1 Chapter 1 "The first weeks"
It was after three in the afternoon when the bells rang, all the students returned to their homes while others entered their clubs.
— Jin, Professor Viktor calls you—
A young man in his last year of high school greeted his classmate before returning to school.
Entering a room he found several instruments disordered on a table, to one side his chemistry teacher was reading some notes.
— Professor should tidy up this place—
— Let's leave that for later, I need you to help me to handle some samples with which I will experiment—
While Jin was ordering the samples, the professor took out a small vial and began to compare the reactions of the samples.
Jin remembered that from his second year he helped the teacher, in return he received help in the subjects of his class.
The sun was already setting when the duo was about to leave "who is looking for a teacher, we have already had more than a month of failures" asked Jin, "if I knew I wouldn't be risking something exploding in my face", they remembered that a week a sample became unstable leaving a big mess in the room "they almost expelled me for that, but it was good that I spoke for myself that time"
—Jin, I can only tell you that something strange is affecting the animals, small changes at the genetic level have appeared in some countries, but the cause is unknown—
Saying goodbye Jin was about to go find his motorcycle when Viktor called him throwing some keys "those are the keys for you to enter the viewpoint tonight, do not lose them" putting it in his pocket Jin thanked the teacher returning home.
He lived half an hour from school and an hour from the city center, every day he took the same path, but this time he stopped to get a tent for the night.
The streets were full of people, among them they could see Natasha, she was his childhood friend, but due to his father they had to separate, they were not satisfied with him because it was said that he did not take anything seriously and did not want him to abandon his daughter when he got bored with her.
Ah! The girl screamed at being taken from behind, she knew who was the only one who always bothered her in that way, but she stopped being surprised.
— "Jin!—She said angrily, when she turned around she saw the smiling face of her friend ~ you owe me a sweet, this time you won't escape ~. These moments were when they could talk and they made the most of it.
— What are you doing with that bag, will you run away tonight?" —
— Yes, I'll go see the Meteor Shower tonight, do you want to come?" —
— You know I can't, my father is very strict—
— Don't worry, at 1 in the morning I'll stop by your house, just wait for me where we always see each other—
Saying goodbye they both agreed to meet at night, it was already seven in the afternoon when he got home — Professor Viktor again? — his mother asked, she had her hair taken by a ribbon while she was preparing dinner — Yes, but we have only failed in the experiments—
— Mom, I have something to ask of you— he said as he put his things away.
His mother looked at him a little curious about that, he usually didn't ask for things —What do you need? If it's money, I'll tell you no—
— It's not that, I need to use the jeep to go to the viewpoint tonight, I want to see the rain of stars there— he looked at her hoping she would accept.
— You will go alone? —
— Yes, I'll stay the night outside, I won't let anything happen to the jeep— he convincingly said.
— No problem, I'll be in charge of convincing your father—
Entering his room, he changed his clothes, he took advantage of watching the news to check the time of the rain, nothing had changed, it would be at 2 in the morning, the biggest shower of stars in history would occur.
After dinner, his father scolded him a little by accepting the decision of his wife, he was a retired military man due to a wound in his leg, he had a strict appearance but always gave in to the requests of his wife.
That night Jin prepared everything, when it was 1 am he sneaked into Natasha's house calling her. She came out with a sports dress, her long brown hair tied in a ponytail next to her slender body gave her a mature appearance, you wouldn't think she was 16 years old — Let's go before my parents know it— she said leaving the place .
It took half an hour to get to the viewpoint, but its main road was under repair, so they surrounded it using a dirt road that led to the south exit of the city.
Like them, several groups of people approached the viewpoint, although they did not have the key to enter, outside they still had a good view of the sky.
Trying to avoid the curious glances of the others, Jin took out the camping gear and they entered through the back of the viewpoint. Walking around the place, the first thing they thought of was a good shelter, its walls were very thick and it had several rooms where exhibitions were held.
When they reached the roof they began to pitch their tent, both of them worked and soon the place was ready, with less than 20 minutes to go before the rain of stars began.
That cold April night a tense atmosphere was created, not knowing what to talk about, she felt a little shy when she remembered that she would spend the whole night with Jin in a tent.
