Chapter 1: A Little Warning

"Sickness knows no boundaries. It doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care. It can’t be reasoned with. It can’t be calmed with simple words. You can’t just walk away from the fight as you were told to do when you were young. We are at war with sickness. We are at war with disease. And ladies and gentlemen, you are the soldiers."

The speech was meant to spur enthusiasm, but to Seth Manning it was just a bunch of words. He settled deeper into his hard plastic chair, feeling his eyes droop. Rearranging his jeans and pulling his black hood up over his dark messy hair, he shifted awkwardly, attempting to find a comfortable position. He tried to stare down the sloping rows of dull brown chairs in front of him and concentrate on the dull things being said, but his mind would not allow it. The professor’s eager voice became a sluggish drone as Seth let his thoughts drift to the night before. As his eyes came to a close, the burgundy walls of the lecture hall vanished, overwhelmed by the messy surroundings he called his home. The soft murmur of the student’s chatter became inaudible as it was replaced with Violet’s condescending tone.

"You’ve said that a thousand times."

Her exaggerations used to make him smile, but now he could barely stand them. It was always, "I bought like a million pairs of shoes yesterday!" or "The guy at the drive through took like a million hours to get me my salad!" At first, he had adored her little quirks. He loved the way every morning she would leave a note on the fridge. He thought it cute, the way she would never leave a penny on the ground, claiming she didn’t want to miss out on good luck. At times, it had seemed like she was trying too hard to make herself appealing to Seth, but now she almost took him for granted, like he was lucky to have her, but not the other way around. He loved everything about her at first, but now, after ten months, his affection was drying up. Finally last night, they had sat down and talked. They had their first serious conversation about their relationship. A conversation that could easily have been compared to a spider entangling it’s prey savoring the moment in which it would feast.

"You don’t appreciate me," she had said staring at him with accusing eyes.

As though that argument hadn’t been used many times by equally as angry woman. Seth could barely even remember what he had said in retort, but before he could think about it, his mind snapped back to the present, interrupted by a sudden change of tone in the professor’s voice.

"Mr. Manning! You may not think I care about how you do in this class, but I’ll be damned before I let you become a doctor without knowing everything there is to know. We are talking about people’s lives here."

Professor Reed emphasized each word with such loving passion that Seth thought he might begin to cry. As if a person ever could learn everything there is to know.

"Sleeping through my lectures is not permitted. You can’t sleep through a patient analysis. You can’t sleep through surgery. What would make you think you can sleep through my lecture."

Seth gave a quick nod and Professor Reed looked back down at his notes and continued his lesson, unfazed and with the same avidity as before. Seth’s nod turned to chuckle and a contemptuous shake of his of head.

Class ended with a homework assignment, and Seth and the rest of the students began to flow out of the hall, grumbling under their breath. Seth almost didn’t want to go home, knowing that when he got back, there would be another argument. He had opened the flood gates with the first confrontation and now Violet refused to keep her mouth shut. He knew that there might be no saving the relationship and with that on his mind, he hopped in his car and headed for his house on Trochu Lane. The day was hot, so Seth rolled down the window, cranked on the radio, and tried to enjoy his few moments of undisturbed peace.

His standard transmission ‘86 Honda Civic seemed to be having a good day. It wasn’t threatening to stall in the middle of an intersection as it had just two days before. He would have liked to have found something a little bit nicer to drive, but seen as how med school wasn’t cheap, he was forced to sacrifice cruising in comfort for education and eventually a high paying job. That’s not to say that Seth was trying to become a doctor for the money. Who wouldn’t want to make a doctor’s salary, but as artificial as it sounds, Seth really wanted to help people. He had a genuine desire to provide for those who needed it. The problem was he wasn’t sure he had the guts. He was, simply put, a nice guy. Little did he know, that his kindness was about to be tested.

Seth’s peace was interrupted by a sharp horn blast. It was unintentional, as Seth’s body had slammed into the steering wheel after his car collided with the large truck in front of it. Seth, surprised at first, slowly came to his senses and realized what had just happened. He let out a deep sigh and hung his head onto the dashboard. A throbbing pain had developed on the left side of his forehead and he wasn’t sure whether he was bleeding or not. He slowly lifted his head, fearing a concussion, to look at the vehicle in front of him. It was a massive beast of a machine, looming overhead, blotting out both the sun and Seth’s momentary tranquility. Knowing and fearing the kind of person that would drive a vehicle like that, Seth tentatively opened up his door, prepared to hear a lot of yelling.

