The Silent Spread: The Blood Connection

Victor flipped through his notebook as Emily knocked on the door of Apartment 3412. A moment later, the door creaked open revealing a red-haired woman in her late 40s. She had sharp eyes, deep lines around her mouth and the unmistakable scent of cigarettes and cat litter filled the air around her. She didn’t unlatch the chain.

"Mrs. Thompson?" Emily asked, keeping her tone gentle.

The woman nodded eyeing them warily "Y’all don’t look like cops. What do y’all want?”

Victor cleared his throat and pulled out his ID. “I’m Dr. Victor Salerno and this is Dr. Emily Hayes. We’re working with public health services on your daughter’s case."

Mrs. Thompson’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Case? My daughter’s missin', and now y’all people come knockin’? Why? Ain't no one done a damn thing to help!"

"We know," Emily said quickly. "We’re trying to find her. But we need your help."

There was a long pause. Then, with a sigh, Mrs. Thompson unlatched the door and stepped aside. “Well, hell. Ain’t like I got much else to do.”

The apartment was cluttered but homey—except for the overwhelming presence of cats. Scratching posts, food bowls, and litter boxes were everywhere. A long-haired Persian perched on the arm of a chair, its eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Just as they stepped inside, a sharp hissing sound came from the kitchen.

"Hold on," Mrs. Thompson muttered, rushing in.

A tea kettle shrieked on the stove. She grabbed a dish towel, pulled it off the heat, and poured the steaming water into a chipped mug. One of the cats leaped onto the counter, swishing its tail dangerously close to the burner.

"You folks want coffee?" she asked.

Victor shook his head. “We’re fine, ma’am—”

"Now, now, I insist," she interrupted, already pouring two more cups. "Ain't proper to have guests and not offer somethin’."

Emily sighed but accepted the cup out of politeness. The bitter aroma filled the space as Mrs. Thompson lowered herself into an armchair, a plump tabby cat settling on her lap.

“When did your daughter disappear?” Victor asked.

Mrs. Thompson sighed. "A week ago. She just… left. No note, no nothin’. First, I thought she was runnin’ away. But Cassie..." Her voice wavered for a moment before she swallowed and shook her head. "...Cassie ain't the type to just up and leave like that."

“Okay.” Victor exchanged a glance with Emily. "Did you notice any changes in her behavior before she disappeared?"

Mrs. Thompson scoffed. “Lord, where do I start? Girl stopped eatin'. Kept them curtains shut all the damn time. And the worst part…" She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "…said she hated my cats.”

Emily frowned. “She never mentioned that before?”

Mrs. Thompson let out a sharp laugh. "Hell no. Girl’s been livin' with my cats her whole life, never complained once. But all of a sudden, she says she can't stand 'em? I knew right then somethin’ wasn’t right." 

She scratched the tabby behind the ears. "Animals know things, you know. Smell things we don’t. This one here…he’d just sit outside her door, starin'. Wouldn’t go in no more.”

Emily tightened her grip on her pen. "Did she do anything else? Anything unusual?"

Mrs. Thompson nodded. "She was pacin' a lot. Back and forth in her room for hours. I walked in one night, and she was just standin' there… in the dark… starin’ at the TV. Thing wasn’t even turned on.”

Victor wrote that down, then asked carefully, “What about school? Any friends? Anything before she left?”

Mrs. Thompson set the cat down and crossed her arms. “ Don’ know anything about her friends? Well, she did mention somethin’ about a blood drive at her school.”

Victor’s brow furrowed. “A blood drive?”

"Yeah, you know, where they get folks to donate blood and such. School event. Cassie even convinced me to donate, too."

Emily leaned forward. "Do you remember which organization ran it?"

Mrs. Thompson stood up and shuffled to her bedroom. A moment later, she returned with a stack of papers and handed them a pamphlet.

"Here. Some fancy group called ‘New Dawn Blood Initiative.’ Cassie said they paid the school a whole sum to host the event.”

Emily took the pamphlet and exchanged a glance with Victor.

“Thank you, Mrs. Thompson. We’ll do everything in our power to help find Cassie.”

                                                          *****

St. Mary’s Hospital – Blood Sample Investigation

After a few calls, Victor and Emily arrived at St. Mary’s Hospital, where New Dawn Blood Initiative had processed the donations. As they approached the entrance to the restricted lab section, a security guard raised a hand.

"I’m sorry, this area is off-limits without authorization."

Victor pulled out his credentials, flashing the government clearance badge. The guard studied it, then sighed. "Fine. You’ll want to speak to Dr. Adrian Keller. He’s the one handling external inquiries."

Inside the lab, Dr. Keller, was bent over a microscope. His fingers tapped anxiously against the counter as he reviewed samples. He barely glanced up as they approached.

“Dr. Keller,” Victor called out.

Keller sighed, rubbing his temples. “You guys again? What is it now?”

Emily stepped forward. "We need to access the blood drive samples from New Dawn Blood Initiative. Specifically, one belonging to Cassie Thompson."

Keller hesitated. "New Dawn? Never heard of them."

Victor narrowed his eyes. "But they processed donations here, right?"

Keller frowned, then shuffled through a filing cabinet. After a moment, he pulled out a folder and flipped it open. His expression darkened. "O—okay… Here it is. Sample No. 220, Cassie Thompson. But its not from the New Dawn whatever thing."

He led them to the blood storage fridge, inputting a passcode. Cold mist curled out as the door opened, revealing racks of neatly labeled vials. He carefully extracted Cassie’s sample and placed it on the lab table.

Inside the sterile testing room, Keller placed the sample under the microscope while Emily prepared a more detailed analysis. The hum of machines filled the space as Victor started another test.

Then Keller stiffened.

"Dr. Emily," he murmured, voice tight.

She looked up. "What is it?"

Keller adjusted the focus and gestured for her to look. Emily peered in—and froze.

The blood wasn’t normal. The cells clustered together unnaturally, as if they were alive. They moved—not floating aimlessly, but shifting, changing, spreading. The plasma was darker than normal, not red but dark maroon colour.

Victor checked the results on his screen. His face paled.

"Jesus Christ! The blood is the infection."

Emily’s breath caught. "That’s how it's spreading. Through the donations."

Keller collapsed into a chair, running a hand through his hair. "This is bad. Really bad. You don't understand—these samples have already been distributed to other hospitals."

Victor’s stomach twisted. "Wait… you’re saying no one caught this in the initial screenings? How is that possible?"

Keller swallowed hard. "Because it doesn’t show up as contaminated. It didn’t when I first looked at it. I don’t know….it’s like it hides until the infection completely destabilizes the brain. By then it’s too late to stop it.”

Emily’s hands clenched into fists. "That means we won’t know who is infected and who is not until the symptoms start to show.”

“Yeah,” Victor said picking up another sample from the fridge. “That means there are already infected patients…everywhere.”