It was tedious. Preparations, that is. They're the worst part of anything. They build up that often sickening anticipation that might only result in an underwhelming motion. Sort of an 'all this work for nothing?!' feel. But they're just one part of the puzzle. Puzzles were what I enjoyed, and quickly what this new virus-turned-hellbringer was becoming. It was much more than a simple virus to these people here, these women and children. Any living human in the remnant of this world, of this planet. It wasn't a virus to them. It was their oblivion, their redemption. It was also sickening, revolting in a way. What could I do to help this madness? What would possibly cure this malady? Was it something within my grasp? Did I have the power capable to end this miserable suffering? I ignored the depressing train of thought and approached the small counter in the front of the decrepit wing. Bedside lamps flickered all around me near the various patients which made me wonder; when would they get replacements for their equipment? They probably weren't doing well so far as it was, with the whole laying in a mobile transport device for a week thing. "Hey," I greeted the shy nurse that had tended to me a few times before. The shit was dastardly. Nursing, that is. Having to clean people, fix wounds, change positions, transfer, it never ends. Day after day with that stuff. Makes me glad I didn't get into it. No, the microscope was more in my range. The studying of particles at an atomic level... Chemical reactions, experiments, hypotheses...
I loved it. "Yes?" She asked meekly. Oh, that reminds me. If you're a nurse and shy, that will not go good for you in any field of work. You absolutely, absolutely need to be at least somewhat outgoing for that. Nobody wants a wallflower wiping their ass. Can you imagine how drug out that would be? 'Oh, um, sir, if you could please turn over now...' Yeah, no thanks. I guess they really are desperate for hands.
"I'm going to need some help," I informed her. "I need a mask, gloves, maybe some surgical attire."
She got up from her chair and went to retrieve the items I tallied. "We only have smalls, sir," She said, referring to the size of gloves. I swore under my breath. "Alright, fine, give them here."
She handed a pair to me and I pulled them on, careful not to rip them too much. This was stretching it.
"Maybe some bins?" The girl looked at me blankly. I sighed. "Are you the only nurse here?" I asked, knowing full well she couldn't be. "No, but-"
"Great! I'm going to need to borrow you for a little bit. In lieu of someone else, I guess." I muttered to myself.
We left and went to the cooking area. She had to be coaxed at some times. It reminded me of trying to evict a raccoon from a bag of my garbage. In the end, the two of us finally reached the dining room and made a straight beeline to the back. For some situations, you needed authority. My little sidekick wallflower wouldn't be of much help here, unless she fluttered her eyelashes and said pretty please. I ignored the relatively few people at the hastily put together tables and addressed the staff. Just then, a thought occurred to me. How very unprecedented, I smirked to myself.
"Hey, I never got your name." I told the girl. She looked down at the floor and murmured something I couldn't hear. "What? Speak up." I demanded.  "It's Lera." She said louder. Lera? That was interesting.
I led her into the backroom. "Excuse me," I called out. A huge burly man came seemingly out of nowhere and crossed his arms intimidatingly. He grunted. "We're gonna need some bins." I looked in one of my pockets. When they gave me my things back, I was surprised to find a remnant of the cash I had before. Like I said, science paid well. I'm not sure what these guys were using as currency, but paper and cotton worked well for a while, so I'll give it a shot. "I'll give you twenty bucks if we can get what we need outta here." I bartered with the guy. He didn't budge. "40?" I upped. He dipped his head and I soon found myself the proud owner of three very large food containers and a few bags. Not what I was really looking for, but it would work. Or I hoped it would.
I motioned to Lera next to me. "You're going to need more than that if you're going outside with me, Leery." I punned. She didn't bother to correct me and instead grew pink on her cheeks and went to grab another outfit to tie around herself. "Get it?" I jeered after her retreating figure. "You don't leer! You're a softie!" No words countered my lame play, so I assumed it worked well enough. She came back out in full dress and was a mirror reflection of me, except her gloves actually fit.
Lera and I walked out to the entrance. Fuck, I needed a map. I stopped in my tracks and she bumped into me. Brake check, I grinned. "We need a map, Lera." She didn't respond. The floor must be very interesting to look at for that long, hmm? I huffed at her inactivity and tried to go find someone who worked the entrance, or maybe Daniel, if I was lucky enough.
Fortunately for us, I did bump into Daniel, but he was talking to someone, so we waited. "Hey, Daniel, we need a map." I said. He raised an eyebrow. "A map?" He repeated back to me. "I uh, don't think we have any of those. But," He showed us over to a little group of scraggly dressed men that looked tired.  "We do have these guys," One of them looked up at Daniel with an especially nasty look. "Can this wait?" He questioned. They were all slumped over or sitting or laying somewhere, all in various states of exhaustion. "I'm not a slave driver!" The man protested angrily. "Rest and then talk to Frederick." Daniel ordered.
