by Nick Mariano
Howard, Foster and his crew donned chem/bio suits and respirators and they, along with the team from Fort Drum, began an examination of the recently found canister. At first look it appeared that a metal canister had been affixed to some sort of timer and dispersal device. A Nazi Swastika was etched into the metal of the canister, however, the canister, which looked to be made of stainless steel, didn’t show any signs of severe aging. The group couldn’t figure out what they had in front of them. Was it some sort of weapon of mass destruction or some teenager’s elaborate hoax? The Fort Drum team did a field test of the canister and confirmed that it had contained some sort of biological substance, however, they weren’t able to determine what. Howard decided that the canister should be isolated and then flown to Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, for further examination. Fort Detrick currently was the home of the Army Medical Command. Formally, it had been the center of the US biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969, when the program was discontinued. It still housed several elements of the US Biological Defense Program. Howard thought it was their best bet for quickly determining what they had.
Doctor Harold Welsh had been a doctor in Whitney Point since he completed medical school and moved back to his childhood home. Over the past day he had begun to see a marked increase in what he thought was some sort of summer flu. This was a little odd since flu season was still several weeks from getting started. He prescribed the normal flu medications to everyone and told them to rest and drink lots of fluids.
Doctor Leroy Heron had been a doctor in the nearby Town of Smithville for the past ten years. He too was beginning to see a marked increase in people coming in to see him. His initial diagnosis was a early summer flu. He prescribed the normal flu medications and also recommended rest and drinking lots of fluids.
The ISIS Task Force decided to examine the County Fair site and see where the canister was found after the Fort Drum Team left for Fort Derrick with the device. Still wearing their protective clothing and equipment they were taken to the site by Sheriff Whitney. They arrived at the closed fair and headed toward a storage area where a maintenance man had found the canister. A local newsman had heard some chatter on his CB radio and was parked a short distance from the entrance and watched the parade of suited people enter the grounds. He didn’t know a lot about terrorism but this had all the initial signs of some kind of biological attack or maybe it was just a leak of a commercial contaminant at the fair grounds. In any case, something was going on. He radioed his newspaper and told them to hold the front page for a story and some pictures he had just taken. Bob and the ISIS group heard this and knew that it would be a matter of time before someone figured out what they were fighting, however, Nazari assured them that he knew of no vaccine currently available that could stop the virus once it got started. After their initial walk thru Howard decided to leave two people behind to review CCTV tapes of the midway to see if they spotted Bob or any of his three friends from Germany.
By the next day the doctors at Fort Detrick were still stumped at what they were examining. They were sure it definitely was a flu strain of some sorts and now they found some sort of virus resembling the plague but they didn’t know how this could be possible and how someone could have engineered such a virus. They still couldn’t separate what appeared to be a third virus engineered into the other two. Whatever this was, it was definitely a virus that could spread through the air and could prove to be highly contagious. They decided to extend the area of the quarantine to a twenty-five mile radius of Whitney Point and close all access and exit from the area until this was solved.
On Day 3 since the virus had been dispersed at the fair grounds the effects of the plague began to manifest itself in several of the infected persons. Both Doctors Heron and Welsh began to see patients with the same flu symptoms from the previous day, however, some of them were now displaying black and blue sores over their faces, arms and other parts of their bodies. They had no idea what they were seeing and Doctor Welsh even began to think that somehow the Ebola virus had made its way to Whitney Point. He consulted with doctors at the local hospital and the Army field hospital and finally additional assistance was requested from both the CDC and Fort Detrick. Something bad was happening and more than half the town had now been hospitalized to the point that they were running out of beds and staff to help them.
Word finally made it back to the White House and the President ordered the National Guard fully mobilized in the eastern part of NY State. Checkpoints were set up and anyone displaying any signs of this virus would be immediately taken to a nearby medical facility for further observation. The FBI was called in and joined the ISIS Task Force. Howard briefed the new task force members and hourly sitreps were sent to the White House and National Security Council.
Bob and his group followed all the activity via the local news that had started to carry stories about some sort of crises at Whitney Point. They also heard about the closing of parts of the state but the safe house was well beyond the areas involved. They decided to continue following the happenings and planned to leave for NYC in three days time. Nazari had singled out a few potential target sites and once they arrived in NYC it would be only a matter of days before they carried out their final attack.
Day 4 since the attack and people continued to stream into any medical facility they could find. Fort Derrick had now confirmed that two of the strains were the flu and the plague as they had first suspected. They still couldn’t isolate the third virus although the hoped they were getting closer to identifying it. The bigger question that remained, however, was how to come up with an antidote to combat the mutant virus. They had never seen anything like this before and they didn’t know where to start in coming up with a cure.
A check of the videotapes at the County Fair confirmed that Bob and a female believed to be Aisha Samaha had gone to the fair before the outbreak and one video shot revealed Bob stepping into the storage area carrying a small package. When he was seen again on the Midway he didn’t have anything in his hands. This confirmed that the ISIS members were involved in the attack and it was now official that this was a terrorist attack, probably orchestrated by ISIS. The White House was notified immediately.
