TOXIC BLOODLINES: PARADISE - BOOK 2/4

THE BUG

IAN

Nurses in disposable overalls, masks, and gloves had set up makeshift tents on the steps that blocked the front door to the hospital. About a hundred people were already waiting in line, four rows to make it faster.

Most of the people here were parents with small children and teenage kids. It made sense. Schools are a breeding ground for diseases. And it was safe to assume the news had broken about Elijah.

I knew shit was hitting the fan from what José had told me over the phone, but I didn't expect this.

"Here we go," I turned off my engine.

Walking toward the building, the nervous tension was almost tangible. People were frightened and paranoid too. Most of them held their families close, trying to keep their distance from each other despite the rows that divided us being apart by two feet.

A few people in the line were talking about the bug, sharing theories about its origin. Nobody knew what this thing was. And by the heavy police presence, I knew our mayor was controlling the situation. Why else would José be the one to call me and not her?

I shuffled through the crowd and returned to my car before any police could spot me. I decided to drive around to the back of the building and get in from there. As expected, it wasn't guarded. I waited by the door until someone walked out. I threw a can to distract them before I quickly snuck inside.

Sneaking down the hall searching for the room José said I should meet him in, I was met with chaos. Nurses ran between sick patients and answered the questions of worried family members as if they had somehow figured this thing out. The sick patients were led into a quarantine room, frightened as they were separated from their families by police. One would think there would be peace in here based on the line outside, but by the looks of it, once you got in, you were not getting out.

The deeper I got into the hospital, the more congested it became. People were practically walking over each other. The sound of crying children almost masked the nurses trying to keep the peace, reading out people's numbers.

Shit.

I covered my nose with my bandana, but I'd probably already been exposed. After almost fifteen minutes of searching, I found the room. Spotting José, I attempted to draw his attention. A nurse noticed me. I hid my face and kept going forward.

"Hey, sir, sir!" I felt her tap my back. "Where is your tag?" She questioned me. Then she noticed my uniform. "You have to leave, now. Or I will call security."

"He's here to see me," José stepped in. "Cough," he whispered. I did. The nurse wasn't buying it. "Early infection," he told her. She looked at me head to toe. Guessing the symptoms, I pretended to lose my balance, The nurse still wasn't convinced. After a few seconds, she let it go to attend to a sick patient.

José gestured for me to follow him down the hall. "How'd you manage to get in?" He asked.

"Through the back." I followed him. "What is all this?"

José shook his head, letting me know it wasn't something to discuss in the open.

José led me into an elevator and pushed the button for the morgue. He waited for the doors to shut before he removed his mask with a deep sigh. I saw the imprint and bruising it had left on his face.

"How long has this been going on? This doesn't look like it just happened?"

José looked at me, scared, but as he was about to answer, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. People walked in. We stopped on almost every floor, and I was losing my patience. When we finally had the privacy to talk, the elevator doors opened again; someone was about to enter. "We're full," I pushed the guy out and closed the doors.