The store, the magazine, like they had been, the world seemed frozen in time.
Unlike any books she read, documentaries or movies, nothing Nora had seen depicted a major event such as a plague or war. No remnants of panic shopping, looting or violence. Everything was just a dusty, overgrown normal until they hit the first main intersection of base.
They had to stop, literally they could go no farther. It was clear to Nora. There was no more second guessing.
Abandoned military trucks obstructed the intersection alongside the blockades. Signs marked ‘Quarantine Zone’ were everywhere. Buildings were taped off, some were covered in plastic. Biohazard symbols were plastered everywhere as frequently as cracks in the sidewalks.
Abandoned cars, doors open scattered across the street. Papers and debris blew about among spilled personal belongings.
At the barricade, there were bodies, or rather skeletal remains in tattered clothing. A huge dump truck was filled to the capacity with body bags.
The carnage, the desolation and desecration of the virus extended as far as the eye could see.
The hybrid virus intended to decrease population wreaked havoc, at least on base it did.
TWENTY-ONE – Oblique
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Harrison stared into the camera. His face was worn, he looked tired and thinner than the messages they had seen when they were below. “Truly I am. I’m sorry.” He reached up and the video ended.
With an exhale, Malcolm sat back. “That’s the only one. The rest is data that I can’t make heads or tails out of.”
“We should have waited,” John said. “Until Jason and Nora returned.”
“I don’t mind watching it again,” Malcolm said. “At least we know the facts about transportation.” He lifted a folder.
Amy asked. “How long will it take to get them ready?”
“Not long,” Malcolm answered and his head turned quickly to the right when he heard the scuffling of feet.
Nora and Jason walked in.
Jason peered up. “We have power?”
“Solar,” Malcolm answered as he stood. “I don’t know how long it will last. Did you guys find anything?”
Jason replied. “It’s dead out there. Bad.” He shook his head.
“What we saw at the main portion of base,” Nora added. “I hope to God isn’t what we’ll see everywhere.”
“What did you see?” Amy asked impassioned. “What?”
“Chaos, death,” Nora answered. “Just everything you would imagine.”
“Did you see any bodies?” John asked.
Meredith gasped out an offended, “John!”
“No, it’s important,” John said. “Did you?”
Nora nodded. “We did. A lot.”
“So you saw bodies. Any exposed, not wrapped?” John quizzed.
“Yeah.”
“What state were they in?”
Again, Meredith gasped out. “John. Why is this important? It’s morbid.”
“It’s a time frame,” John stated. “We don’t know how long we were out. Nora, were they pure bones, partial bones, just decay?”
“Bones,” Nora answered.
“Good. Good.” John looked around. “At least we know we aren’t hundreds of years in the future. Maybe a few at most. We’ll know more when we leave here. Malcolm found our transportation. What are those?” he asked, nodding his head at Nora.
She dropped the magazines on the desk. “Apparently, New York had the worst terror attack in decades. Started another war, I’m guessing it wasn’t what they planned. I didn’t read it all, but I brought those. It might give us some insight. Things look like they fell apart before Thanksgiving.”
“They did,” Malcolm said. “The war wasn’t part of the plan.”
Jason asked. “How do you know?”
Malcolm returned to his chair and turned toward the computer. “Watch.”
After clicking on the file, Dr. Harrison appeared.
“Good evening… or whatever time of day it is. If you are seeing this, then you have uncovered the power source, that gives me hope. You have emerged from the Genesis project, or maybe you are from a distant planet or future inhabitants of this planet, in any event, this video should shed some light. Before I continue on, you will need to examine the brown folder in the bottom desk drawer. This will give you information regarding a means of transportation for you off of this base. God willing you brought the supplies from below.”
Malcolm lifted the folder and showed Nora.
“In an attempt to perform a population cull, a synthetic version of Measles was introduced into the population by way of air travel,” Dr. Harrison said. “An aerosol form was placed into the air ducts of one hundred aircraft, the passengers were unknowingly exposed to this airborne invader. We believed it would decrease the population by thirty-five percent. We expected half of those exposed to become sick. It was going as planned, but somewhere somehow it got out of control. The vaccine that had been created was useless, the virus mutated quickly, rendering any cure we believed we had, useless. That was one of the problems. There were twenty-four Genesis projects across the globe. I can speak for only this one. The diversion, the explosion, caused a ripple effect, bringing countries to the front lines of war. All this, while the virus ravaged our world. No singular focus was in one place. Which, I believe was a downfall. Things cascaded, less people worked as more grew ill. We were unable to handle the sick. Violence, riots, all that you could imagine… took its toll. By mid-November it was obvious that the cull was out of control and millions were dying by the day. The Genesis project was shut down on tenth of December and four days later, I returned to the office and activated the reset. Which means, I restarted your stasis. It is automatic and at this time, I do not know when you will wake. I do hope that when you do, you emerge into a beautiful world that has healed from this godforsaken illness. This virus, I believe was our punishment for our arrogance. Mother Nature’s way of saying it was time to clean up and thank you for helping out. Now I must be honest with you. You had been promised your family. You had been promised compensation. Obviously if you are seeing this, none of that is waiting for you. Despite the fact that your families were informed that you passed on in the explosion, they were indeed given a vaccine. I hope that you find them well. Best of luck in all that you do. I’m sorry.” He lowered his head. “Truly, I am. I’m sorry.”
Jason tossed out his hands. “So we know nothing more.”
“No,” Nora corrected. “We know a lot more. We know there was a war, the virus didn’t work, it was out of control, the vaccine was a bust, and we aren’t decades into the future. We know more than we did four hours ago. Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I sure want to know when those vehicles will be ready, because I need to find my family.”
“We all do,” John said. “But before any of us take off, we need a plan. We need to find a way to stick together or make it back together, because as hard as it is to face…” John looked at each and every person. “We here, may very well be all that’s left of the human race.”
TWENTY-TWO – Motor Pool
Just before sundown, Nora, John and Grant made their way back to the PX and gathered more sleeping bags for the others. Along with three small tents and other camping supplies. Following Nora’s earlier lead, they also grabbed some items to wear. Even though there would be chances to get supplies on the road, it still was better to be prepared. Beyond the confines of the base was a great mystery.
They had moved from the small inside lab office to outside, creating a campsite.
“It could be fine,” Amy said, glancing across the campfire. “I mean. I once saw this movie that an area was quarantined, and the rest of the world was fine. This is where the project started. Maybe this is where they quarantined.”