Chapter 2
Contamination
“Nancy,” she heard a woman's voice call from the locker room. She recognized Star’s voice from the last two post-encounter checks. She found herself feeling happy that they had sent her. Of all the EMT nurses she had dealt with Star was the only one who didn’t seem to press the issue. Star was a firm believer that if you knew your body you could tell when something is wrong. Perhaps it was because she spent her spare time at her mothers natural medicine shop.
Nancy turned towards the shower head and gave herself a final once over. Her eyes checked the white tile of the floor for any streaks of pink. Certain she was clean she turned the water off and pulled the towel into the stall. She toweled off and wrapped it around herself before stepping out.
“Thanks for coming Star, did you volunteer?” she asked as she walked towards her locker.
“No, just lucky I guess.” Star said. She paused for a moment then started more timidly, “I’m so happy you’re okay. What if that had been you in there instead of Diane?”
Nancy rolled her eyes and turned to Star before responding. “You sure know how to give a person time to grieve.”
“Oh, sorry,” Star said. Her cheeks flushed red, and she looked quickly to the floor. “I just… What I meant was do you think she’d be alive if you had been the nurse?”
“There hasn’t been enough time for me to consider that yet.” Nancy said. “I’ll probably lose some sleep over it today though.”
They were both quiet for a moment before Nancy spoke again. “Star, turn around so I can put my underwear on. Then we can do the examination. I don’t want this to be any more awkward than it has to be.”
“Oh, right,” Star said and turned towards the door.
Once Star’s back was turned she pulled clean underwear out of the locker and slipped them on. They were nothing fancy, no lace or silk, just a cotton blend which seemed to change depending on which manufacturer she picked up. With her underwear in place she spoke again, “Okay Star, let’s get this check done. It’s colder than I’d like in here.”
Nancy put her arms out to either side, bracing her left hand against the lockers.
“First question. Did you have any punctures, lacerations, or previously open wounds during the duration of your encounter?” Star asked. Nancy rolled her eyes, she hated the way they wrote the questions. It wasn’t an encounter it was a fight, it had always been a fight and would continue in the future to be a fight. Soft language, unlike vampires, was a fight she didn’t have time for.
“I punched him in the mouth and one of the teeth cut my knuckle as it broke. It was just a scratch though. I didn’t even notice it bleeding, just a red scab that was close to the skin.”
Star nodded and made a note on the chart. “Have you felt any reflux, heartburn, or stomach ache since the encounter?”
This was the first sign they’d been able to identify in people about to turn. Their stomachs would begin to ulcerate, creating huge sores to absorb blood and other vitamins through. “No, my stomach is fine though I am a bit hungry. I was about to do my mid-shift rounds and then have lunch. I just hope that Jim didn’t steal my fries from under the cloche, he does that sometimes.”
Star laughed. “That’s why I quit eating lunch with him in the cafeteria. The fries never seemed to fill me up when he was sitting there.”
Nancy laughed as well. She knew that Jim would keep score of the number of fries he could steal without getting caught. Last she had heard his high score was twenty-two.
“Can we do the physical inspection quick so I can put some clothes on?” Nancy asked Star.
“We have to go through the correct order or my boss is going to chew me out. There was an incident where an ambulance driver blew through the questions with his co-worker,” she paused considering her words. “He turned… While driving the ambulance. When the co-worker who was with him woke up he said the driver started laughing. It was the happiest he’d ever seen him, and then he turned into a farmer’s market and rolled it over five times.”
Nancy remembered the news report, but she hadn’t heard that it had been one of their ambulances. That would probably explain why the hospital administrator had been so hell bent on saving money this last month.
“I didn’t know…” Nancy began. She didn’t know what to say. How could she have missed a major news item like this? “Let’s get through it then. It is important.”
Star nodded, “Have you had any dizziness, loss of time, blacking out, or missing memory since the encounter?”
Nancy stopped at this one, she had felt a little dizzy at the end of it. A part of her wanted to blame it on the exertion. She wasn’t a teenager anymore and was approaching the age of fifty at this point. “I felt a little dizzy, but I think it’s because I hit my head when I fell on the floor.”
Star made another note before looking up to her. “Can you show me where on the head you were hit? We need to be sure it didn’t split as well.”
