Estella moved the boy so that he was leaning on her lap. She felt Jamie's forehead and neck. He was burning. Still in shock, the boys simply stared at her.
"Has he been checked?" Estella asked. "Has he taken medicine?"
"Yes," Tonton answered. "Nurse Grace from the school had taken care of him."
"That's good. He must be dehydrated now from all this heat. Does anybody have water?"
"My tumbler is still almost full," Bogart offered.
He instantly opened his water bottle and gently tocuhed its lid to Jamie's lips. His friend was startled from the coldness of the water. Immediately, he gulped the liquid and felt refreshed after. He sat up and looked around him. It was incomprehensible. He was still dazed that he only see a sea of varied vibrant colors. He blinked his eyes several times until the faces of his friends became lucid. To his surprise, there were several people around him.
"Boy, are you alright?" Estella asked him.
"I think I am," Jamie answered slowly.
"Does your head still ached?"
"It's getting a little better now."
"I'd better bring you to your home to be safe."
"No!" the three boys echoed.
Jamie shook his head. He could not let his mom see him like that. She would be more worried. Estella looked at them; she really wanted to know where these boys are living.
"Ok, I won't accompany you," Estella gave up the idea. "But are you really sure you can all go home safely by yourselves."
"Of course," Bogart replied defiantly. "We are big boys already."
Estella smiled at his response. She fished out a calling card from her denim jacket and handed it out to Bogart.
"It's got my contact information there," she instructed them. "I want you boys to call me whenever you are in trouble. And I mean any kind of trouble."
Bogart got her card and slipped it in the pocket of his polo uniform. She was smiling as she said those words. There was sincere concern and kindness in her tone. The boys nervously smiled back.
"Keep it properly. You can call me anytime. Just be safe always."
Slowly, Estella stood up and so did the boys with Tonton helping Jamie. The crowd around them clapped their hands, as if cheering a gladiator after a long battle in an arena.
"Ms. Estella really has a beautiful heart, not just a face," a woman announced.
"I'm rooting for you Ms. Estella!" a man yelled his admiration.
"You're my idol!" a lady screamed but his voice instantly broke and she coughed violently. She cleared her throat and looked at the people staring at her. "Ooopsss, sorry."
The people laughed. Others also declared their praises for Estella but like the lady, some strained their throats that they coughed hard. Estella smiled a thank you for everyone and along with Sonny, slowly went back to their car. The boys also boarded their bikes and continued their ride home.
"You just let them off easily," Sonny commented as he started the car engine and air-conditioning. It was a humid afternoon that he felt his sweat all over his body.
"They are just regular school boys," Estella answered. "We can't involve them in our hunt for the truth."
"What if they know something about what really happened inside the camp?"
"That's why I gave them my calling card. If they will be ready to tell us what they saw in the camp, they can easily reach us. If they got into some trouble or are being chased by people from the camp, we are just one call away."
"So you are sure it's them?"
"A hundred and ten percent. I saw it in their eyes."
Sonny nodded and moved their car. He hurried as it was getting late in the afternoon already. Fortunately, the district health center was still open when they arrived. Several individuals were flocking the consultation area and near the laboratory clinic.
"These many people are also suffering from flu-related illnesses," Sonny said as they moved through the crowd, covering their mouths and nose along the way.
They proceeded to what seemed the central office and knocked. The people in queue instantly looked at them, feeling betrayed as they had been waiting in line for quite some time already. Estella flashed her ID and smiled at the people. The door opened and they were ushered in.
"How could I be of help?" the doctor asked when they entered. He was writing prescription for his patient at that moment.
"Doctor, is flu outbreak happening in Subangdaku right now?" Estella went straight to the point.
The doctor looked at her and smiled. He dismissed the patient and signaled for them to sit.
"Yes, it seems some diseases have spread in the district at this time," he said. "People have been suffering from colds, fever, dry cough, and sore throat. Some have extreme muscle pains which they claimed was not like ordinary cramps. Some kids even contracted sore eyes and chickenpox."
"Where did all these ailments came from, Doctor?"
"Nobody really knows. Some said they had not been feeling well as early as Saturday. That's three days ago. So no wonder, so many had been infected."
"How many, Doctor?"
"I don't have an exact figure right now since we are simply district health workers here whose services are free. Since yesterday, we had been receiving patients every minute. If you visit the hospitals, it could be worse."
Estella pondered on the magnitude of the doctor's words. Nobody thought it was that bad already. It could be because those were simple sicknesses that nobody gave that much attention. But now, it was grave.
"Thank you, Doctor, for your time."
When they went out, they were overwhelmed by the sudden increase of people. They were coughing incessantly and complained of terrible pain. Several nurses were accommodating them.
"Miss, why is this happening?" a patient was asking.
"Has this something to do with the meteor?" another asked.
"The wise Dr. Alvarado said so, right Ms. Cecilia?" Tara, one of the attending nurses, spoke up.
"That's true Ms. Tara," Cecilia replied with a commanding voice. "The meteor had indeed caused all these ailments."
The crowd gasped. "Is that really true?"
"It's up to you to believe or not," Tara answered snobbishly. "But all these things happened only after the meteor crash. You know what, your sicknesses might just be symptoms of much greater diseases to come."
"The meteor could be very dangerous," Cecilia added fuel to the fire. "We might be facing a harder battle ahead."
"Do you have bases for what you are saying?" Estella, unable to hold her disgust of their words, challenged them.
Tara looked at her and raised her eyebrow before saying, "None so far. This is just a warning from concerned individuals like us."
"There is no danger in foreseeing the future," Cecilia added hostilely.
"But you -" Estella was about to say when one of the patients, a woman of about sixty, suddenly stood up and vomitted blood.
There was an instant chaos. The other patients moved away, while the nurses rushed to help the old woman. Estella and Sonny was about to give assistance also but they were blocked by Cecilia and Tara and asked to leave it to them.
Sheepishly, the duo obeyed and left the clinic. As advised by the doctor, they surveyed some of the nearby hospitals and indeed, a more depressing sight awaited them as sick people flocked around the lobby waiting to be catered.
"This is really an outbreak," Sonny whispered. "And it is beginning to get out of hand."
Unable to give any help, Estella just stared at the suffering patients....