Bloody Mary - An Epidemic (Book 1 of the "Bloody Mary" Series) #Wattys2014

Chapter 10

July 6th 2030

[Carol's P.O.V]

Today we got a lot of cases of NV-DUS-1, or as we've nicknamed it, Bloody Mary. Even though it didn't start with someone named Mary.

There were ten new cases before eleven a.m.

This was getting bad, and why haven't the nurses gotten sick? It's been over five days, since the first case, why haven't they gotten sick?

We were short-staffed and we called in some nurses from other local hospitals. At the moment we have enough nurses for the cases, but that'll probably change real soon.

The Research Center needs to figure out a cure, but if it keeps mutating, it'll slow down the cure, and more and more will be infected.

I think we'll need to tell City Hall about this, because they need to know.

I'll go today.

--

I was in the Operating Room, stitching up the people infected by Bloody Mary. "Hey Ted, I need to go to City Hall and tell them about this Disease that's spreading. You think you can handle this with the other nurses?" I asked.

"Yeah, Carol, go ahead and go. We'll handle this." Ted responded.

"Alright, I'll be back anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. I'm going to bring the Diagnosis Sheet about the disease. I'll see you later."

"Alright, get moving." Ted growled, stitching up the chest area of one of the newly infected.

I washed my hands, walked to the filing room, grabbed the diagnosis sheet, and walked briskly out of the hospital, and to my car.

I got into my car, and aggressively burned rubber out of the parking lot. I drove aggressively to City Hall, once there I aggressively parked the car, jumped out and ran into the building.

I told the quite rude Secretary woman, that I needed to speak to the mayor. She waved me through as she popped her gum.

I mumbled under my breath, "Geez she's a b."

Walking towards the Mayor's office, I couldn't help but think if he just shrugged me off. If he shrugged what I said off, his town would go down the toilet.

I knocked on his door. "Come in." He answered.

I slowly opened the door. "Hello, Mr. Mayor, my name is Carol Carther. I work with the hospital and the pediatric center. I believe that we have a disease spreading, that hasn't been recorded until recently. We've already had nineteen cases and counting of this unique disease, and it's still spreading. At the moment we only know that it's at our hospital, but like all diseases that could change."

"Alright, nice to meet you. May I see the sheet you have in your hand?"

"Most certainly." I responded, handing over the sheet.

The Mayor read over it at least five times. "How many cases have you had?" He asked.

"At least nineteen, and still counting."

"Alright. Well, this city is fifty-five thousand or so people. If we have at least one hundred people with the disease, and it spreads more, then, we'll bring it up with the CDC, and the Government."

"Okay, thank you Mr. Mayor."

"Oh, please, call me Walter."

"Okay, Walter." I winked.

"We'll stay in touch, here's my business card, and your Diagnosis sheet." Walter said, handing me a business card, and the most important document that I've ever carried.

We said our goodbyes, and I drove back to the hospital. Once there I put the sheet away, put the business card in my pocket, and put on my mask, and walked into the operating room.

"Hey Carol. How was it?" Ted asked.

"It was fine. He said if we had at least one hundred cases then he'd bring it up with the CDC and the government."

"Okay." Ted responded.

I got to work stitching up another ill person when there was a loud scream outside. "Great." I mumbled, walking out.

There were another twenty people on the ground. Nurses rushed to them, and started to get them on gurneys. They seemed like they could handle the bulk, and I rushed back into the Operating Room.

That's at least forty people in all contaminated.

---

A few hours passed and it was about three p.m. I was on a quick break, and was sitting on a bench outside the hospital's ER entrance. There were a lot of cars coming up the road towards the hospital, and there were people behind the cars, lots of people. What on earth is all this? I thought. The cars pulled up to the front, and the people in the cars, were bloody. "Holy sh*t." I gasped.

The bloody people got out of their cars, with their eyes glazed over, and stumbled towards me. "Help us." one grumbled.

"Alright. I'll be right back." I said, running into the hospital. I went to the intercom. "Attention, all doctors, nurses, paramedics, who are in the building please come to the ER Entrance immediately."

I went back to the bloody people who were all now outside their cars, and gathered all the emergency spill towels that were in the ER Box right by the door, and wrapped them around everyone's wounds. One by one they were led into the hospital by the nurses, doctors, and paramedics.

The operating room was filling up. Soon we'd have to transfer people to the other hospital that was at the other side of town.

There had to have been at least fifty people who came in cars, and walked up the road.

I think they were starting to turn into the walking dead because their skin was red, and blotchy, and everything was a sickly red. They didn't really seem to respond to us, unless we spoke loud till we were practically screaming at them. They didn't seem to walk correctly either.

It was getting worse.

There are at least seventy people in all with the disease.

If we kept this up we would have to call the CDC and the government by tonight.

It was bad.

Hopefully Dustin, and his family won't die, or become a walking zombie. I don't want that. Or anyone to die and become a zombie for that matter.

We don't need to have a freaking PLAGUE.

Everyone needs to live, we don't want anyone to die. We don't think anyone has yet, and that's a good thing.

--

We were being kept busy. The operating room was already full, and we had to clear out empty rooms, and change the layout so they would function as Operating Rooms.

Once we changed the layout of at least fifteen rooms, we brought more of the infected into the rooms.

It was bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.

Hopefully we wouldn't get to one hundred infected people.

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