"I really hope this won't end up like our first flight here..." Sophie commented as their Animalia Air flight touched down in Florida, not too far where Skull Island, also known as Animalia's colony Dinotopia Aquatica, off of Florida's eastern coast and along the last possible trade ports that could be used.
"Well... I don't think another storm from nowhere is going to come about this time around," Roland commented as he could feel the wheels screech a bit as the plane came in to a halt, "and certain parts of that trip ended up being very enjoyable..."
Sophie could feel herself blush, though with her colors being more drab when compared to the blue accents on Roland's beak and neck, she didn't think her more white and gray accents would stand out. Though Roland's reference to their first solo flight to cover the official opening of Dinotopia Aquatica had brought about things other than what Animalia Ambassadoria had wanted covered, namely that the two of them ended up losing their virginity while waiting for the storm to pass through. That part, Sophie liked, and if their room was safe and clean... as legal adults now, she was less afraid about showing her desires for that thing, particularly as she knew from some of the rather complicated games that they had followed to avoid being caught by their parents, Sophie knew certain parts of Roland's anatomy had gotten bigger since then, just as her bust had gotten bigger and her hips had gotten wider as well. That high Animalian libido was enough to get her somewhat interested, but she said nothing about that.
Instead she looked out the widow and watched as the plane taxied along from the runway to the main docking booths for the various aircraft. Many of those terminals were open at the moment, possibly because of all the issues that the Covid 19 pandemic had done to travel. It still went on, and as America rushed to get itself open, many of the facilities that closed in the early part of the year were trying to come back, and in some cases some travelers were trying to hop onboard with Animalia Air, recognizing that the airline wasn't having the troubles that the other airlines were. Though, most of this came from the fact that Animalia was requiring rather stringent testing before their planes could be boarded and would be tested again on arrival. It soon became troublesome for some when they found that the hard bony shell of her beak made it hard to fit most q-tips into her nostrils. But it was one of those things that had to be done at times, and both she and Roland realized this as the plane docked with their terminal.
"Hopefully nothing's gone too bad," Sophie commented, knowing that the Fourth of July was coming up while Covid cases were raising across much of the country. There were increases in Nevada as well. Lyre and Animalia had seemed to have missed it, so far, but that didn't mean it couldn't come, particularly as things opened. And that was something that set about a lot of the present rumors coming out of Florida at present and had brought her and Roland to get some information and cover some of the reports that had been going on for a good while now and confirm those rumors. But with all the rumors and other news going on, Sophie was worried on that, particularly as Animalia had so far counted on Animalians being at least resistant to Covid 19 that much of the protective efforts would be merely protection, but some of the rumors, combined with Florida's rapidly raising number of cases made things worse and that made Sophie worry.
"Maybe not too bad..." Roland answered as they stood up and put on a pair of specialized masks that fit around their long pointed beaks and held on by the cartilaginous crest on the top of them, before gathering their carry on luggage, "though... there could be at least some bad news... We need to be ready for that."
Sophie nodded as they walked along with some of the other guests that had come along with the flight. What then followed was the expected arrival tests for Sophie and Roland, as they would be expected to journey to Skull Island where many of the rumors that had been spreading were coming from. As they finished with that, they found a bit of a surprise waiting for them at the airport's waiting area. He was one of the Horizon Scientists that worked at Dinotopia Aquatica as part of their onboard medical and conversion center that Horizon ran on the island colony for anyone that might wish to join the aquatic Dinotopians that had moved there. The man presently wore a suit and a firm mask that covered his own nose and mouth. It was smaller than the masks that Sophie and Roland wore, but that made since as their beaks would require more material than a Human face would, but they were a bit surprised to find someone from Horizon waiting for them. They expected to check into a hotel and then journey out to Skull Island once their arrival tests came back negative.
"Ms. Albers, Mr. Luwrie," the Horizon doctor spoke politely as they approach, "I trust you're ready?"
"Yes... but... we still need to pick up our main luggage," Roland answered, knowing that their main cameras and recording equipment were safe in Sophie's carry on, held under her arm at the moment, "then we'd go to the hotel to await the arrival test results..."
"You tested negative before the flight, yes?" the Horizon doctor asked, to which Sophie and Roland both nodded, "then you should be fine... as what you'll be covering is the first Animalian who caught Covid 19..."
