//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15 - Speculation 
// Story: Pandemic 
// by ASGeek2012 
//------------------------------//

Laura yawned as she stepped over to the window of her bedroom and drew the curtain back. Friday morning had dawned snowy and dark, a few large flakes still wafting down. Drifts covered the back yard and clung to the base of the tree and the back fence. Snowblowers growled and chugged in the distance.

Laura turned away from the window. The bottom edge of her bath robe brushed the floor as she stepped back to her bed, where her jeans lay on the mattress. On the night table were scissors and ragged scraps of denim. While she would have preferred to use the jeans that Tina had let her have the day before, they were threadbare enough that she didn't want to wear them to school. Where the school was on a delayed opening that morning due to the snow, she took advantage of the extra time.

Laura picked up the jeans and held them up, staring at the equivalent of a gaping wound she had inflicted, more than an inch wide and four inches long. She hoped it would be large enough.

She set them down and slipped off her bathrobe. Despite having cut it off the night before, her tail had grown back fully overnight. The thick orange hair reached just past the backs of her knees. There was simply too much hair to stick down a pant leg.

She put on her jeans, only to find that they were loose in the front, and the leg cuffs puddled around her feet. She tried using a belt, but it was just a bit too large. She used some safety pins instead and sat down on the bed to fold up the cuffs.

Her head jerked up when she heard a loud knock at the door. "Hey, Laura, can I talk to you?"

Laura was nonplussed enough to hear Jenny's voice that she paused in her reply. "Um, hang on, I'm still getting dressed." She grabbed a shirt from the closet, opting for a short-sleeve to avoid dealing with the sleeves being too long, but it still felt a bit like a tent. At least it reached down far enough to cover where her tail emerged to preserve what modesty was lost by cutting the jeans. "Come in."

Jenny bolted inside and dropped heavily onto the edge of Laura's bed. Her hair had turned completely pink since the night before. "Have you heard what brilliant idea Mom came up with?" she said in irritation.

"You mean what she mentioned last night before we went to bed?"

"How the hell is packing up and going someplace else going to help?" Jenny demanded.

Laura was a bit taken aback by her sister's vehemence. "What, seriously?" she said as she crossed the room. "You of all people should love the idea."

"What's to love about it? Mom's making us all pack like she wants to be ready to bug out at a moment's notice."

Laura approached a low dresser where a travel bag sat. "Yeah, and shouldn't you be doing that now?"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Can you stop being miss goodie-two-shoes for just one minute?"

Laura sighed. "Fine, you never listen to anyone but yourself anyway." Her tail swished. "I don't even know what I should pack."

Jenny stared. "How did you do that?"

Laura turned around. "Huh? Do what?"

"Your tail just moved."

Laura frowned. "Jenny, stop making stuff up, okay?"

"Why would I make that up?"

"To keep torturing me?"

"I wish you'd stop thinking I want to hurt you," Jenny said in a subdued voice.

"Okay, forget I said that," Laura said. "Did you have something you really wanted to talk to me about, or did you come in here just to gripe?"

Jenny glanced at the travel bag. "This is easy for you, isn't it? Pulling up stakes and going somewhere else."

Laura snorted. "This coming from someone who narrates every road trip as if it were some magical adventure, at least until Mom gets tired of it and tells you to shut up. How is this any different?"

"Maybe some of us actually like it here."

Laura tilted her head. "Are you saying you do?"

"Yeah," said Jenny. "It's a great setting."

"You've said that about every town we've been in."

"Well, maybe I like the people, too."

Laura smirked. "You want to reconsider that statement?"

Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? You irritate the shit out of everyone."

"Not everyone."

Laura considered. "Is this about James?"

Jenny blushed faintly but said nothing.

Laura smiled. "Is James your boyfriend now?"

"Maybe," Jenny muttered. "Sorta. Kinda. I don't know."

"I thought he wasn't allowed to see you anymore," said Laura.

"We've been talking over the phone," said Jenny. "Late at night after his mother's gone to bed so she doesn't know. We have some ideas to get around the problem."

