Chapter 36
Day 32
Derrick and I decide not to eat breakfast this morning because we were still full from dinner last night. I know it’s unusual for me not to be hungry for breakfast, considering it is my favorite meal, but for some reason I wasn’t hungry when I woke up. Derrick felt my head to make sure I didn’t have a fever or something. Funny.
Taylor and Matthew are right on time and waiting in the lobby when we walk in. We are the first ones down so we decide to help ourselves to a cup of coffee at the coffee bar the hotel has set up in the lobby. Dane, Henderson, and Geoff will be down shortly.
Everyone is downstairs now and we are ready to go. The CDC lab truck is already at Mrs. Jones’ house, so we are in a passenger van. Taylor has been out to see Mrs. Jones several times since we left and she is doing fine. He checked her blood again just a few days ago to make sure she was still parasite free. She is.
We pull into the station a few hours later, and the place looks busy. There are several trailers set up alongside the road and about a dozen cars. The animal control officers decided to stay here in the trailers until the crisis was over. Most of the people helping Mrs. Jones don’t live anywhere near here, so I guess they decided just to stay.
“See that trailer right there,” as he points to a small, white, pull behind trailer, “that’s where we have the coffins stored. We couldn’t put the daughter and the grandson back in the ground until we had the soil decontaminated. As soon as the soil and water are clear of the parasites, we’ll bury them again.”
“Did any of the sheep die?” I ask.
“No, thankfully. They have been doing a really good job keeping the holding pens clean. The sheep aren’t small either which helps. They are the size of a full grown man.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Who are all the people out there in the pasture and what are they doing?” Derrick inquires.
“Those are our people. They are taking random soil samples. The crop dusters have been spraying these fields for days, and another team has been spraying the area the planes can’t get to. We are hoping that the samples we collect today will show a dead parasite. All we can do is cross our fingers.”
Dane speaks up and says, “That’s a lot of biohazard suits,” as he glances at the field where 50 or so men are collecting samples.
“Yes, it is.”
“Sounds like we have some work to do today while the boys are giving shots to the employees, sheep, and horses.”
“Yes, we do, Kobi. We will have to check every one of the soil samples
too. Just checking every fifth one like we did with the sheep won’t work in this case. Every inch of the pasture and meadow must be parasite free.”
“About how many samples are they planning to collect?”
“Well let’s see. She has about 500 acres of land and I want two samples from each acre, so we are looking at 1000 samples.”
“Whew! That’s a lot. When did they start collecting them?”
“Yesterday morning. They should be done in a few hours. We can start testing the samples right away.”
“How are we going to know which sample came from where?”
“Luckily, one of the workers came up with a plan. A flag will be placed in the ground where the sample was taken and numbered. They sectioned out the acres with cord and have a pretty good numbering system. It’s complicated, but it will work. I have the chart in the truck.”
I see the old house and sitting there on the front porch in her chair is Mrs. Jones. A big grin lands on my face and I am really excited to see her. When she sees me get out of the car, she stands up and opens her arms wide. She is so glad to see me. I don’t know what it is about this lady, but she reminds me of my grandmother and I really like her.
“How are you Mrs. Jones?”
“I’m fine Kobi, but you’re not. What did you do to your arm?”
“I kind of landed the wrong way and broke it.”
“Oh, you poor thing. Does it still hurt?”
“A little bit, but it’s fine. The bone is healing fine.”
“That’s good. I see you brought your husband and friends along with you.
It’s really good to see all of you again.”
“I did! Derrick and Dane you know, but this is Geoff, the CDC Director from Darwin, and Henderson, our pilot and my dear friend.”
She reaches out her hand and says, “It is very nice to meet you.”
They both say, “It is very nice to meet you too, Mrs. Jones.”
“Aren’t you the fellow that I talked to on the phone?” she says looking at Geoff.
“Yes ma’am, that’s me.”
“Okay, now I am making the connection. So, what’s on the agenda today?”
Geoff explains to her what the plans are for the day. “The employees will be the first ones to get the antidote. After that, we will inject the horses and the sheep. Kobi, Taylor, and I will be busy most of today and tomorrow checking the soil samples they are collecting. We want to make sure the soil is parasite free before we release the sheep back onto the property.”
