THE MEDUSA VIRUS: Book one of the Beta Viruses

Chapter 1- Jolene Woods*

I wake up to the sound of nothing. Not one person is to be heard, not even my dog Woofles is barking. The air around me is dusty and it's unusually dry. My bed creaks as I rise from my sleeping position and the covers fall from where they rested on my shoulders.

There's a moment where I just sit and stare at the wall contemplating my existence for a moment. But only for a moment. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and push the covers down on the end of the bed using my feet before getting up to use the bathroom. I drag across the room, barely making it to my bathroom, but I do.

I close my bathroom door when I step in and start the shower. Getting undressed quickly, and following with a quick jump into the shower, which is colder than usual. Despite this it does feel good to wake up as the water runs down my hair and into my face. Normally I would stay inside the shower and imagine arguments I have had with my parents lately. About all the things I could have said if I had only thought a little harder. But it is too cold, so I'd rather just get this over with. When I finish, I step out of the shower, almost falling when my left foot catches the lip of the tub.

"Dammit." I whisper. I roll my eyes and unhook my towel from the hook on the back of my door. Quickly drying my body and then wrapping the towel around my chest, tucking it under my armpits. I wrap my hair gently up into my hair towel before giving myself a quick look in the mirror. Normally I would go through my hour-long skin routine, but today I am just not feeling it. I know, bad. It's a habit waiting to form.

I walk over to my closet and pull out a plain beige tee and one of my favorite jackets. A 2020 vintage Nasa zip up, with a small spot of bleached material on the left shoulder and some paint from when we painted my room last. My hair falls out of my towel when I pull the end lightly, the wet ends hitting my back and sending a shiver up my spine. I put my clothes on before putting my hair back into the towel. After my hair is secure, I grab leggings out of my dresser and put them on. Sliding my feet into my flip flops, I check my reflection again quickly. I look the same as I did a while ago, but I just had to make sure.

With a yawn I headed downstairs to find the front door at the end of the hall cracked open and stuff scattered around. There's an eerie feeling that I have not felt in a while, one I hope to never feel. "Hello?" I asked, walking towards the front door. When there is no response, I close the door and head back down the hall to the living room.

"Mom? Dad?" No response, wonderful. I remember my parents talking about going to the store in the morning last night, but I told them I wanted to come with them. I sigh before going to head back upstairs when I am stopped in my tracks to a sound coming from the kitchen.

I see the movement of hair belonging to someone crouched in front of the fridge. "Dad? Did you know the front door was left open?" I ask making my way to the kitchen island. The person in the fridge stops what they were doing and turns to look at me. "What the hell do you think you are you doing?!" I say doing my best to keep my voice from shaking. The kid turns around fully revealing one of the nerds who sits in the back of class, Kit. Of course, Kit, because if it is anyone it's Kit. Kit drops some of the stuff he stole from my fridge before smiling at me, the nerve of this guy. Smiling at me after he just tried to steal my stuff.

"Sorry, Jolene. I thought you had been turned to stone too." I squint my eyes at him and cross my arms.

"Nice way to divert from you stealing, but this isn't a video game or a movie, no one's been turned to stone. And how did you even get in here, aren't you banned from Woods residency?" I say angrily. Kit shrugs and scoffs, motioning for the door.

"Don't believe me? See for yourself. And you still leave an extra key under the potted plant out back." I give him one last look before going back to the front door hastily. How stupid does he think I am? This is just some elaborate attempt to distract me so he can sneak out the back. The weather outside is chilly, hitting me with a gust when the door opens. But that is really odd, I know global warming and everything was bad years ago, but the news swears it's better. Not to mention, it's summer. The sky is blue with white flat clouds floating across the sky. It's beautiful, except for the thing that I came face to face with when I exited the house.