Partners in Crime

Chapter 2: The Painful Pandemic

3rd person POV

The pandemic was horrible. An unknown disease to mankind caught to one, then it spread like wildfire.
It hit one person after the next, the first one interacted with friends and doctors when the symptoms were only of a fever, but soon after that changed. Hospital patients got it, coworkers, friends, families. It soon spread to most of London. 

Henry and Edward's father was very unfortunate to be one of those friends of friends who got it. When he came home one night with just the common cold, it soon got worse. The illness became a fever, then when his wife got it, the cycle repeated with her. The more people they interacted with, some of their germs would either make the illness come faster, or it would mutate the virus.
Not long after, Henry and Edward got it. 

The 4 of them would cough violently at times, no one knew what was happening, but they soon started hearing that it was spreading to other countries. The family was terrified to even go outside.

One day though, they had no choice...

Doctors opened the doors quickly and found the family. The father stood weakly. "Wh-Who are you?!" He tried to ask with a strong voice.

The family looked pale and feverish, but everyone knew it was much worse. 

"We're doctors from America. We heard about the pandemic here and offer our assistance." One of the doctors said. They took the family outside against their protests and put them in a crowd of other sick people who were receiving masks and some were getting shots or vaccines.
Almost losing the two, Henry and Edward were quickly grasped by their mother and father so they'd all stay together. While their parents were looking for a way out of the crowd, Henry felt a tug, then looked over to see Edward being pulled away from him by a doctor.

"EDWARD" Henry did his best to shout. Henry's father looked over and so did his mother. In a panic, his mother ran after Edward, giving Henry to his father. Henry panicked and look up. "Papa what's happening?!"

"I don't know Henry.." The father said, trying to stay calm. After a moment he saw another coming towards them. He looked down to Henry and knelt to his eye level. "Henry, whatever happens please don't forget us! Don't forget me, don't forget your mother! And never, ever, forget Edward!" Now Henry's father has tears in his eyes. 

"I-I won't Papa.. I promise I won't!" Henry tried to hug his father, but then a doctor grabbed Henry and began taking him. "NO" Henry screamed, trying to get back.
His father tried to chase after him, but he was grabbed a second later, and they both were being dragged in opposite directions. Henry kicked and screamed, trying to break free. But as soon as he realized he wouldn't get anywhere, he started yelling Edward's name. He couldn't find Edward for 10 minutes. Suddenly, Henry was taken to a tent, a tent where patients would wait to go elsewhere for quarantine. 

Henry found Edward in there. The boys hugged each other. Henry explained what their father had said to him, then Henry was once again taken, he continued to fight until he could no longer see the waiting tent. Now he was taken to a hospital where he would be cured... 

For a few months, Henry didn't see anything of the outside world except from outside his window.
After Henry was finally cured he was released from the hospital, but then placed in an orphanage because he was too young to live on his own. Before he was taken to the orphanage, he asked the front desk people. "Excuse me. Do you know Mr. and Mrs. Jekyll?"

"We do Henry." She said. 

"Do you know where they might be?.. they're.. they're my parents and I'd like to see them.." he said shyly. Henry wasn't quite used to talking to people without his parents talking to them first.

The desk woman looked as if she had turned a little pale, she looked to the other woman there as if she needed help finding words, and frankly, she did. Nervously, the woman looked back at Henry and spoke to him.

"M-My dear poor young Henry.. they.. they had died a few days ago..."

Henry's eyes widened with shock. He didn't know how to react. Henry's eyes filled with tears as he spoke. "Th-The illness k-killed th-them?..." He said with a shaky voice.

"N-No Henry... someone came in and killed them... all I can say is a knife was involved.." and that was the end of the conversation.

Henry looked down, then allowed himself to be taken to the orphanage. He didn't know if he should be crying, screaming, yelling, angry, sad, having a mental breakdown, all that Henry knew, was that he had lost his parents, and he'll never see them again...