Author's Note: Hey guys, don't worry, I'll be updating Broken Soul as well soon too. I just got such inspiration for this, I'm excited to get a few chapters out. ALSO, I edited chapters 1 and 2 with some extra details, so be sure to check those out!
July 29th, 4:21 AM
Quarantine Zone
It was extremely early in the morning, and things were hectic already in the Quarantine Zone. Doctors and staff were rushing, attempting to transport the seizing patients to an entirely separate area...if not a separate building.
A total of eight patients were suddenly displaying more extreme symptoms to the sickness, they had went from a simple fever or vomiting, to coughing up blood, going blind, having seizures, but most disturbing, they became nearly rabid.
In a sense where they appeared to be experiencing a great fear...to something the staff and doctors couldn't see.
They also seemed to not be able to recognize friends or family members. Dr. Akira found out these specific patients had the weakest immune systems of all the patients.
In other words, the top eight weakest...among these eight patients were a few elders, two children, and one member of Eren's group, Marco.
As staff and nurses barely managed to move them into a separate rooms, Dr. Akira ended up stuck in a heated argument with an official from the army, with some serious concerns.
"Moving these patients would mean certain death for them!", Dr. Akira yelled angrily. "I'm sorry, Dr. Akira...but that is a sacrifice we may have to make! Look around you! We have over 2000 lives at stake here...and if those with worse symptoms stay here, the disease could spread faster!", Shadis, the sergeant ordered.
"You don't know that!", Dr. Akira shot back. "Exactly my point! We know NOTHING of this new radiation! Completely NOTHING! We're blind in the dark!", Shadis yelled.
Dr. Akira glared, falling silent. "You think it doesn't make me sick?! But what choice do we have?! The army has doctors and nurses, we'll keep the final eight patients quarantined, away from the patients who have a better chance...", Shadis explained.
Dr. Akira averted his gaze for a moment. "Dr. Akira...there's children here, teenagers, young people who have a fighting chance. There's even a few pregnant women...we have no idea what's going to happen once the worse off patients...like we both agree on, we have no idea what this illness can do..its for everyone's safety", Shadis pointed out.
The two were standing in the main hospital corridor, and Dr. Akira glanced around at the patients. Not too far from them, Mikasa was resting in bed. Sebastian was resting beside her, but overnight his sister's fever seemed to only increase, much to Eren's worry.
Eren had woken early himself from his own fever, so he spent his time watching over the two siblings. Armin wasn't doing well at all, so he was still in bed, along with Sasha and the rest.
But as Eren watched over Mikasa, who's breathing was labored again, despite her bed still being in a reclined position, he overheard the argument between Dr. Akira and Shadis.
He swallowed hard, biting his lip. It seemed once patients began to show the more extreme, and possibly final stage symptoms of the illness, they'd be taken from this building.
If things kept up like this, Armin and Sebastian may be the next to leave. He watched as Dr. Akira reluctantly signed over the eight patients to the army's care.
Shadis nodded to him, and called in doctors with stretchers to transport those eight patients. After they took seven out, the last was Marco.
But as they were halfway down the corridor, Jean noticed, along with Connie and Sasha, the three somewhat waking up.
"Marco..?", Jean got up, hurrying over. "Where are they taking him?!", Connie got up too, as Sasha followed. Eren watched from the short distance, staying at Mikasa's side.
"Excuse me but..where are you taking him?", Sasha asked anxiously to the doctor. "His condition is too extreme...along with seven others. For the safety of the rest of you, they're being taken to a quarantine zone just for them, with the army", the doctor replied.
"What?! But..he's our friend!", Jean pointed out. "What could they possibly do for him that isn't being done here?!", added Connie urgently.
On the bed, Marco had been eerily still..he almost appeared dead, especially from a distance. However his eyes were opened, but didn't seem to have any life in them. His breathing had become weak and shallow, with very little signs of being aware people were around.
He had gone blind after all, and his brain seemed to be somewhere else. "Is there possibly better treatment where he's going?", Sasha asked, grasping at straws for hope.
"Please...we've all been friends since junior high!", Connie added, as Jean remained dead quiet, his heart racing in fear.
The doctor hesitated, unable to look at them. This snapped Jean slightly out of it, as a grim realization crashed down.
"So...you're basically taking him to his grave? Wait for him to die in some quarantined area, all alone?!", Jean demanded then.
"We're sorry...but we have no way of knowing what's going to happen...we can't let the disease spread further..", the doctor replied grimly.
