For Today There is No Tomorrow (IC) Reboot

[Benuty]

Link back to the OOC

Chapter One: A not so family friendly day

Longden Memorial Campus
Command, and Control Center
Boston, Massachusetts
October 12th, 2011
8:30 am

The command center lit up brightly as a tall thin man entered the room on the top floor of the administration building. "Good morning Mr. Longden," he said with a thick voice like that of a decades-long chain smoker. "Ah our mysterious man comes again, what can I help you with today?" Longden sarcastically said as something of a smile formed on the other man's face. " We both know why I am here Mr. Longden, but to refresh your memory it is about the deal I am offering you" the man lays a briefcase on the table in front of him, and pops it open. Longden pulls out a file, and opens it some papers slowly coming out "So its true then?" Longden's face turns serious reading over the information in the file.

"Yes, I am afraid a certain doctor Ashton of the CDC confirms the story from a late stage infected couple in Concord that their relatives were there on vacation. The biological emergency response teams have gone and taken into custody anyone exposed on their route back as a precaution. I have spoken with the President, and the New Pentagon in Columbia and they will dispatch troops, and the CDC to begin ramping up their state operations to a more satisfactory degree." Longden with a concerned tone in his voice asked the man before him "How long do we have before operations begin?".

The man inhaled sharply and spoke "You have at the most till 9:30 before the city goes under lockdown by the authorities. This is your last chance to take my deal I assure you this is something you will not regret" the man says as he hands a slip of paper over to Longden. Without hesitation, he grabs a pen and signs the contract "there now we can we expect you to hold up your end of the bargain?". The man closing his suitcase up speaks "You will have troops from Fort Devens Quarantine Camp within the hour to provide protection but in the meantime act as if things are normal so the people here don't go over the edge you can already cut the tension here with a knife." The man straightens his tie, and leaves the room heading for the elevator leaving one last remark as he went it "I would tighten infection checks at the entrances in the meantime if I were you don't want this going all to waste would we?".

Fort Devens, Massachusetts,
Emergency Command, and Quarantine Camp [Quarantine Tents]
October 11th, 2012
8:45 am.

The camp was quiet the early mornings here always were, but even then people were running back, and forth all over the quarantine camp. The camp was divided strictly into several sections to avoid cross-contamination in case the quarantine area fell. The quarantine tents reeked of a noxious mix of chemicals constantly as it was the only thing capable of preventing infection. Routine staff changes were made as the chemicals had the nasty side effect of tearing into your lungs if exposed for more than half a day. Each tent had sliding doors that could be locked down in case one of the patients got loose.

A nurse, doctor, or guard moving through here would stop between each building, and be decontaminated to prevent outside exposure. This place like all the others starts out optimistically trying to help the infected but goes down a cynical spiral once one of their own is infected. Now they handcuff each infected patient to the railing of the beds for the safety of the staff. Coming here infected is always a death sentence. If you do not die of the nanites you will be euthanized by staff to prevent turning. All bodies coming through here are cremated to prevent the spread of the rogue nanites.

The search for a cure or vaccine was abandoned by all, but a few of the fringe elements of the CDC. A cure remains impossible as the virus imprinted in the nanites causes them to change the very structure of the beings known as the turned. Even if there were a cure the changes seem irreversible, and the government doesn't know how well the host would react to its new body. Efforts on vaccines looked optimistic for the longest time, but the prototypes proved too lethal for most people and were scrapped. Now there are less than a billion humans on the planet, but hope remains for the colonies on Mars, and the Moon as they have not reported any plague at all.

Dr. Ashton sat in his tiny cramped office when a man pushing a table came by and dropped off a report for him. The report came from the morgue and indicated the last of the infected brought from Concord had died or turned. A man representing some business or interest had come by the other day insisting the turned not be put down, and somehow had a request form the government. All, but one was loaded onto a truck, and sent off to some lab in the wilderness of Maine. The only turned remaining was a 70-year-old grandmother by the name of Alison Parker.

The elderly woman out gardening one day, and apparently bit by a stray cat she saw and went to get her rabies shot. This didn't help her one bit as it wasn't rabies she contracted, and from the very first day began spreading the virus in her. First to her husband, and then next door neighbors young boy who delivered papers for them. Then when she went to the grocery store the cashiers, and several others would be infected. By the third day hosting their weekly book club every single one of the wives there got infected and took it back home to their families.

By the time she noticed the fever and bleeding she personally infected over 200 people in the course of four days. These two hundred went on to infect nearly everyone in Concord, and the situation spiraled out of control in less than two weeks. During this time her daughter brought the whole family on vacation there and brought the virus back with them to Boston. Now Boston will face the same madness as Concord, and all the other towns, and cities going back all the way to Arnette. For now, Dr. Ashton and his fellow workers had a presentation to attend to titled Intelligence of the Turned, and being late wasn't wise.

