Synopsis:

The Eastern out break begins

Synopsis:

The Eastern out break begins

Story:

Acidalia IV
By Amanda D

Sunday June 4 10:30 Pm
Hasbro Children’s Hospital
Providence RI.

Dr. Roosevelt Grant rushed into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), looked over at the nurses’ station and found Dr. Greg Khin waiting for him. “I got your page from my service and got here as fast as I could. What’s the big emergency?”

“Your patient in room three, the McCoy kid from South Boston …”

“The car accident kid?”

“Yes that’s one. His condition has …changed.” Khin said with a concerned look on his coffee colored face. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I thought you should go in and see for yourself.”

“What do you mean changed?”

“I …I don’t really don’t know how to explain it. It would be easier if you just saw for yourself.”

Pulling his fellow doctor into the room by the arm, Grant said, “Show me what you’re talking about.”

As Kihn walked over to the patient’s bed, Roosevelt noticed a couple of problems right away. The boy was sweating profusely and he was as pale as the sheets he lay on. The boy’s lack of response to their presence also concerned him. Turning back to Dr. Khin, he asked “When did this start? Have you checked the incision for infection?”

“His fever started about two this afternoon. We initially assumed the sweating and shivering, was just a by product of the increased body temperature. As time went on, he developed a hacking cough and began vomiting quite a bit. The shift doctor gave him the standard meds for his symptoms and according to his report, they seemed to help to some extent, at least at first.

Unfortunately, it was only a short term solution. Eventually his temperature spiked and began to climb again. The nursing staff has been monitoring his condition all day. Sadly as time has passed he’s become increasingly unresponsive to stimuli. If he continues to deteriorate at this pace, I’d say his chances of making it aren’t very good.”

“He’s been going down hill all day long and you waited until now to call me?” Grant asked irritatedly. “I’m his attending; you should have informed me about this hours ago!”

“Hey, I only came on a short while ago. Dr. Green was here all day.” Khin said defensively. “I was doing my rounds when Wendy came to me and insisted I look in on the boy. She was in to checking on him a little while ago and noticed that his chest looked strange. I took a peek to see what had her so upset and that’s when I had you paged. I only got the back story by reading Green’s notes as I was waiting for you.” Khin opened the patient’s shirt as he spoke.

Dr. Grant opened his mouth to respond but the sight before him temporarily robbed him of his voice. After doing a double take, he stepped closer to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. He reached his hand out to feel the small lumps and was surprised to find them supple, instead of hard like tumors would have been. “Are …are those breasts?” he asked disbelievingly. He quickly pulled his hand back, feeling slightly embarrassed for having groped the boy as he had.

Khin nodded. “That’s what they appear to be.”

Dr. Grant stood and stared at his patient for several minutes, trying to figure out how a boy could be growing breasts. He mentally ticked off the few possibilities, such as steroid and hormone use, but disregarded then as he scanned the boys chart. Perplexed he asked “Do we know if there been any other physical changes?”

“We … umm … thought it would be best if you were here before we gave him a thorough physical.”

“I can understand that.” Grant was still marveling. “Let’s get to it shall we?”

The two doctors proceeded to check the boy over from head to toe. Breaking out a tape measure, they noted the he was approximately two inches shorter than his admission chart had him listed as, and his hair was growing at such an incredible rate that they could see it lengthen if they watched long enough. They noticed several other changes, including the odd shape on his hips and the small size of his penis. The nurse in the room with them cataloged all the physical discrepancies they found. on the boy’s chart.

“What do you think?” Khin asked as they finished the exam.

“I don’t have the slightest clue what to make of it. These changes should be impossible as far as I know. Stay here and keep an eye on him for me, please. I want to do some research in the exotic disease catalog. See if there’s anything there like this.”

“Rosey, don’t you think we should have heard of anything that could do this to someone, no matter how obscure?”

“I don’t think I’ll find anything either. But if we don’t at least look, we’ll never know for sure.”

Grant went to the hospital’s medical library’s computer and began to search the database for any disease with similar symptoms. After two hours of fruitless research he threw his hands in the air in disgust. Even though he hadn’t expected to find the answer, he was still disappointed. Out of local options and patients, he turned to the Internet.

His first thought was to access the Boston area hospitals computer ring to see if there were any others with similar symptoms. He found four that seemed close, but no information was available as to the cause of their affliction. He made some calls to the hospitals on the list, but their doctors had no more clues as to what was up as he did.

Hanging up after speaking with the last of them, he decided to extend his search further. Dr Grant posted the list of symptoms on a nation wide site design for the sharing of medical information. Much to his surprise, less than five minutes after he posted it, the site notified him of an emailed response.

Exiting the site, he opened his email and located the message, finding it had come from a William Batson, Director of City Hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area. The message was quite lengthy and fill with claims that frankly astounded him. When he finished he let out a deep sigh, attempting to ward off the chill that was working its way up his spine. Finally he shook his head, picked up the phone and called up to the ICU.

“Wendy? This is Dr. Grant; I need you to inform everyone to stay out of the McCoy kid’s room right away. Unless he goes into arrest, absolutely no one is to go in there until I get up there. Understand? Good. I’ll be there as soon as possible, but I need to make a call first.”

That accomplished, he hung up and dialed the phone number in the message. Shortly thereafter, he was talking to Director Batson. They talked for the better part of an hour, as Batson gave Grant the entire story of the virus. At first, Grant refused to believe what he was hearing, but the longer the two talked, the more Grant became convinced the impossible tale was true.

“I’m going to email you all the information we have on this, including the formula for the newest test that’s been developed. According to the data I have, it’s easy to administer, and all but fool proof. Once your lab prepares it, you should know whether you’ve got a case or not, very quickly.”

“That’s good news. We need to know what’s going on as soon as possible. Thank you for all your help, Dr. Batson. I don’t know what we would have done without it, and I’ll be looking for that email.”

“Well good luck, and let me know what you’ve got back there.”

“I will.”

After hanging up, Grant took a few moments to get him self composed and process what he had just learned as he waited for Batson’s email to arrive. It didn’t seem possible for a virus to physically transform a person. All his education and medical training screamed that there was just no way. However the evidence of his eyes showed it was.

The ding of his computer’s email notification brought him back to reality. He scanned the information and quickly forwarded it to the director’s office with a brief summery of his conversation with Batson and instructions to have the lab get working on formulating the test.

Getting up from his desk, he left his office and headed for the elevators, still trying to come to terms with the truth. As he waited he caught his pale reflection in the shiny steel like elevator doors. He stared at it vacantly, lost in thought until they opened.

Reaching the ICU floor, Grant headed toward the nurse’s desk. Khin and a couple duty nurses of were standing around it having an animated conversation. Their discussion ceased as they saw Grant coming down the hallway. While Grant was still several feet away, Dr Khin asked “What did you find out?”

“We’ve got a major problem. We need to keep him away from everyone, especially the men in the hospital.”