"Based on what?!", Sasha asked then. "Surely you kids have heard of the Unlucky 13! If what happened to them is the final stage of the illness like Dr. Akira is predicting...I'm sorry, we cannot risk that!", the doctor insisted.
"Please wait! I don't...please don't let him die alone...take me with you", Jean pleaded then. "Jean..!", Connie gawked at him.
The doctor hesitated, feeling sympathy, when suddenly Marco's eyes opened wider, and his body broke into a full on seizure. His body convulsed on the bed, and worst of all..he was screaming bloody murder.
"MARCO!", Jean yelled fearfully. "STAY BACK!", the doctors attempted to hold Marco down, as other staff members held Jean, Connie and Sasha back.
Eren's eyes widened in horror, watching from Mikasa's bedside...and thanking God she was sleeping through this. Along with Sebastian.
"NO! LET ME GO! He needs me!", Jean struggled against the doctor's grasp, as Marco's seizure only worsened, the doctors and staff struggling to keep him held down.
When suddenly, Marco actually broke through his straps on his wrists, and just as he sat up, he projectile vomited blood across the room, it soaking many of the doctors and staff.
Before anyone had even a second to react, right before their very eyes...Marco's body exploded. Blood, guts, intestines, and even skeleton was visible, it was as if a bomb was somehow planted inside of him.
It happened so fast and so suddenly, a few nurses screamed, as did Sasha, while Jean staggered back, even falling into a sitting position, in shock.
Connie nearly vomited himself, placing a hand over his mouth. All that was left was his insides, splattered about the bed, floor, and even the walls.
It was a gruesome sight. Dr. Akira and Shadis witnessed it as well, both froze in shock at first. The first to snap out of it was Shadis.
"THIS IS WHY THEY NEED TO BE MOVED!", he bellowed then, as he hurried over. "Don't just STAND THERE, clean this up! Before it spreads!", he ordered to the staff.
The shaken staff snapped out of it, as they first wheeled the stretcher out, and began laying plastic down to keep it all contained.
Eren felt himself shaking badly, as he looked away, feeling physically ill from what he just witnessed.
As he looked away, his gaze was back on Mikasa, who amazingly, remained asleep. She was extremely weak from the illness.
And she didn't sleep as well last night. Eren felt his stomach churn...what happened to Marco..was the end result of this illness.
This..could happen to any of them. No..not could. It WILL happen to every one of them. Mikasa..and Sebastian included.
Unless a treatment or cure is found soon...not only would they die...but over 2000 people...this was why the officials named the illness Zetsumetsu. This new poisoning...was literally made to take out an entire population.
12: 13 PM
Quarantine Zone
After Marco's remains were cleaned, and the entire hospital floor was cleaned and disinfected in an attempt to prevent the disease spreading faster for the other patients.
Although that might have been a futile attempt. They'd know soon. At this point, Jean was still in shock. He was sitting on his bed, holding his face in his hands, Connie sitting beside me.
Sasha was biting her nail, laying in her own bed, curled in a fetal position, trembling badly. Ymir, who was not quite as weak as Krista was, remained at Krista's bedside.
Mikasa's eyes weakly opened, Sebastian remained asleep beside her. Eren blinked, seeing her waking up. "Hey...", Eren spoke softly.
"E-Eren...? What...time is it..?", Mikasa weakly forced herself to sit up, as Eren helped her. "It's passed noon...how..are you feeling?", he asked worriedly.
Mikasa bit her lip, she then hugged herself, shivering again. Eren's eyes softened, worried. He then blinked, remembering he had a red scarf.
He had actually gotten it out of a donations box, that had been set up for the patients at this hospital. Warm clothes, food, stuffed toys for the children, those sorts of things.
"Here..", he gently wrapped the scarf around her neck. Mikasa held it close, as she felt very comforted by it. She was still shivering, but...it felt very warm.
"Thank you...", she whispered, before grimacing, and coughing a bit hard. "Easy..", Eren rubbed her back.
Mikasa opened her eyes weakly once her coughing fit ended, and she noticed how pale Eren looked. "Eren..how are you feeling?", she asked, worriedly.
"Just...its just my fever...", Eren looked away from her...he knew she'd find out eventually..but he couldn't..tell her yet what he saw.
Mikasa frowned worried. "Eren, you should rest...we're all sick", she pointed out, biting her lip. "I know..but you're hurt as well. How...is your injury?", he asked her.
Mikasa looked down, placing a hand over her chest. "Not good...it..it still hurts pretty bad...", she had to admit.
