Chapter 2
A month later….
Haley Mason paced back and forth impatiently in the waiting room of the hospital.
She was waiting for the nurses to call her in so that she could see her parents one last time before they passed on.
She was getting more and more anxious to see how her family was doing the more that she had to wait there by herself.
Haley sighed as she stopped pacing around the room and sat down on one of the empty seats in the lonely, abandoned room.
She was all alone in the waiting room.
No one was waiting there with her.
No one was waiting there with her because she had no other family left.
Her Mother and Father told her and Edward a few years back that she had an Uncle but he died a few years after she was born.
They never knew how or why he had died so Haley didn't worry about it.
They didn't talk much about him.
They didn't even tell them what his name was.
'What's taking them so long? Where are the nurses? Why does this have to happen to my family?' She thought as she held back tears that were threatening to come. 'No I need to be strong for them. So I can't cry. Not here. Not now. I refuse to cry here alone in this hospital. I can't be seen crying around here in this stupid hospital. The staff and patients will think that I'm weak if they see me like that and I don't want to feel or look weak around them. We must have bad luck in our family if everyone is dying like this.'
Haley wasn't very good at being patient at times and often lost her focus when she was usually waiting for something to come.
'Why are the nurses taking so long to call me in? Are they doing this on purpose? Are they actually waiting for me to crack under pressure? What's happening to my family? Are they getting better or worse? I hope that there getting better and not the other way around. There's always a chance that they can get better. Isn't there? Why aren't they telling me how there are?'
She looked to the nurses' station to see one of the nurse's glance at her then went back to her work.
She knew that they were talking about her behind her back.
She sighed as she remembered that only last month everything was fine and she was hanging around her family in the comfort of their own home laughing and joking around and then they were all suddenly sick from this disease that was going around her hometown.
She remembered her brother promising her that he'll never get sick and leave her side.
She sighed. 'I guess that things have changed now. I don't blame Edward for breaking his promise. He couldn't have seen this coming. No one could have seen this coming to our family. I blame this stupid disease. I mean how did this happen so quickly? It came out of nowhere.' she thought sadly. 'Why am I the only one that's not sick and dying?' she thought. 'Why am I left out while my family is in there dying? Why am I not sick?'
Ever since her family had gotten sick she didn't leave the hospital once even when the nurses and doctors asked her too.
"Haley!" came a voice.
Haley turned to see her friends Renée, Danielle and Rebecca Jones walked over to her.
They all had the same pale skin and glowing crimson red eyes.
They were triplets.
Haley thought that they were the most beautiful people she had ever met.
'Why can't I have eyes like that?' Haley thought. 'There so beautiful. I mean I do like my eyes the way there are but I would love to have red eyes like they do. I've always been jealous of them and of their beauty.'
Renée had red hair, Danielle had brown hair and Rebecca had blonde hair.
She stood as Danielle reached her first and hugged her tightly.
"We are so sorry for what's happening to your family Haley." She said. "Is there anything that we can do for you at this terrible, terrible time?"
"Thanks Danielle." Haley replied. "But no I don't think that there anything you can do for me now. All I want to do is see my family."
'At least I still have my friends by my side to help me through this.' Haley thought. 'I think I'll need them when the time comes.'
"Do they know what's wrong with them yet or are you still left in the dark because those nurses aren't telling you anything about what's going on?" Renée asked as she crossed her arms together and shivered as she looked around the room.
Haley knew that Renée always hated hospitals but she knew that Haley needed her right now.
She smiled slightly at Renée.
"Have they found out anything yet?"
Haley nodded and sighed. "Yes they've found out what's wrong with them and its bad news unfortunately." She explained. "I'm afraid that they've all got Spanish Influenza."
Rebecca gasped.
Danielle looked her over and covered her mouth and nose in disgust with one of her hands.
Renée took a step away from Haley.
"Do you think you have it?" Danielle asked through her hand.
Haley shook her head and frowned. "No. If I did then I'll be with my family. I don't really understand why I don't have it and my family does."
She looked at each of them and tilted her head when she saw their expressions.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "It's not like I'm going to get sick. I've been here all this time and haven't been sick."
Renée looked to Rebecca and Danielle then back to Haley and said. "We are sorry Haley but we can't be seen around you Haley."