Manhunter Revelations

by H. F. Daniels

  Then four months after The Structure's lower level was breached the first deaths started occurring. The first cases of death cropped up at the Antarctic site. The symptoms of the illness were horrific. The affected people bodies started deforming. Excessive head and limbs swellings, unnatural growths all over the bodies, with severe to no pain being felt in the affected people. Death occurred within days. As the first signs of the infection cropped up, a full quarantine was put in place around The Structure, but it was too late. Reported cases started popping up all over the world within a matter of weeks. It was determined that the scientists investigating the structure who were periodically sent home to confer with other scientists or to brief their governments on the recent findings had carried the infection home with them. How the disease was released to begin with was an unknown mystery as full biohazard containment had been used throughout the exploration of The Structure, and no biohazards were found, nor had there been any biohazard accidents of any type. The best guess at this point was that there was a pathogen that had been unintentionally released that was totally undetectable by the best bio detection equipment used at the site. The best scientists put their heads together to fight the disease. Nothing man could come up with worked. It was however found that the disease was trying to mutate its victims. Into what, no one knew. Within months the disease had spread worldwide. Since the pathogen was airborne, whole urban areas was affected and were hit the hardest due to the concentration of people in these areas. The death toll within three months was in the hundreds of thousands. Worldwide panic ensued and the governments of the world was blamed for the disease. Wide spread rioting occurred, and many thousands more died due to the rioting, or as a consequence of the riots as the governments had to get hard on the populace to try and stem the violence. The Antarctic site was placed under heavy quarantine as all of the personnel assigned to the site started dying. It was discussed whether the Antarctic site should be sterilized by nuclear means, but it was decided the damage had already been done and the remaining scientists felt sure the cure for the disease might still be located within it. The fact was also pointed out that a nuclear blast on the Antarctic ice shelf would create other global disasters. So the decision was made not to sterilize or re-bury The Structure, but it was sealed to the most extensive biohazards methods in existence. Meanwhile the best medical and bio scientists in the world continued to work exhaustively to try and find a cure for the plague. Within weeks of the outbreak, the major governments of the world had retreated into self contained fortifications which had been previously designed to protect them, but allow them to still run their countries in the event of a major war, disease outbreak, or even an alien invasion. All possible disaster scenarios had been considered and prepared for years before but proved futile. Fully one third of the world's governments still collapsed within six months after the outbreak. The surviving governments knew that to preserve our civilization to some degree, that extremely drastic measures would be needed. So a vid comm conference was convened to find out how and what needed to be done to preserve mankind future survival and it's diverse history and accomplishments. Measures needed were decided and actions were taken. Finally, many months after the outbreak, scientists studying the unknown medical equipment recovered from The Structure figured how to operate one that gave them a diagnostic of the pathogen. The scientists found out that the unknown pathogen had indeed been bio-engineered, not to kill, but to mutate it's hosts. Into what and why was unknown. The scientists believed that the designers of this pathogen must have made an antidote. So under strict quarantine guidelines, scientist encased in the military's Battle Biohazard Combat Suits again re-entered the structure to try and find a cure. The whole continent of Antarctica was placed under quarantine and to even approach the continent was a sentence of death. People flocked to rural and the most deserted and desolated areas they could find to try and get away from the disease and other people, even though in most cases it did them no good. The disease seemed to hunt out people to mutate and then kill them.

  Mankind wasn't the only primate to be affected by the disease. The Great Apes of Africa and Asia were also affected as well as other primate species all over the world. A great deal of them died due to the mutating effects of the disease, except for the gorillas, and the strongest of the orangutans and chimpanzees. Due to the gorilla's larger size and strength almost all of the gorillas were mutated into huge beasts. They grew much larger, up to nine feet tall and between six hundred and fifty to nine hundred pounds. Most of the orangutans and chimpanzees also due to their hardier physiques grew to around six to seven feet tall and around three hundred to four hundred pounds. They became insanely aggressive and developed an insatiable appetite for all living animals. These mutated apes went on a killing spree that spread from Africa and Asia up into Europe, and from South America up through Central America into Mexico before most were hunted down and killed. A few survived in the deep jungles of Africa and Asia and the dense jungles of South America. All of theses great apes were now monsters as far as humanity was concerned. As far as the apes were concerned humanity and any other animals they came across were food, plain and simple. The gorillas and other apes that were in captivity in the zoos around the world, were also mutated, some escaping and going on their killing and eating spree. These were also hunted down and killed as well as the ones still in captivity. As a consequence people were afraid that all simians would mutate into hulking monsters. This caused people to go on a killing rage against all the primates that they could find, large and small. Although they soon found out that most of the other apes, like the smaller Gibbons, and other species of monkeys were all dying or had died from the disease the same as mankind. The death toll from the great apes attacks reached into the hundreds of thousands. Secretly some researchers figured the mutated apes could give a clue to the disease, how to combat it, and find a cure. So some of the mutated gorillas, as well as a great assortment of the other primates were captured, collected and taken to a highly secretive lab on an isolated island in the south pacific for study. This was done under such secrecy that no one outside of a few top level government officials from a few select nations knew of its existence. Due to the eventual collapse of a lot of the governments, and the death of most of the officials, knowledge of this base was somehow forgotten. Eleven months after the first case of infection fully one point nine billion people had died from the disease. Over nine hundred million more had died from the riots, chaos, gorilla attacks and between some smaller countries, outright war. In a few of the smaller nations, border crossings became an epidemic as people fled trying to get away from the disease. The nations whose borders was being invaded felt the invading refugees was bringing the disease with them. As the tensions and death tolls increased, one nation driven almost to total collapse used a nuclear bomb to destroy the neighboring nation it felt was responsible to contributing to its nation demise. As a result a few other nations used nuclear bombs on neighboring countries. Fully eleven nations was totally destroyed from the use of six nuclear bombs to try and stop the spread of the disease.

