The Shadow

S p o o k

     Somehow, a few cities over, an outbreak of Shadow. Shadow was a harmful disease that appeared as a regular cold. It was most common in 1975. The second you were in contact with the disease itself, you were affected. It quickly altered your cells. The part that differed from a fast-paced cancer was that the symptoms showed only through coughing and sneezing.
     It didn’t take long for everyone to know what to do. Teresa woke Tom up. They shut every possible opening to the outside, grabbed what seemed most necessary, and barricaded the walls. No clue how long they would be in hiding, everyone grabbed hold of any nearby food or water. They knew the recommended steps of survival, since it was the longest record of illness-caused deaths in American history. Luckily, the supply room was directly behind the break room, so it would be two months before they would begin to run out of necessities and have to go out into the open. Once they finished, they tuned into PBN for more updates on the situation. Clara called her brother and her father, trying to see if they had heard. The PBN said to find an air-tight place to keep away from the disease. Bacaraded doors, news on, and prepared for the worst, the coworkers of Jacks Jack O’ Lanterns sat silently in the break room.
     There were no changes quite until midnight. The workers spent the whole day silent, and in fear. Tom had found some old board games in the storage space behind the break room, and had gotten everyone to play for a short amount of time. 
     This outbreak was reported to have started at nine AM. Helicopters were heard from a few miles away. Kyle slurped his Monster, Teresa chattered her teeth and Clara wouldn’t stop fiddling with the zipper on her boots.
     Shadow, mostly known as Shad03, had mutated into something different from before. In history books it had stated the disease as a simple mutation malfunction in the body. It was caused by a mixture of chemicals that bound together. It triggered a reflex in the throat, causing you to cough. This, of course, was followed by cold or flu symptoms. However, an overflowing mutation makes the body malfunction, and shut down.
     At that time, you were able to survive.  Those who were strong and healthy enough survived, but if you missed your Shadow Shot, you were a goner. However, surviving might not have been the better option. The ones who had survived started seeing changes. They no longer became a carrier of an active Shadow effect, but you they were stuck with the curse of being alive. It began at the neck, where bone matter built up and started to tear the skin. Then the organs were crushed together to form an odd shape. Your feet then begin to grow webbed, and a whole new foot was grown.
    Clara and her coworkers were frightened by the news of the new discoveries, which would have to progress day after day. Doctors would not release the details as to why it changed your bone structure until after they made a vaccine. It was two AM, and she was sleeping on Kyles’ lap, with the t.v. on a more calming station, in hopes that everyone could get some rest.