“We are attempting to contact one of our correspondents in these regions and will try to provide an on-scene report later in the program. From what we have heard, entire cities are being quarantined to attempt to stop the spread of the bug. Several cruise ships have diverted their courses and airports are taking steps to screen anybody travelling from those areas.”
As the program continued, most viewers weren’t really bothered with the stomach bug story, which appeared to be unfolding on the other side of the world. Viewers were anxious about what was happening on the farms, though. People were concerned what they are going to do when all the grains, vegetables and fruit run out. Some folks trek out to their gardens to check on their vegetables. That night, the first pet owners noticed that their pets were starting to act funny.
Chapter Ten
October 20, 12:00 P.M.
Shock and Denial.
The majority of people around the world were stunned by recent developments. Their addiction to information was fed by uncountable sources, each telling a slightly different to wildly deviant story, depending on where you looked for your news. People didn’t know what to believe, so they were frozen in place and kept scouring for more information – even as reality occurred all around them.
A lot of people tried to overcompensate by forcing some sense of normality on the world around them. They blindly ignored the signs and continued about their lives, with secret hopes that it all would just go away. The government tried to support this line of thinking. ‘Trust your Government’. ‘Listen to the authorities.’ And ‘We’ve got this under control.’ Were heard over and over.
Other people didn’t buy it. They lashed out and acted, driven by their paranoia. The run on gun stores and grocery stores was well and truly on.
THE LUNCHTIME SHOW on October 20th started with a broad, splashy graphic above Tammy Jensen’s head. It read; “The Bug Spreads”. Underneath that stood the single word; “Epidemic?” Sensationalism at its best.
“Good evening and welcome to our program. I’m Tammy Jensen. Our headline this afternoon.”
Tammy turned to her left as the feed switched to another camera. The graphic beside Tammy once again showed a world map. There were markedly more of the circular graphics present on the map than there were yesterday.
“The World Health Organization is officially releasing a caution alert regarding the new stomach ailment and are considering raising the alert level to epidemic. So far, there have been no cases of death as a result of the bug. Spokesmen for the WHO are calling for the governments of the world to help control the spread of this apparently highly infectious disease.”
“There have been reports of infection all over Africa and the Middle East, and several unconfirmed cases have been reported as far away as India and Kazakhstan. Travel advisories have been issued for many of these areas and in some cases air travel has been completely halted.”
“There has been no further information from the WHO or the Center for Disease Control, regarding the nature of this ailment. One of our correspondents is standing by with an update from Johannesburg, South Africa.”
The screen was split, with Tammy on one side. The other side showed a middle-aged man wearing a Trilby hat and trench coat. The man was holding a microphone in one hand and an umbrella in the other. It was cloudy and drizzling rain this evening in Johannesburg. A digital clock at the bottom of the screen indicated that it was just past 8 P.M. in South Africa.
“Hello Adriaan De Jager, and thank you for joining us.” Tammy started.
This was followed by a pause that lasted several seconds, as the audio traveled 8000 miles.
“Hallo Tammy! This is Adriaan De Jager! Freelance reporter ... reporting to you ... live from Johannesburg, South Africa!” The man has a noticeable South African accent and emphasized his words with movements and facial expressions. This reporter appeared to have experience in stage acting.
The flamboyant reporter was apparently grabbing this chance at publicity with both hands. A minor look of annoyance flashed across Tammy’s face at his self promotion. Adriaan took no notice and continued.
“I am standing in front of the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg General Hospital.” The reporter flourished as the camera panned to Adriaan’s left and focused on the hospital. Several tall buildings can be seen, grey against a greyer background. The camera panned back to Adriaan.
“I have stood here, in the rain. All day, and into the evening now, yeah. And as I have witnessed a steady stream of water running in the gutter, I have witnessed also a steady stream of people passing me by, on their way to the hospital!” Adriaan stated dramatically.
“I have interviewed some of these people off camera, and they have all told me very similar stories, Tammy!” Adriaan paused for a moment. Tammy looked ready to speak up when he suddenly continued.
“Poisoned!” Adriaan pronounced with another flourish. “People are telling me that they believe the government has poisoned them. How else can we explain all these people getting sick at the same time. Many, many people are even telling me that their pets and livestock were getting sick as well!”
“Is this a world-wide government conspiracy? This reporter intends to find out!”
“Adriaan.” Tammy attempted to interrupt.
“I will go to de Stadsaal – or city hall-“
“Adriaan!” Tammy attempted to intervene again
“-see if I can get some answers. Wat is dit? Yes, Tammy I hear you!”
A look of exasperation showed on Tammy’s face. Adriaan waited for Tammy to speak.
“Adriaan. Please answer these questions.”
Again, there were a few seconds of delay before Adriaan responded. “Ja, Ok Tammy?”
“Approximately how many people have come down with this ailment?”
“Ek heb keen idee” Adriaan mumbled. He looked off camera. “Hoefeel mensen hebben wij gezien op ‘t ziekenhuys?” ... “Hoefeel?” ... “Oh, ok” Adriaan looked back at the camera.
