It had been two weeks since the infection started. They had us on red alert here in Boston, Massachusetts. The infection had already taken over most of New York City and they were doing their best to contain it. Their city was in the dark, blocked of from the rest of civilization. It was played off as just a sickness, a fatal disease that was quickly spreading throughout the state. That was the worst part of this whole thing… we were clueless. We had no details about this disease, the symptoms, the effects, or even the name. It was a faceless killer that was quickly capturing the attention of the nation. For something so popular around the world, it was something that was shrouded in mystery. Friends and family across the nation were cut off from us. No mail could be sent out, and especially not taken in. The city of New York was quarantined, everyone was. People tried to act like nothing was happening. No footage had been released from New York since the first day of the infection. News teams pushed the story away as an outbreak of a flu-like virus, and it seemed that medical teams were always "on the breakthrough" of creating a vaccine for this disease. I did my best to try and follow this trail that everyone else had accepted… like mindless zombies. However something in me, some nagging voice was telling me things weren't going to get any better. That this infection wasn't just a disease that was making people sick, or killing them. That this horrible virus was actually doing much, much worse.
My name is Henry Crane. I'm an eighteen year old college student living in south Boston, Massachusetts. My mother and father come from wealthy families, so needless to say I was raised with above average accommodations. I had the latest video games, several pools, more than three cars… but none of it really made me happy. I always longed for something else, something simpler. I tore away from the stranglehold of television, media, and expensive vehicles to try and find something to do with myself, something that would benefit more people than just myself. When word of the infection reached my ear, I knew it was my chance to break away from this path I had been walking my whole life.
"We're gunna have some kind of crazy night, Henry," was the first thing I remember hearing. The date was October 28th, 2021. I was sitting in my college cafeteria with a few of my friends from class. It was a Friday evening and classes were officially done for the weekend. I snapped back into reality and glanced at David Bradley. He was sitting to my right, stuffing a piece of pizza into his mouth. David was… well… how can I put it… fat. He usually wore black T-shirts that were way too small for his body. Most of the time his gut would peek out from the bottom of the shirt for a quick hello before he quickly shoved it back inside.
"What do you mean 'crazy night?'" I asked him. He sipped his soda and gave some quick, sharp glances around the table. I looked as well at the marvelous group of weirdoes we'd managed to pick up over the past few months. There was Tory Milton, who wasn't exactly a looker. She had a freckled face with bright red pigtails… a lot like the girl on the Wendy's sign. She was pretty tall and usually some skimpy clothes to try and make herself look more attractive… or more like a whore. I could never really tell which. Then there was Richard, Richard Foltz. This was a boy who basically lived in the school gym. He was one of the top linebackers on the football team, and that didn't go unnoticed. He was one of the most popular kids in school, which helped out my image quite a bit. My friend Jason Pratt of course wasn't sitting with us at the moment. He was always leaving every meal, every class, every lecture to run outside and have a puff. Every time I warned him that this addiction was going to kill him he'd always reply, "hey, better this than that fucking infection."
"Dude, I got us all hooked up," replied David. He reached down to his backpack after inspecting the area. He unzipped the main pouch and lifted it into the light. I got a glimpse of a bottle inside, full of a delicious, amber colored fun. He quickly rezipped the backpack and set it back down on the floor. "My brother hooked me up with that handle, man. He said he'd get us more whenever he could." He put up a hand and let out a few coughs, probably from eating and talking at the same time. Suddenly Jason came stumbling into the room, followed by the Dean. Dean Piccard grabbed a pack of cigarettes from Jason's hand and pointed him towards out table.
"Just have a seat, Mister Pratt," he said firmly. "This discussion will only take a second and then you can go back to finishing off this pack." Jason fixed his color on his discolored plaid shirt and slumped towards out table.
"Whatever," he said quietly. He sat next to me and I was instantly punched by the smell of smoke. Piccard stood at the door and put his hands in the air.
"Attention all students!" he shouted. "This announcement was just given at the main campus, and you will be the last to hear it." I put my head in my hand. Another lecture was not what I needed on a Friday night. "I would like everyone to know that all classes for next week have officially been cancelled due to a sudden outbreak of illness among a few of the students." The room suddenly broke into an uproar of cheers, with highfives all around.
