Dawn of a New Day

by Mariano, NIck

  After the tests were concluded the doctors and scientists met with General Sutherland and talked about how amazing the brain rejuvenation was, given the fact that most or all of the brain is initially killed after the virus first invades the body. They said this changed how they would go about finding a cure and also how infectees had to be eliminated to make sure they were actually killed. The General inquired about what progress they were making for finding a counter virus for the super virus. The doctors advised that they had narrowed their choose of counter viruses down to two, the Zoster virus and the Tetanus virus. They were also exploring using the polio virus after doctors had seen how effective it had been against certain cancer cells. The doctors said they had finished their preliminary testing on lab animals and that the results were promising, however, human experimentation was now necessary to verify their findings. The authorities were trying to locate people who had just been exposed to the virus, mostly from a bite from an infectee, and get them to Fort Detrick as quickly as possible so that the vaccine could be administered before they became totally infected. They hoped to get the tests started as soon as next week and then it would just be a matter of time before they knew if they were on the right track.

  SOMETHING IS BREWING

  General Sutherland paid an unexpected visit to the Army Medical Command at Fort Detrick one sunny afternoon in August to see the Director. The last of the Nazi super virus that was recovered from the U-532 was at the facility and the General was curious about how it had weathered over fifty years in the sea. The Director said that the outer stainless steel container fared well and that there were no signs the box had been breached by seawater. The General instructed the Director to proceed with extracting what they believed to be 3-4 canisters that should be inside the box. The General said that he also needed to know the condition of the canisters and if they were still functional. The Director inquired why this course of action was necessary and reminded the General about how lethal the contents were. The General responded by merely saying this order had come from someone much higher than his pay grade and that the Director should precede post haste with this request. A follow-up meeting was scheduled for September.

  SLOWING DOWN

  As part of the world moved into the Fall and Winter the doctors and scientists began to worry that the spread of the virus could begin to accelerate because of the favorable effects cooling weather had on the virus. After over half a year of living with the virus it was starting to noticeably slow down, however, scientists warned that the world shouldn’t become complacent because it could spring back up again without warning. Reports of roaming hordes were still coming in from Asia as the initial spread of the virus there had been the most significant. Most of the major cities had been brought under control but the occasional incident of an infectee sighting or an attack was still being reported. Many of the cities reported that it appeared that infectees had figured out the sewage and utility system tunnels beneath some cities and were using these avenues to both hide from authorities and to move about the cities undetected. Attacks usually occurred in quick sequence when a number of hordes suddenly appeared above ground and went on a rampage before descending back to their lairs and into hiding again. Attacks also seemed to occur more frequently at night when the possibility of detection by authorities was greatly reduced. Fortunately, throughout this virus outbreak, the utilities in most cities continued to run without any noticeable interruption. Many of the smaller cities didn’t fare as well.

  The military decided early on that they would begin to secure access points to the sewer systems to prevent the infectees from using them. Manhole covers were either welded shut or secured by other means and that seemed to reduce the occurrence of attacks. They also tried to disperse various gases into the tunnel systems in an effort to kill the infectees, although that proved to be only partially effective as the scientists believed that destruction of the frontal lube was the only guaranteed way to kill a person once he became infected.

  The scientists at Fort Detrick worked away on a solution to the outbreak and finally narrowed their counter virus down to the polio virus. After extended research they found that the super virus worked in a similar manner to cancer cells and that once the polio virus entered a person’s body it quickly took command and began to destroy the super virus cells until the body started its own process of rejuvenating the destroyed cells with new and unaffected ones. Given the fact that polio had basically been eradicated from most of the world and almost all cultures now provided polio vaccinations to newborns, most persons already had a starting base for the new polio inoculation that they planned to administer. Initial tests on infectees at Fort Detrick and at a lab in Asia revealed that in 99% of the cases where the vaccine was administered, the infect d’s body began to fight and eventually overpower the super virus. The only major problem was that once a person became infected and reached the latter stages of infection where bodily skin eruptions took place, the healing process would be slow in healing the sores on one’s body, and in many cases, the person would be left scarred for life. Research also had not established whether the brain would rejuvenate once the super virus died and it was possible that many people would remain mentally handicapped after their recovery. Although not the best news, it was still a way to finally bring the virus under control and hopefully eliminate, or at least slow its spread, to other parts of the world. Unbeknownst to the general population, the military, in consultation with the governments of the infected nations, had already decided that people who had progressed beyond a certain stage would be euthanized and humanely disposed of. This was done as clandestinely as possible so as not to unset the population.