  A little over a year from the first death, two men and a woman wearing some strange biohazard suits was stopped as they approached the perimeter of The Structure on foot. The solders stationed there were shocked and the only reason the strangers weren't killed on sight was that the soldiers wanted to know how they had gotten there. There was no vehicle or plane anywhere in sight. The quarantine armada around Antarctica reported that no planes, ships or any other craft had approached the continent. The site commander still almost had them executed on the spot until the shortest of the two men stated "We can help you find a cure” He then commenced to discuss the disease and seemed to have biological knowledge of the disease genetic makeup. Desperate to find a solution, the scientists still there looking for a cure convinced the site commander to let the strangers help them, even though all questions as to how the strangers had gotten there undetected went unanswered. The strangers
did state that they would reveal how they gotten there but only if they were allowed to help find a cure and then only after said cure was found. Finally after consultation with government authorities back home, orders was given to allow the strangers to help, but under close guard. In the intervening weeks the strangers showed an impressive amount of knowledge on the disease and its makeup. So much so that the authorities began to suspect they may have been responsible for the disease outbreak. Secretly orders were given that if a cure was found, that the strangers were to be immediately arrested for questioning. About six weeks later they had a cure for the disease that the world was now calling the Antarctic Plague. It took an additional couple of weeks to design and formulate an air borne version of the antidote to dispense it all over the world. Once this factor of the cure had been completed, the military proceeded to the quarters of the strangers to arrest them. It was planned to arrest them while they were asleep, yet when the soldiers got to the strangers quarters, the strangers were gone. The base alarm was sounded. One of the most intense manhunts in mankind's history was conducted on the Antarctic continent, the surrounding seas, and neighboring islands. How the strangers had gotten off the base without being seen or detected was considered impossible. Meanwhile the dispensing of the cure had commenced and it was working. So the governments of the world, unable to explain how the strangers had first appeared and then disappeared, decided to keep knowledge of their help on the cure one of the most protected secrets in history. Meanwhile a theory was proposed that there must be another hidden structure on the Antarctic continent that the strangers had come from. It was also proposed that these strangers had developed the pathogen and released it on the scientists who were exposed, somehow while they were outside The Structure in the open air. There was just no other explanation for how the disease was released on mankind. It was believed the strangers had, through some way unknown to the military, had evaded them when they left The Structure and had returned to their hidden base. After three weeks of fruitless searching all efforts to find the strangers or their hidden base was called off. It took the resources of the surviving governments fully five weeks to saturate the atmosphere of the earth to fully eliminate the disease. It was still years later until all of the world surviving population was convinced that the disease was dead.

  It took the surviving governments of the world eleven years to put the world back together. National boundaries were changed to bring the collapsed nations back into the world. After restructuring there were now only nine major nations on the earth, although there was still dozens of small countries, which refused to be integrated into another nation. The nations in an effort to help each other survive got together to distribute available resources so no one country suffered any undue hardships, although there were hardships aplenty to go around. Out of this joint effort, a new world council was formed called United Earth, whose primary mandate was the preservation and rebuilding of humanity. It was later determined by world scientists that the disease that had devastated humanity had indeed been genetically engineered, first to be undetectable by mutating and mimicking other commonly known pathogens, and second to mutate it's victims to another state of existence, the nature of which they now believed was not human. All indications pointed to the fact the disease had been engineered for another species of being. It was humanity's misfortune that it was susceptible to it power. By the time the Antarctic Plague had been fully eradicated, of the world's seven billion plus population before the outbreak, because of the disease, worldly rioting, chaos and nuclear war, only four hundred and seventeen million people had survived. Of the United States three hundred and thirty seven million people, only twenty nine million survived. The world in essence was deserted. Humanity greatest discovery was also it’s greatest killer.

  Chapter One: The Plan and Capture

  From all appearances it appeared that a child's party of some type was going on. As I waited at the gate while the guard approached, I could hear all the laughing and playing coming from the inside. Not the setting I was looking for, but it would do nicely. As the guard got to my vehicle he asked,

  "Can I help you?"

