Chapter 1: The Outbreak

As soon as my last class of the day was done, I left my campus and drove over to the Fulton Fare Market, a small business that my mom owned. It was a pretty busy place and with my dad no longer with us in this life, it was hard to maintain control over it. My mom did have two extra employees, but it was usually just her and my seventeen year old sister, Teresa working. I only helped out on the weekends since I was pretty occupied trying to keep my grades up and preparing for graduation.

I was currently in my senior year as an undergraduate student at Georgia State University. I was majoring in biology for pre-med and was graduating in a few months. I had a lot of things on my mind and it didn't help that my mom and Teresa were constantly arguing with each other. Teresa was already eight months pregnant but my mom still couldn't accept the fact that her daughter wanted to take care of the baby with her boyfriend. It felt like I was in the middle of everything and it bothered me. I had been close with my mom as I grew up, but after I went off to college and became more independent, I realized how different my mom and I were. She was extremely conservative and many of our opinions clashed with one another leading into arguments.

I entered my mom's store and immediately overheard the two family members of mine bickering with each other. "Can you stop forcing me to think about giving up the baby for adoption?" I looked around the store and thankfully the music and the customers' chatter were drowning out their conversation.

"I don't want you to just think about. I want you to seriously consider it," my mom replied.

Teresa appeared very frustrated. "Are you serious? This is my baby. I'm not giving up my child up for adoption. I can't do that."

"Oh, so you're going to live with the struggles of being a teen mom?"

"Who says I have to struggle?"

"You know, being a disappointment to our family is already enough. Why are you trying to ruin-"

"What family?" Teresa retorted.

My mom looked slightly taken aback for a second before she recovered from the hurtful words. "You need to listen to me when I tell you something. I'm your mother. If you want my support, you'll listen to me."

"Well, then. I don't want your support! I don't need it!" Teresa yelled and I was sure that the customers had heard this part. She stormed off without even acknowledging me.

"Mom," I said with a long sigh. "You should really stop with the whole adoption thing. I agree with her. It's her baby. She needs to do what's right and if she feels that she's confident enough to take care of her child, then let her do that."

"Celina. She's just a young girl. Only seventeen. She has a whole life ahead of her. A baby will prevent her from being able to explore opportunities."

I was going to argue against her opinion, but I stayed silent. There was no use in talking her out of something when she made her decision. The only way that would allow Teresa to keep the baby was by leaving Atlanta with Xander, her boyfriend (the baby's father).

"So um, Mom. I have something to tell you," I said changing the subject.

"Okay?..." she slowly responded.

"Jake asked me to move in with him and I told him yes," I blurted in a fast manner.

Her mouth opened in shock. "What? You want to repeat that?"

I took a deep breath before rephrasing it. "I've decided to move in with Jake."

"My God, Celina. No!" she said as she pulled on her hair showing distress.

I shook my head while rolling my eyes. "What's the big deal? I'm twenty-two."

"Don't you roll your eyes at me," she scolded me like I was a child. "You shouldn't be living with a man before getting married to him."

"Is that a part of some sort of law? I've never heard of that one before," I responded sarcastically.

"I raised you and your sister under a good environment. I took you to church every Sunday for Christ's sake! Why are you two becoming the opposite of what I taught you?" She began ranting while flailing her arms around. She was quite conservative and kept traditional beliefs.

"Mom," I sighed. "You need to let me do what I want. I'm still your daughter, but I'm also an adult."

The expression on her face revealed that she had nothing to say in response. I had won this time.

"You and Jake aren't sleeping together, right?..." she asked cautiously.

It was funny that she asked because I had actually had sex for the first time in my life a week ago with my boyfriend. I was no longer a virgin. I didn't tell her because I mean, who decides to tell their mother about their sex life? But yeah, my face ended up giving away the answer to her question.

"God. I should have known. He's a bad influence on you."

I couldn't believe she was angry at me for having sex. It was a natural thing that happened between two people who liked each other. What was with her?

"Okay. How is he a bad influence?" I asked.