“Oh, uh, Sorry Tammy I was researching. We estimate that we have seen at least five hundred people coming to this hospital today! The hospital staff is already overwhelmed by the-”
“Has there been any report of anybody dying from this ailment?”
Another pause. Adriaan looked almost comical, hiding under his umbrella.
“Um. ... No. Tammy. Nobody has perished. But maybe they’re not telling us everything he’?”
“Ok. Thank you Adriaan. We have no further questions for you. Please keep us updated with the situation in Johannesburg.”
“Yes Tammy! This has been Adriaan De Jager repo-” He managed to get out before his feed was cut.
Chapter Eleven
October 21, 6:00 P.M.
Tammy appeared on the screen for her regular broadcast of the Channel Eight News. The bold graphic above her head was singular and powerful. “Epidemic!”
“Good evening and welcome to our program. I’m Tammy Jensen. Our top story this evening:”
“The World Health Organization has officially raised the status level of the new stomach bug to ‘epidemic’.”
Tammy turned to another camera. She now took up half of the shot.
“The Center for Disease Control made the following statement.”
The words appeared beside her as she read them out.
The CDC is raising its status of this, as of yet unnamed stomach ailment, to epidemic level. The primary reasons for this being the highly contagious nature of this ailment, including suspected cross-species contamination. This current outbreak is deeply troubling, and we call upon all healthcare providers to advise patients on how best to avoid contraction of the ailment. The CDC are working together with all major health organizations world-wide, to determine the origin of this ailment, and are bringing all our combined research to bear, to find a cure. We are confident that we will find a cure.
It is important to note that the ailment affects humans as well as animals, and the spread of the
ailment from animals to humans has not been ruled out.
At this point we do not see a connection between this ailment and the recent developments within the agricultural sector, but we are investigating this possibility with assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture’s research arm, the Agricultural Research Service, or ARS.
The CDC further advises the population to: Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Stay at home if you are feeling sick – especially if you are having stomach pain. Use tissues or cough and sneeze into your arm. Do not share drinking cups, dishes or cutlery. Use hand sanitizers. Take all precautions to keep yourself from coming into contact with any other persons. We encourage all Americans to adhere to CDC guidelines in order to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.
The average viewer would hardly be alarmed with this bullet list of common practices.
The camera focused on Tammy once more. The news anchor wiped an imaginary hair from her forehead before speaking. Most viewers didn’t notice this, but it was somewhat uncharacteristic for the consummate professional.
“Our latest reports reveal that the infection has spread to Central America and Eurasia, despite the grounding of many flights worldwide.” She forced a smile. “However, there have been no deaths attributed to this disease...” Her smile faltered for a moment, as most people watching the broadcast imagined the unsaid word.
Yet.
Chapter Twelve
October 22, 12:15 P.M.
The camera captured a crowd marching in a demonstration. The picture was somewhat shaky as the camera man jostled for position to keep the reporter in the shot. All along the downtown street there are people.
The camera man and the reporter re-positioned quickly off to the side. It’s a sunny afternoon. Clear blue skies and rays of sunlight are visible overhead. The downtown buildings block most of the sun’s rays from reaching the ground. But this is no big city. There are no massive skyscrapers here, and the reporter had found a sunlit piece of sidewalk.
It shone on the protestors’ heads beside the reporter, as if in a blessing from the powers above. The reporter calls something to the hundreds of people that have taken to the streets. One man disengaged himself from the crowd and jogged over.
The camera man zoomed in, so that the reporter and his interviewee dominated the picture. Behind them dozens of people were visible, continuing to stream past in a kaleidoscope of colours and noise.
The reporter raised his voice in order to be heard over the noise. “Thank you, Tammy! We are live here on fourth street and Lee avenue! I’m here with – Isaac – and we are heading towards the Alfred P Murphy building!”
He turned to a young man, with a bit of acne on his chin, longish blonde hair down past his ears, and a small nose ring. Other than wearing an army surplus jacket and that nose ring, he looks like any kid. It would be easy to mistake the march for one supporting the local college team. Even the spirit of the crowd in the background was more like a party atmosphere. There was no sense of violence in the air whatsoever.
“Isaac, can you tell me why you are marching today?” He raised his hand and indicated the crowd around them. “What is this all about?”
“We got to do something, dude! We got to let the powers know that this ain’t gonna fly!”
“What do you mean?”
“You know! It’s – it’s the Illuminati, man! They got an agenda and that’s like ... to create a new world order or something, dude!”
The reporter’s face shows his scepticism. “Really. And how are they doing that?”
“Take a look at the world, dude. They’re poisoning everything! They won’t tell you, but all the crops are failing – everywhere! And now the cows and shit are dying off! I tell you they figured out some way of infecting us dude! Really man! It’s in the water or something.”
Somebody in the background yelled a greeting. Isaac was distracted and looked to see who it was. The reporter stayed focused and prompted Isaac to continue. “Yeah. So, man, I think that It’s like they’re trying to get rid of all the people they find ... like, unworthy or something!”
