Eliot hung up the phone and tried to imagine Mrs. Johnson with three arms. It was crazy, but not any crazier than every station broadcasting CDC warnings. After a moment, his phone buzzed with a new text from Jeff.
He opened it, revealing a picture of Mrs. Johnson. As promised, she had three arms. The usual two and an extra one sticking out of her right armpit. It was quite convincing but with enough time, anyone could have faked it. He was in the process of typing a response when the phone buzzed with a second message. It was a closer view at a different angle. She was also wearing a different shirt which had been torn by the extra arm. He guessed that it must have been taken shortly after the incident.
His brother wasn’t that good with Photoshop, so he had to suspend his suspicions. If the news was to be believed, this was that ‘sudden growth’ they were warning people about. If whatever caused it was contagious, how long would it be before the rest of his family started to change? Jeff had apparently been ‘cured’, so whatever it was, he must have already had it.
Just then, the looping television report played an alert tone--indicating that they had something new to share. Eliot waited for the tone to stop before turning up the volume.
“Due to the rapid spread of the unknown contagion, a quarantine is now in effect around the following counties...”
Eliot watched the names scroll by. His own county along with nearly every county along the border had been affected.
“It is still unclear what is causing the rapid mutations. While there doesn’t appear to be any threat to life, the CDC is urging people to stay in their homes until they know more.”
A tone sounded and the message started again...