Hello my lovely fans and readers! This is just a random short story I wrote a while ago and recently adjusted. Hope you enjoy it!
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-Annie
The Final Stage
My eyes widened in horror as I read the medical report on the table. Such words as not curable, possible epidemic and fatal stood out among the bold black print. Several pictures were clipped onto the two-page report, all showing the same signs. The people lay on medical tables; some dead, some most likely on the brink of death. Blood ran down the sides of their mouths, staining their clothes a horrific red. Their skin was deathly pale; some black and blue bruises seemingly random all over them. Setting the pictures down on the table, I took another look over the detailed papers.
“Patient no. 1 came in at 5:37 a.m. on Thursday, March 3rd. He told Dr. Carter about his stomachaches, blurred vision, and nausea. Medication had no effect on his so-called ‘virus.’ CT scans and X-Rays showed no results. Patient no. 1 was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. At 9:12 a.m., other patients complained about noises coming from his room. Upon coming inside, several nurses witnessed him coughing up large amounts of blood. Minutes later, the patient died.
“Patients 2 and 3 came in shortly after with the same symptoms. Within four hours, they were coughing up blood. The nurses tending to the three patients started displaying their symptoms. More people came in, flooding all emergency centers. Calls came in from major cities around the world: Bei Jing, Tokyo, London, Moscow, France, Rome, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and others. All hospitals bore the same news about the unknown virus. Within 24 hours, 1,000,000 people around the world died. The waiting rooms were filled to capacity, all other rooms unavailable. Other nurses and doctors started mirroring their symptoms. Thousands of people died in just this one hospital. Even with medication and face masks, the virus infected all.
“In the next 48 hours, communication between parts of the world was diminished. Hospitals failed to answer their call; the government would not respond or console their people. More than half the population of the world has died in this epidemic. The virus proves to be fatal if caught, and can be spread by touch, blood, or through the air. When they start coughing up their own blood, death is imminent.”
I placed the file on the table, having read enough. This hospital must have been one of the last strongholds to witness this epidemic. Sighing, I looked around the small room. Tables were flipped over, chairs broken. Papers were scattered all over the floor, crumpled and ripped. A light from the ceiling hung from one wire, flickering on and off. Paper towels and rags lay everywhere, mostly stained red. The door in the left corner of the room was missing a hinge, now swinging freely.
Something creaked from behind me, and I quickly spun around, pulling my gun from its holster. A figure darted from my sight and into the hallway. Keeping the gun raised, I quietly made my way across the room. I waited a moment by the doorframe, taking a deep breath. All was silent in the hallway, not a single sound to be heard. I stepped out from behind the frame, holding my father’s gun out in front of me.
Bodies were scattered in the dim hall, blood trailing along the white, tiled floors. A few handprints, stained red, were imprinted on the walls. I carefully stepped over the bodies, being cautious not to touch them. The virus was still able to be spread, even after death. I held the gun with my right hand, taking a small flashlight out of my pocket with my left. A bright light illuminated the hallway, sending shadows down the floor. I took a step back as a man appeared before me. He looked to be around his mid-fifties, standing at a height of 6’3. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair greasy and unkempt. But most importantly, his skin was pale, mottled with bruises.
