Patient Zero

Day 0 - Rookie's mistake

// So! Before we start what I hope will be an amazing and long adventure here in Wattpadd I wanted to make something clear. This story, to whoever's reading it, might just be abandoned and stay here picking up dust for the rest of history. OR it might actually work out and I'll be happy that something that started as a very cringy draft for a story actually worked out. All of that being said, enjoy the first chapter. \\

— So, how's our little guy doing Jim?
— So far, so good. The specimen seems to be acting as planned. I might get to see my wife early today.

Jim Harrison, head of the research team dedicated to the study of various pathogens which had potential for use in warfare, was looking trough a microscope at a tiny organism. That was the N-Virus. The best of his class. This virus affected the neurological system in the human being, making him highly aggressive. All tests so far had given negative results, the test subjects were able to overcome the virus. They were expecting to make the virus stronger by modifying it genetically.

— Well, I guess we should be done for the day. Everything seems good enough so I'll start heading out. Cya Mark.

— Goodbye Jim, say hi to Anna for me.

— Will do.

Marcus White, Jim's assistant, stood still while looking around the room they were using for their tests. Many valuable pieces of equipment where neatly organized on the tables along the walls. It often surprised him how much people where willing to pay for something that would allow them to kill thousands of human beings. Will I be responsible for all of those deaths too? He had never liked the idea of killing someone much less what could be hundreds of thousands. Well, that won't happen, will it? There hasn't been a war since... Since when? When was the last time so many people were massacred? The last big war the wold had seen was the World War V. It hadn't been too long since it ended, maybe a decade or so. Since then, countries around the world had started growing paranoid and had spent billions on secret projects destined to "Protect the wold peace". Well, he had to finish cleaning up and he would finally be able to get back home after a long day of wo–

— Goddammit!

While picking up some syringes that where used to inject the virus into the test subjects, which were mostly rats, he had stabbed his hand with one that had the needle without it's protective cap. A single drop of blood came out of his latex-gloved hand. As he washed it as fast as he could he hoped it didn't contain the virus. He didn't have time to conduct blood tests. If he started feeling the symptoms he would have to act fast. Very fast. With that he left the lab after locking the doors and making sure the alarms were on, security let him pass the checkpoint and he headed home.

The biggest mistake Marcus had ever made was to go back to his house, his family and all of what mattered to him. He didn't have enough time to realize what was going on, the virus had never been tested on humans so the only lead he had was that of the tests they had made with animals. The virus acted almost three times as fast as they had seen throughout their tests, taking control of him in a matter of hours. His wife woke up late at night and noticed his husband wasn't in the bed with her. She got up and headed towards the bathroom, as she walked across the house she noticed something in the floor. It took her a few seconds to realize. A body. Marcus? No, it can't be. God, please be okay.

— Marcus? Honey, are you alright?

She walked towards her husband only to find him lying on the floor without moving. Dead. She needed a few seconds to process the image in front of her. Her husband, completely still on the ground. She fell to her knees and started to cry, at that very moment she noticed he was moving very, very sightly. She rushed towards him and turned him around. As soon as she did so Marcus, or what had once been him, opened his eyes and looked at his wife. It took a mere second for him to grab her and bite on her neck, going trough skin and muscle. Her screams filled the house waking up her kids and neighbours. In a few minutes, four people where already infected. It would take days for the whole city to be infected. They were running out of time.

796 words! Didn't really expect to write that much for the first chapter but I managed to make it long enough for my standards. I hope you all enjoy this first chapter and I hope this goes well for me.

Alpaca out.