Viral

2 - Keeping Secrets

I recognised the last Infected. It was Clara Matthews, the girl on the other side of Reed's Zone: Zone 7C. Since Reed's room was closer to Applebaum's than mine, she didn't pass us before disappearing into hers. I sent Reed a look. Understanding, he nodded and disappeared out of my tarp, slipping into Clara's.

"I repeat. What the hell is happening?" Joe panicked, his murky green eyes glistening with worry.

"Nothing, okay? They're probably just switching up the antibiotics system."

"You know as well as I do that's not true," Joe hissed. "We're all on the same antibiotics. Why would they call out random sub-zones instead of like 'the entire Zone 5 or the entire Zone 7'?"

"I don't know, okay?" I snapped, my whisper a little louder than intended.

"Hannah?" Maddy asked nervously.

I forced a smile, "yeah?"

"Did you notice how dazed they all looked? They came out wobbling. One girl looked like she was about to throw up!" 

I gritted my teeth. I had noticed that. I swallowed my anxieties with a gulp before shooting a genuine smile at my new room mate, comforting, "Maddy, it's okay. I trust these doctors. Some medications have weird side effects. If there's one thing I've learned since coming here, it's that there's a method to their madness. Trust me, it'll be okay."

Boy was I ever wrong...

***

The alarms and announcements continued every half hour for the next several hours. Reed never came back from Clara's room, but none of us were particularly worried. That boy had a habit of disappearing at weird times. 

When he did eventually return, it was just before another alarm. There was something off about him. His dark hair was tousled and there was something strange in his eyes. Was that... Was it... Fear?

Just as I was about to ask him what was wrong, the alarm blared again. Irritated, I slammed my hands over my ears, waiting for the inevitable announcement:

"All Infected inhabitants of Zones 5F, 6F, 7A, 7B, and 8D report immediately to Dr. Carlson."

All four of us remained silent for a minute before Joe finally squeaked, "6F, 7A, and 7B... That's us." 

One by one, the four of us filed out of Zone 7A and slithered down the hallway. All of our senses were on high alert. We passed Clara's room and I peered in through a gap in the tarp to see her passed out sideways on her bed, a small pile of puke next to her. I cringed. These side effects seemed a little intense.

Once out of Zone 7's hallway, we turned right and headed in the direction of Zone 8, where Dr. Carlson resided. Along the way, we bumped into a few other Infected residents of the Zones who had been called, all chattering nervously amongst themselves. I swallowed uncomfortably. Something about this whole endeavour just didn't sit well.

At Zone 8, we were asked to lined up just like we had seen the Infected do outside of Zone 7. 

Dr. Waverly was there. She smiled weakly, her crows feet barely crinkling as she handed out labels and ordered us to write our names and sub-zones. The pen she handed me was filled with blood-red ink, which leaked all over my fingers as I wrote.

When I finished, my name tag was splotchy and full of ink blotches, but it read Hannah, 7A. I looked to Joe, who was struggling to peel off the sticky adhesive and caught a glimpse of Joe, 6F. Zone 6 was the smallest ward, so Joe - the last of the Zone 6s - had been thrown into an empty room in Zone 7 next to mine. Lucky for him or he'd never have such awesome friends.