by Tim Moon
Ty scowled as Ben pulled out into the street, looking more distraught than Ben had ever seen him.
“That was some crazy stuff, huh?” Ben said with an awkward chuckle.
From the corner of his eye, Ben could see Ty roll his eyes.
“Crazy? Yeah, you could say that. It was worse than crazy. Yet again, we lived through some horror movie shit. He bit her. No, not bit, he ate her and liked it! Like a fuckin’ cannibal. Just like the people on the plane.”
Ben nodded. There was no denying the cannibalistic tendencies. Picturing the man eating the girl’s arm, made him shudder.
“Did you see the look on his face when he got a bite? It makes me feel sick just thinking about it,” Ty said angrily. “I know horrible stuff happens around the world everyday but it doesn’t usually happen in my world, this is out of control.”
Ben could hear the fear in Ty’s voice.
“You know, I have a hard time believing the people on the plane died from exposure to some kind of toxin,” Ben admitted. “But what kind of disease makes people act like that? And what connection does the guy at the restaurant have to any of it? He acted the same but he didn’t look familiar.”
Ty didn’t say anything.
“Could it be drugs? Maybe, like, meth or something. People do crazy shit on that stuff.”
“Oh please, the people on the plane didn’t use meth.”
Ben didn’t have anything to say to that. Ty was right, how could they have used meth on the plane? Even if they did, not everyone would die from it.
“What if they’re zombies?” Ben blurted out.
“Jesus, dude. You watch too many movies,” Ty said, his voice dripping condescension.
“Whatever.”
Awkward silence filled the car.
“No matter what caused it, it was horrible to see,” Ben said softly. “I wonder if that girl’s okay? She was hurt really bad.”
Ty nodded.
“How did Anuhea take it?”
“She’s scared, from what I could tell. None of us stuck around long enough to talk about it,” he said in a pouting voice. He crossed his arms and stared at the road ahead.
Ben tapped the steering wheel with his thumb while he thought.
That had to be the worst first date ever.
He figured it’d probably be the last time he saw Charlotte. A twinge of sadness struck him.
What a wild day.
“Tomorrow will be better,” Ben said mostly to himself.
Ty continued brooding.
9
October 10 | Waikoloa Beach Resort and Spa | 0430 Hours
SOMETHING SHOOK BEN, he rolled and tumbled in darkness. His head jumbled around, shaking with each vibration.
A voice yelled, “Earthquake!”
Ben’s eyes popped open for a second before reflexively squinting from the light. Ty’s smiling face danced just out of reach. Realizing it was just his idiot friend getting him back for waking him up yesterday, Ben rolled over and groaned.
“I hate early mornings,” he said grumpily. “This is the last one we do.”
“Deal.”
“I need coffee, stat.”
“Get your lazy ass up. It’s already brewed,” Ty said, smiling. “See you downstairs in the lobby as soon as you’re presentable. Breakfast awaits!”
Ugh, morning people.
Ben dragged himself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom to make himself feel human again. A splash of water later, he could open his eyes without squinting.
Ben wiped his face dry with a hand towel and thought, coffee. He filled a paper cup as full as he dared.
Shorts alone wouldn’t work for the lobby, so Ben threw on his favorite Star Wars t-shirt and a plain white baseball hat.
Entering the lobby, Ben saw Ty. He was showing the effects of the last two days, but Ty seemed a lot more personable than he’d been last night.
Breakfast at this hotel was serious business. Four large buffet tables held a wide selection of tasty treats. They were fairly early, but things still seemed awfully quiet. One man read the newspaper. Another watched the news on TV, and a family sat in the far corner talking quietly amongst themselves.
Then Ben remembered. Today was the day of the annual triathlon which drew thousands of people to the island from around the world. So, early as it was, anyone associated with the race was already up and out the door.
Two athletic looking announcers chatted about the race on the TV hanging from the wall.
They actually needed to hurry if they were going to go watch. The race would be starting soon, and they still had to link up with the ladies.
Last night, Anuhea had texted Ty to see if they’d like to watch the race with her and Charlotte. Ben was shocked that they wanted to hang out again after the way the evening had gone. But they’d agreed right away because it meant seeing the girls again. Though, at the time, neither of them had been very interested in the race itself. Right now, Ben was almost excited. It’d be his first time watching a triathlon, and it’d be a great way to keep his mind from dwelling in the darkness.
“Before Anuhea mentioned it last night, I’d almost forgotten the race was this week.” Ben nodded his head toward the television. He reached for bacon with silver tongs and grabbed half a dozen slices.
Ty just shrugged as he started shoveling fruit into his bowl. “It could be fun. I’ve never watched a triathlon in person before. I’ve only seen highlights on the news or clips on YouTube.”
Ben walked over to the cook assigned to omelet duty. The man grinned politely as Ben made his order – bacon and cheese with onions and green peppers. As the cook went to work, Ben joined Ty at the table he’d chosen facing the TV. Ben set down his plate of bacon, eggs, and hash browns and turned his attention to the television.
