The Last Plague

Chapter One: A Beginning

Monday; the day it began. Nothing was out of place that day. I drove to work, did my job, then came home. The weather was chilly and dark, a light rain pouring from outside. Clouds hung heavily in the sky, and I felt relief at the cool weather.

The weather felt eerie as I drove home. There wasn't anything worrying about the day, just the news. The news had been talking about several mysterious deaths that couldn't be tracked down. I just ignored it and thought it was the media trying to get more attention. About a dozen cases of missing people had been reported; nobody knew anything about it.

I was calm and knew almost nothing of the cases. I was always one to ignore the news. I stayed at home and would read to myself. I always found comfort in journaling. Writing down things was relieving to me. I was also a large reader. I'd read almost every book I could find. I was single and living in my own small home. I had windows looking out to my neighborhood. I mostly kept to myself, staying in my house; I only left my home to go to work and shop.

I didn't have any family. My last family member was my mom, but she died when I was nineteen. I had to move out into my own home. I almost raised myself. My parents were often sick and they both died at young ages. After a few years, I was able to have my own life. I got a job, bought a house, and lived alone. I lived a normal life. Of course, sometimes I was lonely, but I was happy usually.

It was the break of dawn when I woke up that Monday morning. I made myself a small breakfast and sat down to watch the news. There was a report about a lab having an emergency. The scientist there seemed embarrassed to talk about what happened. They told everyone to be careful and report anything strange. The man talking on the camera seemed dazed. He talked in a monotonous way and his eyes kept drifting to the sides. He seemed worried, but he acted slightly drunk. The report closed with a woman talking to the camera and warning everyone in the area to be alert.

I ignored the report and got ready to go to work. While driving there I could see many police walking around the area. There wasn't anywhere I could find that didn't have an officer searching. They all seemed to be searching the ground around them. I wondered what could have been that small that they were looking for. Work was the same thing it had always been and I came home. Nothing had changed, except for the constant talks about disappearing people. I turned on the news again to see what was happening.

A man appeared on the screen. "I want to apologize for the damage we may have just caused. A test has escaped from our laboratory. We want to advise everyone in this area to stay inside. This test has a contagious disease that may be fatal," he started, sounding like he'd memorized a speech. "We do not want any harm to come to anyone. If you would please stay indoors and not go outside until we have captured our test, we would appreciate it," he finished as the news report ended.

"I want to apologize for the damage we may have just caused." What a sick joke. Who does this man think he is? I don't know—but he sounds like a total idiot. He wanted to apologize for the damage he "may have just caused." That's an understatement. If the only thing he'll do for destroying the human race is give an apology, then he deserves to be the first one dead. Whether that sounds dark or not, I don't care; I care that he had destroyed everything.

~Trina

I stayed inside, but not because of the report. There was nothing for me to do outside, and there was a light rain out. I stayed indoors and read, not knowing what else to do. I felt relaxed as I read my book. I sat in my chair, glancing occasionally out the window.

The rain provided a dark and tiring view outside. I eventually fell asleep.

I didn't get the warning until the next morning. My neck was sore from sleeping in the chair, but I didn't mind. While waking up Tuesday I went out of my house to grab the newspaper. I saw a paper hanging on my door, just barely flowing in the wind outside. I was confused; I hadn't gotten any notice like that in my years of living there. Of course, I walked up and grabbed it. It was an evacuation notice.