Bloody Mary - An Epidemic (Book 1 of the "Bloody Mary" Series) #Wattys2014

Chapter 28

"Yes everything's going good. They're doing good. Listen, I'll call you back later, I'm closing up shop here." I said.

"Okay, just wanted to give you a call see how everything's going. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Okay, bye." I responded, hanging up the phone.

I put my phone back in my pocket, and swept the floor, and wiped down the tables and chairs. Then I cleaned the windows, and the display cabinets. After that was all done, my co-workers clocked out, I locked the door and went to my car.

I looked at the clock, and noticed that it was already six; I had cleaned the shop for an hour.

Next I went to Dustin's school and picked him up from lacrosse practice. "Hi Dustin, how was practice?"

"It was good, the team, and the new members are still really good. I have a feeling that we'll make it to the championships this year." Dustin exclaimed.

I pulled away from the curb and drove back to the house. Connor had just pulled into the driveway and he waved at us as we pulled into the driveway.

"Good evening. Are you two ready for dinner?" He asked.

I smiled, "Yes, we are ready."

Dustin and I got out of my car, and got into Connor's car. Connor backed out of the driveway and we went to a fancy Italian restaurant. It is one of the best in the city.

Connor opened the door of the restaurant for me, and I walked inside. The smell of meatballs, and garlic bread overloaded my olfactory senses. The waitress guided us to a booth, and we sat down. She took our drink orders, and then our meal orders.

After a while the food arrived and we began to eat the delectable food. We had light conversation as we ate, just about what happened at work and school. The dinner was really spectacular, and when we finished I gave a generous tip.

The three of us stood up and then proceeded out of the building. As the sun began to set on the horizon we got into the car and began driving back home.

My phone rang in my pocket, and I noticed that it was Carol calling again. I pushed the 'talk' button and said, "Hello."

"Hey Angela, it's Carol. Listen, something has happened, and it's not good. I think we have another outbreak of something on our hands."

"Are you serious?" I questioned, propping my head up with my elbow resting on the door.

"Yes, it seems as though all the blood that was in the rivers, oceans, groundwater and such was carrying other diseases. We had some people who had been to the beach in early August come in today, and they got tested for HIV, they tested positive." Carol explained.

"Okay, and why are you considering this as an outbreak?" I responded.

"Because, it was a family of four who had gone to the beach. The husband and wife, were HIV Negative before, but now they aren't. The thing is, is that they hadn't had sex in two months. How could they get HIV without having sex? It's not very possible, and HIV can't stay outside the body for very long," Carol continued,

"And, the kids got tested as well. It's a seventeen year old boy, and a fourteen year old girl. The boy had never had sex, and neither had the girl. I'm sure for a fact that the parents wouldn't, you know what, with their kids, that's just disgusting and illegal." Carol finished.

"So, you are basically telling me that they got HIV from the ocean?" I responded.

"Yes, from all the blood that had been shed, there was so much that was shed. It's probably what made them HIV positive. It got into their mucous membranes in certain areas, and they contracted the virus." Carol explained hastily.

"Okay, so if your theory is true and they got the virus from the water, then HIV has mutated and has allowed itself to stay active for long periods of time in fresh, and saltwater areas." I said.

"That's correct. We'll have to do further testing to see if this theory is correct, but I do believe that it is." Carol said.

"If your theory, and tested is correct, then the world is in for another rude awakening." I responded truthfully.

"Let's hope the world isn't in for a rude awakening, it had just gotten back to sleep from Bloody Mary. We'll talk again soon, I have to go. Bye." Carol said.

"Goodbye." I responded, hanging up the phone.

That was just great, after a terrible plague of Bloody Mary we could now have something even worse on our hands. It may be the year 2030, but we still haven't created a cure for HIV and AIDS. I'm sure that scientists are working on one, but now it could get even more difficult.

Everyone was going to be thrown for another loop, and now with something that can kill even faster than Bloody Mary.