“I miss the house" I moan as we sit around the fire waiting for our food to cook, Finnian purrs from my lap content that it's quiet again, “we got lucky with that house April" Damon replies, “Damon’s right we may find another house but we would be lucky if that had any running water or electricity, we’ll never find a place like that again" Colonel agrees.
“I think what happened at the house was weird, the gate just happens to turn off and then we get locked inside when everyone else had safely escaped” I say, Damon looks to Colonel and back to me, “I have to agree there, there was never any problem when we were there, it’s like someone wanted to get rid of us or something" he agrees.
“Nonsense I’m not sure how the door got stuck but no one would purposely do that to us" Colonel disagrees, me and Damon look at each other unconvinced but decide to drop the topic, after we’ve eaten we all go our separate ways for bed.
The next morning we are woken up by sirens and gun shots, Finnian meows and hisses in fright, I peek over my blanket in fear and find multiple men and women shooting oncoming zombies, I look to Damon and Colonel in confusion.
One of the men approach with a mega phone, “attention we have orchestrated a camp for survivors, you will get food, fresh water and a place to rest, upon arrival your blood will be taken and tested to find the cure for Z1, also known as the zombie disease" he announces.
I look to the others in excitement, a nice bed and food we don’t have to catch ourselves what a dream, “please approach and we will bring you to the camp" continues the man.
“Let’s go!” I beg and get ready to take off towards the truck, Colonel grabs my arm, “let’s not be too quick to trust them, this may be a trick to steal our supplies" he warns, “come on, they have uniforms plus we have our weapons if they try anything" Colonel sighs knowing there’s no swaying my decision.
We all approach the truck with our things and take a seat inside, the journey is bumpy and loud, the guns on the roof blast at the approaching zombies during our journey.
Once we arrive a code is inputted at the entrance, and the gates swing open allowing us to pass through.
I notice the large amount of people, they have tags on their wrists and seem happy, they’re gardening and running around, and doing a different range of fun activities.
The truck soon comes to a halt, and the doors swing open to reveal more people in uniforms, “hi I’m Charlotte, I’ll be showing your around and taking you to get your blood taken" a kind blonde woman says.
We leave the truck and follow Charlotte around the camp, Finnian settles in my bag and sleeps while we tour the camp, “here are the washrooms separated as Male and female areas, there are baths and showers, as well as toilets and sinks" she says as we walk past, “here is the laundry room, clothes are left here with your name label to be cleaned by our staff, if you only have one set of clothes we can provide some more for you and pyjamas.”
We continue down a long hallway, she stops at multiple numbered doors, “these are the resting areas, each group of family have their own rooms", she opens one of the doors, “this is your room, there are a few beds and dressers, I’ll let you get settled and I’ll return in half an hour to take you for dinner" she leaves with a smile.
We all choose a bed and unpack the few belongings we have, I put the clothes I have inside the dresser and keep Sam’s locket around my neck for safe keeping, I lie back on my bed and sigh in content, Finnian curls up beside me purring as though mimicking the same contentment I feel.
“This place is amazing!” I announce awarding a chuckle from Damon, “I had my doubts but this is unbelievable" agrees Colonel, once relaxed a knock is heard from the door.
“I’m back, let’s take you to get some food" says Charlotte, we take note of our room number and follow Charlotte once again, she leads us to a large room with arrays of food, a few groups of people are sat enjoying the mouth-watering food.
“You can have anything you want, I have a pager so page me on this when you’re done and I’ll collect you for your blood samples" once again Sarah leaves without another word.
We all grab a tray and choose from the meals provided, we also have a choice of a side and a drink, once decided we all take a seat and enjoy the first real meal we’ve had in some time.
When finished I page Charlotte, she arrives within a matter of minutes and we follow her again, we walk for some time until we come to an area in all white, it smells clean like bleach.
“Would you like to be first?” Charlotte asks me, I nod in agreement wanting to get this over with as quick as possible, I’m taken away from Colonel and Damon through some doors and into a private room with a doctor, I sit in the chair provided and allow them to prep my arm and then take my blood.
I slightly wince at the pain but it’s over in an instance, “can I get your name?” Charlotte asks.
“Sure it’s April Black" I reply and she notes this down with my blood sample, and types some information on the computer, she then comes back and writes a number on a wrist band which she ties around my wrist
“This is for us to test your blood, and if we need to do anything else medical on you in the future we can find your records by your number" Charlotte explains, “you’re all done you can go relax now, please ask one of the people with you to come in" she instructs.
Once back through the doors I tell Damon to head inside, “I’m just going to have a bath then I’ll meet you back in the room" I tell them both.
I locate the washroom and run a bath, I use the bubble bath provided and enjoy the hot water on my skin, once I’m thoroughly washed I dry my hair with the towel and head back to my room.
I decide to get to bed as the long travel and new experiences have tired me out, I finally feel safe and that everything is looking up, I’ve lost three of the most important people in my life, I’ve suffered with my mental health, and overcome the impossible, all of these trials and tribulations have finally paid off, I fall asleep feeling content, feeling as though nothing else bad could come close to the awful things I’d experienced.
The next morning I’m awoken by a loud alarm, Finnian meows at the loud noise, I look around in confusion but Damon and Colonel look just as confused as I feel, we all dress quickly and rush out the door leaving Finnian behind and find a large group of people stood in the hallway who have also been awoken by the alarm.
After a few minutes the alarm stops, there’s loud chatter filling the hall from everyone just as confused as we are, “I guess that wasn’t an every day wake up call" Damon muses, “I guess not, everyone looks pretty worried" I agree.
“Attention!” a voice orders from the tannoy silencing the hallway, “can April Black please report to the hospital sector" says the voice, I look to Damon and Colonel in concern, we all travel together feeling more and more nervous by the minute.
We enter the large doors for the second time since we arrived to find Charlotte and many doctors chattering excitedly, their conversation comes to a halt once they notice our presence.
“April thank you for coming" Charlotte says, she notices I’ve travelled with Colonel and Damon, “could we speak to you privately for a moment" she asks, I look to them both with a shrug and follow Charlotte and the doctors into a private room.
“I hope the announcement and alarm didn’t scare you" says one doctor, “your blood was tested yesterday and contains the vital component we have been looking for to make the vaccine for the Z1 virus" one of the doctors tells me.
All the blood leaves my face and my stomach drops, I’ve had the cure inside me all along, my mother, Sam and Amaya they all died, they all died and I could have saved them.
“We’ll need to run a few more tests and take some more samples while we create the vaccine, we ask that for now you keep this news to yourself until we have created the vaccine, this is a great step forward but until the vaccine has been created, we want to keep this quiet" one of the doctors asks, I nod slowly with a sigh.
They t
ake me to their lab and tell me of all the tests they conduct and trials they must run to create the vaccine; all of their medical jargon goes over my head while I try to process the people I’ve lost that could have been saved.
“We’ve collected some of the infected to conduct our trials" one of the doctors announces pointing to the caged zombies groaning and reaching out to grab us, my eyes stop on one of the subjects causing my eyes to widen in surprise, “mum?” I breathe.
Infection Z Page 10