[Benuty]

Longden Memorial Campus
Command, and Control Center, 2nd Floor Office
Boston, Massachusetts
October 12th, 2011
8:35 am

Fred Hansen's office was small for his position, but it suited him just fine from where he could view a good bit of the campus, but his attention wasn't on the people going back, and forth in the campus, but rather on a small radio set. It was a special corporate radio set which got signals from all over the world, and at one point had 300 station selections on it. That number has gone down to about 120 which is a considerable amount down from five, and a half years ago. He had a giant map pinned to his wall, and a log book where every day he would record his thoughts, and observations on the state of the world. Any country that had a pin on it was still around and didn't look to be going away anytime soon.

White pens indicated a completely infection free area the biggest one being Britain which after suffering that epidemic back in the 90's locked down completely when the U.S sent word that the Japanese flu was the same "virus" responsible for the suffering they received not long ago. When word of refugees reached the military government they proved a point by blowing up the channel tunnel as thousands were in it and then nuked a fleet of refugees at Calais. Anyone fleeing to Britain without knowing a very specific code word for entry is shot on site, and the body burned so far these incredibly harsh measures have worked great. The Soviets have restricted themselves to keeping vital transportation networks safe and fortifying key cities to the extreme. The European Federation, on the other hand, selects certain states, and areas as "green zones" where people live a normal pre-pandemic life while "yellow zones" serve as testing areas for vaccines, and barriers to prevent "green zones" from falling.

Anyone caught in the "red zones" however is either stuck there or banished there to fight on the front lines against the turned. For these areas, red pins indicating severe infection were used while markers would x out any cities reported to have fallen. To our north on the Canadian side, the reports still focus on the civil war raging since the 1990s. The Canadians never could stop fighting one another to notice hordes of turned overrunning their villages, towns, and cities one by one. In the far south, the Argentinians have gone completely silent with the last radio broadcast on all radio stations featuring the same message rotating for four hours before it went off.

Áve María, grátia pléna,
Dóminus técum.
Benedícta tū in muliéribus,
et benedíctus frúctus véntris túi, Iésus.
Sáncta María, Máter Déi,
óra pro nóbis peccatóribus,
nunc et in hóra mórtis nóstrae. Ámen

"Another one for the black pin," Fred thought as he placed one on Argentina, and wrote an x over Buenos Aires as they were the last station to switch to this message. For hours the radio operator was desperately telling people what to do get out of the city before a gruff voice put what sounded like a pistol to his head, and told him to change to the government approved message. The man flat out refused, and for his trouble, it took three shots to probably kill him before a soldier presumably put on the government tape. From a conspiracy friend of his out in Brazil, he heard the Argentinians firebombed Buenos Aires, and every major city retreating to the mountains. He doesn't know if it worked or not, but for now Argentina should be considered destroyed.

[Luminesa]

The notes floated into the air of my hospital room, as I sat and strummed my guitar in my lap. I liked to think they were like little birds, flying out of a window that had been closed for some time. The image was soothing, as was the music I played. The tune was familiar, one I had heard and played many times during my life. I closed my eyes, and let the song take me to a hot dirt road, with trees surrounding me, on a clear summer day. Birds sang in the background, the air was fresh and free, and I stood on that dirt road, holding my guitar as I walked outside to admire the beauty of the world.

Summertime and the living is easy...catfish are jumping...and the cotton is high...
Your daddy's rich and your momma's good-lookin'...
So hush little baby...honey don't you cry...

I sang the words as they came to me, softly and smoothly. You could say I had been born with a guitar in my hand and with my little baby's mouth singing...well...whatever babies sing. As a woman, I still woke-up and sang as often as possible. Singing and strumming were two of my very few pleasures in life. Really now, the only pleasures I had left.

One of these mornings, you're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings, and you'll take to the sky...

I rarely went out anymore, because I was locked in this hospital. They were very strict about who went out and who came in. Something about a disease that had spread all over the country. The thought was a frightening one, but as for me, all I could think about was calm. Relax. Don't think about that. Breathe. Relax. My panic had swept over me again, and music was my lifeboat. So I sang with all the strength of my little canary voice.

One of these mornings, you're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings, and you'll take to the sky...
But till that morning, there's a nothin' can harm you
With daddy and mammy standin' by...

It was funny, I had neither. My mamma was home, far away from Boston, doing who knew what. Probably she was drinking and spending her days at home, since all of us girls were out the house except for Esther. (Oh, by the way, my name is Rosebeth. Rosebeth Carter, like the Carter Family. Of which I am not a part.) And I had not seen my daddy since I was a baby, so he was not standing by either. Maybe perhaps it was because I had already risen-up singing.

