Epidemic

On June 14, 2005 the world faced a deadly catastrophe. A small virus becomes a global epidemic by infecting 2.5 million people on the Eastern Hemisphere. The infected population died the following day. By July 2nd, 72 per cent of North America has become infected.

During the increasing growth of viral outbreaks, leaders from every nation no matter of their nationality, all banded together at the United Nations. Together there, they stated to the dying world that they would put aside their differences and fight a more deadly foe. However, as the virus spread throughout, the United Nations crumbled. On June 25, a representative from a third world country became ill. He complained about pains throughout his body, his skin was discolored a brownish purple. He informed the leaders that it was just a minor flu. Everyone else thought differently. With one leader infected, any one could be next, since the given screening of disease had failed.

Within minutes CDC (Central Disease Center) members wearing yellow rubber-like protection suits had swarmed the meeting hall. The following day, the CDC had found the case of the contamination: glasses of water. Each of the fifty or so glasses of water contained the toxin. Each of the world leaders had at least one glass of water that morning, as the air conditioning system was shut down due to severe malfunctions the night before. That was the last time any of the world leaders would see one another.

Joseph Alexander a MD at the East General hospital in Toronto recalled the day when reports from around the US that the President and his cabinet of chiefs were seen traveling to a securely guarded bunker hidden deep in the mountainside in Nevada. Secure in his shelter that was originally built for the Cold War. The Prime Minister of Canada came and went as fast as the wind. Rumors had it that he had been seen in a morgue in Quebec. His body was later destroyed.

Alexander knew that the world had seen this case of disease outbreak before, in smaller cases. He rubbed his scruffy chin and yawned. Before the massive outbreak, North America had seen various cases of detection. But no one seemed to have noticed. Or did they? There were cases of increased homicides in which the victims were executed by headshots or decapitation. Missing persons mostly in wilderness or uninhabited areas. Even search team members were later reported as missing. Cases of “violent insanity” in which the subject attacked family and friends without the use of weapons. Reports were made indicating that the attacker bit or tried to bite his victims. Victims who were bitten died mysteriously days later. Riots and other civil disturbances broke out without the help from provocation or logical causes. “Mass hysteria” rose to a high per cent due to New Cases of disease-based deaths in which the cause was undetermined or highly suspect.

Following the week of initial outbreaks, a passenger plane carrying 130 passengers fell out of the sky just after take off from Las Angeles International Airport (LAX). The plane crashed into a freeway at rush hour, 4:35 p.m. in the afternoon. Over two hundred people were injured and the death toll ran up to the low hundreds. It was rumored to be machine malfunction, but from the recovered black box, it held more valuable information. The pilot was fine one minute and in the next he fell unconscious at the controls. The copilot had very little time to correct the flight path. Or so what the paper said. After this unfortunate incident, all flights throughout the United States were grounded. All flyers had to seek other means of transportation. The infection, however, compensated for this slight mishap.

Alexander knew from med. school that deaths from infectious diseases are rare in the industrialized world. But he knew other wise, as he looked the window from his hand made constructed shelter on the tenth floor in East General. Outside the world was in ruin. Buildings were ablaze; the streets were vandalized and torn away with. Cars were smoking from days old fires that burned deep inside.

Country borders all around the world were blocked, cities tried to create quarantine safe havens for those who were not infected. The heavily armed military patrolled borders and city limits.

With death triumphant, social order throughout the globe evaporated. With the total collapse of law and order, Alexander saw small bands of individuals emerge to assert to authority. Looters, bandits, and common thugs began to prey on the survivors, taking what they want and indulging in whatever pleasure they can find.

Just a few days ago, Alexander saw a group of men rape and beat a young girl in the back ally of the hospital. He came too late to rescue her, but he blew the rapists away with his loaded M9 that he took from a looted Gun Shop. He carried her small body to the hospital courtyard. He dug a small grave for her and gently placed her in, before he covered the grave, he said a small prayer. After the burial, he took a small stroll around the front of the hospital. To his left was a Caddy, a Coupe Del Vile, and a woman with a blackened troll-like face was staring out at him. Her nose was pressed into a crushed bulb against the glass. Blood had trickled out onto the window. The man who had been driving the Caddy was slumped over the wheel as if he was looking at something on the floor. All of the Caddy’s windows were rolled up, if he opened the door the woman would spill out and break open on the pavement like a sack of rotten melons and the smell would not be too pleasant, as the air would be rich with steamy wet decay.

Down the street he saw a blue Mercedes M-Class SUV halfway through a plate glass window of a Chapters bookstore. He saw a naked man and woman hanging upside down from a lamppost. They were both dead, but he knew that they seemed almost alive. He stepped over a fallen chicken-wire fence that was a sign of a last stand against the infection. He saw two pages of the Toronto Star riffling by. The headline that revealed itself over and over again as the paper flapped and turned was PLAGUE GROWS! INFECTION IS WORSE IN OTTAWA! He saw an overturned piano lying in the street like a large dead horse with its legs straight up in the air. The music store off to its right was looted; inside was scorched and blackened from the four-day fire that occurred weeks ago.