— Do you spend a lot of time with the chemistry teacher, is what they do fun? — She broke the ice and started the conversation.
As if it was natural both began to tell each other the things they did, they did not always have the opportunity to spend a lot of time together, without realizing it it was almost 3 in the morning — The news must have been wrong, right— they both thought when they did not see any rain of stars.
Taking out their phones they began to check the news, but they noticed that no one was talking about the meteor shower, something had gone wrong in southern Africa, a strange disease had appeared.
Meanwhile in Namibia a reporter reported — In the region there is an explosive increase in cases with severe symptoms, including an increase in temperature, vomiting and loss of consciousness. No deaths have yet been reported, but the number of patients exceeds the capacity of the hospital "
The reporter in Zimbabwe reported almost the same, but added the appearance of several patients who fell into a coma due to the disease, the authorities reported that they would isolate all those who presented problems, creating chaos in the population of the country.
The couple thought they were far from the problem, but fear of the unknown always clings to the soul. Taking her in his arms, Jin wanted to reassure Natasha, but a message on her cell phone took him out of her thoughts.
"Dear citizens, given the current situation that afflicts the various regions of the southern area, a rapid study has been carried out detecting the presence of this disease in Asia, America and Europe, that is why to keep the situation under control we will dictate a touch of It remains between 7 in the afternoon and 7 in the morning in the next 24 hours, until the cause of this disease is determined, please stock up only with what is necessary and respect the decisions made by the police and the military.
President ".
— I think we should go back— Natasha said worriedly, she was going to start picking things up, but Jin noticed her hands shaking from hers, so he stopped her. – Let's leave this here, then I'll come back for them—
They both boarded the jeep and went to town, several people who were nearby were still leaving, only a group of young people who were drinking beer remained celebrating while criticizing the news for lying to them about the rain of stars.
As he passed through the streets of the city, he saw how hundreds of people approached businesses to buy, loading their vehicles with food and things of daily use, fear made them act not thinking about the consequences of their actions and some took advantage of stealing from the careless.
Jin stopped by a supermarket to buy some batteries for his phones, he also wanted to buy some things for the house, but most of the corridors were full of people, not wanting to get stuck next to them, he paid for the batteries and left the place.
When Natasha returned, she looked at him a little scared and indicated with her hand — They are hitting a man in that place — she said, Jin saw how a group of three thugs tried to rob a family, the father on the ground was with his face beaten trying to get up, the mother, along with two little girls were scared, most of the people they saw just left them to their own devices.
— Natasha, when I get out, lock the door. For nothing in the world will you open the door to someone other than me— Taking a metal bat from his jeep, Jin went in the direction of the thugs.
Although he did not have a good physique, when he was young he had practiced baseball as a hitter and had a good knowledge of how to defend himself with the bat. Without waiting for them to notice, he punched the nearest bully on the legs causing him to fall to the ground.
The other two drew their knives wanting to threaten Jin, but he kept attacking not giving them a chance, the second received a hard blow on his shoulder, the sound of his bones breaking scared his partner.
Angry, the last one threw the knife at Jin's chest, but the father on the ground grabbed his leg making him fall. Taking advantage of this moment, between Jin and the father they tied the thugs to a lamp post.
— Thanks for that, if you didn't make him fall maybe now he would be on the ground— said Jin with a smile
— Thank you for helping us, you are the only one who moved for us— The father was really grateful to Jin.
— Thank you big brother, please take this as a thank you— the girls gave him some cookies in the shape of animals that they had in their hands.
Caressing the girls' heads, Jin said goodbye to the family and returned to Natasha.
— That was scary, maybe you shouldn't have gone, they almost cut you in the chest— Natasha said worried, she didn't want to see him hurt.
— I don't regret having done it. Let's go back, your parents will be mad if they are not in your bed— they both left for their house.
After dropping Natasha at her house, Jin returned to his home. Upon arrival he found that his parents took out a red truck that they only used on special occasions, they were loading it with various things such as food and clothing.
— It's good that you arrived, help us move some things— her mother took him by the hand and led him to lift some boxes.
— What exactly happened— Jin asked doubtfully
— Your grandfather forgave your father and asked him to go to the main family house— said his mother with a smile on her face.
