Night Zero (Book 1): Night Zero

by Horner, Rob

  He was numb, in shock.

  It wasn’t just a hypothetical nightmare, one of those intellectual exercises you indulge in during graduate school, where you lay out the pros and cons of an experiment, and where the idea of a catastrophic failure is jotted down beside things like not enough funding, or, where do we get volunteers?

  This was an honest-to-God epidemic the likes of which were rarely considered even in the deepest parts of the infectious disease community. Yes, the Russians have smallpox, but they’ll never use it. Thoughts like that were what kept people like him in the business. Knowing something existed was one thing. Believing it would never be used let them sleep at night.

  The maps that Mr. Fields gave him, showing the overlays of spread and outbreaks of aggression were wrong. Or maybe not wrong, but so far out of sync with the actual rate at which the disease spread as to be irrelevant. Maybe it had started the way the maps showed, but it was far beyond that now. Washington DC was overrun with crazed people attacking anyone they could.

  Is that really what’s happening?

  It wasn’t, he realized. Those crazy people were not attacking each other.

  They were only attacking unaffected people, regular Joes, who ran away screaming, some of them running toward their Humvee.

  The soldiers did their best not to hit people like that, but they also didn’t stop.

  One young man screamed as his foot was crushed and didn’t stop screaming until one of the walking nightmares fell over him, biting and tearing.

  The ones who fell got right back up.

  They had a lot to answer for.

  We’ve been expecting you, Dr. Lowman.

  Apparently, the President and his collected heads of whatever had tired of waiting for Dr. Lowman to arrive, or else saw the writing on the wall and figured he wouldn’t be able to make it in, so an escort was sent. If he could’ve convinced the driver to take that first turn, the young man would still be alive.

  But then he wouldn’t have seen the carnage first-hand.

  Those images remained in his head, ready fuel for his anger.

  When he got to the bunker, he intended to demand answers.

  Finally, the long night was over, and the light had come again.

  Austin followed the dark corridors of the hospital, silent except for the shuffling feet of his people, his soldiers.

  Down hallways sometimes clean and sometimes painted in a spray and speckled pattern that appeared black in the dimness, Austin followed the trail of little squares mounted up near the ceilings, four letters and an arrow powered by batteries, some still glowing a dull red despite the number of hours they’d been running. The Exit signs guided him past the bodies of those who could not become and some who had. The memory of their passing bothered him, because it meant that becoming was not an end to all, but merely another transitory state. What came after was still unknown.

  Those people who fought their way out were gone. Some of his had chased them, those who hadn’t fallen to bullets or ax blade. One still ran along the street after the vehicle they’d fled in, though he had no hope of catching it. Eventually he would find other targets to share with. His body would never give out, not with the new life in his brain.

  And there was his hunter, faster than any person had a right to be. He followed their scent. It might take him weeks or even months to find them, but he would not stray from his course.

  In another time, Austin might have felt pity for those such as the van full of immune. The understanding of mercy was in his mind, but not the capacity for it.

  Still, he might have been merciful before. It was a singularly human thing to be.

  Not now, of course.

  Now, his focus was on escaping this place of barren halls and quiet desks, where computer screens lay dark and shattered glass littered the floor.

  Turning at the back entrance to the emergency department, he walked past the radiology section, which featured large glass windows that let in a stream of light from the morning sun.

  With a thought he sent his soldiers forward. Trash cans and furniture were lifted and thrown through the glass.

  A breeze blew into the area, ruffling his hair and sending loose papers caroming around the room. Another few steps, and he was bathed in the light of day.

  There were more become out here, many of them originals like himself, though not all with the same clarity of mind.

  What they were to do now wasn’t clear. There were still many, many more unbecome than become. Many more that needed to be shared with. But beyond that there was a drive to congregate, to bring together the become in order to be stronger.

  The word that filled his mind was colony.

  Like ants, and pilgrims, and bacteria, the become needed a colony.

  Austin understood he would have a role to play in creating the colony. There were others like him out there, others who retained awareness after becoming. It wasn’t a matter of being an original like he’d first assumed. It was a…

  Percentages.

  …game of percentages. Just as there was a certain percent of the unbecome who could not become, there was an equal percent of the become who would be more than merely become.

