Restless

Chapter 1

"Jeez, where is she?!" a woman exclaimed exasperatedly, nearly throwing her pamphlet in the air in frustration. Her heels clicked as she kicked her luggage out of anger, because the wheels had stopped spinning and let loose a deadly squeal in the middle of the hall.

Neri, a 19-year-old Canadian had just had her plane land in Florida, so she could finally meet one of her dearest friends, Eleni. They had both chatted online for a number of years, and they finally organized a week-long trip so they could meet in person. But for now, Neri was beyond furious and comprehensible, trying to find the lengthy line for customs at the Floridian airport. Eleni said she'd be waiting right there as soon as she landed, but Neri was becoming less compliant to that idea by the moment.

"It's so hot..." she murmured, swiping away a thin layer of sweat with her sleeve. Neri grabbed the handle of her suitcase and began walking again, at a dreadful pace.

In Canada, it was just beginning to get cold, and everyone was expecting snow any day now. So, what had Neri been wearing? Long skinny jeans and a sweater; not exactly something people wore in one of the States' hottest areas. She tried to put her brown hair up in a bun, but it barely went two inches past her chin and was too short to begin with. After that failed attempt, Neri settled with pushing her long, blonde-streaked bangs back to the right side where they belonged.

I wonder what Eleni looks like, she thought. I've only seen pictures of her... But I've always thought that she was pretty. I bet she's even prettier in person! That thought brought a smile to Neri's full lips, and she drifted away in her thoughts. After I go through customs, I should find a washroom and change quickly... Or I'll have a fricking heatstroke before I even get to see her.

She bumped into somebody's back, and recoiled immediately, about to apologize for not looking where she was going. Neri bumped into her luggage as she stepped back, but the man she'd ran into didn't even seem to notice. She scowled, and rolled up the sleeves of her sweater as she attempted to straighten out the water-damaged pamphlet. Because of her late and poor timing, Neri was at the rear of the customs line, and was pretty sour about it.

Her grey eyes scanned over the blotted ink words, trying to find any hotspots that she could beg Eleni to take her to. There is a Disney World here, she thought, and clicked her tongue. Oh, and the Everglades...

"The news so far is that it is fairly contagious...requires caution and..." The TV droned in the background, hung above Neri's head in the corner.

For a moment her eyes darted up, and licked her lips as images flashed across the screen. Folding up the already crinkled paper, she shoved it in the pocket of her carry-on and crossed her arms, looking skeptically at the screen.

A woman with platinum blonde hair curled to perfection sat with a straight back, her red suit nearly causing her breasts to pop out of the top. She shuffled some papers and set them in front of her, folding her hands before finally speaking. "From what we have gathered, we know that precautions must be taken. Some peoples have already passed as a result of attempting to find a vaccine, but what has been developed has been determined as ineffective."

By then, Neri's narrowed grey eyes were locked on the blue ones on the screen.

The woman continued to talk as a video flashed on the screen. There was a corpse lying on the table, the face censored as people in masks, gloves, and full-body suits slit open the stomach and removed the tissues from the organs.

Some other people around Neri gagged and looked away, but she just frowned and gave her undivided attention as the women reappeared on the 4-foot flatscreen. Someone off-camera handed her new papers. It earned a questioning gaze from her, but she licked her lips and carefully began to read it, eyes steadily widening.