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◆ MILES ◆

I know for a fact that if Gerard was capable of kicking us off the face of this Earth as Luke said, he would not have hesitated. Instead, he was only able to kick us out of the hospital and that was what he did.

I was officially temporarily suspended from duty until further notice and Gerard even went the extra mile to deactivate my access card and make a public announcement at The Agency. He was kind enough to put it on the message board first so that I'll get a notification of it before he disconnects my access, shutting me out of the database and the entire agency completely. Because he's an asshole like that.

By the time he came back to the hospital to tell me himself (because he's an asshole like that) Luke and I were almost done with our tests. We had a modified strain that just needed to be lively tested before use. We only needed a few hours, but he was adamant of having us leave the hospital immediately. I guess when your pride is hurt it clouds over your common sense, or maybe Gerard was an exception. Either way, he would rather have two innocent people die than to be ridiculed in front of the senior staff. Like I said, because he's an asshole like that.

"I know I haven't been part of the London team for some time now," I tell Gerard as he waits by the door for us to leave. "And you haven't been my direct boss during that period, but there was a time when I respected you and looked up to you, yeah you were never the kindest, but you were genuine and rightful. I don't know what happened but I hope you realize that rising in ranks is not going to get you anywhere else."

If he had a reply, I didn't hear it; I slammed the door shut between us after I left. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately, leaving before Gerard gets a chance to reply. Maybe if I show more respect to my boss he'll stop treating me like shit and not threaten to kick me out? 

"We can work in the labs at my hospital," Luke offers, referring to St. Luke's hospital that is in fact owned by his father, Raymond Kessler.

"Were you named after the hospital or was the hospital named after you?" I ask him as we walk towards the exit. For one, to lighten up the mood and also because I've always thought about it just never asked him, I don't know why.

He lets out a surprised laugh, "I'd like to think it was named after me, but I'm twenty-five and the hospital is twenty-eight years old. And don't question me about my parent's devotion issues."

"I was just going to point out that they do have devotion issues but looks like you already knew that."

He holds up both of his middle fingers and then says, "let's not discuss names because you are literally called Miles and I can come up with jokes that could go on for miles about that. Alright?"

"That was a really bad joke, I'm so proud of you."

We stop in front of the same door we came in through and I stop him, "You go ahead, and start the final testing," I say. "I'll check up on Will and David, and see if I could get anything useful out of him."

"Did you not just get suspended?" he questions.

"Yeah so?"

"Right... that won't stop you," he nods. "Why am I not surprised?"

I shrug, "You need to hurry, your hospital is already a twenty minute drive from here. You know what to do right?"

"Yes I've got it, don't worry."

◆ LIA ◆

We follow this Steve through the hospital and out to the underground car park.

"The black range rover over there, get in and I'll be right back," he hands us his keys. "I need to manually unlock the gate from inside."

Both Vee and I reach for the backdoor at the same time.

"I'm not taking shotgun, you know him more than I do," she argues.

"This is my first time seeing this guy, I know him just as much as you do," I argue back.

"He's your brother's friend, not mine."

It was a pointless argument; so I get in the passenger side, she gets in the back and we wait for Steve in his car.

I turn back to face Vee, even in the dimly lit space I could see how ashen her face was.

"I don't know what kind of world I got thrust into," I begin. "But I don't want you to be a part of it, Vee. I think you should go back home before things get worse and something happens to you. I'd never be able to live with that, knowing it's all my fault."

She's quiet for a few seconds, like she's thinking it through, then says, "I'm not going to lie, I'm terrified. I barely understand what happened, and I don't know what we're escaping from or where to right now, but I'm not going to leave you-

I begin to say something but she stopped me before I could get a word out, "Just listen to me first okay?" she exhales. "I don't know if things are going to get better or worse, but me going back is not going to fix anything. In fact, the only thing that'll accomplish is that I'll be over there, worried sick; in a house I can't stand living in anymore, with two parents who can't stand each other anymore, around people who think you're dead. I don't see what's good about going back. And since my parents don't mind, or don't care, I'm not sure which it is, and I do have the option to stay here, in freaking London, with you, living my dream, I don't see why should I go back?"

"You'll still be alive; I think that outweighs everything else."

We're interrupted as Steve gets in, huffing loudly, and pulls out of the parking like we're being pursued by the hounds of hell. I turn back and buckle my seat belt, looking worriedly at him.

"Is someone after us?" I ask when I realize that he's only speeding up.

"No, but we have thirty seconds to get out before the doors shut back again," he explains. "Precautionary measures and also because the place was thronged with news reporters earlier."  

I wait until we're entirely out of the hospital before I ask my other question, which takes a little longer than thirty seconds because after we pass the gates we drive in some underground tunnel for a few minutes before finally going out into an actual road. I guess that's their 'emergency exit'.

"What's going on exactly?" I ask.

"Classified information, I can't share," he replies without taking his eyes off the road.