Laura had to admit to being a bit jealous. She had no boyfriend, but not from lack of prospects. She knew of several boys who would go out with her in a heartbeat, but she hadn't wanted to start a relationship that she had to break off when they had to move again. "I don't know what to tell you, Jenny," Laura said in a soft voice.

Jenny shrugged and glanced at Laura. "Are you really going to leave that tail out?"

"I don't have a choice," said Laura. "It's too thick to hide anymore."

"Why are you even going to school? Mom offered to let you stay home."

"I'd tell you, but you'd just get upset."

"The whole responsibility thing?"

"Yes," said Laura. "Maybe you should try it sometime."

Jenny paused for a long moment. "So, you finally gonna tell me what the hell you were talking about yesterday on the trail?"

Laura frowned. "I already did, and you claimed you didn't remember it. What's the point?"

"Maybe because I really don't remember it?"

Laura shook her head and turned away. "Just forget it."

Jenny bolted to her feet and marched up to her sister. "No, I won't forget it. You called me a liar yesterday. Maybe I do like poking you, but I don't lie just to make you feel bad."

Laura bit her lip as she looked into her sister's eyes. "I just ... all right. It was when you were five. We lived in the house in Scottsbluff. Mom and Dad had to take Bob to the urgent care clinic because he was sick and his fever had gone way up. They left me in charge of you. They got delayed, and the weather went south. A supercell came over the town. I ... I didn't know what to do. Well, no, I did, but ... anyway, the weather got worse and worse. You were scared shitless."

Jenny gave Laura a nonplussed look. "I was?"

"You couldn't stop crying and you begged me to make it stop. When I finally remembered that we had to get to the basement, you were huddled under the coffee table too scared to move. The hail had smashed all the windows and there were shards of glass everywhere. I didn't have the strength to drag you out of there." Laura took a shuddering breath. "If I had figured it out earlier when you were still coherent, I--"

"Laura, I don't remember any of that," Jenny said. "I'm dead serious. I'm drawing a complete blank."

"Jenny, a tornado came through our block!" Laura cried. "It destroyed the home five houses down! If that had come through our house when I couldn't get you into the basement--"

"I don't remember."

Laura fell silent. She stared into her sister's eyes as if expecting this would provide some insight, but Jenny still played her emotional cards close to the vest. Either that, or Laura was incapable of disentangling what she believed Jenny should be feeling and what she really felt.

"Fine," Laura said in a soft, flat voice. "You don't remember. I guess we don't need to talk about it anymore." She glanced at the travel bag. "I have to finish packing and get ready for school. Is there anything else you wanted?"

Jenny hesitated, then shook her head.

"Then maybe you should leave me to it."

Jenny stood and headed towards the door. After she stepped into the hallway, she paused and turned around. "Look, uh, whatever happened, I'm sure you were trying to help. I mean, we're alive, right? That's the main thing."

Laura forced a small smile. "Yeah, I guess."

Jenny nodded. "Right. I'll see you later."

Jenny fled before Laura could say another word.





In a small town like Lazy Pines, plowing the streets was generally limited to the major thoroughfares and emergency routes. Everything else had to get packed down by repeated travel, or sometimes a local resident would hitch a plow to his pickup and help with the effort. The latter generally happened only in early to mid winter, when the snow was light and fluffy; Colorado spring snow could easily snap the blade right off such an amateur setup.

Thus Kevin took advantage of municipal priorities and paid a visit to the police chief in person that morning, which would allow time for the other streets to clear. Upon arrival, he was ushered into an office in the back and left waiting for fifteen minutes before a somewhat short but barrel-chested man entered the room, his dark hair graying at the edges, and his uniform smelling faintly of cigarettes. John Barrows gave Kevin's hand a firm shake. "You got something for me this morning, Doc?"

The man's New York accent seemed even thicker in person, and Kevin would have to pay attention to catch every word. "Actually, I was wondering if you could do something for me."

John sat down behind his desk. "If it means helping get to the bottom of the weird shit that's been happening in town, yeah, I'll do my best."

"What can you tell me about Fred Turner?"

John's brow furrowed as he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his chest. "You oughta already know what the townsfolk say about him."

