VIRUS (Completed)

Day Nine

Day Nine

357 days. I opened my eyes not wanting to close them ever again and see those numbers of doom. I folded back my gray blanket and white sheet and gingerly stepped onto the floor. I remembered to check for pieces of plastic before I did so. I had cleaned up my broken alarm clock but accidents do happen. My bare toes felt weird against the wood floor and I grabbed a pair of socks out of the dresser next to my bed and slipped them on.

My back cracked several times as I stretched and I yawned widely. I checked my watch. 9:53. Oh, shoot, Sergeant Walker is going to kill me for being so late! I threw on my black combat gear and ran down the hall, my boots making loud thudding noises as they met the wood floor. I took the stairs four at a time and bolted for the training field.

People scrambled out of my way and some yelled at me but I paid them no attention. My mind was focused on getting to the training field. Who knows what Sergeant Walker would do when I got there. I cringed as I immagined the sergeant making me run the obstacle course over and over. I hadn't actually seen it yet but from what Tim, Charles, and Emily had told me, it wasn't something you wanted to do very many times.

Everything around me became a blur as I ran as fast as I could. I was almost there. Oh, shoot, no one's there! I skidded to a stop in the empty field and looked around. Not a soul was in sight. They must have left for a mission or something already! I sighed and headed to the far end of the field.

The wind swept throught the tall pine trees which were on three sides of me and I took in a deep breathe and let my lungs fill with the sappy air. This was where I first met Emily. Ah, Emily, I smiled just thinking about her black hair and hazel eyes. I could stare into those eyes for hours!

"Hey, Max!"

"Ahhh!"

I jumped up and whipped around pulling my knife out.

"Whoa, Max, it's just me," Emily said, holding her hands up and taking a step back.

"Oh, sorry, Emily."

I slipped the knife back in its place.

"Um, Max?" Emily raised an eyebrow and scanned her eyes over me.

What was she looking at? Oh, right, my uniform. Why wasn't she wearing hers?

"How come you aren't wearing your uniform Emily?"

"Max, seriously, we have today off."

Emily rolled her eyes.

"Really?"

I couldn't believe my luck! With today off I could finally have some time to experiment with my powers!

"Yes, Max, didn't anyone tell you?"

"Um, no...."

"Well, I'm telling you now," she said laughing and punching me playfully in the arm.

I held my shoulder and frowned in mock hurt.

"You poor baby!" Emily tried to frown but it ended up looking like a grin.

"This is totally awesome!"

"What is?" she asked, totally confused at the change of subject.

"Having a day off!"

"Oh, yeah, I guess so...."

She didn't sound very convincing.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there isn't exactly a whole lot of stuff to do around here, except for the guy's soccer game."