A Different Virus: Heartfire

Chapter 1

Here is a line for those who like to note if they are First Time Readers (FTR) or Re-Readers (RR). 

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I checked the clock as I scrambled some eggs for breakfast. I expected my phone to ring any moment now. It was the first day of April, and that meant it was April Fool's Day. It was a good thing that I lived a ten-minute drive from my friend's house since Kailey might blame me for what Evan did.

My phone started ringing, and I glanced at the call display before answering it. "Hey, Kailey."

"I can't believe it! Diane, do you see this?!" She was always so overexcitable...

I pretended to have no idea what she was talking about. "See what?"

"Turn the TV on to the news. You are not going to believe this..."

That wasn't the response I expected. "Give me a second."

I pulled the eggs off the burner and went into my living room to turn the TV on. Images of people screaming and attacking one another like rabid animals filled the screen and assaulted my ears.

I rolled my eyes at her oversight. "Kailey. What day is it?"

"Uh... Saturday. Why?"

"What day of the month? Remember that online blog you showed me last week?"

"April first - Ohhh... Right, that huge computer group promised to try hacking the news stations. Wait a second – Diane, what did you do?"

"Nothing. I am innocent this time."

Kailey's voice rose in disbelief. "I don't believe you! What did you do?"

"Check with Evan, he may have an idea. I have to run, talk to you later!"

"Dian-" Click.

She would probably still blame me even though I was actually innocent. I grinned as I imagined her face and looked over my shoulder as I double-checked that the front door was still locked. A bag of Doritos was already taped to the other side of the door as a peace offering in case she did show up and somehow managed to acquire a key to sneak inside.

Chuckling, I walked back to the kitchen as I put my waist-long brown hair up in a ponytail. I put the frying pan of eggs back on the stove as the news reporter on the screen continued to speak rapidly, "People are developing rabies-like symptoms and trying to bite anyone they can catch. Reports are coming in from numerous countries, and they are all reporting the same thing. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and people are advised to stay inside-"

Gunfire interrupted the news reporter. I glanced over at the screen to see people in foreign police uniforms firing their handguns at people with red eyes. Their bodies jerked with the bullets, but otherwise, they didn't show any sign of pain as they kept walking towards the officers.

Zombies... How much more unrealistic could they get? If someone bled out, then they died. Or at the very least, they collapsed since the muscles no longer had any oxygen. Those hackers apparently forgot to run this by a few of their friends for quality assurance purposes... Or perhaps they were being good citizens by ensuring that most people would realize that these videos were obviously fake.

Ring. Ring. My phone was ringing more than usual this morning, which wasn't always a good thing. I cautiously peeked at the name on the display, but it was only Evan.

With a relieved grin, I answered it. "Good morning, Evan. I assume Kailey called you?"

I could hear laughter in the background, along with power tools. Evan's voice was light in amusement as it came over the phone. "Yes, did you tell her what I did?"