This was all her fault.
Chloe pressed her shoulder against the bamboo doorframe, her chest tight as she watched Dr. Tobias fight to document his own deterioration. His phone was propped against a water bottle, voice-to-text app struggling to capture words that came slower with each passing hour.
They weren’t prisoners. Captain Wong had made that clear when the Karenni forces had escorted the Free Burma Rangers to Mese village two days ago. “For our protection,” he’d said, gesturing toward the distant rumble of artillery exchanges between Karenni forces and the Myanmar military. “We’ll leave when it’s safe.”
Safe.
Right.
The teak house perched on stilts above red earth still soggy from yesterday’s rain. Monsoon season wasn’t her favorite time of year here. Early-morning light streamed through gaps in the woven bamboo walls. The air hung thick—humidity and woodsmoke from cooking fires mixed with something medicinalthat Mrs. Nu Paw, the resident healer, burned to ward off mosquitoes.
Outside, roosters announced dawn while artillery rumbled in the distance. Chloe’s gut tightened with every mortar round.
The impacts found her bones, rattled them. Too close. Too frequent. This village of five thousand souls existed in the narrow space between warring forces, protected by geography and the pure grit of people who refused to abandon their ancestral home.
Frankly, if it had been up to her, she would have rounded them all up and told them to run. Hard. Fast.Don’t look back.But then again, this wasn’t her home.
Not that she really had a home.
“Day three of symptoms,” Tobias whispered toward his phone, his Nigerian accent growing thicker as exhaustion clouded his thoughts. “Neurological presentation consistent with alkaloid poisoning. Pupils dilated. Hand tremors increasing. Cognitive function...”
Pause.
She glanced at him, her heart squeezing as he clearly struggled for the word.
“Declining.”
This couldn’t be happening.
“Tobias, we need to leave. Now.” She stepped into the small room. “The captain says the situation’s deteriorating. They can’t guarantee safe passage much longer.”
“I need to document this.” His dark eyes met hers. “Whatever’s happening to me—someone else will see these symptoms. They need to understand what they’re treating.”
“Then dictate faster.”Aw,her tone emerged sharper than she’d intended. “Because if we don’t get you to a real hospital soon?—”
“Suspected alkaloid poisoning,” he continued into the phone, ignoring her interruption. “Most likely solanine or related compounds. Source unknown but definitely ingested, not inhaled or absorbed through skin contact.”
“Ingested?” Chloe crouched beside his makeshift bed—a thin mattress on a wooden platform covered with mosquito netting. “What did you eat that I didn’t?”
“That’s what I’m trying to determine.” Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the morning chill. “Something at the hospital or during transit or here. The timing suggests exposure occurred shortly before symptom onset.”
Footsteps creaked on the wooden stairs outside. Mrs. Nu Paw appeared in the doorway, her traditional Karenni dress a splash of vibrant red and blue against the neutral tones of the house. Silver jewelry clinked softly as she carried a steaming bowl of soup.
“Morning food,” she announced in careful English, weathered face creased with concern. “You eat. Build strength.”
Tobias managed a weak smile. “Thank you, Mrs. Nu Paw. Very kind.”
Boom!
Dust shook from the overhead beams as the explosions rolled across the valley, closer than yesterday. Mrs. Nu Paw’s expression tightened as she set the bowl on a wooden crate serving as a bedside table.
“Fighting moves closer,” she said, glancing toward the sound. “Tatmadaw tries to retake the mountain passes. Karenni Army holds them back, but...” She shook her head, her mouth tight.
“How close?” Chloe said.
“Maybe five kilometers. Captain Wong say we evacuate if they reach the river.” Mrs. Nu Paw studied Tobias. “But you too weak to travel.”
“Mrs. Nu Paw,” Tobias said, struggling to sit upright, “have others in the village shown similar symptoms? Neurological problems, tremors, confusion?”