  All the major drug companies were brought under total government control until the necessary quantities of the counter virus vaccine could be produced, although the companies were still allowed to produce drugs that were essential for keeping people free from other diseases and maladies. Even at maximum production, the government estimated that it would be at least six months before enough vaccine could be produced and distributed to all countries so they could start an aggressive inoculation program. In the meantime the police and military still had to try to control the existing hordes that were forming secretly in many cities. The Asian strain also presented additional problems for the scientists since the pneumonia cases in Asia had mutated the virus and use solely of the polio vaccine alone did not stop the disease. They had to combine other medications with it to totally slow down and stop the mutating super virus.

  Gradually some airline transportation was allowed in areas with lesser or no infections. People desiring to travel had to be thoroughly screened and placed in quarantine for a week before they were allowed to board a plane. This ensured that the person wasn’t a virus carrier. Some ships were again allowed to begin transporting needed goods around the world. Crews were thoroughly screened and quarantined before being allowed to work on the ship. Doctors were also assigned to every seagoing vessel and all crewmembers were tested weekly to insure that seafaring birds didn’t bring the virus on board. If a virus were detected, the ship would be required to report it immediately and end its voyage. They were then directed to the nearest quarantine screening station where seemingly uninfected personnel were observed for seven days before being declared safe and persons displaying signs of the infection were inoculated and observed to see if the virus could be stopped. In cases where the infectee didn’t show signs of improvement in a required number of days, he was put out of his misery.

  The spread in America had been controlled more effectively than several other countries, mainly because the authorities had some prior experience with the virus. Several lessons were learned when it first broke out in New York State after ISIS terrorists unleashed it there. The west coast remained unaffected and the midland states also had a very small percentage of reported infections. The east coast was the hardest hit but doctors were sure that only a very small amount of infectees still were on t
he loose. Washington, D.C., had not reported a new case in over two months although the President and his staff remained in seclusion and ran the government from a secretly located bunker. The Carolinas and Northeast also hadn’t had any reported new cases in over two weeks and doctors hoped that once everyone was inoculated the cases would eventually zero out. The doctors believed that the new vaccine not only would reverse the effects of the virus on infectees but also would provide almost complete protection for anyone who was not infected. The only fear they had was that a mutated version of the virus would make its appearance somewhere and then the doctors would have to scurry to find a quick cure for the mutated strain. Unfortunately they could only deal with one problem at a time.

  After almost seven months of scouring through thousands, if not millions, of files from the experiments at Auschwitz, one search finally uncovered a cryptic research paper where Mengele talked about developing a vaccine for the super virus. He was concerned that the virus, once it had been used to infect the Americans, would make its way back across the ocean, much like several diseases had done in the past. At that time scientists weren’t one hundred percent sure how viruses could make their way to other continents, but they had history to show that sure occurrences had, and could happen again. The paper went on to discuss how Mengele envisioned the virus would work once it was released and how he would proceed with producing a cure. Records indicated that he had in fact produced a counter vaccine and that after the virus was sent on its way to America, he had conducted some tests on infected inmates at Auschwitz to see how effective his vaccine was. Initial results revealed that with some additional work the vaccine could be a cure all for the super virus, however, research abruptly ended when it appeared certain that the Allies Forces would arrive at the concentration camp in a matter of days. Although Mengele had given strict orders to the guards at the camp to destroy all his files as they began to evacuate the camp, most of the guards abandoned their posts and left the camp as soon as the doctors departed. The CDC was certain that with this new bit of information, someone at Fort Detrick would be able to come up with a total solution to the virus. Scientists and doctors were already comparing what Mengele wrote in his notes with research they had already done and with the antivirus vaccine that they were now administrating to the general public. Things were starting to look up.

  WHO EXPECTED THIS?

  Just as things were starting to improve and it appeared that everyone was coming to grips with the super virus and that the pharmaceutical companies would meet the demand for the new vaccine, the worst happened in the United States. It was a sunny Fall day in California when a Magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit San Francisco. It was early morning and the quake equaled the devastating “Great Quake” that hit that city in 1906. Fifty per cent of the city was damaged from the quake and resulting fires. The quake’s epicenter was located near San Francisco and tremors caused by displacements in the San Andreas Fault could be felt from Oregon to Nevada. Initial deaths were registered at about 2,000, with several hundred or thousand injured. Rumbling could be felt at the Hoover Dam, which suffered some minor cracks but no reported structural damage. The Golden Gate Bridge could be seen swaying as morning commuters made their way into the city. Scientists had always predicted another major earthquake in the Bay Area and even theorized that such an earthquake could topple some of the major skyscrapers in the city, cause Hoover Dam to split open and flood the surrounding areas producing a tsunami type event that would wash across the Golden Gate Bridge. Fortunately none of these predictions came true. Several recent motion pictures also depicted such events and now that become a reality.

