So it all started in Wuhan, a strain of coronavirus which spread like a wildfire across the globe, the World Health Organisation are crying out for assistance from other science organisations and a team in London are offering people money to be injected and tested on, the public going mad panic buying pasta, rice, even toilet paper. Many others believe it to be a BioWeapon because of how fast the virus has spread globally, is it some sort of political attack? or is it just a mere accident that this virus has spread? who knows.
After reading an article online about people wanted for testing, they also stated they would pay a fair few thousand to each candidate, I thought why the hell not? I could do with a few thousand, so I applied, turns out, not many people were eager to put their name forward for the testing, despite the country going crazy over the virus no one wanted to be a hero, I'm no hero but when money is involved I'm your man!
The science team liaison told me to pack for at least two weeks, so time to break out the suitcase, I can't actually remember when the last time I used it was? I'm definitely in need of a break. You can tell I'm not used to packing, the fact the bedroom now looks like a bomb has hit it says it all, and iv also remembered to pack my Ventolin just in case because you never know when life wants to just throw you a curveball to make you keel over with a tight chest and an asthma attack. I grabbed a bite to eat before leaving for the train, Birmingham New Street never looked so different? normally it's heaving with people commuting to work, for leisure, college and schools, the odd few out of the dozen wearing face masks.
The train to London is quiet, a national paper left on one of the seats with the headline 'Breaking News' followed by statements from different officials with their opinions on the coronavirus because no one actually knows whats going on. Just one crazed fuss over nothing I guess. One article states that a few people have died due to the virus and that the number of cases is rising more and more every day. I just can't believe the effect this is having on the world, even the financial market has crashed. Flicking through my phone on social media, the same old jargon every day really, drama, fake lives blah blah, just as corrosive as reading the newspapers, just full of propaganda and paid opinions.
After an hour and forty-one minutes exactly, the train starts to slow as we reach Euston Station, hordes of people coughing, spluttering, many more with face masks on, everyone looking so grim and terrified like its the end of days or something? I grab my case and make my way out into where I was greeted by a smartly dressed gent in a chauffeur like outfit, a bit over the top in my opinion but I guess its the service you'd expect from a company that wants to inject you with a virus that's contaminating the majority of the world. He took my case and wheeled it to his car as I followed him. An Audi A4 in black, very cliche indeed, I don't know why they didn't just get Jason Statham to be my driver, you know? go all out with it, next, I was expecting MI6 to call me and say they had a top-secret mission for me, I just chuckled to myself whilst in the back of the car, windows tinted too, not much fun to look out of either, the last time I came to London was probably 10 years ago when I was 22 for a family vacation, well, a family funeral to be exact but it felt like a vacation, at least the scenery was different to the Black Country, London was always different compared to the West Midlands, and not just because it was the capital or busier. It had something nowhere else did but I could never put my finger on it.
After what seemed like forever we pulled into some sort of facility, the Met stopped us at the gates and asked to see our I.D, high security like id never seen it, not even in a bond film, after exchanging info the police granted us access as the driver slowly pulled off, sticking to the 5mph signs dotted around everywhere. he drives us to the front of the building and opens the door for me, id never felt so much like a celeb in my life! we walked into what seemed like the reception area as a quiet attractive woman in a white lab coat asked for my details, the guy who drove me didn't say much if anything at all, I think the most he said was to the police officers at the gates. She requested me to follow her as my case was taken to my room and I had some 'preassessment' medical, which wasn't as thorough as I thought either, just any major health conditions or respiratory problems, so I had to disclose my asthma even though I was convinced they would send me packing if they knew but turns out they were really in need of people and said they would keep an extra eye on me due to my asthma, kinda made me feel a little better and secure, regardless of being hours away from home. After that, I'm escorted to my room which was like a fake room, it had a TV, some recreational things, a comfy double bed and I mean that kind of comfort you find after a tiring day and you come home, have a bath and then hot chocolate before bed kinda comfy. the room was very bright too, pearl-white walls which looked freshly decorated, the floors have like an operating theatre look, everything was just so clean. I opened my suitcase which was kindly brought up and placed on the bed for me, unpacking and attempting to sort my clothes into drawers was a task on its own, I didn't really take to the way the room was organised and made me feel a little bit uneasy, you know? like when you get that sixth sense feeling you're being watched? yeah that one, no matter what I did I couldn't shake that feeling either, annoying is an understatement but it was a feeling that was overpowering to the point of discomfort. A knock at my door made me jump out my skin, "Come in?", it was the woman from the front desk and a male doctor, well, he looked like a doctor, The asked me about my food allergies and what id like for tea, safe to say that pizza was not on the menu, it was worth the few minutes it took me to try and haggle them though, seems like everyone here is too serious, like the fate of the world lies in our hands, this made it even more humorous to me. The window at the far end of the room showed busy London, I can just about see the London eye from where I'm standing but only just, vision blocked by the other side of the building I'm in. turning back and jumped on my bed, flicking on the TV, same old boring channels and no decent films, this idea seemed like a good idea at the time but now it seems like it's going to be 2 weeks of utter hell!
Bang Bang Bang goes the room door next to me and an abrupt voice followed "FOOD", then a few moments later my door fell victim to the same fate, Bang Bang, a slight pause then, "FOOD". I notice a peephole in the door, so I take a look through it, the body the other side totally obstructed it. Opening the door there stood a giant of a man, holding a dinner tray which what looked like a roast dinner, he put it on the side table by the inside of the door and walked off, like some preprogrammed robot with no emotion or cognitive thinking at all. I push the door closed with my foot as I pick up the food tray and sit with it on my bed, I flicked the TV over to find the six o'clock BBC News just starting, oh how I couldn't be happier, not! Nothing else was on that I had any interest in so I guess it was background noise for the most of it. Food was actually nice, made a change from fast food takeaways and junk food, which reminds me, my emergency pack of skittles in the bottom of my case, phone charger plugged in and ready, and yes, the facility has WiFi, jackpot! 630Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpcTkCYZRO
The brute came back around and collected our empties and just as I go to close the door, some other person waltzes in with a small plastic cup, turns out I was injected in my preassessment with the COVID-19 and wasn't aware, that's legal, they carry on telling me because of my asthma I'm to try the tablet form of the vaccine as the injection could be fatal, who was I to complain? from the sounds of it, though the girl next door to me wasn't so lucky, piercing screams and then nothing, the doctor said not everyone takes well to having injections and I am on his side with that one, I hated the idea of injections but I was thinking of the money over everything else. I chuck back the two tablets in the cup and think what's the worse that can happen, the doctor just smiles without saying a word and walks off, what is it with everyone not saying anything and just walking off, really? it's getting annoying, I'm even tempted to scratch the days into the wall as they do on those old prison films, really go for it and embrace the life of a quarantined subject, I quickly start to grasp what it would be like to be a lab rat, not cool. Those tablets left a funny taste in my mouth too, bleugh, I hope this icky feeling passes soon, no worse feeling than trying to sleep when you feel like crap, I guess ill shower in the morning, I'm going to get ready for bed, mentally preparing myself somehow for the next few weeks of being a part of dexters lab.
