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

Chapter 17

July 12th 2030

[Angela's P.O.V]

I awoke the next morning after arriving at the research center. I had tossed and turned all night, missing the embracing warmth of Connor's body.

I left my eyes closed as I inhaled deeply, not wanting to get out of the stiff bed. I felt this red light tearing through my eyelids, and slowly opened them.

Why was my room doused in the red light of the overheads?

I climbed out of bed and went to the door, and opened it. There were people running frantically through the hallway, wearing the protective suits. I heard a door open next to me and Ted stepped out of his room. "What's going on?" He asked.

"I have no idea." I mumbled truthfully.

I saw a gentleman running down the hallway and I flagged him down. "Excuse me sure, what is happening?"

"We've been infiltrated by Bloody Mary, it's infecting anyone and everyone who isn't wearing a protective suit. You two need to put one on now!" He ordered. "They're in the closet in your rooms."

Ted and I did as we were told. We ran into our rooms, and quickly put the suits on, even though, at the moment, we were still immune to the disease. How did the disease get out? Did Dustin, Connor, or Carol get out of the Quarantine Room? If so, how?

Once we had our suits on, we ran back out of the rooms, and met each other back in the hallway. "Where to?" I asked.

"To the Quarantine Room, we should get them out of there." Ted responded.

We ran down hallways and past the box, and down more hallways. Then we came to the Quarantine Room. The Quarantine Room doors were ruined, there was shrapnel, and the hallway smelled burnt. We peeked inside, and nobody was in there. Great. Just what we needed.

We ran back to the box, and found Loraine in there. She was in a protective suit as well as the rest of us. "Loraine, where did they go?"

"I don't have a freaking clue. I looked at the Surveillance videos, and they just left. It was crazy, they had like this acidic spit, and it was crazy. I ran as fast as I could to the Quarantine Room, but they had already gotten out. I pulled the alarm, and that's why there were red lights. A few people got infected, and we had them sedated as quickly as we could. Our specialists think the disease got into the ventilation system. The Research Center is compromised. We're going to have to take our samples of Bloody Mary and get out of here."

"Loraine. My husband, son, and my friend are out there somewhere, once again. It's not good. I don't want them to die. I couldn't live with myself if they did. People need to figure out this disease so we can stop it. I need to go find those three again. So, I'll see you around." I said gesturing wildly.

I turned around, and quickly walked out the front door of the Research Facility. I heard Loraine call that it was too dangerous, but I didn't listen. I just kept walking.

Once I was outside, past the gates of the facility I saw the full extent of the disease. There were thousands upon thousands of infected dotting the land. This is just wonderful. I have no idea where any of my loved ones are, and all these infected people are not helping me at all.

I need to find those three before it's too late, and they are dead. I heard footsteps behind me and turned around. It was Ted.

"Angela, I know this is hard for you, but we need to stick together if we are going to find those three."

"I know that Ted, but it's just so heartbreaking, and difficult. I can't take it much longer. I've had to go find Dustin once, then Carol got infected, and then Connor. I've had to stick a syringe in Carol and Connor's necks, and it's just so terrible to watch that horror unfold right before your eyes. You understand that right?" I responded, tearing up a little.