The isolation unit was a scientific term for a human sized test tube. Controls and indicator lights marked the rim and a square panel at the midpoint, and apart from the four reinforcement rods running the length of the tube at evenly spaced intervals, the container was entirely clear.

Anna slid into the isolation unit feet first after the upper hatch was opened. Certain her hair or fingers wouldn't be caught in the machinery as it moved, Wayne flipped the control switch to seal the hatch. Air filtration began immediately, scrubbing harmful particles from the interior atmosphere and compressing them into a hazardous material storage unit in the base. A number of lights turned green as her natural biorhythms were monitored.  With six wheels underneath the unit, it was easily pushed and cruised smoothly down the street toward the lab.

The door to the lab was concealed behind a projected image of red bricks. The same as everywhere else in the safe zone, the holograms were in place in order to give the city street the more comfortable feel of a neighborhood and not show what it actually was, the cold steel and concrete of humanity's refuge in a dead world. The projection switched off momentarily, revealing the massive doors underneath. The mechanisms smoothly pulled the thick partitions to either side and into pockets within the walls.

The interior of the lab was brightly lit by the overhead panels, transforming the ceiling into an unbroken sheet of white light. The isolation unit was rolled down the spacious central hallway, past the numerous doors flanking it on either side. Security keypads and palm scanners were installed beside every closed hatch, protecting people from accidentally entering a room possibly contaminated by an experiment but also to keep any experiments from getting out.

The door labeled J28 was their destination, and Wayne quickly typed the security code into the pad mounted on the doorframe before placing his palm against the scanning plate beside it. The plate illuminated bright green for a moment, and the door slid open.

Wayne went in first, guiding the isolation unit through and making sure its width didn't cause it to become stuck in the narrow opening. Once the isolation unit was situated in the middle of the room, Wayne thanked the security people for their assistance and dismissed them. A few of them hesitated to leave.

"I understand your reluctance," Wayne assured them. "I'll be linking the security feeds from the internal systems to the outside, and you'll be able to keep an eye on things without risking exposure."

The leader of the guards nodded. "I'll be outside the main doors should you require assistance."

Wayne nodded, knowing full well the assistance being offered was of the lethal variety and was directed solely at his infected wife. He bore no ill will toward the guards as they were dedicated public servants trying their upmost to protect one of the few remnants of humanity. Their vigilance had kept the city alive, so he couldn't fault them doing their job, but their presence made him uncomfortable. Wayne needed them gone in order to work without having to constantly look over his shoulder. Anna and the search for a cure required his full attention.

"I'll be right back," Wayne told Anna through the microphone and speaker unit installed into the control panel of her cylinder. He followed the guards to the main entrance, typing the code to seal the doors behind them after they left. It was as much for their benefit as it was his. With the doors locked, he wouldn't be able to infect them if something went wrong, and they wouldn't be able to interfere in whatever he might need to do in his attempts to save Anna.

Returning to his wife, still locked within the transparent walls of the isolation unit, Wayne opened the hatch at one end and offered her a hand, helping Anna to slid out and get back on her feet.

"I'm not sure what you hoped to accomplish," Anna said sleepily. She took a padded work chair from one of the computer tables and sat upon the almost unyielding gray cushion. "In all the years this plague has killed people, we've never even come close to a treatment, let alone a cure."

Her eyes were heavy, and she closed them while listening to his response.

"I'm not going to abandon you," Wayne promised, kneeling on the cold tile floor and taking her hands in his. "Consider me more fully motivated to find a cure."

She smiled slightly and gently touched his cheek with her hand.

"You always were stubborn, my darling love," she whispered.

"For the first time, that stubbornness works to your benefit," Wayne replied. He put on a smile, but it was only on the outside. He knew the truth of the matter. The infection had a very predictable rate of growth, taking over a host body and transforming it into a walking corpse with the sole purpose of spreading the contagion to others during the body's endless hunger for living flesh to consume. The chances of his finding a cure to what every research scientist on the planet had been looking for since the outbreak had occurred was slim at best and delusional at worst.

A dagger of ice twisted in his heart as the reality of the situation began to set in. No matter how hard he worked, it probably wouldn't be enough. All he could do was push on with everything he had against the foregone conclusion, knowing full well he would fail and Anna would die anyway. It was a hopeless fight, but Wayne knew he would fight it all the same. He had to.