Kiwi’s skin had a ghastly hue. The truth was plain. Every breath he took, slight and irregular, was numbered. Without my help, it was already a thin whistle. Seconds later, his ghostly bellows haunted the room. Robin, who stood over us, blocked the noise with her palms and left. At my nod, William went to comfort her.

Kiwi lived for twenty-five minutes, panting like a dog, so I thought his chest would cave in. And then, with a gasp, he died.

* * *

“Where are the tables?” I said. I draped a sheet of blood-speckled cloth over Kiwi’s furred torso.

Hosea took a breath. “Why do you need a table?”

“I want to lay Kiwi out and wash his body on a table. I can get water, but someone moved the tables.” I sounded lost, even to my own ears.

Hosea stood. “I don’t have time to move a table back in here. Besides, they’re all in use.”

“Fine, I’ll check the abandoned huts.” I stood, determined.

“I’ll move it myself, or William will help.”

“William is busy, Arika, and so is Robin. We’re all needed in the other sick rooms.”

I bristled at his tone. He hadn’t called me brat, but he might as well have. Suddenly, his words registered. “What do you mean, other sick rooms?”

“You might as well know. In the last few hours, the fever has spread. There is no single sick room. We’re urging the sick to avoid the streets.” He swiped a hand across the lower half of his face. “They bring the dead here to await the pyre.”

“How many are sick?” I demanded.

He resisted.

“Hosea!”

“A fifth of the village at last count, but the number is rising.”

I covered my mouth. “I thought you said it was under control.”

“I never said that—you assumed. There’s no way to contain a fever without knowing how it spreads.”

“How did you stop it in the Vine?”

“I didn’t. It died out.”

“And at Point Landing?”

“Before I left, I’d lost count. And then the fire…” His voice trailed off.

“Obi, Hosea. What do we do?”

To my horror, he began to count the likely survivors on one hand. “Well, you and I will live. The fever spreads like fire. If we haven’t gotten it now, we likely won’t succumb. Robin and William seem to be immune too. Everyone else…”

I reeled away before he could say more. I hurried to the door, tripping over the dead. “There has to be something we can do.”

Outside, the streets were piles of ash; the air was suffocating. I flung an arm across my face, shielding my nose. I stumbled to the nearest hut. I leapt the steps, threw open the door and gasped, falling backwards.