The wall's that separates us

Chapter 1

I groan softly, my hand reaching out to shut off the shrill sound of my alarm going off in my ear while stretching out in my bed. My legs tangle slightly in my light blanket, and I try to kick them off before sighing in annoyance and sitting up completely and tugging on my blankets.

"Breakfast will be ready by the time you're done getting ready, sweetheart," Miranda, my grandma and last living relative, said, smiling at me as she knocked on my open door.

"Thank you, Nana; I'll be down shortly," I said, my voice slightly raspy from barely waking up. Standing up, I go to the bathroom and begin brushing my teeth, my gaze drifting to the mirror and staring at my rats' nest brown hair.

I lean over the sink and spit out the toothpaste before tackling my hair with a brush, a grimace on my face every time I hit a knot. Finishing up my hygiene, I headed back into my room, got dressed in simple black slacks with a white blouse, and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Nana." I kissed her cheek and grabbed a plate with eggs and toast; it wasn't much, but it was the allotted rations given out every week. I eat while keeping an eye on the time, making sure not to be late.

"Any new developments at work, hunny?" Miranda asked while sitting down across from me to eat her food as well as the big cup of coffee she insisted on having every morning.

"Not much, but I've been studying the virus a bit more, and I think I got a better understanding; it appears that the T-cells have no decaying factor at all, so it won't die out on its own, which is really interesting." I nibbled on my toast, my eyes not really focused as I ranted.

"I've also been trying to introduce other microbes and viruses to it, but it destroys them in less than a couple hours; it's a really aggressive virus," I said, sighing dejectedly, setting my toast back down on my plate.

My grandma frowned slightly and placed her hand over my own and gripped it softly, too. "Don't worry too much Nattie, you'll have some type of break through one day with a lot of hard work. We, Techs, don't give up, and medicine is in our blood, " she said encouragingly.

"Thank you. Nana, you best. " I ate the rest of my breakfast and put my plate in the sink, and glanced at my watch. "I had best be going now, nana. i'll see you tonight when I get off." I kissed her cheek softly and grabbed my bag before heading out.

-time skip-

Zone 1 hospital

I walked inside the looming hospital waving at coworkers and headed inside the work room to grab my coat and put my bag inside my locker.

"Het Nat" my coworker and best friend Cynthia said walking into the room and opening her locker which was across from mine "What time did you leave last night I know it was pretty late when I clocked out and you were still in the lab room" she asked curiously.

"Uh, I think about maybe 3 hours after you did," I said hesitantly, knowing she would be upset at this knowledge.

she sighed audibly through her nose "Natalie what have I said about staying that late, not only is it bad for your health but it can also land you in hot water with the higher ups about the power usage" she lectured me her hands on hips.

"I know I know, but I had some ideas I wanted to test out and well I wanted to do it while they were fresh in my head" I shrugged my shoulders knowing well enough what the rules are.

she groaned and looked me in the eyes her face serious "I'm not playing Natalie, I don't want to see you get fined or worse locked up for not following the rules, you know we cant use the big lab rooms at night" she walked to the door opening it slightly.