If only it was not in a hospital. Maybe one day, the nurses would let me go outside, just for a little while, and sing. Now that would be "rising-up singing"...

[Benuty]

Day One

The city of Boston is on edge, and you along with everyone else cannot quite tell what is up. The air carries a tension so thick it could be cut with a knife several times over. Your calls outside of a certain area are getting dropped or have to go through hoops just to find an operator to connect you if you can find a manned operator station outside the city in the first place. Your favorite radio stations are slowly disappearing one by one along with many television stations as well. Packages you ordered from monthly catalogs struggle to reach you or don't reach you at all.

Any attempt to complain to customer service is met with frustration as operators are becoming fewer by the day. You would almost swear certain parts of the country are falling off the map. Attempt to spend your ration points on more exotic goods at the refueling stations, and grocery stores will just be pushing your luck as the attendant or grocer just cannot seem to find out why your order has seemingly dropped off the face of the planet. Shop owners are putting on a brave face to deal with the struggle and increasingly have come to rely on the military to get what they need. As you walk the dog or spend an afternoon in the park you notice the notice boards that once had one or two missing person or pet posters have now flooded over with them.

As you take the bus to downtown you notice police cordoning off apartments slapping plastic quarantine tape over them warning people to stay away over. Anytime someone tries to get an answer the standard answer is always something to do with a really bad flu season or the building is experiencing a toxic leak of some kind. That may have worked for the first few, but now several buildings are taped up like this, and people are starting to worry. Police have cordoned the outside of the city off so no one can leave claiming a really bad leak from a medical facility in Concord has spread something terrible in the air. The constant presence of hazmat teams spraying noxious chemicals everywhere, and the fact cops lately are toting high-level gas masks screening people coming into the city makes the story seem convincing.

The mayor's office claims the crisis will be over in due time, and things can go back to normal, but what if this is just the harbinger of something bigger?

Longden Memorial Campus
General Reception Office
Boston, Massachusetts
October 12th, 2011
8:35 am

Mrs. Abigail Rockweather had worked at this hospital since it first opened back in 2000 she knew just about everyone who worked here in some form or another. The sun for today was unusually bright, and the temperature a striking 80 degrees in early October. The nuclear war of 1978 screwed up weather patterns tremendously, but the nanites inside everyone made the weather more bearable for them. Abigail got everything ready in the office preparing for the wave of family members who would come in about an hours time to start the annual family day. Her reception desk was a mess full of papers, but it didn't take long for her to clean it off. After that was done she sat down and turned on the radio to the official government station.

The voice of President Duke spoke up in his daily radio address to the nation "My fellow Americans I know you are concerned about how things are going, but I promise you it will get better. Our military is working to address the issue of the failing radio stations, telephone lines, and communication centers in the northern half of the country. Do not listen to the madness of lone conspiracy theorists who threaten our national security by claiming we are compromised by the global pandemic. Our country chose to isolate itself in 2006 because we knew there was no hope for the world the planet is cleansing itself of the unworthy with the Japanese flu. While the Canadian savages fight each other to the death while the virus consumes their land, and the Argentinians firebomb their cities we shall prevail."

The president paused to take a drink of water before resuming " No nation of the globe was prepared save for the U.S, and our ally in the reformed government of Britain. The British have nuked parts of France to show their dedication to survive this chaos. We cannot be weak and open our borders because the alternative to our current situation is the extinction of humanity. When the last of the affected nations fall we will cleanse the earth in purifying fire from our orbital defense system. Once the last of the infected rot to their bones we shall use the genetic stockpiles of humanity to repopulate the planet from the omega cities, and finally have peace."

There was a bit of interference before the president's speech came back on "....remember to stay safe, and we will prevail in this crisis. For the good of mankind, we must prevail for the sake of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Conspiracy theorists such as the man who executed postal workers at their workplace in Richmond, Virginia claiming they were spreading disease in the water supply will drive us to our extinction if we let them win. Fear has guided us throughout our species existence, but unnecessary fear is unnatural, and its advocates are people that not even a lobotomy would save. So please go about your days, and listen to the irrational fearmongers no longer god bless all of humanity in its hours of need".

On her way here Abigail picked up a newspaper describing in rather morbid detail the execution of seven people at a post office by a man, and his wife in Richmond. They claimed the packages sent to them, and their neighbors had an itchy white powder in the package you had to wash off. They claim once it got in the water supply everyone there got sick, but they didn't have much of a chance to speak as Black Crest mercenaries forcefully apprehended them, but not before shooting the wife on live television after she critically wounded one of the mercenaries. The doctors at the nearby hospital along with an inspection team found large amounts of the hallucinogen LSD in the water near where they lived. So the husband is being treated for the negative symptoms, but may never fully recover from the shock of what he has done.