“Why? What’d did you find out?”

“I just got off the phone with a Bill Batson, the director of City Hospital in San Francisco. His hospital was one of the first to deal with the Acidalia virus …”

“The one the President was talking about the other night?” Khin asked.

“Yes, that’s the one.”

“I thought it was contained on the West Coast.”

“That was what everyone believed until now. Director Batson emailed me the instructions for making the newest test for the virus. He said it’s easy enough to mix up, and according to what he’s been told, it’s extremely accurate. I sent the instructions off with the memo to Roger.

“Until we know for sure if he has the virus, we need keep him isolated and only allow women into the room. I also asked for someone get a hold of Jenny Fisk, and see if she would be willing to come and be the one to go into the room with him to administer and oversee the test.”

“Is it safe for her?”

“According to what’s known about the virus so far, it only affects men, so she’ll be safer than either of us. Plus, there isn’t anyone more qualified to deal with this type of thing.”

*******************

Dr. Jennifer Fisk, the foremost expert in the New England region on childhood viral infections, was on her way home to Boston when her cell phone rang. She grimaced as she looked and saw it was the hospital calling her. She had just finished a long day of working between Hasbro and Boston Children’s hospitals, and was looking forward to a quick meal and some serious time with her pillow.

She momentarily considered letting the voice mail get it, but her sense of responsibility to her patients wouldn’t allow it. Letting out a deep sigh she answered “Dr. Fisk speaking.”

“Jennifer? It’s Frank Rogers.”

“Oh, hey, Frank. What’s up?” she asked, suddenly very concerned. If the director of the hospital was up and calling at three in the morning, what ever was wrong had to be very bad indeed.

“We have a situation here and need you to come back if you can.”

“Roger, I just got off a double shift and I’m beat. Can’t what ever it is wait til later this morning?”

“I’m afraid not Jen. This problem is right up your alley. Dr. Grant believes we may have a young man in the ICU that’s been infected with the Acidalia virus and requests your help in testing the boy.”

“Acidalia? Here? How?”

“We don’t know. We’re not even sure if it is Acidalia. We’ve just received instructions on the testing method, but in the meantime, we need to keep the boy quarantined. That means if you agree to help, you may be stuck here for a while.”

“I’m on I95 right now. I’ll spin around at the next exit and head back that way. Give me about half an hour, OK?”

“Whatever it takes, Jen. Thank you.”

“I’ll see you then,” she said, disconnected. Ever since the president’s speech she had been dreading the first appearance of the virus in this area. She had spent as much time as she could over the last several days reading what little information there was on the disease. Seeing an exit coming up, she turned off the highway and started heading south towards Providence, a cold knot of fear beginning to tighten in her stomach.
***********

Grayson Labs:

The phone was ringing off the hook in Colonel Jordon’s office. Pulling himself off the couch, he shuffled across the room towards his desk, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. As he took a seat, Jordon glanced at the clock. ‘Midnight? This can’t be good news if they’re calling at this time,’ he thought darkly as he reached for the lamp on the desk. He grimaced as the light stung his eyes.

“Jordon here.” He answered a bit more gruffly than he had intended.

“Colonel? This is Bill Batson.” The Director said sounding a bit edgy.

‘Wonderful!’ Jordon thought as he heard the name.

Things had been strained between the two of them since Batson had closed his hospital to Acidalia patients on Saturday in protest of not having viral containment suits for his doctors. The boycott had gone on for several tense hours. At one point the president was ready to order him to take the hospital by force. However military action was avoided when Tyler managed to locate a supply of the suits in the late afternoon. By Saturday night the situation had resolved itself when the promised suits were delivered shortly after seven. Things between the two men had been strained since, as the Colonel resented having been put on the spot in that manor.

Rolling his eyes and biting his tongue, Jordon replied, “Yes Director, what can I do for you?”

“Colonel I just got off the phone with a Dr. Grant from Providence RI. He believes that they have an Acidalia case at their hospital.”

“Director, we’ve had small pockets of cases reported from other parts of the country. Why does this particular case warrant a midnight wake up call?”

“Because Dr. Grant works at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.”

“A children’s hospital?” Jordon repeated. “Oh God.” Visions of irate parents and an even more pissed off President danced through his head as he asked, “What kind of containment have they implemented?”

“They have only minimal containment available, but they’ve quarantined the floor the patient is on. The disturbing part is that the boy was brought in by ambulance two nights ago. He was in a serious car accident. So he has not only exposed the people on the floor he is staying on, but the ambulance crew, anyone that was in the emergency room, the surgeon and operating room staff, and the recovery room. I don’t even want to think about how many rubberneckers and gawkers were around the accident site. Never mind where he contracted it in the first place.”

Jordon tried say something, anything, but found his vocal cords unwilling to cooperate. After several moments ticked silently by, Batson said “Colonel?”

“Yes … I’m sorry director, I was considering our options. Has the patient been tested and confirmed for the virus?”

“Not yet. I sent them the information on Dr. Ryan’s new test new and Dr. Grant said he would get back to me as soon as they knew for sure what they had.”

“Okay, as soon as you hear, call me. In the meantime, I’ll get hold of the President’s office and let them know we have a potential disaster looming back east.

With that agreement, the two men hung up their respective phones.

Jordon took a moment to collect his thoughts. He scribbled a few notes and names on a piece of paper. Then, with great trepidation, he lifted the direct line to the White house and passed on the report.

************************

Providence RI. Monday June 5 4:40am EDT

Dr’s Jennifer Fisk and Roosevelt Grant looked over the results of the Acidalia test with a mix of fear and resignation.

“This is bad.” Grant said miserably. “We need to tell Director Rogers.”
“
We need to get everyone else up here tested too,” Dr. Fisk agreed. “We need to figure out how to protect anyone on this floor that isn’t infected too.”

Dr. Grant nodded his head in agreement, then sighed deeply as he again scanned the sheet of paper listing the results. “I think we should tell them first.” He pointed in the general direction of the rest of the waiting staff.

“I agree. They have the right to know first,” Fisk agreed.

They both headed out of the sick boy’s room and called the others to gather around the nurse’s station.

“We have the results, and the boy is positive.” Roosevelt announced without fanfare as soon as everyone was present. The gathered medical workers faces sank simultaneously as the news was presented.

A couple of the nurses began to cry. As the lead nurse, Wendy Drake moved over to offer them some comfort, she asked, “What now?”

“First thing we need to do is test everyone one the floor. I know they say that it doesn’t infect women, but I don’t want to take any chances. We also need to let the rest of the hospital know what’s going on up here, so they begin testing everyone else,” Dr. Fisk told the gathering.

“There is also a considerable number of patients on this floor that will need to be attended to, and we’re going to be the only ones that can do that. There isn’t going to be a relief shift coming on at six. So we need to get an idea of what we need to do for them,” Dr. Khin added.

