Word count →_→  1875 words

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Emilia could not stop herself from gawking as she beheld the marvel that was the castle. She had often heard of the beautiful castles in Transylvania but none of the descriptions truly captured this particular castle's ethereal appearance. She was so caught up in the beauty that she did not she as the older woman approached her.

"Emilia Larsson." The woman called out to her.

It was only then that Emilia turned her attention to the woman before her.

"Madam Giovanni, it's such an honor to meet you." She said, literally fangirling. And with good reason.

Everyone in the field of medicine knew who Natalia Giovanni was. This woman had revolutionized the field so much, her male counterparts were in awe. Plus she was an inspiration to every other woman. To meet her in the flesh was something short of a dream for Emilia.

"The honor is mine, Miss Larsson. I've heard a bit about you." The older woman said with a smile.

"Oh please, it's hardly anything compared to your achievements." Emilia said. "You became a top Neuro surgeon and as if that wasn't enough you took on the world of politics that for a while now has been male dominated. There aren't that many female presidents and yet you give those men a run for their money. You are literally my role model."

"Thank you, but you're still a budding rose whereas I have reached my peak." The red haired woman said with a warm smile. "I expect great things from you."

"I hope to live by your example." Emilia replied, returning the older woman's smile.

"Come, let's get you familiarized with your new work environment." Natalia Giovanni said as she turned to lead the way.

"My work environment? Pardon me, ma'am." Emilia began, making the other woman stop and turn to her attention. "I was under the impression that I was here for a face to face interview."

"Oh yes, that was the original plan." She explained. "But we were pressed for time, so the panel had to choose one candidate using the Skype interview. You were our top candidate, Miss Larsson."

It took her a minute to process the news but when she did, Emilia finally broke into a smile.

"Thank you, Madam Giovanni. I won't let you down." She said.

Natalia simply nodded as she turned and continued walking.

"You'll be working with our lead Research and Development scientist, Doctor Daniel Rudolph and his team in his testing of his COVID-19 cure. Your role will be to ensure that all the necessary procedures are followed either by watching via surveillance cameras or by being on the ground as they perform their clinical trials. Although I would like to believe a combination of both will be the most effective.

You'll be performing infection control audits to ensure the facility is in compliance with CDC and local regulations concerning infection control or standard universal precautions. You are also to report any accidents or incidents to me as and when they occur. I expect a daily report on the proceedings of the trials. The rest of your duties shall be outlined in a terms and guidelines document that has been uploaded to your iCloud."

"Understood." Emilia said as she made sure to digest this information.

"Your belongings have been taken to your living quarters. Everything else you need will be acquired for you by our procurement and operations teams." Madam Giovanni continued.

As they made their way into the castle, they were greeted by a man whom Emilia immediately deduced as Doctor Rudolph.

"Madam Giovanni, you didn't have to come all this way." He said as he greeted them.

"Nonsense, you know I did." She replied before going on to introduce Emilia to him. "Daniel, allow me to introduce you to Miss Emilia Larsson. She's going to be working with you as Infection Prevention Coordinator. Think of her as your external auditory function. Emilia, this is Doctor Daniel Rudolph."

"A pleasure to meet you, Doctor Rudolph." Emilia said to him.

"Pleasure's all mine, Miss Larsson." Doctor Rudolph simply said. "Now would you two ladies love to come and have a look at the preparations we've made? We're all good to go as soon as you give us the thumbs up."

"Very well, lead the way." Madam Giovanni said with a nod.

The two ladies quietly followed Doctor Rudolph as he lead them into the base.

"We have allocated the basement as our main testing lab. All the necessary equipment has been set up and our subject zero has been prepped as well." Doctor Rudolph explained.

"Subject zero?" Emilia asked curiously.

"Yes, that's what we are calling our test subject. He's a nice young man. I think he should be around your age, Miss Larsson." Doctor Rudolph continued.

"Why not call him by his name? He's human after all." Emilia pointed out.

"We do, this is for documentation purposes." Doctor Rudolph said. "His name is Alexander Maxwell."

They followed him down a set of stairs that led to the basement. They found a large steel door where a small desk had been set and security had been posted. The three were each handed their own biohazard suit.

Emilia had forgotten that of all the things she loved about this job, the suits was not one of them however she would endure the suffering if it meant she could the job done. After having his retina scan and thumb print scanned, the door opened and they walked into what had been set up as an entire hospital of sorts. At the far end, Emilia noted that the room way divided by a small biohazard proof cubicle that was curtained to give it's occupant privacy.

Before they could proceed any further, they were approached by a young bronze skinned woman.

