Chapter 38 - Plagued
We need medicine and lots of it.
We needed the antidote for the case of influenza that threatened to plague our home.
"Where could we find it?" I question Dr. Kings as he stands across the hallway from me.
"The hospital would have it."
The hospital. Of course, it would. The only problem is, that place is overrun otherwise we'd have cleared it out months ago. By overrun, I'm meaning dead from floor to ceiling. We'd need an elaborate plan to get what we needed out of that place.
"What exactly do we need?"
"Oseltamivir, Zanamivir, Peramivir, and Baloxavir. Those are the medications you should look for."
My mind is repeating the names over and over in my head. "We'll leave as soon as we can. Keep this under control."
He shakes his head. "I'm afraid it may be too late..."
I bite my lip and quickly turn around, jogging down the hall as Dr. Kings goes back into the infirmary.
Oseltamivir, Zanamivir, Peramivir, Bolaxavir. Oseltamivir, Zanamivir, Peramivir, Bolaxavir. Oseltamivir, Zanamivir, Peramivir, Bolaxavir.
"Fletch! Oh thank god,"
Fletch is standing in the common quarters, anxiously tapping his foot.
"How bad is it?"
"I've got the list of meds we need, but we have to get them from the hospital."
"Didn't you say that place was overrun?"
I nod quickly. "We're gonna need a plan before we go in there but there's no other way. Living in such close quarters, this thing could spread quickly if we don't stop it now."
I hear a cough in the distance and suddenly I'm alert to the room of travelers beside me.
"Who was that?" I say, raising my voice and turning to the group.
They all look at me and Fletch standing in front of them. I stare down the rows of cots with people occupying them.
"Who was it?" I ask again, my voice sounding concerned.
Everyone seems to be quieting down as they look around at each other.
Then it happens again. Another cough, this one much more prominent in the quiet.
"It was Devin!" A voice shouts as they point a finger.
I slowly move down the rows with Fletch following slowly behind me.
I stop a few cots away from the accused.
"Devin, are you feeling okay?"
Devin is a kind-hearted black man that had stopped in a few days ago. His black baseball cap lay on the cot beside him instead of on his head like it usually would.
"Yeah, yeah. Of course, it's just my allergies."
I purse my lips together. Did I dare to tell them about the flu?
"Are you sure?"
He nods again. "Yeah, it always happens this time of year."
Fletch steps in. "There's a flu bug, three people went to the infirmary with it." He announces to the group.
It was the right choice. They deserved to know if they were in danger.
There's a murmur of whispers and conversation as we watch the group.
"Wait, do you think I have the flu?" Devin questions.
I sigh. "It's contagious, anybody could have caught it."
Another murmur among them.
"That's why I need to know; are you sick?"
Devin sighs heavily. "I don't know man."
"For, everyone's safety, will you go into quarantine?"
He nods slowly. "Yeah, I don't want no one else gettin' sick."
I breathe a sigh of relief and whisper a 'thank god' under my breath. He slowly gets up from his cot, a little shaky on his feet.
Fletch and I both take a step back and are followed by everyone else around him. Suddenly there was sickness looming over us. Nobody wanted to catch it.
"And anybody else, who's been feeling at all ill or sick or anything out of the normal, please let us put you in quarantine. We want to keep this from spreading as much as we can..." I tell them and anxiously watch as a few more people stand up. The others around them quickly moving away.
"Thank you," Fletch says.
Fletch and I leave with all of the new quarantine members in tow. There's an eerie sense of walking through a group of people with the sick and possibly dying following behind you. Hoping that you'll save them. Praying that you can make it better.
Ahri is standing at the end of it all, watching as we get closer.
"Ahri, I need you to back up."
"What's going on?" She asks, taking a few steps back. Not nearly far enough.
"These people are sick, we're taking them to Dr. Kings to get treated."
She moves farther away as we get closer to her.
I see Luna coming in from the shutter area.
"Luna, make sure Ahri is safely away from the sick."
That's when it changes.
She coughs.
It was too late, she was sick.
Luna stops moving towards her.
I stop moving with the other sick people.
"Fletch, uh, take them... take them to, to quarantine..." I don't hear his response as I watch Ahri.
She coughs again, this time it sounds rougher.
"Ahri, do you feel okay?"
She shrugs. "I'm a little sore and tired..."
Muscle aches. Fatigue.
She coughs again.
Dry insistent cough.
I see Devin out of the corner of my eye, he keeps his distance as he looks to me.
"I'll take care of her." He says.
I choke on my words as I stare silently with horror. What if she didn't make it?
Luna chimes in. "Sasha, she, she needs to go."
I nod slowly. "I know."
Ahri doesn't even seem confused about it.
"I'm sick, aren't I?"
I nod again. "I think so..."
Devin moves towards her. "You can come with me, we can keep each other company."
I nod once more. "Devin will be with you in there."
She nods back, a slight smile on her face. "I'll be fine." She assures me as she walks towards Devin.
We counter each other to keep our distance.
Devin glances back at me as they walk away. He gives me a reassuring nod and they continue down the hall.
Luna quickly gets to me. "She'll be okay, she will..." Her voice is a little shaky.
Mine is worse. "I think... I think I need to uh, lie down..."
She nods. "Are you alright?"
I shake my head. "No, but I'll find a way. You and Fletch, start uh, figuring out how we're gonna get the... medicine out of the, uh hospital..."
I leave her to find Fletch and go to my room instead. There's a dead silence that's fallen into the room. I lay on my cot to try and catch my breath.
At least ten people were sick, including Ahri... She's so young and susceptible to the disease. It would be so much easier for her to fall from it...
So many people were sick and could possibly die...
The thoughts spun in my head. I didn't know what would happen to us, to them, to Ahri. The only thing I did know, was that we were plagued.
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A/N: Oh no, young Ahri has fallen ill... What will come of this?! Wait for the next chapters to find out ;) Don't forget to vote and comment on these chapters! I want to see your guys' reactions to the events so leave a comment. Make a joke about something, tell me how worried you are for Ahri, let me know your predictions, you can do anything like that in the comments so be sure to drop a comment! Also, don't forget to vote :)
~Xx THΔT RΣDΠΣCҜ
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