"That's he's a crazy prepper who thinks the government is out to get him."

"Pretty much. We get complaints about him sometimes, but nothing substantial. He tends to keep to himself and hasn't been cited for anything worse than minor parking infractions." John smirked and shook his head. "We get people almost as crazy as him wanting us to run 'im outta town. We gotta explain to them that this ain't the wild west." John leaned forward. "So what's with all the interest in him, Doc?"

"His daughter brought him in to see me yesterday," said Kevin. "I believe he may be the source of these strange symptoms, or at least he was the first to develop them."

John's bushy eyebrows rose. "Huh. So he's sorta patient zero?"

That term had fallen out of favor in scientific circles in favor of "index case", but Kevin decided not to waste time trying to educate the police chief in proper nomenclature. "You could say that. He wouldn't let me fully examine him. I'm wondering if there's anything you can do."

John uttered a windy sigh and took off his hat, scratching his head. "As much as I wanna get to the bottom of this mess, I gotta respect the man's rights. Unless I have at least a search warrant, or I've got some sorta probable cause, I can't do very much. Mebbe if someone had the old coot committed, then a judge could give me an order to root him out of there."

Kevin had a feeling this would not be easy. "So short of declaring him some sort of public menace, there's little you can do."

"Pretty much. Where he keeps to himself, he's sorta already quarantined himself." John set his hat back on his head and leaned forward. "I mean, is this guy some sorta modern Typhoid Mary? Is he gonna start spreading this around if he comes outta there?"

"I have a feeling the damage has already been done," said Kevin. "While I do have to consider the possibility that he's contagious, what I really want to see him for is to determine the exact extent and progression of this affliction so I can better report my findings to a higher authority."

"So is he worse off than anyone in town?"

"By quite a bit, yes."

"How far has it gone?" John asked.

"He has the discolored hair, eyes, and a tail. His ears have also migrated to the top of his head, he has fur on his legs, and his feet appear to have become horse-like hooves."

John stared at Kevin and slowly leaned back in his seat. "Doc, coming from anyone else, and I'd say you were outright shitting me."

"I wish I were, Chief Barrows," said Kevin. "But that's what I saw."

John drummed his thick fingers against the desk. "All right, let's lay this on the table, 'kay? You're tellin' me that the townsfolk are turning into colorful horses. You realize how batshit insane that sounds?"

"That's exactly what I don't want, Chief," said Kevin. "Is people jumping to conclusions and getting panicked. I don't know what the end state is yet."

"Why the hell isn't the government doing something about this crazy shit?"

"I submitted a report to the Colorado Department of Health," said Kevin, "But they've been swamped with flu cases. I put in a call to them last night, and I was told I would be contacted today. Until then, I didn't want to just sit on my hands. Even if you can't help me with Turner, at least you have a heads-up."

John nodded, his brows knitting in thought. "Yeah, thanks for that." John stood. "All right, lemme warn my officers that we may be sitting on a powder keg if people in town start getting worse. I'll let 'em in on this half-horse man. Hopefully they won't think I've taken a leave of my senses, at least until they get a gander at him themselves."

"You think you can do that?" said Kevin.

"I'll find some excuse to send some officers to check on him. If we see him in town, we'll see if we can get him into the hospital."

"Turner's daughter reported feeling an odd sensation while she was in his home," said Kevin. "It could mean some sort of toxicity, but her symptoms were very nonspecific."

"I'm gonna hafta call that one into the state," said John. "Lemme see what I can do."

Kevin stood. "Thank you, Chief Barrows, I appreciate you taking this seriously."

"Just keep me in the loop, Doc, that's all I ask."





Laura stared at the clock as it crept towards a quarter past the hour, then at the empty desk at the head of the classroom. She sighed and leaned her head against her left hand while her right hand drew lazy circles with her pen in her notebook. Her tail lay across her lap, not so much to stop people from gawking at it as to prevent it from trailing on the floor and getting dirty.

Not that it stopped people from staring, even if out of the corner of their eyes when they thought Laura wouldn't notice. She had braced herself for teasing, but none had been forthcoming. If anything, people looked on with worry. All that was said to her directly was when a timid boy with dark violet hair and cyan eyes tentatively asked, "Did it hurt when it came in?"

