Hailey

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I angrily turned my alarm off before pulling my blankets over my head. 

A loud knock suddenly sounded on my door and I groaned out in frustration. 

"Hailey-Jade! Come on it's time to wake up!" I heard my dad yelling from the other side of the door. 

"Read the sign, Dad! Stay away from my room!" I yelled at him in annoyance. 

"I'm off to work, kiddo! Come say goodbye!" He uttered then the house became quiet. I jumped out of bed and stormed out of my room. I jumped on my dad's back before he could open the door to leave the house. 

"Get off my back! I'm not the man I used to be ten years ago-" my dad started so I quickly got off his back. 

I cutely smiled up at him before resting my hand on his shoulder. "Go kick some ass today, Michael." I uttered with a serious expression on my face. 

"You seem to keep forgetting that I'm a virologist. I can't kick ass if I wanted to." He told me and I laughed at his words. 

"Yeah but you're my hero." I smiled at him. 

"Alright what do you want?" He knowingly asked me.

"I want us to go to mom's favorite restaurant tonight. So don't work overtime again. Your excuses won't work this time, Michael!" I warned him. 

"I'll see what I can do. Do you remember, Luke? Hunter's kid, his oldest son?" My dad asked me so I nodded at him.

"I do, I remember Luke." I shortly responded, my smile dropping from my face. 

"Well I'm heading Upstate to go and meet with him. We've been working on a project together." My dad told me. 

"Upstate New York? So I'm guessing you won't be back until tomorrow night" I disappointingly uttered before I walked back inside the house, leaving my dad at the door. 

"Love you lots!" My dad yelled after me. 

"Jelly tots!" I disappointingly yelled back at him and the frontdoor clicked shut behind him. It's my mom's birthday today and now my dad won't be here to celebrate it with me. 

Sometimes it feels like both my parents are gone. But the difference is that she's dead and he's still here yet it feels like he's dead sometimes too.

I grabbed some cereal from a cupboard before sliding over to the refrigerator on my socks. I took out the milk carton before dumping some milk onto my cereal. 

I sat down on a barstool by the countertop before switching the tv on. I sighed when I saw that the news channel was on. I ran to my room to go grab my phone and started scrolling through social media. Thinking that it would surely help me pass the time while I'm eating.

"This just in-" I heard and my head shot up at the TV. I turned the volume up and carefully set my phone aside on the countertop. 

"-authorities are responding to what they are calling an 'unprecedented wave of violent outbursts' in multiple cities across the country. Reports indicate that individuals are exhibiting erratic and aggressive behavior, attacking bystanders without provocation." The news anchor spoke in a calm but uneasy tone. 

I looked up and saw footage of chaotic streets playing. Footage of people running, screaming, and blurry shots of individuals lunging at others played on the screen and a deep frown settled on my forehead. 

"Initial investigations suggest the incidents may be linked to an unidentified illness currently being studied by the CDC. Witnesses describe the affected as having pale skin, discolored veins, and signs of extreme agitation. Authorities urge the public to remain calm and avoid physical contact with anyone displaying these symptoms." The news anchor continued. 

"You've gotta be kidding me. As if the last pandemic wasn't bad enough." I muttered under my breath. 

The camera switched to a medical expert on a split-screen feed. 

"While it's too early to confirm, there are concerns this may be the result of a rapidly mutating pathogen. Early symptoms include fever, nausea, and severe confusion, escalating to hyper-aggression within hours. We recommend anyone experiencing these symptoms isolate themselves immediately." 

The screen cut to shaky cellphone footage. 

My eyes widened in shock when an infected person started slamming themselves into a car window while bystanders were screaming in fear.

The news anchor appeared on the screen again, this time she seemed more alert and her tone sounded more urgent. 

"In more disturbing news, local hospitals are overwhelmed with patients experiencing the same symptoms. Officials are calling for an immediate lockdown in affected areas. Stay indoors, lock your doors, and avoid contact with strangers. We will continue to update you as this situation unfolds." 

My eyes widened as the broadcast was interrupted by a breaking news alert.

"This is an emergency alert. The National Guard has been deployed in response to escalating violence. Citizens in the following areas are advised to seek shelter. Repeat, seek shelter immediately." An emergency broadcaster announced in a robotic voice. He started listing the affected areas and thankfully our town wasn't part of it yet.

My hands trembled as I lowered my bowl of cereal. I grabbed my phone to text my dad but he didn't respond to my texts or calls. 

I switched the TV off before squeezing my eyes shut. I nervously shook my hands before getting up from the barstool behind the countertop. 

I went back to my room and took a quick shower. I brushed my hair before tying it into a low slick back bun. I did light make-up before getting dressed into a black crop top paired with some black cargo pants. I pulled on some black high heels before grabbing a coat from my closet. 

I grabbed my totebag before throwing my phone and lipgloss into my bag. I jogged over to the frontdoor before fishing for my keys. Once I found them I locked the door behind me before shrugging my coat on and walking down the pavement that led to the road. 

"Good morning, Hailey!" I heard Mrs Smith greeting me, I smiled before waving at her. 

"Morning Mrs Smith!" I yelled in a friendly tone. I started walking down the road before placing my airpods into my ears. 

After a ten minute walk I finally reached my University's large campus. I took my airpods out before neatly placing them inside my bag again. The clock hit 09:00 am just as I entered the premises so I let out a soft breath of relief. Thank god I'm not late again.

***

I quietly sat in the cafeteria with my friends. I had completely zoned out of our onversation since all I could think about was my dad. He still hasn't answered any of my texts, he hasn't called me back either. 

I hope he's okay. This virus thing- it seems serious and nobody but me seems to be worrying about it.

I spotted Ronan from where he was sitting at the other end of the cafeteria. I decided to look at him for a little while longer. I decided to admire his dark features, his fair skin, his tattoos, his dimples that appear only when he smiles. And I wondered if he knew about the virus and if he'd be okay-

"Hailey-Jade!" Josh loudly yelled into my ear and I jumped in shock. 

"What?" I asked him in annoyance. 

"Where's your head at? I've been asking you the same question for the past five minutes." He uttered in annoyance. 

"I'm sorry what were you saying? My mind is just elsewhere today- I didn't get much sleep last night." I lied through my teeth. 

"Nevermind." Josh uttered in annoyance before he went back to talking to Jess. 

"Don't mind, Josh. He just wanted to know if he could copy your notes. He was too busy skipping school yesterday with Marco and making out with him to do it himself." Mika told me and I scoffed in disbelief. 

Before I could respond to her we heard screaming coming from our left. My eyes widened in panic when I saw Evan, a boy in my homeroom class, biting into someone's arm, he ripped their skin off and blood started oozing out of the wound. 

The cafeteria erupted into chaos as more students witnessed what was going on. I felt someone pulling on my shirt so I got up from where I was sitting and ran with them. The halls were packed with students as we all seeked sanctuary from the chaos that had just erupted in the cafeteria. I realized that I was with Mika and felt more at ease. 

We saw another student attacking someone, this time it was a professor. Screams started filling our ears again as we finally reached the doors. 

People were panicking because the doors were blocked by students trying to get out of the building. 

"We need to turn around!" I yelled at Mika in panic and we turned around at the same speed. 

"Gym! Let's go to the gym!" She yelled at me as we ran down the hallway again. 

We abruptly stopped in our tracks when our eyes landed on Evan. He quietly stood in the center of the now empty hallway, his chest rapidly moving up and down as he watched us.

He started speed walking over to us and Mika and I looked at each other in panic. 

"Run!" She yelled at me in fear but there was nowhere else for us to run to anymore...