Paused by Stephanie Ellis

Author:Stephanie Ellis [Ellis, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: author, dark, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, literary, paranormal, writer
Publisher: Silver Shamrock Publishing
Published: 2022-01-11T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter TEN

Back in the lab, Alex observed the technicians. He had never seen them so focussed, felt an atmosphere so ominous.

“Okay?” queried Mathilde.

He nodded, not wanting to speak about his wife or daughters, preferring anything but that. He pushed thoughts of his family away and tried to set his mind to the task ahead. His team was busy, studying slides and cell cultures, entering data into computers and watching worrying models of spread analysis appear.

“We can’t stop it,” said Don. The most senior technician there, he was the one Alex relied on to keep everything running smoothly, to apply common sense when needed. The man had pushed his stool away from his bench, his shoulders sagging. His eyes were red-rimmed with exhaustion, face haggard. His words were a body blow.

“Then why are we even here?” asked Sara, obviously questioning her decision to stay. “Shouldn’t we get home to our families too, make sure that when we succumb, we’re in a safe place and not just stood outside at the whim of the elements. Remember that video of the zookeeper in Berlin? He’d gone to feed the tigers when he went down with the disease. Can you imagine what that must’ve felt like, seeing those creatures coming towards you, knowing they’re going to tear you apart and there’s absolutely no chance of escape? And those fires in America. To see flames coming and you can’t run, feeling everything.”

Those horrors had played on everyone’s minds. Alex himself had nightmares where he imagined himself on one of his usual walks along Weston Shore, watching the container ships coming in on the Solent, falling victim as the tide came in, the water rising and carrying him away, drowning him. At least his family were in a safe environment, in the hospital where they could be cared for.

The door slammed open and Hilary appeared. She was part of the next shift, one he hadn’t expected to show up in light of the circumstances.

“You’re early,” he said.

“Wanted to do a bit of shopping before I got here. Pointless exercise, though. Shelves were bare. People are buying up as much as they can so they don’t have to go out again. Everyone’s terrified of where they’ll end up.”

“What’s your worst nightmare, Hil?” asked Don.

“Stuck looking at your ugly mug, probably.”

The laughter eased the tension, but Alex still detected the fear. Everybody was scared.

“What about you, Alex?”

He’d had another nightmare recently. One which surpassed drowning at sea or the all-too-real condition of his family. “We discover the cure, or the cause, and we can’t tell anyone. Can you imagine that?”

“Shit, that would be fucking terrible,” said Don. “You’re quiet, Mathilde.”

As the scientists had gone silent across the globe, it had been an anxiety gnawing at Alex. What if, what if. He looked at his assistant. He knew that expression. The slight frown, the air of separateness. One hand was playing with a loose strand of hair whilst the other tapped a pencil against the desk. She was about to speak when the phone rang, its shrill tone causing them all to jump.

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