"It failed, it only made things worse." She said curtly

My heart skipped a beat, "What? Are you sure? How? I thought they said it worked before!"

"I don't know, it all happened so quickly they weren't expecting it either," she said clearly shaken and completely white, but managed to keep a blank face while talking, "I think we should leave, now."

"Well what about Ray?" I asked, not to be defiant, the look on her face now was scared and anxious and the last thing I would want is to make her mood worse.

"Mark Ray is-"

Four months earlier

"Mom, I'm going to school!" I yelled, racing down the dark wood stairs.

"Mark, look at this on the news." She said focused on the TV.

"Mom, I'm already late as it is!" I said in the kitchen picking up a granola bar to eat on the walk to school.

"But this is very interesting…" she said, in a toneless voice, still staring at the television with interest.

The news was blaring from the other room, "The virus has now spread to northern Brazil, with a few cases north of that in Peru and Venezuela, the effects of the virus have yet to be confirmed but the Brazilian government has shut down all transportation, from local to international methods of transportation. Currently-"

"Mom, it's probably just another swine flu," I yelled into the other room over the sound of the flat screen, "Kayla left about a half hour ago, and Ray is still waiting at the corner, talk to you later! Bye!"

My dark hair was tangled and messy, untouched since I woke up, and my light brown eyes most certainly had large bags underneath them, due to the hot extremely hot weather keeping me up all night. Outside was hot, and humid, per usual. Dark clouds were surrounding the isolated small town of Breevick. The trees rustled and swayed with the rare gust of wind. The houses were eerily still as I walked along the short street known as Meerway Avenue.

Ray was waiting impatiently on the corner; he had never been late for class since the start of the school year, nearly five months ago. I didn't want to end this streak of his, but quite frankly I didn't really care. Unlike Ray, I was never a punctual person, my mother always said I got it from my father; he was apparently too laid back to care about due dates and time limits. I say apparently because when I was three there was a terrible accident in which he got hit by a drunk driver and his car, carrying him with it, went into the dirty waters of the Watherly River which surrounded our small community.

"Hurry up! We're going to be late!" exclaimed Ray, "Your little sister left half an hour ago!"

"Calm down, we still have ten minutes left," I said, when I caught up to him, "And besides you were the one who chose to befriend an unorganized person."

"Well at least I know the solution," he said jokingly, "I just need some new friends."

I laughed, when he moved here a year ago, he was rejected by a lot of people, me, being an outsider already, took the chance to make a friend, and we've been close ever since. At six feet tall, with messy, tangled dark hair and nearly black eyes, he wasn't exactly the "approachable looking person." Me being a little over five seven, but still dramatically shorter than him, we made an interesting combination. But despite his rather dark looking appearance, he was really just a big softy.

We arrived at the Breevick High roughly ten minutes before the bell, just enough time to get to our lockers and to the first class of the day, English. Our teacher was short, stubby, squeaky voiced, grouchy and old, often perceived as a wrinkly old bag, I present you Mrs. Fouly, and oh how foul she is, is barely describable. Her beady eyes seep into your soul and suck all the happiness out of you. Of course that might be a slight exaggeration, but it's pretty accurate.

I expected this class to go as any other, oh how I was wrong, it started off normal, the teacher starring down at the attendance list, then lifting her beady eyes and scowling at each unfortunate child who was on that list. Finishing with Jessica Wilthaker, she added in her usual monotone voice, "Today class, is a very special day."

"You're retiring?" I snickered to Ray.

"Today, we have a new student." Everyone looked around. People leaving our town, everyone was used to, but someone moving here, that's a different story. I'd say at least ninety nine percent of the town's population was born here, will stay here, and will die here. But me, I want to leave this place the first chance I get, I am tired of the slow boring small town life. I want to have fun! See the world! And live it a fast paced place. But, like most everyone here, you never leave. "But unfortunately," she continued in a dry voice, "She will not be arriving until twenty minutes from now. As grade nines are supposed to be, I am for the most part sure you will be kind and respectful," her eyes focused on me, "to our new guest."

"Now, if you would please open your books to page three hundred and seven, we will commence reading the introduction to poetry-"

"Miss what happened to your arm?" Ray said loudly interrupting the teacher in mid-sentence; he was never the most socially capable person around. Just as he said it I noticed it as well, her left arm was bandaged from her elbow to her wrist.

"Well," she started, her voice a little agitated, "I was walking along to the supermarket, and someone bit me. Now, where was I?"

"Well why did they bite you?" Persisted Ray, "Did you ask them to?"

"I do not know what you are implying Mr. McRae, but it has earned you a detention today after school, and no, to answer your question, I rarely ask people to bite me."

Interrupting this very riveting conversation, the door slowly slid open, and as a figure stepped through it, my jaw dropped.