Laura put down her pen and glanced around. About a quarter of the seats were still empty, yet enough students were present for conversation to rise to a continuous drone of words that she sought not to focus on despite hearing the name "Turner" more than once. The last thing she wanted was to hear something that would upset her more than she already was.

She lowered her head and folded her hands over them, her thoughts drifting back to the conversation with Jenny that morning. Had her sister truly not remembered that storm? Would she really keep stringing Laura along like this for her own amusement?

Laura's head jerked up when she heard the door open, hoping her silent plea had been heard and the class would finally start. Her hope was dashed when she saw it was the Vice Principal, his hair almost completely bright amber. "Everyone, please, be quiet!" He called out. Once the conversation had dulled to a murmur, he continued, "Your teacher has called in sick. In fact, we're short a number of faculty. We have to rearrange the class schedule a bit. Right now, I need all of you in the auditorium. Let's go."

Laura's tail twitched as she stood and gathered her things. The last thing she had wanted was a break from the routine. Classwork would help distract her from her thoughts. She closed her satchel and slung it over her shoulder, wincing slightly at the brief flare of pain that speared her shoulder from her upper back.

The hallway was a sea of students whose mutual tide washed them steadily to the auditorium. Laura spotted more students with full tails. One she envied for her flair for sewing. Instead of a ragged hole, she had a neatly-hemmed opening, and a button to secure it at the top above the base of the tail.

She considered introducing herself, a thought that would have been foreign to her a few days ago. She shook her head nonetheless, though she pledged to remember what the girl looked like. With her red hair streaked with a single stripe each of orange and pink, it would be hard to forget.

Upon arriving in the auditorium, she glanced up at the seats. They were still sparsely populated, and she caught sight of Tina easily. Tina waved, and Laura edged on ahead through the crowd and climbed up to Tina's row.

"So was your teacher a no-show as well?" Tina asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Laura paused over her seat in mid-bend of her legs. She twisted her hips, and her tail gave several weak flicks.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Tina asked warily.

Laura sighed and swept her tail out of the way with her arm before sitting down. "Jenny said she saw my tail move on its own this morning. I hoped maybe I could figure out how to move it myself."

"Please, don't go making this any more creepy than it already is."

"If I'm going to be stuck with this, gaining some control over it might make me feel better."

"You haven't heard the rumor?" Tina asked.

"I've been trying not to," said Laura. "I don't need to be more upset than I already am."

"Your doctor saw Turner yesterday."

Laura hesitated when she realized that Tina's comment had been a statement rather than a question. "Well, yeah, he said he was going to see Turner. How did you know?"

"Laura, I think you need to hear this," said Tina.

"Not if it's going to upset me!" Laura cried. "I've managed to get myself back on an even keel and don't need--"

She was interrupted when James rushed up to them, his gait slightly awkward. "Have either of you seen Jenny?"

"Jenny was inside her classroom when I passed it on the way here," said Tina. "She must've been one of the unlucky ones to have her teacher show up."

"I really need to talk to her."

"What's the matter?" Laura asked.

"I want to know if she was the one who started the rumor," James said.

"Laura hasn't heard the rumor yet," said Tina.

Laura ran a hand through her hair. "All right, fine, just what is this rumor?"

"That we're all turning into some sort of horse-like creatures," said James in a flat voice.

Laura's blood ran cold.

"I wonder if Jenny had mentioned what she saw on Turner's land," said James.

"Jenny didn't start it," Tina said. "Someone at school here caught a glimpse of him when he was leaving Doctor Conner's office yesterday. He said Turner had freaking hooves instead of feet."

Laura shivered, and her tail twitched.

"Jenny didn't want to believe Turner's ears were real at first," said James in a low voice. "But after hearing this--"

"No, stop it, just stop it!" Laura exploded. "This is stupid. This isn't some dumb fantasy conjured up by Jenny, this is real life! People don't change into animals in real life!"