Nancy sighed audibly and then turned around. Sitting on the bench next to her she leaned over and moved the hair away as well as she could. The bump was tender though and she found herself wincing. Behind her she heard the snap of latex gloves being put on. Then she felt her scalp being prodded by Star.
“There are some really pretty colors there, like tie-dye pretty, but your scalp didn’t split,” Star said. “Now stand up. Since I already have the gloves on I might as well do the examination.”
“That’s the only place on my head where I was hurt.” Nancy said as she stood up. “Now here are my arms, once you’re done I’ll pull my hair up so you can examine the shoulders and down.”
Star began her examination looking over and prodding each bruise and bump. Nancy tried to let her mind relax, but she knew the orders and had been through it far too often to feel uncomfortable. Images began to swirl thorough her head of all of the different exams, of all of the different encounters… Oh she hated that word. Every time she heard it she images of UFOs and little green men arrived in the conversation.
“Nancy, you have a laceration here in the palm of your hand,” Star said.
Nancy looked to where she pointing and examined the small cut. Where had that come from? She played through the fight from the start to end, and then from the end to the beginning. There was something she was missing. “I think it’s from when I was sliding under the bed. I was trying to slide under to get Diane’s billy club and I thought I only bumped something underneath. That’s probably where it came from.”
“We haven’t got to the part where you go through the encounter. We might need to do that so I can assess your risk,” Star said.
Nancy could tell that she was looking more worried than she had before. She had picked up her clipboard and was moving back to the safe distance that you were supposed to assume. Star also fingered the billy club she carried.
“I’m fine Star. If I was going to turn it would have been years ago. I’m immune to the crap.” Nancy said.
“Please,” Star began. “Start the story of your encounter from the beginning Nurse Summers,” She was all business now, which made feel Nancy even more irritated.
She recounted the story, explaining everything she could remember, giving particular detail to all the safety measures she had taken. By the time she finished Star was still writing. Nancy knew that she was only supposed to write down the moments which might have put her in danger of infection, but she furiously scribbled for at least another minute.
“I told you I’m all right Star,” Nancy said. Star looked up to her with surprise in her eyes. It wasn’t the look of someone who was in awe, or disgusted, but who was astonished at what they had heard.
“You are contaminated Nancy,” Star said.
“No, it was another crazy vampire. I still have my mind, he didn’t. I’ve had worse and I’m still alive and kicking.”
“You don’t understand. From the story you told me there are a few places that you could have cut yourself. It could have been when you were riding the tray table. It could have been when you were sliding under the bed. Regardless of when it happened you’ve been contaminated. You were in a pool of blood that was a mixture of his and Nurse Johnson’s.”
Star didn’t approach to continue the examination. Instead she checked a few more boxes and then flipped the paper on her clip board over.
“You know I’m fine, right Star? You’ve seen me after a few of these encounters. I’m fine, I’m sure of it.” Nancy paused. “You do think I’m okay, right?”
A sigh came from Star but she didn’t speak until she stopped writing. “If we knew that Nurse Johnson was clean, and that the vampire’s blood didn’t get in your blood stream, then I’d think you’re okay. But for now I think you need to be put under observation.”
“I’m fine! I’ve been bitten before. Do you see this scar?” Nancy motioned to a scar on her right shoulder. A large patch of scar tissue lay beneath her bra strap. “That’s the first time I was bitten. I’ve been bitten at least ten times since then and it hasn’t done anything to me.”
Star’s eyes went wide. “You’ve been bitten ten times? How are you still alive?”
There was a pause in the conversation as Nancy realized that she hadn’t ever explained her history to Star. She didn’t really talk about it to anyone, except on really quiet nights on the unit.
“I’ve been doing this since before the blood moon Star, and I mean the only blood moon that matters, the one twenty years ago.” Nancy collapsed to the bench and then continued. “Since then I’ve moved my way up to being in charge of the unit, but not without seeing a lot of friends die.”
Star sat down on the bench, still at a safe distance, and listened.
“Right after the blood moon they didn’t know any better and so anyone who acted crazy was brought in. It wasn’t uncommon to see two or three new vampires a night,” Nancy paused as an involuntary shudder ran through her body. “We weren’t allowed to carry weapons then and had to call security. We lost new CNAs weekly. There were times where rooms would be barricaded until the Police arrived.”
