Absolute Contamination

1/ Heartfelt Goodbye

CHAPTER 1: HEARTFELT GOODBYE

My heart thumped in my throat as I walked up our driveway. I couldn’t shake the fear of arriving too late, even though only two hours had passed since I left Lina’s house. Our long-awaited sleepover marked the beginning of summer break, and should have lasted an additional three days.

While Lina and I painted our toenails, ate popcorn by the buckets, and wondered what life would be like after graduation the following year, Lina’s father had his eyes glued to the television screen. We were too busy having fun, but he paid close attention to the hourly updates on the virus as it spread throughout the country.

Several diseases had come and gone in the past, and they never hit close to home, so why would it have been any different this time? That morning, however, Lina’s mother told me to call my parents. She wanted me to ask them to come pick me up. Overnight, the endangered, unprotected families received a call to relocate to a designated safe zone – the virus spread too fast. The exponential growth of contaminated humans made holding them under quarantine impossible, which instigated a risk too great for the uninfected.

After my brusque wake-up call, I nearly wrecked my phone dialing and redialing the numbers of my parents and two brothers. I hadn’t been able to get in touch with anyone because the networks had crashed.

Lina’s parents insisted on taking care of me, but I knew I had to find a way home as fast as possible. I had to be with my family, not theirs. The offer to drop me off on the way to their assigned Safe Zone tempted me, but I couldn’t wait too long and risk not getting home in time. I did not want to walk through the front door, only to find out my parents and brothers had taken off without me.

At the bus stop, I soon learned most of the public transportation had been shut down. Available seats on the last buses were scarce, and if the older man hadn’t insisted I take his ticket, I would have been stuck in another town.

 “Mom? Dad? Where are you?" I shouted the moment I burst through the front door. They were nowhere to be found though, nor were my brothers. After checking the rooms downstairs, including the kitchen and the garage, I made my way up to the first floor.

Jackpot, I thought to myself at the sound of voices coming from my parents’ bedroom. I dropped my bag and keys aside before I burst through the door.

 “Mom? Dad? Did you follow the news? We need to pack our things and leave before…” I froze at the sight of Dad in bed. Mom sat beside him on a chair, mopping his pale forehead with a wet washing cloth. When she glanced up at me, I finished my sentence in an anxious whisper. “…it’s too late.”

I wished for someone to tell me things weren’t what they seemed. I had to be stuck in a bad dream. To wait until I finally woke up from said nightmare became my ultimate plan. I closed my eyes, not able to chance another look at my weakened dad.

“Keara,” Mom said in a soft voice.

Dad couldn’t be dying – he was the kind of man who would easily live long enough to celebrate his hundredth birthday. A small smile formed on my face. The muscles in my shoulders relaxed, and I opened my eyes…

Dad still lay in bed, covered with what seemed like every single blanket we owned. Curtains drawn, the nightlight on his bedside table functioned as the only light source. Even though the sun shone bright, the dark and stuffy room emphasized the sense of illness that hung heavy in the air.

While I shook my head, I tried to ask what was going on. The truth was obvious, but I needed someone to spell it out for me. I couldn’t wrap my head around the pending loss of my parents.