The Plague

Chapter Two Safe Again

"Bye mummy, I love you too," I said, hanging up.
I followed her instructions and quickly left Rose Avenue, a street that meant I was ten minutes away from home. I turned past Charlotte Shopping Centre, and across was Goodwin Park, and I then sprinted into the Women's restroom, him hot on my tail. He couldn't follow me into the girl's bathroom on a busy day with other women in there anyway. I sat inside for about ten minutes, reading the news headlines, Charlotte, VA: Does it have The Plague? I sighed, my heart filling with heartbreak. The only family I have left is mum, daddy, grandma, and my older sister, Morgan, who is off in college. My other older brother, Matt, who was in ninth grade when he passed away. He would be in eleventh this year. And then there's me, the baby of the family at thirteen years old in seventh grade, eighth next year.
"Mary? Mary, are you okay?" Mum asked frantically, giving me lots of kisses.
"Yes, mum, I'm fine now. I just got a little scared, and that's why I wasn't home on time. That boy following me distracted me, it was weird for him to follow me," I said, giving mum a hug.
"Your poor father was in hysterics, but he's in the car now," she said. I knew that would happen.
When we got in the car, daddy looked mad, but relieved. The rest of the evening was normal. We had dinner, I showered, did homework, and went to sleep. Tomorrow's a Saturday, so I plan on reading, and I'm not going anywhere without mum or daddy after tonight. For a long time. I sighed, getting under my covers, leaving my night light on, then mum and daddy walked in.
"Goodnight sweetheart," daddy smiled, kissing me on the forehead and hugging me.
"Sleep well honey," mum smiled, giving me a peck on the cheek.
"Umm, mum, after this afternoon... I'm kinda scared to sleep alone," I admitted, blushing.
"I'll stay will you tonight then. That way you'll feel safe and daddy and snore all he wants," she joked, chuckling. "I'll be back darling," she said, walking out. She came back in with her pillow, changed in her pajamas. She laid down next to me, telling me to sleep well. That night however, I got very little sleep. My intuition told me someone bad was going to happen, and at that time I had no idea for the rocky road ahead. That night dragged on, so I decided to slip onto the porch for fresh air. After half an hour, I returned quietly. I got back in bed, but something was off. Mum was coughing very hard, and looked very pale.
"Mum? Mum, are you okay?" I asked, shaking her. She groaned, rubbing her temples.
"Go get daddy," she whispered, and I could tell she was on extreme pain. She doesn't have Chanson Disease, she doesn't have Chanson Disease, I chanted in my head. Chanson Disease is a disease that attacks the immune system, antibiotic resistant, and slowly kills the host. It was found in 2026 by Grant Marcum, and became a global disease by 2030. It's a horribly slow dying process, and I can't imagine if I lost mum or daddy, or both... The first stage is headache, coughing/wheezing, fever, chills, and a rash. The second stage is high fever, migraines, hives, and seizures. The third stage is red-blue hives, easy bruising, very high fever, impaired thoughts, and blindness. Most people die at this stage because of the uncontrollable fever, but the fourth is the worst. In the final stage, everything is swollen, and organs fail. All I could think was: it can't be us, we didn't do anything.