Mark of the Rising Sun

I woke up the next morning to the sounds of sirens in the air. My first thought was a fire was nearby. The sirens got closer and seemed to stop right outside our house. This confused me, the house wasn’t on fire, someone would have told me. Everything seemed normal enough.

Suddenly, someone kicked the front door down and several men in suits came bursting into the guest room. Now when I say suits, I don’t mean business suits and tie, I’m talking the heavy biohazard kind. Obviously, these people weren’t messing around or taking chances. A couple of the men grabbed me, and the rest grabbed my dad and stepmom. We were pushed into a black windowless van and driven away without being told anything at all.

Throughout the trip, which by the way was rather long, we discussed the rude awakening. We concluded that the biological agent had infected me, and they were worried that I had passed it along to my parents as well. They were not taking chances with the fate of public health at stake. We moved from the van to a private plane, and were airborne before I knew it.

I assumed that we were on our way to the CDC in Atlanta, but couldn’t be sure. We were left alone most of the flight, with someone bringing us food and water at some point. We discussed the situation for several hours, not really getting anywhere. Eventually, we landed and were herded onto another van. This one had windows, and sure enough, we soon reached the CDC or Center for Disease Control, for those of you who didn’t know what that meant.

Once there, we were separated and I was led to a private room that had a great view of the outside world. It would have been nice under normal circumstances, but under these, it was a jail cell. I strolled around the room. There was a table, a bed and a T.V., not much else. I sighed; I would have to ask about some reading material. This was probably going to be a long incarceration. Sighing again, I grabbed the remote and began surfing through channels until I found something I liked.

I waited for what seemed like forever before someone came in. He wasn’t in a suit, which surprised me. He was short and stocky, balding up top and had a bit of a gut. I was just glad to see a friendly face. At least he seemed friendly enough. The smile on his face seemed genuine anyways.

We stared at each other for a while sizing each other up before I broke the tension. “I see you aren’t wearing a hazmat suit.”

He looked up at me and smiled. “I don’t need one. For some reason, the bacteria only attack certain people and don’t spread easily. It can only spread through blood contact. I am safe, and immune anyway. I had my blood tested against it earlier. You, on the other hand, are an enigma. These bacteria infected only three people. Of those three, one died from injuries sustained during the blast, the other is currently in quarantine like you until we figure out what is going on.”

I looked at him closely, “So you don’t know what this thing will do to me?”

He shook his head, “Nope, not a clue. We are working on figuring that out right now and will hopefully have answers for you soon.” I nod to him. “Now Mr. Wayne, I need a sample of your blood.” I let him draw some blood. He was careful not to get any on himself or his clothing. For someone who is immune, he wasn’t taking any chances. As he turned to leave, I shouted out, “What about my parents?”

He turned in the doorway and looked at me, “They will be tested. If all is good, they will be released. We are confident they will be by tomorrow.”

I smiled at that and gave a quick thank you before he left the room and I was left alone to my thoughts. I was infected. By what, I don’t know. I had no control whatsoever in this situation, and had no idea what was in store for me. Deciding that worrying wasn’t going to help me, I turned up the volume on the television and got lost in the lives of fake people for a while.

The next few days passed by slowly. The only person I saw was the orderly who brought food to me three times a day. He didn’t speak and avoided me most of the time. I think he was afraid of me. I didn’t blame him. I would be too. I spent the time watching T.V., reading books, and just thinking about how my life might change.

About a week after I got there the doctor returned with a clipboard in his hand. There was no smile on his face this time, and I knew I was in for some bad news. I was torn. Part of me wanted to know what was going on, the other part wanted to remain ignorant. The doctor wasn’t going to let that happen.

He spoke, and I turned my head to listen. “I have bad news and good news. Which do you want to hear first?”

I hesitated, I really only wanted to hear the good news, but I knew life was never that easy. Finally, I said, “The good news.”

“Alright,” The doctor said, “The good news is your parents were immune and we were able to release them without any problems. They will probably be around to visit.”

I nod; glad to hear that at least my family was safe even if I wasn’t, but there was the bad news left and I steeled myself for it.

“As for you,” He continued, “We have been watching the bacteria in your blood, seeing what it would do.” I nod to him willing him to continue. “It seems to be feeding off your body, eating away at you from the inside out.”

I stare at him flabbergasted. “But how, why am I not in any pain? Will I die?”

He shook his head, “We don’t have any answers to those questions. It has flummoxed us. Ordinarily, I would say yes you will die, and it definitely should hurt. However, for some reason it is blocking your pain receptors. It is unlike anything we have ever seen. It is making your body work in ways it’s not meant to, and from the looks of it, it is changing your DNA as well.

He let that sink in for a moment before continuing. “In all likelihood you will die unless we can get rid of it. We are communicating with doctors around the world trying to find someone who has encountered this thing before. So far, we have had no luck.”

Dreading the answer, I asked, “What about the other person who was infected?”

He looked at me, not wanting to answer. He did anyway. “She died last night, her body couldn’t handle it the way your body has. It was quite a mess. We had to sanitize the whole room.” I took that to mean that they had burned everything. It looked like my chances were not very good. It was a high probability that I would be the next one to go. I went into my own little world and the doctor left.

I was alone for several weeks. Every day I woke up was a blessing. How was I still alive? Would it last? Would I survive the bacteria in my system, and if so, what would life be like afterwards? I didn’t have any answers, and I wallowed in self-pity for days on end, not really doing much of anything.

When I had given up hope of ever reaching the outside world again, my door opened and several sinister looking men entered the room. Surprised, I backed away from the door slowly. When I saw the doctor, I relaxed a little.

The doctor spoke, “Relax Anthony, I found a specialist with experience dealing with this bacteria. These men will escort you to him.” The men seemed a bit weary of me, like they could be infected by me. That was silly though because surely they wouldn’t send people who could be infected.

They led me out of the building and away from the compound. I expected them to put me in a vehicle, but instead, led me to the middle of nowhere. “This is it,” I thought, “this is where they kill me.” They told me not to struggle, then grabbed my arms. Everything disappeared around me. All was as black as the darkest night. I felt a spinning sensation, and had to close my eyes to calm myself down.