"Are you fucking serious?" Vee questions from the backseat.

"Yes, I'm fucking serious."

"Are you always this pleasant?" she counters back, which earns her a glare in the rearview mirror.

"I want to call Miles," I say. Steve hasn't spoken much but I'm already intimidated by him, and I would very much like to be reassured by my brother once again, just to be sure.

He hands me his phone, "dial 07429."

"That's it? What is-

"Can you just listen to me and shut up?" he rudely interrupts.

I stare at the number I dialed and wait for the screen to give me an error message but it actually rings and Miles picks up shortly after. Why is everything around me just getting weirder ?

"Are you out of the hospital yet?" my brother is clearly not very keen on greetings.

"Yeah, we are," I reply and he lets out an audible sigh.

"Good, are you okay? And your friend? Are both of you okay?"

"We're fine... Miles... what's going on?"

Steve rolls his eyes, but doesn't comment.

"Lia, I told you I can't explain right now, I'm so sorry but it's an urgent situation," Miles replies. "I promise I'll call you as soon as I can. Just stay with Steve and stay safe. I love you." He hangs up immediately. He did sound like he was in a rush and I still have no idea what is going on back at the hospital.

Vee's phone starts ringing and I crane my neck around my seat and watch as she pulls it out of her pocket. She looks at the caller and mutters a curse under her breath. Then she disconnects the ring and shoves it back into her pocket, shooting me a nervous smile.

"Your parents?" I question. Sure they must be worried about their daughter who most likely left with a very short notice.

She blankly stares at me for a couple of seconds before nodding, "yeah.. yeah. It's my ...dad."

I don't think she'd appreciate discussing family issues right now, so I quietly turn back into my seat.

"Where are you taking us exactly?" Vee initiates a conversation to break the brief, awkward silence that engulfs us.

"Her brother's house, but for safety measures we'll drive around for some time to make sure we're not being followed."

"Are you still not going to tell us what's going on? I don't see why you're keeping it a secret, I've been ... I think maybe I have the right to know, if it's anything related to what I've been through?" I hesitantly ask.

Steve has his mouth set in a tight line, and his jaw ticks ever so slightly. But he still remains silent and doesn't take his eyes off the road.

"Someone is ... trying... experiments on people, right?" I keep pushing because I need to know. Steve wasn't there when the man jumped on Miles and asked him to help him, and he mentioned some sort of infection, but someone must have filled him in with the details because he replies with, "that much was clear when David asked your brother to help his fiancée. Listen, if Miles wants to tell you he can do so himself, don't bother me."

"You don't understand!" I shout.

"Then fucking enlighten us!" Steve shouts back.

"Why are you being fucking difficult?" Vee demands from the backseat. "And rude!"

"Why won't you just drop it!"

"Why won't you just tell us?"

The car erupts in shouts as all three of us talk over the other, trying to get a point across.

When no one was shouting anymore, I calmly say, "I want to know because I think the same people have tried something... maybe similar... on me."

Steve slams the brakes suddenly, bringing the car to a screeching halt in the middle of a highway. Some cars behind us are forced to stop as well to avoid crashing, others pull around us, angrily honking their horns and shouting profanities through their windows.

"Bloody fucking hell! And you decide to tell us now?"

◆ WILL ◆

If there is anything in the world that I hate above all else, it's waiting.

I hate to wait. It gets on my nerves.

To pass time, I had scrolled through my pictures, lingering a little too long on any picture of Gemma. I didn't have many, but the few ones I had were enough to send a jolt of pain straight to my heart. There is no love story that lives when the hero turns out to be a coward. I didn't even give way to initiate a fucking love story, let alone make it live, because I've been waiting for the right time to ask her and now I may not live long enough to even see her one last time.

Then I got up and started pacing aimlessly around the room. The place was eerily quiet, I doubt there was anyone else in the entire ward but me, and that has set a great opportunity for my mind to start reflecting on my wrong life decisions. Maybe I shouldn't have blocked out my father from my life, maybe I should have forgiven him and paid him a visit or two... And my mother, she's already suffered enough and I've only been adding to that by not accepting her poor life choices. Maybe I should've been more accepting, more forgiving, less angry.

If this lasts any longer I'm going to lose my mind... beneath my apparent, outward calm, my nerves were getting frayed. And in a very lame attempt of distraction, I begin listing all the things I hate almost equally as waiting. I even count Gerard as a thing just to include him; he's placed right after ketchup and mosquitos on my list.

Fuck, I really am losing my mind. This is exactly why I hate it, because the moment my mind is left unoccupied, it begins magnifying every little misfortune in my life.

The feeling of something warm spurting from my nose was enough to divert my thoughts from their melancholy course. A drop of blood drips from my nose, so dark it was almost black, and falls to the floor in a perfect circle. Great, now I have a nosebleed. I wasn't as alarmed as I ought to be, I was more annoyed than anything. More so because if this means I'm dying, it also means that it's going to be a slow one, I'm going to have to wait to die.

