ArcherG
01-14-2013, 07:01 AM
the Blighted
Prologue
World Health Organization (WHO), South Pacific Region
Suva, Fiji
The exhausted soldiers leaned against the parapet walls of the flat roof and scanned the surrounding city with their binoculars. An occasional walker was noted below as it randomly shuffled about, but so far, there were no signs of a real threat. Hopefully it would be a quiet day; they certainly needed the rest.
In the lobby of the building, five floors below, a group of nearly a dozen men with spears and machetes waited for an update from the watchmen high above. They had abandoned the use of firearms in all but the most dire of circumstances. The rifles’ loud reports only served to attract more of the undead, and their supply of ammunition was running precariously low.
In the center of the roof was a sprawling array of solar panels. A confusion of wires led from the panels to a battery bank on the fifth floor, just below. The rain over the past several days had been both a blessing and a curse; it had refilled their cistern, but nearly drained their power reserves. Hopefully the next few days would be sunny; a day without power was a day without research, and therefore, another day without hope.
Liam, The commanding officer on the roof, sighed deeply as he surveyed the city below. The view inspired a sense of utter despair. The nearby streets of Suva Old Town were once filled with tourists as they explored the numerous shops and dined in the sidewalk cafes. The colonial architecture was a mocking reminder of times that were no more. Now, they were hauntingly barren, except for the occasional, shuffling corpse, and the endless parade of wind-blown trash. The officer turned and scanned the jagged, northwest horizon wrought by the island’s mountainous interior. There had been no word from the survivors on the opposite side in Nadi or Lautoka for nearly two weeks; he wondered if he and his companions were the last of the living on Viti Levu.
“Help!”
He cursed aloud as the cries echoed through the surrounding area. Apparently not.
“Help!”
He watched as two distraught men fled along Renwick Road, in their direction.
“Help!”
“Sir! Should we take them out?”
“No!” Liam replied, “Last time a shot was fired, we were nearly overrun. Radio the lobby; have the men go out to them and shut them up, before they get us all killed.”
Noah retrieved his radio and radioed the men below.
“Come in Ratu.”
“Go ahead.”
“Send some of your men out to get those two, before they wake the entire city.”
“Affirmative.”
* * *
Ratu and the others dashed out of the building’s main entrance towards the pair of terrified men. The machetes and spears bobbed rhythmically with the men’s strides as they gripped the weapons tightly. Ratu was filled with dread at the thought of what the men were fleeing. If they had managed to survive this long, the pair was obviously capable of defending themselves.
As Ratu and the others reached the men, the dread that was within him turned to rage. Ratu’s machete clattered on the pavement as he put his full weight into the swing. The man’s knees buckled as Ratu’s massive fist violently connected with his jaw. The second man lost the last remaining vestiges of his composure as he watched his companion collapse on the filthy street.
Ratu leaned in so that he was inches from the face of the refugee that was still standing. His hot, rancid breath swirled about the man’s nostrils as he growled menacingly, “Are you insane? You’ll wake the dead!”
The refugee closed his eyes and dropped to one knee as he began to shake and weep uncontrollably. The wounded man cradled his jaw as he sat up and draped an arm over his friend’s shoulder.
“How many are after you?”
The men ignored Ratu as they curled around the soldier’s feet like scolded dogs. They were broken men, exhausted from endless terror and sleepless nights.
“How many are after you?”
The wounded man looked up with bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down his face as he continued to rub his jaw.
“We’re all dead; all dead.”
Ratu’s radio crackled to life with the panicked voice of Noah, “All of you get back here, now! Barricade the doors; get the guns!”
As Ratu and the others looked up, an endless wave of undead appeared from around the street corner. As terrifying as the sight of the horde of corpses was, the sound was even worse; an endless drone of groans and gurgles shattered the silence of the cloudless, midsummer’s day. Ratu crouched low to retrieve his machete, before jerking the men to their feet. The faces of the soldiers were pale with horror as they turned and fled to their refuge.
