Chapter 2 - Lady Luck?

Today is the start of the 10th month of the plague spreading in Britain though on the 6th month we've controlled the death toll we still lost around 320,557 people in the last month which 7,383 of people are from Liverpool which I currently live in, and the next meeting of the last doctors are near and I still can't cure any of my patients... Well, I guess I better off going outside then to search for more samples since I think I can make the right cure before the meeting. While I was walking across

Dead Man's Land I saw a young girl sitting on a bench near an abandoned flower shop I ask the young girl. "Young girl, what are you doing out here shouldn't you be at the safe zone right now? I mean your outside exposed to the plague... Say are you infected by the plague and gave up on finding a doctor?" The young girl nodded and replied. "What you're gonna cure me or something, but if that's the case then sure I want to be cured because I'm trying to find my lost younger siblings around town they've been missing since last week," I replied.

"Let's get back to my laboratory for your cure and maybe I'll give you a copy of the map of the town or I'll bring you to a safe zone first then let the men in the safe zone find your siblings out there. Later in my laboratory, "Sit down, my name is Neal Kirkstoic and I'll be your plague doctor for today and when did you get the sickness?" She replied. "About two days ago." I raised an eyebrow, this young girl survives the polluted air for a week and just receiving the plague two days after that!? Well, I think I got a chance of saving an actual person this time.

"I'll warn you first before we do this, the medicine that I will be giving you will have a chance of killing you instead of curing you are you ok for that?" The young girl nodded. "You only have 20 minutes before the effects would rise and we would see if you'll survive or die from my medicine, may God bless your soul..." I injected the medicine to her and gave her a pen and paper and she asked. "What's this for?" To which I replied.

"It's for writing your last testament before you either die or live under my medicine and recently many died from my medicine." The young woman did not reply and continued to write her testament. 15 minutes later... "Here, if I ever die from your medicine I guess no hard feelings ok?" She said that with a low without a doubting tone in her voice. 60 seconds left, this is it! Please work this time...

Her head fell unto unconsciousness I check if there's a pulse... No, no pulse... Sadly, I would kill a young woman to find her lost siblings just to get killed by me. I heard a small gasp and quickly looked at her. I checked again for any pulses... "Is this...? My first successful cure?" As I said that to myself with tears of delight started to fall, I guess this can be the cure, though it may differ from person to person since she did survive outside for a week without dying of the plague, I lay her on an extra bed of my lab and began to supervise her if there are any changes even though she's asleep.

I checked her vital signs it seems very normal right now but here skin became a bit paler than before... I guess this is a side effect of the medicine that I used for executions since it turns the person skin to pale after it's been taken knowing that means the person is now dead, but in this form, I know that the medicine is doing its job and keeping from dying. What luck really, this is the first time in my history as a medical practitioner to save someone in well the last one was four years ago...

It's been very hard for me to help anyone without getting a bad impression but now with this mixture I can finally help people though it still only affects a specific person to withstand the effects of this medicine and the young girl did survive the plague because of me and my hard work. To be honest her last testament was about her ready to grab of her death but that didn't happen thankfully. I placed her last testament on my Wall of Testaments on the Alive section of it meaning that's the side were people survived my medicine.

Time is ticking and two days before the meeting and the girl is still asleep and her vitals are still good I supplied her with enough nutrients that she won't go thin over the long slumber that she's in right now, I headed outside again to confirm the deceased and collected some more samples to confirm their death with the plague instead of complications since over the past week I've found that not all people died from the plague, some died from the complications of the plague not directly from the plague. Honestly, the plague is a hard problem now there are complications too?! What the heck is just happening right now.

Humanity might be at risk of dying off as a result if I don't find out what are those complications, simple complications that I saw was dehydration, dysentery and the lack of oxygen since the air outside is not oxygen anymore since the plague is a type of sickness where it kills oxygen and spreads carbon dioxide instead killing the plants since they can't make their food since the sky is filled with pollution from the factories that humans have made. I've only eaten some fungus-based food since they do not require the sun to make their food.

It's hard and food is scarce, I've been living off with chemicals and dead bodies of people making a cure for this problem. I mean it's hard to fix this problem without sacrifice good thing though that the country hasn't fallen yet since the queen is still alive underground in the safe zone with the others and only 10 of us are in the surface trying to save those who got stuck outside since they are infected with the plague. Men, women, children, young, old, rich or poor the plague doesn't choose their victims as long as they are human and breathing they'll die from the plague.

I found another man that was the brink of the fourth day, I brought him to the lab. "Are you all right sir?" I said to the man. "No, I'm not okay please doctor I need your medicine that can cure this plague," I replied to him. "Sir, I have to warn you that my medicine might kill you instead of curing you are you sure you want to risk it?" The man replied.

"What are you saying, of course, I want to risk it if it's for the sake of saving someone then don't doubt your skill even though I knew you as the Doctor of Death to me you're still a doctor and that's what's important." I injected the medicine and gave him a piece of paper and a pen. "In 20 minutes you'll either die or live because I still haven't perfected the medicine so here I gave you a piece of paper to write your last testament."

The man continues to write and sees the open room across my lab. "Is that a girl?" I replied. "Yes sir, she surprised me that she's the first lucky person to survive my medicine." The man chuckled a bit. "Young man, you don't seem to understand that not all of us can endure this type of medicine, I can say that young girl is a fighter and I'm an old geezer, of course, she would survive if she wants to. Well, here this is my last testament.

I'm so glad that I talked to a man that was labeled as the enemy of this town. You weren't as bad as what they told you about, it must be hard to have friends huh? I'm glad that you still have hope on us, the people that treated you like you were a criminal. In the end, you are a hopeful young man that will do anything to help others.

I can tell that you are that one man that would still help a person even though they don't want it." 6 minutes later... "I guess this is it, young man, its either I'll live or die." He said that with a smile on his face. After that... He never woke up... Sadly, not all people can withstand this new mixture.

Tomorrow is the day of the meeting and I hope that this young woman would wake up before I leave for the meeting. Everyone would be pleased with my research since I found out the correct death toll since not all died from the plague.