From a young age, Jin learned that the marriage of his parents was never accepted by the family, his grandfather had expelled them as soon as they learned that he had secretly married.
— But because of the rush, we can wait until we know a little more about this before we go— said Jin trying to convince her, at that moment his father spoke for her.
— According to your grandfather, this disease is incurable, that's why they want the whole family to retire to the family shelter until this problem ends—
The family refuge is an ancient place that only the most influential families in the country possess, these were created at the beginning of the year 1900, after the great war, in that year the world recognized the independence of Celes, whose neighbor was India to the east, Pakistan to the north, Somalia to the west and to the south had the Indian Ocean.
At that time several countries wanted to take control of the place by creating large bases and shelters, but these were abandoned when they could not take it after 50 years.
— Mom, I know it's selfish, but I want to stay— He didn't want to leave the city yet, at least he wanted to know the situation of his friends and acquaintances.
His mother looked into his eyes hoping he would change his mind, but Jin remained impassive until she looked at his father and asked him to respect his decision.
His father loved Jin very much, he knew he had a few months left until his 18th birthday. Walking towards the truck, he started looking through his things and prepared a bag.
— Take this and never lose it, the address of the family shelter is listed there, it also has a little money and two very important letters for me, I hope you know how to use them—
— Dad, what are these letters?— Jin asked confused, he knew how important they were to him, but his father never told him what they did.
— They will both serve you in case you need help from the military, don't waste them— He wanted to ask how he got them, but his father just turned to get into the truck.
— Take care, remember to call us whenever you can, I'll be waiting for you in the shelter— after kissing him on the forehead, Jin watched as his parents left the city, touching their foreheads, he asked in his heart that nothing happen to them.
As it was still night, Jin went to his room to rest, tidied up the things he had a bit and went to sleep, he did not notice that small flashes of light were reflected in his window, the rain of stars had begun a few hours later than predicted.
When most of the stars have disappeared from view, a lone star descended at high speed in the direction of the southern mountains.
— Look at that star, doesn't it look bigger?— the group that was still partying did not think about the words of his friend until they looked in the direction of the star, they could only observe a few moments until the impact killed them without leaving any trace of them. Around the world several of these meteorites hit the earth, but most of them were not detected.
The next morning Jin found out that Natasha was nowhere to be found, her father had realized her escape and decided to take advantage of the illness to leave the city, he did not want her to stay close to Jin. When checking the cell phone he noticed that a couple of unread messages were highlighted on his screen.
—Jin, at the moment I am traveling with my family to the north of the country, my father does not want to tell me where we are going, but my mother told me that he was a friend of someone important and asked him for help, when he arrives I will tell you the address, take care—
After trying to make breakfast, Jin decided to go to school for breakfast, he didn't have the experience to prepare something decent — maybe I should get a cookbook— he thought.
Putting on his slippers, he went to school. As he passed through the streets, he noticed that they were not as lively as before —it seems that several people left the city, but where would they go?—
Entering the cafeteria the smell of food made him hungry, approaching the line he met one of his favorite teachers, Lana.
— Ah, Jin, good morning, I didn't think a student would come today— She was teaching English, her hazelnut green eyes causing most of the children to get lost in them.
— I had a little problem with the kitchen this morning, so I had to come here to eat— he said a little embarrassed.
— Oh now I see. Later, meet me in my living room, I have something to help you— they both ordered their food and ate breakfast while talking.
The first time Jin saw Lana, she was 20 years old (currently 23), he had been fascinated by the length of her hair, it was a natural orange shade, perhaps that was why he always talked to her.
— Classes are likely to be canceled— she said worried, she didn't know what would happen.
— I hope they don't close the cafeteria, otherwise I'll starve— Jin said with a smile.
— What will you do if there are no more classes—
— I don't know, I think I'll consult Professor Viktor, he always helps me in these cases— Jin thought that he would know more about this disease.
— Oh, but I don't think I saw him arrive today— she said thoughtfully as she pressed her index finger to her lips.
—Nothing happens, the professor is like that, sometimes he gets lost in his research— he knew the professor's actions well, he would not miss unless he was to achieve a breakthrough in his research.