The gasp that both Pterodactylus Dinotopians gave was quite audible, and it hovered over both of them as they went about collecting their bags. Neither of them could have thought of this. It was theoretically possible, given some of the news reports on animals catching it from Humans, from pet cats to even tigers in the Bronx Zoo, but there was just something about Animalians that left them thinking that something like this wouldn't happen.
"How did this happen?" Sophie asked as they walked along.
"Is he or she alright?" Roland asked as well as they got to the baggage claim and they began selecting out their bags.
"For the moment... yes," the Horizon doctor spoke, "though a lot of that will be handled once we get to Skull Island. We have some things set up so that you can talk with her and those she came in contact with at Dinotopia Aquatica that we haven't gotten results back from yet... and she has agreed to an interview for Animalia Ambassadoria, and primarily with you two, since you are both Dinotopians and familiar with the island already."
Sophie and Roland nodded, accepting the rather broad use of the word "Dinotopian" for any prehistoric Animalian that wasn't from the Cenozoic Era. Pterosaurs were related to Dinosaurs, but they were still both different animal lineages. They were separate groups of Animals and the Marine Reptiles that made most of Dinotopia Aquatica were even more distantly related. Ty, who'd become a species of Mosasaur, was an Animalian who's species was actually more closely related to snakes monitor lizards than any dinosaur. The fact that an Animalian caught Covid 19 was newsworthy, and they felt probably should have been reported to the major news networks, but given how they'd been covering other events, they supposed some of it was to try and avoid any partisan spin. Though some of that could ultimately be inevitable, given that Animalia Ambassadoria ultimately got attacked by conservatives for at times voicing criticism of the president and occasionally by liberals for being rather open about things like sex and "body image" issues.
"I will see to it that you're checked into your hotel room first," the Horizon doctor spoke, "if it weren't for this pandemic... the story might just be on how Dinotopia Aquatica is drawing in tourists with and you'd have a guest room set up on the island as there are a few open apartments that could be used as "guest space," but with everything... while we can guarantee you a safe space for the interviews... it might be safer for you to stay somewhere else..."
"Assuming someone in the hotel's staff isn't carrying it," Sophie gave a fearful sigh...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Getting the hotel room proved to be the easy part, and Sophie and Roland were happy to have the same room, but their worries over what the Horizon doctor had told them didn't make things any easier. While it was possible, given things, the fact that Animalians had seemed to thus far avoid contracting Covid 19 and created the idea that contracting the disease would seem unlikely. But then it might be possible that Animalians had largely gotten lucky earlier and that this time their good luck had run out. And it turned out that the one who'd ended up with Covid 19 was Molly, the Dolichorhynchops Dinotopian. Both Sophie and Roland gave a depressed frown, though this couldn't really be seen since they were still wearing their protective masks.
Molly was the one waiting for them in a specialized ward in the medical area in the medical area on Skull Island. The room set up for the interview was complete with one bed along he wall and a decent sized desk in the middle of the room, but had a large plastic divide that ran across the desk that Sophie and Roland both noticed as they came in and saw Molly seated at the desk. She didn't look too bad in that she wasn't wheezing or coughing, at least not hard. The only thing that they noticed was that the color of her scales was a bit duller than normal. It was largely the same color they'd always been, but just to a duller shade than what it should be.
"You're sure you'd want to do this?" Sophie asked, "as this would... report things to the world, as it were."
"I'm sure it would... but there is nothing against me saying it," Molly answered before looking down to give a small cough into her lap, "but to a certain extent things can't be hidden forever... and at the same time, this state has seemed to be so backward on everything that some of this should be told... at least as a warning to those that may think our presence cancels out the present Corona Virus or that we're somehow immune."
Sophie nodded as Roland finished setting up the camera stand and gave a thumbs up to indicate that it could catch Sophie and Roland on one side of the desk and then Molly on the other side of the desk and the plastic divider that had been set up. Roland moved to hit record and then moved to sit down next to Sophie and the two turned to address the camera as it recorded.
"This is Sophie Albers," Sophie spoke.
"And Roland Luwrie," Roland added, "and we're coming to you from the medical ward on Skull Island with a release of information that until now was only feared among Animalians... that they can catch Covid 19, which is presently spreading around the country and giving many medical professionals fits. With us is Molly, one of the first Aquatic Dinotopians and the first Animalian to catch Covid 19."
"We must ask... how are you feeling, all things considered?" Sophie asked.
