THE BATTLEFIELD OF LOVE
Episodes 16. The Field Mission Order
"Don't you, Aunt Jane can get out?" I don't know about Aunt Jane's mother. Did he make it out? I asked when I handed James one of the patients lab results.
"No, they're still stuck in Dallas. They were already on the road but then the patrol ordered them back in the middle of the road."
"Oh my..." I have sympathy for Aunt Jane.
"Is he okay. Can't you Arnold your brother's working on something."
"They said they were working on tests to get out. Many hospitals are also urging the government to let their labs do the tests and give them complete clearance, we'll still wait."
"Fred's still stuck in Dallas?"
"Yes it's been five days they've been at the hotel without clarity."
"It must be hard for you to worry about it. The CDC somehow seems to be working very slowly, why until now they have not been able to determine the source of transmission of this parasite."
"I dare not eat anything raw now. Even fruit that I can squeeze the skin and has been washed with cleaning fluid."
Shortly our pager sounded. Briefing requests. I took a long breath.
"I think we'll be assigned to the field."
"Partwork assignment!? Really is..." James was surprised now but he followed me into the briefing room.
"This will be your first fieldwork it seems." I talked to James and Noah, while my other friends, on average, had experienced fieldwork. We were gathered in front of the elevator.
"Why are you so sure this is gonna be a field assignment?"
"They always choose singles to send first. Unostentatious. You're first years in the medic corps, and we're all single in the middle of this apocalypse...." I'm 100% sure we'll be briefing delivery personnel. I don't know where I don't know. But it should be headed to Williamson County.
"Why does single sound sad now..." Noah answered. I grimaced. That sounds sad. We are still single in this apocalypse. But life is a choice, right? Maybe it's better because there's no child we're worried about. I'm just worried about Mom and Fred in Dallas.
"What if we die on this assignment?" Noah may now be nervous about his first assignment.
"Emmm... Your family will be approached by officers and informed respectfully. There'll be a military funeral for you." I patted and grabbed Noah's shoulder with a big smile.
"I don't want to die from being bitten infected. And don't want to die as infected. You better kill me, promise me."
"Let's calm Noah, if bullets go through his head they're dead." I must now appease the doctor who is usually too optimistic about his life.
James is silent now.
Sometimes I ask, I sometimes see him still pensive himself and his face looks sad. If he couldn't bear the death of his girlfriend in Manhattan, the reason until he applied to the Medic Corps and left his brilliant career at Mount Sinai, why. Is he looking for...
I'm erasing my mind.
He's still young, there's no way he'd think that. He just wants a place away from memories. Of course he can get a replacement. Any woman would melt if faced with it. He just needs to find the right person.
We're facing Colonel (Dr) Mark Hughey, the head of this hospital operation.
I'm-i'm right.
We will begin preparations in two days, our team will be on duty on the frontline.
In a regional hospital that has been secured by the military.
We record all the supplies we need and all will be taken there soon and the one who leads this unit is Major Dr. Joseph Hopkinsville, our senior trauma surgeon with experience in the Army. I was on his team in Afghanistan luckily. And I think the terrain this time seems more compromised.
We are still on US soil which is more relieving.
"Welcome to everyone's team. Doctor James and Noah first year in the Army, I have high hopes for you...." Dr. Joseph gave our first briefing. "It seems that this time we will be dealing with a lot of amputation cases, the new SOP we will discuss about the handling of infected bites. Our first task is that we will immediately brief the medical soldiers when we get there. Senior nurses .. I'll expect a lot of your help."
"Yes Sir!" We are now in the military chain of command for the mission.
And we started our preparations for the two-day mission.
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If there is an apocalypse happening, it is time.
God seems to be sending this disease to destroy the over-destructive human population.
Major cities around the world stopped their activities. Humans slow down and fear because the laws of nature and infection spread widely without being stopped.
Five days after DEFCON 3, all Williamson County residents have been evacuated and half of the area has been designated as a red zone along with several other parts of the country. They were gathered in five temporary camps guarded by police and military.
Reportedly hundreds of infected people were shot here. But what's still terrible is that a lot of people are still missing here. Williamson County has a population of about 400k people, of which only 300k reported to the emergency system. Others have not been reached or may have moved to other areas but are not recorded.
Red zones are established in some parts of the country because there are already too many infections that cannot be handled in that area. Most of them are large agricultural areas. The military will go in search of survivors and destroy infected.
Cities with tighter care seem to be safer.
Military operations will begin combing through the entire Williamson County area.
Fred's been stuck in Dallas for six days. CDC just opened test registration at the airport tomorrow.
By noon two teams of doctors left from El Paso to Will Roger World Airport which was almost four hours flight while carrying medical supplies.
"Are you going to be in safe territory?" Fred called right away when he knew I was going to be assigned to the field.
"Norman's been discharged, but we're serving in a military-sterilized Regional Hospital. So I don't think there's gonna be any trouble."
"We did not dare to go out to avoid attack. Reportedly there were several attacks in this city, some attacks resulted in casualties. Infected has a prey-seeking instinct at night seems to."
"So you're okay, we'll meet again. Promise me we'll meet."
"We'll meet Sweetheart, .. You should be careful too."
With that I was determined we should meet again. The four-hour journey felt very long.
I'm going back to El Paso.
Or did I just leave a name,..
Nah! I promised I'd go back to Fred.
Hundreds of miles from my house and hundreds of miles from my lover.
But I'm going back.