Not only was the man in the other truck yelling, he came out with a pipe wrench gripped firmly in his meaty hands. His physique matched that of his truck. He was tall, towering over Seth, and had arms that looked as though they could tear his Civic apart piece by piece. Looking at the man’s face, Seth tried to stutter out an explanation to no avail. The man’s raging eyes and biker moustache were unwilling to listen.

"Who are you?" the man asked, glowering down at Seth.

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, flinching as he did so. "Shouldn’t we just exchange insurance information?"

"You’re not listening to me, boy! I want to know who you are, so I can destroy your life. Tell me your name, boy!"

Seth debated about running, but realizing that he needed his car and his life, he opted for a less deadly route.

"I’ll tell you what. I’ll pay for everything."

Even as the words were coming out of his mouth, Seth knew they were a mistake. He didn’t even have the money to fix his own car, let alone the other guy’s.

"I...I mean I’ll...I’ll...You know what? Give me your insurance information right now!"

Once again Seth regretted the words that had just left his mouth. He had acted on instinct and now he feared that his defiance might cause him some pain. The burly man stared at him, his fingers rubbing against the pipe wrench. Seth was slightly comforted by the fact that the man’s eyes seemed to have lost some of their rage. He was even more comforted when the man gave a little smirk, took a few steps backwards, turned, and got back into his Chevy without saying a word. Seth, a bit confused at first, looked around to see if the police were nearby. He could barely believe that it had been him who made the man run away. A huge sigh erupted from Seth, followed by feeling of pride bubbling up inside him. He had stood up to a man who could crush him with one finger, and he had gotten away with it.

The monstrous truck rumbled away, and Seth could see that the damage on it was far lass severe than the one Seth’s car had experienced. The front bumper of the Civic was completely crushed in and the hood had contorted so that it curved up instead of down. The adrenaline in Seth’s body had calmed down and all the pain from the crash was coming back. His head began to pulse with pain, and for the first time he noticed that his ribs were now tender from smashing into the steering wheel. Climbing back into his beater of a vehicle, he turned the key without any expectations. Amazingly enough, the trusty old car roared to life and Seth took off for home, careful to keep his eyes on the road and two hands on the wheel.

After such a rough day, Seth’s less than well kept condo looked inviting despite Violet’s eyes peering out the window, as he sat in the driveway. He lived in the upstairs section of a two story building. The down stairs was unoccupied, but Seth’s cousin, Tyrone was expected to be moving into it in a few months time. Seth exhaled with a deep sigh and began to push open his door, when he felt a tap on his right shoulder. At first he ignored it, believing that he had just brushed up against the seat. The taps came a second time, more violent and distinct. Seth turned his head slowly and looked between the headrest and the seat of his car. A small man (some might even call him a midget) with a small moustache and a goatee, was sitting in the backseat with a look of urgency planted firmly on his face. Seth gave a girlish shriek of terror and leapt back almost ramming his backside into the horn.

"I don’t mean to alarm," the little man said with an English accent, before Seth could put his surprise into words. "My name is Randal. I have to tell you something very important."
Evidently, Seth’s surprise was etched all over his face because the little man suddenly said, "I understand your confusion, but before you do anything you must listen."

Seth had no intention of listening to this little man that reminded him of a leprechaun. Randal was dressed in a blue wool sweater with a strange golden symbol stitched onto the front and khaki shorts. Had he been wearing green, Seth might have asked him where his pot of gold was, but as his confusion still overshadowed any other emotion, he said nothing. Randal hopped to his feet and leaned in close to Seth, his single earring swaying back and forth.

Seth leaned back abruptly and suddenly realizing that Randal was probably a homeless beggar, he stammered, "Uh...I don’t have any money or anything." Randal rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Do you think you could just leave my car now. I don’t want any trouble."

Seth was sure that he could pick Randal up and toss him out the window, but he actually felt sorry for him. He already felt guilty for refusing him money, and he knew that tossing him out would haunt him later on. It was true that he didn’t have any money to gave Randal, but that didn’t help to appease the anxious feeling in his stomach.

