Today We Die (The Killing Sands Book 1)

by Daniel Wilde

  “That’s right after Gortari II was shot down, right?” Chrissy Houghton asked.

  “Yes,” Dr. Shevchuk replied. “Police in Guatemala City found the subject finger and, following a DNA test, determined that the finger belonged to one of the passengers aboard Gortari II.”

  “Do we have a copy of those test results, or any transfigured specimen from the finger?” Dr. Jones asked.

  “Both have been promised. I expect to have them within 12 hours.”

  February 2, 2093—Entry in the Anthrax E database by Dr. Yurgi Shevchuk

  The Safars continue in their health. Infected, but not symptomatic tissue samples from their bodies, intentionally re-contaminated on January 26, still show no signs of decomposition seven days later. Our efforts to develop a vaccine or cure for Anthrax E from the Safars’ DNA continues, but I feel we are no closer to our goal.

  Communications with the various research institutions around the globe who are working on this matter simultaneously reveal no progress greater than our own.

  February 3, 2093—Anta

  Yesterday, we learned that some guy in Guatemala caught Anthrax E after he picked up a bloody finger he found in his yard. Who would do that? That’s disgusting. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. Today, hospitals and clinics in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Trujillo, Honduras, Colon, Panama, San Andres Island, Mexico, and Fort Lauderdale, United States of America have each reported Anthrax E infections.

  The story, in each case, is just like the guy in Guatemala. Each of them came into contact with human body parts from Gortari II. That means that someone aboard Gortari II was infected with Anthrax E prior to leaving the lunar colonies.

  Shift came to my room earlier today, visibly upset, angry even. His eyes were lit up like a cartoon character who had just been thwarted in his evil plan to rule the Earth. I could have warmed my hot cocoa on his forehead.

  “How the hell could the IWO not know someone on Gortari II was infected?” He practically shouted the question. “If this hadn’t been kept a secret for so long, more of the world would have known of the potential problem with a ship from the moon exploding above the Earth. Maybe Cuba wouldn’t have shot it down. At the least, the IWO could have quickly and easily warned people not to touch debris or body parts from the ship.”

  “Do you think that would have made a difference?” I wondered aloud.

  “Those idiots thought they had this all under control.” Shift continued to rant as though I wasn’t in the room. “Nothing Shevchuk said meant crap to them. Now we could all be screwed.

  “The IWO has ordered that all infected people, and everybody they’ve been in contact with over the past six days, has to be isolated. There’s something like 434 people in quarantine so far. That’s not going to work. They tried that on the moon and they’re all dead. It’s too late for that now.”

  “Shift, can you calm down a bit, so we can talk this through,” I said. Shift wasn’t listening.

  “Someone on that ship was infected before they left the moon,” Shift continued. “And that person had to have known he was infected. The only way to really spread the disease from person to person is through coughing or sneezing. The guy had to have been coughing.”

  “I know,” I said, quietly.

  Shift finally looked at me as though he had just noticed my presence. Now that I knew I had his attention I continued. “So, does this sound right? The person coughed on the ship. Several people were probably contaminated while on Gortari II, but their bodies never had a chance to deteriorate before being blown apart over the Gulf. Then, in the days after the explosion, people began to find and handle various body parts and became infected. Finally, over the past few days, those people became sick. Now it will spread.”

  “Yes. That’s how it must have happened. How can you be so calm and reasonable about this?” Shift asked.

  “Shift, we can’t do anything about what already happened. We can only move forward, knowing what we know and dealing with it the best way we can.”

  “I’m more worried that we haven’t heard from Hasani,” I continued. “I keep up the hope that he might still be alive. He knew how to keep himself safe. Maybe he made it to an outer shell. In any event, our world is in serious trouble now, unless we can do better at containment than the moon did—which I seriously doubt.”

  “You think so? Idiots.”

  “Who?”

