Read Online Deep Down (Sam Stone Book 1) by Janean Worth - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Janean Worth
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absolutely necessary. The toilets will not flush without the use of a fresh supply of water, so all use of them should be limited to necessity. However, for drinking purposes, we have several hundred cases of bottled water stock-piled in the kitchen area, so there is no need to worry about dehydration.”
A man stood up from the back of the room, yelling loudly to be heard clearly over the microphone-enhanced voice of the guide, but the woman cut right over him with her next statement, now practically shouting into the microphone.
“The specialist that was promised earlier has been delayed. The specialist is actually a CDC medical professional, not a lift mechanic. I’ve been assured that this man will arrive within the next 24-48 hours, and that we will be held in quarantine here until that time.”
The guide stopped speaking, and the crowd erupted into angry questions and comments.
Beside her, Stone said nothing, but Jenny could practically see the plans for escape forming behind his stoic face.
Chapter Nine
Long, slow seconds passed after the guide’s announcement as the visitors murmured angrily to each other at their tables. The tension had risen within the room so much that it was palpable. Waves of anxiety and distress seemed to emanate from the visitors inside the dining cavern.
The angry murmurs grew louder near the back of the cavern as a group of visitors left their table en masse to approach the exit. From Jenny’s vantage point at their table near the exit to the cavern, she could see the remaining four security guards line up across the exit, completely blocking the small space that led out to the tunnels beyond.
The group of people from the back table was almost upon the exit when the doctor, who had been bending over the boy, stood up and turned toward them.
“Please take your seats. Leaving this cavern will do you no good, even if it would be permitted, which it will not,” his voice boomed out of his quarantine suit, surprisingly loud, and Jenny realized that the suit must be equipped with a microphone and speakers. “You’ve all been exposed to a pathogen of unknown origin. This bacteria known as ED, as the museum staff have named it, was studied before it was allowed to be placed in a public museum setting. The lead scientist, knowing that the bacteria would be kept inside a sealed environment at all times, felt that there was little danger to the public, as the bacteria was not known to be virulent or a health hazard to humans. However, now that the bacteria’s environment has been breached, and some of you are showing symptoms of infection, we have reason to suspect that his findings might not have been entirely correct. With the preliminary research on this bacteria now considered to be fundamentally flawed, we have no way of knowing what effect it will have upon living hosts.”
“That’s exactly why we’re not staying here,” one of the men from the group said, resuming his walk to the exit.
“Think of your loved ones on the surface,” the doctor said. “Surely you do not want them to be exposed?”
“I don’t. I’ll check myself into a hospital. I’ll stay away from my family until I know whether I’m sick with something or not, but I’m not spending the night down here with no fresh air and no flushing toilets. Not gonna’ happen,” the man insisted.
Several of the women in his group seemed to think differently. Obviously, their families on the surface must matter a great deal to them, because three of the women turned and started back to their seats.
The man looked around, realizing that only three of his group remained standing at his side. He shook his head, looking peeved, and continued on toward the exit. A moment before he reached the security guards, the man broke into a run and spun left, racing towards one of the tarps that had been hung near the side of the dining area to block off the cavern into a
A man stood up from the back of the room, yelling loudly to be heard clearly over the microphone-enhanced voice of the guide, but the woman cut right over him with her next statement, now practically shouting into the microphone.
“The specialist that was promised earlier has been delayed. The specialist is actually a CDC medical professional, not a lift mechanic. I’ve been assured that this man will arrive within the next 24-48 hours, and that we will be held in quarantine here until that time.”
The guide stopped speaking, and the crowd erupted into angry questions and comments.
Beside her, Stone said nothing, but Jenny could practically see the plans for escape forming behind his stoic face.
Chapter Nine
Long, slow seconds passed after the guide’s announcement as the visitors murmured angrily to each other at their tables. The tension had risen within the room so much that it was palpable. Waves of anxiety and distress seemed to emanate from the visitors inside the dining cavern.
The angry murmurs grew louder near the back of the cavern as a group of visitors left their table en masse to approach the exit. From Jenny’s vantage point at their table near the exit to the cavern, she could see the remaining four security guards line up across the exit, completely blocking the small space that led out to the tunnels beyond.
The group of people from the back table was almost upon the exit when the doctor, who had been bending over the boy, stood up and turned toward them.
“Please take your seats. Leaving this cavern will do you no good, even if it would be permitted, which it will not,” his voice boomed out of his quarantine suit, surprisingly loud, and Jenny realized that the suit must be equipped with a microphone and speakers. “You’ve all been exposed to a pathogen of unknown origin. This bacteria known as ED, as the museum staff have named it, was studied before it was allowed to be placed in a public museum setting. The lead scientist, knowing that the bacteria would be kept inside a sealed environment at all times, felt that there was little danger to the public, as the bacteria was not known to be virulent or a health hazard to humans. However, now that the bacteria’s environment has been breached, and some of you are showing symptoms of infection, we have reason to suspect that his findings might not have been entirely correct. With the preliminary research on this bacteria now considered to be fundamentally flawed, we have no way of knowing what effect it will have upon living hosts.”
“That’s exactly why we’re not staying here,” one of the men from the group said, resuming his walk to the exit.
“Think of your loved ones on the surface,” the doctor said. “Surely you do not want them to be exposed?”
“I don’t. I’ll check myself into a hospital. I’ll stay away from my family until I know whether I’m sick with something or not, but I’m not spending the night down here with no fresh air and no flushing toilets. Not gonna’ happen,” the man insisted.
Several of the women in his group seemed to think differently. Obviously, their families on the surface must matter a great deal to them, because three of the women turned and started back to their seats.
The man looked around, realizing that only three of his group remained standing at his side. He shook his head, looking peeved, and continued on toward the exit. A moment before he reached the security guards, the man broke into a run and spun left, racing towards one of the tarps that had been hung near the side of the dining area to block off the cavern into a
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