My eyes widened in surprise, horror pooled through me as my mouth dropped open. A scream of terror burned its way up my throat; I could hardly breathe through the tight constriction that encased my chest. I had seen many horrible things in my life, but this had to be one of the worst.
Youre awake.
I jumped in surprise, stumbling slightly as I spun toward the voice on my right. My breath exploded from me, my hand flew instinctively to my wound as the abrupt movement caused pain to flare hotly through me. It was not a monster beside me, or at least he appeared completely human, but after what I had just seen I wasnt so sure I could trust my own eyes anymore. The aliens appeared human too, had I been captured? I swallowed heavily, finding it exceptionally difficult to breathe. Yes.
I dont know why I had bothered to respond, it was obvious that I was awake, I was standing here after all. How are you feeling?
I studied the tall man, weary as to what the hell was going on. He appeared to be in his mid to late thirties. His wavy brown hair had hints of grey at the temples; his grey eyes were wide behind the horn rimmed glasses he wore. He appeared friendly, personable even, but with what was inside that room I couldnt even begin to feel at ease.
Ok, I said softly, unable to stop my eyes from darting back toward the door.
You were wounded pretty badly.
My brother and sister?
They just went upstairs to eat. Theyve been sitting by your side for the past week. A week I had been out of it for a week ? Theyll be relieved to see you up.
Id be relieved to see them and find out just what the hell was going on around here. Where am I? I asked softly.
He gave me a sad, understanding smile. A fish warehouse in Wareham.
The aliens? My eyes darted involuntarily back toward the door next to me.
They havent found us.
I heard the unspoken yet at the end of his sentence. Finally, I was unable to take it any longer. What is going on in there? I demanded.
He quirked an eyebrow, then his gaze darted toward the door. Oh. Well were trying to see what has caused The Freezing. I frowned at him, my eyebrows drew sharply together. Come.
I winced as he opened the door, revealing the horror within again. He moved swiftly into the room, apparently immune to the dreadfulness of what lay within. I stared into the room, fighting back the rising nausea sweeping through me. There were rows of people within the room, at least twenty of them from what I could see. They were all frozen in various positions, all of them trapped within their bodies. Though I knew it wasnt true,
I felt as if their eyes followed me when I moved hesitantly into the room.
Are they still alive? I managed to croak out.
He glanced back at me as he stopped by a child. A child . Of course I knew that children had been affected by this, I had seen them before, but not this close. The young girl, with her brown hair in a ponytail, her head tilted back, and her small hand reaching out toward something that was not there tore at my heart.
Tears burned my eyes, but even more than that I could feel a swelling surge of fury growing within my chest. I walked slowly toward the little girl, taking in her innocent features, and the small smile that curved her mouth. A smile that was completely out of place given the circumstances. She could almost be a perfect, life sized doll, a part of me wanted to believe that she was, another part wanted to destroy the things that had done this to her.
We havent figured that out yet.
I glanced back toward the man, for a moment I had forgotten he was even there. Have you figured out anything?
We think we know how the people were chosen.
My eyes widened in surprise, my mouth parted slightly. How? I breathed.
The people that are still moving all have one thing in common.
And that is?
We all have type O blood.
I blinked in surprise, my eyes narrowed for a brief moment, my hands fisted at my sides. My mind flashed back to biology class three years ago when we had typed our own blood. Id already known my blood type by then, as Id received plenty of it when Id been in the hospital after the car accident. My father had been O, my mother was A, and apparently everyone unmoving within this room was some other type too.
Everyone, except for me.
Swallowing heavily, I focused my attention back on the man. How do you know this? I asked softly.
He shrugged, looking slightly frazzled as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Ive tested everyone within this building; they all have type O blood. The people trapped in this state do not.
His gaze was piercing as he studied me, his arms folded over his chest. Are you a doctor or something? I asked softly.
I am, though until this happened most of my work was focused upon research.
What kind of research?
We both knew I was stalling but I was hesitant to meet his penetrating gaze. Hesitant to confirm what we both already knew. He was a doctor, he had probably saved my life, and yet I felt trapped. I felt pinned beneath the weight of his stare. I was studying cystic fibrosis, but when the aliens arrived I began to research them. I wanted to learn more about them.