  “The IWO, of course.” Shift seemed to collapse within himself, frustrated. “We had a lengthy discussion about this very scenario a few days ago and then Shevchuk presented the theory to the IWO before Gortari II ever left the moon. They knew this could happen. They knew it! Why didn’t anybody pay attention? Why didn’t the sick person say or do something if he knew he was sick. He just got on the ship before it left for home. How irresponsible and selfish does a person have to be to do that, especially someone on the moon who has already seen everybody die?

  “What’s worse is that Cuba decided to blast Gortari II out of the sky right before it landed!” Again, the shouting. “Whatever moron made that choice clearly had no idea what they were doing. Shoot them down earlier and every piece of that ship and every person on board would have fried up entering the atmosphere. Instead, Anthrax E is all over the place now and will spread. There’s no way we can stop it. We’re all going to die—including my sister and her kids, and your parents Anta!”

  “Shift, I get it. You’re mad. Come over here and sit down. Let me get you a drink.”

  “I don’t want a drink. I want to hit something. What can I hit?” Shift asked.

  Typical male.

  “Go down to the gym then. Knock a punching bag senseless. When you’re finished, come back and let’s talk about this. We need to help figure out how to solve this problem, and yelling, especially at me, isn’t going to help.”

  Silence . . . then, “I’m sorry Anta.”

  Those three simple words, coupled with the clear remorse in his voice, made everything better—at least for me. Shift is my friend. His emotions are right. I’m mad too. He’ll be okay, but we’ve got to stay calm.

  “Shift, go work out. Come back when you’re done. I’ll be waiting for you.”

  “Thanks. I will.”

  February 4, 2093—Shift

  I’m feeling much more like myself today. After yesterday’s outburst at Anta, for which I profusely apologized after my workout and a Pepsi, Anta and I are back on good terms—I think.

  After an additional 16 cases of Anthrax E were identified in Central AM and the Caribbean islands in the last few hours, the IWO just ordered the “immediate halt of the distribution of all goods internationally.” Plus, all countries have been ordered to secure their borders. Now, no travel is allowed, worldwide, outside a person’s country of residence. The IWO has mandated that all persons currently in foreign countries must remain where they are currently located. Within the United States, all individual states have been ordered to secure their borders too. That totally worked on the moon—I’m sure it’ll work here too. Idiots.

  Many days too late, the IWO has finally updated its digital site with information concerning Anthrax E and its symptoms. Also too late, the IWO has ordered that any person believing that he or she might be infected is ordered to rush off to a hospital immediately, avoiding contact with everybody. How’s that going to work?

  Anybody finding any body part or material believed to be from Gortari II has to “remain at a distance of no less than 20 meters from the object or body part and should inform local authorities of the discovery immediately.” Again, probably too late. The IWO should have issued that order three seconds after Gortari II blew up.

  Following our staff meeting today, John asked me what I thought about the travel ban. Even though it hasn’t been my primary area of study, my education has offered me plenty of opportunities to learn history, in all of its various facets.

  “It’s crazy. None of this is going to work,” I said, responding to his question. “The travel
ban is going to be impossible to enforce. We already saw it fail on the moon, in a place where the primary way to get from point A to point B was completely closed and inaccessible. But beyond that, only once or twice in our world’s history has a ban on travel, or a restriction on the movement of people been successful. And even when travel restrictions have worked, they haven’t lasted.”

  Others gathered around. When it comes to history, I’m the best we’ve got in this little sanctuary. Sad really.

  “Well, when has a travel ban worked, and what made it successful?” Anta asked. “Or, why don’t they work?”

  I think Anta likes to hear me talk. She always gets me into these long discussions and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even care what I say.

  “Is this actually interesting to any of you,” I asked, puzzled about why anybody would care.

  “Yeah man,” John replied. “I want to know how safe my family and friends are. If this isn’t going to work, I’ve got to know; well, we’ve all got to know. What do we tell our families to keep them safe, if it’s even possible?”