Dr’s Fisk and Khin began to assign the rest of the small staff various duties as Dr. Grant went off to call the director.

Rogers took the news hard. To him, his staff was an extension of his own family. Grant and Fisk were especially close to his heart. Both had been to his house for social gatherings many times. He found himself fighting back tears as he asked “What do you need?”

“Well, first off we need to find away to get food and meds up here without risking the virus escaping. Then we need to get everyone tested, so we’ll need more test kits.”

“Ok. We’ll get them sent up right away. What meds do you need for the kids?”

“Jen and Greg are having the nurses gather all that info as we speak. I’ll have a list for you within the hour.”

“OK. Keep me informed. And Rosey?”

“Yes?”

“Take care of yourself.”

“We will.” Grant replied as he hung the phone up. After taking a moment to locate the number, Dr. Grant placed a call back to Director Batson informing him of the tests’ outcome. They spoke for several minutes as Batson informed him of what to expect. Dr. Grant took meticulous notes, asking the director a few times to repeat something or for a clarification of a specific point.

As the conversation was wrapping up, Batson told Grant “Doctor, I would suggest that you make sure every hospital in your region gets the information I sent you. If Acidalia spreads as quickly out there as it has here, you may all find yourselves overwhelmed very soon.”

“My director has already taken care of sharing your email. How many cases do you have?”

“Not including yours, I believe the last region-wide count I saw was somewhere around 700-750. That’s in just over two weeks since the initial break out. And those are only the one’s we know about. I’m sure there have to more out there somewhere.”

“Jesus! 750 in two weeks?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Al …alright. Well thank you again for all your help.”

“Good luck, doctor. I hope it stops with just this one case out there. Cause if it’s already got a foot hold …God help us all.”

*******

The White House Washington D.C. 5:35 am:

The phone in his private bed room rang for what seemed like forever. At first it seemed like part of his dream, but a strategically placed elbow from Cassy made him realize it wasn’t. He popped his eyes open and looked at the annoying device, teetering on the edge of sleep. Reaching over, he lifted the receiver and mumbled “Lo?”

“Mr. President, it’s Reinhardt , Sir. Colonel Jordon just called. According to his information the problem in Rhode Island is genuine, Sir. He’s awaiting your instructions.”

Shaking his head as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, Fuller said “Rhode Island?”

“The children’s hospital sir.” Reinhardt reminded him.

“Yes. Yes Of course. What are our options?”

“Well, sir, we can allow the hospital to conduct its own quarantine or there is the Newport Navel base nearby. We can have a contingent of MP’s there in less than two hours to help with security,” Reinhardt advised.

President Fuller considered his options for a couple minutes before directing, “Get hold of Newport. Tell the base commander to get as many of his security people over there as he can afford to send. I want that place locked down tight. No one gets in or out. Make sure they understand that I mean absolutely no one!”

“Yes Sir! I’ll take care of it.”

“And Bill?”

“Yes, Mr. President?”

“We’re going to need a cover story for the media. I don’t want a panic up there.”

“I’ll get our people on it, Sir.”

“Good.”

******

San Francisco 7:00 am PDT:

THUMP!!!!!

Ellie awoke with a start. She bolted upright and looked around her for the source of the sound. Even in the shade darkened, gloomy half light of the rain soaked day the minimal illumination provided by the clock on her microwave oven, everything seemed to be in its place. She was just about to chalk it up to her imagination when she heard it again.

‘Nicole!’ she thought as she bolted up and ran into her bed room.

Ever since late Friday night Roger had been asleep, more like in a coma, actually. Ellie had been watching over him constantly as his transformation progressed. Watching the process gave her a new appreciation of what had happened to her. She thanked God several times for the unconscious state that had spared Roger the intense pain that she had experienced during her transition.

As she entered the room she flicked on the light. To her dismay, Roger hung half off the bed. From that position, his, or her, long hair locks touched the floor and her now ample top lay bare for the whole world to see. Ellie couldn’t help but admire the changes in her friend’s body. She knew that Roger would be ecstatic when she awoke.

Ellie stepped over to the bed and struggled to lift the new woman’s limp form back onto the bed. ‘Jeesh Nicole, you may look skinny now, but you still weigh a ton,’ she thought to herself. As if in reply to her friend’s unspoken comment, Nicole groaned.

Stifling a surprised gasp, Ellie finished getting her friend back into place. Placing the pillow under Nicole’s head, Ellie noticed her eyes flutter open momentarily.

Trying to control the wave of excitement washing over her, Ellie whispered “Nicole? Are you awake, Sweetie?”

Nicole groaned again, her eyes fluttering a bit more. Ellie waited patiently for a sign as to whether her friend was waking up, or just grumbling in her sleep. With building anticipation, Ellie said a silent prayer for her friends’ recovery.

“Lord, if it is your will, please let her be Ok. She’s a good, faithful person and has agreed to help me in your sacred mission. Amen”

Nicole’s head shifted on the pillow as she let out another low groan. Ellie stepped closer and noticed that her eyes were now open. She leaned down and touched Nicole’s cheek. “Sweetie?” she said questioningly.

Though her eyes remained unfocused Nicole replied with a soft “Hmm?”

A delighted smile sprang across Ellie’s face as she prodded some more “Nicole? Are you there, Sweetie?”

Once again, Nicole responded with a grunt. Ellie took a seat on the bed and picked up her now slim hand. She held it, stroking the top of the palm as she waited for Nicole to finish her ascent from oblivion. After several starts and stutters on the way back to the land of the living over the following hour, Nicole looked up at her and whispered “El? Am … am I alive?”

Tears of joy poured from her eyes as Ellie reached down and hugged Nicole. “Sweetie, you are most definitely still alive! As a matter of fact, I think you’re going to be most pleased with how alive you are!”

“Di … did I change?”

“Oh yes. Yes, you did.”

“Can … can I … I see?”

“Wait just a minute! I’ll fetch you a mirror.” Ellie excitedly hopped off the bed and bolted out of the room.

Nicole tried to lift her head as she waited for Ellie’s return but found she lacked the strength. She rolled her eyes downward and glimpsed her thin hands and long fingers that rested on top of the blankets covering a new found swell on her chest. A small smile creased the corners of her mouth as the truth of her new situation began to dawn on her.

Seconds later Ellie bound back into the room carrying the largest mirror she could reasonably handle. As she approached, she placed the mirror face down on the bed next to her..

“What are you doing?” Nicole asked, her smile growing even bigger as she heard her new higher pitched voice for the first time.

Teasingly Ellie replied “I just wanted to fix you up a bit, so you don’t scare yourself when you look.” She moved in and began to fluff out Nicole’s beautiful long hair.

“Aw, come on, El…”

“Don’t come on El, me, ‘; young lady. You’re one serious mess here, and I don’t want you thinking you’ve been transformed into some kind of hag,” she told her as she finished her preening. “OK, that looks much … well, a little better anyhow.

“Elijah!” Nicole said in a demanding tone as she felt her strength begin to return.

