Postby shiaw_bing2000 » Fri Sep 10, 2010 3:06 am
It was just after he had said this that an young woman with auburn colored hair, almond shaped eyes, and light freckles covering her cheeks walked into the door, along with on of his nurses. She stood while the nurse spoke, “Doctor, we have someone who wants to help with technical work. Is there anything she can do.”
“As a matter of fact there are a few things I need to be done if you don’t mind.” Said Lilan, addressing Jessie. “Thank you for showing her in,” he said, turning to the nurse. Watching as she nodded and walked out the door. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m not very welcoming at the moment, I’m not exactly in the most stress free situation at the moment.” He said in an apologetic tone. “What I need you and LEP guy over here to do is to go down into my lab and get some equipment. In the storage room is a large microscope that I need brought to my office. What I need is for you to set it up in here and make sure that it’s in perfect working condition. I’m sure since it hasn’t been used in a while that it might have a few bugs or kinks.” Jake stood up, his bio suite crinkling as he prepared to leave the room for the front hallway to wait on his family. “I’ll need that ready by the time I get back, which should be in around five or ten minutes.” Jake began to walk around his desk and toward the door. “Thanks for your help.” After he was outside the door he took off his bio suite and placed a surgical mask over his face.
Jake’s thoughts immediately turned back to his daughter Ashley, his stomach filling with anxiety and fear at the thought that she might have contracted the disease. He closed his eyes in an attempt to control the mounting worry so that it wouldn’t show on his face. He walked quickly to the front door of the hospital and began to pace back and forth in front of the glass window, waiting for them to arrive. He glanced at the group of people who sat in front of the television wearing surgical masks. One couldn’t mistake the looks of sadness and confusion on the parent’s face, nor the look of blissful ignorance on those of the children as they sat watching the television. Jake’s gaze lightened a little as he looked at the people that were going through the same problems as he. Just like him, they worried about a loved one they cared of him. Just like him, they feared the possible fate of their family. He felt comforted by the thought that he was not the only person going through these feelings of fear, anxiety, and sadness. He had stopped pacing and was looking intently upon the children sitting in front of the television whose sparkling, young eyes watched the animated characters jumping around the screen. He smiled inwardly before turning back toward the window. Outside the sky was dark and the streets empty. The city was in total lockdown. Everyone who was a normal citizen would be kept in the security of their homes until the plague passed over. The only people allowed to travel out of their houses were those who had a job relating solely to the purpose of helping with the plague, such as the LEP, medical staff, and the D.O.E.A (Department of Emergency Action). The D.O.E.A would be delivering food and drinks around the city. Jake watched as a pair of lone headlights shown through the darkness, closely followed by an LEP officers car, no doubt to ensure they were headed straight to the hospital.
Sarah stepped out of the car and opened the car door and stepped out, closing it behind her before opening the back door. She gently shook Ashley awake and, after closing the back door, locking the car, and waving her thanks to the LEP officer, headed toward the hospital doors. Jake opened up the doors to meet them. He wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her gently on the lips. The kiss was as much greeting as it was a reassuring gesture. “It’s going to be ok.” He whispered looking into her eyes, the words were for him as well as her.
“I know,” she said as she hugged him tighter.
Jake smiled one more time before turning toward his daughter. He wrapped her up in a big hug and twirled around, a false face of happiness and calm planted on his face.
“Ugh, dad, could you hold off on the twirling when we’re in public? I’m not sixteen anymore you know.” She said in mock annoyance.
“Sure sweetie, as soon as you can abstain from using your cell phone for an entire weekend.” He countered.
“Like that’s going to happen.” She said sniffling slightly as she smiled. “Besides It’s not like I can just stop talking to my friends.”
“Well then, it looks like you’re stuck with my twirly hugs.” He said with a smile. “Besides it’s not like I can just stop loving you.”
“I know dad, I love you to.” She sniffled again. “So can we get this disease check thing done so I can go back home and get some sleep? I’m really tired, as you can imagine, today was a rather long day.” She said as she rubbed some sleep from her eyes.
“Of course baby. Come on, let’s get you checked.” He smile reassuringly toward Sarah once again before they headed over to the left wing of the hospital where a low powered microscope sat, which was used to check the patients blood for the virus. After a few protests from Ashley about needles, he took the blood sample and placed it on a slide. He hesitated before placing the slide under the lens, afraid of what he would find. He took a shaky breath, focused the lens, and peered into the eyepiece. He instantly grew rigid as he stared at the virus bacterium that invaded his daughter’s blood cells. His heart fell into his stomach and it felt as if he couldn’t breath no matter how hard he tried to inhale. A numbness and hollowness in him spread through his body. He couldn’t remember how to breath, how to move, how to think. All his focus was on the deadly bacterium attacking his daughter’s blood cells.
“Dad? Dad what is it?” Asked Ashley, noticing the odd behavior of her father.
Ashley’s voice brought Jake out of his stupor enough for him to look at his wife. Sarah stared at him with a growing look of horror. Jake felt his head nod up and down stiffly, though he didn’t believe he had done so voluntarily. His whole body was unfeeling and he had lost the ability to speak.
“Dad, what’s wrong?”
Jake’s mind debated internally about what to tell her. Weather he should tell her the truth or sugar coat it like he’d done in the past when he’d thought that reality would be to much for her to bear. His mind wouldn’t seem to work as he searched for some kind of euphemism to dampen the blow of such a harsh truth. He finally looked over at his daughter. “You’re dying.” He finally croaked out.
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