July 5th 2005 marked the day that it was officially confirmed that the world was issued as a Class 4 outbreak.

Alexander paced back and forth inside his shelter as he glanced to and from the window. God, how he hated living right now. He recalled telling a good friend of his and fellow doctor at the hospital, Tom, that this all resembled the bubonic plague – the Black Death – that decimated Europe near the end of the fourteenth century. With a handful of the Whooping cough near the end of the seventeenth century, and the first known outbreaks of influenza near the end of the nineteenth century.

It was the evolutionary step in the Flu.

He stopped his pacing and starred at the bulletin board that was off to his right, which was covered by newspaper clippings and other papers, including patient’s charts to his left.

Toronto Star:

Canada Issues Immediate Evacuation!

USA Today:

Canadian Government Fails to keep Quarantine!

He sneered as he read the Government Notice:

GOVERNMENT NOTICE

VIRUAL INFECTION INFORMATION

IMPORTANT INFORMATION PLEASE READ!

The virus is HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS passing through the blood, saliva and body fluids

Infection passed through BITING or SCRATCHING

Fatalities caused from INTERNAL HEMORRHAGING

The infected are drawn to NOISE/SOUND

The virus can only be contained by KILLING ALL INFECTED VICTIMS

THERE IS NO CURE

He plucked off the sheet with Symptoms.

Hour 1: Pain and discoloration (brown-purple) of the infected area. Immediate clotting of the wound (provided if the infection came from a wound).

Hour 5: Fever (99-103 degrees F), chills, slight dementia, and vomiting, acute pain in the joints.

Hour 8: Numbing of extremities and infected area, increased fever (103-106 degrees F), increased dementia, loss of muscular coordination.

Hour 11: Paralysis in the lower body, overall numbness, and slowed heart rate.

Hour 16: Coma

Hour 20: Heart stops. Zero brain activity.

Alexander crumbled the paper up before he read the final symptom. That was when a loud thumping came from behind the door. He ran his gritty fingers through his unwashed hair and reached for his tape reorder from inside his lab coat pocket.

He licked his lips just as he was about to press RECORD.

“This is Joseph Alexander, an MD at the East General Hospital. If you or anyone else – is hearing this, then I am afraid I am dead—”

Thump! Thud! The banging at the door continued.

“After extensive research, I have found that the evidence is true. The virus infecting throughout is indeed, what the rumors say. Solanum. It works by traveling through the bloodstream, from the initial point of entry to the brain. Though means are not understood as of yet, but the virus uses the cells of the frontal lobe for replication, destroying them in the process.”

He had to pause as the thumping and banging grew louder by the moment. He wiped the sweat away from his forehead and recorded more.

“During this, um, period, all of the bodily functions cease. By stopping the heart, the infected subject is rendered ‘dead.’ The brain, however, remains alive but dormant, while the virus mutates its cells into a completely new organ.”

Damn it! Alexander swore in his head, whatever it was on the outside, it sure in hell wanted in. He wiped his mouth and stepped farther away from the door as the violent thumping increased.

“The most critical trait of this new organ is its independence of oxygen. By removing the need for this important resource, the undead brain can utilize, but is no way dependent upon, the complex support mechanism of the human body. Once the mutation is complete, this new organ reanimates the body into a form that bears little resemblance to the original corpse, physiologically speaking. Some bodily functions remain constant, others operate in a modified capacity, and the remainder shut down completely.”

Once the pounding on the door wouldn’t stop, Alexander reached under his rollaway cot and pulled out the loaded M9, he switched the safety off and pulled the hammer back.

“This new organism…” he took a breath, “is a zombie. A member of the living dead.”

Just as he finished speaking and recording the final sentence, the door gave way. The hinges bent and tore lose from their housings and twirled as they fell to the floor. A walking corpse stood amongst the splintered remains of the door ruble. It had a grotesque resemblance to Tom. His once clean lab coat was now drenched and stained in its own bodily fluids. His face was now a pink-pale with splotches of bloody blisters. Blood trickled from the corners of its eyes, the eyes were blood-red almost filled with Hells fire, and its lips were cut and puffy.

The ghoul grinned revealing its yellow stained teeth. Pieces of flesh were still embedded in between the teeth, let over from its day’s kill before.

Alexander placed his hand over his nose, as the smell of decay was horrendous. He dropped the tape recorder as the zombie charged towards him. He had just enough time to place the barrel of the gun inside his mouth and pull back the trigger, as the creature was less than an arm length away.

Alexander’s lifeless body slumped to the floor as the ghoul munched and gnawed at his arm, another zombie stumbled about as it entered into the room. It looked around, its eyes moving from side to side; it then ran towards to the new kill. Both ghouls slurped up the blood from the body that once belonged to Alexander. Then, they bit the muscle tissue and pulled on the veins and arteries. Together they feasted.

The tape recorder kept recording, just as droplets of blood splattered onto its plastic faceplate.