The Afflicted

**Chapter 2**

I wake up the next morning to a bubbly Danny making pancakes, Christina Aguilera blaring in the background. "Danny, what are you doing? You never make breakfast...''

Something was off about this situation.

Danny hated cooking, even more than she hated our dad.

"I'm just trying to be a good big sister," she said as she flipped a pancake towards the ceiling. "I told you I wasn't infected. I feel so much better than yesterday, it must've just been a cold. I feel like so amazing today, you don't even know lil' bro." Danny danced around the table, pancakes on four different plates.

"Who's the fourth plate for?" I asked, confused.

"Why for Dad, of course! Stop acting so silly!" She giggles, grabbing a fork and starts lip syncing To Beautiful by Christina Aguilera.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" I ask, feeling her forehead. She aggressively slaps my hand away, but in the split second I feel her head, I know.

She's burning up.

"Don't touch me, I said I'm fine!" She snaps, glaring at me before going back to lip syncing.

"Okay well, I'm running to the store. We need bread for french toast," I lie. Dad needed to hear about this and if he wasn't sober enough to understand, the medics at the hospital could confirm that she was fine and everything could go back to normal.

"Stupid, stupid, STUPID!" I turned around. "I forgot to tell you that you're grounded for the shenanigans you pulled last night with the infected thing."

"What?! You can't ground m!e! You're my sister, not my mom!" I see something in her eyes that I'd never, ever seen before, almost like...

Rage.

"You stupid brat of a brother! I'm the closest thing you have to any resemblance of a parent!" She snarls, spinning around and grabbing me by the throat, making a choked gurgle escape from me. "I'm the only one you have. Don't you get that!?? You listen to me, got that?" She dropped me and stormed off out the door, leaving Christina blasting and the pancakes nearly burning.

I slumped the down the wall behind, gasping to regain my breath. My throat burned with the force Danny had choked me with. Something was seriously wrong. I knew without a doubt that Danny had somehow contracted the virus.

I got up from the wall, still clutching my neck. I needed to call Kaleb. He would know what to do. Kaleb and I go way back. Our moms were best friends in high school. They planned play dates since the day we were born. We didn't have a choice not to like each other. I reached into my pocket and grab my phone out. I flipped my phone open. Kaleb was on speed dial and I called him as fast as I could.

On the fourth ring he picked up, "Yo, what's up Josh. Since when do you call at 8 in the morning?"

Through my throat burning, "Kaleb, you need to get over here now!" I hushed my voice, "I think Danny has the virus. She choked me!"

"Dude, calm down. I'm on my way. Do you want me to call the hospital and get the quarantine squad thing? Are you gonna call your dad?"

"My dad? Uh yeah, he probably needs to know about this. Hold off on the medics until you see her." I hung up the phone. I heard a vase crash against the wall upstairs. I was so glad Daisy was at daycare already. At least she was supposed to be. Danny supposedly dropped her off this morning. Hopefully she was still sane enough this morning.

The phone was ringing when I heard a scream from above me. Danny came rushing down the stairs, "Josh! My eczema is acting up, get me the lotion quick." When she rounded the corner, she was dressed in a robe, fuzzy socks on her hands, and sunglasses hiding her eyes.