Peppermint Virus

She had just been walking to her last class of the day, strolling down the halls of her high school with her head held high, when she felt it.

Waves of nausea washed over Wisconsin in that moment. She braked to a halt, right in the middle of a crowded passing period. She could feel bile churning in her gut and rising in the back of her mouth.

And then, without warning, an excruciating pain exploded from her chest.

It pierced through her heart like a stab wound before spreading out. The sensation rushed throughout her whole body, rippling through her dark fur and burning every fiber of her being. As she collapsed to the floor in a strangled cry, with tears stinging in her eyes, she could hear muffled shouts clamoring all around her.

Everything was so dim.

Everything was so cold.

Everything was so numb.

The pain had been so powerful that it was starting to overwhelm all her senses, until she couldn’t feel anything at all.

Numb.

Numb.

Numb.

Numb numb numb numb numbnumbnumbNUMBNUMBNUMB—

And then the pain peaked through once more, jolting her entire body in an electrical frenzy.

An ear-splitting screech was wrung out from her vocals, grating her throat as more pain tackled her arms, her legs, her face. Much to her horror, multiple pairs of pink eyes began dotting her now white limbs. They duplicated in numbers, scattering like a fucking parasite.

Before she could break her voice, she felt several sets of furry hands grabbing at her, hoisting her onto a hospital stretcher.

All she could remember after that was feeling numb once more.

~*~*~

Nevada had been brewing a cup of matcha green tea when she received a phone call.

After picking up to an unknown number, she was ready to tell off whoever was ringing, since she had just closed up business at the clinic anyway, when she heard something that made her drop everything.

The mug of hot tea shattered to the floor, showering the tiles in porcelain smithereens as Nevada ran out.

~*~*~

Her niece was in danger.

With her tail lagging behind her, Nevada rushed to the hospital as fast as she could, but by the time she got there, all of the seats in the waiting room were occupied and she had to fight her way through the front desk.

“Where is Wisconsin State being held?!” she demanded, right after she had kicked some Lambda guy out of the line. “I’m her aunt! I need to see if she’s okay!”

It seemed like there was an epidemic going rabid, based off how crowded the place was.

A worn-out Mu nurse by the name of Chizue tried to escort Nevada back in the line, but she wasn’t having any of that.

“I’m her family!” she shouted, more urgent this time. She could feel tears threatening to blur her vision, sliding hot down her purple cheeks. “I need to know if she’s okay!”

“Everyone that’s contracted the virus is under lockdown!” Chizue tried to warn. Though she was attempting a stern attitude, the dark bags underneath her eyes didn’t help. “Please remain calm!”

Suddenly, an angry scream erupted from an unruly Gamma Floss, followed by the loud sound of a crash from a chair being thrown across the room.

As soon as that had happened, all chaos let loose within the lobby. More chairs started being thrown, which only resulted in even more angry people.

With a high squeal, Chizue frantically tried to call for security. Some of her hands fumbled around for a red button to press.

Just then, a swift chopping noise cut through the air.

Nevada had to casually duck out of the way when someone chucked a shoe in her general direction, only to let it strike Chizue square in the face.

Even while avoiding the mayhem, her thoughts still lingered on the well-being of her niece.

She hoped Wisconsin would be okay.