After thinking of every possible way to deal with the threat that was the virus, it was bound to happen that my mind would go off course. One such subject it treaded upon was one I dreaded: the blue light. I needed to ask Daniel about it. He'd have to know. What did it mean? Was it a warning? It had happened the night before everything began, so it very well may have been. Maybe if I was more cautious with my surroundings... I shook my head. I'd just have to wait. What else could I do?
I counted the ceiling tiles in the rickety hospital area. Of course, it wasn't fully devoted to the nursery/hospital, other places were mixed and matched, like a small apartment but on a larger scale. Probably pretty bad for the patients, if you ask me. Too noisy. Shouting and crying and yelling, how would anyone ever sleep around here?
I turned over on the stretcher and face away from all of the sound to close my eyes. My mind sunk and I began to slide out of consciousness yet again. Only this time, it was more relaxing. At least, as relaxing as it could have been in such a place.
Such a place it was, it did house me. If there were these many people living comfortably here, I think I'd be okay. For now.
The memory assaulted me abruptly. "Daddy, when will we go home?" Julie asked me sadly. We were in a field watching the sunset together. She looked up at me expectantly. I didn't disappoint.
"Honey, we are home." I replied with a smile.
"No we aren't. It doesn't even feel like it." She pouted childishly.
"Look! The sun is setting, the wind is blowing, all the animals are going away. You're here with me to see it. So, my home is right here." I booped her little nose.
"What about Mom?" My smile froze.
"Wherever my family is, that's where my home is, Jules. And that should be the same for you!" I teased.
Suddenly, my talk of nature just didn't feel all that appealing anymore, despite me being the one to spout it.
I cherished the memory. That was a long time ago. Years and years without either of them.
Once again, I was shaken awake. This time, there were two people here with me. Both of them, I recognized. Carlie frowned. "So, what is it?" She asked with a hint of despair.
I ignored it and woke up properly before answering. "Ah," I sat up from my uncomfortable position. I had to leave, soon. This was getting to be unbearable. "I want to study the virus and see if it has anything exploitable." Harsh laughing reached my ears. She took humor from this! A small anger immediately rose within me, like a nuclear reactor gone haywire. "There isn't anything exploitable. What did Daniel tell you?" She bared her teeth.
"You don't know that." I hissed back. "Maybe with a controlled environment-"
"Ugh," She groaned purposely to interrupt me. "Alright, if you find anything, let me know, egghead. You can stay here, I guess." Carlie departed.
Regardless of her impudent demeanor, I was happy to have found a place to stay for the time being. Still, I have experience! I had a name! The tension shrunk. I had a name. I had experience. The world had changed in four years. We'll just have to see about that, change or no change. Science still existed here. This was still Earth. Nothing would or could change that.
"She's a handful." Daniel commented from his perch in the corner.
"Yeah," I responded dryly. "Could you talk to the nurse or the doctor here or someone that can authorize me to get out of this damn thing?" I motioned to the stretcher-bed.
He took a deep breath. "Sure, I'll look into it. No promises, though," He added. The bulky man followed in the footsteps of his companion and I was left to sulk in silence. I was going stir-crazy in this fucking bed hybrid thing.
My only friend (or at least, the only person friendly to me) soon returned and gave me the first good news I've heard in a while. He undid my straps and relayed it to me as he went along. "Well, you're out. Probably good to hear, huh? You can probably start those, uh, experiments or whatever now. Do you know anything medical? In case we need another pair of hands, just to be careful," He assured me. Of course, I had, it was my minor in college. Alas, that didn't stop me from further pursuing the subject on my off-time, and learning more about it consequently. "I know a good bit, but I'm not an M.D." I replied honestly and stood up for the first time in a few days. "That's good to know. Come on, I'll show you around." Daniel led me out of the hospital area and into a more industrial feeling one. He raised his voice over the clamor. "You're probably wondering how we have power. Look there." He pointed a finger and I followed its trajectory to see a large metal container.
"Steam?" I was surprised.
"Yeah! Clean. I don't see anyone here complaining. Wanna see how it works?"
I shook my head. "Mmm, no. What else do you have?"
"Come on, come on. Over here." He beckoned. In front of us lay a mix of small structures and buildings. After a closer look, it was revealed to be a series of housing complexes, evident by the young children being chased by somewhat overweight women yelling.
"This is the housing unit! If you're lucky, you might be shacking up with these guys!" He grinned to himself in the faint light embalming us. "There's also a little market from the produce scroungers bring back. We have a little system going."
"I can see that." And I did. Humble stands with various amounts of fruits and vegetables and meat sat almost inches away from each other, each selling and buying for different prices and haggling and bartering. No matter the trade, they all found a way to compete with each other somehow. Such was life. Hopefully I didn't have to get drawn up in all of that.
"Got a good look? Come through here," He continued the tour, letting me go under a sectioned off compartment that was comprised of several large trays that held whatever items they had. "This is the storeroom. People aren't allowed here, but for the sake of this little tour, I decided 'why not'." Daniel confessed.
I was impressed. They had a good bit for how they were doing. "You're doing pretty well for yourselves." I remarked.
"Time and rationing got us this far," He waved it off. "Not to mention, I'm in charge of half of it all, so it should look good!" A smidge of arrogance was felt in that last statement, but it was the kind of arrogance that was agreeable and relatable; Daniel seemed nice so far. It was reasonable to see why he was important. He looked smart back in the hallway, so I guess I was right in my assumption. Along with the food, an assembly of weapons sat scattered to one side. "What about those?" I asked.
"Surplus. We only let a select few have moderate things, depending on what they're doing, and the rest we keep here. Guards excluded."
It made sense. I sighed. This felt a little too much to me, all this walking and talking and moving, but I was glad to be on my feet. "Alright, what's the next part?" I hinted to move on, and we did.
Fortunately, there wasn't much left of the so-called safehouse. It was more like a little community than a safehouse. Were we underground? We were protected, that was for sure. Especially with that steel door as the entrance, or one of them.
"What about the virus? Does it live on anything?" I spoke up randomly in one of our spots. "Hmm? Oh, what do you mean? Oh, yes. We aren't sure about that one, so everyone who leaves takes an immediate shower and doesn't come into contact with anyone before they do. That could be something you study, Scientist." Daniel ribbed jokingly.
"Ehh," I chose not to answer. "Okay, what now?"
"Now, I go oversee the new construction of another part, and you, well, go do science!" He encouraged. "I thought we needed another brain, so don't let me down there, Frederick." He walked off and I was left there. First things first, I supposed. Get or find a face mask, gloves, whatever other safety equipment they had. I needed to create a controlled environment. Someplace to study this virus. Maybe they had some slides or a microscope? It'd be great if they had anyone else like me, at least a little. Someone I could bounce ideas or theories off of.
Musing to myself, I wandered back to the hospital wing, as ironic as that was, and looked around to find the cute flat-faced nurse.