When they finished their breakfast Lana had to go back to work. When he said goodbye to her, Jin thought what to do — I have not seen any student apart from me at school, I think I'd better go see my friends and then come back because of what the teacher Lana promised me—
Upon reaching the neighborhood of one of his friends, he found that his house was sealed, confused Jin approached one of the neighbors and asked what had happened.
—At dawn several ambulances came and took the whole family, as I heard one of them was infected— said the neighbor with a tone of fear.
— I see, thank you very much, you know what hospital they went to—
— I think he's the one south of the city, I can't quite remember his name—
— Thank you very much, I'm going to see if I can find my friend—
Upon arriving at the other house of his friend, he found out that he was infected, but he only had a fever, so he could not talk to each other.
— What a strange day, I hope that Professor Lana's surprise is not complicated— approaching the school, I cannot find Professor Viktor's car.
Inside a room, a young woman was ordering some books, at one point her hands failed and one of the books fell to the floor
— It seems like something's wrong with me today— She couldn't keep her concentration all day, trying to calm herself down, she bent down to lift the book off the floor, when she saw some legs at the entrance of the room.
Jin was amazed at the sight, in front of him a pair of breasts revealed his deep valley and a white bra peeked out.
— Ah!— Lana turned covering her breasts a little embarrassed
—Professor, I was coming for what you promised me— Jin avoided talking about what he saw, he didn't want to embarrass the teacher more about him.
— Nnn, on the table there is a cookbook that helped me a lot when I started living alone, take it I think it will help you a lot— she said with her cheeks still flushed.
Taking the book, Jin was kicked out of the room.
When Jin's footsteps disappeared down the hall, a figure appeared in the hall, she had short shoulder length hair, dressed in a running outfit stood next to her friend.
— What's going on here— she asked with a smile putting her index finger under her lips as she looked at her friend.
On the streets, the number of people was hardly noticeable, perhaps due to fear most of the people locked themselves in their homes. Jin looked at his watch, it was already 6:30 pm, in half an hour the curfew would begin.
Arriving in his neighborhood, he found that several of his neighbors were busy installing bars on his houses. Leaving his things on the table, Jin began to read the book he was lending him, he had to find something simple to prepare or else he would not have dinner tonight.
An hour later a burning smell came out of the kitchen, when Jin managed to see his food it was completely black. He prepared — Veal with vegetables— with a bit of trouble picking up all the ingredients and he wanted to pour them into the pot, but when he left the food to cook he got lost reading the recipes and forgot about time.
Going out to the patio he threw the burned food into the container.
— Hi Jin, you seem to have problems— said a woman in her 50s.
— Hello Mrs. Grants, if that living alone I think is very different from what I thought— she said clutching her head.
— If you want, I can spare a little from dinner— she asked the boy in front of her
— It would help me a lot, I hope I'm not a bother— he said as he saw his neighbor enter his house to go out with a box of food.
—Don't worry, it's still hot so go eat— They both said goodbye returning to their homes.
After dinner, Jin began to organize himself, he knew that he could not abuse the kindness of his neighbor, so he wanted to learn to cook soon. Looking in the mirror, he found that his body was fine, but decided to maintain an exercise routine to improve his strength.
— What will have happened to the teacher? If he doesn't come tomorrow, I think I should go to his house to see how he is," he thought as he turned on the television.
On the screen, a reporter covered by an anti-germ suit and a mask updated the information "The latest research indicates that this disease is transmitted through the air, but not all those infected present the symptoms. The reason for this is not yet known, but the investigation continues "
— I see, I wonder if this is what the professor is investigating— Jin thought when the news changed, various animals in a zoo were shown on the screen, the reporter on the spot looked a bit anxious "in the last hours, Jean's zoo keepers report that the animals have become more aggressive, if they can see this cage they can notice how deformed them by the blows of the animals ", at that moment the camera lost focus, a gorilla had crashed into the cage making them fall, only cries of fear were heard before the newscast decided to change the news.
A thought appeared in Jin's mind — animals are mutating— remembering that Professor Viktor had given him several mutated samples — I think I should visit the teacher tomorrow if he doesn't go to school—
