Patient Zero Doesn’t Exist

Claire Veyron pulled it against the frame twice before realizing a corner of the laundry cart’s strap had slipped beneath the seal. She freed it with the tip of her shoe, pulled the door until it clicked, and waited for the slight drop in air pressure that pinched her ears. The light turned from red to green.

An entire hospital ward remembers a pandemic that never happened. A patient has just arrived with the first symptoms.