"I'm getting drunk Sunday night, too!" yelled David. Piccard started shushing the room and a quietness began to trickle over the scene again.
"Enough about your drinking habits, Mister Bradley," he said calmly. "As for measures against this sickness. We have put up several new hand sanitizers in all buildings, use of which is not only recommended, but mandatory. Also no sharing drinks, food, or smokes." Piccard held up the pack of cigarettes he took from Jason only moments ago, who was fiddling with his lighter the whole time. "Well, I've given you good news, but the bad news is there is now an eleven-o-clock curfew. No being on the streets after that time or you will be charged a fifty dollar fine, is that clear?" There were some groans in the room, but nothing too serious. I mean no classes? You can't really beat that.
The night came quickly and we had all settled down in David's apartment. I was pouring myself another shot, while the another aimlessly stumbled around the room, slapping highfives and trying to prove their sobriety to one another. I had reached a point where every little thing seemed funny to me. David had lost all control and was currently dancing near his television, waving the empty rum bottle in the air and singing old pirate tunes. Others would join in with his dancing, but mostly ended up trying to keep big Dave on his feet. Most of the people in the room were so wasted that it wouldn't shock me if someone like Tory got laid. Some new faces were hanging around as well. There was Brock from the school soccer team, who was a short and stout kind of guy. He supplied us with another few bottles of vodka and a couple beers since he was twenty-two. My eyes were mostly drawn to Veronica Truss, who was some kind of fox. She was funny, beautiful, and had a dynamite body. I kept a close count on how many drinks she was taking to try and place my move just right.
"Dude," started Richard, "you gunna say something to her or just stare at her the whole night?" I gulped and sighed.
"I don't know man," I replied, trying my hardest not to slur my words. "Maybe tonight's not the best night… I heard she's been real down lately and I don't want to end up making her feel more down when she's already down and being down is just being down and down is not where you wanna be when you're feeling down…"
"Okay, okay," he interrupted. "Maybe it is better if you wait until later. I nodded and slowly stood up from the couch.
"Well it's only a matter of time before I pass out… so I think I'm gunna hit the bedroom," I said between hiccups.
"Make sure the bed's empty before you get in!" Richard called out as I left. He laughed at his humor, but was cut off when Jason decided to throw himself onto Richard for no apparent reason. I stumbled down the hallway, holding onto the wall as I went. I was trying to keep my balance, but it was like the entire room was shifting left and right. I was only a few steps from the first guest room when nature started calling. I sighed and took a right into the bathroom. I slowly opened the door and fell towards the toilet. I started to unzip my fly when David's fat silhouette appeared the in the doorway. He ran up to me and pushed me away from that bowl that was about to give me so much relief. He dropped to his knees and screamed into the toilet. I heard the waterfall of vomit splash into the bowl as David dropped around five pounds.
"That's nice," I said mockingly. "Always what I want to see when I'm about to call it a night." It was only a matter of time before that horrible stench hit my nose and I would end up in the same position as him. A smell did eventually reach my nose… but it was nothing like I expected. It smelled… it smelled great. Like fresh cooked food. It was so delicious smelling that I became instantly starved. I turned to the door and stumbled back to the hall towards the kitchen. I leaned against the kitchen table and looked around for what was cooking.
"Henry, I thought you went to bed," said a soft voice. I looked to my right and instantly started sweating. It was Veronica's glowing face staring back at me, with these wondrously beautiful eyes. I looked for the right words to say, but couldn't really find anything.
"What are you guys cooking out here?" I asked finally. Veronica started laughing and grabbed my arm. She pulled me away from the table and walked me back down the hallway. As we passed the bathroom I was hit with that amazing scent again. Veronica began sniffing and put on a face of disgust.
"Gross David!" she yelled. We continued into the bedroom and she laid me down on the bed. I smiled at her and rested my head on the pillow. She turned to leave, but looked back at me with another small smile. She turned around and leaned down over me, giving me a tender kiss. The breath was taken from me and I'm sure I only had a dumbfounded look of shock on my face. She giggled and then turned around and left the room. I don't remember anything after that… I must've passed out as soon as she left the room.