly hopeful. But there was something in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Sienna quickly wiped her face. "What did you find?"

"You need to see this." She looked through the glass at Aria one more time.

Aria was still. Sienna swallowed hard. "I’ll be right back." She followed the doctor down the corridor.

And for the first time in days, there was something in his voice that made her believe they might finally be getting somewhere.