  Bitsy was one such.

  It went against the drive to establish a colony, this need to seek out the little girl. They were two who were more, and each should be concentrating on establishing, rather than seeking to come together.

  But he could no more ignore the drive to find her than the ocean could ignore the pull of the moon.

  Somewhere to the west, the little girl was already on her way to him.

  Austin began walking.

  All around him bodies moved, some following, others wandering off to share, and some others seeking to establish.

  The world was changing, and he would be a part of it.

  After he found Bitsy.

  PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING

  D.H.S., D.O.J., D.H.H.S., C.D.C.

  From the Office of the President of the United States

  Seventy-two hours ago, an as-yet unnamed organization committed an act of biological warfare against the peoples of these United States. The initial exposure area includes the city of Atlanta, Georgia and all surrounding suburbs. Air currents carried the biological material north and east, following the Jetstream, with steadily diminishing fallout over the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the southern areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.

  Symptoms of exposure include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and possibly death. There have been reports, fueled by uninformed bloggers and rumormongers, of incidents of aggression and violence stemming from the exposure. These reports are unfounded and categorically false. There is no risk of contagion, as direct contact with the biological fallout is required for infection.

  At this time, there is not enough information to confirm how long the fallout will remain infectious, though experts warn that some bacteria can survive an outdoor environment for up to 28 days. Weather patterns can influence this time frame, and wind currents can vary, so while the expected pattern affects those states listed above, it is for the protection of all Americans that the following be put into place and instituted immediately.

  Martial Law has been declared over these United States, including the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

  All border crossings are closed. Violators will be dealt with harshly.

  All travel VISAs are temporarily suspended.

  All air travel not directly related to the support of ongoing anti-terrorist investigations is canceled.

  Avoid unnecessary travel until Martial Law is rescinded.

  A curfew is in effect across all states and territories from dusk until dawn. Unauthorized persons found out after curfew will be dealt with harshly.

  All public Internet access and
communication is hereby suspended. Communication via landline and mobile (cellular/digital) phone will remain active, including the ability to send and receive text messages and emails.

  The United States Military, active-duty, reservists, and National Guard have been activated. All military personnel should report to their common duty locations for further instructions and assignment. Hazardous Duty Pay has been authorized for the duration of the emergency.

  Criminal activity, to include looting, will not be tolerated.

  The writ of Habeus Corpus has been suspended.

  This announcement will remain on your digital device for five minutes at a time and will repeat every four hours. During the time the announcement is active, no other functions of your device(s) can be accessed.

  The offices of the President of the United States, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Central Intelligence Agency, and all related functions and offices may change or update this announcement at any time. Changes will be pushed through to these same devices in this manner as required.

  Don’t miss Rob Horner’s first exciting novel, Brightness: a supernatural thriller.

  A desperate father is terrified when his oldest daughter begins seeing things no one else can see. As the hallucinations take on more clarity, he discovers there are greater forces in the world than modern science can explain. With his family in danger, Michael Richards must accept the destiny chosen for his children, and protect them at all costs from dark forces intent upon destroying them.

  Available now on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon.com.

  A day at the carnival turns to a war for the planet as John Wilson stumbles into what he believes is a demonic summoning. At the same time, a multitude of white lights strike the Earth, granting supernatural abilities to hundreds of people.

  Armed with an amazing power to project force and allied with a telekinetic and a girl who can literally see who is gifted and who is a monster, John and his friends decide to strike back at the hordes invading their world.

  This new science fiction series is available now on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon.com.

  Surrogacy, Book 2 of The Chosen Cycle, will release in July 2019.

  Rob Horner is a Virginia Beach native and former Navy Avionics Technician who spent twenty years working with electronics before finding his calling in medicine. Now a nurse practitioner with Urgent Care of Mountain View, primarily in the Morganton and Hickory, North Carolina locations, he splits his time between work, writing, and family. He is blessed with a loving wife, two sons, and three beautiful daughters. He and his family live in Lenoir, NC.

  His can be found in various places on the web:

  Twitter @RobHorner8

  www.allauthor.com/page/robhorner

  Facebook at www.facebook.com/robhorner

  via email at fansofrobhorner@gmail.com,

  or on his blog at Rob-Horner.com.