Jeff Carlson - Plague Zone

When she approached Cam’s room at last, it was with the same piercing uncertainty that had affected her since her decision to improve upon the mind plague. She knew it was better for her to design such a thing than anyone else, but she was afraid of what Cam would think. Why? He would agree with her, wouldn’t he?

They’d put him in semi-isolation. They said it was because of his burns and stomach wounds, both of which carried a high risk of infection. Ruth knew the private room was really because they were still leery of unknown nanotech, even though she’d screened his blood and that of the two prisoners, finding nothing — yet she welcomed their solitude.

His skin had regained most its brown tone. That was the first thing she noticed. His face and hands were the right color again, especially dark against the white sheets. His eyes were closed. She would have left if she hadn’t already visited twice before without the chance to talk.

“Cam?” She went to his bed, a thin, handstitched mattress on a low metal frame. There was no chair. “Cam? It’s Ruth. Are you…”

“Hey.” He didn’t open his eyes but his hand lifted from the bed an inch or two, groping.

She seized his palm in her own. “It’s me. I’m here.”

“Your voice.”

Ruth smiled through a sting of tears. “I’m okay.” Her mouth was healing. “How do you feel?”

“Hurts.”

“Yes.”

They stayed together for several minutes, just listening to each other live and breathe. Elsewhere, voices sounded in the corridor. Ruth kissed his hand through her gauze mask.

“I need to tell you something,” she said.

She tried to explain what she was doing with the Chinese nanotech. His instincts had always been stronger than her own, and she trusted his answer more than herself. She didn’t get far. Cam opened his eyes to search her face.

“No,” he said. “Don’t.”

“But if someone else—”

He struggled to sit up and Ruth jumped with her own sense of alarm, pressing at his shoulder to keep him down. “Cam, you’ll hurt yourself.”

“We’ll find another way!” he said. “Don’t.”

“I won’t. I swear it. You’re right. I won’t.” She kissed his hand again to hide her stricken face from his uncompromising gaze.

Don’t you see how I need you? she thought.

“Please, Ruth,” he said, tiring. He closed his eyes again. “Don’t make us fight you, too.”

“No. Never.”

They stayed together until he slept.

He woke briefly from a nightmare and she was glad she hadn’t left. “Shh, Cam, I’m here. You’re safe. I’m here.”

“I love you,” he said.

My wife Diana has been my greatest supporter. The Plague Year trilogy would not exist without her hard work and sacrifice, so I think everyone owes her a cool drink and some curly fries with a side of ranch, yes? Our boys are also remarkably understanding of Daddy’s strange hours, and I want to thank them, too. I love you, Johnny Six and Bee Ee En.

Some of the usual suspects are also to blame for helping me with this novel: Mike May, Professor of Entomology at Rutgers University; Lt. Colonel “Bear” Lihani, United States Air Force (ret.); Major Brian Woolworth, U.S. Army Special Forces; and my father, Gus Carlson, Ph.D., mechanical engineer and former division leader at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Anytime I needed to bolt an air compressor to the floor of a single-engine plane or build a clean room out of nothing more than plastic sheeting and duct tape, Dad was there, like Batman, and I appreciate it more than I can say.

I’d also like to express my gratitude to Andreas Heinrich, Ph.D., one of the sharpest minds in nanotechnology today. Andreas fielded any number of weird questions as well as inviting me to step into a lab full of authentic nanotech gear. Wow! Fortunately, he didn’t let me turn anything on.

Charles H. Hanson, M.D., and Sumit Sen, M.D., also both took the time to answer morbid questions throughout the genesis of this book.

My friend and evil genius Matthew J. Harrington is responsible for the smoke detectors.

I’d also like to thank Aileen Chung Der and Nissan Jp for their assistance in researching China’s culture, languages, and military. The Chinese become the bad guys in the second and third Plague novels, but this turn of events was meant with respect. The story needed a plausible enemy, and China is a major force in the world. Without its strength, I didn’t have a plot, so thank you.

My agents, Donald Maass and Cameron McClure, continue to be top-notch. Thank you also to J. L. Stermer, Amy Boggs, and everyone else in the office. I appreciate their hard work as well as the contributions of my team at Ace. Anne Sowards, Cam “The Other Cam” Dufty, and Ginjer Buchanan have all been fantastic, as have Eric Williams and Judith Lagerman, the bright duo behind the cover art for these novels. Meghan Mahler takes credit for the eye-catching maps.

Also a gigantic thanks to Jeremy Tolbert of [http://www.jeremiahtolbert.com] www.jeremiahtolbert.com for my flashy new Web site at [http://www.jverse.com] www.jverse.com. Come on by! Jverse offers free fiction, videos, contests, advance news on upcoming projects, and more.

Finally, I’d like to thank Ruth, Cam, and the rest of the gang. They may exist only in my brain, but I really, really enjoyed my time with them. I hope you have, too.