The camera got jostled at that moment and the camera man was barely able to catch himself and keep from dropping the camera. Some swearing was heard off camera. The disembodied voice of Isaac chimes in one more time “Hey man can I say hi to my girlfriend?”
The feed switched back to the news desk. Tammy turned to the camera. “Thank you, Jeff. Ladies and gentlemen, that was Jeff Osterman reporting live from downtown.”
“While most people are taking the advice of their governments and health authorities and staying inside, there appear to be rallies like this happening all over America. The most common themes amongst these demonstrations are in support of the farming community or various animal rights groups. These rallies have been peaceful for the most part.”
“To recap our headline story; The infection has spread to the United States, and indeed many other nations across the world. It appears that the infection is already having widespread affect on animal life, and now the first confirmed human cases have been reported in nearly all major cities. Health officials are preparing for an epidemic right here in our nation.”
“The CDC, in coordination with the World Health Organization and various other health authorities has named the ailment. They are calling it the Hemorrhagic Abdominal Parasitosis Syndrome, or HAPS”
Tammy’s expression became slightly more serious.
“The latest news on HAPS is concerning.”
She turned to another camera. “Along with the seemingly unstoppable spread of this syndrome, there are also now unconfirmed reports of the first deaths attributed to HAPS.”
“These reports are coming in from Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya, Mogadishu in Somalia, and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. We are attempting to corroborate these unconfirmed reports and will update you when we find out more details.”
“There are also rumors of mass livestock deaths in farms all over Africa and Asia.” Tammy looked at the camera. “We have no confirmations of this at the moment.”
“We have also received a short statement by the CDC an hour ago, which details some of the progress being made, and offers some explanation of HAPS. Here are the highlights.” Tammy turns to another camera, and a bulleted list appears on the screen to her left.
“The Hemorrhagic Abdominal Parasitosis Syndrome always appears first in the stomach or bowels of the infected and starts as a mild ache. For some people, the infection moves quickly – going from mild irritation to becoming excruciatingly painful within a 24-hour period. For others it can take several days or longer to develop. The elderly and infirm are considered to be most at risk and are advised to adhere to CDC guidelines for their own safety.”
The bulleted list was replaced by scenes of violence.
“While the protests in America have so far been peaceful, the same can not be said for many other places in the world. The scenes switch as Tammy lists off the cities.
“Protests in Beirut and Jerusalem both have turned violent, with government forces opening fire upon protestors. We have received an unconfirmed message from an eyewitness that states that ‘the dead litter the streets.’ The Israeli government has released an official statement that terrorists in the region have attacked their security forces, forcing them to defend themselves.”
“In Rabat, Morocco there are fires raging unchecked, as public servants have gone on strike.”
“Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli are among North African cities where people are attempting to evacuate across the Mediterranean Sea to perceived safety in Europe. Greek and Italian navy have reported that several boats have capsized, and many people are suspected to have drowned. According to humanitarian organizations, the death toll is in the hundreds. Several NATO members have pledged to increase naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea to prevent further tragedy.”
“Many nations have completely shut their borders to the outside world,
in an attempt to keep HAPS from spreading.”
“The Ayatollah in Iran has declared a holy war against its enemies, including the U.S.A., which it is calling ‘the great Satan’. Iranian officials are claiming that HAPS is a man-made creation meant to wipe Islam off the face of the Earth. There has been no reaction from the white house to these accusations.”
Chapter Thirteen
October 23, 3:00 P.M.
There were masses of people that reacted in a very typical fashion; they panicked. People were locked up in their houses, with their hoarded stashes of canned goods and toilet paper, glued to their tv screens and laptops. They followed the unfolding events in morbid fascination, scouring the internet for more bad news and sharing their discoveries with shameless glee.
The truth was, that people were in denial. They had gotten so used to their lives, to their mortgages, to their drive through fast food, to their tech and drug addictions. That even with the end of the world staring them right in the face, they refused to accept it.
THE FIRST IMAGES TO confront the viewer today were videos depicting masses of people wearing face masks, marching and rioting. The names of cities and countries are displayed as captions below the images.
Some of the videos clearly show violent behaviour, from looting to full-on clashes with police or army units. The ticker below the images continues to display different city and country names. This thing is now worldwide. The scenes continue for several minutes.
The mixture of news camera and cell-phone videos capture scenes of ever-increasing chaos. In some of the videos, it appears as if people are randomly fighting each other. Other videos depict protests getting out of hand and turning violent. Images of explosions, cars on fire, shattered windows, and random looting fill the screen.
Some show protestors being swept off their feet as they are hit by blasts from water cannons. Others depict protestors fleeing in several directions as tear gas canisters burst around them. Several videos show police officers and military units shooting at protestors. It is impossible to determine if they were shooting blanks. Then, as if to take all doubt out of the viewers’ mind, there is a video showing the military using vehicle mounted machine guns. The deafeningly powerful guns burst for several seconds as the cameraman stumbled from the noise. Thankfully, the video was cut off before the view pans to whatever was being shot at.
Apocalypsis Immortuos | Book 1 | Syndrome Page 7