Vice Versa

ANGIE: The setting sun made the forget-me-knots look as if they were glowing. The sun seeped down until hidden behind the horizon. I walked inside to turn the television on and switched to the news. The bottom headline read “CAUTION: New disease found in flies causes a  ‘zombie’ like state. Spreads through bodily fluids. Wash your hands often, do not touch any part of the face.”

I pause and rewound the television. After rereading what must have been ten times, the phone rang. It was my friend, Caroline. 

“What is going on?” I asked her as I picked up the phone. 

“That’s what I was calling you about. Yesterday I found a moldy bagel behind my couch and a ton of flies were on it. I don't know what to do. I’m kind of freaking out and don't know what to do with Buddy.” Buddy is Caroline’s Blue Heeler. We both live alone, but Buddy is friends with my dog, Belle.

She went to start another sentence, but I cut her off. “I can take care of him.”

“Thank you so much, Angie, I’ll take him over in a bit.”

BUDDY: With my person talking frantically on the phone again, I trotted over to her. In my presence, I felt her calm down. 

Yesterday, my person threw out a moldy bagel. Its aromas were overwhelming, so I walked over and sniffed at the bottom of the trash can. I drew in a deep breath and analyzed the smell. This one smelled funny, almost sick. I quickly exhaled to remove the scent from my nose before trotting back over to my person. She had the same smell as the bagel. I nudged her in the stomach like I did every time she was sick. Usually when I did this, she didn’t react. This time, she seemed panicked. 

Still frantically talking on the phone, my person started out to the truck. She tapped her leg to say, ‘come.’ I followed behind her to the truck. Before getting in, I relieved myself on the forget-me-knot. This was a big no no, but I did it to distract my person from the phone in hopes she would calm down. This didn’t work. She didn’t even notice. I hopped in the passenger's seat, and we started down the long driveway. 

Soon, I realized where we were going. We were going to Belle’s house. I wagged my tail and stuck my head fully out the window. The truck came to an abrupt stop, and we were at her house. My person got out of the truck and let me out. Belle’s person stood at the door with Belle at her side. I ran up to her, and we greeted each other. I looked back, and my person left. She left without me and without saying bye. The door closed before I could chase after the truck.

ANGIE: “Buddy, it’s okay. You’re going to have to stay with me for a bit.” Buddy looked at the door, puzzled. I could hear a little whine escape from his throat. Belle bounced over to him and gave him a lick on the ear. Buddy’s head whipped around and chased after her. I let them both out the back door to play. Caroline said she had to go to the hospital, and she would call me when she got there. She said Buddy nudged her to say she was sick. 

About an hour later, the phone rang again. It was Caroline. “Yes?” I answered.

“They put me in quarantine and asked if they could study me.”

“Well, what did you say?”

“Since it's fairly new, I said yes.”

“Well, I hope for the best! I’ll let you rest, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks again for taking care of Buddy. Bye.”

I hung up and turned the news back on. The reporter stood in front of the hospital, interviewing a few of the doctors. They showed Caroline in an almost dazed state. I had to turn it off. After seeing her like that, I went to the store to take my mind off this new disease. I left Buddy at home and put Belle’s vest on.

She is a service dog for my anxiety. Since there was a new “outbreak,” I didn’t want to have a panic attack in the store. 

 The store wasn’t that far away, so I walked. Every once in a while, I would read the news on my phone. One update read “UPDATE: Doctors have discovered that infected people have the urge to infect others. Stay away from people that are in a dazed or in a ‘zombie’  like state. Could movies have predicted the apocalypse?’

BELLE: The vest is on! I get to work. I started wagging my tail. Just in case my person didn’t know that I was excited. We started down the street to the store. I happily trotted next to my person while she walked. I found a nice smelling tree and squatted down next to it. 

We finished walking and went into the store. Some people in the store smelled different from usual. I tried to avoid them as much as possible and make my person go around them a little more than usual, too. My person filled her cart, and we left. 

As we were walking home, I smelled a familiar person. She smelled different this time and acted funny. I didn’t want my person to get any closer to her, so I backed up. My person didn’t want to say hi either, so she backed up with me. My person’s friend didn’t get what we were doing and came closer. I didn’t like her scaring my person. I started barking. Usually when I do this, people stop or back up. She kept coming, so I jumped up and bit her arm. After a good shake, I let go and went back to my person's side. Her friend landed on her knees before rising again. 

ANGIE: “Robby?” I asked. 

Surprised, she asked, “Wh-what happened?” She looks at her arm, then at Belle.

Gawking at her, I explain to her what happened. As if she had nothing better to say, she said, “So, I had the disease and when Belle bit me, it 'fixed' it?” 

I slowly nodded before asking, “Why don't you follow me home, and we can go to the hospital to see what happened?” 

Still a bit confused, she nodded, and we started back to my house. I rinsed her arm with cool soapy water, and she winced if I brushed over one of the few teeth marks. I wrapped gauze over the wound, and we headed to the hospital to see if this was coincidence or a cure. For now, Caroline can not return home, but it could be a cure for her and millions of others.