Medic Kaul stood in his lab waiting for his work panel to light up with the information he needed to clear the humans of the so-called virus. After several minutes of waiting, the panel in front of him lit up, showing what he knew so far, which wasn't much.

He knew that the virus was progressive, acting quickly in its host. He knew that the first onset was a draining of color just before the host collapses, unconscious. Once they collapse, the virus works to shut down and then liquify the host's internal organs, killing them. The entire process from the pale skin to the death of the patient was only minutes. It didn't give much time to act.

He stared at the information on the screen in front of him, trying to figure out what the virus was and how to prevent it from killing anyone. He needed to know why it was happening, if it was contagious, and where it originated. If he knew that, he could find a way to stop it before it started.

All of the med clinics had a steady stream of humans who had collapsed with the virus. He needed to figure out why and where it came from before it killed someone. He was lucky so far; none had died under his watch because he had gotten to them in time to stop it before it killed them.

Medic Renn stood behind him, peering at the lit-up screen. His own thoughts swirling, trying to find a cure or a way to stop the virus. "Is there something all the collapsed humans have in common besides the fact that they're human?" he asked his superior. He had thought about it and had concluded that it had to be something that the specific humans who were infected had in common. He wanted to know what it was.

Medic Kaul studied Medic Renn, then turned to the panel. He knew Medic Renn had a good head on his shoulders, and his idea was a good one. He decided to check and see if the infected humans had something in common besides being human. He quickly adjusted the criteria on the control panel to include all the things humans had in common. He knew it wasn't gender. Both males and females had collapsed. Age didn't appear to be a factor either.

The panel in front of them lit up, and words appeared on the screen rapidly. There was a human image beside the information that was being given. Labels marked the areas of human lymph nodes; each label flashed warning lights indicating something that shouldn't be there.

More words appeared, giving more information about the infected humans.

Medic Kaul and Medic Renn waited for the screen to stop loading the information before they began to read the panel's report. It only took a few moments before it was finished.

"Swollen lymph nodes, filled with a toxic residue, appear to be the common element in all of the humans who have collapsed from the virus. The residue is what was left after they regained their humanity. That's what the humans call it. They call it regaining their humanity. The residue is what was left after the serum dissipated, and they were no longer zombies," Medic Kaul stated as he studied the diagrams.

"So, the only ones infected by the virus are those who were once zombies," Medic Renn confirmed what he was hearing. "That means it's not a virus. If it's not a virus, it's not contagious, either. Right?"

Medic Kaul nodded. "Right." He answered. "In theory, anyway. According to this, it's not really a virus. They are getting sick because of the residue in their lymph nodes. When the serum dissipated, it left a residue in them that is making them sick. Some are just taking longer than others for the symptoms to appear. I don't believe it's contagious, but there is no way to know for sure by looking at this," he said, pointing to the panel in front of them.

"All we have to do, then, is to bring all humans who were zombies and remove the residue?" Renn asked. He was getting excited. If they brought them all in and took out the residue, the illness shouldn't affect any of them.

Pulling out his comm link, Medic Kaul looked at the screen before speaking into it. "Council Leader Vorik?" he stated. "I believe you need to see something in my lab, sir."

Council Leader Vorik's voice came through the communications. "On my way."

Medic Kaul tucked the comm link back into his pocket and stared at the panel in front of him while he waited for Council Leader Vorik to arrive. Something about what he was seeing didn't seem to add up. He was missing something important, but he didn't know what it was. He couldn't see what it was from the information listed on the report on his med-panel.

Moments later, Kaul's lab door slid open, and Council Leader Vorik walked in. Medic Kaul turned to face his leader and friend. "We found the cause of the illness," he stated to Vorik. "It was Medic Renn's idea to check for similarities in those who have been infected besides being human. The virus only affects them. We entered the criteria into the computer to search for common factors of those who have been infected. The readout indicates that the illness is caused by residue from the dissipated serum in their lymph nodes. That residue is what's killing them."

"It's not a virus?" Council Leader Vorik asked, and he moved forward to look at the readouts for himself. There was a touch of relief in his features.

"I don't believe it is, sir," Medic Kaul stated. "I also don't believe it's contagious. I believe the residue only affects the human it is in, and not those they are in contact with."

Council Leader Vorik turned to Medic Kaul. "This only affects those humans who have been zombies?" Vorik asked, confirming what he was just told.

"We believe that is the case, sir," Medic Kaul stated. Something about Kaul's tone didn't match what he was saying.

"Are you 100 percent sure it isn't contagious?" Council Leader Vorik asked him directly.

Medic Kaul sighed. The image in his mind told him what he felt he was missing. "It's too early to know truly, sir," Medic Kaul stated. "From what I see here, there is no evidence that it is contagious. There is also no evidence to rule it out. My gut tells me it is not contagious, nor is it a virus. It's a matter of perspective. A virus is something that can be passed from one person to another. The zombies were contagious. If bitten by one, you would turn into one. Even though they were under the influence of the serum, it was passed to the bitten. The serum acted like a virus, yet it wasn't one. There is no real way of knowing if that is the case with the residue in their lymph nodes. We considered it to be a zombie virus, yet it was the serum acting differently than it does with the Kreq or us. The serum isn't a virus, yet in humans, it was acting like one."

"And you don't know if the residue is acting like a virus either?" Council Leader Vorik asked. "What do you need in order for you to know with 100 percent certainty that it is safe for those they are around?" Vorik asked. He was pacing now. His mind wandered to what could happen if it were contagious to other humans not infected with the zombie virus before the toxin was dissipated. He worried about his mate, Alice, and twin infants at home. She had been bitten, and she had been pregnant with them at the time. She hadn't turned, but the toxin was trying to take over. It had been stopped before she could turn. He wondered if she was affected by it like the ones who had turned into zombies.

Medic Kaul thought about it for a moment. "I need to run some tests on those who were zombies. I also need a human willing to be experimented on to find out if it's contagious," Medic Kaul listed.

"And their children? Wouldn't they have the residue in their system even though they were never infected?" Vorik asked, thinking of the two ex-zombies in question. Aleigha's son and Jada's fetus that she was pregnant with.

"There are only two children that I know of that could have the residue in their system. Aleigha's son and Jada's fetus. Jada has only been pregnant for a few weeks. I don't know if it will affect the child inside of her," Kaul stated, mirroring Council Leader Vorik's thoughts.

Medic Renn stood silently, listening. He didn't like what was being implied. Testing infants was not ethical. Not only that, but if they had the residue inside them, the pain of removing it could kill them. Since Jada was still pregnant, it could terminate the pregnancy altogether.

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