A few days had passed since Danila had informed me of the initial outbreak. Our work on the Guam cyanide plants continued with little change. One of my many colleagues bursted into the lab rudely as I studied the effects of common household ingredients upon the pulp and roots of the Guam plant. I wore the proper attire as needed. I didn't get here by having my head in the clouds.
"Frederick, come here! You need to see this!" He yelled my name over the roar of the machines. I sighed. What was it this time?
"What is it, Mike?" I asked tiredly and ignored his call to continue working. "I'm serious!" He kept his voice raised.  "Stop and get over here!" Mike was nothing if not persistent. He was a young man after all. Such things were to be expected. What wasn't was the pain in the ass he came to be. "Alright, alright, I'm coming." I conceded testily and walked over. "What is it?" I repeated, miffed. He showed me a piece of paper. A report, rather. On it were several numbers and dates. Times of infections, time to infect, methods of transmissions, etc. "It's about that new strain," He huffed. "I've taken the liberty of showing it to everyone, to get the word out. Looks pretty bad," He commented. I skimmed over the document. It did. About a week ago, yes, that wasn't anything new. Patients around then were to be expected, not to mention the people on-site. But an interesting detail was the time needed. "600 seconds or less," I read aloud. "Okay, so what's the rush? You can get infected in two seconds by getting sneezed on."
He pointed to another part of the paper I held. "Look at the symptoms."
I scanned the words rapidly. By now, Danila was towering over me, reading the report along with me. Fever, nausea, vomiting, loss of balance, loss of memory, loss of appetite. In some cases, dysentery was noted. "Mike, what is this?" I glanced over to him. He ran a hand through his hair anxiously. "It's the new strain going around. Like I said. Now hand it back. I need to show others." He shot out an arm to grab the paper back. I gave it up without defence, a little mortified. "Wait, wait," I protested. "How is it transmitted?"
He stopped mid-stride and looked back. "They aren't sure. Be careful, guys. I'd wear a mask if I were you." Mike left with those parting words.
It seemed like a bit too much. "Sounds like fearmongering to me, Danila."
"I guess we'll see," He answered.
Yeah. I guess we will. Regardless of the overreaction of Mike, I did wear a mask when I had to go outside. Not a particularly fun business, let me tell you. People always giving you looks as you pass by. I know their hidden confusion and curiosity. Are you protecting yourself or are you protecting me with that mask? I can see their wonderment in their eyes. Ever hear the saying, 'The eye is the window to the soul'? It very much applies.
It's not like I wasn't used to sideways looks or glances. School and college had prepared me for social interaction or lack thereof. I was no stranger to it, but it didn't make me feel any better by any stretch of the imagination.
Returning home for the evening, I turned on my small HD-TV.  I didn't need a huge screen.  I flipped through channels,  looking for the local news station I preferred.
"-rty three am, and in about an hour you'll see some rains," The meteorologist pointed. out. "It shouldn't affect your morning commute, so take an umbrella if you have to, and enjoy your day!" He smiled.  It panned out to a commercial break.  Typical. So that meant the news stations hadn't gotten wind of it yet, or more likely, I skipped the information altogether. Considering it went to a break directly after my tuning in, I went with the latter choice and decided I'd just keep my ear close to the ground at the lab.  Eventually, word was spread, and a more significant number of the staff were wearing facial masks.
Warnings were given in newspapers and TV stations. "If you come in contact with this pathogen, immediately wash your hands and clean yourself. Try not to breathe near it. As of now, it is unknown if it can be transmitted through the air. If you suddenly feel lethargic or nauseated, go to your nearest hospital or medical center. We cannot stress this enough. Thank you, and have a good night!" The radio in my car blared to me. Cars were backed up on the Interstate this morning, and it really cut into my patience. People beeped their horns nonstop and tried to illegally pass others. The entire thing was havoc. I'd already seen twenty of them pulled over today, in the last two hours alone. And in those two hours, I'd probably only went about 10 miles. This was shit.
I dialed Danila on my phone. It went to voicemail after a few rings. I waited for the tone. "Danila, hey," I peered through my windshield at the line of automobiles. "I'll probably be a little late. Highway's really backed up. Alright, bye." I hung up. Short and sweet, just the way I liked it myself.  Who needed a three minute voicemail for something that could be said in just as many seconds? I snuck another glance at my Android after making sure nobody moved up ahead of me.  43%, crap. Well, it's a good thing I brought my car charger. I plugged it in and lowered a window for some fresh air.
