I could hear beeping, the noise bringing me back to consciousness though when I opened my eyes I found myself looking up at a white ceiling. Confused I tried to push myself up but when I felt a tug at my right arm I looked over, still trying to understand just what I was looking at.
From his vantage point Dale frowned, rising from the chair he'd been using to keep an eye on his girlfriend before he stared at me. "Megan, that's a drip." He called out, staring as I turned my head my eyes finally focusing on him. "You need to stay put okay? You're…." He trailed off as I sat, one hand pressed to my forehead as my right arm lay on the bed.
"Dale? Did something happen to me? I can't remember…." I swallowed, wondering when my mouth had become so dry but as I focused on his pale face I slowly blinked. "Wait….did I….I think I…"
Seeing the bandage that covered me from wrist to elbow I started to tremble, Dale moving close enough to rest his hands on the plastic covering the entire span of my hospital bed. "Megan, it's going to be okay," Dale told me and I grimaced, looking directly at him with both my eyes narrowed. "That's just to….keep you safe." He lied grimacing when I coughed.
"Of course, it isn't, Dale! I'm infected with a highly contagious virus and in a few hours, I'll be one of the infected. The ones who roamed Raccoon City tearing people apart." I shouted at him, gasping as the effort made me feel lightheaded. Unable to get any closer to me Dale gripped the plastic sheet, tempted to rip it away until he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned his head to find Harry staring at him.
"Easy there, Coop. You need to leave Megan alone right now." Harry told him, not liking the way Dale's eyes narrowed at him as I ran a hand over my face my shoulders shaking from either fear or the virus running through my system.
"Harry, Megan did this because Albert wouldn't listen. Now, look at her." Dale answered, looking back in time to see tears running down my cheeks. "She's going to turn into one of those….things and I can't do anything to stop it."
"You don't know what's going to happen, Coop. Just let Megan rest okay?" Harry answered but Dale wouldn't listen, still gripping the sheet as he stared at me though by now I had stopped noticing anyone except my right hand as it lay in my lap now.
After a struggle, Dale finally emerged from Megan's room, mostly due to Harry's constant pestering. When he slumped down in a seat outside the room his face in his hands Harry lightly patted his shoulder. "Coop, we're going to find a cure for that zombie virus….and I can't believe I just said that with a straight face." Harry tried to joke but Dale didn't lift his head, wondering what had possessed Megan to go so far as to infect herself intentionally just to prove to Albert how dangerous the virus was.
"Megan's going to turn, Harry. You and I both know what happens to anyone who gets bitten by one of those….things." Dale muttered, looking at his hands and as he turned them over he sighed. "There's no going back now. Either we find a cure in time or Megan…." He couldn't finish, pushing himself up before he walked past the hospital room where his girlfriend lay heading for the front entrance.
He'd barely stepped outside into the fresh air when he heard footsteps but he didn't look back, his thoughts on Megan who lay in her hospital bed. When he heard someone clear their throat he sighed, turning his head in time to see Albert staring at him with his lips pressed together. As soon as he opened his mouth Dale raised his hand and for once Albert didn't speak waiting as Dale gathered his thoughts.
"Choose your words carefully, Albert," Dale told him and Albert blinked as Dale stared straight back at him with two narrowed eyes. "You saw how quickly that virus is spreading through Megan. You can't tell me that Megan's lying now can you?"
"Dale, you saw what I saw. Megan's sick but not because of some 'cannibal virus' that she keeps going on about. You know that right?" Albert replied and Dale just sighed, turning his back. Shaking his head Albert reached over and the moment he grasped Dale's shoulder the FBI agent spun around Albert actually took a step back before he could stop himself, shocked as Dale glared at him his teeth grinding together.
"Megan's dying and there's nothing that I can do so don't tell me she's crazy!" Dale shouted, clenching and unclenching his fists as he stared at Albert who found himself unable to speak. "You didn't see what I did, Albert. That virus….changes people into monsters, makes them….eat anyone not infected."
"You've been spending too long around Megan, Dale." Albert sighed, still not convinced until Dale gave him a weak chuckle nodding toward the front entrance. "Now what do you want?"