Back at Whitney Point, Doctor Welsh and a Doctor from the CDC began to see patients that morning. Several of the patients were now displaying large black and blue sores over parts of their body and many of the sores were oozing a pus like substance and even blood. Many of the people appeared to be highly agitated and a number of fights began to break out in the waiting room. One person even attacked a nurse and began to bite and tried to eat her forearm. These people were quickly separated from the others, however, the town had no place to isolate them from the population. The CDC man reported these happenings back to both the CDC and Fort Detrick and the news startled everyone. The CDC had published a web page on the zombie pandemic and most people just thought of it as a sort of a joke, especially given the number of zombie movies and TV shows today. Now it appeared that it may in fact have become a reality. When the news finally reached the White House the President didn’t know what steps to take next. He assembled his National Security Team and tried to find a solution.
Finally one scientist at Fort Detrick remembered that if the rabies virus was dispersed as an airborne virus it could in fact produce the effects that they were now witnessing in New York. Another scientist said that perhaps they should start looking for the origin of the virus. Wasn’t it noted that a Nazi emblem of some sort was etched into the surface of the canister? They contacted the lead agent, Nick Howard, and tried to get some additional information. Howard told them they had originally identified a number of people as possible ISIS members and that while surveilling them in North Carolina they had dug up some sort of metal box along the beach. The group had escaped however before they could determine just what the group had found. Homeland Security and DS had initially thought it might be drugs or money or some sort of Nazi treasure, but they could never con
firm this. Howard asked if it was possible that the Germans had developed some sort of super virus during the war and that this was what the ISIS people had found. No one knew but several people at the CDC remembered that many of the experiments conducted by the Nazis during the war had recently been released under the Freedom of Information Act. Several of the CDC and Fort Detrick personnel were assigned to scour the records to see if something stood out. One scientist remembered that Doctor Josef Mengele and several of his colleagues had conducted experiments at Auschwitz that were out of the realm of the ordinary. Perhaps that was where they should start their search. Howard concluded his call by telling the assembled doctors and scientists that they had confirmed that the ISIS members had in fact carried out this attack as evidenced by video coverage they had just uncovered.
Meanwhile flu outbreaks were reported in other parts of New York State and even a few as far south as Pennsylvania. More and more zombie like incidents were reported later that day and on numerous occasions attacks and aggressive behavior was starting to become more and more common in the neighboring areas around Whitney Point. On some occasions the local law enforcement authorities had to kill persons who became so violent that the police feared for their lives. Reports of people eating other people, both already dead and some still alive, began to increase as the day went on. The ISIS Task Force relocated back to NYC and tried to figure out what was happening although Howard was sure this all had to do with what the ISIS members had dug up in North Carolina.
The President ordered the quarantine expanded to the entire state of New York, with the exception of New York City itself, and troops were authorized to use deadly force should they be attacked. Additional chem/bio teams were dispatched to major cities throughout the state and law enforcement agencies were brought in to supplement the National Guard. Elements of the Army’s Fort Drum barracks were also fully activated and the entire state was put under Martial Law. People not obeying law enforcement or military authorities would be detained and those displaying aggressive behavior could be shot if they presented an immediate danger to either the population or authorities.
As the day progressed Bob and his group fully realized that the virus had in fact done everything and more that Mengele’s notes had indicated. They decided to depart the safe house and move to neighboring Pennsylvania and go to another ISIS safe house near Scranton, Pennsylvania. They would continue to monitor events in New York State and, when the time was right, return to NYC for their final assault on the American Homeland. Equipment and the last of the canisters were packed into an SUV and the group departed just before the announcement of the statewide quarantine. They had just passed into Pennsylvania an hour before all roads into and out of New York State were closed by military troops.
As Day 5 began, the situation around Whitney Point and outlying areas went from dire to completely out of control. Over half the populations of Whitney Point and surrounding areas appeared to be infected. Zombie like people roamed the streets and attacked people at will. The military had run out of options and soldiers were ordered to shoot and kill anyone who showed any signs of aggression. The hospitals were overrun with new patients. The mortality rate was now about 75%. Bodies piled up at hospitals. Hospitals and military field hospitals didn’t have enough staff to handle the inflow of new patients. A number of the doctors had also become infected further reducing people who could help the infected. The CDC and Fort Detrick people had found some mention of a super strain of virus that Mengele had developed at Auschwitz, however, there was no mention that it had even been deployed. The doctor’s notes also indicated that there was no known cure for the virus at the time when Mengele had developed it. Doctors and scientists wondered how such a virus could be developed back in the 1940s and how it could have survived all these years. Some of Mengele’s notes indicated that he may have figured out a way to make the virus dormant for long periods of time, even years, and then reanimate it through some process. It sounded like something out of a science fiction story, however, the doctors studying the virus and the effects it was having in New York believed that he had somehow done just that. Now they had to fully isolate the elements of the virus and come up with a cure. Several bodies from NY were flown to Maryland so that the doctors could dissect them and try to figure out what they were fighting and how to cure and stop it before it took over the entire United States.