* * *
Dr. Rawlings’ assistant, Emma, finished transcribing the notes from the previous day’s observation and uploaded them to RISA. The information on RISA could be accessed by hundreds of collaborating doctors and researchers from around the globe as they frantically searched for a cure. In another life, his assistant would have never performed such a lowly task, but times were different now; everyone had to pull together.
Communication between the researchers had begun to devolve as they became increasingly isolated. The last conference call had been several days ago, and some of the more reclusive members of the team had begun communicating solely through RISA. Emma could understand the eccentricities that were arising from the despair. Without a cure in sight, the research was becoming increasingly maddening; all the while the world continued to descend into a darkness that had been truly unimaginable just weeks ago.
“Emma, are you finished?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good; ready for today’s observations?”
Emma nodded and followed the doctor up the stairs to the fifth floor lab. As they walked the long hall to the lab entrance, the shrieks and wails of the test subjects filled the air. The pitiful sounds of the subjects filled Emma with sadness, but there was no other way.
The walls of the room were lined with cages of all sizes. A menagerie of indigenous animals populated the enclosures; some were miserable, terrified creatures, while others were milky-eyed, rabid aberrations.
Dr. Rawlings crossed the room with a dispassionate sense of duty. Emma followed closely behind the doctor, careful not to stray too close to any of the subjects.
“Shall we begin?”
Emma retrieved her notepad and nodded in affirmation.
“Let’s see; Suva Eighty Five. Brachylophus fasciata; Banded Iguana. Thirty six hours after inoculation.”
The doctor prodded the limp body with a slender, steel rod for several moments, before finally announcing, “Status, deceased.”
The doctor waited while Emma dutifully recorded his dictations. When she finished, she looked up and he began anew.
“Suva Eighty Six. Notopteris macdonaldi; Long-tailed fruit bat. Forty eight hours after inoculation.” As he identified the test subject, the snarling creature flung itself against the bars of the cage and began to gurgle and snap at the doctor. He continued, “Status, infected.”
Before Emma could finish scratching her shorthand notes, a red light began to blink above the door as an alarm sounded. Her notes became illegible and her hand began to quiver. The sounds of the room seemed to fade away until only the deep tones of the alarm could be heard.
Dr. Rawlings gently placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke reassuringly, “Emma, it’s alright, we’re just going into a heightened alert. It’s happened a several times before, and nothing ever happens, does it?”
“No, but-”
“Ratu and the others will keep us safe.”
She exhaled deeply as she struggled to regain her composure, before finally forcing a meager smile.
Dr. Ito brushed several stray hairs out of her eyes and smiled back confidently; he then turned and continued with the observations.
“Suva Eighty Seven. Sus scrofa; Common wild boar. Forty eight hours after inoculation. Status, infected.”
As Emma finished the notes and they moved to the next subject, Dr. Rawlings began as usual, but then paused for several moments as he carefully observed the next creature.
“Emma.”
“Yes sir?”
“Is this Suva Eighty Eight?”
Emma checked her notes carefully before replying, “It is.”
“You’re positive this is Eighty Eight?”
“I mean, I could recheck my notes,” she paused as she shuffled several pages. “I’m positive this is Eighty Eight.”
The doctor prodded the animal with the instrument, but it only whimpered and shrunk into the corner of the cage. His voice was jubilant as he continued his dictation at a frantic pace, “Suva Subject Eighty Eight shows no signs of aggression seventy two hours after inoculation. No other subject has exceeded the forty eight hour window! Emma! This could be the one!”
As the two cheered and embraced, a second, more urgent alarm began to sound. The color drained from the doctor’s face as the siren continued.
“Oh no.”
“What is it? What does that mean?”
The shrill ring of a telephone called out from a small table in the far corner. The doctor raced across the lab and snatched the hand piece from the base.
“What’s going on?” the doctor demanded.
Emma watched as Dr. Rawlings began to visibly tremble.
“What floor? Oh God, Oh God! No!”
He let the phone drop from his hand and crash to the floor as he turned to Emma.
“I have to get to RISA; we have to let the others know about Eighty Eight!”
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve been compromised; they’ve made it to the second floor. There’s no time, I have to go!”
(Cont'd)
Link to the book here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B0MIZB8 , but I'll keep posting chapters - at least to 5 or 6, so you can opt for free entertainment.
