This is a pretty haunting chapter. I feel like the characters in this story will be really complex and perhaps even self-contradictory? I don't really know, but that's pretty exciting. :)
@Aretice N. Treader, thank you! You are so perceptive, it astounds me. And yes the belief system is very important to the main character of the book. And the consequences of the plague do eventually effect the rest of the book in a big way. I hope this first draft lives up to your expectations!