  “Okay, got it,” I said. “But this might be incredibly boring. I hope you’ve all got some caffeine.”

  John held up his steaming mug of coffee to prove he was ready. Nobody else had anything to drink. But they looked interested.

  “Well, historically, especially in Europe and Asia, international borders were almost-always secured militarily, sometimes even with towering walls and other physical fortifications. Most of those fortifications and restrictive measures were partially effective, at least for a while, but none of them, at least none of which I’m aware, were able to fully restrict the movement of people. People who are desperate to get somewhere usually find a way. That’s always been the case and it won’t change now. Humans are quite resourceful.

  “Here’s a great example. The 5,500-mile-long Great Wall of China was a series of walled fortifications constructed over time by several of the Chinese ruling dynasties, between about 470 B.C. and 1600 A.D. The adjoined structures were built as defensive fortifications to repel invasions by the Huns, the Manchus, and other raiders and invaders. The wall wasn’t very successful though as the different invading groups successfully breached the wall on several occasions throughout the centuries. This was despite the wall’s massive length, width, and height, and despite the military presence in place much of the time to provide even greater fortification. In other words, not even a massive wall kept people out of China.

  “During the second century, the Romans built a 73-mile-long wall called ‘Hadrian’s Wall’. It ran from east to west just south of the current Scotland-England border, and marked the northern edge of the Roman Empire. There are a couple of different theories as to its purpose including restricting movement between northern Britain and southern Britain without the payment of customs and keeping the barbaric and warring ancestors of the modern-day Scots—the “Picts”—out of the Roman Empire. Or at the least, the wall was meant to prevent the Picts from bringing horses and other heavy military equipment into the Roman Empire with them. Even though the wall was heavily fortified by Rome’s awesome, powerful military, the Picts successfully breached the wall on numerous occasions. Again, not even a huge wall could do the job.

  “Shall I continue? Jones, you look like you’re nodding off.” Dr. Jones was definitely falling asleep.

  “Ha ha ha . . . no. I’m not Shift—just resting my eyes . . . and my neck . . . and my brain. Okay, I was dosing, but not from boredom. This is interesting. Keep going.”

  “Alright, but I’m watching you. If you fall asleep, I’m gonna start throwing things, starting with John’s coffee. So, in the early 1900s, the ‘Maginot Line’, which was originally built by the French as an attempt to ward off future hostile takeover attempts by the Germans, was utilized as a defensive fortification by the French and then the Germans during World War II. The Maginot Line was a series of trenches and underground fortresses, along with above-ground fortifications and arms battlements. Its success, albeit short-lived, was notable. Of course, the Germans overpowered the French along the Line and then the Americans later overpowered the Germans along the Line. The Maginot Line, like nearly all stationary defenses before and after it, didn’t really work out either.

  “During World War II, the Germans attempted to restrict the movement of the Jews and other minority groups within Germany and its conquests; and tried to keep people from fleeing its borders. Through the use of Secret Police, informants, and the German military, Jews and others had very little freedom of movement and ultimately, millions of people who could not flee were killed. The Holocaust—I’m sure you’re all familiar with it. There were, of course, thousands of escapees from Germany’s borders; thus, that particular system, while devastating to human life, ultimately couldn’t prevent all movement.

  “Probably the greatest and most-successful attempt to restrict movement was the ‘Berlin Wall’. Following World War II, the Allied powers divided the ‘spoils’ of war. The ‘spoils’ included the whole country of Germany. By 1949, Germany had been divided into Soviet-controlled East Germany and a democratic West Germany. The same east-west division took place inside Germany’s capital city, Berlin. Since the city of Berlin was situated entirely within the Soviet-occupied zone, West Berlin became what was called an ‘island of democracy’ within Communist East Germany.

  “Shortly after the division, economic conditions in Communist East Germany became so poor that many people living in East Berlin wanted to escape the repressive living conditions. So, they packed their bags and headed to West Berlin. Although some of them would be stopped on their way, hundreds of thousands of others made it across the border, and tons of them never went back. Many of those who escaped were young, trained professionals. By 1961, East Germany had already lost 2.5 million people and desperately needed to stop the mass exodus.”