Crest mercenaries shot them down on live television rescuing several others still alive in the building. After the carnage, the local hospital determined the powder to be normal, but the water supply was indeed tainted with a highly powerful hallucinogen known as LSD apparently a prank by kids that went horribly wrong.

[Reikin]

The midday sun shone brightly on the charging handle of Reik's HK-416 as he cleaned it with a cloth and a little grease. It was a beautiful day in Massachusetts, and Reik, seeing the opportunity, had decided to stop by base to brush up on his shooting drills. With a polished rifle in hand, he headed back to his quarters and mounted it on the wall. Reik had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a muscular frame from his time as a Delta Force operator. No longer performing covert raids or assassinations, Reik had retired from that life and had settled down in Massachusetts with his wife and two children. Leaving the base, he hopped in his car and drove back to his house, on the Boston waterfront. It was peaceful at home, his family, having not heard of the gruesome executions or the President's speech, were sitting in the living room playing a game of monopoly, a popular pastime in the Reik household. Kissing his wife, Reilly headed to the fridge to grab a beer and watch the sunset.

He awoke the next day to the sound of his alarm, "Weekend's over, already?" he thought, as he hopped out of bed to shower, eat breakfast, and change into his uniform, heading back to HQ.

[The Frozen Forest]

Yuuta Fukada

The morning sun was unwelcome to the sleep-deprived man sitting in a dingy old rocking chair in the living room of a small, equally dingy home. It was almost six, he would have to be at work by 7:30. It was a twenty minute drive to the Longden Memorial Campus, so he wouldn't be late, but he didn't need to push it either. At about 5:50 he rose from his seat, placing a bookmark in book before throwing it on a pile of other old magazines and literature. The coffee machine was long since broke so there was no use trying to get caffeine this early. Maybe the Memorial would have something, if the Coffee Shipments had finally arrived. He quickly shuffled to the coat rack, grabbing a leather brown jacket and making his way into his bedroom to Kate and Alexander, his wife and child. He kissed them both on the forehead, their sleeping forms and gentle breathing being the only noise he needed to reassure him that the day would be alright.

He slipped on his shoes, grabbed his eyes and made his way out the door. He was hit immediately by a rank smell originating to his right, towards his neighbors home. It was dark, not unusual so early in the morning. It didn't bother to wonder what the smell could have been, it wasn't any of his businesses. His car was rusty as usual and only rumbled to life on the fourth attempt. Gasoline, there didn't seem to be enough nowadays. For whatever reason, his rations had been stripped even further, as had others on his block from what he could pick off the grapevine. Kate would probably hear news about it at some point, she was the more social of the pair. It was perhaps a good thing, as Alexander would get a taste of his fathers isolationism and his mothers ability to talk to just about anyone who would listen.

As per other oddities and trivial sights, the roads were unusually empty. Not so much it was alarming but enough for it to be noticeable. So many rumors as of late, but none really explained why so many people weren't going about their business. He couldn't afford such a luxury if he wanted his family to eat and have a roof over their heads, he had to support them. Electrician, it wasn't a prestigious career but it was a fair one. He parked in front of the campus and made his way in after the usual procedures. His residence in the building was a small room hidden away in the ICU building. It was anything but fancy, it was dusty and no bigger than a medium-sized prison cell. Just enough room to store his equipment and let him rest when not doing his runs or making repairs to lights or electrical wires often chewed up by rodents. This is where he found his way, disappearing quickly into the room to collect some instruments he'd need to check a breaker box, again, a routine check to make sure everything ran smoothly.

[Skylus]

Madison Goodwill

Madison Goodwill hadn't been at the retirement home for long, only about a year, but that year had changed her long life a lot.
The old woman was currently sitting on a window seat, working a crossword puzzle book.
"Let's see here...Wreath...." Madi absentmindedly chewed on the edge of her pen as she looked across the rows and down the columns in search of the word.
"There it is."
With a shockingly good hand, Madi circled the word and then crossed it off the list at the top.
She then noticed that she had finished the puzzle and got up from the window sill and crossed the room to her bed and sat down on it.
Madi then lowered herself to lay on her back she she stared up at the ceiling.
The young people here are nice. I suppose their parents raised them right. Heh. Funny to think I was their age once...I acted like them too...
Madi sat up and looked over to the fireplace mantle, where a sword hang on a rack. She had gotten this sword long ago, when her family went to Florida in '62. She had kept it safe ever since.
An announcement came over the loudspeakers announcing lunch and Madi headed to the cafeteria.

[Benuty]

Longden Memorial Campus
Recreation, and Relaxation Center
Radio Station [Fifth Floor]
October 12th, 2011
8:40 am

At the top floor of the recreation, and relaxation center sits a somewhat professional radio station. Run by one of the youngest employees here in Longden he treats his job as the announcer with pride. His job as announcer allows him a little leeway so music playing on the loudspeakers is not at all unexpected here. With the constant buzzing of the pneumatic tubes sending mail his way, and elsewhere all over the hospital he could easily lose track, and it would lead to some awkward moments. The most recent of which was reading off the lunch announcement when it wasn't even nine in the morning yet.

