7 Seconds

Chapter 3

Wave One.
I look around the room.
Completely quiet.
Everyone stands still, almost as if if they move then they will shatter whatever spell is here. Whatever is keeping us safe.
The alarm is blaring, trying to distract whoever is in the building that isn't suppose to be.
Or whatever...
I shove the thought away.
The door knob jiggles and I see some of the other students draw in a breath. Soon, it stops. I breath a sigh of relief. Too soon.
Now someone is banging on the door.
"Let me in!!!! Help me!!! I don't know what's happening!!"
It sounds like a woman. I stare at the ground.
One of the boys looks around for a minute before starting towards the door.
The teacher blocks him.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"She's a woman, we can't just leave her out there."
"I don't care if she's the last alive of a rare species. She's infected. That's why she's here, too infect others, that's why we are locked in."
"We don't know for a fact that she is!"
I cut in.
"We don't know that she isn't."
He stares at me like you've grown a second head.
"I thought you of all people would agree with me."
I stare back.
"I'm not the only one in this room. We are risking more lives than just one if we let that woman in."
My tone is sharp. He takes a step back and looks at the floor.
"Her blood is on your hands not mine."
"Duly noted."
The teacher chimes in.
The banging stops. I slide down the wall and place my head in my hands. I hear a sharp intake of breath and then..
"Guys, you should see this."
I get up and go over to the window. It's just like we saw on the news. People are rushing about. Everyone of them has large. Blisters covering their face and arms, the blisters are oozing pus and blood. I shut my eyes. I feel like I'm going to throw up. A girl in the corner starts to cough. Shocked, we all slowly turn to face her. Her face is pale and she looks shocked.
"Please."
She whispers to us, looking horrified.
"Please help me."
She reaches out and we all take a step back. Suddenly, a group of figures contained in hazmat suits busts open the door. I faint.
••••••••••••••••
I wake up in some sort of waiting room. A figure in the corner is still cloaked in a hazmat suit. He looks me up and down.
"We have to do a few tests."
I look at him quizzically.
"To see if you're infected."
He sounds annoyed. I nod my head. He motions for me to follow him and leads me out into a hallway. Everything is eerily silent, the lights are blaring like hospital lights. He leads me to a small room filled with doctors rushing around. One stops and stares. He's older, with grating hair and laugh lines around his eyes.
"The one that fainted?"
The man nods his head. The doctor stares at me before giving me a friendly smile.
"Come with me."
I look at the man in the hazmat suit.
"Go."
He sounds even more annoyed now. I follow the doctor to a small room that smells of embalming fluid. The smell is making me dizzy and before I can stop myself, I turn and throw up into the trash can. The Doctor stares at me like I've grown a second head.
"It's not what you-"
He cuts me off.
"Guards!!"
"No!!"
I frantically try to explain.
"I'm not infected!! I'm..."
"What? Spit it out."
I look down at my stomach. Realization dawns on his face.
"You're pregnant?"
I bite my lip and nod.
"But you're what... 16?"
"Exactly."
He frowns.
"You know I'll have to test what you're saying."
I nod.
"And the father?"
He frowns.
"He was at work. On the other side of the city."
He looks sad for a moment.
"What?"
"The last I heard... The other side of the city was overrun."
For the second time that day, I felt myself falling into the darkness. I felt his gasp more than heard it before it all went black.