Free Virus by Ifedayo Akintomide Page A

not
speak.
    “Have his parents been
told?”
    “They were with him when he
passed.”
    Taiwo rose to his feet tutting
quietly as he did so. “This is horrible. I can only imagine what
they must be feeling.”
    The sergeant said nothing more again
and a heavy silence filled the room.
    “Did the hospital say
anything?”
    “Yes they said Eze should still be
kept under lock and key and quarantined. They are sending someone
to examine him and take some tests.”
    Taiwo nodded and walked towards the
door.
    “Are you going somewhere
sir?”
    “As a matter of fact I am. I want to
get a good look at the infamous Eze.”
    The sergeant nodded and stepped
aside to let him pass. They walked down a long corridor, which
opened, into the main body of the station. It was a beehive of
activity filled with almost two dozen peopl
    Wading through the throng took
almost two minutes, before they headed down two more long
corridors, which led to the cells. Eze’s cell stood alone,
separated from the others by almost twelve feet of concrete. This
section of the station was dark and gloomy as if some sort of evil
presence lurked there.
    Eze’s had his face pressed against
the bars. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, his lips curled into a
benign snarl. Both men jumped startled when they saw him taking two
steps back.
    An eerie laugh erupted from his
mouth. His laugh was high pitched and squeaky. The sound drove a
chill into both of their hearts and without a word they quickly
turned and headed back the way they had come with Eze’s maniacal
laughter ringing out behind them.
     
    9.15 am
     
    Dr Makinde sighed staring at the
death certificate he held in his hands. Even though it was a cool
morning, sweat poured out of his skin soaking his pristine white
shirt which was tucked into slim fitting black trousers.
    This was wrong! It was so wrong!
Nothing in his medical career could have prepared him for this.
What sort of infection gotten from a bite could kill a young boy in
less than a week?
    In spite of the legion of tests
carried out on Chike’s blood work, the labs had not been able to
ascertain whether the infection was viral or bacterial. He had
nothing to go on. Now because of his lack of information, a young
boy was dead.
    He almost passed out in shock when
the nurse on duty informed him when he came in for work. Fear stole
into his heart when the bite wound beneath his elbow started to
itch.
    It stopped smarting two hours after
he got home last night. Cleaning it with spirits and pouring a bit
of iodine on it had eased the stinging. The itching started at five
in the morning.
    Still sleepy he scratched it quite
badly, opening up the wound again. The pain roused him fast. The
itching eased somewhat when he gave it another dressing. That
respite lasted only an hour. Now it was back in full force and
becoming quite unbearable with every moment that passed.
    Turning back to the death
certificate in his hand, he tried to get his mind to focus. At his
request, Chike’s medical details, tests and blood work was
forwarded to the teaching hospital in the next state. Maybe they
could get a sense of what kind of infection they were dealing with.
It would have been nice to get a sample of Eze’s blood but after
Chike’s weird symptoms started, none of the hospital staff was
willing to go to the police station to get a sample of Eze’s blood.
A sharp knock on the door startled him so much that he almost fell
off his seat.
    “YES!!” He yelled thoroughly
incensed. “Come in!!”
    The door opened violently and
Damilola the night nurse rushed in looking frightened and extremely
flustered.
    “Sorry to disturb you Doctor, but we
cannot find Chike Chidozie’s body.”
    “WHAT???!!!” He roared.
    “The guys at the mortuary said they
deposited his body around one am this morning and sealed him in.
But when his parents came to claim him to prep his body for burial
it had vanished.”
    Swallowing, Makinde leaped off his
chair and hurried out of