She stood there, ghostlike, as people ran past her. It was complete chaos around her.
She just stood there, searching for something to hold onto. Something to help her understand. She looked at the blur of faces in front of her as if expecting to find someone that could tell her what to do next. But everyone was just afraid. They too were struggling to find some kind of sanity in these last moments of life as they knew it.
Could this really be happening? She thought to herself. Maybe if I close my eyes, maybe it will all go back to normal. But when she opened her eyes again all she saw was a fuzzier version of the chaos. Tears ran down her face and stung her back to reality. Her breath caught in her throat. This was it. She would either give up now, and give in to the immense pressure she felt in that moment, or, take whatever strength she had left in her and run…. Teresa. Run.
"Tess run! For God's sake don't just stand there. Lets go!"
So that's what she did. Run. The voice she followed was coming from her currently more capable friend, Ryan. She loved that guy. He always seemed so ready for whatever shit was going down. Nothing was too bizarre to stump him. That's what made him such a great physician. Although Tess was one too she was struggling with the present issue. Ryan was a good friend and she felt so grateful to have him at that moment.
If it were just like any other day, work at the hospital would be done in an hour. After today, she would be headed on a much-needed trip to Aruba. She really needed that vacation. After putting in long hours at work, week after week, she and her boyfriend, Mike, both knew this would give them some quality time together. They could finally focus on each other. He was even able to get off from work early and should already be at the airport making sure everything was in order for the trip. He was a good boyfriend like that.
But Mike…He'll be waiting for me. Ryan began to tug at her white coat to hurry her out of the hospital. "Tess lets just get to a safe place and we will talk. We need to get off the streets. Didn't you hear what Dr. O'Connell said? There's nothing we can do right now. We will be attacked if we don't leave and hide now".
How did the shit hit the fan so suddenly? The hospital knew of this "plague" finally arriving stateside but they didn't expect it to be so gruesome and hopeless. As soon as one patient presented with symptoms, everything went haywire. Tess had no words for what was happening. All she knew was that she was of no use at the hospital. She couldn't 'treat' was happening. She had to protect herself for now.
So they ran. Ryan was smart enough to remember to grab some emergency kits for each of them in case they needed it. She was really embarrassing herself now. She couldn't even think. Now was the time to find the strength to make it through what was happening, she owed it to Ryan at least. Who knows how long they'd depend on each other? Right now it seemed pretty one sided. She took a big breath and tried to focus. Where would they hide? They needed food and water at least to make it through the night. They ran a couple blocks to a convenience store that already looked in bad shape. They managed to find a couple gallons of water. She noticed the lighters at the register and quickly pocketed a few.
Tess stopped Ryan before they stepped back out, "I think we can make it back to my place. Its about 5 minutes from here. That way" He nodded for her to lead the way.
They managed to make it back to her place; a small one bedroom in a medium sized apartment complex. She still hadn't made the move to live with Mike but his stuff was littered throughout the place since they alternated staying over at each other's place. Tess tried swallowing the lump in her throat. She had to get in touch with Mike to see if he was ok.
Ryan pushed a table and dresser in front of the door while Tess ran to her room to get out of her scrubs and into some jeans and a tee. He grabbed some of Mike's things in case Ryan wanted to change too. His place was in downtown Atlanta, about a 20 minute drive from their hospital in the outskirts of the city. It was probably even more chaotic there.
They finally took a seat on the couch and Tess grabbed the remote to check if any of the channels were still working. The news coming out of the D.C. area was reporting just what they had witnessed and to take this emergency seriously if their area had not been affected yet. It seemed like the cities were the first to go, especially on the eastern seaboard. Whatever this plague was, it came from overseas and was quickly spreading. Images of the National Guard setting up stations and the Presidents national address were replaying.
Tess got up to head to the kitchen and something caught her eye. She saw the blinking light of the answering machine.
She had 6 new messages. Tess was one the few people still left with a landline. She had a cell but rarely used it for more than texting. After long shifts at work, she preferred dealing with phone calls back home when she had the time to talk. The first few messages were benign. Her friends were calling to wish her a safe and fun trip and to call back when she had the chance.
The next messages made her gut tighten as she realized that her parents and siblings were also probably in trouble back home in Massachusetts. Her parents were also wishing her a safe trip and mentioned the reports coming out of NY. They didn't seem too concerned. Because of Tess' nagging, in case anything happened, they were prepared to stay indoors with extra food and supplies. Her two brothers were also going to stay with their parents in case anything happened in Mass. At least she knew where they were. But the call was from this morning almost 10 hours ago and she was too scared to think anything could have come up since then. Before listening to the next message, she quickly dialed her parent's number. It kept ringing but even the voicemail wouldn't pick up. She hung up but tried holding onto the thought that they said they were still safe. She had two more messages.
The next one was from Mike again. It was from around noon and he was leaving work. Things seemed ok still but he also mentioned something about the radio reporting strange things happening in NY. He'd see her in about 5 hours then he hung up. The next one was also from Mike… but it was from about an hour ago. "Hey babe". He sounded more tense this time "Give me a call as soon as you hear this. Your cell is off, again. Listen, I'm seeing these reports about what's happening in NY and its been showing up in other cities. It most likely will happen in Atlanta too. They might just cancel our flight. I'm gonna stay here for about another hour and if I don't get a call from you, I'll take a cab to your place and wait for you there. We can always take a later flight and I'm worried about you. This looks pretty serious. Tess, sometimes I wonder why you even have a phone. I'm gonna call again in a bit but please just wait for me at your place. I love…" Then the phone cut off with a beep. Tess realized she was holding her breath that entire time and she immediately picked up the phone and dialed Mike's number. It rang and rang and finally to her relief, he picked up.
"Tess, thank God. Where are you?" He sounded winded as if he was running. Tess couldn't help but start sobbing as she tried to answer him. "I'm home. Ryan is with me. Michael, it's here, everywhere. We had to get out of the hospital. We ran back. Where are you Michael?" Ryan had made his way over to her and had his arm around her trying to keep her calm. "I'm on my way to you. Everything happened real fast after I called. I made it half way to your place in a cab before the guy kicked me out and said he needed to make it back to his own family. I'm on my way there. Don't move".
"But what if something happens and I have to leave? I can't come find you?"
"Don't come find me. Do what you need to do to stay safe but I'm heading there ok? I love you Tess." Tess was shaking. She didn't want to hang up until he got here "Listen to me Tess, don't let anyone in. Stay with Ryan in the apartment. I'll be there soon" Then the call ended.
"Michael? I love you too. Michael can you hear me? Michael!?" He hung up.
She dropped the phone and collapsed into Ryan's arms. She couldn't contain herself anymore. She was so scared for him and felt so useless. She thought she could fix anything but she seemed more of a burden now than ever. Mike had to get there soon. She couldn't help but think what might happen if he didn't. Ryan hugged her while the sound of her muffled cries filled the room and all that could be heard outside were the heartbreaking screams of a world turning inside out.