“What are you doing Keith? These are military vehicles; do you have a death wish?” Keith’s buddy Calvin was next to him, crouching near the back of the medical transport. “Come on Calvin just help me take a look inside.” Keith stood up on the bumper and lifted a latch, attached to the large door on the back of the vehicle. The door swung open, but it was too dark to see inside. “Calvin hand me your lighter.”
Calvin passed his lighter to Keith. He turned and flicked the lighter a few times. It sparked over and over but didn’t light. There was a rustling in the back of the cargo hold. “There’s something moving, Calvin get up here.” Calvin climbed onto the bumper and looked inside with Keith.
Finally able to light the lighter, Keith held the open flame through the vehicle’s door. “What the fuck is that smell? It smells like death.” The two covered their noses and looked deeper inside the door. There was a large, black bag that had been torn open at the sides. “We should go Keith, this shit is bad news.” Rustling came from the side of the cargo hold and moved closer to the door.
They stepped back from the door and off the bumper. Once they reached the ground, a shadow emerged from the door. Keith pulled out his flashlight, turned it on and pointed it towards the door. The light revealed Laylianna’s glazed over eyes and decaying face.
She leapt from the door and tackled the two men, crushing them down to the ground, fiercely tearing into Calvin’s face. Calvin screamed, alerting the soldiers back at the fire. The major turned and raised his weapon, “What the hell? Move now!” The soldiers rushed to the back of the medical transport Humvee.
Laylianna had torn Calvin and Keith’s body’s to near shreds. She was chewing Keith’s arm and as the light of the soldier’s weapons revealed her, she rushed from the bodies and underneath the vehicle. “Move, I want a perimeter around the vehicle and that woman detained.” The soldiers broke from the group and slowly moved around the Humvee. They reached the front of the vehicle to see Laylianna running off into the trees. One of the privates open fired into the tree line.
“Cease fire, cease fire.” The sergeant called out, running to the front of the vehicle. After hearing the gunfire, the remaining campers grabbed what they could and fled into the night. The sergeant ordered the men to go into the trees as he called for back up from the disposal facility. “We need additional support. Mayday! Mayday! This is Sergeant Dillon Powers. I need support on the south lake road. Repeat, I need additional support on South Lake Road.”
The team rushed into the tree line, shining the attached lights on their weapons into the night. They assembled their night vision equipment and moved forward. Laylianna ran through them and they were unable to receive a signal from their equipment. “I heard her but she is moving too fast. I thought she was supposed to be dead?” One of the privates called out over the radio. “Keep quiet private and find that woman.” The major replied.
The backup arrived and the team moved further across the military property. The remaining campers had run all the way to the perimeter of the property and down to the entrance of the Nutty Putty Caves. “Why do you think they were shooting and what were they shooting at? Geoff yelled out, catching his breath. “I am terrified, what the hell are we going to do?” His girlfriend gasped and burst into tears.
Seconds later, a shadow came running towards them. It rushed towards Geoff, knocked him to the ground and leapt onto their friend Jeremy, ripping into his neck and biting into his back. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Geoff and his girlfriend Jessica grabbed their bags and ran into the entrance of the cave.
“Wait, what are you doing Geoff?” She held his hand as he pulled her deeper into the cave system, “We have to hide. I don’t know what that thing is, but it just killed Jeremy in a matter of seconds.” Geoff stopped, lowered his bag to the floor of the cave. “Quick, get out your helmet and whatever rope you have.”
The two put on their climbing helmets and strapped on their utility belts, placing rope bags around their shoulders. “We have everything we need, water, food and warm clothes. We hide out here till the military comes and finds that thing.” Jessica didn’t say anything. Geoff shined his light near her face and wiped away the tears. She laughed nervously and smiled back at him.
They walked deep into the first section of the cave, there was no light and the air was damp and smelled of mold. Just as they reached the big slide, Geoff turned, “We need to make sure we drink plenty of water.” He turned Jessica and reached in her pack, pulling out her water. She drank and then handed it back to Geoff. He took a drink and then put the bottle back in the pack.
They moved down the steel ladder and secured their hooks to the grapple line. Geoff went first and lowered himself down into the first large cavern. His light reflected off the walls revealing the various colors of the formations on the rock. When he reached the bottom, he looked up and signaled, “All clear below. Come down Jessica.” Jessica reached the bottom of the big slide and the couple moved deeper into the cave system.
The cave system became smaller around them and they were now crawling through the tunnel, which connected the Big Slide to the Birth Canal. As they moved through the confines of the small tunnel, Jessica stopped, “Geoff did you hear that?” They both went still and silent, listening for any indication of anyone else in the tunnel.
The dust slowly moved through their helmet lights and they were hardly breathing. Geoff cried out, “I heard it, we have to move now. Go. Go.” He led the way and panicked as he crawled ahead. Jessica followed, whimpering as she pulled her body through the entrance into the Birth Canal. “We need to find an alternate tunnel that we can hide in, one that is above the cave, in the ceiling. Hopefully, whatever that is will pass us by.”
