With all this talk of a contagious flu going around, I kept Gwen and Jasmyne home and collected their homework from school so they could still have an education. I was making dinner as Gwen was taking a nap and Jasmyne was helping me wash the vegetables. The TV was on, playing some cartoons.
It had been awfully quiet recently. I'd watch the news at night to try and keep up with the status on this flu and not worry my sisters at the same time.
Then the TV abruptly changed to the news channel by force. An emergency message?
Jasmyne and I jumped at the alert, and Gwen jolted awake, dazed and confused. I dropped what I was doing, drying my hands on a towel as I walked over to the living room. Jasmyne followed close behind.
"-there have been alleged situations of those infected with the flu attacking family members and friends, then biting them. Family of these alleged victims are saying high fevers are a warning sign that their time is near. Remember to stay safe this year, get vaccinated, and try to avoid direct contact with infected individuals. Thank you."
The TV message cut off and cartoons began to play again. Gwen seemed too tired to take what was said in, not to mention she was only seven so she most likely couldn't have comprehended it either way.
Jasmyne was fourteen however, and as I looked to my side I could see the distinct worry on her face.
I placed my hand on her back and gave it a soft rub.
"It'll be fine. We're all perfectly healthy and if one of you shows any sign of sickness I'm getting you checked out immediately. Plus, we got our flu shots last week."
Jasmyne nodded and smiled again. Gwen yawned and began watching her cartoons again as she drifted off back into her nap.
-
I was up late one night, watching some game shows as Gwen and Jasmyne slept in my bed after a thunderstorm scared them both.
I was beginning to drift off to sleep myself when I heard a thud.
My eyes shot open. I looked around to see if I had possibly just imagined it but it sounded out once more. I thought maybe it was just me hearing things but Jasmyne woke up after the third thud, looking up at me.
"Do you hear that?"
I asked her, raising and eyebrow. She nodded slowly. The thuds became less spaced out from one another, my heart skipped a beat when I realized it was coming from the front door. Gwen was awake now.
"Seri, what's that noise?"
Gwen asked quietly, hiding half her face under the covers. She was terrified, and to be honest, with all this talk of that flu, and with watching the news and only hearing worse things about it, I was too.
I got up slowly, grabbing my baseball bat that was always by my bedside in case of an emergency, and crept to my bedroom door.
Before I opened it to investigate who or what was at our door, I turned to Jasmyne.
"Stay here with Gwen. Pick up the phone on my nightstand and be ready to call 911 in case it's a bad person, alright?"
Jasmyne nodded and grabbed the phone from the receiver and dialed the number, ready to press call.
I then walked out of my bedroom, clutching my bat defensively as I approached the door. The closer I got the harder and louder the thuds became. Who was at my door at 3 AM pounding? I looked through the peephole and had to hold back a shriek. This person was one of our neighbors, and he was a beefy guy. He was known for getting drunk but never like this. He seemed to be pounding on the door and now that I was closer, groaning.
I walked back to my room and nodded at Jasmyne.
"It's Mr. Groher. He's drunk. Just call the police to get him out of here."
-
The police finally arrived after about ten minutes and I sat on the floor by the front door, shaking my leg and listening to their conversation. I peeked out the window by the door to see what was happening.
"Sir, are you drunk?"
The officer asked, approaching him. He only mumbled in response. He must be really drunk if that's the case.
"Sir, I'm gonna need you to come with me back to your apartment."
The cop said a bit more sternly. Then he turned around, his skin pale in the door light. He stumbled towards the officer, his hands grabbing, groaning and growling loudly.
I clutched my bat hard, my hands sweaty by watching this. What the hell was this man doing?
The cop reached for his taser and used it on him. It didn't seem to phase him at all except for keeping him in place for a few seconds.
The cop shook his head and backed away, calling for his partner who I assumed was in the car.
"Officer Dile, this guy isn't drunk, he's infected."
My heart skipped a beat. Infected? Someone infected was that close to us the entire time?
I could hear more commotion and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the window.
I could only see my former neighbor as he twitched and tried to break out of his stun.
"Do we have to?"
The other officer asked, his voice shaking.
"I don't want to either, but he's infected, and they want these guys to study."
The other cop said.
My body was shaking as I watched them try and grab my former neighbor and put cuffs around him, but his beefy body fought back, and it managed to grab the younger looking officer and fall on top of him. The officer was grabbing his face and holding it away from his own as hard as he possibly could. The other officer was trying to pull him off his partner by his shirt.
"I don't want to have to hurt you!"
The officer pulling on the infected man said, gritting his teeth.
I watched nervously as the officer underneath managed to wriggle out. The man fell back onto the other officer, and as I held my breath, seeing the infected man's teeth inch closer to the dazed officer, my neighbor's head blew up.
The other officer shot him.
I jumped away from the window at the sight of so much gore. My stomach felt sick, I felt like I was going to puke. I dropped my bat, my knuckles white from holding on so tightly. I scrambled to my bedroom.
"I heard the gunshot..."
Jasmyne whispered in the darkness. Gwen was crying into Jasmyne's arms.
"Yeah.. I- I saw it happen."
My voice was shaky. My stomach felt stable but I couldn't help my tears after that image was burned into my mind.
I crawled into bed with my sisters and held the two of them close to me.
"We're going to be okay."
I sighed.
"I promise."
-
I wouldn't have ever guessed, that two weeks from that incident, that all hell would break loose.