  “I thought you said this was one of the most-successful attempts to restrict movement.” John’s voice sounded serious, but I know that smartass too well. “Doesn’t sound too successful if two and half million people got through. I hope we can do better than that this time around.”

  “Thanks John. Let me continue please. How’s Jones doing over there? Ahhh, asleep. I guess I’ll let him off the hook.”

  “Anyway,” I continued, “getting a little bit anxious, Soviet-controlled East Germany decided to build a ‘wall’ to prevent its citizens from crossing the border into West Germany.”

  “Hmmmm.” Anta made a noise that clearly exposed the skepticism that the whole group appeared to share.

  “Yes, that’s right; the old wall idea rears its head again; but this time, it was serious business. During the night of August 12th and 13th, 1961, crews tore up streets that entered into West Berlin, dug holes to put up concrete posts, and strung barbed wire all across the border between East and West Berlin. Telephone wires between East and West Berlin were also cut. No longer could East Berliners easily cross the border for any reason. Approximately 60,000 commuters were suddenly unable to enter West Berlin for well-paying jobs. Families and friends were no longer able to cross the border to meet their loved ones. Whichever side of the border one went to sleep on during the night of August 12, 1961, they were stuck on for the next 28 years. Is that any better John?”

  “Yes; please continue,” John said. “But don’t even try to convince us that barbed wire kept people out of West Berlin for 28 years.”

  “Thank you for that observation,” I said. “No, barbed wire didn’t do the job. It was just the beginning. A real wall was soon built. Then, over the years, the Berlin Wall underwent several further, more-formidable transformations. It stretched over a hundred miles. It ran not only through the center of Berlin, but also wrapped all the way around West Berlin, entirely cutting West Berlin off from the rest of East Germany.

  “Eventually, the Wall included a 300-foot No-Man’s-Land, an additional inner wall, soldiers patrolling with dogs, anti-vehicle trenches, electric fences,
colossal light systems, watchtowers, bunkers, and minefields. The East Germans even raked the ground along the wall so that any footprints would be obvious. That’s dedication, eh?”

  “Sheesh.” Now John seemed impressed. “That probably would have been my job. I rake a mean plot, man.”

  “I’m sure you do. While the restrictions in place to keep East Berliners in East Berlin were highly oppressive and probably represented the most effective restrictive system ever enforced in the world, hundreds of people still ‘breached’ the wall and ‘escaped’ into West Berlin and freedom, mostly by digging under the wall. So, even this massive, 28-year undertaking—with raked dirt, John—couldn’t wholly prevent the movement of the people it intended to restrict.”

  “Shift, all of these examples are super old. Hasn’t anybody been more successful recently?” Anta asked.

  “Well, there hasn’t been any need recently, but there are other slightly-more-modern attempts at restriction.

  “In southeast Asia, seemingly-endless conflicts between North and South Korea throughout the 20th century resulted in the creation of a ‘demilitarized zone’ in 1953. The demilitarized zone was a two and a half mile wide buffer zone running east to west between North and South Korea. It was created following the signing of an Armistice Agreement that officially ended the Korean War which had started three years earlier. More than three million people were killed in that war.

  “Although called a ‘demilitarized zone’, the area was actually the most heavily-fortified military zone in the world well into the 21st century. During the existence of the Zone, no person was allowed to travel through it into the adjoining country without special permission. A few people were allowed to move back and forth for certain work assignments, but the general populace couldn’t.

  “Following the signing of the Korean Peace Treaty of 2028, the Zone was abolished and anybody, from either side, could finally move freely throughout the Korean peninsula, after more than 70 years. But even though the demilitarized zone was pretty effective, it still failed to prevent people from both sides, both military and civilian, from periodic encroachments into and through the zone.”