They climbed up into one of the tunnels, near an overhang and hid, turning off the lights on their helmets. “Don’t say anything and try to limit your breathing. Whatever that is it won’t hear us if we keep calm and quiet. They huddled in the tunnel and waited. Echoes came down the tunnel as rocks on the ground were disturbed. Something was moving through the tunnel. Sliding noises came through the tunnel and whatever was coming was now in the same system as Jessica and Geoff. “It’s in here.” Jessica whispered. “Quiet.” Geoff warned her. The sliding noises were now just below the tunnel where they were hiding.
Geoff was just above the noise, as his hand slipped against the wall. The noise stopped and Geoff froze, whatever it was below him had heard his hand slip against the wall. There was no light below them and no indication it was the military inside the cave. It could only be one thing. “No!” Geoff screamed as he fell from the tunnel, Jessica moved down and turned on her light.
Laylianna was tearing at his stomach and using her hands to tear at Geoff’s face. He was bleeding from the cuts on his face and screamed, “Run Jessica!” Laylianna ran at Jessica and knocked her to the ground. She stood up and grabbed Laylianna, throwing her to the wall. She reached down to Geoff and picked him up, pulling him to the tunnel leading back up to the tunnel leading into the Big Slide.
Laylianna was stunned and lying on the ground. She jumped back up, as Jessica pulled Geoff into the tunnel, Geoff yelled, “You have to go Jessica, leave me. I’m not going to make it, you know that.”
“No Geoff, you can make it.” Geoff screamed out, “It has me. It’s pulling my feet back. Go!” Laylianna pulled Geoff back and tore into his back, spraying blood all over the walls of the cave and Jessica’s face. She turned and rushed through the tunnel, into the Big Slide and up the tether line. She made it up to the entrance quickly and was soon climbing out. Lights shined on her face and a man called out, “Stop there. Are you one of the campers?” Jessica cried out, “Yes. That fucking thing just killed my boyfriend.”
The sergeant turned to one of the privates, “Take her back to the trucks and secure her. All the rest of you, retrieve the gear, we are going in.” The corporals returned to the trucks to retrieve their gear. They rushed back to the entrance of the cave and passe
d around the equipment. “We go in with pistols and knives. No-one fires in the cave unless it is a last resort. We don’t want any cave-ins. Move out!” The team walked, one by one, through the entrance of the cave, turning on their helmet lights and other equipment. They placed markers at each of the turns, which additionally lit up the cave.
Major Hunter motioned to Sergeant Powers and two of the privates to take the tunnel to the left, with him and the three corporals and two other privates take the tunnel to the right. They broke formation and carried their equipment into the darkness of the tunnels before them. The cave was damp and muddy in some parts, the lights attached to the soldiers' helmets lit up the tunnels in front of them as they slowly walked forward. They reached the section of the tunnel that led directly down into the section of the cave called the Birth Canal. They attached to the lead rope and repelled into the darkness. One of the corporals reached into his pack at the bottom of the tunnel and pulled out a bottle of rum, “Cheers boys.” He took a long drink and passed it to another corporal. “Thanks Ed, just what the doctor ordered.”
Private Farris was the last one down the rope and saw what the corporals was doing, “Hey guys, let’s focus on what we are doing down here.”
“Come on private, look at where we are, in a shit-hole cave, surrounded by fucking desert. What do you think we are doing down here? It’s a wild goose chase.” He laughed and threw the bottle to the private, “I guess a little couldn’t hurt much.”
“That’s the spirit!” The team decided to wait, until enough time had passed and they could return up the cave and join up with the others. They continued drinking and laughing as a shadowy figure crawled behind them and up the rope. It was Laylianna, climbing up through the tunnel and through the entrance of the cave. There was no-one covering her escape and she easily made her way out of the cave and into the desert.
The two other corporals, along with Corporal Ed Michaels and the two privates returned to the entrance of the cave. They joined Major Raymond and Sergeant Powers team. The major called out, “Did you find anything?” Corporal Michaels reported first, “Nothing, we reached the end of the right tunnel, but there was nothing down there.” Sergeant Powers caught a scent in the air and walked closer to the returning team, “Is that alcohol I smell? Have you all been drinking?” The major walked forward and smelled each of their breaths, “When we get back to base, I will make sure that each of you receive a dishonorable discharge.”
The corporal looked up at the major, shining his light directly into his face, “Well, Major Hunter, you were in charge of this whole fucking operation. What do you think the general will say when he finds out an experimental, biologically, infected civilian is running around loose in the desert?” The major turned and stormed out of the cave, the remaining team members followed him, across the desert and back to the Humvees. The major called out over the radio, “Return to base. As far as the general is concerned we disposed of the body at the disposal plant and everything went according to plan. That is an order, do you all understand?”
The team responded, “Yes sir.” The vehicles pulled out and headed back to the Dugway Proving Ground facility, Laylianna wandered across the desert, back towards the town of Tooele. Something was drawing her there, but she really didn’t know what or why. There were emotions and thoughts still stirring in her head. She knew something was wrong and that she had lost all sense of life and feelings, but something was coming back to her.
