Tens of thousands have died so far, with hundreds of thousands more infected. But the bizarre behavior of some patients makes this pandemic even more terrifying… assuming it can’t be explained away as a conspiracy theory.
10. The “Starbucks Cough”
Some people wear their heart on their sleeve; others put it in plain view where everyone else can see it-in public restrooms, for example. One such person was diagnosed with the covy-19 virus and claimed that he contracted it from his local Starbucks restroom-where he had been waiting 30 minutes to use the facilities after seeing only two customers come and go (and one urinating). He didn’t deny using the facility himself; however, he maintained that someone coughed right into his face as he was waiting for his turn.
9. Coughing Couples
Another theory about the spread of covy-19 has to do with individuals being coughed on by someone who is sick, or even touching objects that have been touched by someone else who is sick. One couple-with no other known mode of exposure-caught the virus while holding hands in bed late at night. Two days later, both were nauseous and had begun coughing up blood. The next morning, their neighbors arrived to find them both dead in their living room after having coughed themselves into oblivion. While not many people are likely to buy this explanation, investigators are still unable to provide any other avenue of exposure.
8. Jigsaw the Covy Virus
In a strange case of life imitating art, one man has become convinced that covy-19 was engineered by drug companies in an effort to boost profits-and he’s willing to tell just about everyone in earshot that this is exactly what happened. His neighbors also report him talking to himself, whispering “Jigsaw” over and over again… but when they ask him if he knows where Jigsaw might be, he claims not to know who they’re talking about.
7. The Algae Factory
Another theory suggests that covy-19 began in an algae production facility near São Paulo, Brazil; however, this plant uses only renewable sources for growth, making it a very unlikely starting point. Experts have also dismissed the idea that a mutated version of covy-13, which has been infecting an algae-depleted reef near Hawaii for decades, could be responsible for triggering covy-19; however, they agree that samples of this virus would make excellent starting points for development into biological weapons.
6. The “Phantom Patient” Who Never Was
One nurse reported stumbling across an unusual patient who was coughing up blood and had the classic symptoms of covy-19; however, when she called to report this person’s case, she discovered that there were no records indicating anyone had ever been admitted with anything like it. She tried to relocate this person but was unable to do so… after hours of searching the hospital, giving up only when there were no more rooms to examine.
5. The Fictional Virus
People have been seeing covy-19 in the news and in graphic novels for years now; however, most of these cases can be dismissed as either coincidence or simple hoaxes. One man unfortunately could not bring himself to do so after he started suffering from what appeared to be early symptoms. He immediately called his local police station to report that someone had written an account of his dangerous symptomology on a bathroom wall at work, then wiped it off before anyone else saw it… which is why he was certain somebody must have read it and contracted the virus themselves. Since he did not know anybody would want him dead enough to go to such an extreme, he reasoned that the only logical explanation was a bio-terror plot.
4. The Mysterious Peanut Butter
One woman began noticing strange things about her peanut butter jar after it became empty enough for her to reach inside and scrape at its contents with a knife… namely, that there seemed to be some kind of white powder mixed in with it. Worried, she called the FDA and learned that this powder is used as a stabilizing agent when there isn’t enough oil present in the product; however, no one from their office had been anywhere near her house since it had been purchased at a local supermarket. When she told them what she’d found inside the jar, they immediately dispatched test results showing that nothing hazardous had been mixed into the peanut butter. It was then sent back to her, safe for consumption.
3. The Mysterious Spikes in the Elevator
A woman who had recently contracted covy-19 was slowly losing her mind as symptoms worsened; she began obsessively checking doors, windows, and even pictures on the wall to ensure they were secure enough before moving onto other rooms throughout her home. One day, she noticed something strange about an elevator near one of her windows… there seemed to be what looked like nails protruding from it slightly through its closed door, yet no one else saw anything unusual when she asked them to examine them further. She summoned maintenance but received no response until three days later when a technician arrived to inspect the elevator. She was shocked when he told her there were no spikes or anything of the sort in that elevator. He then checked all other elevators on the floor, confirming for this woman that she hadn’t imagined it… but still found nothing strange about them at all.
2. The Phantom Power Outage
During a particularly nasty bout of covy-19, one man began to see phantom images during power outages caused by delayed maintenance alerts across town; he believed these appearances were omens from above and would rush outside every time they happened to gaze up at the sky. One night, he actually saw what looked like a missile cruising through the clouds toward a specific point downtown and came to believe that its payload was going to wipe out his entire neighborhood. He and a few of his friends hopped into their cars and began following it, thinking they could stop the disaster if they caught up to its carrier in time; however, before they had gone very far, the missile disappeared from sight. When they finally reached downtown, there was no sign that any such attack had taken place earlier that evening.
1. The Abandoned House
Most people who suffer from covy-19 symptoms like paranoia or delusions will tend to withdraw into seclusion while waiting for the worst of it to pass… but some aren’t able to return at all once symptoms begin growing worse than usual. One woman ended up staying away from her home and most of her family for more than a year after she’d felt like there were strangers inside her house who might hurt her if she tried to enter. One day, she forced herself to journey back there, fearing that it might otherwise be too late to retrieve anything of value from the structure before it had to be torn down for being a public hazard. Her family was shocked by this sudden change in behavior and couldn’t understand why the woman was so certain that people had been moving freely throughout her house while she was away; they didn’t see or hear anyone else near the property as they all entered together, but only the woman seemed concerned about their presence at all…
Background information/Chronology: This is part of an ongoing series that started with Matt. Corvo-19 pandemic has been a time of great uncertainty. People have been stuck in their homes, isolated from their loved ones, unsure when things will get back to normal.