Monday, March 11, 2024

The Virus

 


Once upon a time, in the distant future, there was a man named Eduard. Eduard lived in New York City in the year 2184. The world was experiencing many wonderful technological advances that made the impossible possible. 


Eduard was a loving husband and a model father to his wife Veronica and daughter Isabel. Eduard worked as an accountant for a multimillion-dollar company called Evos. A technology company that is responsible for the great advances of the time. 



The company one day started working on a new bacteria called Alpha Omega. The bacteria aimed to develop new vaccines to combat future pandemics. The bacteria is studied by Doctor Regina Martins, who is a highly awarded scientist in the field of organic biochemistry. He tried to use the bacteria to cure the coronavirus. But something terrible happened.  



One day Doctor Regina is evaluating Alpha Omega Bacteria. Their experiments ended in creating an even more deadly strain of the original virus due to a wrong calculation in the formula. The virus spread rapidly through the air in the laboratory. Everyone who inhaled it became seriously ill. They tried to contain it but they couldn't, the virus left the laboratory to the city, spreading everywhere.No one could hide, Eduard took his family and they got into the car and drove without looking back.  



They drove, drove, and drove without stopping until the car suddenly stopped. Eduard looked at the car's battery and saw that it was dead. They were stranded in the middle of nowhere. Eduard, Verónica, and Isabel got out of the car and started walking to try to escape the virus that was spreading across the continent.  



The army managed to create a safe zone in the state of Texas where a shelter was built against the virus. Eduard received a call from his friend Nicolas telling him to come to Texas because it is safe here. With the car without power, Edward and his family had no choice but to get to Texas on foot.  



They walked for the rest of the day until night came. Edward told Veronica, "We should rest. Isabel needs to sleep. They found a small cave so they entered looking for temporary shelter. Veronica collected many leaves of various colors to make comfortable beds to sleep in. Eduard collected several branches and rocks of different sizes to make a campfire. Isabel collected several wild fruits from the plants around to eat. They feasted on the wild fruits that Isabel picked after eating.  



Isabel fell asleep but her parents started talking. Verónica told Eduard that she was worried. About this whole situation. She wasn't sure she could get out of this, but Eduard told her that he would do everything he could to keep her and Isabel safe. 



The next morning, the moment they woke up, they continued their journey towards Texas. Eduard saw strange green clouds on the horizon and knew it was the Alpha omega virus spreading through the air at full speed. If they did not reach Texas in less than 24 hours, they would all die. Eduard took his family and they began to run towards Texas as fast as they could. They ran, ran, and ran until they reached the borders of Texas.



 From the horizon they saw many other people, all heading to the Texas shelter. Eduard and his family followed the crowd at full speed without stopping. Isabel said Dad, don't let me go. Eduard said he won't leave them behind. The shelter began to fill up so the exercise began to close the doors. Eduard put Verónica and Isabel in the shelter. He decided to stay outside to save them. Eduard told his family that he loved them for the last time. 



The cloud of the virus began to surround him and Eduard died at that moment.6 months passed, the shelter opened after the virus dissipated, and the air became habitable again. Verónica and Isabel went out and saw the sun after several months. Even after everything, they never forgot Eduard for what he did for them.


By Samuel Villalba, Step 10