I wake the next morning, way earlier than normal, to the sound of the speaker system screeching on above my head.
"Attention, students and staff. Everyone is required to report to the gymnasium for additional medical testing. Please make your way there in an orderly and timely fashion. Thank you."
I pull myself out of my cot and check my phone. Nothing from Dad. Literally thirty text messages from Mom. I send her a quick note to let her know I'm okay and then head toward the gym.
On the way, I stop by the girls' bathroom to brush my teeth. Plague or not, it's no excuse for gross breath.
Just as I'm finishing up, I hear something in one of the stalls.
"Hello?"
Another bang against a stall door.
I thought I was alone.
"Is someone there?"
I swallow hard, sweat beading on my forehead. I tiptoe around the sinks and push the first stall door open.
It's empty. Next one, empty. And the next.
When I get to the last one, I hold my breath and press my fingers against the cold metal.
It whips open, and Alice nearly runs me over.
"Holy shit!" I gasp, clutching my chest. Alice hops back and pulls her headphones from her ears.
"God, Bella. You scared me," she says. She steps around me and starts washing her hands at the sinks.
"Ditto." I sigh, and let myself take a few deep breaths before I move.
She glances up at me in the mirror and smirks. "I saw you were with Edward last night. How did that go?"
"Good." I nod. "He said..." I pause, wondering I should say anything. "He said you told him to be brave."
"The poor boy has been pining over you since you got here, he needed to be something other than scared." She dries her hands on a towel and tosses it into the trash.
I follow her out of the bathroom, and we join the hoard heading down to the gym.
Whatever testing this is, it's definitely more organized, and more than just the school nurse. Everyone I don't recognize is in full head to toe suits, complete with breathing machines. Three small tents are set up in the gym, each with a line nearly to the door. Long tables sit just outside the entrances, where people seem to be checking in.
I wait my turn, watching the other lines as they shrink. Edward is in the line farthest from me and he waves as I catch his eye.
When I reach the table, I'm asked my name and just a few initial questions. How do I feel? Anxious and pissed off. Do you feel lightheaded? Only when I'm around Edward.
Inside the tent is a stretcher that they're using as an exam table. I pop up onto it and three suits surround me.
"Name, please," one asks.
"Isabella Swan."
"Isabella, have you experienced any signs of sickness?" He asks, sticking a thermometer in my mouth. How am I supposed to talk wit this thing under my tongue? I just shake my head.
The thermometer beeps and he pulls it out. "No fever. Reach out your arm, please."
As soon as I do as he says, another suit pokes me with a needle and draws blood. Not my favorite experience in the world.
"Have you seen anyone else display symptoms of illness?" He asks.
"No."
"Are you sure? We need to make sure we're containing the disease, it's very important that you're truthful."
"I haven't seen anyone."
"If you do, or if you start to feel ill, please contact your homeroom leader."
I watch the one who took my blood working on a small table in the back. They place several drops of my blood on a piece of paper and slide it into a machine. After a few loud beeps, it spits the sample back out.
"She's clean," the suit says.
"Very good. Please member to keep your distance from others and practice good hygiene," he says. "Exit through the door there." He points to a flap on the opposite side of the tent and I make a quick getaway.
I slide out of the gym and into the hallway, but someone grabs my arm and pulls me toward the lockers.
"You pass?" Edward asks.
"I'm standing here, aren't I?" I tease.
"What'd they do to you?"
"Just standard. Took my temperature, drew some blood."
He slings his arm over my shoulder and we start down the hallway. "So, the rectal exam wasn't standard then?" He jokes.
I lightly punch his ribs and he fakes injury.
"Want to grab some lunch?" He asks.
"Sure."
We head to the cafeteria, and join Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett at a table.
"Bella, you know everyone," Edward says, taking a huge bite of his burger.
"Mostly." I knew Alice of course, and I'd met her boyfriend Jasper a few times. The other two I knew more of them than them. The Prom Queen doesn't usually associate with the diner queen.
"How long do you guys think we'll be stuck in here?" Emmett asks.
"They said only a few days," Rosalie says. I applaud her optimism.
"They lied," I said. Everyone stops eating and looks at me. "I talked to my dad. He said something doesn't seem right. Like they're hiding things from us."
"Have you talked to your dad, Edward?" Alice asks.
"Yeah. They won't tell him anything," he says.
"What if we tell him stuff?" I drop my chicken nugget.
"What do you mean?" Edward asks.
"I mean, if they aren't telling him stuff, we can. We're here. We're the closest to everything. We can track information and tell him. Maybe he'll tell us more than they are."
Edward shrugs his shoulders. "Can't hurt." He turns over his paper place mat and pulls the pen from behind his ear. "So, what do we have?"
"Mike and Tanya, the first two victims..."
We write down everything we know about the symptoms and victims. When we're sure we have it all, Edward takes a picture of our list and sends it to Dr. Cullen. At least if we have an idea of what we're dealing with, we might be able to survive it.
Edward reaches under the table and takes my hand.
I smile. Hopefully.
A/N: Do you think Dr. Cullen can help the crew make it out alive?