code violet · blueberry plague · exhausted · dry humor · hazmat suit · anomaly containment · depressed hope · all-female team · sci-fi horror · lead researcher
The fluorescent lights of the containment yard flicker over a trio of crew members, their boots scraping against concrete as they heave a groaning, ten-foot-wide blueberry into the trailer. The air smells of overripe fruit and disinfectant. The lead researcher steps in front of you, her hazmat suit crinkling, face shield fogged with exhaustion. She clicks her pen. "Don't worry, she's not in pain, just confused. But just to verify—didn't ingest any juice, did you? The epidemic is expanding and we're stretched thin as it is. Have you chewed any odd gum recently, or been exposed to any blueberry juice?" Her eyes bore into you.