ALPHA WAVE

Chapeter1: Bless your heart.

~24th August 2022~

I swear I've been standing here longer than a cow takes to give birth and this clerk is more focused on his football game than me! Finally, I clear my throat— twice— and he glances up, giving me a look like I'm interrupting his game-winning touchdown.

"I'm here for my quarterly PIT, you know, that thing people come here for?" He looked like I asked for his firstborn child.

He scans his employee card and types into his computer. When the biometric scanner beeps, I place my thumb on it to be pricked. When it turns green, I remove my thumb and the scanner automatically sanitizes itself. After ten seconds the printer prints out my result.

"Thanks for the excellent customer service," I say as I grab my results and walk out of the store. They hire anyone these days.

As I was getting into my car, my phone rang, and to my dismay, it was my aunt calling for the fifth time today. With a heavy sigh, I answered and braced myself for whatever conspiracy theory she had cooked up this time.

"Yes, Aunt Grace?" I said, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice.

"We need to talk, and it's serious," she said urgently.

Every week it's something serious. "Can't we talk about it later? I'm just about to head home," I replied, hoping to get off the phone quickly.

"But this is important, Bell. It's about...you know who," she said in a hushed voice. "I can't say their name on the phone. You never know who might be listenin'."

I rolled my eyes, feeling my patience wearing thin. "Aunt Grace, I don't have time for this. I have my own life to worry about, and I don't need your conspiracy theories adding to my stress." I have been working doubles all week because we are short-staffed at the restaurant. And I really can't handle crazy time right now.

"You don't have to get all riled up like a wet hen. I'm just tryin' to look out for you, darlin'. You know I wouldn't steer you wrong. But mark my words, the chickens will come home to roost one of these days. You can't bury your head in the sand forever," she warned.

I couldn't take it anymore. "Enough, Aunt Grace! I'm sick of hearing the same nonsense from you every day. I'm done listening to your crazy stories. If you can't respect my opinions, then we have nothing to talk about," I snap.

There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end of the line, and I hung up before she could say anything else. I forgot how bullheaded she could be about this whole thing. I knew I was harsh, but I couldn't let her continue to drag me down with her paranoid delusions. I love my aunt dearly. She's been my rock ever since my parents passed. Then the outbreak happened and she just up and snapped like a twig. She became increasingly paranoid and would spin the wildest tales you could imagine. I thought it was just a phase, like her alien fixation. She was sure as a possum in a persimmon tree that aliens were out there. So sure, that she made fancy tin foil hats to keep them from reading her thoughts. So, when she started ranting about how Phoenix Corp the Saviours — the very people that were hailed as our heroes during the outbreak— were involved in some kind of shady business, I waited. And waited. And waited... Eventually, it only got worse. Her paranoia grew faster than a rabbit on a carrot farm. She was always looking over her shoulder and seeing danger around every corner, like a hawk on the hunt. It was like she couldn't trust anyone or anything, and her fears just kept multiplying.

The Saviours were our lifeline during the dark days of the lockdown. They were like a lighthouse in a storm, guiding us to safety when we didn't know which end was up. I'll never forget the fear and uncertainty that gripped us all as that disease spread like wildfire. People I have known all my life acting like wild animals and attacking each other. But the Saviours rose to the challenge like a phoenix from the ashes.