"He's too old for you. You might not be ready to move in with him. Is he forcing you to-"

I interrupted her. "No, he's not forcing me to do anything. I promise. And he's not too old for me." I reminded her of his age. "He's only twenty-eight."

"Six years may not seem like a lot, but believe me. It is! He's at the age to settle down, but you still have a long journey ahead of you. Med school, remember?"

"He's aware of how long it's going to take and he understands. If he wants to get married, I'll marry him."

My mom's eyes widened.

"No, no! I'm not saying we are getting married now," I quickly added. "I'm just trying to explain to you that he's a really good guy. To me at least. I don't think I would ever find a better person to be with. So please, could you stop pushing him away?"

"It'll take some time to get used to, but I'll try working on it. For you," she said with a long sigh. "Your dad asked me before he died to make sure that I don't allow you or your sister to be with men like him, but you're right. Jake does seem like a good man." She reluctantly admitted the truth.

My dad had been in the military and like many military spouses out there, my mom had had a difficult time when he wasn't home. Due to the understanding of this experience, my dad had wanted for Teresa and I to date guys who weren't in dangerous fields of work. He had said to us, 'Don't marry a firefighter, a military man, police officer, etc.' Well, it was too late for that because I wasn't giving up Jake.

"Thank you mom for finally agreeing!" I squealed as I gave her a hug.

"Just try not to get pregnant," she said at the last minute and I pulled back.

My face reddened in embarrassment. I laughed her words off, but my mom didn't appear amused at all. She was being serious. I didn't think getting pregnant would be that bad since I did want kids in the future, but of course not yet. I had more years of studying coming up.

"Yeah, okay."

"So how long can you stay?" she asked.

I checked the time on my phone. "Around an hour."

"All right. Well, can you help me sort the new products over there?"

After helping my mom out at her store, I immediately made my way to the Atlanta Midtown Hospital for my volunteering shift. My phone began to ring as I passed by the front desk. A smile appeared on my face as I saw it was Jake calling. Things had definitely changed between us after our first time together. It was a good change. I felt closer to him. There were still a lot of details I didn't know about him, but it didn't matter to me. I didn't care about what his background was like or what he did, I just cared about him. I was falling in love with him fast and it scared me a little because I had never felt this way before, but I was also excited to see what would be in store for us in the future.

"Hello?" I answered in a bright tone.

"Don't go to the hospital today," he said in a rushed voice.

"Huh?" I was confused. "Jake, I'm already here."

There was a long pause.

"Shit…"

"Jake? What's wrong?"

"I...Nothing. Stay put. I'll be there soon."

"You're coming here?" I asked. Why would he be coming to the hospital?

"There's this Syrian guy who could be the start to some sort of highly contagious virus. I have to bring him in."

My throat felt clogged as fear spread through me. "Be careful," I told him.

"Don't worry. I've got myself covered. It's you that I'm worried about."

"Why?" I asked.

"I've been told that he might have already spread the virus while he was at the hospital before. You have to watch out for people who are possibly infected."

"I'll be sure to watch out for trouble."

"Okay. I'll see you soon," he said. "I love you."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Did you just…?"

"Yeah, I did," he chuckled. "Are you gonna say it back or not?"

"I-I…" All I could do was stutter.

I heard him chuckle. "I'm just kidding, you know. You don't have to feel uncomfortable about it."

"No, no, no. I do. I mean, I love you too," I told him with a large smile on my face.

"Good," he simply said. "I'll text you when I get there."

Other women might have not appreciated it if their man said 'good' after they revealed that they were in love with them. However, I was fine with it. Jake was a great guy. He was fun, generous, brave, and compassionate, but he wasn't the type to speak about his feelings. That had been the main reason why I was surprised when he told me he loved me. He cared for others in silence if that even made sense. Therefore, I appreciated any kind of affection he showed me because I understood he was trying his best to give me warmth.

"Excuse me, miss," a young woman ran up to me looking frantic.

"Yes?" I awkwardly replied. I wasn't used to being called a 'miss.' Hell, if someone called me 'ma'am' I freaked out.

