The Changed Ones

Two

The group went into their suite. Breathing a sigh of relief as they had made it up there. Jackie looked out the window, her eyes widening as she saw the craziness in the streets. People being kicked out of places, people being pushed, shoved, and some even hit by cars! All because of this toxic fume that is said to be headed towards the city.

She finally backed away from the window. Jack put his arm around her.

"We're okay..." Jack assured her. "Just stay away from the windows."

He immediately went and closed the curtains like Felix, Mark, Bob and Wade were doing throughout the suite.

"Do you think we'll be evacuated?" Lily asked.
"I dunno..." Mark answered. "We're inside so it shouldn't be a big problem right now."
"What if we need food or other supplies?" Jackie asked.
"We have enough food to last us about a week, and hopefully, the hotel will provide us with more as time goes by!" Mark replied.
"What if we end up having to go out and look for stuff?" Marzia asked.
"Then we'll go and do it!" He replied. "We have our own masks and as long as nobody messes with us, we'll be okay!"

Mark then went over and turned off the air conditioner and instead turned on the small fans in each of the room.

"You're smarter than I thought!" Felix complimented.
"Thank you... I guess this means I'm the leader?" Mark asked.

Everybody suddenly began rolling their eyes and mumbling to themselves, even Lily, his own girlfriend, rolled her eyes.

"Come on guys! What if this does somehow end up being a life or death situation?" Mark asked.
"I highly doubt it." Bob explained. "They're saying it's only going to affect the Manhattan area and then go out into the ocean."
"That's based off of the wind direction!" Mark explained. "What if it changed direction and headed south towards New Jersey or North to Connecticut? Or Northwest to the New York State? Or Southwest to parts of--"
"We get it already!" Wade interrupted, feeling extremely annoyed.
"Alright..." Felix said. "Since you seem a lot more concerned about this than us, and if it does end up being a big situation, Mark can be our leader."

Mark smiled, an approved look on his face.

Suddenly, they could hear the noises from the streets worsen as screams occurred and more cars were honking their horns. They didn't know what was going on but everybody seemed to be panicking, which could only mean one thing. The deadly toxin was in the city.

They all jumped as they heard knocking on their door. Mark answered it. It was a hotel employee.

"We've been told by management to have everybody evacuate the area." The employee stated.
"No, we are staying right here." Mark explained. "This toxic waste in the air is already out there killing people."
"We're all going to be affected eventually!" The employee explained.
"Eventually, but not yet!" Mark said.

The employee hesitated for a moment, but finally left them alone. They all thought they would get in trouble, but nothing happened for the rest of the day.

Later on that night as everybody was resting, Jackie and Sean stayed awake to make sure nothing major was happening. Everybody was going to take turns every few hours while everybody else rested.

"I'm really worried..." Jackie admitted. "What if this does turn out to be bad?"
"Don't listen to Mark..." Jack assured her. "He over exaggerates things a lot. I'm sure this stuff in the air will pass and everything will be okay."
"Things have been real quiet in the past few hours..." Jackie explained. "I haven't really heard anything going on in the streets."
"Maybe they all found shelter." Jack replied.
"There's too many people in the city to fit everybody..." Jackie explained.
"Jackie, please stop worrying." Jack asked. "We're all together, we're inside, safe and sound. If anything were to happen, we would all stick together with everything."

Jackie finally became quiet and nodded. A few moments later, Jack went over to wake Mark and Lily up so they could watch everybody while they fell asleep.
---
"Guys... Guys wake up!" Marzia whispered.

Jackie and Jack immediately opened their eyes. They looked at the time, it was almost 9 in the morning.

"What's wrong?" Jackie asked.
"You need to take a look at this!" Marzia said.

They stood up, noticing everybody looking at the window. As they both approached the window, everybody else backed off. They looked down, the streets almost looking deserted with the exception of the cars on the road, and even some bodies from the people who couldn't survive the toxic gases in the air.

"This was all after one day?" Jack asked, still in disbelief. Everybody nodded.
"The toxic air passed overnight." Mark explained. "So, even though there is no actual proof yet, the news reporters outside the areas say it's safe to go outside."
"So that means we can get out of here?" Jackie asked.
"Not really..." Mark answered.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"The city has apparently been put into lockdown... Nobody can get in or out until further notice." Mark explained.
"How long will that be?" Felix asked.
"I don't know..." Mark shrugged.
"Well if they say it's safe to go outside then let's go search the damage." Wade insisted.

Everybody agreed to do so. They each grabbed their masks as a precaution and went outside to see the surprisingly empty and quiet streets of New York.