Jimmy Carlson is a young man with ginger-colored hair and freckles covering his face in uneven blotches. He walks with a limp due to a condition which caused him to waste away to bones before his nanites were able to kick in and stop the disease. While most diseases that ravaged humanity were contained thanks to the nanites the "wasting" disease was a nasty byproduct of mothers who survived radiation poisoning. When the first cases started showing up in the late eighties, and early nineties it was estimated 100 kids were dying a day before the governments of the world totaled the number up to 56 million by 1996. A message was sent out across the globe affecting nanites and rearranging their programming to combat the condition.

Those in the early stages could expect to live fully normal lives with little to no physical impediment. The moderate cases would experience a reduced lifespan and some more noticeably physical impediments. The most severe cases like Jimmy Carlson for all intents and purposes shouldn't even be alive. The nanites were unable to cure the most severe but were able to stall the disease. Now they can go through life comfortably, but most will never gain any weight and remain like skeletons for the rest of their short lives.

Anyone with the end-stage wasting disease could at the most expect to make it to their forties or fifties before they passed away. Jimmy Carlson is now at the halfway point of his life aged 23 a life he owed to Robert Longden. The company was able to distribute the "treatment" incredibly fast in the New England area due to their connections by this point. Back then there were rumors going around about something personal happening to the Longden family that motivated him to pursue the treatment so quickly. Those rumors were confirmed when Robert was found at the bedside of his niece with a euthanasia pen in his hand.

The police were called, but the courts let him go when they realized Robert killing his niece was done out of mercy rather than cruelty. Euthanasia pens were a device that released a painless poison which was initially sanctioned by the government to put those suffering from incurable radiation poisoning, burns, starvation victims unable to recover, and so many others after the atomic war of '78. The official government records will never tell this to the public, but a good chunk of those receiving the pens was given by medical staff to people in a state of absolute despair. Survivors guilt, unbearable grief, and whatever another name it had it all fell into that category as many simply didn't want to live anymore. The rest of the family and society never blamed Robert for what he did as many knew a parent with no alternative would often go down the same road.

The police did go after his brother Michael a man who despite running a charity for victims of the atomic war was perhaps one of the most uncharitable men to exist. Michael defended his actions stating ignorance on the condition and blaming his daughter's condition on an eating disorder. The autopsy, however, disagreed with him, but before an arrest was made Michaels ex-wife chose to pay him a visit killing him in a somewhat ironic fashion with a bust of his face. In regards to the case of Jimmy, the boy had a natural talent working in an amateur radio station at his school. Robert found the kid funny and decided to bring him on to work as the hospital announcer to liven things up, and sometimes it is more than he bargained for.

[House of Judah]

Jacob Heinkin

”Can you not appreciate just how creepy that is? She’s half your age.” Jacob rolled his eyes as he listened to his niece over the phone.

“You make it sound like she’s a child or something,” he responded to her complaint. “She’s 21 years old, an adult by all measures. Mature enough to go out on her own, drink alcohol, and choose who she wants to take to bed.”

“Ewwwwwww. Uncle Jake, I don’t want to hear about you taking my friends to bed. God, can’t you find some girl you own age to shtup?”

“Who I do and do not shtup really isn’t any of your concern, Riv. I tell you what, I’ll do my best level best not to have sex with any of your friends, how does that sound?”

“Fine, whatever.” Jacob looked around the campus and noting the general tension of everyone.

“Listen, Rebecca, what are you doing after classes today?”

“Hm? I dunno, I don’t have anything planned. Why?”

“I was thinking. When you get done for the day, why don’t you come round the hospital and we can go out for dinner together when I’m done for the day.”

“Hmmmm… I don’t know…”

“My treat.”

”Well, you certainly know the way to a broke coeds heart. Alright, I’ll see you then, Uncle Jake. Bye.”

“Bye.” Jacob hung up the phone and thought about what was going on in Boston. All day he had felt on edge, though he couldn’t really explain why. It was the same feeling he had almost daily while he was FMF. Whatever it was, he wanted his niece close right now so he could keep an eye on her like he promised his sister Ilanah.

[Benuty]

Longden Memorial Campus
Pneumatic Tube Processing Center
Mail Control
October 12th,2011
8:41 am

The job at the processing center paid well for those with incredibly fast reflexes, and timing skills. There were four people at the center at any given time directing mail, files, small gifts, and other things in the designated capsule provided. Each building had a color to identify where it came from, and another color with to tell where it was going. The pneumatic tubes were at first used in Boston on an experimental basis to make it easier for the post office to get things done. Now miles, and miles of pneumatic tubing criss-cross all over Boston delivering things with ease as long as they are a certain size.

