Pandora (Book 5): Behold A Pale Horse

by McCrohan, Richard

  “Did you fucking see that?” one boy said gobsmacked.

  “He bit his fingers off,” Dwayne choked out.

  Another boy standing off to the side was looking at his phone, also.

  “Hey, I have the same video on,” he called. As the other boys turned to look again, the boy’s girlfriend stepped back disgusted.

  “Oh, I think I’m going to puke,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “That is so gross.”

  Everyone milling around the front of the school were excitedly comparing notes on what they were watching. Several of the bus drivers blew their horns to get the students moving again.

  Dwayne and Billy ran onto their bus right before the doors closed. Taking their seats, they looked around. Dwayne looked across the aisle and recognized the girl sitting there from homeroom this morning. She was one of the students who had stood to give their names. She was sitting quietly with her head back and her eyes shut.

  “Hey,” Dwayne said to her, “are you okay, Diane?”

  She turned her head and looked at him with half opened eyes.

  “I’m all right, D,” she said with half a smile. “All this stuff going on has just given me one heckuva headache, that’s all. I’m okay.”

  After glancing at him, she turned and shut her eyes again. Dwayne thought they looked a little bloodshot.

  § § §

  That night at the dinner table, Dwayne ate silently as his mother and father talked about the next day.

  “I think that I should fill the SUV with gas tomorrow,” Patrick told his wife. “I’m also going to fill those two containers I have in the garage.”

  “Do you think that we need to?” she asked.

  “Don’t know,” he said, “might as well be safe. You should fill your car, too. Then we should go to the supermarket and stock up on water. Maybe some canned goods, too. And batteries.”

  Anne smiled at him. “You’re starting to sound like your brother,” she said.

  Patrick chuckled, “Yeah, maybe so. He must have rubbed off on me.”

  Patrick’s brother Mike was a little bit of a prepper. He would occasionally pick up a survivalist magazine and read it. Not that he was into conspiracy theories or stocking an arsenal of firearms in secret caches, but he liked to think of himself as prepared. Both men had been in the Army and stationed in Iraq. One man in Mike’s unit had been an avid prepper and had gotten Mike interested also.

  Dwayne cleared his throat, and said, “Uh, say Mom? Billy and I want to go to the movies tomorrow for the first showing at eleven. Is that okay?”

  Turning to her son, Anne smiled and said, “I think that would be all right Dwayne. Your dad and I will be a little busy tomorrow, but I think I can drop you off before I do some of the food shopping.”

  “How about Billy’s parents?” Patrick asked. “Maybe they could help? Or at least pick you guys up after?”

  “Yeah, said Dwayne. “I’ll call Billy after dinner and ask.”

  “Don’t forget, Erica is coming home tomorrow, too,” Anne said.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Mom,” Dwayne replied. “I should be back when she gets here. No problem.”

  Dwayne’s parents continued to plan for Saturday. He resumed eating, contented, now that he knew the new Avengers movie would be on the agenda for tomorrow. All was good.

  After dinner was over and the dishes removed, Dwayne called Billy and arranged for his dad to pick them up after the movie. Anne loaded the dishwasher while her husband bussed the table. Then Dwayne went to his room to start outlining his essay homework assignment, while his parents settled down to watch some television.

  Patrick had the remote and was flipping through the channels when he came across a news special that had just started. It was entitled, “World Crisis: A New Pandora Epidemic?”. He looked at the clock on the mantle and said, “Blue Bloods doesn’t start for an hour. Want to watch this until then?”

  Anne squirmed uncomfortably. “Not really,” she said, “but I think we probably should. Maybe they have some new information.”

  As the graphics appeared on the screen and the music started, an ambulance raced down the street, lights flashing. The siren pierced the quiet outside and the blue and red flashing lights briefly lit up the living room through the blinds.

  Patrick chuckled sarcastically, “Nice touch. They plan that?”

  “Not funny,” his wife muttered.

  The news anchor appeared on the screen, hands folded on the desk in front of him. He looked dour. World Crisis loomed in big letters behind him.

  “Good evening,” he began. “I’m Tom Matthews and this is a special ABC presentation on the looming world crisis that is happening all around us as we speak. Those of you who have been watching the events unfold throughout the world have been continually confronted by the sometimes conflicting newscasts and stories that have been emerging from various sources and countries around the world. The, at times, inexplicable events taking shape have created a situation where rumor and innuendo have been served up alongside bona fide facts. We here at the ABC News Desk hope to set straight the facts from knowledge that our reporters have learned and leave you with a full and better understanding of exactly what is happening tonight.”

  A continually streaming banner was enfolding across the bottom of the screen. This included information and events that were occurring in real time around the world. Each new news item started with the city in which the story was based. The stream of cities was endless and varied: Rome, Jakarta, Istanbul, Paris, Perth, Johannesburg, Berlin… they went on and on.

