Suddenly, MPs and medics were running around like crazy, taking everyone's canteens away. The water truck was now off-limits with several MPs posted around it. Bottled water was brought in so that everyone could stay hydrated. Rumors ran rampant that something may have contaminated the camp's water supply. Sean and Xavier were soon discovered and kept in strict quarantine to make sure that they wouldn't infect anyone else. After the water was sent for analysis, these suspicions were found to be correct: there was some strange never before seen virus running rampant through the water. There was still some concern that the virus might have other vectors of delivery other than the water, so nobody was allowed to touch the two new satyrs or even touch anything that they touched.
All the U.S. Army camps throughout Iraq were going through the same procedure of checking the water, but most were uncontaminated. However, after the minotaurs and horse-men had been found elsewhere, the Army was taking no chances in having outbreaks of other animal-men. It was pure luck that they had caught the satyr virus from spreading any further. Military intelligence quickly tried to figure out why these three groups were affected and nobody else. They quickly searched for any factors in common. Geography was quickly ruled out. It could have been a random terrorist act of course, but they searched through the files of the affected soldiers to see if they had any contacts in common. Perhaps they knew the terrorist who had begun these transformations?
They discovered that John Rollins, the first minotaur, was the cousin of Jack, the first horse-man. And they both were friends with Xavier, the first satyr. So the authorities back home in the U.S. were informed to go searching any friends or family of John, Jack, and Xavier, since there was an obvious connection. Eventually, they came upon fourteen year old Trevor who was still masturbating in front of his computer as they came bashing their way in to his home. After seeing something on his computer mentioning a contagious minotaur transformation, he was arrested and his computer confiscated while the government officials tried to figure out just what Trevor had been up to.
Meanwhile, back with Xavier and Sean:
They didn't have any clothes that fit and the army didn't have anything even close to large enough. So, while they could improvise something to cover their nakedness (towels and such), it was easier for them to just be naked when they were alone together, which was almost always the case due to the quarantine. They were shipped back to a vet hospital back in the U.S. since they were considered to be ill. They encountered a number of doctors in biohazard suits doing various tests on them, hoping to find some way to stop the satyr-virus from being so contagious. Unfortunately, all they had discovered was that the virus was in their bodily fluids, much like a sexually transmitted disease, so they were told that they mustn't come into contact with any humans, including spitting on them, bleeding on them, or having sex with them. They had not yet discovered if the virus could be transmitted in other ways, such as mere touch. Until more tests were done, the two satyrs were being kept in isolation. They were told that something similar was happening with the other mutations, the minotaurs and horse-men. Sean thought it odd though that of all the other victims she heard of, she was the only one that had become female.
At times, Sean felt a bit regretful about Rachel. What would Sean tell her? What could Sean tell her? The army planned to tell Rachel that Sean was missing in combat. That didn't make Sean feel much better about the life with Rachel that Sean had lost. But now, she had Xavier, so what more could she need?