Stephanie did not like the look of the people around her. Many looked like they had no insurance or means to pay. "Fringe people" she termed them; those people who always have children they cannot afford and stories to accompany their problems. The people who hold up the line at the bank or grocery store with their long tales about missing ID's and bounced checks.
A nurse called for the baby by name and Steph took the baby and followed the nurse to an examination room.
Stephanie entered through the double glass doors and nearly fell over when she saw what waited for her and the baby. The entire hallway was lined with people; children, adults, old and young. And all sick. They leaned against walls, sat on the floor and ever a few, were laying down parallel to the wall.
The nurse guided Steph to a counter, sat behind it in a spare chair and asked without looking up "Age of the infected?"
Seven hours later, Genna had a fever and was laying on a bed in the hospital with an IV in one arm and a monitor attached to the other. The bed was wedged into a small room with two other beds each containing babies as well.
One of the other mothers blowing her nose after letting off three loud sneezes into the air without covering her mouth. "No wonder everyone is sick" thought Steph to herself.
Steph phoned home and found that Charles had finally returned from the office and had picked up Ella and Will from the Brandons across the street. Charles would make the two older children dinner and help them with their homework and wait for Steph to get home.
Steph hung up the phone a few minutes later and wished she had a bottle of water or some coffee, but she did not want to leave the baby. Not with that sneezing woman just a few feet away.
Genna was sleeping as the nurse had given her something for her cold symptoms, but her breathing was rattling with every exhale.
A young intern came into the room and made the rounds. When he reached Genna, he took a look at her chart, squeezed Steph on the shoulder and started out the door. The doctor shook his head after he left the room. The next few days would be difficult.
About 15 minutes later, a relieved Stephanie made her way with a sleeping Genna out to the car. She was thankful the parking lot was well lit with extra security lights mounted on trailers. They must have needed the lights with all the extra people still trying to get into the hospital. There were several police officers still directing traffic into the parking lot which made her feel more at ease as well.
Genna was still breathing heavily when they got home, but she seemed to be sleeping soundly. Stephanie checked on the other children and found Charles asleep in the living room with the television on. He has left Fox News on and there were scenes of some people fighting with each other in the streets while buildings burned behind them.
Stephanie assumed it was one of those foreign countries and turned off the set without a thought. Had she left it on, she would have heard the anchor person speaking with a reporter on the ground. The city was Los Angeles and the riots were taking place in other American cities as well at the same time.
The stories here are original and works in progress. Please leave a comment if you like them, hate them, or want more. Thanks
Monday
Prologue: Fragile Part One
Nobody knew where the virus came from or how it was created. Many thought it was a natural occurrence, others thought it was deliberately created while some thought it was simply, "an act of God". Regardless, it came, it killed, it left.
The virus attacked in two ways. Some people simply got the virus, got sick and died within three or four days. That was the really young and old who fell into this category. Others got sick, got better a few days later and then relapsed a week or so later and then died.
A small number got sick, but never relapsed and of course, never died, but they were carriers. Others, simply never got sick. Those people are still here to this day.
The first week, over one hundred million Americans were estimated to have been infected. After that first week, nobody bothered with tabulating the numbers, it did not make any more sense and the medical experts were too overwhelmed to make any progress.
The hospitals and doctors offices filled in the first few days before the public was warned to simply stay home, drink plenty of fluids and rest. It must not have made much of an impact as most hospitals were surrounded by abandoned vehicles for miles around. The overflow of patients and dead, were placed in tents and temporary shelters spreading out from the parking lot between the abandoned cars, trucks and vans.
Within three weeks, the virus had swept the world over. Most were dead or dying. How and who the virus infected and killed versus those who lived, made no sense. Even as the virus wound down, many who were still alive, infected or not, were left to deal with a world without any infrastructure or organization.
This one was story...
The Taylors were not much different than the rest of their neighbors in their upper middle class suburb. Dad Charles worked for a mortgage broker business. Sure, business had not been great the past few months, but he had high hopes things would get better in the next few months.
Mom, Stephanie, was a stay at home which was a bit of a misnomer. Most of her time was spent carting the two older kids, Ella and Will, to school, sports, friends and activities in her SUV. Then there was her tennis game and the club she belonged to with a dozen other women she met at her kids' school. The baby Genna, a surprise, was Stephanie's joy and life.
When the virus hit, the Taylors heard something about it on the news, but those stories came up all the time, especially with kids in school. Another flu bug was standard, so they thought. The kids and Dad had taken flu shots last November so they should be fine, right.
