Virus

Prologue

Prologue

I’ve never given much thought to death. But now lying in these stark white sheets and strange people in sterile white gown surround me, death is all I think about. It plagues my every thought and haunts my every nightmare. Everyday I am one step closer and I would be lying if I told you I wasn't afraid. At times I thought about him, where he was, what he was doing, how long he had left.

I'm probably not making any sense; I should start from the beginning, the day I was told, I was going to die.

Almost exactly a year ago it was my seventeenth birthday; it was also the day I was infected with a deadly virus. I know there are one of you smart-asses saying we all know that we are going to die, but unlike you I know the exact number of days, it’s even tattooed on my arm like an expiration date, a constant reminder that my days were numbered. There are the few lucky ones who have immunity but there is a price, all immune children were born from infected mothers, unfortunately most of the mothers don’t live long enough to deliver the child. My sister is one of the lucky ones but like the all the others, her protection came with a cost, our mother’s life. The virus that threatens my life also eventually killed my mother and left me alone to raise my sister, but don’t misunderstand, we have our father, but we’ll come to him later.

Now you are probably wondering about this virus. Well for such a complex disease it has a fairly simple beginning, a scientist who seemed to be a terrorist in his spare time, created the virus and “accidentally” infected his colleagues with it and well after that, it spread like wild fire and unfortunately he wasn’t kind enough to create the remedy. After you are infected you have exactly one year to live, three hundred and sixty five day exactly, but as if it wasn’t enough knowing your death day, you have the pleasure of suffering through a new set of symptoms every single month.

Day one: vomiting blood, dizziness and retracted pupils. This is the warning sign, if you display these symptoms, you will be immediately rushed to quarantine and you can kiss goodbye your freedom and say hello to your hospital bed, till death do you part.

Month one: no symptoms, it's a grace period before the torment begins.

Month two: constant fatigue and bloodshot eyes, so very unattractive.

Month three: loss of taste buds, which always results in massive weight loss.

Month four: extremely sensitive skin, which practically turns you into a vampire.

Month five: constant vomiting, beyond disgusting and again, major weight loss.

Month six: dilated pupils causing light-sensitivity, which isn't so bad, it gives you an excuse to wear sunglasses all the time.

Month seven: hot flushes, which can only be described as being locked in an oven.

Month eight: insomnia, the cause of my incurable dark circles.

Month nine: shivers and chills, so you constantly feel like you've been locked in a freezer.

Month ten: random twitches and spasms, making you look like you belong in a mental hospital.

Month eleven: lace rash forms on the arms, the ugliest thing you have seen.

Month twelve: constant anxiety and paranoia, by the end of this month, you will welcome death with open arms.

Day three hundred and sixty five: death. Morbid isn't it?

Now that you know the fundamentals, my name is Natalie Taylor and this is my story of the year I was infected with the MK4 virus.