"Ladies, allow me to introduce you to my assistant, Misty Jones. She'll be keeping closing tabs on our subject." Doctor Rudolph said. "Misty, Madam Giovanni here is part of our Board of Directors. And this is will be our resident IPC."

"It's nice to meet you." Misty  replied with a smile.

"Is everything ready?" Doctor Rudolph asked his assistant.

"Yes. We have him all settled." Misty replied before turning to the two women. "Please feel free to look over our set up before we get started."

Taking the initiative, Emilia proceeded towards the cubicle. With her sharp eye for detail, she checked for any possible breaches. Satisfied with the secure material she proceeded into the partition.

It wasn't as small as it looked on the outside. Rather, it was a comfortable space with a desk, two chairs, tv and a bed upon which sat a young man she immediately noted as being their subject zero. He regarded her curiously as she did the same to him.

"Hi, Alex right?" She said to him with a smile.

"Yeah," he replied.

"I'm Emilia. It's nice to meet you." She said.

He simply nodded at her in acknowledgement.

She could see he was feeling a little uneasy. Anyone would be uneasy if they were confined to such a place.

"Wow, these guys have to be the most boring people." She said while rolling her eyes. "They could have added some color. This place is quite depressing, kind of like the Matrix films if you take out all the cool stunts "

This made him laugh out a little.

"What are you talking about? Those films were already depressing as soon as they decided on a sequel." he said with a grin.

"Huh, you have a point." she said. "I'll just check up on things before the men in white come in here." 

"So, are you my nurse?" he asked curiously.

"Unfortunately not. Call me maintenance. I'm simply here to make sure everything works. I have to make sure nothing goes wrong." she said as she went through her routine checks.

"Aw, why not?" he asked with a pout. "You're most fun person in this whole place."

"That's hardly unlikely. Doctor Rudolph seems like a fun person." Emilia said with a smirk.

"Who? Tony Stark? The only thing that guy has going is his ego." Alex said.

"You've only just met him." Emilia pointed out whilst raising a brow. "How can you know that?"

"I'm good at reading people." Alex replied.

"And equating them to legendary tv characters?" Emilia asked with a giggle. "Who do you equate me to?" 

"Wonder woman." He replied. "You seem to be a very strong and empowered woman that I'm sure everyone relies on."

"Well, I'm not that strong..." Emilia said as her cheeks were tainted a rosy color. "Well, I think we're all good. Will you be okay?"

"That depends. Will you be here?" he asked her.

"Actually I don't think..." she began but he cut her off before she could continue.

"Stay. Please." He begged her. His face held an emotion she couldn't quite make out but she could understand it.

"Okay, I'll stay. Then maybe you can equate more of these people to tv characters." she said with a grin.

They shared a secret smile just as a few other people filed into the small containment room.

"Alright, we're ready to go." Doctor Rudolph said as he walked up to them.

He motioned to his assistant who walked up to him with an aluminum cylinder. He punched in a code and they all watched as it was unlocked. As he was doing that, another one of the scientists walked up to Alex. After explaining to Alex what he was about to do, Alex had to endure as he was hooked up to a bunch of wires, flinching slightly when he felt the pinch of the large needle on his right hand where they would administer him with IV treatments.

"We're going to inject you with the virus first so that it's in your system when we administer the treatment." Doctor Rudolph explained as he took out a syringe and walked towards Alex. "Do you have any questions before we proceed?"

"How long is this whole thing going to take?" He asked trying to ward off the nervousness that suddenly plagued him.

"That'll depends on how your system reacts to the virus and the treatment simultaneously." Doctor Rudolph replied. "But not to worry, we have the best team working day and night to ensure your welfare."

"Okay." Alex said. "I guess that's all I wanted to ask."

Doctor Rudolph hummed in understanding. Raising the syringe, he brought the needle towards one of the IV tubes that were sticking out of Alex's right arm. He waited, as if for permission from him and when Alex didn't object, he proceeded to inject the serum into the tubes.

"Alright, for today we'll simply wait until the virus  begins to attach itself to your immune system. When we note a slight rise in your temperature then that would mean the virus is starting to attack your system. When that happens we'll begin phase two and that's administering the treatment and  beginning the trials." Doctor Rudolph explained once he was done. "Until then, sit back and relax. We'll give you something to pass the time. I understand you play chess?"

"Yes." Alex replied.

"Okay. I'll make sure you get a board and the staff can take turns playing with you. Those who can play, that is." Doctor Rudolph went on. "In the mean time, we'll be heading out. You'll be receiving your meals on a set schedule. Get some rest for now."

He watched as everyone filed out. Emilia turned and offered him a reassuring smile before she walked out, leaving him in his solitude.