With a mock tone of indignation Ellie said “First of all, it’s Ellie not Elijah! Secondly,” she picked up the mirror and turned it towards Nicole, “here.”

Nicole gasped as she saw her new face. Gone were the square jaw, the old acne scars and the constant five-o-clock shadow. They had been replaced by high cheeks, full lips and a cute little nose. Nicole smile goofily as she studied her new face. She noticed her eyes had changed from dark brown to an almost emerald green. To her absolute delight, her hair was no longer its former jet black. It had also changed to a dazzling red that seemed to compliment her eyes perfectly.

“Oh … my … God …! El, is this real?” she asked, her voice full of wonderment, tears welling up in her eyes.

With tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as well, Ellie replied “Yes, sweetie, it’s real. God has truly blessed us both.”

Putting the mirror down Ellie walked over, helped Nicole with her arms and the two women hugged and cried for several minutes. When the embrace was over and the cries of joy had abated enough to allow them both to speak clearly, Ellie knelt next to the bed and led Nicole in a long prayer of thanks to God for his blessing.

Once that was finished Ellie asked, “Is there anything I can get you? A drink? Something to eat?”

“Food?” Nicole asked. Her stomach suddenly rumbled at the mention of the word.

Smiling, Ellie said “Food it is then. Anything in particular you’d like?”

“At this point I’ll take anything you have. I’m suddenly so hungry I could eat a horse.”

“Well Sweetie, I think we’ll start you off with something a bit lighter that that. You don’t want to lose that lovely figure on the first day, do you?” Ellie teased as she disappeared through the doorway.

A short time later Ellie reappeared carrying a large serving tray, stacked high with all sorts of breakfast items. Setting it down on the chest of drawers, she walked over and helped Nicole to a sitting position. That accomplished, she placed a small tray with legs on the bed over Nicole’s lower half. Turning back to the waiting tray of food, she brought it over to the bed, placing on the tray there.

The smell of the food made Nicole’s mouth water s her stomach rumbled loudly. Never in her entire life had she been so hungry, or so weak, for that matter. It took an effort to lift her arm and pick up her fork. The complete lack of strength frightened Nicole.

Seeing her friends distress, and understanding its source, from her own experience, Ellie reassured her, “Don’t worry, once you get some food in you, you’ll feel a lot better.”

Nicole gave her a quick embarrassed smile and tried to lift the food filled fork to her mouth. Her hand shook so badly that its contents spilled over her chest before it could be placed in her mouth.

“Wow, you really are wasted,” Ellie remarked in surprise. “Here, lie back and let me help you.” Putting down her toast, Ellie picked up the fork and help her weakened friend eat while they watched the news.

“Good morning, San Francisco. This is KLTR news. Our top story this morning is the announcement by Homeland Security director Harris Skellington, of the apprehension of Dr. Carla Ryson by FBI agents in the Bay area. Dr. Ryson, along with several others has been wanted for questioning in connection with the release of the Acidalia virus. While he wouldn’t come right out and say it, Director Skellington intimated that Dr. Ryson may be the person most directly responsible for this growing problem.

“While he couldn’t elaborate on what or how many different charges would be leveled against the suspect, Skellington did promise that the investigation into those believed to be coconspirators with Dr. Ryson would continue. ‘The investigation will not end with the arrest of a single person. There are still suspects at large including known domestic terrorist Warren Quinlan, that are believed to have been involved with Dr. Ryson’s horrific scheme.’ the Director was quoted as saying during his early morning press briefing.

“In other news, local CDC official Mia Blue’s office released a statement denying the widespread Internet rumors about wide spread mass infections of the dreaded virus. The statement specifically rebuked the speculation that many area doctors were being infected as they sought to treat the virus’ victims.

“ ‘There is absolutely no truth to these reports, and all local hospitals have been given biocontainment suits for their medical staff to use while attending the infected. As of this time, the CDC has received not a single confirmed report of a doctor becoming infected with Acidalia as a result of treating its victims.’ the statement is quoted as saying.
“The statement also made mention of a new procedure for testing for the Acidalia virus that was released over the weekend. This quicker method has, according to all available information, actually caused a slight reduction in the number of new confirmed cases.

“In International news, another country has joined the growing number of what the White House is terming; ‘irresponsible states’ that have issued ‘no land’ orders for any flight inbound from the US. Japan has now joined China, The European Union and several other smaller countries in what President Fuller describes as a blatant violation of international protocol. Sources close to the President’s advisors have confirmed reports of trade injunctions being instituted against all the countries involved in the flight boycott.”

********

City hospital, Director Batson’s office:

Bill and Mia Blue had been going over the results of the first round of testing all morning, using Dr. Ryan’s method. To say the results were unsettling would be a gross understatement. Out of the two hundred men tested in the last three hours one hundred and seventy nine of them had tested positive.

“Are we sure these results are accurate?” Mia asked disbelievingly.

“I had the same question, so I ordered all the positive’s retested and with the exception of … let me see … I’ve got the numbers here somewhere … ah, here they are. With the exception of one case, all retested positive the second time. I’ve also been in touch with most of the rest of the hospitals in the area and they’re all reporting a similar spike in positive results.”

Mia let out a small sigh of resignation. “How are you doing for bed space? Are you going to be able to handle the spike, at least in the short term?”

“With the sudden jump from this morning, we’re at capacity, plus, I’d say at least a hundred and we still have a lot more to test. I’ve had the maintenance crew busy on the seventh floor putting beds everywhere there is space for them, but to be honest we’re overwhelmed.”

“I was afraid of that. We’ll just have to double up on the transfers to Dillon and Reynolds for now. The colonel told me that they expect to have the new quarantine center at their building at Edwards completed by week’s end, so that will give us some relief.”

“How big is that one going to be?”

It’s supposed to be pretty big … somewhere in the neighborhood of twelve hundred person capacity.”

“No offence … but I think you better tell him to make it bigger.”

Mia let out another sigh. This one however, was one of agreement.

*************

Providence RI. 4:30 Pm EDT:

“WRPO news room.”

“Is this the line people call to report breaking news?”

“Yep this is the one. What you got?”

“I work over at Hasbro hospital…”

“The one for kids?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Anyway we got a case of that Aci … Aciwhatever they call it virus over here.”

Sarcastically he said “You guys got a case of Acidalia. In your hospital?”

“That’s what I just said, ain’t it?”

“How do I know you’re not just some crackpot yankin’ my chain?”

“Look, we got a case of what ever the friggen name of it is over here. Send one of your crews and check it out. They even sent a big ol’ group of MP’s from Newport to guard the place. Ya know, to make sure none of us tries to leave until they give us the test.”

“MP’s too? Okay now you really got my attention. What’s your name and what do you do over there?”

“My name? Oh … duh … My name is …”

From the background “Hey! What are you doing over there?”

