The woman drove, completely unaware of the danger she had been hauling in the back of her car for the last two hours. She stopped in Daegu to get gas for her vehicle. She opened the trunk of her car, letting the dog get some fresh air. She kept her dog in a crate as she was traveling. Just as she started pumping gas a man approached the back of her vehicle.
"Is this your dog?" The man questioned the woman who was filling her vehicle.
"Yes, ain't he just adorable," the woman responded to the man as she filled her tank.
"Yes, very cute. Does he have a name?" He asked the woman as she finished up with the gas.
"Wonsoongi." The woman said as she went around the car and started it.
"How cute." He reached his hand into the cage to pet the dog. The dog bit the man on the tip of his finger, drawing blood. "OW!" The man yelped in pain as he yanked his hand back quickly examining it.
"Are you okay, bad dog!" She scolded the dog. "He isn't normally aggressive." She stated honestly.
"I am okay, it isn't the dog's fault he doesn't know me and he's in a crate, he was probably just scared." The man defended Wonsoongi's behavior as he held his hand awkwardly.
"I'm really sorry about that, here have my number and call me if you need. If it gets infected or something I'll pay for your hospital fees. I really need to get going now, and again I am really sorry about my dog" The woman bowed apologetically to the man before she shut the trunk of her car. She waved to the man before getting in her car and driving off to Seoul.
The man stood awkwardly in the parking lot of the gas station for a few minutes. His hand felt weird, almost foreign to him. He examined his hand where the dog had bit him. That dog was definitely sick, no doubt. After a few minutes he started to feel light headed. He looked at his hand one last time before deciding it best to go to the hospital.
When he arrived at the hospital he was sweating profusely, he wiped at the beaded sweat on his forehead with his unwounded hand. He pushed open the door to the emergency room.
"I t-think I need a d-doctor." He stuttered out as he entered. He wobbled to the receptionist's desk, "h-help me." The receptionist looked up from her desk, her eyes widening at the man in need of help.
"I need a doctor here immediately!" She shouted loudly. Within a short moment doctors rushed forward. They led him into the emergency room and laid him down on a gurney. He closed his eyes as he grew tired from the infection.
The doctor opened his right eye and shined a light into it, then his left eye. "Can you hear me?" the doctor questioned him.
"Mm." A small groan escaped his lips as he tried to respond to the doctor. The whole right side of his body felt like it was on fire.
"Can you tell me your name and can you then tell me what happened?" The doctor asked.
"M-my name is Song Minho..." He rasped out weakly, "I got b-bit by a dog." He managed to hold his hand up a little.
"A dog?" The doctor raised an eyebrow at the statement. "I have never seen someone react so badly to a dog bite. Was it a stray?" The doctor asked as he quickly left the room. When the doctor returned he had multiple injections. "I am going to give you a rabies shot." The doctor injected the man with the rabies vaccine.
"It wasn't a stray. A p-pet." Minho finally said as the doctor finished up. Minho grabbed the doctor's sleeve as he walked past. "Thanks," he muttered weakly.
"I don't deserve your thanks." The doctor shook his head. "I'm not going to lie to you Minho. I've never seen a dog bite react to someone the way it did to you. In truth I can't guarantee the rabies vaccine was even the right choice, I just went with the normal procedure for an animal bite wound." The doctor paused. "Thank me when you get better."
"That's okay, at this p-point I don't think I'm expecting m-much." Minho took a shaky breath before continuing with some effort. "I appreciate the honesty though."
About half an hour passed and the man was starting to feel a bit better. Minho laid on the gurney watching television while the doctor frequently checked in on him. Soon an hour passed and his fever had dwindled down a bit. Frankly Minho was feeling too cold, especially for someone who was just running a high fever no more than an hour beforehand.
"How are you feeling?" The doctor came in with a smile.
"Much better thanks to you." Minho half smiled at the doctor. "Though I am feeling rather cold."
"That is usually normal for someone who just ran a high fever." The doctor said as he went to sit next to the patient. He took out a thermometer and scanned across Minhos' forehead. The thermometer quickly beeped as it read his low body temperature. The doctors' eyes ran over the numbers a few times before a wave of concern briefly washed over his face.
"What is my temperature, doc?" Minho asked lightly.
"I think this thermometer is broken, I'll be right back with one that works." The doctor stood up quickly and rushed out of the room. He could hear the doctor talking to a nurse just outside the door.
