Ginny woke up, woozily, later in a bed in what looked like a hospital.
Standing over her was a doctor, in full ‘PPE’ kit, looking sadly down at her.
“What…” was all she had time to say.
Before she knew what was happening, the doctor gave her an injection, and she passed out again…
The doctor watched until Ginny fell back to sleep, then sadly shook her head and walked out.
Walking along the corridor, she stopped at one of the doors, knocked, then entered.
Shan was sitting at the desk inside the office.
“Come in, Doctor” she said, “I’m proud of you.”
The doctor walked up to the desk and stood silently in front. She then pointed at her hood, an alarmed expression on her face…
“Oh yes, of course” Shan said. “You must be running short of air by now…”
Shan got up from the desk, holding a cylinder. She walked round the back of the doctor and changed over the cylinder with the one mounted on the doctor’s belt, screwing it to the end of the hose on the hood.
“There you go. You’re now good for 24 hours. Go and get some rest, I’ll need you later…”
The doctor sadly walked out of the room, and slowly wandered back to the room that served as her quarters.
As she walked, she absentmindedly tugged at the helmet that she was wearing.
Katina Hiyak had no idea what had happened to her. She had just been working at the local hospital and coming off shift in the infectious disease ward when something jabbed her in the leg.
She had slumped down, just coming short of hitting the floor by someone catching her…
She had woken up, sometime later (she had no idea how much time had passed). She was lying on a hospital bed, still wearing her uniform and hood.
She looked around the room. Where the hell was she?
Anyway, she wasn’t in her unit anymore, so she didn’t need to wear her hood anymore.
She reached up to remove it, then got a nasty surprise…
There was some kind of thick plastic cover sealed over the back of the hood, making it impossible to remove it. There was also a transparent plastic collar around her neck…
Frantically she yanked at the hood, trying to get it off. No use, it was stuck fast, and not coming off. Her uniform also had a transparent coat over it, that was firmly welded shut somehow…
Katina struggled to her feet and hobbled over to the door.
Feeling behind her, she noticed that instead of her hood being attached to a long hose and pump as usual, there was a metal cylinder attached to the belt locked round her waist. This connected to the hose that was joined to her hood. What the hell…?
As she went to open the door, however, it opened inward, and Shan walked in, clad in a white version of her latex supervisors dress. She was holding a cylinder that Katina realised was the same size as the one on her back.
“Ah, you’re awake” Shan said. “Listen carefully, and don’t argue. Your life depends on what I say next, and we’re running out of time…”
Katina suddenly noticed she was running short of breath. She yanked at the hood again, trying to get it off.
“Don’t bother, its sealed on” Shan said. “Now listen to me, you stupid bitch. The cylinder on your back only has a finite amount of air in it. If you want it changed for a new one, you will do exactly as I say.”
Katina sagged back on the corner of the bed.
The visor of the hood was beginning to mist up, but she did her best to listen to Shan, as Shan explained her new duties at the care home. In return for ‘good behaviour’, she would get a new cylinder of air. If she behaved really well she might even get a chance of breathing normally again…
Katina was too tired and panic stricken to argue, so she agreed.
Turning Katina around with her gloved hands, Shan changed over the cylinder.
Katina gasped, then calmed down as fresh air was fed into her hood.
Shan then explained to Katina her new duties, and led her along the corridor to her first ‘patient’…