“Oh shit! They found me … I … I got to …”

Click

*********
Reynolds:

For what seemed like the hundredth time, Thomas pushed the medical call button on the wall near the hatch, and for the hundredth time, it went unanswered.

“Why did they even bother to put this friggen thing in here?” she said disgustedly to no one in particular.

On the bed at the back end of the cell, the man they had brought in on Friday let out another ear piercing howl. Thomas looked over at the poor soul and cursed the fate that had kept him conscious during his transition. To her, the luckiest of them were the ones that lost consciousness as they changed.

Though it had been several day’s since his arrival, the now changing man had yet to say a single coherent word to any of them, so his name remained a mystery. For all of Friday night and most of the day Saturday he had stayed on the bed they’d put him on, curled up in a ball with a far away look in his eyes, sucking on his thumb. That was, until the virus took hold and started rearranging his DNA. Again he loudly vocalized his discomfort.

“Jesus Christ!” yelped Renee. “Did they answer you this time?”

“No! They still didn’t answer!” Thomas said bitterly as she smacked the button again in frustration.

“What are we going to do about him, then?” Jo asked.

“Do? What do you suggest we do? We’re going to have to try to help him get through this somehow. That’s what we’re going to do,” Thomas replied as the man moaned some more.

“How are we supposed to do that?” Jo asked sarcastically.

Thomas glared at her short rotund cellmate, but bit her tongue instead of replying and escalating the argument any further. She knew Jo was only venting her frustration at the lack of medical response. They were all frustrated. The cries of pain had kept them up for almost thirty six hours straight and their nerves were starting to fray a bit.

‘A bit frayed? How bout a whole lot friggen frayed!’ Thomas thought, walking over to her bed and plopping down on it. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to picture her family, God, how she missed them. She attempted to say a silent prayer for their safety but the howls started up again from the back of the room, destroying her concentration. In complete desperation she pulled her pillow over her head in an attempt to shut out the cries as the reached new heights.

“Shut the fuck up!!!!” Mona screamed back as she bolted over to the call button and began to hit it repeatedly. “Answer, you fucks! Answer! God damn it! Why won’t they answer?” she sobbed futilely as she pounded the hated button again and again.

*****
From the computer in his office, Major Brady watched the entire scene over the security monitor and smiled contentedly. This was working out better than he could have hopped. At first when he’d found out that his people had put Parker in Logan’s cell he had been furious. But Parker’s continued unconsciousness and the effect on Logan and the rest was proving to be endlessly entertaining.

The sound of knocking on his door made him look up. He considered not acknowledging it for a moment, but thought better of it. “Enter,” he called as he reluctantly shut off the feed.

“Major!” Sergeant Major Hutchinson said as she saluted her superior officer.

“Yes?” Brady returned the salute.

“Sir, the new arrivals should be here in about forty five minutes or so, and we still don’t have their cell assignments yet.”

‘Shit!’ Brady thought. ‘Slacking off, spending too much time watching the Logan show and not enough on my duties. Gonna have to knock that shit off!’ Focusing back on Hutchinson, he inquired “How many in this load?”

Loren pulled out her clip board that held the roster sheet on it. After a brief calculation she reported “Only thirty five in this one, sir. But I just got a call informing me that we have a second load coming in at ten thirty tonight, and that one is slightly over a hundred. I guess someone’s decided to double us up today.”

“I’d say. How are we looking of space?”

“Well, the first through third levels are at capacity, but the other three have plenty of beds still available. If we spread these two loads over them, everyone should remain reasonably comfortable.”

“Hmm. Let me see that sheet.” He asked.

Hutchison walked to the desk and put it in his hand. Their fingers touched momentarily during the exchange. She stepped back and stood there uncomfortably trying to fight the urge to wipe her hand on her fatigue pants.

She watched as the Major looked over the list for the next several minutes. Every few moments he would mark the sheet with a felt pen and snicker. When he was done he handed the clipboard back to her. “There you go.”

Loren looked over what he had marked on the list. “Sir?” she said questioningly.

“Yes?”

“Sir, are you sure about these assignments?”

“Is there a problem, Sergeant Major?”

“Well Sir, you have twenty of the new arrivals going into cell number 4552.”

“And?” he asked mockingly.

“Well, Sir that cell already has five people in it, and it only has a total of twenty beds.”

“I am aware of what the bed counts are.”

“But sir, we have plenty of room in other cells …”

“Sergeant Major Hutchinson, are you questioning my orders?”

“No … no Sir … it’s just that …”

“Then we have nothing left to discuss. Dismissed.”

“But sir I …”

“I said, Dismissed!” Brady said sternly.

“Yes Sir!” Loren said dejectedly as she gave the Major a salute. She waited patiently for a few moments for Brady to return her salute. Finally he seemed to realize what she was waiting for and returned it.

With a loud sigh of disgust, Hutchinson turned and walked quickly out of the office. ‘What the hell is he doing?’ she wondered as she closed the door behind her.

Brady sat back down at his desk after Hutchinson left. He turned the computers monitor back on and brought up the security monitoring program again. After punching in his clearance code, the machine produced a list of cells to monitor. Clicking his mouse on the link for cell 4552, he waited patiently for the feed to load.

An impish grin grew on his face as the video and audio feeds showed Thomas Logan and the dark haired one tending to Parker, while the fat one pounded on the call button. He giggled with delight as the memory of having ordered that cell’s call system deactivated. ‘Bloody stoke of genius,’ he congratulated himself.

***********

Providence RI. 9:45am EDT:

“How’s the testing going?” Dr. Fisk asked.

“Not good, I’m afraid.” Grant replied.

“How many of us are infected?”

“It would be easier to tell you who isn’t at this point, I’m afraid.” Grant admitted.

“That bad, huh?”

“’Fraid so. Seems the only male that doesn’t have to look forward to buying a new wardrobe is Dr. Khin. So far, anyhow. And I’ll bet you that he shows up positive sometime soon, too.”

“The kids too?”

“All the boys, anyhow,” he replied with obvious distress.

“Oh Rosey, I’m so sorry.” Fisk said with genuine sympathy as she moved in and hugged him tightly. After the moment passed, she continued “Have you told everyone yet?”

“As the results have come in, I’ve been informing them individually.”

“Any word from Rogers on how the testing is going for the rest of the hospital?”

“No not yet. At this point, I’ll take that as a good sign though.”

***********

The main lobby:

The MP’s from Newport had set up a security post back from the main entrance near the elevators in an attempt to stay unnoticed. Just a single soldier stood near the admissions desk to keep an eye on the sidewalk in front of the building. The rest of the force and the hospital’s small security staff were spread out, covering the rest of the entrances to the Hospital. Their main objective was simply to keep every on the ICU floor away from everyone else. So far things had gone smoothly, until the radio chirped. “Sarge, we’ve got a situation here.”

“What is it, Corporal?” Sergeant Carter Hall asked.

“Reporters, Sergeant,” The corporal replied.