“It sounds like you are going to be very busy for the next couple of days.”
“Yes ma’am, we will be.”
Taylor walks up to the porch and says hi to Mrs. Jones. “Are you folks ready to get started?”
We all look at each other and nod yes. Here we go! “See you later, Mrs. Jones.”
Henderson asks Geoff, as we are walking down the porch, “What would
you like me to do?”
“Well, you have a choice. You can help Derrick and Dane administer the antidote to the sheep, or you can help us with the soil samples.”
“See ya,” Henderson says as he walks with Derrick and Dane over to the
holding pen. I guess that answers that question. I can’t say I blame him for wanting to help those guys. Our work with the soil is going to be tiring and monotonous.
Taylor is over in the employees’ quarters giving them the antidote right now. Geoff and I are going to get suited up so we can get started with the soil. We step into the truck and can’t believe our eyes. I have never seen so many vial trays in my life. I would guess there are probably 700 vials in here right now. It is a bit overwhelming and hard to figure out where to start. It almost paralyzes you because there is so much to do.
Taylor steps into the truck and has the same reaction as we do. He says, “Well, I reckon we better get started. I think the way we need to attack this task is simple. Kobi, take a Q-tip, dip it in water, dip the tip in the vial of dirt, and then smear it on a microscope slide. Write the vial number on the slide and hand it to me. I’ll say the slide number out loud, and Geoff, you record the results. We’ll switch positions every now and then so we don’t get careless or bored. Geoff and I both agree with his plan and get started. First vial tray, first vial. Q-tip, water, smear, write number down, and hand it to Taylor. Taylor calls out the number and looks at it carefully.
“Negative. I don’t see anything. Take a look Kobi.”
I look carefully and say, “I don’t see any. The only ones I see are dead.”
“Okay, Geoff, number 101 is a negative.” Geoff finds the number on the
spreadsheet and checks the negative column. “One down, 999 to go.”
This process goes on for hours with us swapping jobs every half an hour. Taylor announces we need to take a break. We get out of the bio suits and walk outside to breathe the fresh air. I see Derrick, Dane, and Henderson working on the sheep, so I decide to stretch my legs and take a walk over to where they are working.
“It looks like you have a good system going there.”
Derrick turns to me and says, “Yeah, it is working pretty well. I am the chute operator while Dane and Henderson are the shot givers. We will have these sheep done in about two hours. How’s it going in the truck?”
“It is tedious, tiring work. It is going to take a
long time to get through all those vials.”
“I’ll come help you when I get finished here.”
“That would be great. There are two microscopes in the truck, so with your help, we will be able to get it done twice as fast because both Geoff and Taylor can look at the samples while you and I put them on the microscope slides.”
“I can do that.”
“Super. I’ll see you later.”
I step into the truck and see more vials of dirt on the table. The guys just brought in another batch from the fields.
“This is the last of it, Kobi,” Geoff says with excitement.
We assume our positions and start the process all over again. One by one the vials are checked and recorded. So far, we haven’t found any trace of the parasite in any of the soil samples, which is great news. We have finished right at 200 vials of soil and decide to take another break. Derrick, Dane, and Henderson are just finishing up with the sheep and have the horses still to do. That won’t take them very long.
Mrs. Jones is coming up the driveway in her car and sees us standing outside in front of the truck. She stops and rolls down her window.
“I went into town and picked up lunch for everybody. It isn’t much, just a loaf of bread and some lunchmeat. Why don’t you take a break and come have some lunch. It’s 2:00 p.m. and I know you have to be hungry.”
“Absolutely, we’ll be right there, Mrs. Jones.”
Once we get everyone rounded up, we head to the house and see Mrs. Jones putting the final touches on the sandwiches. She even bought some bottled soda for us to drink. The food tastes good, and I am hungrier than I thought. Oh yeah, I didn’t have any breakfast; that explains it.
“Thank you so much for lunch, Mrs. Jones. We really do appreciate it,” Geoff says standing to his feet.
