Stuck (Under The Dome)

Chapter 6- An Infectious Plague

"What the heck does the city of water mean?" Faith exclaimed, puzzled. "Maybe it means our water is going to running out?" Brandon suggested. "I know what it means." Clara whispered softly. "What!" Lauren shouted at Clara. "Well, you see, during the first couple of days of the box I was trying to think of a way out during the commotion. I climbed into the sewage drain and saw the box didn't block the underground passages. I think that's what the robbers were talking about at the Market." Clara said finishing. "What robbers?" Faith questioned. Brandon and Grant explained everything to Faith about the Market shooting. "Why don't we go check it out?" I asked everyone. "We need to visit the Oceanfront, hospital, and the sewage tunnels, in that order" Faith suggested. "Can we please go to the hospital first? Grant said. "Fine." Faith answered back. Lauren, Faith, Clara, Grey, Grant, Brandon and I all ambled out of Patient First and walked in the ditch towards the hospital. We walked in the overgrown ditch and reached the place where the Trone's Tucson had crashed. There was a small team of about ten men cleaning up the glass shards and other wreckage. "It's taken them fours days?" I asked. "There's been a lot of chaos." Brandon began saying. "Someone got stuck on a water slide at the watermark. A teen starting setting the forest ablaze. The epidemic has worsened. This car crash was the least of their worries." My eyes wandered to two men pulling a body out of the demolished car. The sight of a young child, dead triggered my stomach and I puked inside my mouth. James' neck was snapped as his eyes hung open. I quickly looked the other way and sped away. I could see the top of the hospital in the distance and picked up my pace. Suddenly, I spotted a barricade blocking the entrance to the hospital. "Stop! Civilians cannot go past this point. The hospital has been quarantined." A man with a goatee told us. "My sister's in there! She needs me!" I shouted. "So is my mother!" Grant exclaimed. "What are their names?" The man questioned. "Jordan Quigley." I said. "Clare King." Grant said. The man pulled a clipboard out and his head and eyes went back and forth, looking through names. I took this time to examine the man. He was wearing a black hat with our towns name and an orange shirt. I looked around at the other barricades blocking the hospital and saw another man with an orange shirt. "Why does everyone have orange shirts?" I asked the man. "Mayor Helke has set up a volunteer service and everyone in orange shirts are his helpers." The beard man began saying. "Jordan Quigley is on the Hope level." The man said. "What does that mean?" I asked worried. "It means her condition hasn't changed since you checked her in. You can take two visitors with you." The man declared. I looked at Faith, then Brandon, and then Clara. "Faith and Brandon would you like to come with." They both nodded as the man said, "I'm sorry but Claire King has succumbed to the illness. I'm really sorry. All dead have been transported to an isolated building in the country." Grant stepped back as Clara and Lauren comforted him while Grey waved goodbye to us. The man pulled the barricade back and Faith, Brandon and I walked to the hospital in silence. Many entrances were guarded by men and women in orange shirts. We went in a visitor's entrance and our little trio made our way to the fourth floor also know as "Hope floor." We entered the elevator and when the doors were just about to shut someone stuck their hand in the elevator. Dr. Radin entered the elevator with his lab coat on, clipboard in hand, and his stethoscope. "Hey kids seems like ya'll got out of Patient First. Where's the rest of your posse." Dr Radin said sweating. We explained everything to him as quickly as we could before we reached the second floor. Dr Radin exited and walked down the hallway. "Hold on I wanna ask Dr Radin something." Brandon exited the elevator which left Faith and I by ourselves. "Um so I have to tell you something about Clara." I glanced over at Faith and looked into her eyes. I realized the elevator was slowly aching up towards the fourth floor. One moment I was thinking about the elevator and the next I was kissing Faith. Our lips were still touching when we heard the ding. The elevator had reached the fourth floor. I looked around and saw Dr. Fox hustling around the corridors. "Who are you seeing?" He asked. "Jordan Quigley." I said before looking over at Faith again. I was about to say something when Dr. Fox interrupted. "Room 303. Put those gloves and masks on and put hand sanitizer on before and after entering the room" I rushed into the room and saw Jordan laying on the bed, lifeless. Faith handed me a glove and mask and I put on some sanitizer. I grabbed my sister's hand, cried, and dug my head into her legs. "Hey Jordan I just wanted to say I'm sorry for any gum I've ever stolen, or time I've looked in your diary, or anything else." No response. " Jordan." No response. " Jordan? Jordan! JORDAN! Faith go get Dr Fox and Nurse Morgan now!" I demanded. "Hunter, Nurse Morgan died of the sickness!" Faith said cluelessly. "Then get me Nurse Liz, anybody!" Faith rushed out of the room quickly. "Your going to be alright Jordan!" I kept repeating that phrase over and over again until Faith, Dr Fox, and Nurse Liz were in the room. "What's wrong!" Dr Fox said applying his sanitizer." I told the doctor about Jordan not replying and they both sighed. "When these victims catch the illness they go through certain stages. Falling into a coma is the last stage before they will suddenly slip into death. Jordan has been in this stage for a while now. I'll have someone come tell you about Jordan's condition later." I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Dr Fox pushed Faith and I out of the room that held Jordan. "Wait..." I said as Nurse Liz shut the door. That would be the last time I saw my sister.

As Faith and Hunter exited the hospital. Dr Fox and Nurse Liz both began talking behind the walls of room 303. The hospital generator was slowly running out of juice. Mayor Helke had issued a code black, meaning that all unnecessary patients needed to be terminated. Unfortunately for Hunter, Jordan was considered a hopeless cause and a waste of resources. Once Hunter and Faith had found Brandon and made it down to the first floor, Doctor Fox pulled the plug on Jordan's only way to breathe. Nurse Liz called the custodians to bring Jordan's body to the isolated building in Pungo where Claire King, Nurse Morgan, Ms. Trone, and others already rested. The custodians loaded the body onto the back of a Ford F-150 right next to the lifeless body of Rod. Those two bodies made the death toll for the epidemic at twenty five, exactly the amount they wanted. At that moment, everyone struck with the epidemic felt a surge of energy race through their body, and then the illness disappeared completely from the town of Virginia Beach.