“Shit. Stay there. I’ll be right over.” Hall grabbed a couple of additional men and hurried over to the entrance.

Outside, the news crew was hopping out of the newly arrived van. The small group was rushing around and appeared to be quickly getting themselves set up for a live shot.

“Shit!” Hall cursed again as he hurried toward the door with this men in tow. “You can’t set that stuff up here,” He yelled at the reporters as he burst onto the sidewalk.

Location reporter Doreen Baxter turned to her camera man Fred McNeil pointing and saying, “Fred, the military guy.”

Understanding the implied instruction, Fred turned towards Hall and flipped the camera on. They two of them moved towards the approaching solders. As the groups met, Doreen shove the microphone into Hall’s face and quickly asked, “Sir would you like to comment on the rumor of an Acidalia infectee in the hospital and what that could mean for the rest of the patients in the building?”

Momentarily taken aback, Hall hesitated before ordering, “Shut that camera off and get that out of my face! This is a restricted area. You people need to leave here right now!”

“So you’re confirming the presence of the Acidalia virus?” Doreen asked.

“I said get the mike out of my face!” Hall once again demanded as he swiped at the offending piece of equipment, knocking it out of the reporter’s hand.

“What the hell?” Doreen howled indignantly as she bent over to pick up the microphone.

“Take your van and get out of here! And shut the fucken camera off!” Hall demanded. He signaled the solders behind him to remove the news crew. The three MP’s stepped forward with their hands moving towards the side arms they each carried. Before they could get close enough to do anything, Frank put the camera on his hip and said “Ok. Ok we get the message. No need to get physical.”

“Frank!” Doreen shouted.

Ignoring the young woman’s cry, Frank grabbed her arm and began to lead her back toward the van. She struggled to free herself and complained about her lack of success the entire way back. Frank smartly paid her no mind and continued back. Once they were behind the van he pushed her in.

“Drive.” he told the van’s control board technician Bill Richards.

Richard complied, hopping into the driver’s seat as Doreen hollered “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Don’t you ever put you greasy mitts on me ag …”

“Will you shut the fuck up?” he exclaimed interrupting her. “I got the entire thing on tape!”

“You what?”

“I got it all. Everything from your questions to the big guy knocking the mike out of your hand to those solders coming at us!”

A large smile spouted on Doreen’s pretty face. “You’re the best!” she told him excitedly, giving him a big hug.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” he joked. Looking out the windshield he spotted the sort of place he wanted. “Pull over next to that building, Bill,” he instructed.

Once parked, he and Doreen hopped out of the van. To her, Frank said “OK, get yourself straightened up and we’ll … hey wait a minute! Don’t straighten yourself up. As a matter of fact ….” he bent down and scraped some sand and dirt off the side walk, “Close your eyes!”

Doreen did as instructed. Frank sprinkled the handful on grime over her head and smeared a bit on her face.

“There, that’s perfect,” he said, stepping back and looking over his work. “Now rumple your outfit a bit.” Doreen complied. “Perfect! Are you ready?” He lifted the camera to his shoulder.

Doreen picked up her microphone and nodded, then put an outraged look on her face. The light came on and the show began. “You can call it Acidalia or you can call it by its west coast nick name, Double X, but what ever name you choose, call it close to home. This is Doreen Baxter reporting from outside Hasbro Children’s hospital here in Providence, where there have been unconfirmed reports of an outbreak of this fearsome virus. Hospital officials were unavailable for comment; however the presence of Military Police guarding the facility lends credence to the rumor.

When Channel 12 reporters approached the hospital in search of comment, they were threatened with forcible removal from the premises by military personnel. One unnamed soldier even went as far as assaulting one of our crew as I attempted to question him, as this video will confirm.”

The carefully edited video of the supposed assault, including a spliced in shot of Doreen picking herself up off the ground. Then Doreen’s voice came back in. “Internet rumors of widespread infection, along with the military’s behavior and the continued silence from hospital officials only serves to heighten the concerns of a frightened public. Even if this isn’t an outbreak of the dreaded disease, this situation certainly calls into question the judgment of those controlling the release of information. This is Doreen Baxter reporting for Channel 12 news.”

*****

“Is that what you call controlling the flow of information?” President Fuller asked angrily as he hit the power off button for the television. “What the fuck is going on there, Bill? You told me you would handle the dissemination of the cover story. Is this what you call handling it?”

Bill Reinhardt looked at the President miserably. Though the reporters had arrived faster than anticipated, and certainly faster than he felt he could have gotten anyone on the ground to deflect the story, the situation was still colossally screwed up and the blame was his to bear.

In the hours since the story first aired, the front of the hospital and the surrounding area had become over run, in defiance of all logic. Every single sociology expert in the area was dumbfounded by the gathering. According to them, everyone should be fleeing the area, not flocking to the infection’s source. And yet people from all over southern New England, from as far away as New Haven and Boston, were flocking to the city. Some were concerned parents, other were there to protest the military’s involvement, most however seemed to be there just to see the show and antagonize the police.

The MP’s found their numbers to be insufficient for the job of crowd control and had been forced to call on the local police to assist. The manpower needed to contain the size of the ever growing sea of humanity had left the city police force seriously depleted. Rhode Island State Police had also been called in to help, but were unable to get through the overrun streets around the hospital. So instead, they were working with the Providence Police Dept, patrolling the city.

“Well?” Fuller asked impatiently, pulling Reinhardt out of his reverie.

“Well, Sir, we’ve released our cover story to one of the competing stations and they were going to air it about fifteen minutes ago.”

“And that story is?”

“We’ve put out that the military is practicing their antiterrorism tactics at the hospital with the full cooperation of the administration.”

Fuller rolled his eyes. “Is that the best you could come up with? Cause, I’d say that your story sure as hell isn’t having any effect on the city’s population. All these highly paid people, supposed experts in media manipulation and antiterrorism practice is the best we can come up with?”

Reinhardt shrugged his shoulders. He knew better than to try to defend the idea as it would only infuriate the President more, so he simply said “We’re doing everything we can to contain the situation from here on out.”

“Well that’s certainly good to hear. You’ve done a hell of a job handling it so far!”

*******************

Hasbro:

“Dr. Grant, Director Rogers is on the phone looking for you.”

“Thanks, Wendy, I’ll take it in here.” Grant put down the latest in a long series of positive test results and reached for the phone.

“Hey, Frank. What’s up?”

“Rosey, how are your test results coming out up there?”

Grant sighed “It’s not good, Frank. I’ve finished with the last of the tests and we’ve got only two negatives. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I find it hard to believe that all of us were infected this quickly.”

“I understand what you mean. We’ve been busy testing everyone in the building and we’ve come up with an astounding amount of positive results too. Over eighty percent of those tested are infected, if the results are to be believed.”

“That many? How is that possible?”

“I don’t know.”

“Roger, is there any chance we mixed the chemical agents incorrectly?”