The six of us meet in front of the truck for a quick meeting. Taylor and Geoff will be on the microscopes, Derrick and I will be on soil detail, and Henderson and Dane will record the findings. 1000 samples is a lot to look at, and I’ll be surprised if we finish them today. We’ll be lucky to get 500 done.
By 6:00 p.m., we are exhausted. Looking at the list, we checked 625 samples today. Not too shabby.
“Let’s call it a day,” Taylor announces.
No one argues with that idea at all. We’ll come back in the morning to finish the samples. With the six of us working, we will have them finished in about three hours.
“I’ll go tell Mrs. Jones that we are done here for today. I’ll be right back,” I say.
Taylor locks the truck, and we pile into the van. We are going to stay at the same motel we stayed at before. I’m very tired and can’t wait to go horizontal. I don’t know why I am so tired; it’s not like I did anything strenuous today. I just want a quick bite from the restaurant adjacent to the motel and then a nice long bath. After that, sleep.
I think Derrick is planning to have a beer with the guys while I am taking my bath, so I will enjoy a bath even longer. We are leaving in two days, so I’m sure he and Dane have a lot to discuss about their future together as tour guides.
We pull into the motel and pile into the restaurant for a quick meal. I give Derrick a quick kiss on the forehead and go to my room. As I am drawing my bath, I happen to glance at myself in the mirror, and am surprised to see the dark circles rooted under my eyes. I reach in my bag, get out my facial cleanser, and give my face a good wash. I don’t like to use the motel soap because it dries my skin out badly.
I squeeze a little bit of body wash in the stream of water cascading into the tub and slide down into the water, being careful not to get my cast wet. Oh, this feels so good. I reach for the hot water handle, and increase the temperature as hot as I can stand it. Once the tub is filled, I turn off the water and soak. I’m enjoying the heat of the water, and decide to lean my head back onto a towel I have rolled up. I close my eyes and relax. I can feel the tension leaving my body as the steam rises above the thin layer of bubbles on top of the water. It is so quiet.
I stay and soak in the water until it gets so cold, I can’t stand it anymore. I
regrettably get out of the tub and dry off. I think I am going to pull my hair into a ponytail and call it done. I don’t know what time Derrick will be back, but I decide to climb into bed and turn the television on. They are showing reruns of my favorite show, NCIS, so I’ll just cuddle up with Gibbs and enjoy the evening.
Someone is shaking my shoulder telling me to wake up. “Gibbs, not
tonight, I’m tired.”
“Honey, wake up. It’s Derrick, not Gibbs. Have you been watching NCIS again?”
“Oh, hi Baby. What time is it?”
“It’s just after 10:00 p.m.”
“I must have fallen asleep. Did you have fun with the boys?”
“Yeah, I had a blast. We were talking about our first loves and wondering what happened to them. Taylor was hilarious. His first love was a girl named Heather. He told us story after story about her and then informed us that her name is now Hector. Turns out the girl was really a dude, and he didn’t know it.”
“How could he have not known she was a dude?”
“Well, I guess he never got to second base. I asked him why the ‘he/she’ was dressing up as a woman in the first place. He really didn’t have an answer other than the ‘he/she’ was a little confused about her gender. They were only 12 and 13 years old.”
“I can’t believe the mother of the boy would let him dress up as a girl and pretend to be a girl. That sounds a little far-fetched, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know, but it sure makes for a funny story. Especially when he gets to the part when he found out the girl of his dreams was a dude.”
“How did he find out?”
“Well, I should really let him tell the story because he tells it so well. I’ll try, but it won’t be as funny. Heather was running around the track during gym class in her prissy fashion when out of nowhere, a soccer ball from the infield hit her in the gut. She grabbed her groin and fell to ground moaning in pain. Everyone in the class rushed over to see what the matter was, including the coach. He bent down beside her and asked her if she was okay. That’s when the coach realized, Heather was not a Heather at all. The coach stood up, looked at her/him, shook his head, and walked away. Heather eventually got up and walked directly to the front office. No one ever saw her again. Taylor said he felt sick.
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I am. The way he tells the story is what makes it so funny.” He kisses me on the forehead and says, “Let me go get cleaned up. Back in a flash.”
I follow him into the bathroom to brush my teeth and use the bathroom one more time. I go right back to bed and wait for him to finish.