Tumia

Vaccine

Vorian wasn't exaggerating when he said I'd never see him again. It's been a month since our journey through the woods, and since then, it's as if he's vanished.

We haven't had school either; Dr. Evans has been holed up in the lab, canceling our lessons. While the rest of my friends were more than happy about the break, I found it peculiar how suddenly the school, meant to bring harmony, was closed.

"Did you hear what I said, Thalia?" Jax asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Everyone at the table was eyeing me as we ate. "Sorry, no," I said, focusing on their discussion.

"The lab wants us all to come for check-ups," he smiled, and I nodded at the information.

Base had been bustling since a new fleet of military men were arriving today. My father briefly explained that we needed more manpower to expand around the base, but it didn't entirely make sense to me.

"What time?" I asked.

Halle pulled out her tablet, "In the next 20 minutes. We go youngest to oldest," she smiled, standing up to leave the table.

Everyone followed her except Ava. "Can we go upstairs and talk?" she asked.

I nodded, wondering what she wanted to discuss. We left the common room and headed to her dorm. Walking inside, I took a seat on her bed, anticipating what she wanted to talk about.

My head was spinning with questions about what it could be...

"Sorry for acting weird," she laughed.

I laughed with her, still confused about what was going on. Did she perhaps see me go into the forest? That would be bad...

"Anyways, I wanted to ask if you had feelings for Jake," she whispered, causing me to furrow my eyebrows.

"What? Jake? Oh, no, no," I answered quickly, shaking my head.

Did she still have feelings for him? Jake is a cool guy, but he's also a bit clueless. He follows every word Halle says, and unfortunately, he's like her minion.

"Okay, that would have been weird," she laughed, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Do you still like him?" I asked, as she slowly nodded, feeling embarrassed.

Ava picked up a pillow and screamed into it, making me giggle a bit. But I controlled myself, placing a hand on her shoulder for a moment.

"I feel invisible around him, Thalia. It's like we've been friends for years, and he never notices me," she expressed.

I could understand her turmoil. We all grew up together, and Jake has dated many other women, and even treats us like siblings, but only a blind person couldn't tell Ava loved him.

"Men are stupid," I began, holding her pale wrist. She nodded, listening to my words. "You are an amazing, beautiful, talented woman, Ava. If Jake can't see that, then somebody else will."

She rubbed her eyes, agreeing with me. Ava pulled me into a tight hug as I patted her back. "I missed you," she whispered, as the feeling was mutual.

Ava was the only one out of our group who kept in contact with me. She was there when I started sophomore year at a new school, and there when my mom passed.

I wish I had been nicer to her back then; I let myself slip away and stopped checking in.

"Sorry about the past few years," I announced, as she smiled at me.

"Don't worry about that. We're here now, together," she said, as I agreed.

We both stood up, noticing the time. We had to head to the lab for our check-ups now. I still had no idea what was the reasoning behind this, but I assumed with more men coming, they wanted to decrease any sickness.

We left our dorms and headed to the clinic. Walking past the lab, I wondered what was going on in there. I hadn't seen Doctor Evans in weeks, but Ava told me she's been inside working.

Entering the clinic, the nurses put us all in separate rooms. I sat on the chair, waiting for a doctor to come see me.

The room was extremely cold but attached to the lab on its opposite side. The door opened, and a nurse came in with a needle and tools.

"What is this for?" I asked, as she prepped everything.

"New vaccine," she smiled, before putting her gloves on.

A vaccine? They already made one this quick, I wondered, as she sanitized my arm. "It might sting," she said, before puncturing the needle into my arm.

It did indeed sting, but it was quick as she put a bandaid on me shortly. "If you feel any symptoms, come back," she said as she left.

I got up from the chair and exited my room. Looking around, the hallways were empty, and I walked down towards the exit.

There was an exit door with a "do not enter" sign; on the bottom, it said "lab entrance." Looking around, nobody was here, and I quietly opened it, walking inside.

Stepping in, I saw people walking around and hid behind a cart. There was a heavy conversation happening behind the glass door, as military men stood inside beside the scientists.

Moving closer, I was about to enter until somebody grabbed my shoulder. I turned around quickly, scared, as I had never met the man.

He was dark-skinned and in a wheelchair. He put his finger to his mouth, telling me to be quiet. I nodded as he led me away from the door.

I followed him to a dark room as we entered. He closed the door and locked it, putting up paper over the glass.

As the light flickered on, I realized we were in a storage room that had been hastily converted into an office.

"You must be Thalia," the man smiled, rolling towards me. I had no idea who he was or how he knew my name.

"Apologies, I'm Richard, one of Dr. Evan's partners," he introduced himself.

"Where is Dr. Evans?" I asked, wondering why I hadn't seen her in a while.

Richard's expression turned somber as he shook his head. "She's been in the lab with the corporal. They've taken over everything in here," he scoffed.

"If you got caught, there would be consequences," he explained, and I nodded in understanding. What was going on in here? Since when did the lab have to be monitored by the military?

"There's an exit door down the hall to your left. Nobody will see you," he told me as we stood near the door, watching people walk by.

"Promise not to come back here, Thalia. It's dangerous," he warned me as I nodded before leaving.