Fiction; Fear, Death, Fresh Air

"Would you come with me, please, Mrs Williams"`? A voice asked. Joanne quickly got to her feet with a feeling that it was about time. She’d been in the waiting room for almost two hours while waiting for the test results. They hurried through a labyrinth of white, sterile corridors.

"Where exactly are we going"? Joanne wondered. "The doctor will explain". Joanne was too annoyed to notice the nurse holding her distance while walking, as well as her breath behind the white mask. Her eyes were scared and she wore gloves on her hands, but all Joanne was thinking was that she should have called her husband to say she was running late for lunch.

The nurse led her through a set of double doors into a wash room. "Please, remove all your clothing and put them in this plastic bag! Have a shower, put this gown on and wait in there, the doctor will be with you shortly", she pointed at an open back hospital gown, and nodded towards another door, before leaving the room.

"I.... can't... breathe..." Joanne said out loud as she felt the walls of the already small room closing in on her. Everything looked blurry and she had a hard time focusing on the face in front of her. As though in a vacuum she heard the doctor say something in slow motion, but she couldn't understand another word. All she got was that she had been quarantined due to suspicion of a dangerous, deadly, virus. A loud scream echoed through the room before she felt a sting and everything started to fade away.

She was dancing on a green and flowery meadow. Birds were twittering a lovely tune and the air was fresh when she breathed it into her lungs. She laughed, she felt free and alive. Suddenly a big dark cloud swept in and hid the sun. The birds stopped singing, the flowers withered and the air disappeared.

Joanne couldn't breath. She woke up and gasped for air.

"Air, I need air" she said while stumbling from the bed to the small window. "Where's the hatch? Where’s the bloody hatch?" she screamed. She felt the panic rise within as she pounded on the window to get some air in. Strong arms grabbed her and she felt the sting. Once again she was dancing and laughing on the green meadow with the nice, fresh air. “I love fresh air” she sang along with the birds.

"Mrs Williams".  A voice softly woke her. Joanne looked up and saw someone standing over her. “The doctor is on his way with the test results. We will know in just a few minutes.”

The door opened and a man dressed up as one of the characters from a science fiction film walked in, the uniform protecting him from top to bottom.

As Joanne took her last breath, surrounded by sci-fi looking people, she felt fresh air fill her lungs. She was free. Finally.

Love//
Carina