Edward stood stock-still in the doorway, his racing heart stilling as he tried to grasp the movement in front of him. The man—worn, wrinkled, with a pinched expression on his face—hustled past him with a pale, unnerving smile. By the time Edward could register what was happening, the man had already moved, fast enough that Edward instinctively took a step back.
"I—ah, sorry," the man said, his voice gruff. His hand trembled as he smoothed his coat. "Didn't mean to frighten you."
Edward didn't respond immediately. He was trying to process the strange, foreign feeling that held him in its grip. There was something off about this man. Something beyond his appearance.
"Who are you?" Edward asked, his voice rough and tentative.
The man stopped and ran a hand across his face, shaking off some of the fatigue. "I'm Kyle," he said, flashing a tight, quick smile. "I'm a friend of Sam's. A doctor with the CDC. I was sent to help her with something."
Edward's glare intensified. "Help her with what?"
Kyle blinked, and the edge of a shadow flickered across his face. He swallowed hard, his unease evident in the way he stood. "I don't know if I can say much to you, man. It's... complicated. But Sam's situation—it's not what you think. She's been... altered by it. The infection."
Edward growled, trying to make sense of what Kyle was saying. "Infection? What infection?"
Kyle swallowed again. "We don't know much about it yet, but it's transmitted through bodily fluids—blood, saliva, even sweat. You can get infected without even knowing it. That's why they quarantined her. They're trying to contain it before it spreads. But we've seen it make people... crazy. It triggers hysteria. Panic. It can get violent."
Edward's heart thudded in his chest. "Hysteria? That's what's happening to Sam? She—she wrote me a note, you know. Something about... people coming."
Kyle nodded seriously. "I know. That's what it does to you. It makes you paranoid. You think something's chasing you. Something worse. That's why she left that message. She must've felt like she had to warn you. Like she knew things were getting bad."
Edward's head spun. "So then what? Where is she? Why didn't I know?"
Kyle glanced around nervously, then forward, his speech growing more urgent. "I shouldn't be saying this, but I can't leave you in the dark. She's been moved to an isolation unit. It isn't safe, and we don't know all of it. I'm telling you, this thing—it's spreading fast. We're trying to contain it, but it's hard to stop once it starts."
Edward's stomach clenched. "You're saying she's in a hospital, quarantined, and nobody bothered to tell me?"
Kyle's face softened, his voice barely above a whisper. "We did the best we could. But you have to understand, this is bigger than any of us. You have to be careful. If you've been around her, you might be at risk too. I'm just looking out for you, man."
Edward's head reeled. "You're saying I might be infected?"
Kyle nodded slowly. "It's possible. Anyone who's been in contact with someone infected is at risk. That's why I'm telling you to lay low. Don't go to the hospital. Don't hang around anyone with symptoms. You need to stay under the radar for a while."
Cold sweat trickled down Edward's neck. Something was off about everything that had been happening to him. Sam's strange behavior, the warning, Kyle's sudden appearance—everything felt connected, part of something bigger. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.
Kyle stepped back, shaking his head. "I don't want to scare you, but the truth is, it's not just hysteria. It's something else. It's like the mind starts to break down. And the infection? It feeds on fear. The more people exposed, the worse they become."
Edward swallowed hard, trying to focus. She's in the hospital, safe. She'll have the best care, the best doctors. Kyle's a professional. They'll fix it, they'll handle it. This is for the best. He needed to go see her, to be with her, but the hospital would be better for her right now. She was alone. Maybe it would be best to let them handle it and not get in the way.
No, he told himself, struggling to suppress the rising panic. I can't go in there. They're doing everything they can. If I go in now, I'll make things worse. I'll be in the way. I'm not trained like Kyle. I don't even know what's going on. His mind spiraled into a sea of doubt and fear. He had to be strong for Sam. That meant stepping back—for now.
Kyle's voice broke into his thoughts. "I don't know if she'll be all right, man. But if you're still thinking of going, I don't think you should go alone. The hospital's not the safest place to be right now."
Edward's chest tightened at the word hospital—bustling, loud, and full of the unknown. It was almost too much to bear. But he couldn't lose control now. He had to stay calm, keep his wits. He had to trust the doctors to take care of her.
He took a deep breath, forcing his voice to steady as he looked at Kyle. "I... I'll think about it," he murmured.
Kyle gave him one last look, then turned and started walking away from the door, leaving Edward standing there alone. The world weighed heavily on his shoulders. Sam—his closest friend—was somewhere in that hospital, all alone, and he wasn't there to help her.
But now I can't help her. Not like this. Edward closed his eyes and leaned against the doorway. Panic rose up inside him, but running in there without any idea of what was going on would only make things worse. I'll just do damage.
He didn't know what the future would hold, but for now, he'd have to leave it in the hands of the professionals.