AM13 Outbreak Shorts

Quarantine - Twelve

I snap my head around in shock, feeling even worse than I did before. The boy I see standing in the doorway looks like he's at death's door, but that might have more to do with the mangled corpse on the floor than anything else. He's staring at it much more intently than I dare to myself.

"What have you done to her?" he repeats, sounding like his world might've just come to an end.

"We had to," Dave growls back, his temper overshadowing his empathy right now. Although, now that I think about it, I don't know if he ever had any to start with. "She was infected, she came for me."

"But...but..."

He staggers backwards with tears in his eyes. As his skin turns an even deeper shade of white I recognise that if we let him go right now, he'll rush right out into the crowds of already stressed people, and he'll make it a million times worse.

The last thing we need right now is a panic.

"Please." I step closer to him, but he continues to reverse. "Please, wait there. I know this must be a shock to you..."

"A shock?" he snaps angrily back. "A shock? You lot have murdered my sister. She's dead."

He's hysterical, I need to choose my next words very carefully. "You cannot go back out into the hallway, it's dangerous out there."

"It's dangerous in here." His breaths fall raggedly out of his mouth, but at least he's stopped moving. "What do you expect me to think? My sister runs off and I find her in here like...like this?"

"This situation is new to us all. No one knows how to react to this virus..."

"Isn't this the specialist medical facility? If anyone should know, it's you guys."

I'll admit, he has me there. "This virus is unlike anything the world has ever seen before," I try my best to be diplomatic. "We are all learning together."

"And my sister had to die while you all 'learn'?"

As he runs his fingers through his hair, I spot another sight that makes me want to weep. Just as I thought we were going to calm this situation down I can see blood running through the sleeve of his hoodie. It looks like the sort of damage that could only come from a bite wound, and the mood that he's in right now, if Dave sees this then we'll all be in trouble.

"Please, come with me." I try to communicate my desperation with my eyes, but all I receive is a blank look back. "I will take you to a private room where we can discuss this properly. You can ask me all of the questions that I'm sure you must have."

The boy doesn't answer me, but I don't give him the chance to, instead I spin and mouth frantically at Dave 'get this cleaned up!' He nods sharply but doesn't look like he appreciates the command. I don't really care anymore, we just need to do what needs to be done.

I walk briskly through the hallway until we reach one of the offices. No one has been in here for days, and quite frankly it's a mess. I know that we'll be safe here.

"Now, what is your name?" I ask as I take a seat. Despite what's happened, I want to build up some form of bond with him...although he doesn't look too thrilled by the idea.

"Eric," he mutters, crossing his arm across his body like a belligerent teenager. I suppose he might actually be a teenager, it's difficult to tell these days.

"Okay, Eric, well I'm sure you understand how sorry I am about your sister, that should never have happened."

"What are you gunna do about it? Surely you have to make it up to me somehow."

Is he asking what I think he's asking? "Erm, I'm not too sure. Protocol is...sketchy." I need to get down to business before this becomes a blackmailing situation. "But I have already seen that you have a bite on your arm, so now I am concerned as to what will become of you now."

"I haven't been bitten."

"Then where did all that blood come from?"

"None of your business."

Clearly, we're in a standoff now. "Look, Eric, despite what you might think of me right now, I'm here to help you."

"Oh yeah? What can you do? Kill me?"

"No, I don't want to kill you. I want to protect you."

"How will you do that?" His face twists up into an angry sneer. "It's pretty obvious from being in this hell hole that anyone infected will end up dead. Maybe even the one's that aren't, so maybe you should just kill me."

"No, I want to put a stop to this, I'm intending to fix it."

"You?" He raises his eyebrows in that disbelieving way that everyone gives me when I mention my plan. "On your own? You have no hope."

I didn't want to do it alone, but I can't exactly call up Ryan now, can I? How damn embarrassing.

"You don't know that. I have to at least try, I can't just let this happen."

"I suppose it's good that someone is," he answers begrudgingly. "But I'm warning you that it's a waste of time. This is it, this is the end of the world."

"I won't let that happen." I smile as I rise. "Now, if you want some privacy, you can stay in here for a while. No one will disturb you."

As I leave the room I feel more determined than ever before. The more people try to put me down, the more I'm certain I can do this.

I will.