Please Stand By

Chapter 5

Trevor walked out of the bathroom. Nobody in the family was able to believe what they had just witnessed. Trevor felt disturbed and dirty all over. He desperately wanted to take a shower. He gazed out at his family in living room. His parents were currently discussing how to handle the situation. DeShawn was doing research on his laptop. Harmony had walked into the kitchen. Cain and Jade were talking to each other. He walked over to Cain and Jade.

"Everything okay with you two?" He asked
"Says the one that just threw up." Cain said sarcastically. Both of the boys laughed.
Jade suddenly perked up. "Cain!" Cain looked at her, a little surprised by the sudden outburst of his name. "What is it?" He replied.
She gave him one word in response, "Wolf."
"Shit!" Cain exclaimed. "I almost forgot about him."
"Whose Wolf?" Trevor asked.
"Wolf," Cain replied. "is Jade's service dog. He helps with anxiety."
"We left him at my friends place thinking we'd only be here a few days." Jade commented.
"Well," Trevor started. "hate to break it to you but we're in quarantine. So unless your friend lives close by, you're gonna have to wait until all of this blows over."
"She doesn't live too far." Jade said. "It's maybe a 20 minute drive with traffic. Do you think it's cool to get him?"
"Yeah," Cain replied. He turned to face his parents. "Hey mom, dad." His parents turned to look at him. "You remember how I told you about Jades dog, Wolf? Can we bring him here? He's really important to Jade." His parents looked at each other. They both nodded in response and went back to discussing a plan. "Alright," Cain said. "I'll get my shoes and the keys and we can go."

                                            ***
Cain and Jade got in the car, Cain in the drivers seat and Jade in the passengers.
"You alright babe?" Cain asked.
"I will be once Wolf is here." She replied.
He gently put a hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna get him Jade. Give me the address." She gave him the address and they went on their way.

                                         ***
"So this is your friends house?" Cain asked as he parked.
"Yeah, Alana." Jade replied.
They went to the door and knocked on it. A young lady with blond hair and a turquoise sweater opened the door. "Jade!" She screamed. The two girls hugged as though they were sisters who have not seen each other in years.
"So nice to see a familiar face!" Alan said when the hug ended. She looked at Cain. "Whose this?"
"This is my boyfriend, Cain." She explained. "We were staying at his parents place for thanksgiving but now we're staying there until all of this blows over."
Cain and Alana shook hands. "Correction, love," Cain said. "I'm your fiancé."
Jade blushed. "Right. My apologies, I'm gonna have to get used to that."
"Well," Alana said. "when were you going to tell me, Jade?" Alana turned to face Cain. "You hurt Jade and I will be the last thing you want to see. Understand?"
Cain smiled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Alana turned to Jade. "I suppose you're here for Wolf?" She asked.
"Yeah," Jade said. "I just didn't want to lose him with everything that's been going on."
"I understand." Alana said. "Come on in."
The couple entered Alana's house. It was a small and rather cozy seeming place. Jade heard footsteps running towards them from the kitchen. Suddenly, a St. Bernard came running into the room. Jade got down on her knees, greeting the dog with pets and the well known high pitched puppy voice.
"It's good that you came today." Alana said. "I'm leaving tomorrow."
"For what?" Jade asked, getting the leash that Alana handed to her onto Wolf.
"Florida. I'm gonna live with my cousins. They say it's the safest place to be right now."
"Are you gonna come back?" Jade asked.
"Oh when this all blows over I'll be back in a heartbeat!" Alana replied
"Good for you for having a plan." Cain said.
Alana smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be back for the wedding."
"I'm sure you will." Jade replied.

                                       ***
Cain brought the food bag into the house and set it by the stairs. Jade put the food bowl next to it. Harmony looked at Wolf and instantly smiled. Any stress she had seemed to evaporate from her body. She walked over to Wolf and, with the same voice Jade used, bent down to greet the gentle giant.
"Jade," Harmony said. "Have you eaten anything yet today?"
"Oh!" Cain said. "That's right! Let's eat some breakfast. Jade you want a bagel?" Jade nodded in response.

They went to the kitchen. The twins looked at Jade and Cain.
"You're back!" Trevor said, bending down to pet Wolf.
"I found out a some information on the beasts," DeShawn explained. "and I was waiting for you two to return so that I could tell everyone at once."
"Where are your parents?" Jade asked.
"I already told them when they were outside. They're trying to monster-proof the house." DeShawn explained.
Jade sat down at the table beside DeShawn as Cain plopped a bagel into the toaster. "What did you find?" She asked.

"First of all," DeShawn started. "I found out that we can't get within ten feet of these things. They radiate poisonous gas that'll do one of two things. Either it'll turn you into one of them or it'll kill you over the span of a few days."
"I have some carbon filter and n95 masks for if we need to go out." Harmony chimed in.
"That'll be perfect Harmony." DeShawn said.

"How the fuck do you just have those, conveniently?" Trevor asked. 

"I'm a nurse. I keep spare masks in my car." Harmony replied/.   
"What are the side effects of both of these? Death and being turned I mean." Jade asked. Cain set the bagel down in front of Jade. She thanked him as he sat next to her.
"So, either of these events happening are totally random, it doesn't seem like the monsters choose a person on purpose to have either affect. However, when one of these creatures poisons someone, slowly killing them, the side effects are nausea, vomiting, being unable to eat or having no appetite, dizziness, fainting spells, and fatigue. Turning into one of them however, is different. The affects here are uncontrolled emotions, red and or puffy eyes, swollen parts of the skin, aching joints, itchy skin, and, of course, any signs of turning into a monster such as skin mutation or discoloration. Some people say with the itchy skin that it feels like bugs crawling in your skin."
Jade shivered at the thought.
"Is there any way to cure it if you have it?" Cain asked.
"No." DeShawn answered. "Everyone is saying either just let it happen or to end it all."
"And by 'end it all' you mean?" Jade asked.
"Jump off a bridge, or any other way we see fit." He responded.
"What do we do if we encounter one?" Cain asked.
"Stay as far away as possible from it." DeShawn responded. "If it attacks you, run. There's no way we could kill one of these things. Not until answers come out."
"Great," Cain said. "So basically, don't go outside and if you do try not to run into these fuckers cause if you do, you're dead."
"Basically." Cain said.
Trevor lit a match and began smoking a cigarette, the mists from it being smelled from across the room.
"Now of all times Trevor? Now of all times?" Cain said.
"It's an anxiety reliever. If Jade gets to have her dog, why can't I have my cigarette?" Cain replied.
"I didn't say you couldn't but do it outside!" Cain answered back, just as snarkily as Trevor. "And having Wolf is different from smoking some cigarette."
Trevor walked outside without another word, a scowl lay on his face as he opened the screen door.

"I'm gonna go get those masks from my car." Harmony said, clearly feeling the tension in the room. She walked to the front door and opened it. From the kitchen, her loud scream could be heard, piercing through the air. DeShawn, Cain, and Jade ran to her. At the front door, was the man who had delivered their groceries hanging from the patio light. The word "Perve" was written in a red, dripping liquid.