Black Valley
Page 36
Dana Kirsten was the first to enter the chamber, her footsteps sounding like gun shots. In the center of the room was a round five-foot metal structure with twelve indentations, each with a thumb-print scanner, a small receptacle for safety stones, and a sealed, six-by-five-inch box in which instructions were to be presented.
The alarm stopped as the last contestant entered the room.
It knows we’re all here, Dana noted.
The speakers sputtered with the pop-hiss of an open microphone. The voice was electronically distorted, the sound of Satan on acid.
“I am control. And this has just become the ultimate reality show. Welcome to 24/7. Welcome to the end of your life.”
The voice, deep and deformed, shook the very air. Dana imagined she could feel every word resonate in her bones.
“Each of you has been exposed to a designer virus, a derivative of ebola . . . ”
“Ebola,” the CPA whimpered, burying his pudgy face in his hands.
“. . .and as you have just witnessed, it is painful and fatal.
But the virus can be held in check with a simple injection – a delaying agent that must be administered once every twenty-four hours . . . ”
The CPA continued to cry. Others studied their hands as if the virus were a visible entity that, if spotted, could be plucked off like a fat tick.
“. . . At twelve noon, your clue-boxes will open. Inside is a simple, bee-sting injector. Use it and live for another day.”
The sound of crying filled the room like a swarm of cicada.
“ There are twelve contestants. At noon tomorrow I will provide eleven injections.”
The CPA wailed as if physically pierced by the words.
“But here is the really fun part ” – the voice sneered – “since America and the rest of this fetid world are so fascinated with this repulsive form of voyeurism, I think it only fair that they participate by way of online voting.”
The air seemed to cool. The tropical heat replaced with the icy wind of fear.
“The person receiving the most votes will not receive the delaying agent. In other words, the viewers will decide who lives and who dies . . . ”
24/7 by Jim Brown is now available.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My deepest thanks to my agent, Mark Malatesta whose, instincts continue to amaze me. And to Joe Blades, Vice President, Executive Editor, Ballantine Books, whose sage advice continues to teach me.
Many people helped in the completion of this book without necessarily realizing it. I would like to thank a few of them, starting with my parents, Franklin and JoAnn Brown who have always encouraged and nurtured my imagination; Shane and Carrie Hawks, whose passion for life and art is contagious; Brian and Lynne Lamb whose friendship is like a lighthouse whenever I lose my way; Colin and Alison Stanton, who have been like family over the years; and Lauren Herr-Coniglio, who always offers just the right encouragement at just the right time.
And a heart-felt thank you to my baby brother Tim Brown, and his wife, Vickie, who shoulder far more than their fair share of family responsibilities.
There are countless others I haven’t acknowledged yet, so I guess I’ll just have to keep writing books.