  The Governor declared a state of emergency and the President declared California a disaster area and ordered a massive relief effort started. The one big snag in getting aid to California was the fact that most of the needed supplies, people and aircraft were located on the East Coast. Both the Governor and President worried that someone, who might have been recently infected, might board an aircraft and bring the super virus to the West Coast, which had stayed infection free so far. Even if everyone was thoroughly screened, there was no guarantee an infected person would not reach California. Massive screening would also hold up the relief effort for days, if not weeks. A decision had to be made, and made fast. Could the government risk bringing the virus out west? After much consternation it was finally decided that once everyone was inoculated against the virus using the new, and still experimental vaccine, the aid mission would begin. In the meantime, military bases on the West Coast, mid-west states and Hawaii, would begin immediate support to the disaster.

  As the days progressed, the news from San Francisco and surrounding areas grew grim. Power had been knocked out in a twenty-five mile radius of the city and rescue efforts after dark became a challenge. Some water supplies and other utilities, such as cell phone service, were also disrupted and many areas both in the city and on the outskirts had only intermittent water and phone service. Water had to be boiled or treated before use to protect against any contaminates that might have gotten into the main supplies.

  On Day Three following the quake the first major air support effort from the East Coast got underway. The skies were filled with large transport planes from nearly every military base on the East Coast. Fire and Rescue personnel from the East Coast caught rides on the transports. Harold Stilwell was a rescue specialist from a small fire station in North Carolina and he and his squad sat quietly in the back of a C-130 transport as the plane took off for its seven-hour flight to the west coast. Harold had been busy lately and, although everyone at the firehouse was told to get their inoculation of the new vaccine before deployment, he just hadn’t gotten around to it. He told the Captain that he had gotten his shot; otherwise they wouldn’t have taken him on the flight. He thought to himself that he hadn’t come in contact with any infectee, that was for sure. After work he went back home to his farm on the outskirts of Wilmington and tended to farm chores, like milking the few cows he had and feeding the dozen chickens that he kept. No, there was no way he had come in contact with an infectee.

  After four hours of flying, Harold started to get a sore throat but figured it was just from breathing all that recycled air on the military plane. Hell, they didn’t have all those modern day filtering systems like the commercial flights. Only three hours to go.

  RESCUER ZERO

  Harold Stilwell was exhausted and his throat was killing him by the time the C-130 landed at an airstrip outside of San Francisco. He was starting to get a bit of a chill and felt a little irritable but he thought it was just from sitting all this time on the plane and having the other crewmembers bust his balls about nothing in particular. Toward the end of the flight people started to wonder why Harold was coughing so much but he said it was just his allergies and his meds were in his bag that got put into the cargo hold. A good night’s sleep and he’d be good as new tomorrow. Nightfall was rapidly approaching and the crew was taken to a local shelter and told to rest up, as tomorrow would be the start of a busy day. Harold was glad they were finally there and that he could sleep for a while. The shelter was crowded with fire crews from all over the East Coast, and although it was hard to get to sleep, Harold managed to doze off for about six hours before he woke up. Instead of feeling rested and relaxed, he felt even more irritable and his throat was killing him. He also had some aches and pains but thought it was from sitting for seven hours in a military web type seat on the C-130. When the rest of his team awoke they also complained of sore throats but agreed with Harold it was from all that unfiltered air on the aircraft.

  Later that morning Harold and his team headed out and began their rescue efforts throughout the San Francisco area. Harold was feeling pretty bad that morning but working took his mind off the sore throat and aching muscles throughout his body. His team members were all coughing too but everyone discounted their problems to the long plane ride and poor air circulation in the plane. The team worked on into the night but eventua
lly it got too dark to safely carry out any further rescue efforts. They returned to local shelter to rest up for another day tomorrow.

  Harold went directly to bed when he got back. He could barely stand and the aches and pains were getting worse by the hour. He awoke in the early morning hours and when he went to the restroom to relieve himself he saw that his urine was a dark brown color. He also noticed that he had some blotches on his face and when he opened his shirt, the worst was realized. He had read enough about the super virus to know he was in the latter stages of the disease. How he got it was beyond his grasp but now he was afraid that when the authorities saw him, he would be shot or taken away and disposed of. He also thought back and knew that he shouldn’t have lied about getting his vaccine shot, as that may have saved him from this. He slowly moved back to his sleeping area, grabbed his coat and left the building.