Chapter 28
Grace usually felt at ease in the hospital, but not today as she waited for Anna to retrieve her from the waiting room.
Something about how the nurse had worked too hard not to sound worried over the phone.
A tone that Grace knew well. We can’t know what’s wrong yet.
We need more tests. We’ll do everything we can.
The subtle message beneath the reassuring words was unmistakable.
It’s already too late.
It had only been five minutes of waiting, and Grace had already picked at her cuticles until they were raw. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets to stop herself from doing more damage.
“Gracie?”
She looked up at her father’s voice as he walked past the waiting room. He was with a tall woman in a doctor’s coat. She didn’t look like she was a resident, but Grace didn’t recognize her. And she thought she knew every attending here.
“Oh, hi, Dad.” Grace stood immediately and gave a polite smile to the woman, who was staring at her so hard that Grace had to look away.
“What are you doing here?” her father asked.
“Anna didn’t tell you?” Grace asked.
“Oh, maybe she did. It’s been so busy here. Is everything okay?”
Grace hesitated. Maybe it was best not to worry her dad right now. “Yeah, you just haven’t been home in a few days. So, I thought we could have dinner together if you’re free.”
“Oh no, sorry. I’m swamped, and we have rounds soon.”
“We?” Grace’s eyes moved to the woman who stepped forward and offered her hand.
“Hi, I’m a colleague of your father’s.”
“Oh, of course,” Grace’s father said, pulling off his glasses to wipe them with his shirt. “This is Dr. Kendrick. She’s actually an old med school classmate of your mother’s and mine.”
Grace took the woman’s hand in a quick shake.
Dr. Kendrick’s smile widened. “You really do look just like your mother. I thought I was seeing her again.”
Grace’s heart skipped at that. No matter how much she heard it, it always gave her a start to be told she was her mother’s mirror image.
“Dr. Kendrick teaches at BU, specializing in infectious diseases,” her father said.
“Your father was telling me you were applying to our program. I’m actually participating in some of the interviews.”
“Your program?”
“The summer intensive program?” Her father prompted.
“Oh!” Grace gasped. It was like being reminded of another life. Something that had been her entire world a week ago. Grace nodded enthusiastically to compensate for the momentary lapse. “I really want to get in.”
“Well, I’ll have to sneak a peek at your application. Though, if you’re half as impressive as your father brags, I’m sure you’ll get in no problem.” Dr. Kendrick winked.
Grace gave a weak smile. Guilt swimming because she’d completely forgotten about her upcoming interview with everything going on.
Her father’s phone beeped with the ringer that indicated an internal page. “That patient I wanted to show you is ready,” he said to Dr. Kendrick.
They left with a wave, and Grace was grateful she no longer felt like she was being observed.
“Grace?” A middle-aged white woman with graying brown hair stood at the doors to the ER.
“Hey, Anna.” Grace hurried over to her.
“You can come back now,” Anna said. She was still wearing a medical mask, and Grace tried to read her expression from just her eyes. But Anna had pretty much perfected her ER-nurse poker face after almost two decades. She led Grace back to one of the beds and pulled the thin curtain closed.
“What’s up, Anna?”
“I just wanted to run a few routine tests if that’s okay.”
A small spark of fear flared in the center of her chest, ready to grow into a fire. “Why? Does this have something to do with the attack at the carnival?”
Anna gave a thoughtful hum as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves. “You said you were there?”
Grace hesitated. She didn’t want to lie, so she just nodded. “Yeah, I was around. I helped organize the student booths at the carnival.”
Anna hummed and pulled out a face mask. “Can you put this on?”
Grace was confused, but did as told. She was good at following directions. “What’s this about?”
Instead of answering, Anna opened the small drawer at the station and pulled out a tourniquet, tubes, a tube holder, needles, tape, and gauze.
“Are you going to draw my blood?” Grace eyed the tools. She wasn’t scared of needles or anything, but right now the sight of them made her nervous. What was going on that required blood samples?
“It’s nothing to be worried about. But I want to see if you test positive for smallpox.”
Grace blinked in surprise. “But…that’s been eradicated.”
“Yes,” Anna said again, her brows furrowing as she opened an alcohol swab. “Which arm, sweetie?”
Grace held out her left arm and let Anna tie the tourniquet. The chill of the alcohol swab on her skin pulled her out of her shock. And she finally fit some of the mental puzzle pieces together.
“Are you telling me that Piper has smallpox?”
Anna shook her head. “You know I can’t tell you that.”
But Grace could pick up the serious tone. If Piper had smallpox, that could be why she wasn’t being discharged. But what did smallpox have to do with the attack at the carnival? It just didn’t make any sense. Why would a long-gone disease have anything to do with those creepy things?
She would have dismissed it as coincidence, but a part of her knew that would be foolish. Nothing felt like a coincidence anymore these days.
Anna finished drawing a tube of blood and proficiently placed a Band-Aid.
“What will happen if I test positive?” Grace asked, pressing a finger to the Band-Aid to help slow the bleeding.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” But Anna’s kind eyes looked worried. “But, just in case, I’m going to give you the vaccine.”
“Vaccine?” Grace saw Anna pick up a new needle.
“It’s not standard anymore, but it can be administered even after contact to help mitigate symptoms.”
