The Cobra Event
Richard Preston
Ballantine Books
Page 6
AT ABOUT TEN O’CLOCK in the morning, Kate went to the nurse’s office and got some Tylenol. It didn’t help her cold, which was getting worse and worse. It was a real sinus cold. Her mouth was hurting a lot; it felt bumpy and it stung. She was debating whether or not to go home. She decided to go to art class and leave after that.
The art teacher, Peter Talides, was a balding, middle-aged painter, likable and disorganized, and his art room was a satisfying place. Students hung out there during the day and after school hours. Kate settled herself at a table in the corner of the room, near the window, where her assembled Box was taking shape. It was an ambitious construction, a kind of a house, made of pieces of dollhouses and all kinds of found objects. Kate felt dizzy and weak. She tried to work on the house but couldn’t remember what she had planned to do with it. She felt as if she had never seen it before and as if some other person had built it.
“I want to go home,” she said out loud.
The students looked at her. She started to stand up-she intended to go back to the nurse’s office-when suddenly she felt really dizzy. “Oh, no,” she said. She got partway to her feet, and found she couldn’t stand. She sat down heavily on her work stool.
“What’s the matter, Kates?” Jennifer asked.
There was a crash. Kate had slid off the stool and landed on the floor beside her worktable.
Peter Talides came hurrying over. “Are you all right?”
“I’m sick,” Kate said in a thick voice. She began to tremble. She was sitting on the floor with her legs out straight. “My mouth hurts.”
Talides bent over her. “We need to get you to the nurse,” he said.
She didn’t answer. Her teeth were chattering and her face was flushed and feverish.
Peter Talides was frightened. Kate’s nose was running with clear mucus that flowed down over her lips. It was gushing out, as if she had a very bad cold. Her eyes flicked over his face without seeming to see him.
“Someone tell the nurse,” he said. “Go on! Go!” To Kate he said, “Just sit still, okay?”
Kate said, “I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Can you stand up?”
“No. Yes.”
He helped her feep. “Jennifer. Prasaya. Please take Kate to the bathroom, will you?”
The two girls helped Kate out of the room and into the bathroom, while Peter Talides waited in the hallway.
Kate stood in front of the sink, hanging on to it, wondering if she was going to throw up. Something moved inside her mind, as if some being that was not Kate but was Kate was in agony. There was a mirror over the sink. For a moment, she couldn’t bring herself to look. Then she opened her mouth. The inside of the mouth reflected in the mirror was dotted with black blood blisters. They looked like shining ticks feeding there.
She screamed and hung on to the sink, and screamed again. She lost her balance and crumpled to her knees.
Peter Talides ran into the bathroom.
He found Kate Moran sitting on the floor, looking at him with glassy eyes. The clear mucus was running out of her nose and mouth, and she was weeping. She said in a thick voice, “I don’t know what to do.”
Kate’s expression went blank. The left side of her face rippled in a series of twitches that moved in a wave. The twitches were marching jacksonian seizures. Suddenly she uttered a fierce, guttural cry. She toppled backward. Her knees straightened out and her body seized and froze hard in a clonic jerk. Her head hit the tiled floor with a crack. The stiffness lasted for a few seconds. Then her arms and legs began to tremble and jerk rhythmically. She lost control of her bladder. A puddle formed under her.
Talides tried to hold her arms still. “My God!” he cried.
Tragedi Kobra
Richard Preston
Ballantine Books
Halaman 6
Sekitar jam sepuluh pagi, Kate pergi ke kantor perawat dan ia mendapatkan Tylenol. Obat itu tidak mampu meredakan flunya yang semakin memburuk. Benar-benar flu sinus. Mulutnya terasa sakit sekali, berlekak-lekuk dan perih. Ia menimbang-nimbang apakah harus pulang atau tidak. Ia putuskan untuk masuk kelas seni dahulu, lalu pulang setelahnya.
