The Haze

Chapter 10

Chapter 10 is written from the perspective of Cassie Rose.
8:50 pm

I grab a hammer and a plank of wood. They're actually kind of heavier than you'd think. The wood, not the hammer.
I watch the others for a moment and take note of how they are doing the hammering. Not touching the glass, but nailing it just to the window's wooden frame. I got this. I begin to hammer.
With all 8 of us working together, we manage to finish the main hallway and most of the rooms within it in just a few hours.
We move upstairs and begin to board the upstairs. I look around at everyone working and see Stephanie isn't doing anything at all. Typical! I want to yell at her to get up off her butt, but she doesn't look good at all.
Stephanie is pale looking and her eyes are kind of a shade of pink. I rest my hammer on the ground and walk over to her.
"Stephanie? Why aren't you helping? Are you ok?" I try to say as nicely as possible. Stephanie looks at me.
"Do I look ok?" She says kind of aggressively. Dean and Jacob turn around and look at us.
"What's going on?" I ask. Tristan stops and turns around suddenly.
"It's the air isn't it? It made her sick, and we will probably all get sick too," Tristan says.
"That means that the people who left probably got sick, or are going to get sick too." Katie says.
"Well they're obviously not dying, or need serious help because they would've come back or something," Lane says. I nod slightly. I guess that makes sense.
"Then why aren't we sick yet," I ask, "why is Stephanie suddenly sick but we aren't yet?" Tristan hesitates for a moment.
"I think it just happens to be a random chance that she got it before we di-" Isabelle suddenly starts speaking
"No." Isabelle says. She stares at the ground, everyone else completely silent.
"Izz, I think we just need to-" I start to protest, but she speaks again. Isabelle steps forward.
"You were exposed to the air outside. We weren't. When you went to your car, you stood out there for a minute and took in the haze." Isabelle says.
"Is that really what we're calling it? 'The Haze?'" Katie asks sarcastically.
"What would you like to call it Princess Katie?" I say jokingly.
"What about The Black Plague?" Katie asks. We all just stare at her.
"What? Is that already taken?" She asks, seeming lost. We ignore her. Tristan suddenly starts asking her questions.
"Did you feel sick as soon as you came back in? Is that why your eyes were instantly red when you came back? Is that why-" I put my hand on his arm and stop him.
I glance at Isabelle and she gives me a look. I immediately put my hand down and speak.
"I think she's just under a lot of stress right now and needs a minute to recooperate," I say.
"Right," Tristan says.