Infection - Part I

Chapter 7.

Cooking herself some dinner, Valerie ate in the living room as she turned the television on. The news was playing, talking about the new disease and the number of infected.

"There's an exponential increase in the number of infected we see daily.". Valerie changed the channel to something else. A TV show about cooking. Just as she began watching, a knock on the door interrupted her. It was 7 in the evening, and Valerie wondered who could it be.

So, leaving her food on the coffee table in the living room, she rose to her feet before making her way to the main door. Unlocking it and opening it, she was greeted with the familiar face of her neighbour. And old, grey-haired woman. She had a folded page in between her fingers.

"Ah, Ms Johnson. What can I do for you?".

"Sweetie... I was wondering if you're going to the shops anytime soon, would you be able to get these for us too?". She paused for a mere second, looking at Valerie. "We're under no urgency for these. But if you can, the next time you're going out, can you get these items too? I'll pay you at the door if that's okay.". The voice of the old woman was fragile, yet it still contained the sweetness Valerie remembered.

"I'll do that for you, of course, Ms Johnson. I'll be going to the shops tomorrow morning though.".

"Like I said, we're in no urgency...Thank you very much, dear," the woman responded, Valerie saw that she was about to take a step back and walk away. However, she spoke up again. "And... please be careful out there... with the disease and all...".

"Yes, I always was. And I always will be. Thank you, Ms Johnson.". Valerie kept her gaze on the old woman, and just as she was about to turn away again, Valerie interrupted and further asked, "How is Mr Johnson? I heard him have a coughing fit a little bit ago.".

"Oh, don't ask, dear child. Who knows what it is? The poor man has asthma. On top of that, he got pneumonia a few months ago. It's a miracle he is still alive.". She paused for a second. "I made some mushroom pie, but since he's coughing up a lung, I thought it would be better if I didn't bring it out of the house.". She chuckled ever so slightly.

Hearing her words, Valerie looked at the page she held in her hands before placing it into her pocket. "Thank you, Ms Johnson.".

"No, thank you. I am sorry if I am a burden. But you know yourself, it would take me a full day to get to the shops and back...".

Valerie nodded her head. "If you need anything more, you know I'll always be willing to help you, Ms Johnson.".

The old woman smiled. "Anyway, I don't want to be keeping you anymore. You have a great evening, sweetie.".

"Thank you, Ms Johnson.". And with that, Valerie closed the door.

The night further proceeded with no more interruptions. Valerie finished her food and she watched the chefs on the television grill up food that looked almost too delicious to be true.

Not long passed before the camera panned to one of the chefs and with a smile, he said "Good night," and the show ended.

Grabbing the television remote back into her hands, Valerie surfed through a few more channels before one of them caught her eye. It was one of the more controversial channels, as thought out by many including Valerie, however, what caught her eye was the live footage the news anchor showed.

"We are seeing attacks in both the suburbs and the capital city itself, Liß, as shown by the live footage of a Lißian inhabitant.". The footage was taken in the nighttime, so the visibility was not very good. The man was heard to have screamed as he backed away from the hands that tried to grab him. For a second, a face was seen as it charged for the man and that was the end of the footage. The rest of what was shown was static.