The man in the group eyed me warily. I turned away and switched the subject. "You know Lera?" I asked. "Yeah, Carlie hired her for the medical wing." He replied. "She's okay." He shrugged. I threw an arm around her and hugged her tight. "Oh, she's the best!" I said in a fake cheery voice. "Isn't that right, Lera?" A blush crept up onto her face.
"But seriously, she's been a big help, when she's not in the wing, it'd be great if she could be my personal assistant, at least temporarily." She perked up like a dog at my praise. Daniel made a face. "I don't handle that. It would be up to her, Frederick."
I nodded. "Okay, thanks. I'll let you know if we find anything."
Lera poked at me from behind. I turned to face her. She barely made an attempt at nodding. "T-that'd be nice, sir. Frederick." See? Like I said. Cute.
"Don't call me sir. That'll get old really soon, really fast. And I'm not old. The white hair I have is actually dyed. It's what's 'in' nowadays. Are you calling me old, ma'am?" I retorted.
She stifled a giggle. Or a laugh. Whatever it was. "No."
"Good! We're off to a great start! Speaking of starts, let's go."
After my tirade, I immediately wheeled around. "Actually, I guess we have to wait for those guys to recover. Unless you want to stick around? I'm gonna grab a bite and familiarize myself."
Her eyes lit up at the end. "Oh, I-I can do that, Frederick. Show you around, I mean." She looked at the floor again. "You know, I'm gonna call you a cherry.  Or maybe a tomato. Fun fact, that's my favorite fruit. Or vegetable. Whatever I feel like. Ya got that, tomato?"
"Shut up." She whispered heatedly.
We went back to the cafe (if you could call that, honestly) and I was treated with the local delicacy of a bologna sandwich and instant coffee. Good stuff, huh? "What do you use for money? Do you trade or something?" I asked across from her at the table. "It's a mix and match." She offered quietly.
"What would pay for this?" I interrogated as she nibbled on her own sandwich. She thought visibly. "Hm, maybe a few things." She pulled out and rummaged through a small handbag she apparently had on her person. A few moments passed. A nickel, a few pieces of yellowish gold paper, and a small ball of something black that crumbled instantly. "You still use paper?" I pointed to the middle item curiously. "Y-yes, Frederick, but it's a little complicated. You'll see." She paid for the meal we shared (which I did not like whatsoever) and I attempted to retrace my earlier steps with Daniel. At least, as far as the storage rooms. Even if I wasn't allowed inside, it's still good practice to find the border.  I tried and failed a couple of times with Lera's quiet and quite frankly kind of deterring enthusiasm, but it didn't stop her from cheering me on. I felt ridiculous. I might as well be blindfolded in this mess. But I wasn't lost for long. If I went off course even slightly, she was there to lead me back, like some demented form of a guardian angel or some seeing eye dog. Regardless, I was happy for the help. In spite of it, I still struggled with my way around, and gave up for the day. "Thanks, Lera. You were a big help today. Sorry for taking up most of your day, though," I apologized sincerely. She was nice. I didn't really mean to cut through her job time like that. Everyone was asleep at that time, but that was probably one of the more important times to be there. Who knew what'd happen in their sleep, or if they woke up from whatever they had? Not to mention the essential infection watch they were bound to have. Not for the faint of heart.
"I-it's nothing, Frederick. It was nice," She confessed with rosy cheeks. "I don't get to get out of the wing much, so thanks," Lera's face was on fire. I don't think I'd ever get used to that, either the humor or the adorableness.
"Yeah, sure," I wasn't much for gratitude, thankfully. I was always a modest person. "I'll see you tomorrow. Probably around morning. I'm not sure when you get up, but maybe 9?" I made a lever gesture with my hand. Hopefully near then. "Maybe around 9. Is that okay for you?" She nodded positively and we said our goodbyes before departing on separate ways. 5 minutes later, I had made my way into the hall that gave me vague notions of a homeless shelter. No biggie. I found a secluded corner and curled up in the given bag and promptly fell asleep to my thoughts.
"Frederick?" It was a whisper. I didn't know who it was. Everything was black and dark. Who were they? Why were they? Where was I? I tried to move. I tried to talk. Nothing. I just heard their cries. Despite all of their distant muddled shrieks and screams, they all had a similarity: they were all saying my name. "Frederick. Frederick. Frederick. Frederick. Frederick." Their voices assaulted my mind. I couldn't take it. Soon, my own screaming joined theirs in agony. We howled together in the darkness.
"Frederick?" It felt directly like it was inside my earlobe.
I woke up abruptly.
"Frederick?" A boy called from down the hall. He seemed to be reading from a paper and rising all of the different men for their daily tasks. "Frederick?" He said again. "Yes." I raised a hand from my spot on the floor. "Lera's looking for you, sir."
I blinked groggily. "What time is it?"
He looked at an old watch on his wrist. It clicked and clacked, to my nostalgia. I smiled. "It's quarter to ten, sir." He said to me. I sighed and got up. "Okay, thank you." I had work to do. Rather, we.