One capsule had a file on a patient destined for Dr. Heinkin which detailed a rather concerning profile of what appeared to be an attack by a rabid animal. The patient was found by a neighbor bleeding out from a severe bite on his arm with strange black goop that the lab determined by saliva from an unknown human. Another capsule is heading for Manager Hansen with concerns over the status of the walls a request by Mr. Longden himself. Someone in the Recreation and Relaxation center sent in an order to Mr. Fukada about the lighting on the second-floor acting off with no discernible cause. A capsule is heading to the Security Office as a reminder to step up security protocols in regards to family day as well as an addendum giving permission to refuse entry to anyone if they fail to comply with the scanners at the entrance.

One capsule sent directly by the director of emergency surgery sent a note to every doctor, and nurse on site to be on alert as surgery was prepared for one Mr. Koprowski. On less serious note capsules were sent to the elderly apartments inviting all residents to family day, and one reached the mental health ward about inviting the patients staying there to the family day celebrations under the supervision of someone on the staff of course. The events were scheduled to start at 9:30 in the morning unless serious surgeries needed to be attended to then those involved were excused. With the mood on edge in the city as it is the capsules are being rushed through to inform everyone of what needs to be done. The hospital administration has spent a good deal of last month organizing for the event despite the communications difficulty in this half of the country, but surely nothing can go wrong right?

[Reikin]

Reik was in the middle of walking to chow when to call came in, "30 minutes, get your squad ready, get the fuck on over to the hospital." His CO had communicated via radio the importance of this mission, a mass quarantine was beginning. As soon as he got off the walkie-talkie, he sprinted to the barracks and gathered his squad. His men, all former Rangers, Delta Force, and Marines had been specially chosen by the top brass just in case shit were to ever hit the fan. Hearing the order, the men ceased their fun, happy-go-lucky mood, and turned into the battle-hardened soldiers they were. They quickly mustered outside in full combat gear and were ordered to mount up and roll out, to the hospital. Reaching the hospital, Reik walked straight through the automatic door and briefed the waiting doctor on the situation. Meanwhile, the platoon set up a defensive perimeter and began to check cars and people, no one was to enter or exit.

[The Knockout Gun Gals]

Longden Memorial Campus
Jennifer Warden, Security Officer

The job's keep getting harder with each day. Not helped when the entire city itself turned uglier in situation-wise. But she shouldn't lose faith in the process. "Bismillah," as she opened up her day. Her place is small, dedicated to a bedroom, small kitchen, an inside bathroom, and a small living room. There is also a small collection of books, facts and fictions. She put on her security uniform once she was done with the shower process, and put on her taser. Taser is an additional equipment, while pistol is reserved for emergency procedure. Most of the time they were expected to use the batons to calm the people. But taser and pistol are for emergency procedures. Fortunately it is not needed so far.

She arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later, she checked in her absence card and then went to the security office. It is huge, surveillance, couple of morning shift staffs. A new occasion happened when she noticed few of them armed with assault rifles. Assault rifles never quite placed here, if only because they don't really need one. "What happened?" asked her to one of her co-workers, while pointing at one of them who hold his assault rifle.

"No idea, guess it's because Boston turned for the worse," he said.

"No kidding," she believed it. "Or because of the event," she muttered. The family event, 9.30. It's amazing that they still hold one in spite of the current situation in the city.

[Benuty]

Longden Memorial Campus
Command, and Control Center
Top Floor
October 12th,2011
8:45 am

In Mr. Longden's office visitors come in, and out as they please provided they have a reason. One such visitor was the head nurse at the hospital, and apparently, she has quite a few concerns. "Mr. Longden are you aware that nobody is able to make a phone call outside the city lately?" He sat back in his chair and sighed "Yes, it appears that the chemical leak in Concord has affected much of the region lately, but is that all you came for?" the nurse's face told him. "Ah yes this supposed chemical leak I haven't been able to get into contact with my mother for days now, and now I cannot even leave the city to check on her".

"I am aware police are blocking off all exits into the city, but I assure you that this will all be over shortly". The woman before him was growing impatient "Shortly...I know you aren't blind to whats happening here they aren't sealing off the city to keep us safe, but keep us locked in". Longden motioned for her to continue " My sister works at one of the smaller hospitals, and for the past two days they have seen a spike in the flu with over 250 admitted showing these same strange symptoms, and now the police have sealed the city off something isn't right". Longden spoke up "You are aware it is flu season right? The spikes are quite natural....", but he couldn't finish before she spoke up "Flu doesn't cause you to bleed out of your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears Mr. Longden the city government is hiding something from everyone have you taken a good look out at the streets lately?"

