It happened in waves.
Wave 1: News
Only little stories here and there nothing to extreme most people assumed it was just a joke. I was one of them. I went about my day and saw the stories on the tv's in the hospital I just got a job at. I would just glance at them and keep walking.
"What do you think about all these stories?" My best friend and coworker Isabel asked while looking down at her phone watching yet another attack.
"I think it's all bullshit" I answered looking over my schedule for the day noticing we had a few empty spots.
"I don't know dude it looks pretty real to me." She responded before clicking on another video. I rolled my eyes and put my hand on her phone causing her to look up.
"Isabel you know a few times a year some stupid new drug comes out and people over do it and go crazy and it's plastered all over the news and then it dies down. It's nothing just like it always is. Watch in a few weeks everyone will forget about it." I told her before removing my hand. She sighed and looked back at the screen shaking her head.
"I just have a bad feeling about this" She said before locking her phone and turning towards me. I turned my full body towards her and raised my eyebrows.
"What kind of bad feeling?" I asked. Now I was in no way superstitious but ever since we met her bad feelings have always come true.
"I don't know. Just a feeling" she answered before she was called to her clinic by one of her co workers. "I'll see ya at lunch?" She added and after I nodded in confirmation she walked off going to the neurologist clinic before I walked off to the cardiology clinic.
As I stepped through I smiled at giving him a small wave before making my way over to my desk. After logging on I started on some paper work that I had been putting off until my first patient turned green indicating he was here and was checked in. I reached to my right and grabbed his chart noticing he was in for a pacemaker check. As I walked to the front Anabell our front desk girl waved me down.
"What's up?" I asked stopping before walking out to call Mr. Santos back.
"You have to wear this" She answered handing me a face mask. I gave her a confused look before looking back at the chart.
"It doesn't say he has tuberculous or even a indicator of it. Why do I need a mask?" I asked putting my hand on my hip.
"Dr. Mortiny wants all of us to wear them." She replied before pushing the mask at me again. "he didn't give a reason."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head before grabbing the mask and putting it on instantly feeling uncomfortable as the heat from my breath hit me.
"This is so dumb" I said before walking out and calling my patient back. After taking Mr. Santos blood pressure and confirming he was still on all his medications and making sure he hadn't started any new ones i walked out of the room and instantly ripped off my mask taking a deep breath. After putting his chart next to the door I walked over to Dr. Mortinys office and knocked before walking in.
Dr. Mortiny was a fairly younger looking man who was starting to go grey at his temples. He had kind brown eyes and very distinct laugh lines. He was always known as a kind doctor and very gifted surgeon. Right now though he looked very stressed out and his normally relaxed face was pinched with worry as he stared at his computer. He looked up as I walked in before turning off whatever he was watching.
"Yes Addie?" He asked turning his full attention on me. I held up the mask in question before raising my eyebrows. "Ah yes. I knew you'd have a issue with it." He added before standing up and buttoning his white coat.
"I just don't understand why we have to wear them" I responded crossing my arms and leaning my hip against his door frame.
"Well with this sickness going around I don't want to take any risks" he said putting his hands in his pockets.
"Seriously?" I asked before shaking my head. "Please tell me you don't believe this crap on the news as well" I added with my face in my hands before looking up at him. He shrugged his broad shoulders.
"It's just a precaution" he answered "Now is Mr. Santos ready?" He asked ending our conversation. I nodded before telling him he was in room 3. After he walked out I went back to my desk and continued my paperwork I started this morning glaring every now and then at the offending mask.
Wave 2: People
I sighed and pushed my unruly hair back before typing more on my computer.
I was currently sitting in the ER trying desperately to keep up with the flow of patients we were getting.
"Shit!" I snapped glaring at the computer screen as the screen froze in the middle of typing up a statement in a patient file.
"Addie patient in bed 4 needs more pain meds" our head nurse Amber yelled before running off as another patient was wheeled in by the paramedics.
"Mother-" I said before getting up and at a jog going over to bed 4 which was currently holding a young women by the name of Lacey Hart. Her short blond hair was currently soaked with sweat and she was shaking uncontrollably from the fever raking her body. Her left leg was bandaged up with blood currently still soaking through from the bite wound that she came in with and was the source of her pain.
"Good evening Lacy I hear your still in a fair amount of pain" I said while grabbing her chart and doing a quick go through to determine how much morphine I was supposed to give her based on her weight and how many doses she already has had.
"It won't stop." Lacy replied through clenched teeth before she sucked in a deep breath and the machine that was monitoring her heart started blaring as her heart stopped.
"Lacy?" I said gently shaking her. "Lacy!" I yelled before hitting the blue button and yelling out code blue to indicate that she went into cardiac arrest. As I started giving her cpr I looked around and saw the code team running over with the electric shock paddles. When they reached me they took over and started cpr while charging the paddles. After 3 shocks were given Lacy Hart was pronounced dead at 17:05 pm.
