CHAPTER 2: STYGIAN VIRUS
1166 Words
When George, Aime, and Ralph woke up the next morning, their parents were already gone. The noise outside their house had quieted down, leading them to assume that their parents were at the grocery store. They were all starving and parched.
“Aime!” George called out, stopping her from drinking water directly from the bathtub. “Don’t drink that; it’s not safe.”
“I can’t stand the dryness in my throat, Kuya. I’m so thirsty and hungry,” Aime said, her voice hoarse.
George turned to find Ralph drinking water directly from the showerhead. He stared in surprise, then decided to try it himself to relieve his own dry throat. He stood under the shower, letting the cool water flow into his mouth, hoping it would help with the discomfort.
The grocery stores were packed with people in a frantic scramble to buy supplies. The scene was chaotic: some customers were not paying and were forcibly stealing food, while others were smashing glass and injuring themselves in the process. Linda and Ronel were among those taking significant risks to secure the essentials they needed.
The sheer number of people overwhelmed the police, who struggled to control the situation. Many in the crowd resisted the authorities' efforts. A soldier’s voice boomed through a megaphone, pleading for calm.
“Please, calm down! The government will deliver aid directly to your homes. There’s no need for this. We don’t want to hurt you!”
Despite the plea, the crowd remained unrelenting, continuing their desperate looting and violence.
Suddenly, a grocery store at the corner erupted in a violent explosion. Panic ensued as people screamed and fled, realizing that some among them were already infected with the virus. The military, unable to control the out-of-control crowd, resorted to using machine guns, firing mercilessly at the rioters.
Linda huddled behind a wall, her cries of anguish blending with the piercing sounds of gunfire and the desperate screams of the crowd. Ronel arrived, pushing a cart filled with supplies, his face etched with worry and exhaustion.
“Ronel!” Linda cried out, seeing her husband slumped to the side. As she approached him, she noticed his eyes beginning to darken. Tears streaming down her face, she hugged him tightly, disregarding the risk of infection.
“Linda, leave me here. Just go!” Ronel urged, his voice weak.
“No! I won’t leave you. Our children need us. They’re waiting for us at home! We can’t die here!” Linda insisted, her resolve unshaken.
Feeling the heat rising in her own body, she quickly grabbed a bottle of water and poured it over Ronel’s head, then did the same for herself in a desperate attempt to cool down.
“How are you feeling?” Linda asked, her voice trembling.
“I’m getting better. Thank you,” Ronel replied, a hint of relief in his voice.
Linda embraced him tightly. “Let’s go back home. We need to get back to our children. If this is our time, let’s face it together.”
“Let’s tell them about what we discovered—how to manage the symptoms and slow the virus’s spread,” Ronel suggested.
Just then, Linda was startled as people swarmed toward them, reaching for the food and bottled water in their cart. Ronel immediately grabbed Linda’s hand, and they pushed the cart away. To their surprise, they found themselves moving with unexpected speed and strength. Despite their exhaustion and the intense heat, they felt a surge of energy, allowing them to evade the crowd and make their way back home.
Linda and Ronel exchanged a weary but determined smile as they entered their subdivision. Ronel pushed the cart inside the house and quickly shut the door behind them. They carried three bottles of water to the bathroom.
“Ma, don’t come near us. You might get infected...” Aime began, but she stopped abruptly when she saw her mother’s eyes darkening.
“No...” Aime cried out, looking around in despair.
“And you too, Papa. We’re all infected!” she exclaimed.
“Yes, but don’t blame yourself,” Ronel said softly. “We would have been infected sooner or later, given the chaos outside. The police are killing infected people!”
“It’s not their fault. We’re all trying to survive. Let’s hold on and trust the experts. They’ll find a solution,” George added, trying to remain calm.
The family took the bottled water and moved to the bathroom.
“We need a plan,” George said. “We can’t stay in the bathroom forever. We need to monitor how quickly the infection progresses. I’ll step out and time myself.”
“Okay, be careful,” Aime replied.
Linda and Ronel joined them in the shower area. George stepped out of the water to dry himself with a towel.
“Time starts now!” George declared.
He jumped up and down and shook his hands to test his body’s reaction. Gradually, his body started to warm up again, and his eyes began to darken. Seeing this, Ronel immediately sprayed George with water and pulled him back into the shower area. They squeezed together in the confined space, and Linda moved to the bathtub to make room for them.
“We won’t have enough water if we need to stay wet all the time,” Ronel said.
Linda stood up and filled two buckets with water. She stepped into them, trying to maintain some hydration for her body. Her family watched in admiration and relief as she found a creative way to help them cope.
A mother will do everything she can to save her loved ones.
Linda slowly ventured outside to get food from the refrigerator. The cold air from the fridge helped her feel better, so she left it open. When she tried to light the stove, she screamed as her finger caught fire. However, she felt no pain. Her family rushed out to see what had happened.
Linda quickly turned on the faucet, putting out the fire on her finger.
“Mom, does it hurt?” Ralph asked, his voice filled with concern.
“No, but don’t try it yourself,” Linda said firmly. “Go back inside. We can’t waste any more water. Find any buckets or containers and fill them with water so we can pass through the house.”
They did as instructed, gathering empty containers and basins to fill with water. They placed them around the house and turned on the air conditioning to cool down the living area. With the house sealed tight, the temperature dropped significantly, making it easier for them to move around while stepping on tubs of water. When they felt the heat rising, they used mugs to wet themselves, ensuring that their water supply lasted as long as possible.
They had no choice but to adapt and survive. Their lives depended on it, and they were determined to do whatever it took to make it through.
- Writer
