Plague

Chapter Twenty-Two

Doctor Joshua Markham stood over the hospital bed. Nurse Gracie Lavant hovered next to him. Tenderly, he lifted the sheet and pulled it over the face of his dead patient. He felt helpless.

The plague took lives faster than the doctor could save them. Joshua Markham became a doctor to heal patients, not to watch them die. It broke his heart to lose another one.

Elizabeth Amberley Talbot lay serenely on the hospital bed. A tuft of blond hair stuck above the pulled-up sheet. Peace overtook her for the first time in her tumultuous life.

In the doorway, Marie Longstreet stood holding a dinner tray. Her wide brown eyes stared at the sheet covering the patient's face. She nearly grinned but immediately turned it into a look of sorrow.

"Bad Juju Lady's dead," the food server muttered, drawing the nurse's attention.

"We won't need a tray here tonight," Gracie Lavant instructed. She removed the meal from the server's hands and walked into the corridor. She slipped it into the cart and turned to face Marie.

"None of your voodoo talk, do you hear me?" Gracie ordered, wagging a finger in Marie's face. "The patient died of the plague. I won't have you spreading rumors and riling everyone up. Understood?"

"Ye—yes, ma'am," Marie responded, her eyes saucer round. "Not a word, I promise." Swiftly she crossed her heart with her index finger.

"You better keep it sealed. Got it?" Nurse Lavant pretended to zipper her mouth. Then, she pretended to throw away the key.

"Yes, ma'am," Marie repeated. She pushed her cart toward the next room. Surreptitiously, the food server glanced behind her. She watched the nurse re-enter Liz Talbot's room. As she served the next meal, she informed her patient that the Bad Juju Lady had just died.

Eighteen-year-old Marie Longstreet departed from the hospital two hours later. Altogether, she told forty-six patients on three floors about the Bad Juju Lady's death. Then, she lost her job.

******

"No one used black magic in this hospital," Nurse Levant adamantly exclaimed. Crossing her arms, she stood beside the patient's bed.

Wide-eyed, Lorraine Duval's moon-face stared up at her. Her corkscrew hair rasped against the hospital pillow. Dolefully, she shook her head. Marie Longstreet's story concerning the white woman's Bad Juju scared her. She believed the white woman carried the plague to Jamaica. The white woman cursed the island with death.

Lorraine's granny practiced voodoo. At one-hundred-eight years of age, the old mambo foretold the pandemic. Falling into a trance, Vondra Duval claimed a white cloud would devour the island. The cloud would rain pestilence upon the land.

When Marie Longstreet spoke of the Bad Juju Lady, Lorraine saw the white cloud swirling around her like a shroud. She had no doubt Elizabeth Amberley Talbot brought the destruction upon them.

"Granny Vondra..." Lorraine began, drawing her sheet up to her chin.

"Don't tell me anything about Granny Vondra," Gracie Lavant cautioned. Propping her fists against her hips, she posed with attitude. "There ain't no voodoo in this hospital. There ain't no Bad Juju Lady."

Silently Nurse Lavant cursed Marie Longstreet for spreading rumors. The hospital staff had enough on their hands fighting the plague. Three days ago, Doctor Culver died. The significant loss of a physician caused shortages in the medical team. Dr. Markham worked night and day, often napping on a cot in his office. Worry lines and dark circles appeared beneath his eyes. Still, he continued to make his rounds. Saving his patients meant a lot to him. Joshua Markham dedicated his life to his profession.

Nurse Gracie Levant remained by Dr. Markham's side. Twenty-three years ago, she entered the nursing profession. Hospital work continued to thrill her. However, the plague epidemic took its toll. Watching so many deaths depressed her.

Although Elizabeth Talbot's displays of temper unnerved her, the nurse felt compassion for her loss. The abandonment of her family struck Gracie, and she felt sorry for the young woman. Liz adamantly believed an EVAC would take her away from Jamaica. However, it never arrived. As far as Gracie Lavant knew, no one scheduled it. Dolefully, she shook her head.

Then, she turned back to Lorraine Duval. Lorraine suffered a mild case of the plague. Only a few were lucky enough to recover and return to their daily lives. It appeared as though Ms. Duval might survive. Relieved, Gracie took her blood pressure and pulse—normal. It provided a good sign. The tell-tale bulbous had not appeared—another good sign.

However, the patient in the next room was far advanced in the disease. Nurse Lavant entered cautiously. Maxwell Jameson, aged forty-two, remained in a coma. Despite his oxygen, his raspy breathing disturbed her. He would finally succumb within a few hours. Luckily, he missed Marie Longstreet's rants about the Bad Juju Lady. Nevertheless, luck passed him by when the plague came knocking.

"How is Mr. Jameson?" Dr. Markham inquired. Nurse Lavant met him as she exited the room. Sadly, she shook her head.

Dr. Joshua Markham entered the room, and Nurse Lavant shadowed him. Mournfully, they looked down upon their patient. They could not provide more care for him, only allow him to rest in comfort. Within the next few hours, he would breathe his last.

"I wish they would hurry with the vaccines," Joshua Markham remarked as they stepped out of the room.

"I hear they're expediting testing," Gracie Lavant put in. "The new United States President is pressuring the pharmaceutical companies to put a rush on all the vaccines."

"It couldn't happen any sooner," Dr. Markham stated, moving toward the next room. "We could use it ASAP."

"Other countries are jumping on board, supporting the President," Gracie continued. "As soon as we start inoculating, we'll get over the hurdle."

"Yes, and put this epidemic behind us," Josh Markham remarked. He wished to put the plague in the past where it belonged.

******

Late in the evening, Elizabeth Talbot's body entered the hold of a military plane heading to the United States. She finally obtained the EVAC order she had hoped to receive. Dr. Markham oversaw her departure from the Montego Bay hospital. Relieved, he returned to his duties in the Plague Ward.