The Zukas Virus

Zukas Virus

The cat lay on Kandace's lap during breakfast, and then while his mother looked up what could be done for the creature, Kandace held her on his chest in his room, laying on his back.

The symptoms were typed into the search engine on the computer. First thing that popped up was "Zukas Virus". The cat's behavior matched that of early stages of the deadly - and contagious disease. It would slowly kill the cat, much in the way rabies did - dehydration from not being able to drink, and finally foaming at the mouth. The final stages were foaming at the mouth, coughing up a poisonous green liquid, blood shot eyes and violent behavior: biting, clawing and thrashing about. The victim would become extremely aggressive and come after other living creatures. Death came by either being killed, or from lack of food and water.

The virus could take from a few hours to weeks to manifest itself, but from the first signs it was contagious to man and beast alike. In the final stages it could be deadly, and was extremely contagious. One could catch it by just being sneezed or coughed on - even being breathed on could mean you wrre infected.

"Kandace?" His mother got up, actually concerned now. She couldn't find anything else that was close to the Zukas Virus.
"Yeah?" Kandace looked over at his door.
Just before the door opened, Tiger sneezed on Kandace. Then bloodshot eyes blinked at the intruder, claws part way out.
Kandace's mother stopped short upon seeing the eyes. Kandace looked back at her.
"What's wrong?"
"That cat... it has the Zukas Virus..."
"But she can't!" Kandace sat up. "She's fine mom, she's just sick!"
"Would it hurt to lock her up for a few days? Just to be certain?"
"You mean like they do for Rabies?"
"Yes."
"No, I don't suppose it would hurt. I'll put her in the cat house and get her a box to sleep in."

Kandace soon had Tiger sleeping in a cardboard box filled with soft hay. Food and water sat nearby so she wouldn't have to walk very far. He would check back at lunch to see how she was doing.

At lunch Kandace went to check on his cat. She was dead, a green liquid dripping out of her mouth, however, her eyes were closed and she appeared to have just peacefully died. Kandace figured she must have been poisoned.
When he came in, Kandace noticed that his family were acting rather odd. His friends weren't playing the game, his mother was being very snappish, and his father was being out right aggressive.