Authors: Nick Mariano
Dawn of a New Day (11 page)
While infectee incidents in the U.S. continued to be reported in outlying areas, the situation overseas and particularly Asia was going from bad to worse. Roaming hordes of infectees were now being found in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta, Indonesia. The virus coupled with the effects of the Indonesia fires was wrecking havoc everywhere. People already sick with respiratory illness, who then contracted the super virus, were 75% more likely to become walking dead as opposed to merely dying from the infection. Many of the main cities remained closed and incidents of large hordes roaming the streets and attacking anyone who ventured outside were on the rise. Police couldn’t keep up with reports they received because of the large size of several of the cities.
On the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur a group of infectees gained access to the Malaysian Police College, a large compound on the outskirts of the city that housed police cadets and classrooms for senior officers. Over fifteen infectees managed to broach the security fencing around the perimeter and avoid guard patrols. They entered several of the dormitories, where they attacked room after of room of cadets before armed officers found and killed them. When the carnage was over, 150 cadets were either killed or gravely wounded.
In another incident a small horde entered a large mall that had remained open and went on a wild rampage before police and military could reach the location. Report after report continued to flow in despite the governments warning people to stay inside until the crisis was over. It was now almost three months since Special Agent Taylor landed at the airport outside Kuala Lumpur along with a planeload of infected passengers aboard the Delta A-380 flight from the United States. People on that ill-fated plane had gone their ways and spread the infection throughout the cities of Asia and right now neither the governments, people, doctors or scientists, saw an end in sight. People who had received the U.S. X554 vaccine were less apt to contract the virus, however, the vaccine didn’t guarantee 100% immunity. Some people merely experienced the flu symptoms and never progressed to the plague and rabies stage. Others showed no immunity to the deadly disease despite the inoculation and cycled through the several phases of the virus before either dying or becoming part of the roaming hordes of undead. Supplying the population with necessary essentials continued to be the biggest problem as it was impossible to provide food and other supplies directly to the people unless they ventured outside their homes. The infectees seemed to sense or maybe smelled the presence of uninfected people and hordes moved rapidly whenever an outside presence was detected. The other problem cities were encountering was the removal of killed infectees without infecting workers. Sanitation began to decline when people started throwing garbage directly outside. Rats began to appear throughout the cities and as the rats ate remains of the infectees, they began to carry and transmit the virus elsewhere. It was almost like a reoccurrence of the Black Death that ravished Europe in the Middle Ages. Cities began to burn infectees and bury victims in mass gravesites in an effort to control the spread of the disease. Poison bait was dropped throughout the cities in an effort to control the rat and rodent population. People were advised to stay in at night as planes sprayed aerial poisons around the city trying to kill rats, and stray dogs and cats. Many had been exposed to the virus and became carriers.
Gradually the virus began to creep southward of the United States and some South American cities were reporting the emergence of the virus. The scientists’ theory that eventually birds would transport the virus southward was beginning to come true. There was also one instance where a cruise boat, that had been infected, beached itself along one Caribbean island and the few remaining infectees left aboard, disembarked, and went on a killing spree before the local Gendarmerie could respond and end the attacks. Military aircraft and ships continued their patrols of the oceans of the world in an effort to stop vessels from gaining access to any country. Even though many ships, when contacted, swore that no one on board was infected, the navies forbid the ships from making land. Attempts to try to do so were met with deadly force. Naval forces and planes had already sunk over 60 ships that attempted to run blockades.
Scientists also began to worry about the additional spread of the virus as cold weather approached in several parts of the world. Scientists and doctors previously determined that the flu virus was more prevalent and infectious in cold winter temperatures than during warmer months. As the temperatures begin to become colder, the virus’s outer covering begins to harden and shield the virus. This can cause the virus to spread easier from person to person. Warmer weather has the reverse effect. The virus’ outer layer becomes soft like and fluid and so the virus isn’t protected as well and transmission is slowed or even stopped. Researchers also learned that when the body’s core temperature inside the nose drops by as little as five degrees, the body’s immune system has a harder time fighting infections, such as the flu or common cold. Doctors also determined the most virus strains cannot be killed with antibiotics. These medications may be helpful in attacking bacteria, however, a virus is quite different in its response to a medication. Doctors had already seen how the flu virus could change from year to year and so every year new and more powerful vaccines had to be produced to slow or stop the occurrence of the disease. Doctors also knew that once a strain of bacteria got old, it began to die. The reverse was true of most viruses. Viruses have no life span. They can lie dormant for several years and then become active again. That was how Mengele managed to transport his super virus. German Intelligence records revealed that the Nazi super virus was put into a state of suspended animation and when it was again exposed to warmth and air, it became active again and very contagious. Even in the case of the super virus, it was not completely out of the questions that some bits of the virus could be sneezed onto an object or into some dirt and become dormant, only to appear several years later. It was for this reason that doctors knew they had to produce a vaccine for people in order to protect them from a reoccurrence somewhere down the line.