James frowned. "Well, maybe I'd be a little more apt to believe you if I didn't wake up with my own tail this morning."

Tina glanced past him and smirked. "So, you gonna continue to be the strong, silent type, or you gonna sit down and join the fun?"

Laura leaned forward. "Bob? How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear you talking about the rumor," said Bob. He hesitated before taking the empty seat next to Tina despite James still standing in front of it.

"Bob, you're the science type," said Laura. "Isn't this whole thing about turning into horses kind of out there?"

"Well, technically, it wouldn't be horses," said Bob. "More like ponies."

"I beg your pardon?" Tina said.

"Horses are big animals. An adult horse typically stands about as tall as a human. Ponies are bred to be smaller. Laura has been getting shorter."

Tina stared at Laura. "I thought I noticed you looking shorter, but I didn't want to say anything."

James took a seat next to Bob. "Fine, ponies, then. What about Laura's question?"

"Well, yeah, it's not normal," said Bob. "I can't even fathom how it would be possible. But you can't deny what's been happening. Laura can't eat meat anymore, and equines are generally herbivores, but what's odd about that is--"

James' eyes widened. "I've been having trouble eating meat since the eye color came in!"

"Wait, Bob, what was that?" said Laura. "What's odd?"

"What's odd is your complete aversion to meat," said Bob. "Equines are not strictly herbivores. They're capable of digesting meat. They don't have a revulsion to it like you had last night."

Tina ran both her hands through her hair. "Okay, you're all freaking me out right now."

"Why?" Laura said crossly. "You don't have this."

"Yet!"

"Look, this is dumb. Why couldn't Turner have been wearing a costume or something?"

"Oh, come on, Laura!" James snapped. "You can't seriously be clinging to that still!"

"Why would he do that?" asked Bob.

"Because he's a crazy prepper!" Laura said. "He's insane! I'd sooner believe that than what you want us to believe!"

Tina covered her eyes with a hand for a moment. "All right, everyone, calm the fuck down. Whatever this is, someone's going to have to do something about it. I looked on my tumblr this morning. This tail thing went totally viral overnight. It's going to be all over the internet by the weekend."

"I just thought of something," said Laura. She picked up her tail. "Maybe I don't know a lot about horses or ponies, but I sure as hell know they don't have hair color like this. Or most of the colors I've seen."

"Well, yeah, you're right," said Bob. "There's a limited number of biochemicals that cause hair color across most species. That also goes for fur and eye color." He looked around. "This is well outside the norm."

Tina craned her neck and pointed. "Hey, what's going on?"

The trickle of students through the doors of the auditorium had become a flood. James picked out a bright pink head from the crowd. He stood and waved until Jenny looked up and saw him.

Jenny bolted up the stairs and fell into the seat next to James. "So, you have a tail now?"

James rolled his eyes but smiled faintly. "Yeah, I do."

"Sorry to hear that," she said in a subdued voice.

Laura leaned forward. "Jenny, what's going on?"

"Beats the hell out of me," said Jenny. "Principal barged into the classroom and said everyone had to go to the auditorium for an important announcement. I spotted some cops in the hallway."

Laura's eyes widened. "Cops?? Are we on some sort of lock-down?"

"They'd keep us in the classrooms if that was the case," said Bob.

The principal entered the auditorium, his hair an even chocolate brown with a gentle wave to it. Walking along with him was a police officer. They conferred for a few minutes as the last arriving students settled into their seats. The principal parted from him and headed to the podium. He tapped the mike a few times to test it. "All right, please, everyone, settle down."

"Really hope this is not some sort of lame pep talk," Tina muttered.

"Thank you," said the principal. "First of all, the police department has requested I make this announcement. Signs will be posted in town to this effect, but Chief Barrows thought it best we get the word out as soon as possible. Starting today, and until further notice, a strict curfew will be imposed. Six PM for all people eighteen and younger--"

"Oh, come on!" someone above them yelled.

"Why are they picking on us?!" another voice rang out.

"That's enough!" the principal snapped. "As I was saying, six PM for those eighteen and younger unless accompanied by an adult, and nine PM for everyone else. Curfew lasts until five AM. All questions and complaints should be directed to the police department and not the school administration."