"What illness does that man have? His temperature reads 33 degrees Celsius, it can't be hypothermia though... not from a dog bite. As well as it's the end of May, it isn't cold enough to get hypothermia." The doctor paused in what he was saying, remembering the patient needs attended to. "I'll be right back, I am going to go grab another thermometer just in case this one is faulty. Just keep an eye on him."
Minho looked at his injured hand, wondering what illness it could be. Just as he started to think about it, the entire right side of his body went numb. Minho groaned painfully as his body convulsed, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Foam started oozing out of his mouth as his whole body shook uncontrollably. He continued to convulse for a few more moments before his body fell still. Minho stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, unable to move. Bubbles began to form from the foam as he struggled to gasp for air.
"Well this sucks, what a shitty way to go." he thought to himself. Minhos' body convulsed again. Blood formed in his throat and began to slowly drip from his bluing lips. All the previous foam was replaced by the crimson blood. He wasn't even surprised at this outcome, that dog had something worse than rabies. Minhos' mind went silent as he ceased all movement.
The doctors rushed over and cleared his mouth before starting chest compressions. The main doctor brought over the defibrillator and began to attempt to resuscitate Minho. After many failed attempts the doctor called the time of death. Within an hour Minho had already shown too many symptoms for the doctors to be able to treat him. After all, what could they do, this was something new to them.
The doctor who had been checking on Minho frequently, took Minhos' pulse, then grabbed the sheet of the gurney and pulled it up over Minhos' face. The doctor shook his head, disappointed in himself for not being knowledgeable enough to treat his patient. When the doctor turned away from the gurney the sheet moved slightly.
"His hand moved just now, he's still alive!" One of the nurses pointed out.
The doctor raised a brow at the statement, he had just checked Minhos' pulse. Turning back to Minhos' body, the doctor scanned over the body underneath the sheet. He slowly reached his hand out towards the top of the sheet. As his fingers grazed the sheet lightly Minho' finger moved causing the doctor to startle and withdraw his hand. The doctor's eyes scanned over Minhos' hands, hesitating before he slowly grabbed the sheet near Minhos' face and started to pull it off. He held his breath as he slowly brought the blanket down off of Minhos' face.
Just as the sheet was removed from his face, a hand shot up and grabbed the doctor's arm. The doctor stared into Minhos' eyes for what felt like an eternity. His eyes were now a cloudy color, completely lifeless, he no longer had a soul. The doctor tried to yank his arm out of the creature's grip. It was too strong though and yanked the doctors' arm down causing the doctor to fall on top of the creature. It growled hungrily like a wild animal before it plunged into the doctor's neck and ripped out a large chunk with its teeth. Blood sprayed rapidly from the doctors' wounded neck, painting the surrounding areas red. The doctor screamed in pain, but nothing more than a gurgle came out. When the creature released its grip on the doctors' arm, he collapsed to the floor, dead.
The remaining workers watched the scene unfold, too petrified to move. Minho's soulless head turned to look at the other people. It tilted its head as if it was curious. A nurse that had been a bystander was the first to flee from the room. The last remaining doctor looked at the dead man on the floor as he began to twitch. Its hands reached out first as it awkwardly pushed itself up off the ground. Once it stood up, it looked to the monster who had created him. The first creature glanced at the one he had created and then let out a hissing noise as he turned towards the doorway. The second monster ran out the door quickly after the nurse, passing the remaining doctor. The creature approached the doctor, its eyes firmly locked on its target. It took multiple steps towards the doctor. Its head twitched from side to side as it got closer. The creature stopped in front of the man, and snarled viciously. It reached its arms out and grabbed the doctors' arms, shoving him against the wall. The doctor closed his eyes, prepared to meet his fate. The creature released an irritated snarl as something hit it in the head. The doctors' eyes snapped open as the creature turned its full attention to another nurse, a young woman. She was a new nurse who had just finished her training. The creature slid its fingernail down the doctors' arm leaving a small cut. It released its grip on the doctor and faced the attacking nurse. It hissed at the woman, head twitching uncontrollably. The nurse took off running down the hospital hall, the creature leaving the room in pursuit of her. The doctor released a nervous sigh and slid down the wall he was leaning against. He knew he had to get out of there, or he would eventually meet his end.
The doctor didn't waste his time gathering his thoughts, he pushed away his immediate worries and made his way to the closest emergency exit. He managed to make it out of the building alive, he pushed a trash can in front of the door not wanting those creatures to escape. The doctor slowly made his way home from the hospital, wanting nothing more than to relax with his family after what he just experienced. He wanted to see his wife and three kids. He walked home in silence, completely unaware that he too, had become infected.