George, his father, his sister and the kind lady who had offered them a lift, Charlotte, sat in the hospital waiting room awaiting their check-up. Their injuries weren't heavy, although his father appeared to have quite a nasty cut that was still bleeding and it would probably need stitching.
There was no mistaking the air of tension in the hospital, things were definitely awry and George was willing to bet it was to do with what he had seen.
He still didn't know what to make of what he had seen. Sure it terrified him, but how could he properly express how fearful he felt, what was the right reaction? Cry? What good would that do, his dad was clearly trying his best and he wanted to be as brave as his father, despite being faced with the images of blood, missing limbs, the agonised wails of those who were attacked and the dead.
This was a dog eat dog world as Daniel would always say, only the strongest would survive. Based on words, George knew he had to remain strong, but if strong meant pretending nothing had ever happened, he was as weak as it could get. Outside he was maintaining this calm expression, but inside he was falling apart, cracking at every point and those cracks would eventually appear on the outside, there was no stopping them, he was losing his cool and the memories of what he has seen and experienced were plaguing him.
"Are you okay, kiddo?" His father asked, snapping George out of his thoughts. His father sat opposite, staring at him with concern written upon his face.
"I'm okay".
"You don't look so great. You don't have to hide it, if what you saw is still bothering you, I'm here, tell me. Come, we'll talk".
"He said he's okay, Terry", George's sister grumbled. She sat with her arms crossed looking up at the news bulletin on the waiting room TV screen.
"I'm okay dad", George assured his father.
"Okay, but I saw what you saw too, I experienced what you experienced, I'm here for you". Ria glanced over, but said nothing. It looked as though what George's father had said might have struck a chord with her.
"Yes dad", George replied coyly. George's father turned to Charlotte.
"So, where were you headed before...before all this happened?" He asked, making conversation.
"On my way to see my boyfriend, he lives in East London, I stupidly took a chance driving through London during peak time. It's bad enough with the traffic and congestion charges, let alone...this".
"Sorry to hear that. Have you called him?"
"He called me whilst we were driving, I called him back after parking the car. He's okay, but he's pretty shocked with everything going on, he's watching it all on television".
"He must be worried about you".
"Oh he is. Actually we had a massive argument last night, so I was going over to his to clear things up, I guess this is karma trying to keep us apart".
"Don't be silly, you'll be okay as long as you still love him and he loves you". Charlotte smiled.
"Look at you", she teased, "you must have the most perfect relationship".
"Actually..."
"My mum and Terry split up. She's off with her new guy and dad is all alone", Ria interjected.
"Ria!" George's father snapped.
"If you didn't want your business spread out, you shouldn't go meddling in other people's business". Charlotte waved her hands trying to fan the flames.
"It's okay, I really don't mind and I'm sorry to hear that, Terry".
"It's okay, it just didn't work out".
YOU ARE READING
Cryptophobia - Outbreak
Horror(Book 1 of the Cryptophobia series) The Ouroboros Virus has hit London, plummeting the city into a state of anarchy. As the British government hopelessly scrambles to resolve what will go on to be the beginnings of greatest known international catas...
