Survive

Quarantine

The infirmary was locked up tight, nobody in and nobody out. Dr. Farah had requested to have the air turned on so people would be as comfortable as possible in their quarantined state. I could feel the cool air brushing over my hand from the crack on the bottom of the door as I sat in the hallway with my back against the wall next to the infirmary, Curtis was on the other side coughing every once in a while as we talked.

"How are the kids?" he asked, his voice muffled slightly by the door separating us.

"Fine, one of the doctor's out here gave them a check up. Not sick." I murmured, feeling immense guilt build up in my chest. "I'm sorry about what I said, I didn't mean any of it."

"No, you were right Sam. I should've taken this seriously, and I should've told you." he said, going into a coughing fit after he spoke.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, cringing at the low wheezing sound coming from him.

"Not as bad as some people in here. What happened with the old man?" he questioned, clearing his throat so he could speak better.

"They...burned his body. Both of them." I answered.

"Both? Who else?"

"The old woman, his wife, she uh...she killed herself later that day. Didn't want to be alone I guess..." I mumbled, remembering what happened two days prior. I had volunteered to check on Mrs. Heinrich after her husbands funeral, but she was already dead when I got there.

"Jesus..." Curtis breathed, I could picture him running a hand through his hair or pinching the bridge of his nose like he always did. "Anyone else dead?" he asked, his voice quieter this time. More than likely so other people wouldn't hear and start to panic.

"No, only the two." I sighed, "But Hawthorne's going to call a meeting to figure out what to do about medicine."

"Sam?" I looked up to find Dorin standing over me in the hall. "Everyone is at the meeting." he said, nodding towards the direction of the library.

"Alright, I'm going." I grumbled as I stood up from the hard floor. I could hear Curtis moving to stand on the other side of the door. "I'll come back after the meeting." I said, leaning in close to the heavy wooden door.

"Don't take any shit from Patrick, okay?" Curtis replied, a small hint of laughter in his voice.

"Wouldn't dream of it." I chuckled softly, pushing away from the door reluctantly. Dorin was still standing there waiting for me, a sympathetic half-smile on his face. "Let's go." I sighed, glancing over my shoulder at the door to the infirmary as we walked away.

"How is he?" Dorin asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. We hadn't really talked much since I threatened to beat up his uncle when I first woke up in the bunker. So things were a little tense between us.

"He says he's not bad, but I can tell he's worried. He hasn't been this sick since the train." I murmured, catching myself rambling on. Dorin was quiet for a moment as we trekked through the halls, the only sounds coming from our shoes tapping against the tiled floor. When we were finally standing in front of the double doors to the library, Dorin decided to speak up.

"What...What was it like?" he said timidly, his accent growing thicker as he asked the question, not knowing what kind of response I would give him.

"Hell." I replied as I pushed open the doors, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Thank you for joining us Samantha." Hawthorne greeted, gesturing for Dorin and I to take a seat at one of the tables. I chose a spot at the table closest to where Hawthorne was standing, thankfully Theron was there so I wasn't surrounded by complete strangers. "Now we can start. First off, are there any questions?" he asked, and no sooner had the words left his mouth people were blabbering their question all at once. Questions about the number of people sick, or how much medicine was left, or if the illness going around was contained.