"Okay, someone knows something we don't," said Tina. "Either that, or they're getting as scared as some of us are."

"It's a typical action to take to maintain order," said Bob.

"But that assumes there's going to be disorder soon."

The principal turned from the mike to confer with the police officer. Finally, the officer nodded before heading away. "Now, on to the original announcement. We have had a number of instructors go on extended sick leave as of this morning."

"Likely the ones sporting tails," Tina muttered. "Wusses."

Laura took that as a subtle compliment and smiled faintly.

"This leaves us critically short, and we're hard-pressed to cover all classes," said the Principal. "Therefore, we need to reorganize the schedule and potentially combine classes for the same subject that normally would be on different time rotations. We're also looking for help from neighboring communities for substitute teachers. We'll be drawing up an interim class schedule and posting copies on all the announcement boards. This will take us some time to complete, and we ask that you remain seated here and keep your conversation low until we're done."

"Why can't they just cancel school for today?" Jenny grumped.

James grinned. "Look at it this way. We'll at least get a little time together."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Though I really wish it was some other setting."

"I bet you could come up with something."

Jenny considered. "You mean like the Fae Queen sending the Royal Guard to keep everyone in their homes at night, since that's when her bursts of uncontrolled magic are--"

"Will you two hush?!" Laura whisper-shouted. "He's saying something else!"

"--to address another issue," said the principal in a stern voice. "And this concerns rumors. It's bad enough that we don't know what's happening, but it doesn't help to spread outlandish stories."

"I saw him myself!" a boy in the second row shouted. "He was right there plain as--"

"I said that's enough," the principal declared. "The next person to make an outburst like that gets immediate detention. I don't care what you think you saw. We don't need people panicking over what may or may not be true. Wait until you hear some sort of official word."

"Yeah, and denial is not just a river in Egypt," Tina muttered.

"I can't blame him for not wanting to incite panic," said Bob.

"He's just doing this to make himself feel better, so he doesn't panic."

"You might be right, but--"

"Shhh!" Laura hissed.

"Until we hear something from official channels, speculation will get us nowhere," said the principal. "I know you're all anxious to have this figured out, but rumormongering is not the way to do it. Now, I ask that you all remain seated except to use the rest rooms until we announce that classes are starting."

The principal left the podium. At once, an urgent murmur of conversation rose.

Jenny stood. "James, we have some time before class starts. Let's find some seats that are not so close to everyone else, and we can expand on the Royal Guard idea."

James shrugged and stood as well. "Might as well. Beats sitting here worrying."

Tina frowned as they left. "Is she taking this seriously at all?"

"I've given up trying to figure her out," said Laura. She stood. "I really need to use the bathroom. I'll be back in a bit."

"Jenny did seem to be taking it more seriously for a while," said Bob after Laura left.

"I don't like this," Tina said. "Some people are acting like they're waiting for someone to swoop in and fix everything."

"Isn't that all we can do at the moment?"

Tina's eyes darted among the crowd. "I did that whole thing yesterday with getting people to post pics of their tails, and now I feel like I've done nothing."

"But you said it went viral."

"I know." Tina was quiet for a moment. "It didn't stop my parents from waking up with weird hair this morning."

"I'm sorry," said Bob softly.

Tina forced a smile. "So, um, they got the flu a week before me. I guess that means I better mark next Friday on my calendar."

"It might not happen."

Tina shook her head. "No, I'm not going to go into denial over this. Hopefully someone will figure it out before then, but if not, I'm not going to pretend this won't happen." She paused. "What about you?"

"Tuesday the earliest, next Friday the latest," Bob replied immediately.

Tina snorted. "Admit it. You had that figured out long before now."

"Yes. As soon as I realized that the hair color had followed the same order as the flu."

Tina smiled. "Depending on what happens, we may need someone as crazy prepared as you."

Bob managed a smile, but he felt no more prepared than the people who were already suffering from this strange affliction.





Kevin rushed to the door of the examination room before spinning around and blurting out, "I'm really sorry about the interruption, but this is rather critical. I'll be right back." He closed the door behind him and met Heather in the hall. "When did it come in?"

