Blood Covenant
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 8:55 A.M.
VENSI, MPONI REGION
Dr. Paige Ryan hesitated in the open doorway of the Cessna Caravan before stepping down onto the grassy runway. An early morning mist lingered along the edges of the clearing, but even the cloudy veil wasn't enough to mask the handful of thatched huts smoldering on the far side of the landing strip.
The familiar feeling of helplessness pressed against her chest. The last time she'd gone out with the mobile medical unit, the pilot had been forced to do a low-level pass before landing to scatter the herds of goats and the children playing soccer with their homemade balls on the airstrip. Today, all that greeted them was an eerie silence coupled with the bitter smell of burning huts.
Simon Love, head of emergency relief, stepped up beside her and tugged on the bottom of his Volunteers of Hope T-shirt. "Apparently the government's statements that the rebel's threats are nothing to worry about were exaggerated. It looks as if most of the villagers have fled this area."
Except those slaughtered by the rebels. A lump swelled in Paige's throat. She hadn't wanted to believe the rumors. Seventeen dead in Mkondi. Six in Latasha. Fifteen near the border town of Marani &hellip; But if Simon was right, those deaths could easily be the tip of the iceberg.
Their pilot, Nick Gilbert, grabbed Paige's medical bag from the storage compartment and handed it to her, temporarily distracting her from the haunting scene. Given another place and time, she'd have given his boyish good looks a second glance, but today all she could see was the smoky destruction in the distance.
"I'll wait here with the plane, but we need to be in the air by eleven if we're going to have time to visit the other villages and still make it back to Kingani before dark."
The pilot's strong southern drawl sounded out of place in the middle of the African bush, but to Paige it helped soothe the recent renewed pangs of homesickness. Tennessee had never seemed so far away.
She slung the bag over her shoulder and shot him a smile. "Then I reckon we'd better get moving."
Nick's reply was cut off by the loud rumbling approach of a beat-up 4x4, replacing any feelings of familiarity with the reality of the situation. Fighting between government forces and renegade Ghost Soldiers had escalated in the past seventy-two hours, with the villagers scattered across the base of Mt. Maja caught in the crossfire of the conflict. And while the government insisted that President Tau's army was maintaining control over the situation, the senseless killings being reported only reinforced her helplessness.
As soon as the boxes of hygiene kits and medical supplies were loaded into the back of the waiting vehicle, Simon wasted no time in making introductions to their ground contact. "Abraham, this is Dr. Paige Ryan and Michael French, my logistician." Simon turned to address her. "Abraham used to work with Volunteers of Hope but now is the full-time director of the four clinics here in the Mponi region."
"It's nice to meet you." Paige shook the man's weathered hand.
Nodding good-bye to the pilot, she stepped over a trail of ants crossing the dark red earth, then jumped into the back of the vehicle with her colleagues. Abraham slipped the vehicle into gear. It sputtered and sped off down the runway.
"What can you tell us about the situation?" Simon shouted above the roar of the engine. "We've had a hard time contacting you until this morning."
"Most of the cell-phone towers in the vicinity are down, and despite the government's propaganda about what's happening, in this village alone we buried forty-seven after the attacks. It is impossible to know how many are missing, because of the hundreds fleeing the area." The jeep crashed through the thick brush edging the bumpy dirt road that was barely wide enough for one vehicle. "Those who remain fear the rebels will return, so most of them are staying inside the hospital compound. I'll take you there first."
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2:47 P.M.
KINGANI REFUGEE CAMP
Paige helped move the unconscious woman onto one of the last empty cots in the isolation ward while she mentally shifted her thinking into emergency mode. Without treatment, fifty-percent of those infected with cholera would die. With treatment, the death rate dropped sharply to one percent. But those statistics meant nothing to the woman who'd just lost her husband and three small children. And now they were about to lose her.
One of the local nurses pulled off the blood-pressure cuff. "She has no palpable pulse and no blood pressure."
Paige nodded. "Her veins have collapsed. There's no way to get a line into her."
Which meant without a way to administer the oral rehydration treatment, the woman didn't have a chance. They only had one option left.
Paige tied on a surgical mask, then rolled the supply tray closer. "We're going to have to put in a nasogastic tube in order to rehydrate her."
Marking the placement of the tube, she lubricated, then began inserting it. The woman started gagging. Paige checked to make sure it was placed properly, then suctioned. A moment later, she let out the lungful of air she'd been holding. With the tube in place, the woman now had a chance to live.
Paige finished giving instructions to the nurse on how to administer the oral rehydration packet, then slid off her mask. It was the one ironic thing about cholera: as fast as the illness could take a life, with the proper rehydration therapy it only took a few hours of treatment and most were able to sit up and talk. After another day or two, they were able to leave the isolation tent.