Grace tried not to wince at Anna’s clinical explanation. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
Anna dipped the needle into the vial.
“Okay, I’m going to have to prick you a few times in a row, so sit still until I’m finished.”
Grace nodded, wincing as Anna pricked her upper arm in multiple quick jabs before pressing a cotton ball to the injection site. “Come in immediately if you get a fever or see a rash in the next two weeks.”
“Is this why my dad has been at the hospital all this time?” Grace asked, pressing her fingers against the cotton ball so Anna could clean up the tray. “Because people are getting sick? How many people?”
Anna shook her head. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
That’s not why she was asking. But she knew she couldn’t explain that she was worried she was the reason this was all happening.
“So, what do I do now? Do I have to quarantine?” Grace asked, wondering how this would affect everything with Hae. Could he be trusted alone if she was in the hospital?
“No, you’re not symptomatic and had brief contact. Protocol is to offer the vaccine and monitor for symptoms for fourteen days.”
“Okay,” Grace said, noting the date. She wanted to be as vigilant as possible.
After Anna let her go, Grace should have gone back outside.
Instead, she turned to the elevators that led up to the inpatient rooms. She knew the hospital well enough to guess where Piper would be.
If they thought it was smallpox, they’d follow hospital protocol.
Quarantine the patients in rooms with negative air pressure.
And there was one inpatient floor that had that.
Once the elevator opened on the correct floor, Grace was immediately greeted with a giant sign on a stanchion stating that this floor was closed to non-approved personnel.
She hurried past the empty nurses’ station and into the hallway. The first two rooms were empty. The third had a name scribbled on the white erase board by the door. Grace almost walked in before she realized it wasn’t Piper’s room. The board read Wilson, Charles.
“Chuck,” Grace whispered. The attack at the golf course. The one Val Bishop said was a vampire. Looked like she hadn’t been making things up after all. One of those creatures must have attacked Chuck too.
She moved down the hall and found the room assigned to Calloway, Piper.
There was an extra note below the name. Instructions that the patient was in isolation and all staff should wear appropriate PPE. Grace glanced around and spotted a cart with N95 masks. She pulled one on before entering the room.
She hesitated right inside the door, noticing a box of gloves next to more masks. She put them on before slowly approaching the bed.
The covers were pulled tight to Piper’s chin, but still, Grace could see a rash spreading down her jaw onto her neck.
Angry red splotches with raised bumps. Piper was sweating with fever, damp hair sticking to her cheeks.
She looked pale, almost white. And her mouth was tense, like she wasn’t sleeping well.
“Piper?” Grace whispered. The girl didn’t move.
Grace leaned closer. “Piper, are you awake?”
Piper shifted on the pillow but still didn’t wake. Maybe this was a mistake. What did she even think she could accomplish? Whatever Piper had said to Zoe had been in a fevered haze. It probably hadn’t meant anything. She should go before someone found her here.
But when Grace turned to leave, someone blocked the doorway.
She started to explain away her presence when Yuhwa stepped forward.
“What are you doing here?” Grace asked.
The goddess looked like a model more than a high school student.
Perfect hair, clear skin, long limbs. She wore the telltale Korean school uniform Grace had designed for her webtoon.
The dark blazer was the same color as Hae’s, but cropped and tailored to complement Yuhwa’s perfect proportions.
Her long legs were accented by the short, pleated khaki skirt that hit her mid-thigh.
She wore no makeup, but she didn’t need it.
Her lashes were naturally full, and her lips were perfectly pink.
“I’m here to see you,” Yuhwa replied.
“How did you know where I was?”
“I found you by following the pull.”
Grace sighed. Of course Yuhwa was also drawn to Grace, just like Hae. She had so many questions, but this wasn’t the place to ask them.
“You shouldn’t be in here without protective gear.”
“Is this the girl who was attacked?” Yuhwa asked. She glanced around Grace toward Piper’s bed.
Grace gave up and shoved an N95 mask at Yuhwa. “Yeah, it’s her.”
The goddess quietly put the mask on before moving toward the bed. Her sweet earthy scent wafted over Grace.
“What’s wrong with her?” Yuhwa asked when Grace joined her at Piper’s bedside.
“Smallpox.”
Yuhwa’s eyes narrowed. “It can’t be.”
“I know—it’s been eradicated.”
Piper stirred, perhaps awoken by their whispered voices. Her eyes blinked open, hazy at first, traveling slowly across the room until they landed on Grace and Yuhwa.
“Grace Bak? What are you doing here?” She blinked sleepily. Then she spotted Yuhwa and her eyes widened. “You’re…you’re like him.”
One of the monitors beeped, indicating Piper’s speeding heart rate.
“Piper, are you okay?” Grace asked.
The girl began to cry. “I’m sorry! Don’t tell him where I am. He was so angry.”
“Who are you talking about?” Grace asked, baffled.
“He won’t hurt you,” the goddess replied firmly. “I won’t let him.”
Piper was shaking now, the monitor giving another warning beep as her heart rate continued to rise. “He was so angry. I don’t want him to come back.”
“Yuhwa, we should go,” Grace said, gripping the goddess’s arm. “A nurse will definitely be coming to check on her now.”
Yuhwa nodded, letting Grace pull her to the door.
But as they opened it, Piper called out. “He said he was a god. How can you stop a god?”