ISIS ON THE MOVE
Bob and his group decided to continue monitoring happenings in New York State via the television and Internet newspapers. Both were full of stories of hundreds of people sick in New York State but especially around a little town named Whitney Point. The cause of the illness seemed to center on the County Fair that had been taking place there. None of the news channels knew what was causing the illness although it appeared to be widespread and moving through other small towns in NY. Some theorized that it might be some sort of bird flu or even the Ebola virus. The entire state was now under Martial Law and the National Guard and US Army had closed all roads into and out of the state with the small exception of NYC. There were also rumors of zombie like persons roaming the streets and attacking people. Some reports even said they were eating other people. It sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie. People were advised to stay in their homes and not venture out. Some stations were even reporting that the military and police had shot a number of people who became extremely aggressive and attacked them. The President and his National Security Council were meeting at that very moment and the President was scheduled to address the nation later that night and discuss the crises. Some of the international airports on the East coast were being shut down to prevent any sick people from leaving the country. Sick persons were requested to immediately go to the nearest hospital for assistance. The news channels said that the illness apparently starts with flu like symptoms and, after another day or two, people begin to develop sores on their bodies which eventually start to ooze a pus like substance and even blood. The last stage of the illness is an increased aggressiveness in the infected person and victims then started to display zombie like features including attacking people and even trying to eat them. Many people died before the last stage manifested itself and the mortality rate for the disease was running about 75%. Federal authorities and the CDC were working on a prevention or cure but so far nothing had been developed that was effective against the virus. It was also believed that the virus could be airborne and so people should avoid contact with other people if possible. Surgical masks or mouth covers should be used if outside contact was necessary.
Bob and his group also continued to scan the CB and Police radio and transmissions from numerous towns in NY continued to come in reporting the spread of the virus. Police and military had now been given the authority to shoot to kill if the zombie like persons attacked them. The ISIS group couldn’t believe how well this attack was going so far. By the time they moved their operations to NYC a good portion of the East coast could be on the verge of total infection. The planned New York City attack would only widen the spread of the virus. Bob said they would give things about two days and then move back to his house in NYC for the final attack.
The CDC and Fort Detrick continued their analysis of the virus and now that some dead bodies were available to autopsy they hoped they would uncover something. They knew that the first two parts of the super virus were definitely the flu strain and a strain of the plague. What remained was the final virus strain, although based on the aggressiveness of some of the infected they were centering their search on a type of rabies virus, most likely an airborne variety. Even with this knowledge they were at a standstill on what antidote they could administer to slow down or stop its spread. One scientist searching the recently released notes of Josef Mengele found evidence that the Nazis were working on a super virus similar to what had shown its head in NY. It also appeared the Mengele and his staff had figured a way to preserve the virus over long periods of time. There was no evidence, however, that such a virus
had even been used by the Nazis during the war. Something the American doctors and scientists found odd based on what they were seeing. Such a virus unleashed during the war could have crippled the United States or its allies at the time. The war effort would have come to a halt and Hitler would have had the upper hand over the Allies. The Nazis might even had won the war. Just as today’s doctors and scientists were having trouble finding a cure, the same would have been true back in the 1940s. It appeared that the Nazis had only perfected the virus and never worried about how to cure it once it got started.
Howard and the ISIS Task Force were closely monitoring the situation from the New York Office of Homeland Security. Agents from every US Government agency had been detailed to the virus outbreak. Howard knew that it was critical that they locate Bob and his colleagues and he was beginning to think that Alim Maloof was also a part of this attack. ISIS had finally broken their silence and took full credit for the NY attack and said that there would be more such attacks. The nation was in a panic. People stayed home as they were told and many companies and businesses came to a standstill. Howard had no idea how they might locate the group from NC although agents continued to go through miles and miles of videotapes hoping to spot any of the vehicles seen in NC. If they could only single out an area to start their search. Agents also continued to sit on Bob’s NYC home and Maloof’s home and work place were also being constantly watched. NSA was scanning all telephone calls into and out of NY in hopes of finding some clue on the group. Time was ticking by. People were getting sick and dying in alarming numbers and the virus continued to spread to towns and cities further and further away from Whitney Point.
That night the President addressed the nation and outlined the events that had taken place at Whitney Point. The nation watched in disbelieve at what their President was telling them. How had ISIS managed to attack the United States? How could they have developed a virus so deadly that hundreds of people had been infected and hundreds had already died. Would they catch the culprits? Would the American doctors and scientists find a cure? People on the East Coast were scared and those on the West Coast just sat in disbelieve at what their President was telling them and hoped that the virus didn’t spread to that part of the US.