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| Catie Benson's Infection by Stephanie L. Morrell (Issue 10) |
Dr. Levin read through the lab work on her computer screen and frowned as she studied the results. Nothing about the information contained in the victim’s file seemed A-typical with any known virus or disease she was familiar with. Working at the Centers for Disease Control gave Sarah Levin an opportunity to expose herself to a myriad of conditions such as illness brought on by everything from water contaminants to biotoxins. She even studied rare cases of animals and humans being bitten by fleas carrying the bacterium containing yersinia pestis, more commonly known as the plague. Modern antibiotics can successfully treat the plague as long as it is detected soon enough, otherwise, the subject can become very ill and even die from the disease.
“What are we looking at, Sarah?” Dr. Preston walked up behind her and examined the computer screen. “I am not quite sure of what we are seeing.” He narrowed his eyes.
“This is like nothing I have ever observed before, Mathew.” She printed out a copy and began making small notes in the margins. “I am going to set up a meeting so we can discuss a method of dealing with this.”
“How are we going to handle the public?” Dr. Preston removed his glasses and squeezed the bridge of his nose to relieve the throbbing headache behind his eyes.
“I have no answer for that,” she told him plainly. “I think we need to make a unilateral decision to keep the public in the dark until I can get a handle on just what the hell we are facing here.” She looked at him gravely. “I want the best doctors on this so contact Robert, Elizabeth and Alexander.”
“Alright,” Dr. Preston said in a shaky voice. “I will make some calls.
Catie Benson was in the shower and took care when cleaning the area around her freshly pierced navel. The skin surrounding her new silver hoop was slightly pink and somewhat tender to the touch, but aside from that it was unremarkable. She dried off after the shower and applied a dab of antibacterial soap to the pinpoint wound of her piercing. She dressed in her pajamas, towel dried her short blonde hair and combed in a wide side part from left to right. Her hair was cut like a young boys and the color was close to platinum. Catie’s tiny pale face and delicate features were framed beautifully by the shortly cropped mane she wore. Her style of dress ranged from Goth to mod and she wore it all well.
Cindy and David Benson warned their daughter time and time again about getting piercings or tattoos. Catie was eighteen and it was legal for her to do as she wished when it came to desecrating her flesh, however, the house rules could override the law. As long as you lived under the Benson’s roof you had to abide by their rules. Catie was allowed to pierce her ears and cartilage but her face and body were off limits. Her new navel ring was a serious transgression and it was imperative for her to keep this bad behavior from her parents.
The following school day flew by quickly for Catie. She spent a lot of time in the girl’s bathroom showing off her navel ring to friends and classmates. Only a small number of girls had their navel pierced and that made Catie part of select few with the courage and style that other classmates admired. She truly enjoyed the attention.
That night Catie found it difficult to sleep. She kept waking up to an annoying itching sensation across her belly and was careful not to scratch the area too harshly. Instead, she rubbed her cotton night shirt across the itchy flesh of her piercing and tried to get some sleep.
The next day at school was not so pleasant for Catie. The area around her navel was darkly discolored and even more tender then it had been immediately following the piercing. She didn’t want to show it off today, in fact, she was afraid to look at it for fear of how badly the wound appeared.
“What do you want to do tonight, Catie?”
“I’m not sure, Heather. Did you want to go out or just stay in and hang?”
Heather Olsen was Catie’s closest friend. The two of them lived on the same street and had been classmates since kindergarten. Heather was several inches taller then Catie and had long black hair streaked with bright red highlights throughout. She always wore black and had a variety of doc martin’s ranging from vintage burgundy to black with white skulls and crossbones. Catie trusted Heather with her deepest secrets and was trustworthy to Heather as well. Their friendship was genuine and mutual.
“We can stay in tonight if you want.” Heather said observing the dark circles under Catie’s eyes. “Let’s just rent a movie and order some pizza. My mom has a few evening appointments but asked if we could order enough pizza for her to heat up. Dad won’t get home from his business trip till Sunday so we’re doing takeout till then.”
“That sounds good to me.” Catie stood up from the Olsen’s black leather sofa and let out a painful shout.
“What’s the matter with you,” Heather asked. “Your face has totally gone white.”
“I’m fine,” Catie lied. “The top of my jeans rubbed against my navel ring and it kinda hurt.” She took a deep breath and fought back the tears.
“What do you mean, kinda hurt? You should see your face.” Heather walked up to Catie and put a hand on her shoulder. “It looks like you are going to pass out.” She took the bottom of Catie’s shirt and lifted it up. “Oh my, God.” Her tone was uncharacteristically high pitched. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I don’t know?” Catie didn’t bother pulling her shirt back down. “Do you think it’s infected?” Quiet tears ran down her face. “She looked up at her friend with pleading eyes. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
“This looks very painfully.” Heather gazed into Catie’s eyes and tried to comfort her. “Have you been cleaning the area as often as you’re suppose to?”
“Yes I have.” She looked down at the wound and felt a sickness filling up her stomach. “Look how swollen and discolored my skin is.”
Heather leaned in close and examined the area. “I don’t understand how this could get so badly infected in just two days.” She pulled Catie over the desk lamp by the window. “Maybe you should take out the ring?”
“I already tried last night but the pain was more then I could stand.” She grimaced at the thought. “I almost passed out it was so bad.”
Catie was not one to exaggerate so Heather knew that this was as bad as it looked. The flesh across her navel was deep red, almost purple, and the open wound containing the hoop was oozing out a greenish-yellow liquid. The sight of it made Heather a little sick herself.
“I think my mom should take a look at this when she gets home.” Heather said in a serious tone. “She’s not going to tell your parents so don’t be afraid. Just do it.”
