Olivia Marie - Virus

Getting as close to the front entrance as possible, I put the car in park, then climbed out. I didn’t know whether stepping through the doors of the hospital was the smartest decision; there were sick people inside, possibly several dealing with the virus. Still, I knew if anyone had an idea of what any of us should do, it would be Jake.

The screech of the automatic entry door made me jump back as my heart leaped into my throat. “It’s just the door, Cammy,” I told myself needing to hear my own voice to avoid the silence. Using my shirt to cover my nose and mouth, I stepped through the waiting door in hopes of finding someone who knew what was going on.

I’ve always hated utter silence. Back in high school, I played music while doing my homework. In college, I stayed in the common room during most of the evening. The hospital normally bustled with nurses, doctors, and visitors. The complete abandonment felt like something out of a horror movie.

A shriek tore through the silence, echoing down the halls. I fell to my knees, covering my head, while I whispered a silent prayer in my mind. I closed my eyes tight, hoping if there were people like my dad and brother in here, they can’t move about the hospital freely.

“Have you heard back from the CDC yet? They said they would be in touch within the hour.”

Hearing a normal voice attempting to speak over the yelling, I looked up to see a woman in a nurse’s uniform speaking to someone on the phone. Immediately, relief flooded me. No matter what happened from this point on, I knew there were others here and I wasn’t alone. Feeling a new wave of adrenaline take me, I hurried down the hall, my legs instantly taking off at a run.

“Hello. Hello, can you help me?” I called out as I tightened the gap between me and the nurse up ahead.

I watched as she turned toward me, a surgical mask covering her face. “Are you infected?” she asked instantly as she took a step back from me.

“No, not that I know of.”

“You shouldn’t be in here, then. There is a contagion. The virus is spreading at an alarming rate.”

“I didn’t know where else to go. I came to find Dr. Jake Hammond. Is he here?”

I saw her posture change. Her shoulders slumped and a muffled sigh escaped her lips. “He’s here, but…”

The sound of her voice sent a wave of dread through me. Not Jake too. Please. I can’t take another one of the people I care about falling at the hands of this damn thing. “Where is he? Jake?” I called out, letting my voice carry down the hallway. “Jake!” I yelled, tired of waiting for answers.

“He’s in the room at the end of the hallway,” she finally answered, a cut in her voice no one could deny. “You move through here at your own risk. We aren’t responsible for anything you may contract,” I heard her snap as she tossed one of the masks toward me.

I grabbed the mask, using it to cover my mouth and nose properly, as I kept moving down the hallway. I could hear raised voices in the distance. I opened my mouth to call out for Jake again when movement to my right caught my eye. The man moving toward me didn’t seem to be a threat at first, then I noticed the oozing sores on the side of his neck. I looked down, seeing his leg visible from beneath his hospital gown. Half of his calf was gone, obviously being eaten by the virus.

“Stay back,” I told him as I tried to move past the room he was stepping out of.

“Help me.”

I turned, wanting to avoid being touched again by someone with the virus. Instead of moving away, I found myself rushing forward against someone else I hadn’t realized was there. Feeling their hands grip my arms, I screamed, realizing just how big of a mistake coming here had actually been. I struggled, feeling fingers dig into my arms as I did. If this was truly the end, I wasn’t going down without a fight.

I saw a piece of paper laying on the ground in the room they shoved me in and bent down to pick it up. Turning it over, I read it.

You’ve likely heard about the unknown virus that is spreading in the news. While the immediate health risk remains low to Americans and there isn’t a vaccine yet, there are still ways that you can help prevent the spread of this virus.

To prevent the spread of this illness or other illnesses, including the flu:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water,

• Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze,

• Stay home when you’re sick, and

• See your doctor if you think you’re ill.

Visit The Centers for Disease Control website for more information on the virus, including what you should know about symptoms, treatments, testing, and other frequently asked questions.

I looked at the date and saw it was sent five days ago. Five days was all it took for the town I had lived in my whole life to be consumed by whatever this was. Five days to change families forever. Five days and everyone who was first infected was already dead.

My stomach dropped and I vomited all over the floor. Reaching up to see if I had a fever, it was impossible to tell with how cold and clammy my hands were. I walked over to the station in the room and dug in the top drawer for the ear scanner.

98.6

No fever. I moved to the bed to grab my coat. Looking it over, I tossed it in the bin with the hazmat symbol. It was covered in the puss from Tim’s hands. I would have to find another coat to put on and since most of the staff had bolted hours ago, I was sure I could find one easily.

I wasn’t going to stand on the sidelines no matter what and if they thought I would because I was grabbed, none of them knew me at all. In my short-sleeved scrubs, I felt exposed to whatever was out there. I put on a new pair of gloves to at least protect my hands. They weren’t sure how this virus was spreading, but they were pretty sure it was by contact. If I could keep them off my skin, I might have a chance to make it out of here alive.

I opened the door slowly and looked down the hall. I heard screams and panic the second the door was cracked. It sounded louder than before I was shoved in the room by Matt, and that only meant more patients.

“Are you okay? How are you feeling? You really should be lying down,” Marissa said walking toward me without taking a breath.

“I’m fine. He never touched me.”

“Really? ‘Cause I was sure his hands were on you. Maybe you should wait it out and see if things change. What if you have it now?”

“I promise you, I don’t. My skin never touched his. Look at this. Have you seen this before?”

I handed her the paper with the warning from the government on it.

“No.” Her nose wrinkled under the mask making it move up her face. She flipped the paper over and over as if it would tell her something different if she did it enough.

“I didn’t see it either, but it was sent five days ago. This is spreading faster than they thought.”

“That isn’t all. At first, it seemed to only hit the old, young, or companied. Obviously with Tim, it is hitting all of us now. But there is something even stranger. Come on. Explaining it won’t work. You have to see it yourself.”

I followed her to the lower level of the hospital just past the emergency department. I looked outside as we moved past the front glass doors and my heart hurt. I saw bodies littering the entrance to the patient drop-off. Ones that tried to reach us for help but couldn’t make it inside.

“What is that smell?” I covered my face with my hand and tried to breathe through my mouth. It didn’t help and I could taste it.

“The dead are decaying faster than normal and with nobody to get the corpses out and the air conditioning out, they are starting to smell pretty bad.”