"Could you tell me where the research labs are? My son and his friend went looking for the rats in there without telling me. I'm very worried. I need to find them."

"Hmm. The research labs," I mumbled to myself. "Yeah, I can help you find them."

"All right. Thank you. I'm Katie by the way."

"Celina," I told her. "So what brings you here to the hospital? If you don't mind me asking..."

"Oh, I'm a teacher and I brought my class on a trip today."

I nodded giving her a smile. "Oh! I remember hearing about that last week. How did it go?"

"The kids were amazing. They definitely brought some joy to the patients."

"That's great. It's always nice to see them smiling. Come this way," I motioned for her to enter as I opened the door for her.

As we headed down the hallway, I saw a familiar looking police officer. I could tell who he was just by looking at his back. He was standing next to a doctor and both men were looking through a glass protected room. We were going through a restricted area, but it was the way we had to go to access the research labs.

"This is the stuff the guy carried with him," I heard Jake saying as he handed over a package in a clear bag. "I'm gonna head to the precinct."

"Actually, I think it would be wise, considering the contact you had, if you stayed here a while," the doctor stated.

"No, no. I had my visor on and gloves too. No fluids got in there, man."

"Just a precaution," the doctor replied. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." He must have heard our footsteps because he turned around to face us. "Excuse me. This is a private ward. You can't be here-" He paused when he recognized me. "Celina? What are you doing here?"

"Hi Dr. Cannerts. Um, I brought her in because her son and his friend ran off to the research lab," I stepped in to say and that was when my boyfriend finally noticed me. Jake and I exchanged a quick look. "I know where it is so I'm taking her."

"Ah, yes. Bert is your grandfather, right?" he asked me for confirmation.

I nodded.

"I suppose I could let you two head over there then."

"Thank you," Katie said.

"I'll go with them since I'll be staying here for a little longer," Jake said looking slightly annoyed.

"That sounds like a good idea. It'll keep you occupied for the time being. Officer. Four to six feet. All of you. Gloves and masks, please," Dr. Cannerts said looking anxious.

Jake pulled down his visor as I handed Katie a mask. Once we were covered, we started our journey down the hallway.

"Not a good time to let your kid go wandering off," Jake commented.

"Jake!" I gave him a look to be quiet.

He shrugged in response obviously not caring what the woman thought.

Katie didn't respond to his comment, instead she asked, "Where the hell are we? That guy back there, is it bad? I've got fourteen kids here. I feel like I should know if it's bad." We were in a dark vacant area now and it was starting to look creepy.

"Hey. Four to six feet, miss," Jake reminded her.

"It seems like the two of you aren't really sticking to that rule," she pointed out.

Jake and I looked at each other and realized our hands were nearly brushing because we were walking so close. It wasn't on purpose, it just naturally happened.

"Are you two together?"

"Yes, we are," Jake nodded as he gave me a smile. And for a brief moment I forgot where we were and what we were doing. I was lost in his beautiful, beautiful smile.

"My son Quentin," Katie spoke and I was brought back to our current situation. "I didn't just let him run off. He was obsessed with the rats. I was talking to the parents-" She stopped in the middle of her sentence noticing a man coming out through a door that was protected by security devices. "Excuse me. We need to get in there."

"It's restricted," the man said.

"We're looking for a couple of young kids. They were heading for the research labs. Can we just take a quick look?" Katie asked.

"I can't let you in there," he said not backing down.

"Please, I just need to look," Katie begged.

"Hey, four to six feet," the man said putting his hand out to motion for her to stay away.

She pulled her mask off to the side. "The three of us were just in the same hallway as the infected man. Better not get too close," Katie indirectly threatened him.

The man looked over at Jake expectantly. "Hey. You're a cop, man."

"What do you want me to do? Shoot her?" Jake asked sarcastically.

"Here," the man handed Katie his card. "I ain't dying for this job." He looked like he was done with life as he shook his head and stomped off.

"Nice job," Jake complimented looking pretty impressed.