I fucking loathe waiting. My nerves are gone. 

◆ MILES ◆

It has only been a few hours since Will was exposed, which is the same amount of time since David, who's the second patient to be infected after his now dead fiancée, showed the first signs of infection. He was kept in isolation, while Will was in the specialized quarantine section, but I suspect he's going to be moved to isolation as well now that we're sure he's sick.

The isolation ward was not much different than where Will was; same corridor with rooms on either side, each room with a glass window looking out into the hallway and it was sparsely furnished with just a bed, a bedside table, a large trash can for disposables and a sink. There's a washroom at the end of the corridor where floors are covered with plastic backed absorbent material to minimize contamination.

The nurse at the door doesn't stop me as I enter, which means word about my case has not spread here yet. But I was assured that Gerard would not rest until every single person who has a slight connection to ISIA finds out that I've been temporarily kicked out. Such a lovely person he is.

"I hope you found something, doctor," the nurse says as she follows me. "His condition is getting worse."

I didn't expect to find him in such an ailing state in the span of just five hours, but I was surprised. There was an alarming amount of blood in various odd places; the floor of his room was blotched with blood, as well as the bedsheets, there were bloody handprint smears on the walls and on the glass window where he was likely steadying himself against for support. As for David himself, he was curled up in the corner of the room with his back to the window so we couldn't see his face.

"David?" I knock on the window. He doesn't move so I turn to the nurse, "how long has he been like that?"

She looks up at me with terrified eyes, "I don't know, he was screaming and throwing up blood," she told me, her bottom lip trembling, "I didn't know what to do, so I just ... I just went to wait outside until any doctor showed up."

"It's okay," I try reassuring her, "there's nothing you could do anyway."

"David! David, can you hear me?" I knock again, but he still shows no signs of awareness. "I have to go in."

"Are you sure? You don't have any protective clothing on."

There was a scrub room just down the hall, stacked with protective clothing, gowns, masks, gloves and overshoes.

"Do you have an access card?" I turn back to the nurse and she nods, handing me hers without question. I quickly make my way to the room to gear up. When I return, I unlock David's room and then hand it back to her.

"Thanks, now-" I squint at the name badge, "now Tanya, don't ever give your card to anyone again."

"But...

"Stay here," I tell her and she nods.

I shut the door behind me, locking myself in with David while Tanya watches in absolute horror from the outside.

"David?" I slowly approach him and turn his body around. Blood is trickling from his nose and down his chin and shirt, where there is already dried blood mixed with some other substance, probably mucous. His pulse is barely there but he's not dead, so I try shaking him awake. His eyes flutter and his hand jerks in a sudden movement and grabs my wrist.

"Just... just the ... French," he mumbles.

"What?" I support his weight against me and haul him upwards so that I can place him on the bed. "David... David, stay with me. I'm going to get you-

"Just ... French," he doubles over in another coughing and vomiting fit and I let him go, putting some distance between us. He looks up with fresh blood covering his hands and face, "he said... to tell ... you." He drops on the bed and I'm next to him in seconds, trying to understand anything of what he's saying.

"What are you talking about? Who told you what? What French?" I know I should ask him to save his energy, but I'm not sure if he'll live long enough to get the cure. "When did Jennet get infected?" 

I had to know the time of infection because this wasn't making sense. 

"..to tell you.. he said," he tried to breathe, his voice wheezing between words. "trust the ... French."

Trust the French? What the fuck is that supposed to mean.

"When did Jennet get infected?" I ty again. "David, please this is-

"To...today," he coughs up more blood. 

Today?! That's not possible... that means some of my calculations may be wrong, it means that Will doesn't have enough time for me to re-do the calculations and the tests. He doesn't have enough time at all. 

"Save your energy," I finally tell him as I get up. "You're going to be ... okay... I... just hold on a little longer David."

But truth is... he gave his last breath before I could even finish that sentence.

I felt a strange numbness crawl over me; I no longer reacted to death the way I was supposed to. I felt nothing as I hastily remove the top layer of clothing with shaky hands and dispose them into the trash bag before signaling for Tanya to open the door. I don't look back at David and I don't answer whatever it is Tanya was asking as I rush out of this damned ward.

I've already witnessed two out of the three infected people die, and there was no way I would let my best friend have the same fate. And now that I know that the time between the first manifestation signs and death is much less than I thought, I'm fucking terrified.

I dial Luke's phone as I make my way to Will, with flashbacks of a similar situation from five years ago clouding my mind.

If this isn't fucking déjà vu ....

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A/N

THANK YOU FOR READING! xx

I hope you liked it! Opinions?

I want to thank @These4Seasons and @Daniellaamine for being so supportive and lovely and genuine and wonderful and I really cannot thank you enough.. so thank you for existing! ♥♥♥

11.12.17