When the youngest, Genna, age 15 months, came down with a cold, Steph gave her some Benadryl and kept her in plenty of fluids in the form of watered down juice. On day two, when the baby kept Steph and Charles up all night, Steph decided to call the baby's doctor.
The doctor's office informed Steph to bring the baby to the hospital. "We are no longer seeing patients" said the receptionist who then hung up. Indignant, Steph packed the baby up in her car and drove over the Presbyterian which was only ten minutes away.
Worried she forgot her insurance card, Steph quickly forgot everything when she saw the sight at the hospital. Police were directing traffic into the overflow parking lot. A lighted sign, the kind found on highways and construction zones flashed "Emergency cases left only!!!".
After parking and bringing the baby, now crying uncontrollably, to the door of the hospital, Steph was alarmed at the state of the place. People were everywhere. Sick people. In the lobby, she was handed a clipboard by a volunteer wearing a mask. Steph filled it out and attached her insurance card to the clipboard. She waited 45 minutes for the volunteer to make her rounds through Steph's section of the lobby.
The insurance card was not needed and handed back to Stephanie. "Strange" she thought.
Stephanie waited for over three hours in the lobby, all the while the baby was getting more and more cranky. Virgina would not take the bottle or be consoled. Not that it mattered as the whole lobby and other waiting rooms were full of crying, sniffling and sneezing toddlers and infants.
The virus attacked in two ways. Some people simply got the virus, got sick and died within three or four days. That was the really young and old who fell into this category. Others got sick, got better a few days later and then relapsed a week or so later and then died.
A small number got sick, but never relapsed and of course, never died, but they were carriers. Others, simply never got sick. Those people are still here to this day.
The first week, over one hundred million Americans were estimated to have been infected. After that first week, nobody bothered with tabulating the numbers, it did not make any more sense and the medical experts were too overwhelmed to make any progress.
The hospitals and doctors offices filled in the first few days before the public was warned to simply stay home, drink plenty of fluids and rest. It must not have made much of an impact as most hospitals were surrounded by abandoned vehicles for miles around. The overflow of patients and dead, were placed in tents and temporary shelters spreading out from the parking lot between the abandoned cars, trucks and vans.
Within three weeks, the virus had swept the world over. Most were dead or dying. How and who the virus infected and killed versus those who lived, made no sense. Even as the virus wound down, many who were still alive, infected or not, were left to deal with a world without any infrastructure or organization.
This one was story...
The Taylors were not much different than the rest of their neighbors in their upper middle class suburb. Dad Charles worked for a mortgage broker business. Sure, business had not been great the past few months, but he had high hopes things would get better in the next few months.
Mom, Stephanie, was a stay at home which was a bit of a misnomer. Most of her time was spent carting the two older kids, Ella and Will, to school, sports, friends and activities in her SUV. Then there was her tennis game and the club she belonged to with a dozen other women she met at her kids' school. The baby Genna, a surprise, was Stephanie's joy and life.
When the virus hit, the Taylors heard something about it on the news, but those stories came up all the time, especially with kids in school. Another flu bug was standard, so they thought. The kids and Dad had taken flu shots last November so they should be fine, right.
When the youngest, Genna, age 15 months, came down with a cold, Steph gave her some Benadryl and kept her in plenty of fluids in the form of watered down juice. On day two, when the baby kept Steph and Charles up all night, Steph decided to call the baby's doctor.
The doctor's office informed Steph to bring the baby to the hospital. "We are no longer seeing patients" said the receptionist who then hung up. Indignant, Steph packed the baby up in her car and drove over the Presbyterian which was only ten minutes away.
Worried she forgot her insurance card, Steph quickly forgot everything when she saw the sight at the hospital. Police were directing traffic into the overflow parking lot. A lighted sign, the kind found on highways and construction zones flashed "Emergency cases left only!!!".
After parking and bringing the baby, now crying uncontrollably, to the door of the hospital, Steph was alarmed at the state of the place. People were everywhere. Sick people. In the lobby, she was handed a clipboard by a volunteer wearing a mask. Steph filled it out and attached her insurance card to the clipboard. She waited 45 minutes for the volunteer to make her rounds through Steph's section of the lobby.
The insurance card was not needed and handed back to Stephanie. "Strange" she thought.
Stephanie waited for over three hours in the lobby, all the while the baby was getting more and more cranky. Virgina would not take the bottle or be consoled. Not that it mattered as the whole lobby and other waiting rooms were full of crying, sniffling and sneezing toddlers and infants.
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