Chapter 13

It was a Saturday afternoon when David came out of the shower with his bathrobe fastened around his body and was rubbing his hair with towel to dry it. He crooned along Selena Gomez whose song "Love you like a love song" was played slowly on TV. He went to the lounge and switched to the news channel. His friend Lisa came out and played at his feet to show how she missed her boss. "So, you are up Lisie waiting for your friend?" He smiled and patted her on the back. She jumped and shook her body with excitement. Lisa was his beautiful, white furred, loyal and loving pet dog who never missed a chance to take his admiration. Whenever he came home after a long day she would jump up to his lap and lick him on his face to show how she missed him. David would hug her in return. They had a great comaraderie.

David went to the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee which he was craving after a long night sleep. Lisa went out to the courtyard and lurked around the flower garden. It was her best moments when she played around the colorful roses. David came out and sat on a sofa before TV and raised its volume to listen to the news. Just as he took a sip Lisa leapt upon him narrowly avoiding the cup slipping from his hand. He was surprized. "What happened Lisie? Instead of ranting her he immediately stood up confused. She barked incessantly and pulled him out of the lounge as if trying to show him something. "Com'mom what is it that you want to show me?" He patted her again as she hung her tongue out and looked at the door. David followed her out to the courtyard. Lisa quickly ran to the back of the wall. David strode after her curiously. Lisa would constantly look back to make sure he followed her.

The dog stopped near the wall where bushes had grown to the window almost concealing the things laying behind them. "What's there?" David questioned knitting his eyebrows as he walked towards the bushes. Lisa barked again giving him a hint of something's presence. He moved the bushes slowly with his hand to make the thing visible. It was then that he saw a brown cat curled up in a lazy manner who couldn't get up even after somebody showed up. David came closer to it. "What happened buddy?" he whispered as he reached to pat it. "Why are you hiding here?" The cat could only manage to raise eyes for a split second just to show it had heard his voice. But it was certainly tired or ill to get up. David tried to pick it up when he saw blood on his paw and neck. "Good Lord!" he murmured. "Who did that to you poor buddy?" Sensing that it could be something dangerous he ran and brought disposable gloves from the kitchen that he wore before picking up the cat. Without any resistance the cat happily let itself being carried by someone to help it heal. Its body jiggled as if there were no bones available.

David turned its face towards himself to take a better look at the wound that was bleeding. But he realized that the blood was not coming from a wound. It was coming from its mouth that was still stained with blood and was dripping out of it. He was confused about its oddity. He thought it might have swallowed something that injured and bled its mouth. He inadvertently opened its eyes to examine it and gawked at what he saw. "Oh myyy..." Its eyes were as yellow as corn in the sun. "Are you jaundiced?" but then remembering its inability to talk, he picked it up and ran to the tub which was on the other side. He washed its paw and neck, then gave him a little water to drink. Instead of drinking water it let a painful cry and spewed the blood from its mouth that was deteriorating its condition. The water was instantly full of thick blood. David was flabbergasted to see that. Lisa was barking too at the sight of blood filled mug. The cat silently put its head on the tub floor and couldn't wake up after that. He knew the cat was dead but the cause of its death was something that was extremely startling.

He went back to the lounge and grabbed his phone to let Amelia know what just happened but before he could; there was another thing that caught his attention. "Sixty-seven more people died due to Alto virus and hundreds of them are critically ill overcrowding the nearby hospitals," the news anchor on Tv said with alarming tone. "So far nothing has been done to ensure the cure of disease but the safety of public around the area is made possible with essential methods of prevention." she continued. "If it's not controlled quickly it may lead to rapid spreading around the country," she informed about the distressing news. "Many volunteer scientists and doctors are working to find the best solution but it seems like nothing is happening anytime sooner." She said.

Before she could say anything further he dialled Amelia's number. She picked up the call immediately as if waiting for his call. "Did you hear the news?" "Yes, what do we do now?" She was breathing heavily which was common whenever she was tensed. David could hear the voice of news anchor from Amelia's side perhaps she was listening too. "I don't know." David replied incredulously. "I think we need to think harder and faster." time is slipping out of hand. Amelia said worriedly. "There is something else that I want to tell you." He said suddenly remembering something. "But for that you have to be here." He sounded cautious while asking her to come over. "Is everything okay?" Amelia asked curiously. "You sound tense." "Just come over I want to show something. It's important." "Okay I am coming," she said hanging up the phone and ran out of her house.