The Deadly Plague

It was 2052 in the small town of Riverside Gennevia, previously known as North Carolina, and there was a group of students who had just visited the ancient ruins of the Victorian Era in New York; now Victoria, named for its ruins. There were two friends, Morgan and Emma. They had only been back at Riverside High for a week when Morgan started to get swine flu. Swine flu spread quickly in 2009, but now it was just another common cold. Morgan only had to stay home from school for one day to recover.

The next day I woke up itching all over. “I already had chicken pox, so it couldn’t be that,” I thought. “Mom, come here for a minute,” I said through the intercom. Within minutes her mom was at my side, “What’s wrong, Morgan?” “I’m itching all over!” I complained. “We’ll have it checked out by a doctor tomorrow,” she said and abruptly left.

I decided to call Emma to get my work. “Hey, Emma.” “Hey, why weren’t you in school?” she asked. “I’m still not feeling well. Can you send me the notes from science and bring some books to my house?” “Sure, I’ll e-mail them now,” she said. After school that day Emma dropped off my books and helped me with our science homework. That night I woke up with purple spots all over my body, and the itching had gotten worse. I was rushed to the emergency room. That night Morgan died from the illness.

The wind was blowing hard on my back as I reached the table where almost all of my friends were. “Hey, guys, did you hear about Morgan?” I asked. “The whole town did, Emma,” Rae replied. “I can’t believe she’s gone,” Nicole said. Just then one of the mathletes, Chioma, came up to them, “Hey guys, I heard about Morgan. I’m really sorry.” “Thanks, Chioma,” Kaylee said sadly. Later, two of our friends, Shannon and Carol, passed by and said, “Hey guys, there’s going to be a memorial in band today for Morgan. You should come.” “Alright, we will,” Nicole said.

Right before Morgan’s memorial I became very sick and was sent home. Rae brought me my schoolwork. “I hope you feel better,” she said. “Thanks,” I coughed out. I woke up later that night, feeling like my body was on fire. I was rushed to the emergency room and, luckily, they were able to make the burning stop. A couple days later I got a call from my friend, Joey. “Hey, how are you?” he asked. “Better than the other night,” I joked. “Good,” he chuckled, “Did you know Rae is sick?” “No,” I said, shocked, “What does she have?” “It’s just a cold, but she’s been out of school for a couple of days,” he answered. “Oh, I hope she gets better,” I said. “Yeah, me too. Well, I’ll see you when you come back.” “Bye,” I said. The next day I woke up with purple spots all over my body.

Three days later Emma died. She fought hard, her body burning and itching. She was covered in purple spots and could barely breathe. She looked like she had been bruised all over her body. The illness spread throughout the country, killing half of the population, before finally slowing and finding ways to prevent the deadly plague.