VE Virus

An elderly man was sitting on a bench staring into the forest. The park was busy that morning and he drew a lot of stares from passers by. Joggers, dogwalkers, small families - they were all unsettled, but nobody stopped to do anything. The man sat with a blank look on his face for hours.

Finally, as the afternoon light was just beginning to fade, a runner who had seen him on her walk earlier in the day stopped to check on him.

"Hey there, mister. You ok?"

He lit up immediately and looked up at her, confused. "Yes, I think? I don't..." As quickly as it came, the light left his eyes and his face went slack.

She was worried. The man needed medical attention. "Ok, just stay with me, sir. I'm calling an ambulance."

He became animated again. "Oh, there's no need for that, young lady. I feel fine, really." He felt guilty for bothering her. "I really don't want to be any trouble."

She was still very concerned. "Do you know where you live? Do you need me to help you home?"

"Oh, yes, I just live a few blocks from here. I can get there myself." He looked around, noticing for the first time how dark it had gotten. "How long was I sitting here?"

"Alright, why don't you walk back with me and we can see how you feel when we get there?" After a few more weak protests he acquiesced and they were on their way.

She surreptitiously examined him while they walked and talked, asking him questions to check his mental clarity while trying to pass it off as small talk. He seemed like he was of sound mind, and despite being a little arthritic he was moving fine. She still intended to call an ambulance for him, but these were good signs.

As they approached his door, the old man asked her once again to leave him. "I'm fine, I'm fine. You know, senior brain." He tried to pass it off with a laugh. Once they got to the door, though, that same alarming slackness came over him. She made up her mind then to call 911.

As she dialed and held the number up to her ear, an odd sensation came over her. Her eyes came unfocused a little bit, and her breathing slowed. She tried to pull the phone away from her ear, but the effort seemed impossible. She couldn't quite...

"911, what's your emergency?"

She snapped back to reality. What was that? "Uh, I've found an old man in a park near my house and he seems very confused. I think he may be having a stroke."

"Ok, what is your location?" She spotted the address on his mailbox and told them. "Is he currently breathing and responsive?"

She looked back over to him. "He's breathing. He's sort of responsive, it comes and goes. Right now he's just sort of standing there. Should I do something?"

The voice replied. "No, ma'am. We're dispatching an ambulance who'll be there shortly."

As the voice finished speaking, the jogger felt her mind glaze over again. The world seemed to slow, then stop. She stared at the mailbox and sagged forward very slightly. Her eyes saw the box, her ears heard the passing cars, and her nose smelled the crisp early fall air. Her brain responded to none of it.

The world would never be the same.