Deep beneath luscious rainforests, in a virus containment lab nestled gently amongst the darkness and natural enclosure purposefully kept separate from the outside world, Eve gently lifted a vial.
A sliver of pale luminescence seeped below a sterile white door beside her, reflecting off the glass in her hand and into her eyes, bringing out a glistening sparkle in each sage-flecked iris. In her hand Eve held immense potential for disaster, the fatal catastrophe of lerlingus. Her job required great caution, and presented a plethora of risks, but she loved it and wouldn’t give it up for the world.
Clear, still silence filled the lab as Eve continued her study alone, with no one to protect her if tragedy struck. Her qualifications allowed this, and her passion was strong, but there was always a fear settled deep inside her. On her weekend shift, she studied the once-deadly virus of lerlingus, kept in storage for 200 years, the time since its last outbreak. The virus was renowned for being easily transmittable, and a swift killer.
Each journey to and from the lab was a wonderful escape. Eve always loved to pick the delicate violets that sprouted from the edges of the trails in the rainforest. The minute raindrops that sat on their petals reminded her of rainy afternoons in her own backyard as a child. It was a pleasantly beautiful experience before her daily confrontations with danger.
Eve glanced up at the delicate refractions of warm sunlight light peeking underneath the blinds of the lab’s geometric windows. The last of the day’s warmth was trickling out of the landscape, making way for the chill of the night and the cool glow of the moon. She gently placed her glasses on the table, slid the vial into the pocket of her lab coat, and, walking through the door next to her, approached a basin to sanitise her hands.
As she moved her arms beneath the steady flow of the tap, Eve noticed the right pocket of her lab coat felt slightly heavier than the left. She slid her hand into the pocket, and instantly felt a sharp sting on each fingertip, as if nails were being drilled into her hands. She had forgotten that the lerlingus vial was still in her pocket. And there was a loose, thin shard of glass in her pocket, next to the vial.
It was broken.
She had contracted lerlingus.
The contents of the vial began to swallow up her hand as the clear liquid spilled over the bland, white floor tiles. Eve threw the now torn, stained lab coat onto the floor, and let out a blood-curdling scream. She felt it inside her. She felt the toxic fluid swimming through her veins, seeping into every corner of her body, swallowing her sanity. She knew what was inside that vial, and she knew what it could do to the world.
In her head, Eve went through what she knew about lerlingus. She knew it could be contracted simply by breathing in its near vicinity. She knew it could be killed with fire. She knew it would consume her, slowly stopping all function. She knew it would kill her in less than a day. Her death was fast approaching, and she had to isolate herself to save everyone.
She searched in the cabinets above her, and found a first aid kit. She hastily opened it, and stuffed as many bandages into her pockets as she could. She was adamant in preparing for the substantial pain that was to come. She also grabbed a matchbox from the cabinet, and, before she could deliberate otherwise, held a burning match to the curtains on the windows.
Eve ran. Leaving her beloved sanctuary behind, she ran away as fast as she could. Towards her death.
She stopped, panting with every second she waited. Turning, she caught a glimpse of the devastating fiery glow that snuck through the gaps between the violet petals around her. For a fraction of a second, she simply stood and watched in horror. Then, she was sprinting.
She knew she was leaving everything behind. She knew she was leaving her family without a trace. She knew the lab was gone forever, and it was entirely her fault.
She knew she could wipe out the human race.
She knew she had to leave.
She knew she would spend the last couple of hours of her life waiting for its conclusion.
Night was falling, like a leaf gently breaking off a branch, slowly dwindling towards the soft bed of grass below, and with it, Eve’s hope. She was still moving, but her pace had slowed to a mere stroll, her rapidly declining energy barely propelling her forward.
The moon peeked out from behind a cloud, shining its cold white glow onto Eve’s face. She had found a small outcrop on a hill, under which she could take shelter for however long she had left. Eve wore only a plain white shirt and dark blue jeans, but had no other warmth at all. Her right arm was covered in the bandages she had taken from the lab, and she couldn’t move it at all. With her left hand, she grabbed the last bandage from the pocket of her jeans, and wrapped it around her neck for warmth.
A warm glow began to subsume the landscape before Eve, forcing her eyes open. She awoke to a sharp stinging along her arm, and drops of blood slowly trickling down the slope in front of her. The only thoughts in her head were of her family. Her two young daughters that would be left without their beloved mother.
Each bandage that gripped her arm was completely soaked through, and some were hanging off and sticking to the wet ground. A dull ache pulsed through her head with each beat of her heart, and her entire right side was numb. When she tried to stand, she fell straight back down, onto her bleeding arm.
Suddenly, Eve felt her head falling toward her shoulder. The aches all over her body became unbearable, and she couldn’t move. Clouds of regret pulsed through her mind. As she softly closed her eyes, she thought of her family. She thought of her friends, her home, her career. She thought about how she was leaving, and how they would never know why.
She thought of the violet petals.