"Less than a minute ago," said Heather. "Line two."

Kevin ran into his office, Heather slipping in after him and closing the door behind them. Kevin fell into his chair as he grabbed the receiver. He punched the button hard. "This is Doctor Conner."

A female voice answered him. "This is Doctor Sandra Marlowe with the Colorado Department of Health."

Kevin leaned back in his chair. "Yes, I've been waiting to hear from someone since yesterday morning."

"I apologize for the delay, but we've been very busy with the sudden influenza spike."

"If you've read my report, you can see why I'm so concerned about a possible flu link," said Kevin. "Especially with the data I added about Fred Turner."

"I'll be perfectly blunt, Doctor Conner," said Sandra in a flat voice. "We find that last bit to be a head-scratcher to say the least. If we had this report in isolation, we'd be a lot more skeptical."

Kevin rubbed the bridge of his nose. "All right, give me the bottom line. Of the symptoms I reported, which ones do you accept without question?"

"The discolored hair and eyes, posterior hair growth, loss of height, and aversion to meat," said Sandra. "These have been corroborated by other physicians in Lazy Pines, and they've shown up on social media. The hair growth in particular has virtually exploded overnight."

"And of the other symptoms concerning my potential index case?"

"So far, you're the only one who's reported them."

Kevin frowned. "That's not what I mean. I want to know whether you're taking it seriously or not."

"That's another reason for this call, Doctor Conner," said Sandra. "I want to make absolutely sure we understand your report, since you've effectively described anatomical impossibilities given our current knowledge of medicine and the relatively short time the symptoms appeared. It's one thing to state that someone has a condition that makes their feet resemble hooves -- which could be explained by a degenerative bone or joint disease -- but you stated they looked almost exactly like horse-hooves."

"I stand by what I reported, Doctor Marlowe," Kevin declared. "I was rather surprised myself, but I can't deny what my own eyes are telling me."

"Photographs would have really helped," said Sandra.

"I noted he was a reluctant patient," said Kevin. "What of the ears and fur?"

Heather shifted uneasily and clutched the folders to her chest more tightly.

"The fur could be an unusual overgrowth of body hair," said Sandra. "As for the ears, let me make sure I understand this fully as well. You described a condition where an amount of cartilage, flesh, and bone was spontaneous and perfectly reabsorbed in one part of the body only to appear in another, in a different form, and in a fully functional state."

"Admittedly, I didn't test his auditory acuity," said Kevin. "I based my assessment on the fact that he could clearly hear me and that his ears, despite their abnormal shape and position, appeared symmetrical."

"And you're sure that neither the hooves nor ears are congenital conditions?"

"Positive," said Kevin firmly. "I had examined him when he was healthy about a year ago. He had none of these abnormalities whatsoever."

Kevin heard a faint tapping noise and assumed it was a pen or something similar against a desk. "Doctor Conner, do you have any other test results that you can send us?"

"I assume you already pulled the reports for the hair samples," said Kevin. "I have outstanding general spectrum blood work I ordered on several patients who have the posterior hair growth."

"What lab did you send them to?"

Kevin told her. "They said they're rather far behind."

Sandra began typing. "We'll contact them and get them to expedite those tests. For any further lab work related to this condition, I want you to send them directly to our labs for faster turnaround."

Kevin let out a sigh of relief. "So you will take this seriously."

"Despite the lack of confidence in the symptoms concerning the ears and hooves, there is enough corroborated data on the other symptoms to be of intense immediate concern," Sandra intoned. "That's the official word of the Colorado Department of Health. Unofficially, the idea that the hooves and ears could be true frankly scares the crap out of us."

"I'm doing everything in my power to get you more information," said Kevin. "But Mr. Turner is a reluctant patient. He refuses to be examined further."

"Of course he does," said Sandra in a sour voice.

"But if he's indicative of symptoms to come, we're going to have no shortage of others in his condition soon, and I'm worried about how people are going to react."

"One more question for you, Doctor Conner," said Sandra. "During the flu outbreak, did you have any lab tests done to identify the subtype?"

