BLIGHT

《1》

Blight. Death. Deterioration. Destruction. In the space of one day, the Blight descended on the world. In appearance like frost, clinging to every surface, ice cold to the touch. But it was more than just a simple return of winter after a thousand years. So much more as we were about to find out.

I scraped a few Blight samples into the test tube. Outside, the air was frigid. If I weren't wearing a hazmat suit, my breath would frost the air. As it was, the air was no longer safe to breathe without protection. "One more to go." I placed the sample inside the container.

"Hurry, Lia. You're running out of time," my colleague and ex-boyfriend, Tom Welling, warned. "Ten seconds."

"I'm aware." I extracted the final tube, added the sample and sealed it. "Got it," I said over the comm. "Heading back in."

"Good," Tom answered. "Just a few seconds more and I would have come out after you. Makes me nervous."

"So you've said, repeatedly."

"It bears repeating. You know the danger."

"I'm aware. More than thirty seconds outside and I'm contaminated by the Blight. But I made it. Again."

"Just. 28.6 seconds. You're risking your life for nothing."

"Not for nothing. We need the samples in order to create a cure. This time it will work. I'm sure of it."

"I hope so." Tom sounded weary. His tone held no hope. What little he had has been crushed by the deaths we've witnessed the last six months. Our friends, our families. Dead.

Colleagues were taken one by one until Tom and I were the last survivors of GenTech. Mistakes were grievously made in the beginning. At first it was thought masks and gloves were enough protection but we soon found out our error. Hazmat suits were added but exposure to the Blight for longer than thirty seconds rendered the suits ineffective. Even then, it took time to whittle down the time within safety parameters.

Thirty seconds wasn't a whole lot of time to gather sufficient samples. Even when we had enough of a sample to test, there were other problems to be dealt with. Often the Blight would dissolve before the test was completed. It was imperative to get the samples inside and into the lab before they dissolved.

Inside the sterile chamber entrance, I placed the container in the slot and Tom took it and ran to the lab while I shed the hazmat suit, including all underclothing. Naked, several cleansing chemicals sterilized my body from top to bottom. Once sterilized, the inner light turned green and I entered the locker room via plasticized tubes. I dressed in another one piece outfit, hazmat suit, gloves and helmet. Each part of the outfit was sealed with the rest so that no contaminants were allowed to enter. Thus far, the Blight has yet to make its way inside the buildings and residences. Thus far. We've been pretty lucky on that point.

I took the elevator down thirty floors, walked to my personal lab, boots squeaking on freshly sterilized floors. Tom was already hard at work with the samples. "Anything?"

"Nothing yet," he replied, his voice muffled by the suit. We continued to wear them indoors, only removing the suits at night when sleeping. I have yet to get used to this. I long for the days when I could touch another human being without fearing for my life. I miss hugs most of all. My mother was a prolific hugger, extending warmth with her arms, offering comfort when needed. I inherited that trait. With the coming of the Blight, hugging was no longer an option. I miss it.

I joined Tom at the window, observing mechanical arms behind protective unbreakable empty the contents of the tubes onto the testing plate. If we timed it right, we might get a viable sample out of the six. If. "Were we in time?"