Free Braving The Storms (Strengthen What Remains Book 3) by Kyle Pratt

the onset of this illness occurred and about the symptoms.”
    “For the gang, I don’t know, but for us…it was like crazy quick.”
    She slumped over her pad, rubbed her forehead, and wrote. “Did you come in contact with the bodies?”
    “Yes, we put them in body bags and brought them to the back of the lodge. That night people went to bed feeling fine and woke up really sick. There was vomiting, chills, high fevers. Some were talking nuts.”
    Dr. Scott sighed. “I need to speak with the Chief Physician.”
    “Ahhhh, who?”
    Caden realized the young man had no idea who, or what, that might be. He stepped closer to the phone. “Private, who’s the senior healthy soldier?”
    “Corporal Franklin, sir.”
    The corporal was just a few years older, but should be able to find the man in charge with a little help from Dr. Scott. “Stay on the phone and find him, ASAP,” Caden ordered.
    “Yes, sir.”
    While they waited, Caden asked, “Private Spencer, have you been in contact with Second Squad? They were looking for you.”
    “No, sir, we didn’t see them. I hope they don’t know the location of the place. We started calling it Grim Reaper Lodge.”
    Caden scowled. He didn’t know if Second Squad knew the location or not, but he needed to find out. He hurried around the counter of the nurse’s station and grabbed the phone receiver. He tried to dial Brooks, but when he tapped the fifth number he heard beeping, like a rapid busy signal. Caden growled at the phone.
    Turning from her conversation, the doctor said, “Dial nine first.”
    On Caden’s next attempt Brooks came on the line. “Is Second Squad going to the hunting lodge?”
    “Yes, Deputy Philip reported it as the last location of Fletcher’s men. Are they okay?”
    Caden quickly explained what he knew about the deadly lodge. “We need to stop Second Squad.”
    “They’re at the edge of radio range now, but I’ll try to contact them.”
    When Caden again sat across from Dr. Scott, her eyes were fixed on the phone between them. Her brow furrowed as she spoke with intensity. “No, no, no. You’ve got to isolate all of them. Didn’t you read the material from Omaha? This is a very contagious and infectious mutation.”
    “Yes, I understand that, but this is a small facility,” the voice from the phone said. “We don’t have an isolation ward and the entire building is on one ventilation system.”
    Scott threw her arms up and shouted into the phone. “Is there another building somewhere? These patients can’t have any contact with unprotected individuals.”
    “Another building? We’re barely keeping the lights on in this one.”
    “Now you listen to me. Those patients are viral bombs. Either you contain them or you’ll see the devastation spread through the town in about twelve hours. What is your decision?”
    No sound came from the phone for several moments. “We’ll stabilize the two that are sick in a separate building…somewhere…but then can we transfer them to your facility?”
    “Yes, but I doubt they will live long enough for that.” Dr. Scott looked up at Caden and mouthed, “Sorry.”
    The voice from the phone continued. “What about the recovering patients and those that remain asymptomatic?”
    “If they are stable you can transfer them to this facility.” Dr. Scott said with a sigh. “What is your plan for the bodies already there?”
    “We’ll take final samples and then cremate them.”
    After several more minutes of planning and arguing with her counterpart at the Morton hospital, Dr. Scott hung up, leaned back, closed her eyes, and sank into the chair.
    Caden retrieved his phone and, as the seconds ticked by, wondered if she had fallen asleep.
    Finally, without opening her eyes, she said, “Well, the news about Kern flu is out now.”
    “How are my soldiers doing?”
    “Six of your men are dead. One is in critical condition. The other five are either asymptomatic or, like Fletcher, recovering. The