Scientists back at Fort Detrick had by now found several portions of Mengele’s research papers regarding the virus’ production and were hopeful that they could come up with a solution before winter set in or before the virus moved to other countries, who up to this point, had managed to avoid infection.
Muhammad Razak lived in a high rent section of Kuala Lumpur and was following the spread of the virus throughout Asia on his television. He knew that what he was watching was disturbing and he worried that eventually he might get infected if he didn’t watch what he did. Other people in his luxury apartment building were staying indoors, however, everyone was running out of food and other essentials. Razak finally decided that he had to venture outside and see what groceries he could find. He heard that the small market in China Town was still open and so, against his better judgment, he walked the few blocks to the market area. The streets were deserted and he didn’t even see any police or military patrols as he strolled up the street. He had been a Malaysian policeman and so he still had a handgun at home, which he kept for personal protection. He now carried it inside his coat, just in case he needed it. Besides the infectees roaming the streets, there were rumors that street gangs were also roaming the area and robbing people they encountered. He hoped that he could get to China Town and back without any problems.
He was only a block away from the market when he encountered a “walking dead”, as the news stations were now calling them. He tried to avoid the person but the person appeared to be fairly alert to his movements and, whenever he changed direction, so did the walker. He decided to make a run for it and hoped the infectee was too slow to keep up with him. As he sprinted, the walker turned and tried to follow but fell behind quickly. “One obstacle avoided,” he thought. Just as the market came into view two more walkers appeared and moved toward him. Razak pulled out his revolver and fired two shots, both head shots as the news stations said to do, and the infectees dropped but not before one grabbed his arm and scratched him just enough to draw blood. Razak hardly realized he had been injured and he merely wiped his arm on his pants without a second thought. The grocer was open and although his inventory was depleted, Razak managed to get the few essentials he needed and get back home without further incident. When he was safely home, he looked again at the scratch he received and although the bleeding had long since stopped; he applied some antiseptic to it for good measure. Now home, he got back to his routine during the pandemic, and began to read a new book behind locked doors and shuttered windows.
Over the next two days Razak read his book, watched television to see what was happening in Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere in the world, and cooked himself some meals whenever he felt hungry. The scratch he had received during his shopping trip was now healed and so he had no worries about anything.
On the third day after his run in with the walkers Razak began to develop a sore throat and took some cough medicine he kept on hand. He had developed several sore throats since the smog from the Indonesian fires had engulfed the city. A few times he even thought he might be developing pneumonia, as he couldn’t stop coughing all the time. The cough medicine would clear him up again in a day or two.
On day four, the sore throat had gotten much worse and he felt achy and sore all over. He also noticed some discoloration on the arm that had been scratched. Although he began to worry, he thought a day or two of rest was all he needed. He slept quite a bit that day and watched some old movies on TV but really didn’t have much of an appetite.
By day five he felt as if a truck had run over him. He could barely swallow and the puffiness on his arm had gotten much worse. Some sores had started to develop elsewhere on his body and Razak knew that something bad was happening to him. He feared getting medical assistance as some of the news reports had talked about soldiers shooting people on the streets if they appeared to be infected. Razak thought that maybe this will clear up soon and so he stayed inside his apartment and hoped for the best.
By day six he had transformed into some sort of alien being and his face was covered with sores, many oozing blood and a pus like fluid. He felt pissed, he felt angry and he felt like he wanted to take out his rage on someone. He unlocked his front door and slowly walked down the hallway to this neighbor’s apartment and softly knocked on the door.
Mrs. Wong was a widower and in her 70’s and had lived next to him for many years. On the second knock, the door opened and Razak lunged at Mrs. Wong and tore open her throat before she realized what was happening. Razak then sat on the floor next to her and dined on her for several minutes before another neighbor opened his door to see what the commotion was in the hallway. When he saw what was happening, he quickly closed and locked his door and called the authorities.
Five minutes later, members of the Malaysian Army arrived at the building and went up to Mrs. Wong’s floor. Razak still sat there eating the arm of Mrs. Wong as they approached him in the hall. Razak tried to think about what was happening but could only feel a growing rage. He sprang up suddenly and made a run at the approaching soldiers but the first bullet fired dropped him in his tracks. He didn’t die instantly and had a momentary flashback on his life and wondered what was happening to him. Why did he feel like he did and why had someone shot him in his our apartment building? Gradually everything turned black and Razak ceased to exist.