“I know you’re right,” Catie said without a fight. “She sat down on the sofa and stretched out on her back. This relieved some of the pain from her belly, but just some. Catie kept her shirt pulled up and tried to take it easy until Heather’s mom came home. Mrs. Olsen was a Doctor so things would be fine. That’s right, Catie told herself. Everything’s going to be just fine.
Heather let Catie drift off to sleep and waited for her mom to arrive. She decided to put a hold on ordering the pizza because no one seemed to have much of an appetite at the present time.
Dr. Elizabeth Olsen pulled up the drive way to her home and was greeted by her daughter before having a chance to shut off the car. Heather explained the situation to her mom and expressed grave concern that Dr. Olsen chalked up to teen girl drama. She quickly changed her thoughts after examining Catie’s abdomen.
“Why don’t we head over to my office and take care of this.” Dr. Olsen stood up and grabbed her handbag. “We can get a bite to eat on the way home.” She tried to sound casual. “Dinner is on me.” Dr. Olsen saw something similar to this but it was a very disturbing case that didn’t end well. It didn’t end well at all. “Heather,” she lowered her voice to a whisper. “Did you touch Catie’s wound at any point?” Her expression was severe.
“No. I lifted up her shirt to see how it looked but I never touched it.” She tried to read her Mom’s face. “Touching it would have made it worse. Right?”
“Yes. It could have spread the infection across Catie’s belly and we don’t want that.” Dr. Olsen was more concerned about her Daughter being exposed to something but kept that to herself. “Did anyone else that you know of touch the area?” She tried to sound like clinician, not a worried parent.
“Catie showed some girls at school but she didn’t let anyone touch it because it was sore.” Heather wanted to be as helpful as she could.
“How about her parents?”
“God, no.” She shook her head. “They have no idea. They would kill her if they knew because she’s not allowed any body piercings or tattoos until she moves out.”
“Too bad she didn’t listen to her parents.” Dr. Olsen looked across the room at Catie’s pale face and painful expression. “Let’s get going.”
Catie was on the exam table in Dr. Olsen’s office and quietly watched as the doctor put on her gloves, removed a sample from the wound and marked it off for the lab. She carefully dressed the area then went into the other room to make some calls. The three of them waited until a lab tech showed up to take Catie’s sample. The urgency of sending a lab tech to Dr. Olsen’s office did not sit well with the girls. Heather’s Mother explained that the tech was doing pickups in the area and a friend of hers from the lab added her stop as a favor. Outwardly the girls pretended to accept this but Dr. Olsen knew better. She saw the truth behind their eyes and this made her worry. She worried for Catie and what was likely to happen but that paled in comparison to her thoughts about Heather. This was her daughter and therefore a top priority to tend to. She would do whatever necessary to keep Heather safe and well.
When the lad tech showed up Dr. Olsen asked Heather to go out in the waiting room. She wanted to talk to Catie for a minute, so Heather did as she was told. Two men dressed in protective gear entered from the back door and escorted Catie to an ambulance. Dr. Olsen explained that she was being taken to the hospital where they could drain the infection and treat her with antibiotics. Dr. Olsen told Catie that she and Heather would follow behind in their car and call her parents on the way. Catie was less afraid of being in trouble and just wanted to see her Mom and Dad. The look of fear on Catie’s face was upsetting to Dr. Olsen but she had to be strong for Heather. Protecting her daughter was more important then anything.
“I still don’t understand what happened with Catie,” Heather said to her Mom.
“It’s a shame.” Dr. Olsen agreed but wanted nothing more then to forget the whole situation. Three years had gone by since Catie Benson’s infection and it was the last thing she wanted to discuss.
“She was completely fine after the fourth day from when her navel was pierced but our friendship wasn’t. I still don’t see why she turned her back on me and threw away a lifetime of friendship.” Heather filled up thinking about it. “I miss her friend ship so much.”
“I know that you do but she’s the one who changed, not you.” Dr. Olsen tried to soothe her daughter.
“All of the sudden she became this uppity political science major and treated me as if I were garbage under her feet.” She examined the tablecloth beneath her elbows then looked up at her Mom. “I still expect a phone call from Catie inviting me to visit her in Washington.”
“Don’t get your hopes up Heather.” She reached across the table and stroked her daughter hair. “Just put it behind you.”
Dr. Olsen knew the truth and it terrified her. This virus was put out there to infect humans through any means of contact with a person’s blood. It was contracted through piercings, flu shots, surgeries, tattoos and so much more. Everyone person was living on borrowed time.
Years ago when Dr. Elizabeth Olsen worked at the CDC there was a virus discovered and it was without a cure. The infection took over the host’s body and eventually contaminated a persons DNA. The victims were drawn to others like themselves and started a family breeding with this mutated DNA. The virus could not be identified and was therefore classified as extra terrestrial. The government and the CDC met frequently to determine what course of action should be taken. In the end it was discovered that this virus had been long standing and present on earth as far back as the Roswell incident. People occupying high places in government were made up of mostly the infected. Anyone having knowledge of this would suffer the direst consequence if interference was even suspected. Dr. Olsen came across the virus when her daughter was just a toddler so the government’s threats against her were taken seriously. She loved her daughter and would not survive if she lost her. In time the earth would become a planet housing a different species and all humans would cease to exist. She prayed that Heather would be untouched by this.
Many people with the misfortune of acquiring this information decided to take their own lives. Others appeared to have taken their lives but Dr. Olsen suspected otherwise. She tried to live each day running her family practice and enjoying the company of her family, especially her beloved Heather. When the day came for her to face the virus within her family a decision would have to be made. Catie Benson’s infection was closer then she ever wanted to be when dealing with the virus. She hoped that her family would be spared and able to live out their lifetime as humans. In the meantime Dr. Olsen did her best to keep dark secrets inside and pray that God would take her family before the virus did.
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