Chapter Ten
Earlier in the evening, Amy was pronounced dead at the hospital and James was still asleep in one of the hospital’s waiting rooms. It was a private room established for guests of patients. Amy was taken to the basement, where the autopsy room was located. The doctor had ordered additional tissue samples, to be taken during the autopsy. The samples would then be provided to the CDC for further testing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta. It works to protect public health and safety by providing information to enhance health decisions, promoting health through partnerships with state health departments and other organizations.
The CDC focuses national attention on developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
The mission of CDC expanded beyond its original focus on malaria to include sexually transmitted diseases when the Venereal Disease Division of the U.S. Public Health Service was transferred to the CDC in 1957. Shortly thereafter, Tuberculosis Control was transferred to the CDC from PHS and then in 1963 the Immunization program was established.
An act of the United States Congress appended the words “and Prevention” to the name effective October 27, 1992; however, congress directed that the initials CDC be retained because of its name recognition. CDC now operates under the Department of Health and Human Services umbrella.
The current focus has broadened to include chronic diseases, disabilities, injury control, workplace hazards, environmental health threats and terrorism preparedness. CDC combats emerging diseases and other health risks, including birth defects, West Nile virus, obesity, avian, swine and pandemic flu, E. coli, auto wrecks and bioterrorism, to name a few.
The organization would also prove to be an important factor in preventing the abuse of penicillin. The CDC has one of the few bio-safety level 4 laboratories in the country, as well as one of only two official repositories of smallpox in the world. The second smallpox store resides at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in the Russian Federation.
As of 2011, staff numbered 15,000 in 170 occupations. Eighty percent has earned bachelor's degrees or higher; almost half have advanced degrees. CDC job titles also include engineer, entomologist, epidemiologist, biologist, physician, veterinarian, behavioral scientist, nurse, medical technologist, economist, Public Health Advisor, health communicator, toxicologist, chemist, computer scientist and statistician.
In addition to the Atlanta headquarters, the CDC is operating other locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Those locations include Anchorage, Alaska; Cincinnati, Ohio; Fort Collins, Colorado; Hyattsville, Maryland; Morgantown, West Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Spokane, Washington; and Washington, D.C. At present, the President of the United States appoints the director. The appointment is automatic and does not require approval by the Senate. The director serves at the pleasure of the President and may be fired at any time.
On May 18, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an article instructing the public on what to do to prepare for a zombie invasion. While the article did not claim that such a scenario was likely, it did use the popular culture appeal as a means of having individuals prepare for all potential hazards, such as earthquakes, tornadoes and floods. Little did they know, they were about to be investigating the unknown CU1 and OU2 compounds and faced with the inevitable outbreak in the town of Tooele.
Doctor Jenners finished collecting the tissue samples from Amy’s autopsy and was finalizing some paperwork when a man walked through his office door, “Doctor Jenners?”
“Yes?” The doctor stood up and shook the man’s hand. “I’m Jerry, with the CDC. I am here to collect and analyze some tissue and blood samples.” He held out his identification and the doctor took it, looking at his picture and then, over at the information on the badge. “Yes, I have the tissue and blood samples right here for you. Will you let me know what is going on as soon as you know? I have some very strange things going on around here and I have also been hearing some strange rumors going around.”
“Sure thing Doctor, as soon as we know more we will notify you. What strange rumors have you been hearing?”
/> “Well, to start, patients dying and still exhibiting life signs. A patient, who had been pronounced dead, got up and wandered out of the hospital and then shot later, at the store he worked at. Those samples came from a patient who is exhibiting the same signs as the patient who walked out.”
The man from the CDC did not respond, rushed from the doctor’s small office, out of the hospital and climbed into a car that was already running. The car sped off from the hospital, down the town’s main street and into the night. Amy’s body was down in the morgue, laid out across an autopsy table. There was a tray of instruments carefully arranged on a steel tray. The man, about ready to start the autopsy whistled, as he walked over to the table. Amy’s body was a light blue color, her eyes still open and glazed over, staring into nowhere.
Picking up a few instruments, the man began the autopsy. He cut into the skin of the stomach with a scalpel. He was wearing thick, rubber gloves and safety glasses. After making the first incision, the body moved. The man performing the autopsy jumped back and paused, staring down at the body, “What the fuck? These people need to wait a few hours, until the muscle action has fizzled out.”
He moved back over the body, placed the scalpel on the table and reached for the bone saw. With his thumb, the power to the saw switched forward, but there was no action, the chord was unplugged. He bent over and looked under the table at the chord, which was dangling near the outlet. “This is not my night.” He slid under the table, reached for the plug and pushed it into the outlet, causing the power saw to turn on.
Turning off the power to the saw and standing back up above the autopsy table, Amy was now sitting up. The man screamed and dropped the saw. Amy grabbed his arms and pulled him forward on the table. She opened her mouth and bit deep into the side of his face, chewing and tearing until she clamped down around his eye and pulled her head back, ripping the man’s eye from the socket. The eye hung from her mouth. She spit the eye to the ground and then tore, fiercely, into the man’s throat as he fell to the ground. Amy stepped down from the table covered in blood. She walked toward the door of the autopsy room and pushed open the swinging doors.
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