these walls? If that is the case, I don't want to expose my family to THAT!!!” He gestured to Dr. Whitney.
“We are going to remain in lock down while we keep conducting more tests,” Dr. Meacham said. It really didn't bother Dr. Moore since lock downs were not that rare. After all, they worked in the CDC, where the most deadly viruses were stored. Though, this time was for real, this time it could affect the rest of human kind.
“The main focus now is to figure out how the disease works, and how it affects the human body. We need to work together and find what triggered it. Chris, can you tell everyone that quarantine procedures will remain in effect until further notice, and nobody is allowed to call home? Please tell security to collect all cell phones. Thanks,” Dr. Meacham said.
Dr. Meacham thought a moment about his ex-wife, and then of his son. He felt like a terrible father. He knew it was his fault that his marriage had gone down the drain. He spent most of his time working, and didn’t spend time with his wife or kid. He remembered his wife telling him about his son trying to show him a cool article about zombies, but he was too involved with his work, and had paid no attention to his son. Dr. Meacham had spent so much time putting work first and family second, it had taken a toll on his marriage, and father/son relationship.
That’s why his wife left him a year ago. He felt betrayed by her, but the feeling didn’t last long, because he went right back to work. She kept custody of their son during the week, and he only saw him on the weekends. Even after the divorce and custody arrangement, he didn’t comply with his paternal duties since he had to work during the weekends. He was so inside of his own thoughts, he didn’t notice how vulnerable he looked in front of his fellow employees. Everyone in the room shifted their attention from Dr. Whitney to him, they were all trying to figure out what was going through his mind.
“Did he figure it out?” someone whispered from the group.
All his subordinates, including Dr. Moore, were staring at him, but he was lost inside his mind. Dr. Meacham couldn’t figure out what caused it. The problem was he was not sure how long the incubation period would last. He didn’t even knew how long Dr. Whitney was infected before she started showing symptoms earlier that morning.
According to all the video footage and records his subordinates had gathered, there was no evidence Dr. Whitney was infected last week. And since nobody else had shown symptoms, it was safe to assume that everyone who was infected, got infected today. Maybe he could stop the progression and symptoms, but he needed to act fast. He knew that according to the surveillance videos, Dr. Whitney started having seizures, convulsing, bleeding, and looking like the exorcist within minutes from her first seizure. Dr. Meacham ignored all the eyes on him and walked toward the glass window, silence filled the room. The inhale and exhale of everyone in the room was the only sound, patient “zero” had died an hour ago. He couldn’t stop staring at her hollow eyes, now with dried blood running down her face. He couldn’t save her like he couldn’t save his marriage. He’d been so involved in his thoughts, that he didn’t hear the phone ringing behind him.
Dr. Moore picked up the phone, and tried to get Dr. Meacham’s attention. “Dr. Meacham is for you. Dr. Meacham, you have a phone call.”
Dr. Meacham turned around, still inside his own mind, and walked toward the
desk where the phone was located. Dr. Moore handed over the phone. All eyes in the room were glued to him, and he tried to avoid them, focusing his attention to the phone mic.
“Hello, this is Dr. Meacham.” He raised his head and glanced at Dr. Moore, at that moment he knew the world would never be the same, and no one was going to be able to stop the madness that was coming.
Dr. Moore
Kit Tunstall, R.E. Saxton