Wednesday came and Estella went up early. It would be another busy day ahead. They would be interviewing the same doctors from yesterday who promised to give them updates regarding the outbreak as they monitored incoming new patients. Since the officer in-charge was not around last night, they would be going back to the police station for a follow-up on a certain murder case. Assuming they would still have time, they also planned to visit the isolation camp again and to pass by Dr. Alvarado's medical facility which was near completion already.

Estella donned some denim outfits and after drying and tying up her hair, she went out of her apartment. Sonny was already waiting by the driver's seat of their black car with a big chunk of sandwich in his hands. Estella got in and sat comfortably.

"Sonny's Negra looks clean and fresh today," Estella commented.

"Who's Sonny's Negra?"

"This car! You have been driving this thing since I started in the company. I bet she is your baby."

"You got it right!" Sonny said and chuckled. "She has been my darling since the company purchased. And why Negra?"

"She is a black beauty," Estella answered. "A headstrong princess, tough and dependable."

"I kinda like that. I never thought of giving her a name all these years."

They both laughed. After gobbling his sandwich, Sonny started the engine and drove.

"Any interestng news for today?" Estella asked.

"I was not able to see the papers today," Sonny answered. "I was hurrying up when I dropped by the station. But I brought some copies. Help yourself."

Sonny pointed at the newspapers atop the dashboard. Estella grabbed some and scanned the pages. Nothing grabbed her attention; they were the usual news item. She took another batch and began reading the headlines. She stopped upon stumbling an intriguing title which read "Where is Patient Zero?"

Hastily, Estella read the contents of the article. She was breathless as she did so. Once she was finished, she looked at the heading of the newspaper. It was the same tabloid that published the malicious article about the meteor crash. It had claimed that an unfamiliar substance from the meteor debris arbitrarily called Subangdakudium could cause possible dangerous health reactions to humans. The current outbreak, which it called as Falling Star Plague, was attributed to the new chemical compound. The article stirred the people of Subangdaku so that local officials decided to place the district under strict quarantine. And now, the tabloid published another malevolent article which could create ripplings impacts to the outbreak and to the townspeopple.

Estella was distrissed and angry at what she had read. Sonny noticed it so that he slowed down his driving.

"You look shaken," he remarked. "A bad news?"

"Not just bad, but really spiteful."

"Uh-huh?"

"Remember the tabloid that named this outbreak as Falling Star Plague? It has published another incredulous article."

"Tell me about it."

"It said that in order to find the cure for this outbreak, authorities should search for patient zero."

"Patient zero is the origin of the outbreak. He is the first known carrier."

"Yes, and it claimed that patient zero is a student."

Sonny stepped on the brake and the car stopped. He was intrigued at what he had just been told.

"Is the article serious?"

"It seems so. To continue, the article said that the outbreak started at the school two Mondays ago. It was during that time that flu shots were given to the students. However, one student is too sick that the shot did not work. Hence, his sickness spread to his classmates and eventually to the whole district."

"There were no official records about it," Sonny said in exasperation. "There was even no official declaration of the outbreak. There were no clear description of the diseases. We visited the health centers and all these sicknesses are known, only this time, the number of cases were beyond the charts."

"Exactly, that's the doubtful part about this outbreak. It seems all kinds of diseases suddenly attacked the people. That takes me back to the mysterious call I had last Sunday night."

"That Dr. Alvarado caused the outbreak?"

"Yes. The doctor has been involved since beginning, way back when the meteor debris were discovered. The connection is clear but the guilt is not since there are no incriminating evidences."

"You got to slow down, Estella. These are grave allegations against Dr. Alvarado."

"I know. All I have are assumptions and theories. This makes me even madder. I just feel helpless."

"Take it easy. The truth will come out one way or another."

Estella nodded and sighed. Indeed, the truth would prevail. But exactly when? She did not know. She could only hope it was sooner, before things would lead to more serious consequences.

"What more did the paper said?"

"Oh, it said that patient zero could have the cure against the outbreak. It had survived this long and its body could have developed antibodies to fight against the unfamiliar disease."

"That could be true. So who is patient zero?"

"The paper said it was an eleven-year-old boy. They did not reveal the name but claimed that the boy is missing right now."

"What do they mean by missing? He could not be dead."

"No, he is missing, possibly taken by people who are desperate to find the cure."

"What? Patient zero is kidnapped? That's unbelievable!"

"Though there were no names given, but the paper said that the boy's disappearance had been filed in the local police station. Furthermore, it urges it readers that if they are interested in finding patient zero, they simply have to go to the station and inquired."

"That's crazy!"

"And so far, there is only one missing boy in Subangdaku. We know it when we visited the police station last night."

"You mean one of the four kids we encountered before?"

"Yes, we bumped into them several times already. The first was at the grasslands where the meteor debris was supposedly found. Then we saw them again at the marketplace."

"And one of them was very sick that time?"

"Yes. Just only few days after, we saw him being healed by Loduvico."

"And then he suddenly vanished!"

"Vanished like the wind. There are too many coincidences here that I don't feel things just happened in random."

"What do you mean?"

"I feel that eveything has been planned."

"By who?"

"You know who. Right now, I could only pray for the boy's safety."

Sonny nodded and started the car again. Patient zero was gone but with the information published on paper, it was only a matter of time before he surfaced again. But what was more frightening was the idea that more evils would be hunting the boy.....