California

Chapter 9

A couple hours passed and I heard my name being yelled. I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep at my desk. The door flung open.

"They're at the hospital." Syd exclaimed. I jumped up out of my seat and jogged over to the lab. Steve was talking to the screen and I could hear Peggy's voice coming through the speakers.

"Are they there? Is everyone okay?"

Steve looked up and nodded. "Everyone made it there safely. No one came in contact with any of the infected."

"Bruce, it's good to see you man." I heard a male voice come through the speaker and ran over to see the screen.

"Charlie?"

"Jake! You're okay!"

Jake Riley's face fell with relief as I stared at him on the video chat. "I have been so worried about you. I couldn't get ahold of you before I came in."

"I know. Syd and I were on a camping trip and thought it was a good idea to turn our phones off."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't you know better than to go off the grid like that?"

"We were in Griffith!! We figured if something horrible happened we'd know somehow. But we were wrong. Listen it doesn't matter. Is this doctor getting anywhere with a vaccine or cure?"

"He's working on it. He just tried one batch but... the woman died anyways. We couldn't save her." His features were grim, making me wonder how closely he has been working with this doctor and what he's had to see.

"We're working on getting all the information we can. Does he know anything about the virus yet?"

"Hey Cannerts!" Jake yelled offscreen. A man walked up and leaned down to look into the camera.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Cannerts. What I know so far is the virus is a very intense, rapid growing, strain of influenza. But it's a strain I've never seen before. The person who brought it in here, he had it for several days before he died. But the people who have since been infected have died within 48 hours."

"If it's sped up that much, does that mean if we can't figure out a solution, the incubation period could change?" Bruce's voice is strained.

Cannerts sighed, remaining quiet for an uncomfortable handful of seconds. "Well I believe... yes. In the 1918 flu pandemic, people started out surviving for a few days before dying. Quickly as time passed without a cure, people were dying within hours. Millions of people died. The incubation period for the 2009 h1n1 virus that killed hundreds of thousands of people was a consistent 7 days. It's almost as if they've... mixed the two strains. Which is why is started out slow and has quickly jumped to such a shorter time."

"So what do we do?" Bruce asked the doctor.

"There isn't much you can do out there other than just wait to see if we need any supplies or assistance. Now that Dr. Strange and the others are here, we can start working. I'll have Jake here checking in regularly. Keep us updated on any infected outside the cordon."

"We will. Right now all the trouble just seems to be coming from lawbreakers who are taking advantage of the situation."

"Sadly not a surprise. Stay safe Bruce. The same to your team. We'll talk soon." Cannerts nodded to Bruce before nodding to someone off screen.

The video disconnected. My heart sank. Our friends inside enemy lines basically. Working so closely with that virus where anything could go wrong. And who knows when we will hear from them next. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"They'll be okay. They're smart and they know what they're doing."

I mustered up half a smile for Bruce and nodded. "So what do we do while we wait?"

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts and Syd quickly came into the lab. "Uh Charlie... your 12 o'clock appointment is here...."

"The fuck?" I asked before looking back at Bruce. He shrugged.

"I guess we just go about our normal lives as best we can while we wait. Better go to your meeting."