Longden spoke up again " You know I hate being interrupted, Mrs. Clarence, but go ahead, and finish up as I have things to do". She spoke up " On my way here I saw police in biohazard suits carrying out an entire family in body bags the kind you use for mass graves or burning this isn't an ordinary flu sir. I know this because I worked in a camp days after the atomic war of '78, but this isn't radiation related, but something entirely different. I am begging you sir to delay the celebration for a few days so the hospital can lockdown, and inspect anyone coming in for this infection. Maybe while the phones are still working I can get my sister to send a sample down here to check everyone here, but if someone is infected, and they show up at that event everyone is at risk."

Mr. Longden sighed " I am holding this event in spite of what is happening in the city, but if you must contact your sister it might prove useful. On another note speaking of other hospitals, we are being shipped a patient with an unusual bitemark, and the patient's condition is barely stable enough as it so get Dr. Heinkin on the case immediately." The silence between the two continued for several moments before Longden spoke up "That is all Mrs. Clarence" as she hurried out of his office, and into the elevator, Mr. Longden began preparing his speech for the opening. Thoughts raced through his mind as he knew Mrs. Clarence was right, but he needed to keep up a fiction until the military arrived to lock the campus down. His watch had a timer was counting down "45 minutes till it all starts" he thought to himself.

[House of Judah]

Jacob Heinkin

Jacob reviewed the records that had arrived for him. He turned on his dictaphone and began speaking.

“Patient suffered a bite on the arm, initial trauma was treated for a suspected animal bite, later teeth patterns showed to be from an unknown human. A quote ‘black goop’ was discovered in the wound, and cleared in the initial treatment. Lab tests indicate the principal component is saliva however other tissues are likely present. More has begun forming leading to concerns of necrosis, original caregiver was unable to diagnose the cause. Original receiving hospital is currently under increased strain and unable to devote resources to diagnostics on such a strange case resulting in patient transfer to Longden Memorial.

“Possible surgical plans include excising any potentially necrotic tissue from the arm and amputation. Will have to decide on receipt of patient as information provided on current status of patient provides insufficient information as to the current spread. Whether this is due to spread being unclear, the hospital staff being overwhelmed or simple incompetence will likewise have to be determined at a later time.” He stopped the recorder and continued considering the pictures provided. After a few minutes he set the files down and restarted his recorder.

“Separate note, not for medical files. Ensure to invite the new intern class out for drinks. Let them know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel before being an intern crushes their souls.” There was a knock on his door.

“Doctor?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“The patient is en route. Mr. Longden would like you prepped and in the OR when he arrives?”

“Is the case that critical?”

“Not sure.”

“Fine.” Jacob got up from his chair and made his way to the OR. “Who’s my anesthesiologist?”

“Dr. Falconer and Dr. Zappa.”

“I don’t know Zappa.”

“Dr. Falconer speaks well of him, and will be on the scene even if Dr. Zappa isn’t up to the task.”

“Alright,” Jacob said as he entered the scrub room. “How much longer till the patient arrives?”

“Shouldn’t be long now.”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

[The Frozen Forest]

Yuuta Fukada

It was just as he had collected his tools that a tube arrived via his order-box. He heard the characteristic thunk of a tube hitting metal and he knew that his first job of the day had arrived. He allowed a sigh to escape him, he would never get to check that breaker box would he? He still thought that the Campus should have hired on more Electricians as he was depended on to fulfill almost every single electrical problem in the building by himself. He suspected that because he was Japanese, and had shown his willingness to do such large amounts of work, that they thought it was cheaper just to continue depending on him. If that were the case then he couldn't complain, as he was more valuable than he originally gave himself credit for.

He popped the tube open, reading through the contents quickly and realizing that the problem was probably related the circuit breaker on that floor. It was an obvious problem, since much of the wiring had been done prior to Yuuta's arrival at the Campus and the wiring had been done incorrectly in many places. He had already personally replaced various electrical wires throughout the building due to similar hiccups in the lighting and electricity for certain areas. He dug around deeper in his closet, eventually finding the equipment he'd need to repair the circuits as well as additional wiring in case it was blown.

He wondered about Family Day, he hadn't been around long enough to know what it entailed but he assumed it was just that, family day for the injured or elderly patients under the Campus care. He had this on the mind as he turned the Second-Floor Circuit Breaker off. He quickly, or as quickly as possible, replaced the circuit. Again he had the suspicion that it was faulty wiring that was doing the trick but his job mandated that he try it after replacing the circuit first. He had the expected result, an immediately blown circuit. His problem was indeed related to the wiring.

