Lynda woke up to the silent hum of the machine. She felt the world spin, her body was feverish and she barely had any energy to move.

She was in the hospital.

But this wasn’t the room she remembered being admitted to.

Curiosity got the better of her, she fought against the fatigue to sit up.

It was a private room with a design comparable to that of a high class hotel. There were artificial plants on the table, a sofa to the side, a rare glass monitor display in front and even beautiful double curtains.

Between the slits of the fabric, Lynda was able to make out the time.

Night.

Her arm wasn’t hooked up on an IV, which was a little surprising as it didn’t match the typical image of hospitals she knew about from the movies.

She turned to the table and picked up her glasses.

[Lynda! Are you okay? Do you need the nurse?]

Cuue, Lynda’s AI spun in circles.

“No.”

Lynda found surprising how raspy her tone of voice was.

[I’ve notified your parents that you’ve woken up. How do you feel? Do you feel pain anywhere?]

“I feel.. feverish, tired. My joints hurt, it’s like a bad fever.”

[Are there any signs of abnormal bruising around your body? Could you do a quick check? Your platelet count has gone down since your last blood test.]

Lynda did as told, nothing unusual was noted about her skin except that.. she had become fairer.

“Cuue.. I’m I.. really infect with NtBM?”

[Yes.]

Lynda bit her lips.

[Avoid biting your lips or applying sharp pressure. I’m afraid the wounds won't heal.]

Lynda loosened her mouth.

The time was 2 am in the morning.

What would happen to her now?

She didn’t know.

Who would’ve thought that his prophecy would come through.

That person– Avner.

How did he know? He could read the future?

What if instead of reading the future, he could curse people?

Scary.

She didn’t know what would happen to her from this point onwards.

NtBM was an incurable disease. There were only symptomatic treatment methods available for it and the mortality rate was incredibly high.

Lynda was only 16.

She still had so much life left to live.

She couldn’t die here. Not yet. She wouldn’t allow that.

“Cuue.. find me all the information you can about NtBM and sort them in order of relevance for patients who had just acquired the disease.”

[Yes Lynda. Processing..]

===

“The only possibility I can attribute it to is the mosquito you mentioned. It’s not been publicly announced, yet, but research papers have already been going around with data that proves the correlation. Mosquito vectors are one of the ways this disease spreads.”

“How could a mosquito survive in a country like Alska? Lynda, are you sure that’s what happened?”

“I can’t think of anything else. That’s the only thing I suspect. I didn’t get bitten by anyone.”

“There are some studies that found that mosquitoes that were found to have NtBM are more resilient to temperature. Otherwise, it may have been some other bug which was mistaken for a mosquito.”

“How about a cure? Isn’t there anything like that?”

“I’m very sorry Mr Sparks. It hasn’t been developed. All we can provide as healthcare professionals is treatment to deal with the symptoms. Don’t be overly anxious. Your daughter can still live a normal life. There are just some adjustments she would need to make in her lifestyle.”

Lynda would be under regular monitoring for the next 2 months. This will serve as a guide on how frequent Lynda would need to take blood.

So for the remainder of the year, she stayed in the hospital.

And it was a lonely stay.

[“Are you online?”]

[“What is it?”]

Avner’s reply was days later than expected. Even so, Lynda found an unusual sense of excitement when she received it.

[“Took you long enough.”]

[“Sorry. So, how are you feeling?”]

[“I’m feeling great. What’s scary is how my personality has changed a little. Also, I have more strength. Must be because of the nanovirus inside me giving me the extra boost.”]

[“Good to hear.”]

Lynda was lying. She felt rather bitter.

[“I’m going to be under hospital care for the rest of the month. When will the next feeding happen mister clairvoyance?”]

[“Two months.”]

As expected. This person knows his stuff.

[“See you next year then.”]

[“Great.”]

[“Avner, are you interested in becoming my blood recipient?”]

“Please..”

If he knew so much about the future, he should be able to accept it right?

These were Lynda’s thoughts.

But he never replied.

Though they didn’t express it explicitly, Lynda could tell that her parents were afraid of her. The frequency of their visits decreased, so did the amount of time they stayed with her.

Same could be said for her friends. They asked about her situation during the initial few days, but as soon as they learnt of it, they stopped texting. In fact, more people came to confirm the fact that she had NtBM than those genuinely concerned about her feelings.

“Nurse Shelly.. I’m I going insane?”

Lynda looked at the medication she had to swallow.

Cuue had told her that the medication was for psychiatric patients.

“No you aren’t. Taking medication doesn’t mean you're going insane dear. Patients born with learning disabilities have to take medications like these each day, but that doesn’t mean they’re insane are they?”

“But these are.. I am..”

“You’ll be alright, Lynda. You just have to get used to it. Just a few days ago there was a patient with NtBM who was discharged.”

“The virus affects the brain, right? What happens if I forget to take the medication? Will I go insane then?”

“It won’t reach that degree. Although, you might experience some drastic mood swings.”

Studies have shown that people with NtBM are more violent. However, that doesn't mean that their logical deduction has become impaired.

Lynda took the medication.

Hard pills she had to swallow.

And she had to do it every day from now on.

Just how much did her treatment cost?