"Once I saw how many people were coming down with it, yes," said Kevin. "All tests came back as H1N1, same variety that was making the rounds this flu season."

"The hospital reported the same."

"You can see my concern if there is a flu link," said Kevin. "H1N1 has had a nasty habit of getting out of control in the past."

"We have two possibilities," said Sandra. "One, we're dealing with some strange variant of influenza. Two, this is a new opportunistic disease that took advantage of depressed immune systems."

"I'd prefer the latter," said Kevin. "The spread would be more limited in scope. With luck, it might have burned itself out already, but I wouldn't bet money on it."

"Still, proving a flu link is going to be difficult beyond simple correlation of symptom timelines," said Sandra. "The CDC has been tracking the influenza spike for the past week. They've already run RT-PCR tests on patients. That test nailed the culprit of the 2009 outbreak. It's showing absolutely no variation from the H1N1 that's been going around for months. In a nutshell: influenza should not be causing this."

"I think it would be both foolish and dangerous to assume no link based on that," said Kevin. "The appearance of both the influenza spike and this new disease is too much of a coincidence for my liking."

"I agree, Doctor Conner, but we need to decide how to best allocate our resources," said Sandra. "So we'll consider this an unknown but potentially infectious disease, and that those who have had the flu may be more susceptible. In the meantime, we're asking physicians to run a new set of influenza tests on patients with this disease. If flu is causing this, there has to be an active infection we can detect."

"I'll start doing that at once," said Kevin. "What about declaring a public health emergency?"

"Our criteria generally rely on both infection rates and estimated lethality. Thus far, we have zero reported deaths from this new influenza spike or from this new condition. However, these new symptoms are unusual enough -- and the possibilities worrisome enough -- that we'll institute one."

"All right," said Kevin. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"It will take another day for an official public response, as we need to coordinate with the Governor's office, law enforcement, and the CDC," said Sandra. "In the meantime, we recommend voluntary self-isolation where feasible to slow its spread."

"That's going to be difficult," said Kevin. "I've seen entire families affected."

"As I said, where feasible. We're also going to ask that you keep statements to the press to a minimum. This is not to censor you or suppress information, this is to allow a coordinated official response to the public to minimize panic."

"You don't have to tell me twice, Doctor Marlowe," said Kevin. "I've been wrestling with the same issue."

"Thank you for both your understanding and your patience, Doctor Conner," said Sandra.

"What about Fred Turner?" said Kevin. "He could prove valuable in determining the extent of this condition, and there's a chance it may have started with him."

"He definitely needs to be isolated in case he's still contagious," said Sandra. "Normally, forcefully isolating someone is an uphill civil rights battle unless he has a disease from a specific list. We generally rely on voluntary isolation, which seems to be the case here. However, this is a very unique case, and his mental state is questionable."

"I'd much rather he be isolated at a medical facility where he can be fully examined," said Kevin. "But I have no legal recourse in that regard."

"But we do, and we're going to push hard for taking him into custody. For now, isolation is most critical."

"What's the chance it will expand into a full isolation of the town?" Kevin asked. "Or quarantine, for that matter?"

"It's on the table," said Sandra. "We're debating the scope right now. Do you have any other questions for me before we conclude this call?"

Kevin rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "No, I think we about covered it."

"I'll touch base with you tomorrow, Doctor Conner," said Sandra.

"Thank you, Doctor Marlowe." Kevin hung up and glanced up at Heather.

Heather uttered a long sigh. "Dare I ask?"

"They're going to declare a public health emergency," said Kevin. "To me, that means they're taking it seriously. How are you holding up?"

Heather smiled humorlessly and turned around. Several streaks of sparkling cyan reached up the back of her head. "If nothing else, at least people have been commenting that it looks nice."

Kevin smiled faintly and stood. "I'm hoping someone will get this figured out."

"Maybe you should hedge your bets," said Heather. "Trade in your medical license for a veterinary license."

Kevin sighed. "That's not really very funny."

"I know, it's gallows humor, but it helps me cope," said Heather. "You better get back to your patient. We have a full docket today and then some."