It all happened so fast. Disaster. Widespread panic.
A Pandemic.
It wasn't long before the Infected were everywhere.
When Hayley Brookes near-perfect life comes crashing down around her - due to a new, widespread, incurable strain of virus and she...
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The man snarled and began pursuing Alec, reaching out with his long arms. His wrinkled, dirty hands grabbed Alec's shirt collar and clawing at his neck. Alec reacted quickly and using his strong, athletic frame he was able to easily shove the creeping, strange man off of him.
Meanwhile, I was stood stock still, frozen in shock whilst the whole event occured. When Alec walked up to me, speedily grabbing my hand and pulling us away from there, I was unprepared and stumbled. Springing into action, I quickly regained my footing and we practically ran all the way to Alec's car.
I finally let myself breathe once we were safely tucked away in the car and Alec simultaneously lets out a loud breath of obvious relief.
"Are you okay?" He asked me, his light, blue eyes searching my own.
"I should be asking you that." I replied, softly chuckling to lighten the mood. "Are you alright?" I asked, my tone now serious. I placed my palm against his cheek, softly stroking his face with my thumb.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He replied, sending me a quick smile to reassure me, although it was clearly forced. I was unsurprised though, I'd been completely shaken by the whole event, and I was hardly involved. "Come on, let's get you home, your brother seemed worried enough already." With that he pulled out of the car park and we started on the journey home.
I was cut off as Jason enveloped me in a tight hug, making it hard to breathe. He was mumbling something along the lines of 'Thank God you're okay'. When he finally released me I was able to breathe again.
"Why wouldn't I be okay?" I questioned him, confused.
"The news... It's all over the news Hayley" Jason replied, struggling to get his words out. "C'mon, I'll show you both." He said, acknowledging Alec, who stood behind me, with a nod of his head. He led us both into the living room, where Lily was sat contently playing with her dolls, and switched the tv on.
A headline flashed across the screen on a red banner:
Multiple attacks on civilians in Manhattan due to an unidentified, fatal, virus.
A journalist came onto the screen, live from the studio.
"Reports have been coming in throughout the past week of violent attacks on unsuspecting citizens in the centre of Manhattan. The number of incidents being reported have doubled since only yesterday. The total number of attacks has reached over 200. At least 120 people have been hospitalized due to wounds sustained from these vicious assaults.
Some of the offenders have been caught and detained. They have been reported to be unstable and 'out of their minds'. It has been comfirmed that the cause of these attacks is due to an unidentified, fatal, virus. Scientists at the CDC (Centre for Disease Control) have been unable to identify what the virus is or why it is causing these violent outbursts. They believe that the pathogen spreads by entering the bloodstream. It then attacks the brain, making the infected exhibit violent outbursts.
The public can follow these guidlines to help keep themselves safe from the infected:
- Keep indoors as much as possible. - Stay away from anyone suspicious looking. Anyone infected can be identified by abnormal social behaviour, lack of speech, a foul smell and grey, clouded eyes. -Report suspicious behaviour to the police.
Be careful and stay safe. We will update as soon as further information is known about the causes of these attacks.
The news reporter ended her speech leaving me speechless. My mouth hung slightly open, a look of shock frozen on my features. It may seem of like no big deal, but my mind was still shaken from the event that took place outside the restaurant earlier. I glanced around at Alec, who sat next to me on the couch, only to see that his expression mirrored mine. Looking at Jason on the other side of me, I saw a look of sadness etched onto his face.
"This is why I was worried about you." He said to me softly.
"Oh. It's okay. I'm fine, nothing happened. Stop worrying." I said, touching his arm to reassure him. I decided to leave out mine and Alec's close encounter, not wanting to worry him further.
"Good." He sighed, "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."
Me and Jason were much closer than most siblings. Having absentee parents who were always busy working or travelling, we grew up relying on each other.
"I'm fine." I promised him. He nodded his head, putting his worrisome thoughts to rest.
He stood up saying, "Well, it's getting late. You should get some rest Hayles." At the mention of sleep I noticed just how exhausted I was, no longer hungry, my appetite had long since vanished.
"Yes, rest sounds good, I'm not in the mood for any food. Alec?" I asked, remembering that he never had a chance to eat either. He shook his head no, clearly not hungry either.
"Can he stay?" I looked towards Jason for an answer, "He doesn't seem fit to drive." Jason shrugs his shoulders.
"I suppose so. It's not like mum and dad are here to complain." He says nonchalantly, our absent parents a normal occurence. "He's sleeping on the couch though." He added, his brotherly protective insticts kicking in, as usual.
"Thanks Jace," I smiled. I walked over to Lily, who was still happily playing with her toys and give her a quick kiss goodnight before heading up the stairs, gesturing for Alec to follow me. He had spent the night before, and no we hadn't slept together, just cuddled, talked and fell asleep. I wasn't ready for a sexual relationship yet and he understood, he hadn't ever pressured me into anything. He was so sweet and considerate of my feelings and that was why I loved him.
Once we were in my room, I closed the door behind us and began shifting through the clothes in my wardrobe, pulling out one of Jason's old t-shirts that would fit Alec as they both had a similar build. I tossed it to him, hearing a small 'Thanks' and pulled out a pair of my own pajamas. I turned around to see Alec stripping his t-shirt off, a welcome sight, thanks to his toned abdomen and muscular chest that years of football had given him. However what caught my gaze was the angry red lines running from just under his throat to just above his collarbone.
"What's that?" I asked, my voice quiet as I pointed towards the deep scratch marks.
"Oh, it's nothing," he replied casually. "Just that guy from earlier, scratched me deeper than I thought."
"It's not nothing," I sighed, walking into the bathroom and gathering some wipes and a soothing ointment. I walked back to Alec, took out a wipe and began to clean the sore marks, before applying the ointment.
"Thanks Hayley," he said with a small smile. He then pulled me against him with his hand on the small of my back, leaned his head down and captured my lips with his own. It was a gentle kiss which I happily returned.
Pulling back, I whispered, "I'm really glad you're okay."
"Me too." And with that his lips found mine again.
Before things could get too heated, I pulled away. As enjoyable as it was, we were both exhausted. Thank God it was the weekend tomorrow.
I gave him a blanket and a pillow off of my bed, pointing at the couch in my room, knowing that Jason would check on us before he went to bed. I then took my pyjamas into the bathroom to change before finally switching off the lights, whispering a goodnight to Alec and sliding into my soft, cosy bed.