"I'm not too bad," Molly answered sitting back and making sure the plastic shield was between her and the two Pterodactylus Dinotopians, "the Horizon doctors here have run all sorts of tests and scans... that are more uncomfortable than anything else. From what they say is that the combination of Animal and Human that exists in Animalian immune systems seems robust enough to avoid the worst of the damage that could lead to death as a result of the virus..."
"So... you're expected to recover?" Roland asked hopefully.
"Recover... yes," Molly nodded, "but not automatically immune and incapable of getting the disease, obviously. Which would mean that treating a Covid patient with the Animalia Virus might cure their Covid 19 situation... but the new Animalian could still catch Covid 19 again as the "cure" would essentially be introducing a wildcard that doesn't actually present what the Horizon doctors called a normal immune response. It's just playing to the odd characteristics of the Animalia Virus."
Sophie and Roland both slowly nodded.
"Molly..." Sophie began slowly, "can you say HOW you got infected?"
"Yes... I mean... states like Florida tried to avoid shutting down longer and opened up sooner... and in many ways opened up faster than other parts of the country," Roland added, "and while most Animalian colonies have managed to avoid major spikes in their areas, including Dino City, you've admitted to being the first to catch the present disease."
Molly nodded, "I suppose we here on Skull Island got lucky in the Spring. Particularly as Florida's governor didn't want to close beaches, many of which never fully closed, and then were among the first to reopen. And given that those of us here at Dinotopia Aquatica have our jobs largely focused on some things related to the tourist trade, either with Skull Island or with the nearby beaches where we have work as life guards or "anti-shark patrol" agents... that's kept all of us fairly active. Thankfully we didn't get too many people needing rescuing then... but that obviously changed here in the summer, particular as everything opened up again."
She then sighed and continued as Sophie and Roland looked on, "we tried to give a warning that the case numbers were still too high and that going to the beach wouldn't stop the spike in cases. But many of the employers running the beaches and the governor emphasized that the economy was more important and that since it's just the "flu," complaining was weak and would justify firing us... So we resumed our respective jobs, trying to earn a paycheck."
"And that's how you caught Covid 19?" Roland asked.
"It was a few days ago," Molly answered, "some guy who'd had WAY too much to drink just wandered out into the ocean and then fell in. I was on the scene and sent in after him as he managed to thrash his way out into deeper water calling for help as he went." She paused to scratch the back of her head for a moment and then continued, "I got him back to shore, but he managed to cough all over my face. At first, I thought it was just because he was plastered... and his friends weren't of much help but things began popping up the next morning. It'd felt a bit sore and achy and not related rescuing that drunk swimmer. Nervous over things, I applied for a test here at Horizon and gave a leave of absence noting fears of infection after that encounter with the drunk swimmer."
"And he had it?" Sophie asked.
"He had to... he did show some symptoms, but I'd assumed it was just because he was drunk and I'd just gotten him out of the ocean," Molly answered, "and he and his buddies soon left, so it wasn't like we could double check... but my test did come back positive. And while Horizon's doctors expect me to recover... I have had a slight cough at times, I've had some achy joints, and all sorts of other issues... They may have been mild but still present."
"Do you know if he flew here?" Sophie asked, thinking on the upcoming July Four weekend.
"No..." Molly sighed, "but regardless of that... the fact still remains that people should be smart with this. One dumb drunk coughing all over my face was enough to get me sick, even outside. It's gotten most of those that weren't there also in quarantine for fear that I might have passed it along... and essentially has Skull Island shut down as a result and likely all of us out of a job for the rest of the summer because of recovery from Covid or the fear that it's spread already... All because some guys decided it was a hoax because they didn't like the lock-downs in the spring and felt they should be free... I'm probably not the only one that guy has gotten sick... and that's the frightening thing."
"Has anyone else tested positive?" Roland asked.
"So far no... but then the only ones we have confirmed results on are with Ty and Nessa," Molly answered, "and they tested negative, but the others we haven't heard from... yet."
"Can I ask... but why haven't you double dosed to beat the disease?" Sophie asked, "I mean... you are already an Animalian..."
"I could... but I want to beat this on my own terms," Molly answered, "maybe that'd help Horizon get a vaccine against Covid for Animalians... or at least for Dinotopians."
"That's quite brave," Sophie complemented Molly.
"It's the best I can do," Molly answered.