“I thought of that. So I called the lab and had them make a new batch, but the results are pretty much the same. The only thing I can come up with is either this virus is much more contagious than anyone realizes, or the test is bad.”

“Batson swore by the test and he didn’t seem like the given to hyperbole.”

“I just…I guess I don’t want the results to be right.”

“I hear you on that one, Frankie. Believe me, ..; I hear you.”

The Main Lobby:

Through the reinforced Plexiglas front windows, Sergeant Hall worriedly watched the sea of people outside continue to grow and grow. The extra help the Providence Police had sent was welcome, but hardly enough to handle this many people if they got out of hand. What they needed was a full military presence, Unfortunately, they had been unable to communicate that need to Newport, because all the phone lines were jammed with incoming calls from concerned parents and news people. Even their cell phones were useless.

*********************

San Francisco:

As the day progressed into night, Nicole’s strength returned. By late afternoon she was able to get out of bed and had, after a stop in the bathroom during which she was able to familiarize herself with her new plumbing, moved to the couch in the living room. The trip, though exceedingly short, had exhilarated and exhausted Nicole, so as soon as she was settled in the living room, she was ready for a nap. Ellie let her sleep the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.

When the new woman awakened again a bit after seven, her ravenous hunger had returned. Ellie had fixed her another prodigious meal, smiling as she recalled eating an entire box of Hershey bars during a particularly bad fit of hunger the night after completing her transformation. Finishing the preparation, she looked over the copious amount of food and said a quick prayer of thanks to God for the high powered metabolism that seemed to be part of their new bodies.

Ellie brought the tray full of food into the living room and set it down near where Nicole lay, somehow managing to not get her hand bitten off as Nicole attacked the tray, Ellie took a small portion for herself. The two friends sat in relative silence as they ate, the only real noise coming from Nicole as she occasionally grunted with pleasure while she ate.

Finishing long before Nicole, Ellie turned on the news. The two women watched the broadcast with great interest as they discussed the latest nationwide developments with the Acidalia virus. The station described a riot in Detroit resulting from the false belief that the newest testing method was actually a vaccination for the virus. According to the report, the Marines finally had to be called in to restore order in the city.

The next item was about a small outbreak at a hospital on the east coast and the amazing crowd that had gathered outside of it, virtually shutting down the city’s heart. The aerial shots of the tremendous crowd surrounding the Rhode Island medical center were impressive, even if the accompanying voice over, describing it as a prayer vigil smelled of complete horse shit. The report ended saying that Providence Mayor Vincent Lambogani was calling up the local National Guard to help the city and state police with crowd control.

Eventually, having seen enough, Ellie shut the set off and sighed disgustedly.

“What’s the sigh for?” asked the satiated Nicole.

“The news … the way they talked about the riot and the problem in Rhode Island … it’s like they’re trying too hard to put the best possible spin on things.”

Nicole nodded her head in agreement as she took a long swig of water. “You think that maybe the government is trying to cover things up?”

“Yes I do. It’s like they want to pretend that everything is fine and normal, even though the edges are starting to fray on society. I saw this afternoon on the Internet a report that said this new test has resulted in hundreds of new cases being discovered in just a short time. And that because of all of these newly infected people, the quarantine centers are going to be overflowing by month’s end. Now how come there was nothing about that on the news?”

Nicole sat and thought about what had just been said. After several silence filled minutes of contemplation, she shrugged her shoulders, deciding that she was still way to fuzzy headed to fully grasp the implications of Ell’s statements.

Deciding to change the subject, she asked “So what’s your plan for carrying out this mission God has given us?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and praying on that subject while you were sleeping. God has told me to gather those like us and help them with their transitions, so I think our first order of business is to find a safe, clean, out of the way place to set up operations.”

“My family still owns all those warehouses down on the south side of the city. They’re in a fairly secluded area, and as far as I know, they’re pretty much empty too.” Nicole offered.

“Sweetie, that sounds perfect!” Ellie exclaimed. “But how do we get access to any of them? I mean, they must be locked up.”

“I think I’ve got that covered, too. Just before my dear old father got completely disgusted with my … desires and threw me out of the house, he gave me a key to the one on the eastern most edge of the property, so I could store some stuff there for him. I never gave the key back to him after I left, so if he didn’t change the lock …”

“Where is the key now?”

“It’s back in my apartment.”

“OK! Then as soon as you’ve got the strength, we’ll take a ride over there and grab it. Ellie added “After we get you some clothes that will fit, that is.”

“Shopping?” Nicole asked with a joyful gleam in her eye.

Ellie smiled “Of course, silly. We’ve got to get you some new clothes, unless, that is, you want to walk around naked everywhere.”

With a mischievous grin Nicole responded “Well this new body of mine does look good …”

Ellie giggled and threw a pillow at her.

*******************

Reynolds:

Mona, Renee, and Thomas pulled Jo off the floor. With tremendous care they put their injured friend onto Mona’s bed and looked over her injuries. To Thomas’ untrained eye they looked superficial, perhaps a broken nose, but nothing that wouldn’t heal.

Several feet away the blonde haired cause of Jo’s injuries glad handed and slapped five with some of the other new arrivals. Her compatriots congratulated her and slapped her on the back, all the while eyeing Renee’s’ bunk. The victorious new girl strutted over to her newly won bed and with exaggerated glee, lay down on it.

Their once spacious cell was now suddenly a very crowded one. Just half an hour before, a group of about twenty new comers had arrived, leaving the cell five beds short. Almost as soon as she had arrived, Karen had begun to pick fights with Thomas and the rest of the girls that had been in the cell before her arrival. Jo had become the first one to actually fight her, when Jen had decided it was her bed she desired. Jo did her best, but wound up loosing badly.

Thomas glared at Karen, her anger building with every snide comment that emitted from victor’s mouth. However before anything could be done about the situation, Mona pulled at Thomas’s arm and pointed at a group encircling the finally sleeping man.

“Get away from him!” Thomas hollered. The group ignored her and continued to poke at the poor transitioner.

Getting up Thomas shouted “I said, get away from him!”

From behind, she heard Karen challenge “What are you gonna do if they don’t?”

This time it was Thomas’ turn to ignore her. She walked over and pushed her way past the women surrounding the bed. “This bed is for him. Go find another one!” she told them defiantly.

Getting off her newly won prize, Karen sauntered over saying “And what if I decide that I want that one instead of the one I got? Huh? What are you gonna do then?”

Thomas glared at her new rival. “I’ve said all that I have to say on this subject. This bed is his, and that’s all there is to it.”

Karen stepped right up to Thomas’s face, poked her in the chest and said “I say that the bed belongs to Rita over there!”

Without so much as a word Thomas cut loose with a punch to Karen’s jaw that sent the blonde to the floor. She then followed it up with a couple of swift kicks to the new comer’s midsection. Karen doubled over and gasped for air. Looking around at the rest of the room, Thomas asked “Anyone else want to take this bed?”

