"I can't whip up a skin graft out of thin air! That would take a long time, longer than you're probably willing to wait for," Jennifer replied, her voice starting to rise with anger, but she fought it down. Tess didn't necessarily know that, but she was starting to get frustrated. "Look. I'm doing the best I can with what I have in this room and the little information you've given me. If you're not going to let me leave to get more help, and you can't accept that I won't cause any more harm to you than I have to..."

She drifted off. She'd been about to say "you may as well shoot me and get it over with", but that would likely have been a mistake, even with the man there to talk some sense into her captor. Provoking them was not on her list of priorities.

"I can't do more than what I've told you. I won't. Bottom line. Take it or leave it, but I can tell you right now that any other medics you might find would tell you the exact same thing I'm telling you." Jennifer took a shaky breath. "At least tell me why you're going to this extreme. Why is this fungus so dangerous?"