It was a sunny and calm day on the Atlantic as the U.S.Navy ships, Safeguard ARS50 and Grapple, TARS 53, slipped from their moorings at the Norfolk Naval Base. Both ships were part of the U.S.Navy’s rescue and salvage fleet. On board each ship were members of Seal Team Six and members of the U.S.Naval Diving and Salvage Unit out of the Naval Support Activity in Panama City, Florida. Their mission was to locate and extract the secret cargo on the sunken U-532. The Grapple carried the new Deep Trekker mini ROV that allowed its surface crew to operate a submersible device and visually survey the ocean’s bottom. The U-532 was reportedly in only 120’ of water and so diving the site was no problem, however, the Deep Trekker allowed the crew to visually scan the bottom in order to try to locate possible items of interest. Dive teams would then enter the water and explore the target areas, looking for the mystery box.
The small surface fleet reached their target area later that day and after doing some initial sonar readings found two or three favorable locations for the sunken U-boat. After about four hours of running several sweeps of the target area, the Grapple locked in on one site that appeared to be the most promising location for the sunken U-boat. As dusk set in, the ships anchored and planned to start their searches early the next day. That evening the teams gathered to discuss possible scenarios for recovering the lost cargo. The crews then kicked back and after dinner sat around and told war stories before retiring for the night.
At 0700 hrs. the next morning the Deep Trekker was deployed and after several hours of searching found two favorable objects that could be their missing cargo. Two dive teams entered the water and ten minutes later were on the ocean’s bottom and searching for their target. The first object that Trekker had located turned out to be part of the wreckage from the sunken U-boat. U.S.Naval records from the war indicated that the U-532 had been sunk by a Naval patrol plane after it surfaced and attempted to fight its way out, after surface vessels had detected and began their attacks of the German sub. Wreckage from the bombed U-boat was scattered over a wide area of the ocean floor, and after over fifty years, much of the wreckage was covered by large amounts of sand and debris. After almost three hours of searching the teams found nothing, and following decompression stops, surfaced and returned to their ships.
A second group of divers began their search later that day, and after two hours, also were unsuccessful in their search.
The next morning the surface crews continued using the Deep Trekker in their search for possible target locations. One or two additional targets were located and Team One returned to the ocean’s bottom to scour the area for the Nazi box containing the virus. Their search was again unsuccessful and after some on board talks, Team Two returned to the dive site with underwater metal detectors and two SAV-7 Underwater Scooters that they would use for transporting themselves through the water and, to blow sand from various areas, in hopes of uncovering their target. By the end of day three the recovery teams were no closer to finding and retrieving the missing Nazi cargo.
Back at Norfolk, one of the computer geeks decided to run some computer simulations to see how the missing cargo box might have sunk after the U-boat was bombed and went down. After several hours of simulations it was determined that the missing box would have drifted much further as it sunk than the dive teams were estimating. Some new coordinates were sent back to the recovery ships and, the following day, dive teams entered at the new locations after Deep Trekker had identified some favorable targets. The first three targets the dive team searched turned out to be more wreckage from the U-boat, however, the last target turned out to be what appeared to be the missing cargo container. The target was identified as what appeared to be a steel type box with large hasps securing its top and with the Nazi SS Emblem on its lid. The dive team marked the target location and sent up a marker lift bag before they were forced to surface, as they were beginning to exceed their allowed bottom time for the dive. A new team entered the water and converged on the marked target and after blowing a large amount of sand from it, attacked it to a special lift bag and sent it on its way to the surface.
The Grapple had been equipped with a special biohazard containment vessel before its departure from Norfolk. The Navy wanted to make sure that its crews would stay safe in the event the box with the virus began to leak after it was exposed to the air and surface temperatures. The crew of the Grapple was suited in special biohazard suits and breathing devices and when the box reached the surface; they quickly moved it to the ship, detached it from the lift bag and sealed it in the containment vessel. An EOD person also monitored the surrounding air and the outer part of the box to ensure that none of the virus was escaping. Once secured, the two ships weighed anchor and began their journey back to Norfolk. Three Naval helicopters provided overhead security for the ships’ journey home.
The ships arrived home the next day and the special cargo, still in it’s containment unit, was loaded into a specially equipped Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, where it began it final journey to the Army Medical Command at Fort Detrick in Maryland. Once there the package would be checked for leaks and secured until General Sutherland provided the laboratory with further instructions regarding the package.