To no one’s surprise, there were no volunteers.

“Good.” Looking down at Karen’s prone form Thomas announced. “That bed over there belongs to Jo. Go find yourself another one. Understand?”

Karen groaned in acknowledgement.

Thomas turned and walked back to Mona’s bed “How’s she doing?”

With obvious admiration Mona replied “She’ll live.”

“Good. Let’s get her onto her own bed.”

As the three women hefted Jo off Mona’s bed and began to move her back to her own Renee said, “That was some punch!”

Thomas looked at her friend and simply said “Yes it was.”

After getting Jo settled, Thomas went back to Parker’s bed and took a seat. As she sat she absently stroked the transitioning man’s rapidly growing hair. ‘What’s happened to me? Even when I was a man, I could never have laid anyone out with just one punch. Karen was right in front of me, ready to fight and she acted like she didn’t even see it coming. What’s going on?’ she wondered silently.

*****************

Providence Tuesday June 6 early morning:

As night turned into day the MP’s got their first good look at how much the crowd surrounding them had grown., Hall had established a look out post on the now empty fourth floor. From this height it was possible to see the edges of the great sea of humanity that filled the blocks surround the hospital.

Overnight there had been several arrests on the outer edges as various individuals had tried to instigate violence in one form or another. The hospital itself was still physically cut off from the rest of the world by the surrounding masses. Communications had been restored overnight however, and the MP’s had been reinforced with a group of Army Rangers that had been dropped on the roof by helicopter.

Inside the building the situation had also changed. The overwhelming number of positive test results had cause the abandonment of the fifth floor quarantine idea. Instead the hospital had been divided into two zones. The fifth through eighth floors now housed all those confirmed to have Acidalia. The third and second contained the few that had been negative, with the forth acting as a buffer zone between the two groups. The lobby was now strictly off limits to anyone other than military personnel.

Having gawked at the people outside enough, Hall decided to head to the lobby to check on his men stationed there. As the elevator descended, Hall found himself wondering how long his group would be stuck here. He reminded himself to ask that very question later when he contacted his superiors for the morning situation briefing.

Entering the lobby he toured his men, stopping to briefly speak to each one. Eventually he wound his way to the reception desk, where the view of the sidewalk look remarkably similar to the way it had before the sun went down the night before. He turned from looking at the crowd to the Corporal manning the desk station. Just as he was about to open his mouth a tremendous roar erupted from be hind him.

He turned back to see a young man standing at the front of the gathering, just inside the police barricades. The officers manning the lines seemed to be trying to get to him, but were unable as he would move back into the crowd every time they came near him.

Though he couldn’t hear the man’s words, his body language and the response from the onlookers made his purpose unquestionable. Hall watched as a Policeman dove towards the instigator, only to find himself rebuffed by those surrounding him.

‘Those cop’s are gonna get themselves killed out there!’

“God damn it!” He turned back to his troops. “Everyone, outside now. Get that kid and shut him up before he starts a god damned riot! Move!”

The group of MPs and Rangers ran toward the doors, readying their weapons as they went. They burst onto the sidewalk and headed directly towards the troublemaker. As they got close enough to hear his words, their mouths went dry. He had the crowd whipped into a frenzy.

“You there!” Hall yelled to the instigator.

The young man looked over at the approaching solders and smiled. “You see? What did I tell you? These men are the ones preventing you from keeping your families safe! They’re protecting the infected ones inside! Allowing the virus to grow! So that it can spread out and infect you all your loved ones!”

“That’s enough out of you!” Hall yelled as he grabbed the slender rabble-rouser. The boy tried to resist, forcing Hall to wrestle him to the ground. A minor skirmish ensued between the two of them. Because of his superior training, Hall subdued the agitator, breaking his nose in the process, and almost as soon as it had begun the fight was over.

Hall pulled the man to his feet. One of the men near the front of the police lines saw the young instigators blood soaked face and screamed “You bastards! Let him go!”

As the group of solders began to encircle the troublemaker another voice joined the first yelling out “Leave him alone! Let him speak!”

The hairs on the back of Hall’s neck began to stand up as he heard the entire mob chant “LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO!” over and over again.

Realizing how close they were to losing control of the situation, Hall turned to his men and hollered, “Grab him and get back inside!”

Without hesitation the men grabbed the prisoner and began to drag him into the hospital as the crows chant grew louder. As they went, the troop found themselves pelted with trash and stones. Hall kept them moving towards the door however, telling them to ignore the debris. One of his men got hit in the middle of his back by a large stone. The poor solder fell to his knees. As Hall stopped to help him up, the solder screamed in pain.

Hall looked down on his injured man and pleaded “Come on. Just get inside and we’ll have one of the docs fix you up.

Taking a deep breath and gritting his teeth, the solder managed to get to his feet. Hall helped him along and began to believe they were actually going to make it, until they were less than twenty five feet short of the door, when the crowd turned into a mob and charged the barricades. The police in the front line were trampled and overwhelmed in an instant. The MPs let their prisoner go and turned their weapons on the approaching wave of humanity, but they were overrun before a single shot could be fired.

From his office window, Director Rogers saw the entire scene play out in surreal slow motion. His jaw hit the floor as he watched first the police, then the solders washed away by the on rush of people. He stumbled back towards his desk as though the sudden forward movement below had created a wall of air in front of it that forced everything back.

Grabbing the phone and hitting the line to the security room he yelled “Close the security gates! Close the security gates before the mob gets into the building!”

“Sir?” the answering guard said into the phone as he looked up at the monitor showing the front entrance. “Oh shit!” He exclaimed as he dove towards the button that activated the steel security gate system.

The entire group in the room held their breath as the gates descended, hoping they would reach the locking mechanisms in the floor before the mob got to them. The roof monitors showed the group of Rangers stationed there opening fire with tear gas canisters on the crowd below. That act only infuriated the mob even more. Yet somehow the gas managed to delay the assault just long enough for the locks engage.

Those inside the building with access to either security monitors or windows, shivered as they watched the mob throw itself at the steel gates time and time again. The fury of the assemblage was an almost palpable thing. More tear gas rained down from the roof. Army helicopters began to buzz the mob in an attempt to disburse it. Fire trucks on the outside edges opened their hoses on the assemblage while the State Police and National Guard began to form a wedge and move into the crowd. Confusion reigned.

A large contingent broke off from the assault on the hospital and began to attack the ground troops, quickly overwhelming them. From there, they attacked the fire trucks. A large group grabbed one of the engine and somehow managed roll it onto its side.

With the rear guard no longer an obstacle the mob moved into the city, destroying anything that got in their way. As the day wore on they looted, fought, destroyed property and lit fires everywhere they went. The authorities tried everything they could to restore order. Nothing worked.

That night the city of Providence burned like a signal fire, announcing the commencement of the eastern epidemic.

Confirmed cases: 2047

Actual cases: 1433

End part VI

Notes:

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