After a few moments, the news anchors switched from talking about the race to talking about the attack at The Brewing Company.
“Ben, look. They’re talking about last night.” Ty nudged Ben’s arm.
“Yeah,” he said shushing Ty.
“Order up,” said the cook.
Ben hurried over to get his omelet, trying not to take his eyes off the TV for long. He thanked the cook and rushed back to the table to watch the news segment.
“Most people go to The Brewing Company restaurant to relax, enjoy a meal, and have a beer with friends or family. They don’t expect the night to turn violent. Samantha Steele has the story,” the anchor said.
“Thank you, Mike. Last night, a man burst through this floor-to-ceiling glass window and attacked a woman.” Samantha gestured at the broken window. “Police reports say the man grabbed her and bit her repeatedly on the arm. It’s one of a string of biting attacks that have been occurring around the islands.” She spoke with the dramatic tone of a movie trailer.
A wide shot showed her standing with the smashed window behind her. She walked toward the camera, chunks of glass crunching under her ridiculously high-heeled feet. “Kona Police Sergeant John Higgs said the man, whose identity is unknown, seemed to have no connection to the victim. A heroic member of the kitchen staff, Keanu Pookalani, responded and subdued the attacker until police took him into custody. The victim fled the scene before police and paramedics arrived. Her current whereabouts and condition are unknown. Sergeant Higgs said police are looking into every lead. Mike, back to you.”
Ty looked over at Ben.
“Well, nothing new there,” Ben said with a shrug. “Except that the girl didn’t show up at the hospital like the officer thought she would. That’s pretty weird, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, she lost serious chunks of her arm to that freak. But I wish they’d share something we didn’t know. Either of us could have given that news report.” Ty sounded disappointed.
“Seriously.” Ben nodded.
Back in the studio, anchorman Mike and his co-host Iolani made a couple of comments implying a connection between The Brewing Company attack and the hotel fire the day before.
Revisiting the story, Mike said, “According to police reports, several eye witnesses claim that two, quote, ‘strange’ people wandered in and bit guests at the breakfast buffet, which started the confrontation that may have sparked the fire. Unfortunately, the number of fatalities from the hotel fire has now risen to seven, two of whom died in the hospital last night.”
Iolani commented on several reports of biting attacks coming out of Honolulu. Two of the Honolulu attacks were fatal.
“A string of biting attacks? That’s not only creepy as hell but too much of a coincidence,” Ty said, as he finished his mountain of fruit. “We should see if anything more specific is online, do you have your phone? I left mine in the room.”
“Nope, I left mine too. What do you think is causing it? That guy last night wasn’t right in the head, even for a drug fiend. He didn’t talk, yell, curse – nothing. He only moaned and growled like an angry dog.”
“I really don’t think it could be drugs,” Ty said. “With such weird attacks in so many different places, tainted drugs seems unlikely. And it doesn’t explain the people on the plane. They clearly weren’t on anything.”
Mike and Iolani were about to turn things over to yet another homogeneous weather report when they cut to a graphic that said, “Breaking News” in bold letters.
“We have a breaking news story. For details, we go to our national affiliate,” Iolani said.
The screen filled with the logo for the national broadcast then faded to a familiar news anchor - Jordan Jackson. Jordan started by welcoming everyone to this special broadcast. Then she got right to the point.
“Just moments ago, China announced that it believes it was the target of a biological attack which has killed thousands of civilians. China has mobilized their police and military forces to respond to the disaster,” Jordan said, pausing briefly for effect. “In order to contain the situation and find those responsible, all communication, travel, and trade have been halted.”
Next to Jordan, a pair of graphics showed the flags of Japan and South Korea.
“Reports first came in from our affiliates in Japan and South Korea, who reported serious communication outages within China. Their field reporters in China had to call in via satellite phones because telecommunications appear to be down in all major cities. An unnamed source within the U.S. State Department, confirmed the reports of Chinese blackouts,” she continued as another small graphic appeared beside her.
“The Chinese Ministry of Transportation and Communication and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have issued a joint statement that all transportation and communication into and out of the country has been suspended until further notice. Sources within China tell us that, quote, ‘disruptions’ began in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou late last night. Several comments were found on social media about random attacks and violence in the streets, but they’ve since been deleted. Now it’s been reported that Chinese internet service providers, the gateway companies to the internet, have shut down completely.”
“Internet security expert Dave Carmichael is here with us. Thank you for joining us, Dave. Why would China order their Internet Service Providers to shut down?”
The screen cut to a middle-aged man with a military style haircut. “As you know, Jordan, China has always kept a tight rein on their telecommunications, including the internet. If they feel like they’ve been attacked by terrorists or a rogue nation, restricting communications access between those responsible and their assets on the ground in China is a logical step. It limits their vulnerability to electronic attacks during a time of crisis, but it also restricts citizens from reaching out to friends and family which is an unfortunate problem.”