“Oh man, I didn’t realize you’d been here that long,” Star said.
Nancy held up a finger to shush her and continued. “One day a man forced his way onto the unit with a sledgehammer and we fought. I was lucky and he only managed to bite me that day. That was my second bite, but I took his hammer and kept it behind the desk.”
“You said you’ve been bitten at least ten times? Then how many times have you been attacked?” Star asked. Nancy could tell that curiosity had gotten the better of Star. For now Star would have to wait until she finished what she had to say.
“Hold on, we’ll get to that,” Nancy took a deep breath and continued. “There had been a lot of hospitals and clinics which had been overrun at that point. When I was promoted I started arming the staff despite rules against it. That was when the tide turned in our favor. We were the first hospital in the area to begin carrying weapons and were the first to capture a vampire to study.”
“So then you should know the rules right?” Star asked. “That if you’re contaminated you have to take some time off to pass the incubation period.”
Nancy groaned at this. “What is the incubation period listed at right now? One week? One month? A year maybe?”
“The paperwork insists that you take two weeks off for incubation.” Star said.
“That’s a cheap excuse for them to burn through our vacation without giving us any satisfaction for it.” Nancy said. She rolled her neck from side to side feeling the muscles strain in her neck. “At one point it was a day, another point it was a month, but they don’t know how long it takes.”
“I thought people turned quickly,” Star said.
“Oh, when they go they go fast. But I’ve seen people go months, even years after being bitten before they turn. I’ve seen others turn almost instantly. It’s one reason that they struggle to research the disease, there is no control group.”
The two of them sat in silence for a minute, the only sound was dripping water echoing from one of the shower stalls.
“I don’t know what to think,” Star said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, I didn’t intend for this conversation to go this way either. I’ve spent the last twenty years listening to their lies and knowing that I should have gone years ago. I’m still here, and I find the whole thing ridiculous. I’m contaminated and have been for years.” She stood up and pulled a clean top from her locker.
“So you never answered my question earlier,” Star said.
“Which question? You asked a few of them and I was kind of on a tirade there.” Nancy said. She pulled the matching pair of bottoms from the locker and stepped into them.
“How many times have you been attacked? How many times have you been put at risk?” Star asked. There was a look in her eyes that worried Nancy. She knew that the answer might damage the positive spirit that her friend radiated.
“You don’t want to know the answer to that,” Nancy replied. She hoped that Star would let it drop, that she wouldn’t demand an answer to that question. Nancy knew the number of times she’d been attacked, she also knew the number of times in which she’d killed her assailant. They were close but the kills were lower, she had often had help in the first few years.
“No, I really need to know Nancy. If what you’re saying is true then I really don’t feel safe here,” Star said. She had wrapped her arms around herself as she sat. Nancy recognized that she looked afraid, but she also seemed resolute. This wasn’t a question that she normally would answer, if they asked upstairs she would say enough and walk away. Tonight she had shattered the thin veil of security that this poor girl had woven for herself, she deserved to know the answer.
“I’ve killed a lot of vampires, more than I’d like to count,” Nancy said. She still didn’t feel like giving her the whole number, and hoped that it would work.
“How many?” Star asked again. There was a quiver in Star’s voice now.
“I’ve killed one hundred and twenty seven vampires in the last twenty years,” Nancy said. As the number left her mouth she watched as Star’s mouth fell open.
“One hundred? Over one hundred?” Star stammered.
“Those were mostly in the early days, it’s safer now. You’re armed, you’re trained, and you know what to look for. If the idiots in administration would listen to me we could make it even safer.” Nancy said. It didn’t seem to change Star’s reaction though. Her mind seemed to struggle to take in the information.
Nancy found herself looking for a way to comfort Star, but she didn’t know how she would react. If she got close would she turn and run? If she touched her would she recoil from the fear of getting contaminated? She pulled her hair back as she tried to think of what she could do, until her train of thought was derailed.
“Nurse Summers,” came a man’s voice, specifically the hospital administrators voice, from the other side of the lockers. “Do you have time for one of those idiot administrators? I think we need to have a little chat.”
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