  The anchor, Tom Matthews, continued, “For a brief background: in March of this year when the emergent rogue comet Soldaris 116 was discovered, it was projected that this hitherto unknown object would come in contact with the planet Mars. When it did hit the Red Planet, the comet exploded on impact and sent a vast dust and debris cloud on a trajectory that caused it to cross our orbital path. We now know that Pandora, as this, came to be called, was host to an alien virus. While this phenomenon is not at all uncommon, it was the first time that an extraterrestrial virus caused an illness in the human population. Its flulike symptoms were felt around the world by approximately one third of the earth’s peoples. After week or two, the majority of victims recovered and life went on.”

  “Oh, this is the same old stuff,” Patrick complained.

  “Shhh.” Annoyed, Anne shushed him, waving her hand. “I want to hear this.”

  “Now,” the anchor continued, “we seem to be in the throes of another more serious and indeed deadlier virus. Doctors and scientists of the World Health Organization and other national and international medical services had ascertained that this new virus is not another strain, but the mutation of the previous Pandora virus. The Pandora 2 Mutation, as this version is now called, is only manifesting itself in the previous victims of the original Pandora virus. No one else seems to be affected.”

  Patrick and Anne looked at each other. He grabbed her hand and held it.

  A series of news videos were now showing on the large screen behind the news anchor. They were gathered from sources around the world and where primarily showing the effects of this new mutation on various peoples in different countries and places. The films were frightening. Rows of beds or cots in various hospitals held people strapped to them. They were fighting their bonds trying to get loose. With eyes that were bloodshot and milky, their teeth continually snapped open and shut. Police and soldiers were shown fighting civilians who would unceasingly try to attack them. Even when some of the terrified soldiers shot at them it seemed to have no effect. Nothing deterred them from their attacks.

  Tom Matthews continued, “The new symptoms of this terrible mutation are listed as: severe headache, nausea, muscle cramping and stiffness, vomiting and lassitude. As the symptoms grow unchecked and more severe, coma and complete body shutdown occurs. Then, after a brief respite, uncontrollable rage and violence takes over as the virus affects the brain.

  “Now,
I know from unnamed and unproven sources primarily on social media outlets on the Internet, there has been talk and rumor of said victims of this virus becoming zombies.” He looked at the camera as if he were chastising the entire viewing audience. “Believe me; nothing could be further from the truth. These are unfounded rumors and have no validity. We all know that there are no such things. Scientists throughout the world are already working on solving this problem and finding a cure.

  “The spread of this nefarious disease has evolved in the same course as its first infection. It first appeared in Asia because of the Earth’s rotation through the dust and debris cloud from Pandora. The government of China has closed off all media outlets and engaged total news blackout to the rest of the world. Most other Asian countries have had their governments collapse and have lost control of the army. Australia, New Zealand and to a large extent Japan have maintained their governmental control. The Middle East is struggling. An explosion in downtown Tel Aviv, Israel has caused massive damage and is being blamed on Hamas terrorists in Syria. New attacks are also being made on the West Bank settlements.

  “Europe is now experiencing this new strain of the mutation and massive undertakings are underway by the European Union to try and control this pandemic. We have been told that the medical communities of the affected countries have begun to be completely overwhelmed by them vast amount of victims, both from the virus and from the attacks by the infected.

  “And that brings us to our part of the world. North and South America had yet to experience this pan-global catastrophe. According to our medical experts, this should be happening by this weekend. We here in the United States and neighboring countries have had the fortunate happenstance of being forewarned to this coming tragedy. As of days ago, local, state and national governments, agencies, experts and infrastructure have been hard at work planning for the future, both immediate and far-reaching.

  “The president has issued orders to our military stationed overseas to begin bringing our troops home. All troops, except for a small presence, will be airlifted home happening immediately. These were the re-stationed in our various military bases throughout the country and will help with the stabilization of our way of life. National Guard units will also be mobilized. The president has also, in conjunction with the Attorney General, Homeland Security and the CDC and WHO, asked that anyone who was previously infected with the original Pandora virus to please report to your local hospital for testing. This is precautionary in nature.

  “Now, on a personal note, I would like to remind all of our viewers that are watching now: this is the greatest country in the world and we as a people will get through this together. We must keep calm, stay cool and help our neighbor. This, too, shall pass. On behalf of myself and all of our ABC family and affiliates, thank you and good night.”

  Saturday…

  Saturday morning dawned. The weather was warm and for much of the East Coast it was a beautiful sunny day. Anne Shannon took two pieces of rye toast from the toaster and laid them on her husband’s plate. He was already a couple of bites into his cheese omelette.

  “Thanks, hon,” he said while chewing.