“Thank you, Dave,” Jordan said. “We’re told that just hours ago, Beijing sent instructions to their embassies and consulates worldwide about the communication and transportation blockage before sharing the announcement with the media. It is unknown if Chinese embassies and consulates will have contact with Beijing or not,” Jordan said. “This dramatic and unexpected move by China is being received by other governments with extreme speculation. Some people in the international community question whether an attack actually occurred since no official evidence was provided by Beijing. Many fear this may be a move towards armed conflict, given recent tensions in the region between China and many of its neighbors concerning territorial disputes.”
She took a moment before continuing.
“Japan responded to the announcement, which has been viewed by some as a potential escalation of the situation regarding the contested islands in the East China Sea, by announcing an elevated security posture for their Defense Forces saying, ‘We will ensure the safety and security of our country from any and all aggressive actions. Any attack will be met by swift and decisive retaliatory measures.’ The Republic of Korea’s government in Seoul, has elevated the security posture of their armed forces as well. In a statement to the press, the South Korean President urged caution and open dialog to resolve any dispute saying, ‘We urge our neighbor to remain peaceful for the good of all people.’”
“That’s some serious shit,” Ben said, in awe of the enormity of the situation.
“So much for going to China after this, huh?” Ty said.
Ben nodded. Damn.
International drama on this scale was unlikely to be resolved in a matter of a few weeks or even months. If for some reason war broke out, Ben felt certain neither of them would be going anywhere in Asia anytime soon. The implication of one of the world’s largest economies suddenly slamming the door in the rest of the world’s face was daunting. It almost made Ben wish he was still in college, to discuss it with other political and foreign policy geeks.
“I wonder if the government will be able to airlift citizens out of China? I mean, what’s going to happen to the expats still there if all travel is blocked? Will that policy affect U.S. government flights too?” Ty asked.
With a shrug, Ben said, “I don’t know how it will affect that, but my guess is that the lock-down means everyone. I guess it depends on what actually happened, they weren’t very specific. If it was just a terrorist attack, there’d be no reason to evacuate people.” Ben shoveled omelet into his mouth as he thought about it.
“I guess that’s true,” Ty said, between bites. “Dude, aren’t Steve and Aubrey in China backpacking? I wonder if they even know what’s happening.”
“Oh, that’s right. Wow,” Ben said with his mouth full.
Ty glanced at the clock on the wall. “We need to roll out soon or we’ll be late to the race.”
They finished breakfast and headed back to the room. When they got there, Ben flipped on the TV and turned up the volume so they could listen while they got ready to go meet Anuhea and Charlotte. The news was still showing some clips from a news conference with the Japanese prime minister.
Jordan Jackson came back on screen and announced that the U.S. president would be making a statement soon. She went on to say that video clips had been recovered from social media accounts before the internet shutdown in China. They were from the last 48-hours and showed what appeared to be riots in the big cities.
The screen cut to one of the video clips. The streets were full of people, police swung batons and threw gas grenades, and bodies were lying on the ground.
The president’s speech was surprisingly calm and reassuring. He encouraged China to maintain open trade with the world. He mentioned China’s friendly ties to America and suggested that his administration would help seek out any group responsible for attacking China. But he also reassured America’s allies that he would stand with them in case of a conflict. The president said he was confident that the world could work with China to peacefully resolve whatever difficulties they were dealing with.
Nothing was said about U.S. citizens in China though, which troubled Ben. Thousands of people, including their friends, would now be stranded there without communication for an undetermined length of time. He couldn’t imagin
e how stressful that would be for them or their families.
After the President’s speech, the coverage cut back to Jordan who passed the issue over to some commentators.
“Lame. They didn’t really say anything.” Ty threw a sock at the TV.
“Vague political posturing.”
“Exactly.”
It was disappointing. Ben also wondered what would happen to flights currently in the air heading to and from China. Would they be turned away by their destinations?
“Times like this make me wish I was working in D.C. so I could have the inside scoop,” Ben said.
10
October 10 | Alii Drive, Kona | 0630 Hours
KONA HAD SWELLED almost to bursting with people – from athletes and their families to reporters, photographers, film crews, police officers, federal law enforcement and security officers, and private security.
Ben and Ty joined Charlotte and Anuhea near the King Kamehameha hotel. From there, they all pushed their way as close to the waterfront as they could, which wasn’t very far. Energy radiated off the competitors as they stood, ready to launch themselves into the ocean and battle it out. All they needed to hear was the boom of the cannon.
It looked like madness to Ben. The idea of swimming with that many flailing arms and legs around him made his chest tighten. With his luck, Ben figured he’d get kicked in the head and drown.
Helicopters hovered high above the crowd. The buzzing mixed with the excited chatter of thousands of spectators as they awaited the final countdown and the start of the race.
Charlotte’s hair danced in the breeze, tickling his neck. For a second, the memory from the airplane flashed in Ben’s mind. He flinched and wiped his face, half expecting his hand to come away red.
The cannon boomed and the crowd exploded with exuberance. Charlotte’s cheering rang in Ben’s ears.
Startled out of his memory, Ben spilled his coffee. Hot liquid rushed over his hand like lava.