Guru pelajaran seni, Peter Talides, adalah seorang pelukis paruh baya yang mulai membotak, ia menyenangkan, tapi semrawut. Ruang seninya merupakan tempat yang memuaskan. Seharian penuh murid-muridnya berkumpul di sana, bahkan setelah jam sekolah usai. Kate menempatkan dirinya di meja di sudut kelas, dekat jendela. Di situlah tempat ia mengerjakan boks rakitannya. Konstruksi boks tersebut membutuhkan keahlian besar, semacam rumah yang terbuat dari kepingan rumah boneka dan berbagai benda sisa. Kate merasa pusing dan lemah. Ia berusaha mengerjakan rumah itu, tapi ia lupa apa yang akan ia lakukan dengan rumah itu. Seakan ia tidak pernah melihatnya sebelumnya, seakan orang lain yang telah membuatnya.
“Saya mau pulang,” katanya nyaring.
Para murid menoleh ke arahnya. Ia hendak bangkit, bermaksud kembali ke kantor perawat, namun ia merasa benar-benar pusing. “Oh, tidak,” katanya. Baru saja ia akan berdiri, tapi tidak mampu. Ia pun duduk dengan susah payah di bangku kerjanya.
“Kamu kenapa, Kate?” Tanya Jennifer.
Terjadi benturan. Tubuh Kate merosot dan mendarat di lantai, tepat di samping mejanya.
Peter Talides bergegas menghampirinya. “Kamu baik-baik saja?”
“Saya sakit,” jawab Kate dengan suara yang serak. Ia mulai gemetar. Ia terduduk di lantai dengan kaki tegak. “Mulut saya sakit.”
Talides membungkuk ke arahnya, “Kami harus membawamu ke kantor perawat,” katanya.
Kate tidak menjawab. Giginya bergemeletuk, wajahnya memerah dan tampak demam.
Peter Talides cemas. Dari hidung Kate, lendir bening mengalir turun ke mulut. Menyembur seolah ia menderita flu berat. Matanya mengerjap-ngerjap, seperti tidak melihat sang guru.
“Panggil perawat,” perintahnya. “Ayo, cepat!” Kepada Kate ia berkata, “Duduk tenang di sini, ya?”
Kate berkata, “Sepertinya saya mau muntah.”
“Kamu bisa berdiri?”
“Tidak. Ya.”
Ia membantu Kate bangkit. “Jennifer, Prasaya, tolong antar Kate ke toilet.”
Kedua gadis itu pun membantu Kate keluar dari kelas, dan mengantarnya ke toilet. Sementara Peter Talides menunggu di lorong.
Kate berdiri di depan bak cuci, bertumpu padanya, dan bersiap-siap untuk muntah. Sesuatu bergerak di dalam otaknya, seolah makhluk yang bukan Kate padahal memang Kate merasakan nyeri yang luar biasa. Di atas bak cuci ada cermin. Untuk beberapa saat, ia tidak mampu melihat. Lalu ia membuka mulut. Bagian dalam mulutnya tampak di cermin, terdapat titik-titik lecet berdarah hitam. Titik-titik itu berkilauan seperti kutu-kutu yang sedang menggerogotinya.
Ia menjerit sambil berpegangan pada bak cuci, lalu menjerit lagi. Ia kehilangan keseimbangan dan ia pun roboh, berlutut.
Peter Talides berlari masuk ke dalam toilet.
Ia mendapati Kate Moran sedang duduk di lantai, menatapnya seperti orang tolol. Lendir bening meluncur turun dari hidung dan mulut Kate, ia menangis. Dengan suara parau ia berkata, “Saya tidak tahu harus berbuat apa.”
Ekspresi Kate kosong. Bagian kiri wajahnya beriak, berupa serangkaian kedutan yang membentuk gelombang. Kedutan-kedutan itu menunjukkan serangan semacam epilepsi. Tiba-tiba ia meraung garau dengan dahsyatnya. Kate tumbang ke belakang. Lututnya tegak, tubuhnya mengkedut, lalu membeku dalam guncangan. Kepalanya membentur lantai sampai retak. Kekakuan berlangsung selama beberapa detik. Kemudian lengan dan kakinya mulai bergetar dan berguncang-guncang ritmis. Ia tak mampu mengendalikan kandung kemihnya. Di bawah tubuhnya, air menggenang.