Outside, the clouds dwindled low and menacingly. The sky seemed to shrink and expand in the same manner, and the sun winked at me from the distant horizon. It was about time. Around it, the nearby clouds turned salmon pink and a sunflower yellow. Not a bad sight. However, it was positively ruined by the traffic blockade I was currently experiencing.
After close to an hour later, I finally made some headway and parked in my designated spot. I walked in and used my clearance card on the scanner we had set up at the entrance to the lab. It blinked green and confirmed my identity.  "Hello, Frederick Kresle." It said in an automated voice. The halls around me were uneasily empty and devoid of motion. I ignored both the voice and the feeling and stepped over the sliding glass door into my familiar station.
"Danila?" I called out.  "I'm here." He didn't seem to be here. I searched around. The lights were on, so he had to be here. He could've stepped out, I mused to myself. But then, if he did that, why would he not pick up or answer back? And where is everyone? Did I come on a holiday? Stepping back and thoroughly looking for any source of life in the giant building I worked in was ominous. Compared to the everyday hustle and bustling of ordinary days, it was humbling. Like I was an ant under a microscope. Everything was dark and disorderly. Papers were strewn all over the floors and desks. Furniture was ripped apart and made for some clunky debris I tripped over several times. It made me wish I had a flashlight. Oh yes! I retrieved my phone from my pocket and used the light function. Immediately, a radius in front of me sprung with a flash of white light. I took the opportunity to ask if anyone was still here. What time was it? What day was it? It was Monday, right? I got off the Interstate at 8. A quick glance at my phone's clock revealed that it was indeed a little after 8, close to 9, and that it was also Monday. I racked my head for any special days we would have off around this time of year. Nothing. Why was the highway so packed? Why was nobody here? I dialed my boss. Technically, the overseeing manager, but he still applied to me and Danila. Fortunately, he picked up three rings into the call.
"Hey," I sat down on an overturned table. "It's Frederick. Where is everyone? I'm at work and no-one's here." I informed.
He replied with a somewhat shaky voice.
"Frederick, why are you at the lab? You should go, now." A small light flickered in a nearby room, like a night-light plugged into a socket, or maybe one of those automated ones that stayed on 24/7. "Why?" The tremors in his voice put me on edge. "Is there a problem, sir?" Rustling crackled through my speaker. A quiet slam was heard. There was some interference as, I assume, he picked his phone up from a counter. "Yes, there is a problem. You've got the week off, Kresle. Enjoy it." And he promptly hung up, leaving me in the darkness alone. I quickly left, not giving the laboratory another glance. When I finally hopped back into my car and got situated, an eerie feeling came over me. I felt drawn.
Slowly, very slowly, as if not of my own beckoning, I released the car lock and got out. Turval Labs stood over me. The lovely sunrise I saw earlier turned devilish in a matter of minutes. Nobody was around. No cars to be seen or heard. That was strange. This parking lot was right off the highway. There's always traffic here, day or night. It was like an eternal rest stop, for God's sake! Yet, my legs and my feet moved with their own accord, and I walked back. Something was enticing. Like a deli full of freshly baked sweets, or a chocolate factory. It was like Christmas Day, waking up at 5 am as a kid. Despite what lurked (or didn't) around me, my internal giddiness continued, and my external unwillingness followed suit.
My keys jingled in my hand. My hand shook, and then I dropped my keys onto the pavement. I didn't spare them a second or even a thought. I just walked on. There was an extreme foreboding now. What my manager told me now made sense. "You have the day, no, the week off, Kresle. Enjoy it," He had said to me. The unease that stemmed from him was made clear to me. It was apparent. The shadows moved in the large empty rooms that encircled me. I didn't bother with my phone; rather, I couldn't.  What seized me in my car had only grown stronger the closer I got to whatever it was. And whatever it was, was in my section. My left hand crawled into my lower pocket and spasmed, trying to fish out my card. I was utterly useless in this state. Yes, something was wrong. Very wrong, in fact, but my body had a mind of it's own, now. I swiped the card through the door lock. "Welc-umm, Frederick Kresle," It slurred to me unnaturally. Still, I stepped into my once familiar and happy workplace. It echoed what I saw earlier. Emptiness and darkness. But I heard something click. It was distinct, like one of those things that you ran into once and twenty years down the line, you knew. "Danila?" I called into the sweeping absence.
"Frederick, you're late!" He chided me in the dark. A car's headlights flashed through one of our wall-long windows, and I caught a glimpse of something coming fast towards me before everything flickered out in a flash.