ICanBeAnyone

PANDEMIC

She listened to his words, you didn't have to know anything, to recognize the pain in his voice as he talked about the symptoms of the illness, and that he had seen it happen. She approached slowly and stood next to him. She ached to reach out and comfort him, but knew that wouldn't be a good idea right now.

"I am sorry you had to experience that." She said quietly. She stood in silence for a few more minutes. "Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions."

She sighed and rubbed her eyes trying to rid them of the gritty exhausted feeling they had. "It's hemorrhagic." She told him. "Those come from Africa, so everything you have said so far makes sense, at least somewhat. Marburg, Ebola, Lassa..." She turned her head to look at him.

"I have more questions, a lot more..." She chewed her bottom lip, she needed more information. "I..." She sighed deeply. "Tell me more about you, ya know... before the end. I have lots of questions, but I only want to ask what you might know."

PANDEMIC

She couldn't believe what he was saying, a created virus that spread so quickly. It didn't make any sense. She narrowed her eyes and spun on him in frustration as he couldn't answer her questions about patient zero or transmission vectors.

She waved her hand in front of her face as she tried to think of the words. "transmission vector... how.." She looked up at the ceiling and growled in frustration. "How does it spread?" She finally managed, her hand pressing against her forehead trying to hold back the pain that seemed to come and go in waves. The harder she tried to think, the more it intensified the ache.

"None of this makes any sense." she muttered to herself. If she were walking better, her movements might have been classified as pacing, but all she was managing was slow shuffling circles. "If it is manufactured, there should be a kill switch, its what every responsible researcher on the planet does."

She turned her gaze to him again. "How long?" She wanted to know. "How long has it been since the infections first started? What are the symptoms?"

PANDEMIC

She slowly stood, making her shuffling way across the floor to the couch, which she sank onto gratefullly. It had taken almost far too much effort to make it this far.

She listened to his story, her brow furrowed in concentration, as she listened to him tell her how the world had ended.

"I... I don't understand it. There should have been methods for containing the illness, on average at least 30% of any given population is immune to any pandemic, it is how we have survived for millenia. Did they locate patient Zero?" She asked shifting to look at him better.

"What do the epidemiological studies say?" she demanded. She couldn't tell you why she wanted to know this information, but she apparently needed it.

She stood up off the couch her head still pounding. She leaned over grabbing the arm until her head cleared enough for her to stand again.

"It can't be that dire... what is the transmission vector?"

PANDEMIC

She stared at him wide eyed, her eyes filling with tears. She wanted to answer him, she just didn't know how. "I wish I could tell you what it is you want to know. I don't know who I am or why I am here. I just woke up, my head bandaged, alone, and in pain. My name, location, or anything about well anything outside these walls is unknown to me." She said wiping her tears with the back of a dirty hand.

"Please... Please..." She begged. "Tell me what is going on."

PANDEMIC

She winced again as the sound echoed through the cabin. She managed to focus enough to hear his words. "Infected? Virus? What are you talking about?" She demanded as she turned to face him still not getting up.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, but for Christ's sake could you not breathe so loud? My head is killing me."

PANDEMIC

The noise of the gun on the doorframe, and the loud thudding of the boots on the floor made her look up. She saw the man standing there with a shot gun pointed at her.

She opened her mouth to scream, but that action caused pain to shoot through her head so badly she couldn't even see. She grabbed the sides of her head turning her head away from him.

"Just fucking do it, and do it fast. Anything has to be better than this headache." She growled making no move to escape. She was beginning to suspect that she had been brought here to simply die. It was better it happen now, rather than later if you asked her.

PANDEMIC

She pushed away from the window. She had to find answers. She stumbled to the corner of the cabin lowering herself to the ground where she began crawling on her hands and knees looking through the rubble. She hissed softly as she felt a sliver slide into her finger as she ran her hands over the rough floors. She stuck her finger in her mouth sucking on it while she continued sorting through the remains of the shattered cabin.

There were torn newspapers, the headlines hinted at something happening, something big, but none of the papers were complete enough to tell her the whole story. She bit back a scream of frustration as she crumpled the paper in her hands throwing it in the direction of the fireplace. It would do her no good as anything but kindling now.

She reached for the remnants of a pillow, she studied the slashes in it, it looked like everything in this room had been torn apart on purpose, as if someone were looking for something. What she did not know.

Crawling through the room she found nothing but more questions. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried desperately to find answers.

The only thing she found, was an old dull rusted letter opener. She toyed with it in her hands as she sat in the middle of the devastation. She was so absorbed by the reflection of the light off the blade that she was oblivious to everything else around her.

Story Ideas

I have some things running through my mind that might make interesting stories, they are more prompts than pairings, but it could be fun.

1) She hated blind dates, but little did she know this would be her last.

2) A mighty king disguises himself as a peasant to find the maiden who will love him for himself, not his kingdom.

3) Her belly was growing faster now, soon she wouldn't be able to hide her condition from the one person who could never know... the father.

4) I began to question the randomness of bumping into him after the fifth time in three days

5) He'd never believed in breathless beauty. Struggling for air, he looked into her emerald green eyes and, at last, believed.

6) The night was magical, but reality came crashing down with the rising son.

7) Kelsie had a knack for attracting strays. The tall, well-muscled, handsome one on her front porch was different though.

8) Broken dreams have a way of building the perfect life when no one is paying attention.

9) "Didn't you love me anymore?" She asked, tears in her eyes. "I never quit," he answered, "That's why I had to leave"

10) "Starstruck are you?" He asked. "Not even close." She shot back, "I'm just bored beyond words."

11) She nervously bit her lip. They had been friends since childhood, and were about to see each other naked for the first time.

12) "Last night was a mistake." She smiled mischievously. "Wasn't it good for you?" "Yeah, but next time there better be more money in the safe."

13) The high road never got him anywhere in life. The low road, though, had gotten him his wife, his car, and his mansion.

14) Steam rose from him as he bent to catch his breath. Crimson droplets colored the fresh snow. The gunman had gotten him before he ran.

15) It was a vintage year that cost two hundred dollars, but if he was getting her drunk on wine, she deserved the best.

16) Seven days had been enough for her to fall in love with him. A lifetime wasn't long enough for him to have her.

17)She watched him dig holes for the fence posts. The sweat glistening on his broad shoulders made her squirm in her chair.

18) Her laughter was infectious. Coupled with the twinkle in her eye, it was enough to make his stomach do flip-flops.

More to come as the mood strikes!

PANDEMIC

The light through the cracked window shone directly across her eyes causing her to stir. She groaned as the pain shot through her head, the light making it worse. She rolled slowly over turning her back to the window. She put her hands to her head as she sat up trying to catch her breath as the pain caused her stomach to clench with nausea. She knew throwing up would make the pain worse, so she forced deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth.

She struggled to her feet her lack of balance sending her stumbling into a wall where she leaned heavily for balance while she got her bearings. She looked around and saw a room she didn't recognize. It was a place that had seen better days, the wooden furniture in splinters, the windows broken, and the walls bearing cracks where it looked like the furniture collided before crumbling.

She drew in a deep breath managing to take a few steps before leaning against the extended mantle of a fireplace. She knew she needed to figure out where she was.

"Lets start with what I know. My name is..." She paused her eyes rolling around the room trying to find a clue. "My name is..." She gasped in shock, she couldn't figure out her own name.

"My name is..." She repeated again stumbling towards the remains of a broken window and stared outside. "I don't know my name, but I will figure this out." She whispered softly.

PANDEMIC

Savannah