"Look at Megan's arms, Albert, and then tell me she's crazy." Dale insisted and after a long pause, which consisted mainly of Albert Rosenfield staring blankly at Dale, Albert finally agreed. As they headed inside the building I glared at my arms, silently wishing I hadn't been so reckless.
"What possessed me to scratch my arm like that?" I muttered, scratching at my arms hoping that the constant itch would subside at some point. But the more I scratched the worse the itch grew until I had to clench my fists together to prevent myself from tearing my bandages apart.
"There she is, Albert. Take a look at her arms and then tell me that she's crazy." Dale told Albert who raised an eyebrow before he walked over to the sheet both covering me and preventing me from leaving my bed. Once he stepped closer I noticed his footsteps and I turned my head enough to find Albert standing inches from my covered bed.
"Come to taunt me again, Albert?" I demanded but he just looked down at my arms, watching as I scratched at the itch on my arm before I could stop myself. "The constant itch is driving me crazy and my head…." I paused, trying to gather my thoughts as Albert and Dale watched me.
"What's wrong with your head, Megan?" Dale asked and I looked up to find him standing a few feet away. Once he caught my eyes he gave me a faint smile, my attention moving to his face which distracted me from scratching. At least for a while though when Albert cleared his throat to get my attention back to him I swallowed, unable to stop myself from scratching at my bandages again.
"You need to stop doing that, Megan. That will only make things worse." Dale called out and I turned my head looking directly at him again immediately noticing my red and puffy eyes.
"How can I get any worse, Dale? I'm going to turn in a few hours, you and I both know that." I pointed out, forcing myself to keep my hands in my lap. "Since we don't have a cure for this virus there's only one thing we can do to stop it." I nodded toward Dale's firearm and once he saw me nodding slowly at him he froze his eyes actually widening.
"Megan, I'm not going to do that. Not again." Dale whispered and I sighed, rolling my eyes at him before I fixed my boyfriend with a tiny smile. "Now how do we fix this, Albert?"
"Dale, you really don't believe…." He trailed off, arms crossed as Dale raised an eyebrow. "Of course, you believe your girlfriend. If she really is infected with...something and I refused to use the words 'cannibal virus' we need to use a sample of the virus and someone who might be immune."
"With that, I create a vaccine. Even then it's going to take time." He finished with a smug look and Dale ran a hand through his hair, looking over as I lay back on the bed.
"Time's something that Megan doesn't have much of." Harry pointed out once Dale filled him in on the plan. "How long do you think we have before…?"
"I don't know, Harry. The last time that Megan was...infected from a bite she started to get sick an hour or so after and I had to put her down. This time it was just a tiny scratch so she might have much longer before she changes." Dale replied, standing just outside my room and as he scratched at his own arm he winced. "Sorry getting itching just thinking about Megan's constant scratching."
"Don't worry about it, Coop. Maybe we should go and see if Albert's ready to take a blood sample from each of us." Harry suggested and Dale nodded, following the sheriff deeper into the hospital soon arriving in Albert's makeshift office.
"Took your time getting here. Now sit on that chair and I'll take a blood sample. I don't have time to take one from everyone so you two are my lucky volunteers." Albert said, waving to one of two empty chairs in the small room. As Dale took one of the unoccupied seats Harry took the other, watching as Albert took out a small syringe and a needle. Once he lifted his head he gave both of them a thin smile. "Who's first?"
Later as Dale scratched at his bandage he watched Harry do the same, his attention moving to Albert as he used a few drops of Harry's blood. After he mixed it with a sample of David Bell's infected blood he looked at it under a microscope, checking for a reaction. When he frowned Dale stepped closer before Albert lifted his head, shaking his head. "Nothing. Maybe your blood." He said to Dale, silent as he prepared another slide.
Dale could feel his heart beating faster in his chest, his eyes fixed on the slide as Albert used his blood next.
"This will only take a minute." Albert pointed out, ignoring the two other men in the room as he carefully added a few drops of Dale's blood to the new sample taken from David Bell. "Even if I can create a cure there's no guarantees it'll work on Megan." He warned but Dale nodded, putting his full trust in his longtime colleague. "She could already be too far gone for this to work on her."
"This is the only chance we have, Albert. If you can't do this no one can." Dale answered, focusing on the microscope and Albert fixed his friend with a faint smile before he turned his full attention back to his work.