  Anne smiled and put her two pieces of rye bread into the toaster. She had been worried what today would bring. Everyone was saying that this weekend would be the time that the Pandora victims would start to relapse. So far, though, she felt fine. She had no headache and no other symptoms. Maybe this would bypass her. After all, she really didn’t get very ill with the first go-round of the virus. Perhaps she would be okay. That thought eased her mind and she started to hum to herself.

  Dwayne, sitting across from his father, poured himself another glass of orange juice. He really enjoyed orange juice and usually drank two glasses with his breakfast of cereal. He watched as his father scribbled on a page of notes in front of him. This was his to-do list for the day. Pat didn’t want to forget anything so he made a list of everything he wanted to get at the stores and everywhere he needed to go.

  Glancing up at his son, Patrick smiled and said, “So, Billy’s dad Steve is going to pick you both up when the movie is over, right?”

  “Right, Dad,” Dwayne answered with a smile. His father nodded and he checked off one item on his list. Anne now sat down at the breakfast table and, into cut her omelette. Finished with his cereal, Dwayne got up and walked over to the sink. He rinsed out his bowl and juice glass, and then put them in the dishwasher. Glancing out the kitchen window, he paused.

  “Hey, Mom,” he said while peering out the window, “there’s an ambulance parked on the street.”

  His father walked over, looked out and then went into the living room. He opened the front door and looked out across the street. He was looking at the house three lots down from them. An ambulance was in the driveway with the emergency lights flashing.

  “It looks like it’s there for old Mrs. Carlucci. I think that’s her son standing in the driveway.”

  As Anne and Dwayne walked up, the three of them stepped out onto the porch. Looking down the street, they saw two EMS workers carry a stretcher out of the front door as a fifty-year-old man with salt-and-pepper hair held it open. From the puff of snow white hair on the stretcher, they could see that it was the old lady. Her son looked very distressed. As they carried the stretcher to the waiting ambulance, there seemed to be some concern from the workers. They suddenly started to rush the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. Both workers were moving quickly. One jumped in and reached for something on the inside wall of the van, while his teammate slammed the door and jumped into the driver seat. The ambulance immediately backed up and then roared off up the street. The other man, they recognized as her son, seemed dazed. He watched the ambulance speed off and just stood there for a second absently rubbing his hand over his head. Then, suddenly galvanized, he turned and hurried into the house. Reappearing a second later, he ran to the street and got into his car parked in front. The engine growled and he sped off after the ambulance.

  Watching the son drive off, Patrick turned to Anne and said, “I guess she must have had another heart attack. That’s what… her second... third?”

  “Second,” Anne said distractedly. “The last time she was in the hospital was because of Pandora. Not her heart.” Anne shook her head, now once again feeling very anxious about her own health.

  As they all stood there watching, the front door the street opened and Billy stepped out of his house. He glanced at the Carlucci house, then waving at Dwayne, he walked across street and up the walkway to the Shannons on the porch.

  “Hey, Billy,” Dwayne said. “What’s up? We’re not leaving for another hour.”

  Saying hello to the family, Billy remarked, “Yeah, I know. My mom is in bed with a super-duper headache. My dad’s taking care of her and kind of shooed me out of the house for making noise. He said that she needs to rest.”

  “No problem, Billy,” Anne said, “come inside. Did you eat breakfast?”

  “I had a cold Pop-Tart,” Billy said

  “That’s not enough,” she said. “Let me make you some eggs.”

  The four people went back inside to continue their meal. As their front door closed, a dog started to bark three houses down in the opposite direction. The barking soon became louder and more intense. Then after a short series of yelps, it stopped.

  § § §

  Erica and Greta were standing at the curb waiting for their ride to arrive.

  “I really want to thank you for doing this,” Greta gushed.

  “It’s okay,” Erica laughed. “That must be that eightieth time you thanked me. It’s all good. My parents are cool with it. I talked to them last night and they’re down with this. We’ll hang for a couple of days, then everything will get back to normal and we’ll be back in school again. Not to worry.”

  Smiling, Greta said, “This is so nice. Thank –”

  Putting her hand up, Erica said, “Okay, that’s eighty-one. Stop.” Both girls laughed and hugged each other.
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  A black Camaro pulled off the street and up the circle in front of the dorms. The sleek and shiny car stopped in front of the two girls and a young man got out of the driver seat. He was a good-looking boy with curly hair and a wispy beard.

  “Hey, Jason,” Erica called, waving. “How did your exam go yesterday?”

  “Aced it,” he remarked happily. “I am awesome in my awesomeness.”

  “Way to go, Jas,” she cheered. “You know Greta, don’t you? She’ll be coming home with me for a few days.”

  “Sure,” he said nodding at the blonde haired girl. “The more the merrier.”

  Looking through the tinted passenger side window, Erica said, “Who is with you?”

  The window rolled down, as Jason said, “This is my friend, LaShawn. He lives in town with me and I’m giving him a ride, also.” A young black man stuck his head out the window. He waved hello.