The Virus by Lee, Damien (summer books txt) 📕

sorry to ask, but we need you back here! People are collapsing all over the place, the agency nurses haven’t turned up and there’s nobody to help at all! Please get back here as soon as you get this message.”

The line went dead. Amy stared at the phone in disbelief. It had only been four hours since she had left. What was happening? Images of the crazed cleaner resurfaced. She massaged the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. Her heart hammered at the thought of returning to the hospital. Chewing her fingernail, she returned her mother’s call. The phone immediately went to voicemail. With a sigh of disdain, Amy waited for the interminable message to end.

“Hi, it’s me,” she said, adopting a faux positivity. “I’m just returning your call. Give me a ring back when you get this.”

She hung up the phone and looked down at her shaking hands. Returning to the hospital was the last thing she wanted to do, but with it being only her second shift, she was reluctant to refuse. With an agonised groan, she got to her feet and traipsed back upstairs to dress in more appropriate clothing. She cast a cursory glance out of the window and saw that both Norman and his father had gone. Making her way back to the bedroom, she undressed, this time drawing the curtains.

She was unsure what to expect when she arrived back at work. Things must have turned pretty bad for her manager to ask her to return. The notion worried her. If the man she had treated earlier was anything to go by, then many people must be seriously ill. She examined her appearance in the mirror. The black leggings, T-shirt and cardigan were not as comfortable as her loungewear, but they would have to do until she reached work.

A gnawing pain in her stomach reminded her she hadn’t eaten. With everything that had happened, food had been the last thing on her mind. She proceeded downstairs, making a detour to satisfy her hunger.

The kitchen was cleaned to an immaculate finish; something which Amy had always dedicated her time to. She made her way to the refrigerator, conscious of the fact that she had not been shopping in over a week. Despite this, she still peered inside, confirming the lack of food. With a sigh, she closed the door and glanced around her kitchen for another alternative. Being a vegetarian was hard for somebody living in Cranston. Most stores endorsed the meat of local farmers. There were few that catered to those that didn’t eat animals.

The fruit bowl in the corner of the kitchen caught her attention. She chose an apple before leaving the house for the second time that day. The heat hit her as soon as she stepped outside. She made her way to the parked car, glancing back at her neighbour’s garden as she passed. Norman hadn’t returned. It was only once she reached the car, she remembered she had left her keys on a unit in the hallway. Exhaling through gritted teeth, she retraced her steps back into the house.

Retrieving her keys, she returned to the car, half expecting to see Norman sunbathing once more. Yet, the garden was empty. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the sweet aroma of her neighbour’s flowers, only this time another scent invaded her senses. She inhaled again, stronger this time, trying to identify the foreign smell. It was almost like perfume tinged with copper, or daffodils tainted with blood. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the garden with newfound concern.

“Norman?”

She made her way to the bordering hedge. No reply came, and her heartbeat doubled as she peered into the garden. There was no sign of her neighbour or his father. Amy looked over at the conservatory door and found it ajar. It would only take a few seconds to call in and see if Norman was okay. But if it turned out to be a misunderstanding, she would never live down the embarrassment. A sound in the distance caught her attention. A whirr of alarms immediately followed the sound of shattering glass. She looked out towards the town and saw two clouds of smoke rising in the distance.

What’s going on?

She got into her car and reversed out of her drive as a scream pierced the air. She set off back towards the hospital, all the while debating whether returning to work was a sensible idea. It didn’t take long for her to find the answer. Reluctant to travel through the town with all the sounds of distress in the air, she opted to take the longer route through the country lanes. The first alarming sight she encountered was the ravaged corpse of a cow along the side of the road. She tried not to look as she veered around the animal, but she couldn’t help but notice the savagery of its demise. Huge craters in its flesh exposed ribcage and parts of its skull. There was no sign of its killer.

The next concerning sight came as she returned her gaze to the road. The speeding saloon blared its horn as it raced down the middle of the road. Amy shrieked and swerved, narrowly avoiding a collision as the vehicle shot past. She fought for control of her car as it veered off the road, but the momentum took control. The car’s spin came to an abrupt end when the driver’s side smashed into a tree. Amy’s head hit the window as it shattered, showering her in flecks of glass, and rendering her unconscious.

8

Frank awoke to his second day in segregation. At first, he struggled to work out what had roused him. But after a few seconds of deliberation, the cause was apparent.

Gus Razor’s poor rendition of ‘Mustang Sally’ boomed down the corridor. The other inmates cheered the crooner on as