TAINTED BLOOD I

Bosco and Monica Namatovu steadily climbed the stairs from Level 5. When they reached Level 3, he turned to her with a warm but hesitant smile.

"Wait a bit, Monica," he called out just as she was about to continue climbing to Level 2. His voice held an unusual seriousness that made her pause.

She turned to face him, curiosity in her eyes. "Bosco, what is it?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Please have this key, you will need it later on when you need to rest." He gave her a spare key to the makeshift laboratory on Level 3. There were two spare rooms that had been equipped with mattresses, they also had bathrooms. He felt she could appreciate this little kindness from him.

She reached out and took the key, her fingers grazing his. Her brow furrowed slightly as she examined it. "What does it open?"

"It opens that door leading to our temporal laboratory," he explained, nodding towards a nearby door. "Inside, there are two spare rooms with mattresses and a bathroom. I figured you might need a place for freshening up and resting."

Her eyes widened in surprise before softening with gratitude. "Oh my God! That is so kind of you, Bosco. I can't tell you how much this means to me." She said in her sweet voice carrying an unmistakable warmth.

Bosco Masaba shrugged, trying to downplay his gesture. "It is no big deal; this is what friends do for each other."

He had been given two keys for opening the laboratory door, now he was remaining with one. He was not worried about her losing it, Bosco knew she was a responsible person.

"See you," she flashed him a grateful smile as she turned to continue her ascent, heading to Level 2 and finally Level 1 which they had designated as the Ward for receiving patients from outside.

Bosco watched her go before exhaling and heading towards the laboratory. It was located at the far end of the corridor. Inside was a large room of about ten square meters functioning as the Temporal laboratory. It was serving as both the Specialized Laboratory and General Laboratory. With the roles combined, he expected the Supervisor Doctor Jean Pombe to increase the staff but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, he joined Bosco in the laboratory. For now, their workload was still manageable, but based on the Emergency siren, he was sure that they were going to be swamped with work.

As he pushed the door open and stepped inside, he was met with an unexpected sight - Doctor Jean Pombe, lounging in a leather armchair, leisurely flipping through a magazine.

Bosco blinked in disbelief. "Doctor Jean, have you been here all along?" He asked.

While all the staff were taking shelter in the Main Hall on Level 5 which was presumed to be more secure, Doctor Jean Pombe was relaxing on Level 3. Either he did not care about his life or was just plain stupid.

The doctor glanced up, completely unbothered. "Why act so surprised?" he asked, setting the magazine down with an almost theatrical slowness.

Bosco Masaba didn't expect him to ask back in such a casual manner. "I am truly surprised, Doctor Jean. Don't you care about your life?" He truly wanted to know the reasoning behind his staying here of all places.

"Of course, I care. But tell me, Bosco, what are the statistical chances of survival if the asteroid fragment lands within a 10 km radius of this hospital?" He paused, his eyes locking onto Bosco's. "Zero."

"Why do I say it is zero? Once the asteroid touches the ground, it will generate a massive quake that will shake up the ground like tofu, any shelter which is not more than five hundred or seven hundred meters underground will collapse in the seismic quake..." he paused as he looked at Bosco to make sure he had his undivided attention.

"Level 5 which most of you took shelter in is only four hundred meters deep. There's no way it could save you and the rest. Besides the seismic quake, there's the shockwave and pressure, that is enough to level everything in its path whether above ground or underground. Lastly, there's the thermal radiation from the impact of the asteroid on the ground. No matter how insulated the shelter may be, the heat will cook or fry everything within a ten-to-twenty-kilometer radius. So now tell me if I am crazy for taking shelter on Level 3?" He looked at Bosco to see his reaction.

Bosco Masaba folded his arms, not entirely convinced. "Doctor, your argument assumes a direct strike. But the odds of that happening are close to one in a thousand, if not less."

Doctor Jean let out a booming laugh. "Hahahaha! ... If that's the case, then why were you all in the shelter, the chances of being affected were so low."

Bosco smirked slightly. "Because even if we don't get a direct hit, the aftermath alone could be catastrophic." He told him.

"Did you not feel it when the shelter began swaying some moments back? I am sure that the damage above ground is cataclysmic." Bosco added.

Doctor Jean sighed and nodded. "If you put it like that, I can not argue with you."

"Nah, Doctor Jean we were not arguing with each other. We are reasoning with each other, arguing is confrontational and I don't have the guts to argue with my supervisor." Bosco Masaba said with a chuckle, but he meant it.

Doctor Jean Pombe got up from the chair and stretched his arms. "Get ready, we are about to be swamped with work. I expect thousands of patients to stream any minute from now, and most of them will require blood transfusions, meaning we have to quickly determine their blood groups." He told Bosco Masaba as he walked to his work table.

Bosco's expression grew serious. "Doctor Jean, shouldn't we request for more technicians in this laboratory, I have a feeling that two of us will not be enough if we want to deliver speedy results." Bosco Masaba expressed his worry that had been gnawing at him.

Two staff in the laboratory working on a thousand samples was too much by his calculations. He hoped that Doctor Jean Pombe would listen to him, and make some timely changes.

Doctor Jean shook his head. "Bosco, I can't spare any staff to join us. There's an urgent need for doctors in Level 1 and Level 2. Don't doubt me, if we are fast, we can handle thousands of samples in less than a day. Worry not, I have experience dealing with such matters." Doctor Jean Pombe encouraged him.

Bosco bit back a sigh, knowing he had no choice but to comply "Okay Doctor." He saw that this Supervisor was aiming to exploit him to the fullest.

He had accumulated enough experience to know when his superiors were exploiting him, in this instance the excuse Docter Jean Pombe gave was not convincing enough. Bosco Masaba respected the chain of command, and as such he could bear with it even if it was not in his favor.

The good thing he was here for less than a week.