Exhaustion mingled with a sense of relief. She needed some fresh air. Pulling off her gloves and surgical gown, she washed her hands and stepped outside, greeting Samson, who guarded both the isolation tent and the main medical clinic. He had been put in charge of organizing men to watch over both the clinics and the food distribution center, as well as the perimeter of the camp, and had refused to go off duty when his replacement came. As far as she knew, the only time he left his post was to check on the guards or the progress of his son.
She breathed in the smoke-tinged air, wishing she knew what the rebels wanted. They stood around the perimeter of the camp like Joshua and the Israelites, as if they were silently waiting for the order to attack. And if they did decide to sweep through the camp, stealing whatever medical supplies and equipment they had, or even take hostages, there was little she and the others would be able to do to stop them.
Brandon was crossing the dusty grounds toward the clinic. The anger that had first marked his expression had been replaced with a deep sense of resolve, and from his actions, a desire to do something about the situation.
Paige followed him into the main medical tent. "Any updates on what's going on out there?"
"Samson has done a good job in organizing extra guards, but I'm not sure if it will be enough. Gathering wood has become an issue, for one. There are still places around the edges of the camp that the rebels are not patrolling, but resources will not last long." He sat down beside his wife. "How is she?"
Paige toyed with the end of her ponytail, wishing she had answers. She needed to be in a hospital with a lab where she could order tests and pinpoint the source of Jodi's symptoms. "She's stable, and I'm thankful she's finally sleeping. The wound seems to be healing, but something else is attacking her body."
"And you don't have any idea what it is?"
"As of right now? No."
Brandon took his wife's hand. Jodi stirred, but didn't wake up. "Her hands are swollen."
"So are her feet, and now there's a rash there as well, like hives."
"I don't understand. She was fine up on the mountain."
"You told me she'd complained about a headache."
"Yes, but I really thought she was just tired. We weren't high enough yet for me to worry too much about altitude sickness. She tends to take on more than she can handle, so I'd planned to keep an eye on her. But she didn't complain of anything else."
Paige took another bite, then sat down on the edge of the desk. "The emotional scars of the situation will carry on for a long time, but after Asim is released in the next few days, they're going to go back to their village and try and rebuild their new life. Not a fairytale ending, but seeing some closure helps. For all of us."
"I've got another surprise to add to your good news."
"Dessert?"
Nick tapped on his pockets. "Only if you want a handful of Tic Tacs."
Paige laughed. "Okay. Then what's the good news?"
Nick grabbed her hand. "Get the pizza and come with me."
"Nick?"
Two of the nurses giggled in the background as he hurried her out the clinic doors.
"I promise you'll like this."
He led her toward the airstrip that was adjacent to the camp. Instead of rebels, all she could see now were the wisps of white clouds lining the horizon beneath a pale-blue sky. And in the middle of the airstrip sat a bright-yellow plane.
Paige stopped. "What is that?"
"What is it? It's my brand-new Kodiak 100. Seats ten, including the pilot, doors open wide to allow stretchers to be boarded easily -- you'll like that feature -- the landing gear can be removed --"
"I mean where did it come from?"
"A rather generous donation from our favorite actress, Ashley James."
Paige stopped at the edge of the runway and let the wind tug at her hair. "You're kidding."
"Not at all. Apparently the woman has a lot of pull. She made some phone calls on the long trip home, and, well, there it is."
"I don't know." Paige wrinkled her brow. "I'm surprised they're actually letting you fly it considering your history of crashing --"
"Rebels don't count, and the other times --"
Paige laughed and nudged him with her elbow. "I'm kidding. It's wonderful. Really."
"I know. Ashley set up a memorial fund in honor of Taz so the legacy of what he did here will continue. And she's planning to return next year on a goodwill tour to promote the needs here."
"Wow." She followed Nick to the plane, then stopped to rub her hand across its sleek belly. "God really does work in mysterious ways."
"And that's not all."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a surprise inside for you as well." Nick flipped open the side door of the plane. "It was loaded with over a thousand pounds of supplies for the hospital in Bensi, including a generator, an infant incubator, anesthesia machines, OR lights, a portable X-ray unit -- "
"Nick!" Paige handed Nick the pizza before stepping into the pea-green cargo hold of the plane and pulling open one of the boxes like a kid at Christmas. Scalpels, scissors, needle holders &hellip; "All this was Ashley as well?"
"Like I said. The woman has connections."
And apparently a heart.
She set the box of supplies down and grinned. "When can we go?"
"First thing in the morning, if you're up for it."
"In the meantime, I have a question for you." Nick grabbed a piece of pizza, then handed her the box before sitting down in the wide doorway of the plane. "Are you still planning to stay?"
"I don't know how I could leave. There are too many Taylas and Samsons and Rainas for me to run." She took another piece of pizza and sat down beside him, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the cargo hold while the fading sunlight glistened against the side of Mt. Maja.