Wave 3: Containment
I brushed my hair and looked at myself in the mirror of my bathroom. My face was haggard with the bags under my eyes being more prominent than normal.
I had been pulling shifts in the ER for the past week now. Technically I wasn't qualified to work in the ER being as I was only a medical assistant but due to the high number of ER employees that were getting sick and having to call out of were just not going to work I was needed there because I could be of some help. Lately though I was being used as more of a nurse and the late nights and early mornings were starting to get to me with tonight being the first time I was going to sleep in my own bed.
As I put the brush down I put my hair in a French braid making a mental note that I was due to get it re dyed to the deep red it currently was because my natural black roots were starting to make their appearance.
As I walked out to my living room and looked at the tv I saw as more and more military were being bought in. I sighed rubbing my face before turning off the tv and walking into my room.
As I laid down I sent Isabel a quick text to make sure she was ok before putting my phone on my charger and turning out my light to go to sleep. As I got comfortable my mind went to the utter shit fest the past three weeks have been.
The military after realizing that this sickness wasn't going to go away anytime soon came in about 4 days ago and have been trying to contain the sickness to only the hospitals but they have slowly been starting to close off more and more of the city. So far my neighborhood hasn't been closed off but Isabel's was just yesterday and I was starting to get worried as I hasn't heard from her sense this morning. As I drifted off to sleep I sent up a silent prayer for my friend and all the people that have died to this sickness and for it to be over soon.
Wave 4: Chaos
I glared at the offending fence that was currently blocking my way to work.
"I'm sorry ma'am but we have strict orders to not let anyone outside of the gate" the guard said not budging.
"I have to go to work. We are already down a lot of staff in the ER they can't afford to not have me come in. People will die do you understand?" I snapped getting pissed at being denied access. The guard though remained where he was not moving making me grind my teeth and stomp off back to my house.
As I walked inside I pulled out my cell phone and type in my supervisor's number only to get a dial tone back. Confused I tried again and once again got the dial tone. Looking at the top of the screen I saw I had no service.
"What the fu-?" I was cut off as the sound of someone screaming made me run to my window and look out only to see the guards then there guns and start firing at someone outside the gate.
As gunfire filled the air I jumped back from my window and ran to my bedroom and grabbed the handgun my brother in law made me get after I moved out of their house a little over a year ago and ran to my hall closet to grab a bag. I didn't know what was going on but all I knew was I needed to leave and fast. As I packed my big with some clothes and the only photo album I owned more gunfire sounded off but much closer this time.
Fear shot threw my making my hands shake and breathing pick up before I shook my head and ran to my kitchen. In the way of food I didn't have much because of the fact that I've been confined to my house the past week and hadn't had time or the ability to go shopping but what little I did have I packed away. Which was really just some ramen noodles a few juice packs that I kept for my nieces and 4 cans of my favorite type of corn.
As I ran to my front door I saw everyone running towards their cars and the military men running as well. I took a deep breath and grabbed my car keys before running out of my house.
As I ran to my car my heart stopped as I saw the first glimpse of the undead. I had heard rumours that the dead were coming back to life but I hadn't seen much truth behind it.
Until now.
Now I saw as Margent Watson my next door neighbor was thrown to the ground by a unknown dead thing who quickly took a bite out of her neck making blood shoot out and her scream.
"Oh my god" I said before quickly unlocking my car and jumping in as another undead started pounding on window making me scream.
As I started my car more undead came after me making me panic. I quickly threw my car in reverse and backed up hitting a undead and running it over. As I flipped into drive and sped off I saw as more and more undead came into the neighborhood killing everything they could get their hands on.
Wave 5: Silence
I made a frustrated sound as my radio cut out again before angrily hitting it and turning it off. I took a deep breath and looked out the window and saw the landscape fly by.
It had been 2 days since escaping my hometown of Tucson, Arizona and just driving as fast as I could out of there. I tried going back with the hope of finding some of my family but every major highway was blocked preventing entry and no matter what street I Went on the undead were there making it to dangerous to try and go through it. Eventually though a broadcast on the radio announcing refugee centers came on stating that they would be opening in all major cities in the United States. I listened closely to hear a city nearest to me and got disappointed when I heard that LA was dark and Phoenix was over run. The only ones that were up and running were in Atlanta, Georgia, Tacoma, Washington, Louisville, Kentucky, and Casper, Wyoming.
I took a deep breath and looked out the window seeing the sign that I was nearing El Paso. I stopped the car and sat and looked out the window contemplating where I should go. On one hand I was heading in the direction of Atlanta but I had people I knew in Washington.
I blew a breath out and contemplated going back and driving up to Washington but something in my gut told me to keep going forward to go to Atlanta. I've always trusted my gut feeling before so with a deep breath I put my car back in drive and started toward Atlanta, Georgia.
A day later as I neared the border of Alabama the emergency broadcast stopped and all there was was silence.
AN: Hi guys and welcome to my new fic. Got inspiration to write again so ta-da! Haha let me know what you think!