And she was very physically strong, and stubborn. So if she could admit this..it was really bad. "I'll ask the nurse to get you more morphine, hang in there", Eren said.
Mikasa nodded softly, she gazed down at her little brother, who remained asleep. She exhaled weakly, as she went to lay back down, when suddenly she heard the sound of a woman groaning painfully on the other side of the curtains, in the bed next to hers.
"Sweetheart, what is it? Is it the baby?", she heard a male voice asked..and remembered the young couple who were also on this floor, and next to her bed. She couldn't see them due to the curtain...but she could hear it all clear as crystal, and her heart dropped at what the woman said next.
"I-I'm bleeding...!", she cried, and released a groan of pain. Mikasa's heart sunk..was the woman in labor? Or...
She heard the husband hurry to get a nurse, but even after he left, his wife continued groaning and crying out in pain.
Her cries and screams only got louder, and by the time the nurse and husband made it back, from what Mikasa could hear, the bleeding had gotten much worse, as well as the woman's pain.
But as she listened...Mikasa felt confusion as well as horror. What was happening to suddenly make the woman worse?
"We need to move her...NOW", Dr. Akira insisted to the husband, who was shaking with worry. The woman's groans and screams continued as they moved her out.
Mikasa bit her lip fearfully, but and she also struggled, but managed to reach the curtain. It hurt her ribcage like hell, as she struggled to breathe for a moment, but she was able to rip the curtain to the left...and she gasped in horror.
The bed the pregnant woman had been laying on..was soaked with blood. It was too much blood for it to be labor...she must have been having a miscarriage due to the illness.
It made Mikasa feel physically ill, her stomach even heaved. She reached for the bedpan, and threw up violently.
The sound woke Sebastian, as he stirred weakly. "S-Sis...? What's wrong?", he rubbed his eyes weakly, sitting up.
Mikasa gasped for air, as she flinched, grimacing painfully, her ribs now completely felt like they were on fire from needing to throw up.
Hearing her little brother, she quickly held onto him, making sure he didn't see the bed next to them. "S-Sis...?", Sebastian asked, trembling.
"Don't look buddy...please just...", Mikasa told him, shaking badly. As she held her little brother, she looked around at the hospital corridor. She noticed...the atmosphere was very different today. It was more grim..and she could actually feel a sense of great terror.
Jean, Connie and Sasha especially looked horrible. Mikasa knew..something had happened. She didn't know what..but something.
She glanced around..needing information..news..anything. She felt like she was in the dark about something.
Finally, Eren returned with a nurse. After being given her morphine, Mikasa frowned at Eren. "Eren..what's going on? What happened this morning?", she asked.
Eren froze up, going pale. "Mikasa...", he started. "Something happened...I can tell. And...the woman next to my bed...the pregnant woman...she suddenly started bleeding..bad...they had to take her..somewhere...", Mikasa explained.
Eren bit his lip. "She was 8 months pregnant...I'm sure her immune system was weaker...", he avoided the question.
Mikasa suddenly glared, having enough. "EREN! Tell me the truth!", she yelled then, startling both Eren and Sebastian.
"Please...I have a little brother...I'm all he's got..I need to know what's happening...", she pleaded, her eyes terrified.
Eren sighed shakily, as he sat at her bedside. "You're right...something bad did happen...", he went to explain everything to her, and the further he got, the more her eyes widened in horror.
Her heart sunk once he finished. "I'm sorry Mikasa...you're so injured..along with your sickness...I didn't want to...", Eren explained grimly.
Sebastian clung to his older sister tightly. "So...that's going to happen to all of us...? We're gonna die...?", he asked fearfully.
"I won't let that happen..aren't they developing a cure?!", Mikasa asked, frantically, holding her little brother close.
"There isn't even a cure for known radiation...so...no..not yet", Eren replied. Mikasa fell silent, there was nothing for them to say...as it all sunk in for them.
If a vaccine wasn't made soon...they'd all meet the same fate as Marco. Along with the Unlucky 13.
August 9th, 10: 00 AM
Official Japanese Government Meeting
"Dr. Akira...we may finally have a vaccine prepared...", a scientist confirmed. The men were sitting around the table, an emergency meeting called for this very reason.
Nearly two weeks had passed since the bombing, and over 500 had died from the illness. Once they began vomiting blood, they were taken into the army's care.
Once there, their bodies exploded..hidden away from the world to prevent the disease from spreading further.
After this long passing, more was learned about the illness, so a possible vaccine could be made.