"No, you idiot. I’m not a bum. Just listen to me. You don’t have to believe what I say, but just listen."

Another thought occurred to Seth. Although his size didn’t make him look dangerous, Seth didn’t want to underestimate this small, desperate man. Deciding to cooperate, he leaned in and told the man to go ahead.

"I’m here to warn you," Randal said in a panic.

"Warn me about what," Seth said, once again, entirely confused.

A banging on the window interrupted their conversation. Violet was standing outside, waiting impatiently for Seth to either get out or roll down the window. Seth chose to roll down the window. Expecting Violet to be shocked, Seth spoke before she could.

"He’s here to tell me something. Then he’ll go."

Violet was shocked and as equally confused as Seth, but for a different reason.

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought you might be wondering why there is a four foot man sitting in my back seat." Randal sent a scowl Seth’s direction at this mention of his height.

Violet, however, scrunched her forehead in frustration and scolded, "I don’t have time for your stupid games. If you’re trying to get out of explaining what happened to the car, that’s not going to happen."

Seth had forgotten entirely about the damage to the car and at the time he really didn’t care. His mind was preoccupied by the fact that she wasn’t concerned with the backseat intruder. It seemed that confusion was a common theme felt by everyone except for Randal. He had sat back down and was waiting impatiently for Seth to turn his attention back to his warning.
"The car...right," Seth stalled, trying to find the right words to make him look like the victim. "Yeah...Well, there was an accident. Listen, I’ll explain everything, but can you please explain to me whether you know why this guy is in my car."

Violet suddenly burst out, frustrated but what she thought was a silly game that Seth was playing.

While Violet was raving, Randal finally chimed in saying, "She can’t see me."

Seth began to contest the possibilities of what Randal had just said, but before he could get out a word Randal raised his voice above Violet’s high pitched whine and said, very firmly, "Be watchful as you yourself are being watched. I wish I could tell you by who, but you wouldn’t believe me if I did. I just had to give you some form of a warning."

Randal got a very serious look on his face, as he once again leaned closer to Seth.
"Mind your friends. Mind your enemies. Mind those you don’t even know. I know this sounds ludicrous, but when it strikes, I hope you’ll heed my warnings."

Seth was actually intrigued. Being very good at reading people, Seth could immediately sense the sincerity in Randal’s voice and he was beginning to believe what he was saying, trying for just a moment to ignore the little voice in the back of his head telling him, "The midgets crazy."
"How will I know when it strikes. What is it? I need to know more."

"There’s no time," Randal spoke in a softer, deeper voice than before. "I shouldn’t have even come here. Someone will be coming for you. The single most important thing I can tell you to do is run. When it comes for you run."

"- you think the world revolves around you..." Violent continued ranting. Seth continued ignoring her without even meaning to.

"Why are you being so vague?" Seth questioned, bewildered by what he was being told. "Tell me what or who I need to look out for."

"It will likely be a man. It doesn’t like to use women as the carriers."

"Carriers of what?"

Ignoring Seth’s questions, Randal gave one final piece of advice.

"Watch for the residue. The black powder."

Randal suddenly snapped his head downward and looked at the floor.

"It’s searching. It might suspect me. I have to go. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, but if I say too much, it could hear me. I am still unsure of it’s connection to me. I know none of this is making sense, but just remember what I told you."

With that, Randal opened the door and literally vanished from Seth’s vision. Seth stared blankly at the place where Randal had just been. His mind was telling him that what he had just seen was impossible, but he had seen it just the same. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his left cheek. Violet had slapped him hard. He turned towards her, trying to remain calm. When he saw her face, he realized that he’d better shut up and agree. He could almost see the steam coming out of her ears. He was surprised that her eyes had remained their icy blue and not changed to a fiery red. She screamed as loud as she could even though she was inches from Seth’s face and Seth realized that she had been talking to him the whole time that Randal was speaking.

"Listen to the words that are coming out of my mouth. Who are you talking to?"

Seth turned his head and winced at the noise coming from Violet. For a moment there was an eerie silence, before Seth got up and mumbled distractedly, "Never mind."

With nothing more to say, he walked directly up the steps, through the front door, and plopped himself down in front of the computer, determined to get some answers.