Quarantined

I never should have volunteered at the children's hospital. I don't think there's much time for me, but I do think the public should know what happened to me, if I can't find a way to escape.

"Thank you so much for volunteering. We're so happy to have a nurse with such an extensive military background,"

The secretary at the Children's Hospital was pretty cute, a perky blonde with a radiant smile. I smiled back and asked if I'd be lucky enough to have her as a tour guide. With a blush and a sigh, she replied. "Darn, I can't leave this desk. I'll have to call a nurse down here to show you the ropes. I hope you stay here longer than the rest of the volunteers though! You're super cute."

Whoa, red flag. "What happened to the rest of the volunteers?"

A nurse showed up at that moment to whisk me away for a tour of the hospital, nothing out of the ordinary except a corridor no one is allowed to go through.

"Who is allowed to go there?"

"A few military personnel, some doctors and nurses with special clearance. But don't worry, you'll never have to go there. You'll start tomorrow, in the Blue Wing. Ask for Dr. Gupta."

I knew I wasn't going to get any answers out of her, so I left, making sure to wink at the cute receptionist before leaving. It's always good to have someone on your side when starting at a new place.

When I got home, I called my buddy in the military over to my place to ask about any projects in the nearby Children's Hospital. He neither confirmed nor denied it, but gave extra emphasis on the denied part and asked me to keep an eye on it since they're clearly either lying outright or have a completely secret branch of the government involved. "Ol boy can't seem to get away from danger, heh? Should've just stayed in the military, son."

Curiosity started to eat at me every day I volunteered my time. The door seemed innocuous, just a simple white door with a keypad. I never saw anyone enter or exit, and no one ever gossiped about it. Essentially, the door didn't exist.

One day, the receptionist surreptitiously handed me a clipboard with a bunch of forms attached and a pen. "What's this for?"

She couldn't even look at me. The papers had embossed government seals on each one. I sat down and read through every one, and by the time I finished, an agent appeared before me.

"You don't have to sign just yet, it's just a formality. You already agreed to volunteer here, and we'd like to invite you to the corridor to finish the discussion."

"These forms basically force me to secrecy to the day I die, what exactly is going on here?"

The agent just walked away with confidence, knowing I would follow him and not just leave the whole place like my gut was screaming at me to do. He typed a series of digits on the keypad, and we entered the corridor.

The door clicked shut behind us, and pit bulls with bloodlust in their eyes began barking and snarling at me.

"Settle down," commanded the agent. They whimpered away. The corridor seemed endless with several doors with glass windows along the way.

"Sign the forms, and then we'll talk."

"I want to leave now."

He laughed in a way I knew I wasn't getting out of here without fighting my way out. I signed the damn forms.

"A Guatemalan child came to this hospital by herself ten years ago with an unknown virus. Her eyes were crying blood, and she had a fever of 120 degrees, five degrees higher than the world record for highest recorded body temperature. She spoke no English, only in Tongues. The doctors brought her to this quarantine corridor and called the CDC who contacted the CIA which brings us here. First, quick metal detector screen and then I'll give you a quick tour,"

Shit, I hid my phone in my boxers. We weren't allowed to bring phones into the hospital, but I definitely needed it now more than ever. The detector screeched at my crotch area.

"Oh yeah, silly me, belt buckle." I took off my belt and handed it to him, praying he wouldn't go over that area again.

"Yeah I know it's a silly rule, but we can't have you bringing any cell phones here and breaking your NDA, huh?"

"Agent Willis, we need that new volunteer stat! The twins need-"

The blood soaked doctor stopped as he realized I must be the new volunteer he was referring to. "Nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Rodriguez, uh, are you caught up to speed? We need you right now."

Agent Willis threw down the metal detector and told me to follow Dr. Rodriguez. I had no choice but to follow directions.

"Is the Guatemalan girl still alive?"

"Oh yes, she's very much alive. Actually, she hasn't aged a bit in ten years,"

We passed by several rooms, each locked by a padlocked door with a small barred window. Each had huge splotches of blood in various stages of dryness. We entered the very last room, a small cube with a rusty bare tub and a mirror. A nurse carried a set of fraternal twins with blood oozing from their mouths.

"We need to transfer the virus now, they're dying. Stage three, vomiting blood."

Transfer the virus? No way, I didn't sign up for that. I started to protest loudly when

she handed me the twins and I felt a prick on my shoulder. The doctor gave me a shot while I wasn't looking. "You- you can't do that, I didn't consent to this! I didn't know about any of this!"

Agent Willis, Dr. Rodriguez, and the nurse left the room, shutting me in.

"The first stage is haemolacria, tears of blood. Second stage is the fever, and with it comes the delusions and hallucinations. Third stage is vomiting copious amounts of blood. Fourth stage is death. We found that transferring the virus to a new patient reverses the symptoms in the original patients to stage one. At that point, they never age past the age they received the virus, and we are still looking for a total cure for haemolacria. We're still not sure if what we're looking at is agelessness and stunted growth for a few decades until relapse or actual immortality! Don't worry, we'll find someone for you to transfer the virus to. We don't want it to die with you. There's always new volunteers at the children's hospital."

I'm not sure what to think about any of this. I gave the twins a quick wash in the tub, but every five minutes a seemingly endless amount of blood erupts from their tiny mouths. The shot they gave me is making me feel weak, and I'm starting to get an itching feeling in my eyes. I still have access to the hospital's wifi, but I can't call anyone. I guess I have no choice but to wait.