"Fierce. I like it," I added with a grin and Katie shook her head as she laughed. It seemed like after that, there was no more awkwardness between the three of us.

We finally reached the research labs and when we entered one of the rooms, we saw two boys listening attentively as my grandpa explained about the rats to them.

"Quentin! What did I tell you? Why did you run off like that?" Katie questioned her son. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"Sorry, Mom," the boy apologized.

"I'm sorry for the bother, sir," Katie said to my grandpa.

"No bother," he replied with a smile. "They were good, nice boys."

"Thank you," she nodded.

"Hi Grandpa!" I was able to greet him and I wrapped him into a hug. I briefly forgot about the four to six feet rule. "Long time no see."

"Long time?" he laughed. "I'm sure I saw you last week."

"That's a long time," I told him and he shook his head at my silliness.

"Hello, sir," Jake said as he stood up straighter than usual.

My grandpa smiled. "I told you to call me Bert, son," he replied as he put his hand on Jake's shoulder.

"Right. Of course," he said with a nod, but I could tell he wasn't ready to call my grandpa by his first name. It was weird to him that way, but my grandpa insisted it.

"Teresa called," my grandpa revealed. "She told me not to tell your mother, but she wanted me to tell you."

"What did she say?"

"She's going to leave the city today," he said. "She'll be meeting Xander."

"She's really going to do that?" I asked.

"I guess so. I'm worried about her, but she really wants me to support her decision."

"I know, Grandpa. She's a strong girl. She'll be okay. I'm glad that you're giving her support. She needs it, especially with our mom bringing her down."

He nodded in agreement before looking back at the boys. "Come on, young ones. Let's get you out of here." He led them out the door.

"Freaky mask, Mom," Quentin commented before exiting.

Katie sighed. "Don't ever have kids...Unless you do, in which case, sorry," she said as a joke.

Jake shook his head as he looked over at me. "We don't have kids yet."

My heartbeat quickened when I realized he didn't just flat out say no but we don't have kids yet. Did that mean he was interested in having kids with me? Obviously our relationship was heading somewhere because he had asked me to move in with him... But was our relationship moving too fast? We had been dating for slightly more than half a year. We hadn't been together for long, but our feelings were mutual and it sped up everything between us.

"You seem kind of young to have an eleven year old," Jake said as we headed into the hallway.

"Well, life is full of surprises, right?" Katie asked.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"He looks just like you," I told her and she smiled.

"Really? That makes me so happy to hear."

The sound of a phone ringing erupted the eerily silent area and Katie checked her caller's ID before ignoring the call.

"Angry mother?" Jake asked.

"Something like that. I share custody with his dad's parents. Long story. Tonight is their night."

"You're under lockdown," Jake stated.

"You think that would make a difference, huh?"

"Yeah. I would."

She laughed. "Anyway, they live in fear that something will go wrong on my watch and I live in fear of them being right so-"

"What are you doing down here?" a doctor asked as he came towards us. I had seen him around before a few times. His name started with a B. Is it Bennie? No. Billy? No. Ah, yes. It's Bobby.

"My son Quentin," Katie replied. She seemed to know him.

"They're officially putting the hospital on lockdown," said Bobby.

"We're already on lockdown," Jake responded.

"Well, they don't want anyone leaving for forty-eight hours."

"Forty-eight hours?" Katie asked with her eyebrows raised.

"You've got to kidding me," Jake grunted in disbelief.

"Look. I'm not gonna lie to you. This is a unique situation, but we're in good hands. We just have to trust the system. Follow the rules and everything will be fine-Ah choo!" Bobby suddenly sneezed and the three of us jumped back reacting by instinct.

Although it was sad and also scary to know that Bobby was possibly infected, it was quite ironic how he had been nonchalant about trusting in the necessary protocols just a few seconds ago and now they applied to him.

"Hey, hey, hey. Okay. Back up. Back up," Jake told him and the doctor froze. Katie and I were now in our masks and Jake had his visor down. "Celina, go get that other doctor. Cannerts. Now. Katie, go with her. Step aside. Sir, step aside!"