Prologue
World Health Organization (WHO), South Pacific Region
Suva, Fiji
The exhausted soldiers leaned against the parapet walls of the flat roof and scanned the surrounding city with their binoculars. An occasional walker was noted below as it randomly shuffled about, but so far, there were no signs of a real threat. Hopefully it would be a quiet day; they certainly needed the rest.
In the lobby of the building, five floors below, a group of nearly a dozen men with spears and machetes waited for an update from the watchmen high above. They had abandoned the use of firearms in all but the most dire of circumstances. The rifles’ loud reports only served to attract more of the undead, and their supply of ammunition was running precariously low.
In the center of the roof was a sprawling array of solar panels. A confusion of wires led from the panels to a battery bank on the fifth floor, just below. The rain over the past several days had been both a blessing and a curse; it had refilled their cistern, but nearly drained their power reserves. Hopefully the next few days would be sunny; a day without power was a day without research, and therefore, another day without hope.
Liam, The commanding officer on the roof, sighed deeply as he surveyed the city below. The view inspired a sense of utter despair. The nearby streets of Suva Old Town were once filled with tourists as they explored the numerous shops and dined in the sidewalk cafes. The colonial architecture was a mocking reminder of times that were no more. Now, they were hauntingly barren, except for the occasional, shuffling corpse, and the endless parade of wind-blown trash. The officer turned and scanned the jagged, northwest horizon wrought by the island’s mountainous interior. There had been no word from the survivors on the opposite side in Nadi or Lautoka for nearly two weeks; he wondered if he and his companions were the last of the living on Viti Levu.
“Help!”
He cursed aloud as the cries echoed through the surrounding area. Apparently not.
“Help!”
He watched as two distraught men fled along Renwick Road, in their direction.
“Help!”
“Sir! Should we take them out?”
“No!” Liam replied, “Last time a shot was fired, we were nearly overrun. Radio the lobby; have the men go out to them and shut them up, before they get us all killed.”
Noah retrieved his radio and radioed the men below.
“Come in Ratu.”
“Go ahead.”
“Send some of your men out to get those two, before they wake the entire city.”
“Affirmative.”
* * *
Ratu and the others dashed out of the building’s main entrance towards the pair of terrified men. The machetes and spears bobbed rhythmically with the men’s strides as they gripped the weapons tightly. Ratu was filled with dread at the thought of what the men were fleeing. If they had managed to survive this long, the pair was obviously capable of defending themselves.
As Ratu and the others reached the men, the dread that was within him turned to rage. Ratu’s machete clattered on the pavement as he put his full weight into the swing. The man’s knees buckled as Ratu’s massive fist violently connected with his jaw. The second man lost the last remaining vestiges of his composure as he watched his companion collapse on the filthy street.
Ratu leaned in so that he was inches from the face of the refugee that was still standing. His hot, rancid breath swirled about the man’s nostrils as he growled menacingly, “Are you insane? You’ll wake the dead!”
The refugee closed his eyes and dropped to one knee as he began to shake and weep uncontrollably. The wounded man cradled his jaw as he sat up and draped an arm over his friend’s shoulder.
“How many are after you?”
The men ignored Ratu as they curled around the soldier’s feet like scolded dogs. They were broken men, exhausted from endless terror and sleepless nights.
“How many are after you?”
The wounded man looked up with bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down his face as he continued to rub his jaw.
“We’re all dead; all dead.”
Ratu’s radio crackled to life with the panicked voice of Noah, “All of you get back here, now! Barricade the doors; get the guns!”
As Ratu and the others looked up, an endless wave of undead appeared from around the street corner. As terrifying as the sight of the horde of corpses was, the sound was even worse; an endless drone of groans and gurgles shattered the silence of the cloudless, midsummer’s day. Ratu crouched low to retrieve his machete, before jerking the men to their feet. The faces of the soldiers were pale with horror as they turned and fled to their refuge.
* * *
Dr. Rawlings’ assistant, Emma, finished transcribing the notes from the previous day’s observation and uploaded them to RISA. The information on RISA could be accessed by hundreds of collaborating doctors and researchers from around the globe as they frantically searched for a cure. In another life, his assistant would have never performed such a lowly task, but times were different now; everyone had to pull together.
