Sophia could no longer keep her eyes open. She slowly closed her eyes and fainted at the side of the road. The passersby saw the fainted Sophia, and they knew she was infected when they saw her ulcerated skin. They all avoided her, as if she was some kind of monsterâ¦
It was 12.30PM. The Cethosian were done gathering, and several buses were already waiting by the door. The Cethosians got onto the bus excitedly, waiting to be evacuated.
In the midst of all the turmoil and chaos of war, the foreign nationsâ ambassadors escaped before the people did. The traffic system was down, and there were battles everywhere. People couldnât go far without planes or ships; they could only wait for death. Foreigners who didnât have a strong nation helping to evacuate their own people would have the same destiny. There was only one foreign battleship still stopping for its people at the harbor nearby, waiting to bring their people back home. But no one realized that there was a young life slipping away at the roadside.
At the same time, a helicopter parked before the Cethosian Foreign Embassy. Around five to six people came out from the helicopter, both men and women. They were walking in a hurry, and they took out their Cethosian passport so that the embassy could verify and allow them to evacuate with the troop.
Among them was a posh woman. Her dress was simple, and she was wearing sunglasses. She stood out in the crowd with her dark, shiny hair and her curvy figure. She got out of the helicopter holding her passport, walked past the square, and was about to cross the road to the embassy on the other side, relieved to make it there in time.
She suddenly saw the young life that was dying by the roadside. Her exposed arm was ulcerated; it was a symptom of infecting the Virs-18. Everyone knew that the person was dying, and there was no point saving her. They were scared to even go near her.
Sheâd witnessed too many young lives dying by the side of the road like that on her way here, but she still couldnât bear looking at them. Suddenly, the woman froze. She saw the face of the girl lying by the roadside. It was someone extremely familiarâsomeone she thought she would never see again!
The woman took off her sunglasses, and it was a face that often appeared on screens in cinemas. Her eyes were filled with joy and surprise. She quickly walked toward Sophia, turned her body around, and was elated to see her face.
âSophia! Itâs you!â She shook Sophia vigorously, and Sophia opened her eyes forcefully as she heard her name. She saw the face of a strange woman. It was difficult for her to even breathe, and her chapped lips, which were bleeding, finally moved after some moment. âW-Who are you?â
The woman didnât expect her to ask that question. âItâs me! Nicole! Nicole Walker! Donât you remember?â
She had been in Africa for a film, but there was an armed rebellion, and the traffic was down. She just managed to get to the embassy, but she didnât expect to see Sophia here. She looked at the wound on her arms. It was clearly a symptom of Virs-18!
âSophia, what happened? How are you here? Gosh, what exactly happened?â She knew what contracting Virs-18 meant, but she couldnât understand what happened to her. Didnât she die three years ago? The newspapers were all reporting her death three years ago. Both Taylor and her were assassinated, and it caused an uproar. Yet, she showed up here after three years!
Sophia gasped for air with difficulty. She could feel her throat burning as she breathed, and it felt as if her throat was ripped open; it was difficult to speak. A personâs organs would start to ulcerate once they were infected by Virs-18, and it would start from the throat. Her mouth widened as she gasped for air, but she couldnât breathe. All she felt was pain instead, as if she was breathing in lava or like chilli powder entering her respiratory system.
Nicoleâs eyes reddened as Sophia remained silent. She immediately helped the latter up.
âNicole, what are you doing?â Her assistant was shocked to see her helping an infected person and wanted to stop her, but she was scared to go near her. Scientists were still clueless about the method Virs-18 spread, and anyone in contact with the virus might be infected. Being infected was equivalent to inevitable death!
âShe is my friend; I canât watch her die. I have to help her!â Nicole was determined. She held Sophia and sought help from the embassy, but they were sorry to inform her that the disease couldnât be controlled at the moment, and they couldnât risk the lives of everyone in the bus. She had to be quarantined there, and she couldnât leave with Sophia.
Quarantine⦠Nicole was stunned when she heard them, but she could understand. If she brought Sophia with her, the people in the bus might be infected too. But leaving her to quarantine here would be leaving her to die!
The embassyâs bus was leaving. They were the last batch of Cethosians, and the battleship would leave once they managed to get on. There wouldnât be another chance if she missed this; she wouldnât be able to leave this country that was caught in war.
This nation was having a civil war, and the rebel army was going to attack the city. They almost overthrew the current government, and all they needed was the international powersâ support. They needed superpowers like Cethos to recognize the legitimacy of their regime, so the rebels and the embassy had reached an agreement to attack the city once their people evacuated. These agreements were useless once war started. The embassy might be turned into ashes within seconds. How can she stay here and quarantine! It would mean death if she didnât leave!
Sophia was feeling groggy, but she was aware of what was happening. She didnât know who Nicole was, but she could tell that she seemed to know her and was trying to save her. However, she was infected by Virs-18 and was dying. The embassy couldnât take her with them. If they did, she would infect everyone else in the bus.
âYou s-should l-leaveâ¦â Her voice was soft.
Nicole looked at the bus that was leaving before looking at the dying Sophia. âHow could I leave? What would happen to you if I left?â She was determined.
âOh, dear. Itâs not the time to be kind. This lady clearly wonât make it. You canât do anything even if you managed to bring her back! Letâs go!â Her assistant was still trying to persuade her. She tried to go near Nicole, but when she saw the terrifying symptoms on Sophia, she retreated out of fear.
Nicole was panicking. She looked at Sophia and then at the soon-to-be leaving bus that was gradually filled with people. She was so panicked that tears were running down her face.
âWhy donât you leave her here in the embassy? Itâs safe here. I know that the leader of the rebel army is negotiating with the pharmaceutical company of the Michel Group. The Michel Group has managed to develop a special cure for Virs-18,â the staff from the embassy spoke to her kindly.