"I'm not going anywhere without you," I told him. I didn't want to leave him. I was scared to leave him. He was important to me.

Jake frowned. "Celina. Now isn't the time to argue."

"Jake, you are not in charge of me," I replied stubbornly.

"I want you safe," he said.

"Well, so do I."

"Okay, fine!" Katie stopped us from arguing. "You two stay here and keep him away from you both. I'll go and get the doctor."

Katie slowly stepped around the man we thought was infected and ran down the hall.

It turned out that Bobby was indeed infected. He was put into one of the glass protected rooms.

Jake called his friend, a Major at the Atlanta Police Department. I stayed quiet next to him as I heard the conversation exchanged between them. "I'm at the hospital. I can't leave. I'm stuck. Yeah. I'm in the middle of the damn hot zone, Lex. I mean, some guy just sneezed four feet from my face! No, Lex. They're not gonna let me out. They're not gonna let any of us out." His face glanced over at mine as he said the last part. "I had contact with patient zero. I mean, it's the fucking zombie apocalypse up there in Isolation Ward. I'm not getting out. Screw you, Lex. All right? You're the one who sent me in here and you can't even get us out." He abruptly hung up.

"Jake, I'm sorry," I said softly.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I don't know. I just-I should be the one in here and you should be out there helping people with the evacuation."

"Hey, hey," he shushed me. "It's not your fault I'm in here. Sorry if I made it sound like if I was blaming you because I'm not. I shouldn't be blaming Lex either. It wasn't like he knew that this would happen. It's okay though. He's Lex. He'll understand. He's gone through my shitty behavior for years after all."

I giggled. "I guess that's true." I leaned into him and he put his arms around me making me feel safe. It was a bit selfish to admit, but I was glad that he was here with me. I didn't know what I would do if he wasn't here. I just hoped both of us would stay uninfected and that this whole virus situation would go away within a few days.

"You know, we're supposed to keep away from each other," he murmured.

"At this point, I don't care."

"I had contact with patient zero," he reminded me as a warning.

"As long as it's you who's the one to get me infected." It was totally what a cliche romance book character would say, but it didn't matter. I was telling him what was on my mind.

"Don't even say that. You don't want to get infected at all. Not even by me," he said sternly but he didn't pull away.

"I told my mom about how I'm moving in with you."

"What did she say?" he asked.

"She's sort of okay with it I guess."

"What does that exactly mean?"

"She said, insert quote, 'Don't get pregnant.' I'm assuming that's a yes to letting me move in with you," I said with a laugh.

Jake laughed with me. "I'll try not to get you pregnant, but I wouldn't mind if I did." He gave me a flirty wink and I felt my lower body growing warm at his words. This was certainly not the time to feel this way. By the look of accomplishment on his face, he knew what was going on inside my head.

"You pervert," I accused but my smile didn't falter. "I'm not sure if my mom would want another Teresa," I said as a joke. Saying my sister's name out loud made me remember her. I began panicking. "God, Teresa. I need to call her right now. What if something happened to her?"

Yes, Teresa was a strong and tough girl, but no matter how strong she was, she couldn't fight the virus if it got to her.

Author's Note: Okay. So if you've seen any of the fanfics I have posted, you've probably noticed by the amount of chapters and dates that I'm not very good at updating often lol. This is why I was originally debating whether or not I should post another story, but I figured why not? I mean, who cares how many I post? I'm just going to continue putting up ideas whenever a new one pops up and I'm sure eventually I'll end up completing my fanfics one by one, right?...

I hope you're interested in the idea of this new story. I'm excited to see how this show will run because as a fan of "The Walking Dead," this captured my interest. I know it's not exactly the same, but it's sort of similar in a certain sense. I hope the show stays interesting. I've only seen the first episode, but I'll catch up soon... Please review! :)

I have a feeling that no one is gonna read this story because not a lot of people I know are watching Containment, but I'll still keep it up just in case. Btw, I wanted to be one of the first few people to post a story for a new category and it finally happened! Yay, haha.

Please leave a REVIEW! Thanks!

-Jane