  "Yes my name is Conrad and I would like to talk to Mr. Lenevos on an urgent matter”

  "I am sorry sir, but you have the wrong residence. This is the estate of Mr. Markus Williams. There is no one here named Lenevos"

  "You may want to tell Mr. Lenevos this is a matter concerning a Mr. Skobla-Han"

  I could see the visible reaction on the guard's face. He looked at me for a full thirty seconds before saying,

  "Wait here. I have to comm this up to the house"

  I waited while the guard went back to the guardhouse and commed my presence up to the main house. I could see at least three other guards stationed around the gate watching me closely. I would bet there were more stationed around the perimeter of the walled estate, probably with comm and video surveillance backing them up. All in all I figured my guess of getting in unannounced would be somewhat difficult was correct, hence my front door approach. After a few minutes of what looked to be a heated conversation on the comm, the guard returned to my car.

  "Two of the boys here will ride with you up to the house. Kilgore will meet you there"

  He waved over two of the other guards who got in the back seat of my car. It was readily apparent both were packing some heavy armament, and would probably love to introduce me to them. Following the guards directions I drove up to the front of the main house. As we drove through the gate I noticed what appeared to be some type of scanning equipment on both sides of the driveway, which I was pretty sure was scanning my vehicle, probably for weapons or explosives. As we got up to the house, I was impressed. It was a big house, palatial in it's grandeur. Waiting for me on the front steps were at least six men, and the big one in front must be Kilgore. As we all got out, two of the men approached me and indicated for me to raise my arms so that I could be frisked for weapons. Another of the men scanned me with a hand scanner for hidden weapons or explosives. Then they scanned my car again. As they finished, and were convinced I was unarmed, Kilgore approached me. He was a big man. Fully six feet nine inches tall, weighing at least two hundred and seventy five pounds, none of it fat. He had hard eyes, set in a craggy lined face. A man accustomed to giving orders, and seeing that they were instantly obeyed. Killing those that didn't.

  "Mr. Conrad, I was informed that you had some information about a Mr. Skobla-Han"

  "Please, just call me Conrad, and yes, yes I do"

  "I am Kilgore, Mr. Lenevos Head of Security. Who told you my employer was interested in Mr. Skobla-Han, and how did you locate us here?"

  "The word in certain circles is that your employer is very interested in talking with Mr. Skobla-Han, obviously about a business matter. The word is, that his interest is very intense. As to how I found your employer is part of the information I have to give him, in person of course”

  "Well you can give me this info, starting with where Mr. Skobla-Han is. I will see that you are adequately compensated for your time”

  "Well compensation will not be necessary, but I am afraid I must give this information to Mr. Lenevos in person"

  Kilgore was a no non-sense man. The look on his face told me that. It also told me that I was seconds away from some very unpleasant pain unless I either gave up the info or said something right then to stop it.

  "Mr. Kilgore, before you do something I am convinced will be painful to me, I need you to consider the alternatives"

  "What alternatives"

  "First off I don't doubt you and your men will be able to cause me a whole lot of pain, but not before I take down at least two, maybe three of your guys, most likely with a lot of noise. I do not believe your boss wants any unpleasantness right now with all those kids I hear inside the house and probably around back. Then you will have to force the info out of me, probably using a combination of pain and chemicals and that will take some time. Trust me when I say there isn't a lot of
time where the info I have is concerned.

  "You are either very stupid or you have no knowledge of whom you are dealing with"

  "I came here alone and unarmed, fully aware of whom I was coming to see. I wouldn't have come if first, my information wasn't important, and second without checking your boss and you out fully"

  Kilgore studied me for a few seconds, then took out a vid comm and made a call. After a few seconds conversation he instructed four of his guys to take me around the back of the house, leaving the rest standing guard in front. As we walked around back, Kilgore walked along side me.

  "Mr. Conrad, just so you don't have any illusions as to the effectiveness of your threat, rest assured that even though you look physically fit, you wouldn't have been able to take out one of my guys before you were incapacitated. I see to their training personally, and a certain level of effectiveness is required to be employed by Mr. Lenevos"

  I remained quiet as we continue walking. As we got around the back of the house, my initial guess about the number of children was somewhat short. There had to be around a hundred or more screaming and laughing children in various stages of chaos and pandemonium running around the place. Off to the side seated at some huge and elaborate tables next to the rampaging children were many assorted women who judging from their concerned actions and attentions could only be the children's mothers. How Lenevos had gotten so many children together was really a big mystery. Seated further off to the other side on a raised patio was the man who could only be Lenevos. He stood up as we approached. It was at this point that I was surprised. I had been informed that Lenevos was a big man, but the description fell way short. Lenevos was fully seven feet three inches tall and must have weigh in at around three hundred and fifty to four hundred pounds. He must have been at least three feet wide at the narrowest, which was his waistline. In addition to that, none of it looked to be fat. The man was immense and heavily muscled.