English Essays

Short Story: Panic

Write a short story with the title, 'Panic'.

Ebola fever
 Noun: Ebola
 An infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids by a filo virus (Ebola virus), whose normal host species is unknown.

His heart began racing as soon as he stepped off the cramped plane. He took in a deep breath, almost choking on the dust that coated the ground. Recruited and picked from the millions of ingenious candidates, Jay Jordan was sent to Sierra Leone by the USA to win the race to cure Ebola. The overwhelming warmth in Sierra Leone hit Jay like a bullet, instantaneously. Jay's thoughts were all in a humid blur as he tried to remain calm and collected. The sun made it almost impossible to see anything, even though he was blocking the light with his hand. He squinted into the distance and saw two headlights approach rapidly.

As a sleek, black car braked, friction caused the dust to scatter through the air. A large man exited the car and held out his arms. "Hey, Jordan! It's Carlos!" "Actually that's my surname, my first name is J-," He was cut off by the impolite man, Carlos, who continued to speak as if only his words mattered to the world. Jay couldn't help but stare at Carlos' silk jacket, which was lined with numerous pins, badges, and undoubtedly important medals. "And that's where you come in Jordan," Carlos went on. "It's Jay," he persisted. "You will study the drug we have devised, use your input, pick your brains, and hopefully we can begin human testing as soon as possible! After we've taken the medical precautions, of course," Carlos grinned. The enthusiasm Carlos used when talking about a deadly disease was slightly unnerving, but to Jay's misfortune, he was his boss.

Jay got very little time to rest, as the car took him straight to a laboratory. Jay was glad that he was finally in a familiar environment, with all the latest medicine technology. "Quick introduction, I'm Isaac. This is our current base for the cure," Isaac informed Jay, eager to impress him. "At the moment, this drug will increase the number of genetically engineered white blood cells in the body. Of course there is a tiny percentage of the disease in an extremely dilute form, like any other vaccine. What would you suggest we do next?" Jay leant over the microscope, to closer inspect what to instruct Isaac to do. He had to make the right decision. What if he told them something wrong, or if he said something stupid? What would he do then? The more time Jay spent leant over this microscope, the more time he was wasting, and the death rate kept increasing. A sharp pain went through the cracked skin of Jay's shoulder. "Sorry my fault, one of my pins came loose," Carlos smiled apologetically. Jay couldn't even muster up a response. The pressure mounted upon him like a boulder. A hot sweat began to trickle down his back, and the temperature didn't help either. His peripheral vision began to dim and his line of sight narrowed. The mixture of heat and stress did not go well together. Jay felt as if he was paralyzed and there was nothing he could do to stop it. To him it felt like all of his weight bundled up in his stomach and decided to drop. Jay fell to the floor hard and his mind went blank.

When Jay regained consciousness, he was alone in an ornate room. His reflexes controlled his movements, and he grasped for his phone. Seven missed calls: three from colleagues, two from his wife, one from Carlos, and one from Isaac. He massaged his forehead, trying to rub away the growing headache. Jay desperately wanted to call his wife, but his self-discipline overruled. Trying to resist pressing her phone number, he put down his phone. He would go down to the laboratory and deal with Carlos and Isaac there. They couldn't have completed the vaccine without him, in just two days.

Jay strenuously attempted to raise himself off the bed. Usually this would have not been a difficult feat to overcome in the mornings, but today his muscles were on fire. It pained him to stretch his legs, and when he did, he let out a groan of agony. Jay was having some symptoms of Ebola, but was it just paranoia. He didn't know yet, but he had a feeling he would know soon.

Firstly, to attempt to remove his paranoia, Jay picked up his phone and called Carlos. "Carlos?" Jay's voice was weak and almost a whisper. His throat burned vigorously, while Carlos responded. "What's wrong with you? It sounds like you're sick," Carlos questioned. "Never mind that, I wanted to ask you if there was any chance of the disease spreading to the lab," "It's not possible Jordan," Carlos muttered and hung up.

Within minutes, the same black car that met Jay at the airport was collecting him again. Jay could not keep his eyes from flickering shut for long. All of his senses went numb, and his memory soon went hazy. He could no longer recollect who these people were, or where they were taking him. All Jay could do was cave into the silence that beckoned him.

Jay shifted nervously in his chair, his hands intertwined with one another as he fidgeted to get out of the cuffs restricting his movement. He watched the room, corner to corner, his vision blurry and out of focus. Then a large man entered, filling the empty space. White noise rang through the room, while Jay slumped in his chair and closed his tired eyes. "Pay attention Jordan. The drug has a very severe effect on your temporal lobe, particularly in your long-term memory department," "I don't know what you just said, but I recognize your voice. You're Carlos, right? And did you mention drugs? Do you have any to stop the aches?" Jay slurred. "Isaac? Are you taking notes on your observations? This is remarkable! It's not only damaged his health, but it's also damaged his intelligence. This will give us the resources to be the best - no, the infamous nation! We will be able to control the worldwide population with ease," Carlos grinned, satisfied with the results. "His name is Jay," Isaac corrected, through gritted teeth. "What? Jordan, Jay... No difference to me. I didn't ask you to tell me that. I asked you whether you were taking notes," Don't worry, I'm documenting everything. Why wouldn't I?" Isaac droned.

Isaac stopped writing in mid-sentence, and turned back to the laboratory. He looked at what he had helped Jay create; ultimately, it was a weapon, designed for destruction. Isaac couldn't stop the future. He had no way to dispense the deadly 'vaccine'. All he did was stand and watch, as the inevitable events unfolded around him, wrecking the world he knew and loved.