Sofia saw a huge tanker truck like the ones used to transport fuel driving slowly toward the gate. It stopped and four men in hazmat suits got out. The truck was equipped with two hoses and the men, like firefighters working in teams, uncoiled the hoses. Then they opened the valves and began spraying down the street in front of the hospital. The smell of chlorine wafted over the hospital grounds immediately.

Chlorine was toxic in concentrations as low as eighteen parts per million. At eight-hundred parts, it would kill fifty percent of people exposed to it. She wondered what concentration the military was using, and whether they were smart enough to ensure they didn’t allow the concentrations to become dangerous.

She got her answer when they hosed down the hospital gates, taking no precautions to protect the people in the parking lot, or even their own men guarding the gates.

“We better get those people back inside,” Olga said, looking out at the scene.

Sofia nodded. “The last thing we need is more poisonings.”

The truck finished hosing the entryway and began driving along the street. The soldiers walked along next to it, spraying everything.

“A week from now, the trees will be dead,” Olga said.

Sofia nodded. She turned to Olga. “So, what now?”

Olga spread her hands helplessly. “Everyone exposed is dead,” she said. “There’s nothing to do but bring the bodies to the morgue.”

“Are they being burned?”

“No, the military said to preserve them but the morgue isn’t equipped for so many bodies. They’re just piling them up.”

“If they want to perform autopsies, they better come soon,” Sofia said. “I’ll make a call.”

Olga went to the samovar and poured two cups of tea. She handed one to Sofia. Neither of them had slept since the outbreak and they were close to exhaustion.

“We should try to get some rest,” Sofia said.

Olga nodded. “There’s something I don’t understand,” she said.

“What?”

“If the outbreak came from the military’s own compound, which we know it did.”

Sofia nodded. “Yes?”

“A leak,” Olga said.

“Right.”

“I mean, they didn’t do this on purpose. It’s a leak from their own facility and they know that.”

Sofia nodded. She felt an overwhelming wave of guilt. This was the result of her work. She’d done this. Or been a part of it. And now, people like Olga would have to figure out the solution.

“Then why are they locking down the hospital? We’re not the source of the threat.”

Sofia thought about that. There was a small chance of contamination from an exposed person. Spores in their body or on their clothing could still be active. But Olga was right. That risk was minuscule compared to the fact that their own facility had been spewing spores into the sky just a few miles away.