Communication between the researchers had begun to devolve as they became increasingly isolated. The last conference call had been several days ago, and some of the more reclusive members of the team had begun communicating solely through RISA. Emma could understand the eccentricities that were arising from the despair. Without a cure in sight, the research was becoming increasingly maddening; all the while the world continued to descend into a darkness that had been truly unimaginable just weeks ago.
“Emma, are you finished?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good; ready for today’s observations?”
Emma nodded and followed the doctor up the stairs to the fifth floor lab. As they walked the long hall to the lab entrance, the shrieks and wails of the test subjects filled the air. The pitiful sounds of the subjects filled Emma with sadness, but there was no other way.
The walls of the room were lined with cages of all sizes. A menagerie of indigenous animals populated the enclosures; some were miserable, terrified creatures, while others were milky-eyed, rabid aberrations.
Dr. Rawlings crossed the room with a dispassionate sense of duty. Emma followed closely behind the doctor, careful not to stray too close to any of the subjects.
“Shall we begin?”
Emma retrieved her notepad and nodded in affirmation.
“Let’s see; Suva Eighty Five. Brachylophus fasciata; Banded Iguana. Thirty six hours after inoculation.”
The doctor prodded the limp body with a slender, steel rod for several moments, before finally announcing, “Status, deceased.”
The doctor waited while Emma dutifully recorded his dictations. When she finished, she looked up and he began anew.
“Suva Eighty Six. Notopteris macdonaldi; Long-tailed fruit bat. Forty eight hours after inoculation.” As he identified the test subject, the snarling creature flung itself against the bars of the cage and began to gurgle and snap at the doctor. He continued, “Status, infected.”
Before Emma could finish scratching her shorthand notes, a red light began to blink above the door as an alarm sounded. Her notes became illegible and her hand began to quiver. The sounds of the room seemed to fade away until only the deep tones of the alarm could be heard.
Dr. Rawlings gently placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke reassuringly, “Emma, it’s alright, we’re just going into a heightened alert. It’s happened a several times before, and nothing ever happens, does it?”
“No, but-”
“Ratu and the others will keep us safe.”
She exhaled deeply as she struggled to regain her composure, before finally forcing a meager smile.
Dr. Ito brushed several stray hairs out of her eyes and smiled back confidently; he then turned and continued with the observations.
“Suva Eighty Seven. Sus scrofa; Common wild boar. Forty eight hours after inoculation. Status, infected.”
As Emma finished the notes and they moved to the next subject, Dr. Rawlings began as usual, but then paused for several moments as he carefully observed the next creature.
“Emma.”
“Yes sir?”
“Is this Suva Eighty Eight?”
Emma checked her notes carefully before replying, “It is.”
“You’re positive this is Eighty Eight?”
“I mean, I could recheck my notes,” she paused as she shuffled several pages. “I’m positive this is Eighty Eight.”
The doctor prodded the animal with the instrument, but it only whimpered and shrunk into the corner of the cage. His voice was jubilant as he continued his dictation at a frantic pace, “Suva Subject Eighty Eight shows no signs of aggression seventy two hours after inoculation. No other subject has exceeded the forty eight hour window! Emma! This could be the one!”
As the two cheered and embraced, a second, more urgent alarm began to sound. The color drained from the doctor’s face as the siren continued.
“Oh no.”
“What is it? What does that mean?”
The shrill ring of a telephone called out from a small table in the far corner. The doctor raced across the lab and snatched the hand piece from the base.
“What’s going on?” the doctor demanded.
Emma watched as Dr. Rawlings began to visibly tremble.
“What floor? Oh God, Oh God! No!”
He let the phone drop from his hand and crash to the floor as he turned to Emma.
“I have to get to RISA; we have to let the others know about Eighty Eight!”
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve been compromised; they’ve made it to the second floor. There’s no time, I have to go!”
(Cont'd)
Link to the book here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B0MIZB8 , but I'll keep posting chapters - at least to 5 or 6, so you can opt for free entertainment.