"You have the floor sir..please explain to us this vaccine", the chairman stated. The scientist nodded, standing up.
"First of all..let me make this statement on record now. I am not claiming this vaccine will work. It's simply gonna have to be a test. It possibly can work..but I am making no promises. I also have no way of knowing WHAT will happen when its taken...", he confirmed.
The men around the table nodded, listening. "I'd also like to say..the main reason we were able to produce a vaccine at all, is because, like Dr. Akira said, this is not a normal radiation. It's a Mutated one..so it had different components...making a vaccine more possible...we took samples from the following victims...in order to make this cure. Marco Bott, age 16 years old, and Sakura Furukawa, a 21 year old woman, whom was 8 months pregnant...after suffering a miscarriage, her body too suffered the same fate as Marco's...", the scientist continued.
"We've concluded this illness has three stages. Stage One, is when the illness first produces. The victim suffers violent shivering, a rapid decrease in body temperature, and a high fever, along with severe fatigue and migraines...", he went on.
"Stage Two, is when the symptoms start resembling a stomach flu more. Vomiting begins, along with a constant state of nausea, also, children and elders develop weak bladders in this stage..some of urinated blood...", he glanced over his papers.
"Finally..Stage Three. The most deadly and critical stage. This is when the victim starts to go blind, they suffer seizures, and vomiting blood...they also begin to became delusional. Seeing frightening images, and once they go blind, hearing frightening noises...it causes them to become very fearful, almost animal like...", he cleared his throat.
"As we all know...Stage Three ends with exploding...we also know anyone who is close enough to the explosion, their illness will rapidly head to the third stage faster. Thus why Sakura died...along with five other patients on the other side...", he said.
"We also learned the illness increases depending on one's immune system. Victims with the weakest immune system only last two days, those with an average immune system can last..well, so far from what we know, nearly two weeks, as no one else has died yet. But judging by what symptoms everyone has...we have calculate, the people with strong immune systems, could last up to two months...possibly three", he added.
"So...what is this vaccine?", the chairman pressed.
"We're called it Anti X, for now. It's a simple shot into the victim's neck...we are hoping it will be enough to cure them. But if it isn't...at the very least, it will most likely pause the illness...in other words, patients will still be infected, and have symptoms..but the symptoms will lessen, and death will no longer be a risk", the scientist explained.
"So what you're saying is...for the time being, this vaccine will give us more time to develop an actual cure? Keep my patients from dying?", Dr. Akira asked.
"That's what it's been made to do, yes. But like I said earlier...this is a non tested drug..so we don't know if it will do the job right. It could...cause a faster death. There's risks with all new drugs", the scientist admitted.
Dr. Akira fell silent...it was a shot in the dark. But..they were out of options. Over 500 people have died already...and the ones still alive suffered worse symptoms now.
Sebastian and Armin had started vomiting, as well as Sasha and Connie. Eren, Jean, and Mikasa were still in the first stage, but their fevers were getting worse.
Mikasa suffered a lot of dizzy spells and horrid migraines, while Eren kept losing his balance, along with high fevers late at night.
Dr. Akira sighed. "All right...let's do this", he stated.
12:30 PM
Quarantine Zone
"I'm reporting live here from Tokyo's Quarantine Zone, where just moments ago, Dr. Akira confirmed a possible cure has arrived at the hospital! It is a non tested, newly developed drug, called Anti X. The purpose of the drug is supposed to pause the illness...", the news reporter began.
Inside the hospital, a doctor inserted the shot into Mikasa's neck, as Eren held her hand. She winced a bit, as she felt the medicine enter her bloodstream.
"...If it works, patients will still be infected, but their symptoms will lessen, and they'll be able to stay alive. But for how long will this break through work for? Will it work at all?", the news reporter continued.
Next, the doctor inserted the shot into Sebastian's neck. He winced, as Mikasa held his hand. Next, they gave it to Eren, and moved on to Armin and the rest.
"But the real question we all have..is even if Anti X provides us some relief...how long will it take for an actual cure? Can humanity be saved? Or...is this simply a futile attempt to save us from the ultimate extinction? And finally...who wants us dead? What monster is capable of wiping out an entire population?", the news continued.
As each of the patients were given the shot, it was a breath holding day for everyone...not knowing what was going to happen next. Mikasa held her little brother close to her chest, as Eren held her hand. Ymir held Krista close..everyone afraid the drug could backfire..and cause them all to explode. It was a very tense day...as the news channel on the TV tuned out.
