“Want to check the news?” Julia asked. “Maybe one of the stations knows what’s happening.”
“I doubt it...” Kara shrugged as she picked up a nearby remote and turned on the television.
She had her own theory, but decided not to share it just yet. Julia wasn’t at the mall when the space pod landed and was content to believe the first cover-up story she heard. Kara wasn’t a fan of the news. Nine times out of ten it was just a political circle jerk. But given the severity of the situation, maybe they would be more willing to disclose the truth.
The screen blinked to life. As Julia had guessed, the topic of changing people was all over the news. They flipped through stations until they landed on their local news. A young anchor was discussing the changes. Apparently they were treating it like a contagious epidemic, warning people to cancel any travel plans and stay home. Kara smirked, knowing that the warning had come far too late. The news anchor continued to read his cue cards; emphasizing that, regardless of the manifestations, the changes had been harmless so far. Kara guessed that the last line was just an attempt to keep people from panicking.
“Sounds about right...” Julia said, finally managing to clip her bra. “That’s been all over the news for the past few days. Shame this is what came after the sudden cure...”
“Sudden cure?” Kara asked.
“That’s what they were calling it.” Julia explained. “It started last Friday. That’s when sick people got healthy all of a sudden.”
They flipped to another channel to see two TV personalities arguing about the phenomenon.
“Listen, these changes haven’t hurt anyone... In fact, most pe...” A man started.
“NO YOU LISTEN!” A woman screamed. “I don’t care how ‘harmless’ you think this is! How do I explain this to my kids? ‘Mom, why did our teacher grow a thing from his forehead?’ It’s a curse!”
“Just.. Be an adult about it. Explain that some people are changing.” He replied. “Nobody knows the reason this is happening yet, so we just need to stay civil and be reasonable...”
“Be reasonable? I am being reasonable! Obviously god is angry with us. People have turned their back on him!”
“Oh, here we go...” Kara laughed. “See. This is why I don’t watch this crap...”
“Alright smarty-two-puss” Julia snickered. “What’s your theory?...”