But as it was with the rest of his assignment, the doctor did not have a choice. He donned a pair of gloves and a gas mask with an expired canister and slowly removed the first vial from the container’s foam padding.

The test subjects had been divided into three sets based on the method of transmission. It was a small sample size, but the doctor suspected he already knew the outcome of the tests and had chosen to waste as few lives as possible.

First up were The Breathers. Using an eyedropper, the doctor transferred a single drop of the virus to a plastic spray bottle and mixed it with several milliliters of water. He approached each individual and misted them in the face. The captives were not naïve. None of them saw the holding pens, gas masks, and armed guards as good omens, but when faced with a spray bottle or an AK-47, the decision at the time seemed obvious.

In time, it would seem much less so.

The next group were The Touchers. The doctor used a cotton swab to apply a small amount of the virus to the skin of the test subjects. Cutaneous transmission was less common for bacterial infections, but not unheard of, and Yaxaas had insisted upon exploring the possibility.

Last were The Drinkers. Each was given a bottle of water mixed with a drop of the virus. The older man in the pen took his bottle from the doctor and threw it back at him without taking a sip.

The man with the bandoliers was standing outside. He didn’t have gloves or a gas mask, but he did have a Browning Hi-Power pistol strapped to his hip. He approached the man who’d refused to drink, shot him once in the gut, and left him in the dirt, howling in pain.

The others finished their water.

—

THE SUBJECTS WERE given food and clean water to drink—probably more than they’d had in a week outside the camp—but despite Muslim rules of modesty, bodily functions were taken care of inside the pens for all to see.

While still displeased with his task, the doctor attempted to be scientific about the results. He observed when the subjects became symptomatic and noted that there was little difference attributable to age or gender.

Six hours from contact, most of The Touchers had developed visible rashes. For whatever reason the young women displayed symptoms more quickly than the others, but the difference would prove tragically insignificant before the day was out.

Twelve hours after inhaling the virus, each of The Breathers had developed a cough. Short and raspy at first, the coughs rapidly evolved into painful and persistent deep-chest spasms that contained blood and other, less easily identified bodily fluids. The older man fell to the ground and curled into the fetal position.