(Jack’s point of view)
“We are advising everyone to try and remain calm. The C.D.C. is trying to figure out what exactly is going on, and as soon as there’s an answer, we will send out another announcement. The hospitals are telling everyone to lock their doors, and stay as far away from windows, and keep hidden. This is not a drill, Baltimore. This is-“
All of a sudden the television went black. Looking to my left, I saw Alex with the remote in his hand.
“Dude, turn that back on.” Zack directed towards him, but Alex ignored his plea. He tossed the control onto the coffee table.
“No. This is bullshit. There’s something they aren’t telling us.”
“Look, this isn’t the time for your theories. We need to find out why we have to lock our doors. We have no idea what’s out there.” I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, I kept my eyes on Zack who had a worried expression spread across his face. I was slowly becoming anxious.
From the corner of my eye I saw Alex roll his eyes. I knew he wasn’t going to give up this argument without a fight. Even if there was something dangerous outside that was bigger than all of us combined… “They aren’t telling us anything, Zack. They just said that they don’t know what’s going on, but the ‘C.D.C’ is working on it. I don’t believe that for a second though.”
Zack sighed in frustration. “And why not, Alex? Why do you not believe the ones that could save us?”
“Because, I’ve seen Quarantine.” Alex stated matter-of-factly. Zack and I exchanged a look, before returning our gaze back on Alex. He sat there, with his arms crossed, staring straight ahead. He refused to look at either of us. These were the times that I swear Zack could rip Alex’s hair out. Strand by strand…
I kept glancing at the open window near the front door. It was eerily quiet for what had just been announced. Looking up at the clouds, I noticed that the sky was darkening. “That was a good movie…” I whispered just loud enough for them to hear. Alex glanced at me, and gave me a weak grin before returning to his blank stare.
“What the hell does that have to do with anything? You guys are crazy. There’s something going on in Baltimore, and all you guys want to do is talk about some horror movie?” Zack’s voice rose, before he pushed himself off the couch and ran a hand through his hair. He began to pace the room, and tap his hand on his chin like he was contemplating ideas.
Seeing him walk back and forth was making my nerves rise more than the actual chaos which was apparently happening outside.
“Calm-“
“No, I see what Alex is talking about. In that movie, there was some sort of disease that started spreading. The CDC said that they were going to “help”, but instead they kept everyone who was infected, locked away. They weren’t going to let them out alive.” I said slowly, as I tried to remember the plot of the movie. Nothing that I was saying was actually helping the situation, or anyone’s nerves, but I did understand what Alex was getting at. As I finished, Zack had stopped pacing.
He gave us both weird stares, as he clenched his fist. You could tell his feelings hadn’t changed, due to his tightened jaw. I hadn’t seen Zack this upset in a while. It was sorta bizarre, since he was more masculine than any of us.
“That. Was. A. Movie.” He said through gritted teeth. “Anything happens in movies. That’s like me taking advice from Home Alone.” He made his way over to the window and clamped it shut.
