The heat made Calista's gray-blue eyes look slightly misty, and in the fading glow of the sunset, she appeared almost strikingly beautiful.
Carver froze for a moment, then suddenly seemed flustered. A faint flush crept onto his face as he stammered, "Uh? Ca-Calista, I, I didn't…"
Calista was baffled by everyone's laughter.
Her face felt even hotter. "What are you talking about? Who's blushing? It's just too hot out here!"
Her voice carried a slight huskiness and softness she didn't even notice herself.
Leah was the first to sense something was wrong.
Calista wasn't the type to blush easily, and this kind of redness was clearly not normal.
She stopped laughing, reached out, and pressed her hand against Calista's forehead.
The scorching heat in her palm made Leah's expression change instantly.
"Cali! You have a fever!" Leah exclaimed, her voice immediately filled with concern. "You're burning up! Didn't you notice?"
"A fever?" Calista was momentarily stunned. She raised her hand and touched her forehead. It was indeed burning hot.
No wonder she had been feeling dizzy, alternating between chills and heat.
"Oh. I guess I do feel it."
The lively atmosphere from moments ago vanished in an instant.
The trace of embarrassment on Carver's face turned into alarm as he shot to his feet. "A fever? Is it serious? Where's Dr. Evans? I'll go get him!"
Mike and Turner also dropped their teasing expressions and looked over with concern.
Bossie said with regret, "My fault. I shouldn't have been joking."
"It's fine," Calista waved her hand, trying to reassure them, but she couldn't help letting out a light cough. "I'm probably just a bit tired. I'll be fine after some rest."
But Leah had already pulled her up without hesitation. "Come on, let's go. Get back to your room and lie down. I'll get Dr. Evans to check on you. A fever isn't something to ignore."
She shot a sharp glare at the men around them. "This is on all of you. You were too busy joking to notice she wasn't feeling well!"
Carver and the others looked slightly embarrassed under her scolding. Watching Calista being helped away by Leah, a tight feeling settled in their chests.
Calista was usually so composed. Seeing her like this made her seem unexpectedly fragile, and it stirred a quiet worry in them.
Leah quickly found Dr. Evans and Dr. Jenner, who were busy in the infirmary.
"A fever?" Dr. Evans took out a thermometer and gestured for Calista to sit. "Any other symptoms? Sore throat? Cough?"
"No. Just a bit dizzy. And… I feel unusually energetic. It doesn't feel like I'm sick." Calista described the strange sensation.
Dr. Evans conducted a preliminary check, listening to her heart and lungs and examining her throat. Everything appeared normal.
"That's odd. It doesn't look like an infection. It's more like some kind of stress response, or…" He glanced at Dr. Jenner.
Dr. Jenner immediately realized something, urgency creeping into his voice. "Draw blood. Do it now. Check immune markers and the specific protein expressions we've been tracking."
Dr. Evans nodded and skillfully drew several tubes of blood from Calista.
Dr. Jenner practically snatched the samples and rushed straight back into his lab.
While waiting for the results, Calista still had the energy to joke around with Leah, showing none of the usual drowsiness that came with a fever.
But Leah noticed the abnormality and stayed quietly by her side, keeping an eye on her and trying to settle her unusual restlessness.
Half an hour later, Dr. Jenner came out with a grave expression, holding the freshly printed report.
"Well?" Calista asked directly.
Dr. Jenner handed her the results and pointed to several sharply elevated indicators. "Your fever isn't caused by an infection. It's your immune system, or more precisely,
the special antibodies in your body. Their activity has suddenly spiked. They're accelerating your metabolism, which is causing the fever and heightened energy."
Calista's heart sank slightly. "What's causing it?"
"I'm not sure," Dr. Jenner said, shaking his head, his brow tightly furrowed. "It could be fluctuations in your emotional or physiological state, or it could mean the instability of the vaccine is starting to show."
He paused, his tone turning even more serious. "This is dangerous, Calista.
Right now it's just fever and discomfort, but it could escalate into a severe immune storm that attacks your own organs, or trigger even more unpredictable mutations."
"Dr. Jenner, can you control it? Or at least find the cause?" Leah asked anxiously.
Jenner took a deep breath. "I need deeper analysis. But that's not something we can do here."
He gestured at the rudimentary equipment around them. "I can't even precisely isolate and measure those hyperactive antibody subtypes, let alone analyze their genetic sequences or potential triggers."
Dr. Jenner was even more anxious than Leah. "The equipment I need for proteomics, high-throughput sequencing, and real-time cellular monitoring only exists in large-scale biological labs. And the nearest one I'm most familiar with…"
"Sentinel Station, right?" Calista cut in, irritation rising in her chest.
She had just said she had no side effects, and now they had appeared.
No matter how much she didn't want to go, was she still going to be forced into it?
"Yes," Dr. Jenner confirmed, rubbing his hands nervously.
"Is it in Clayton County?" Calista wasn't familiar with it. "Do you know the location and route?"
"I don't remember the exact coordinates. I've only been there once. But it's roughly along Interstate 85, in the mountains near Tybee Island. It's disguised as a private environmental research station. I can guide you, but I'll need to recall the route."
Calista shook her head. "No. You're not going. This is a forward operation with too many unknowns. We can't risk anything happening to you. Draw us a map and list the equipment. We'll find it ourselves."
Dr. Jenner tried to recall. "From here, head southwest…"
At some point, Leah had already pulled out a map. Her finger traced a route across it. "Southwest. We'll pass through Kings County first. That is, near… that Greene Farm I mentioned last time."
A farm?
Leah had told her about it before. That was the farm where they had encountered Rick's group.
Hershel's Greene Farm.
Calista's gaze sharpened slightly. "There's nothing like that near Knoxville?"
Were they really going to be forced back toward Atlanta again?
Dr. Jenner spread his hands. "I don't have a choice. I'm from Atlanta, so that's the only area I'm familiar with. And that kind of equipment isn't found in ordinary hospitals. Only high-level research facilities have it."
Fine.
"Dr. Jenner, can you confirm the exact entrance to Sentinel Station and its internal structure? Especially the security systems?" Calista pressed.
"The entrance is very well hidden. I know the general area and identifying markers, but you'll have to locate it on-site. As for the internal layout, I've only seen rough blueprints. The security system will definitely be extremely tight, but there should be an emergency override protocol…"