BOSCO IN THE LAB

Doctor Jean Pombe raised his eyebrows after hearing the question from Bosco Masaba, 'I wish my subordinates were all like you.' The trainee doctor had shown a lot of enthusiasm which he admired.

"I am going to take you through a short briefing on how to safely operate these machines before you start in the afternoon. We don't want you to damage our hi-tech machines due to unavoidable mistakes, if such a thing were to occur it will burden you with unnecessary debts.' The laboratory machines were insured but he was not going to tell it to the trainee doctor, he wanted to see him working under some pressure.

Some of these laboratory machines were thrice his annual salary, if he made the trainee doctor pay for one damaged machine, the poor fellow would be burdened with debts for a greater part of his working years. But he was not ready for such a scenario to happen, since the process of the insurance firm validating the claim for replacement was hectic and takes forever.

The greater part of the morning and afternoon went by in blink. Doctor Jean Pombe familiarized Bosco Masaba with all the latest laboratory machines which he did not have prior experience operating. The good thing he was a fast learner, so most of it came naturally to him.

Once Doctor Jean Pombe saw that the trainee doctor named Bosco Masaba could operate any machine in the Specialized Laboratory without any difficulty he excused himself.

'I have wasted 16 hours without executing the mission, hope I get the chance to execute it smoothly in the remaining 56 hours.' He was eager to complete the Governor's urgent mission but he had to flawlessly execute it so that it looked like an accident. So far, he had not yet created the optimum conditions for it to be flawless like the Governor instructed.

***

Saturday, 24th Jan 2032 – 13:40 GMT

Within the underground shelter of Mutukula Regional Hospital which also served as an Emergency hospital for the duration of the asteriod emergency. The staff were gathered in a large hall on Level 5 as they received the latest news broadcast from the large screens all over the hall, the latest news from the outside world flittered in.

The people gathered in the hall were rejoicing and hugging each other after hearing that the worst was behind them. The asteriod fragment had stuck down and they were still alive.

The last two hours were tense as they waited for the asteriod Apocalpse2 to enter the earth's upper atmosphere, and then they had to wait for the results from the coordinated strike since the broadcast had fizzled out. Finally, when the good news came, it was not so good for those in the Lake Victoria area and Mutukula City was in the vicinity.

It was roughly 45 minutes since disaster struck Sipata B town and destroyed everything within a twenty-five km radius. The shockwave from the impact had affected even Mutukula Hospital which was located about fifty-seven km away. They had felt the ground trembling beneath them, plaster from the walls started peeling off while raining dust on them, then the lights flickered before briefly dying out, and seconds later the automatic generators kicked in. This nightmare lasted for close to two minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

Bosco Masaba hugged the next person, and this person was none other than his classmate Monica Namatovu, the joy they felt was euphoric and contagious. The last hours had been nerve-racking for those who were far from their families or loved ones.

The joy of surviving the asteriod strike was short-lived, a siren wailed for some seconds before an announcement was passed. "This is the Superintendent of Mutukula Regional Hospital, all staff report to your assigned positions on Levels 1, 2, and 3. Prepare for the injured who are on their way. Remember the drill, we can do this." He told them.

They had practiced for this scenario over the last day, and as for Bosco Masaba, he had transferred the most vital laboratory equipment to Level 3 which was going to act as the laboratory and medical inventory area. The hospital had been supportive in that it had provided manpower to help him quickly move what was essential.

Bosco Masaba reluctantly left the soft and warm embrace of Monica Namatovu when the siren began blaring all over. He thought he was going to enjoy the hug for a few minutes until the siren disrupted everything. He hated it!

"Duty calls", he told her as he smothered his white lab coat. He was feeling too shy to look her in the eyes. That hug was the closest they had ever been together, her sweet perfume, warm soft body and the way she held him had caused some feelings to surface in his mind. He began asking himself whether he was foolish and dumb to put such a beautiful girl at an arm's length yet she was willing to be as close as possible to him.

"Where are you going to be?" Monica Namatovu asked him.

He briefly glanced at her beautiful eyes before replying, "I am in Room 31 on Level 3, it's the first room on your right as you step out of the elevator." He told her.

"What about you, you are on which Level?" Bosco Masaba asked her.

"I am on Level 1 which has been turned into an Emergency Ward." Level 1 was the first underground level, it was located beneath the ground floor, and half of the space was reserved for Ambulance parking.

Together, they moved out of the Main Hall located on Level 5 as they rushed to reach the elevator. But as they reached the elevator area, they found that it was crowded; many people were milling outside the elevator waiting for their turn. Looking at the number, it could take long for this multitude to reduce, the elevator could have to perform 4 to 5 trips for all of them to be taken up.

As Bosco Masaba weighed his chances of being in the next group of those going up, he felt a tug at his hand. "Follow me," she told him as she walked away from the elevator area.

"Where are you going," he was curious to know where she was taking him.

"To the stairs, I don't have the patience to wait for my turn to step in the elevator, we don't have time to waste." She told him.

"Oh, the joy of being young and healthy." He commented as he followed her into a corridor leading to the stairs.

She turned to look at him, "You are also young like me. Don't tell me that you are scared of stairs going two levels up."

"I did not say I am scared of the stairs, what I was saying is that only those who are young and healthy like us can afford to climb stairs going several levels up without any difficulty." He answered her as they started climbing up. He was going to Level 3 while she was heading to Level 1. She had a longer journey compared to him who was only moving up two levels.