He set to work replacing the wiring with as delicate a hand as possible. He'd already blown half an hour on this particular job simply testing the circuits, which he didn't enjoy doing. Circuit Breakers weren't any sort of lover to him, he despised them because re-wiring them was a hassle. Still, he finished the job after 40 Minutes, mainly due to having done it before. A test of the lights was successful and the job was done. He began to pack up his tools but not before glancing at his watch. 9:25

[Luminesa]

After what seemed like an eternity of strumming and staring at the cold, bleach-white hospital ceiling, a nurse came into my room. She wanted me to come with her, stating that some sort of visit was supposed to happen. Any sort of company was welcome in my eyes, so I gladly went along with her. Taking my guitar with me (because why not), I walked with her to the lobby. Even as I had been here for a few weeks now, I still was not used to the bleak, lifeless halls of the huge hospital complex. Given I had hardly been to a hospital in my life, before I had come here, the atmosphere was still so constricting and melancholy. The scent of death and illness wafted around us, and I could not help but feel uneasy.

At least until I walked into the lobby and saw my big sister.

Esther Maybelle Carter was probably the greatest gift God had given me, even before He had given me my talent for playing music. She was the mother I had wanted my mother to be, the sister I always looked-up to for guidance, and the prettiest woman I knew as well. Dressed in a long, light-blue, fluttering dress decorated with dark-blue butterflies, and her long brown hair curled and bouncy, and her oak-brown eyes warm and lively, I felt as though I had come home when I saw her. I forgot that I was at a strange hospital, in a big city far from home, and I rushed to greet her. "ESTHER!" I yelled, as I flung myself into her arms.

She laughed as she caught me in her arms, and twirled me around a little. She was tall and slim, but she was also stronger than she looked. "Rosie! Oh Rosie, I'm so glad to see you! It's felt like forever since I saw you!" she greeted, still laughing as she spoke.

"I know! Boston is so different!...Not that I've seen much of it outside of here," I answered.

Esther nodded, frowning a little as she thought about the city outside the hospital. "I've never seen so many people. Makes our little Bee look like a blip on a map, doesn't it?..."

"Definitely. Even less than a blip. But I guess I'll get used to it..." I of course did not want to get used to it, since the city was rather intimidating and foreign, but I would do whatever it took to get well. I had to stay positive.

"I brought you something to eat, Rosie! I remembered your favorite," Esther continued, changing the subject with her pretty singsong voice. She showed me a bag of McDonald's, and smiled. "Remember how we used to drive almost an hour to get to the nearest one from home? Well, you probably haven't had any in a while, so I brought you some!"

I could smell the Big Mac and the fresh fries in the bag, as she opened it for me, and my mouth watered. Of course, some people might consider McDonald's to be everyday, boring ol' fast-food, but to me it was almost like eating at a fancy restaurant. The hearty smell of beef tickled my nose as I lifted the Big Mac out of its box, and I had to remind myself to not inhale my food. After all, I had just had breakfast two hours ago-though that breakfast was not very appetizing. As I was eating, Esther showed me the Coke and the chocolate shake she had also gotten me, and when I finally swallowed my first huge bite I grinned at her. "...You're the best," I thanked her.

"Hardly. But you've got to have a full stomach! That's all that matters to me, that you're comfortable, safe, and full!" she replied.

Comfortable? Not very. Safe? Hopefully. But full? I would certainly be so now, after I was done. As I took a sip of my Coke, I looked over at my big sister. Her little acts of love and kindness had to be the only reason I had lived to be twenty-three so far. Because of those acts of love and kindness, I clung to her. All of my older sisters took care of me, but none of them were as motherly and steady as Esther. In return, she usually let me cling to her, as she understood.

We all need a place to land, when the world tosses us to the wind.

[Benuty]

Flashback

Longden Memorial Campus
Surgery Ward
Trauma Unit
October 11th, 2011
6:30 pm


One Judge Richard Kaprowski of the District Court of Massachusetts had not expected to wind up here in Longden, but ultimately did thanks in part to the efforts of an assassin. With the smaller general hospitals being overwhelmed due to high admissions of patients with unusual flu-like symptoms the responding EMS thought it best to bring him here. There were some who worried he wouldn't make it to the hospital, but amazingly he did, but the medical staff took no chances and got him into surgery immediately. Mr. Longden watched with great curiosity as the new robotics models were used to aid Dr. Heinkin in the surgery. They worked fantastically just as his associates down in Virginia told him they would, but Dr. Heinkin earns some accommodation for tolerating four hours straight of surgery with no breaks which beat his previous record of three hours, and ten minutes.

Once the surgery was completed the judge was brought to the recovery ward, and last Longden heard from the nurse, and the robots that the judge could potentially wake up sometime shortly tomorrow. The doctors and nurses would be put on high alert once he woke up to make sure he doesn't injure himself in a panic. Longden busied himself in his office all night writing orders to be put out in the pneumatic tubes once morning came. Around midnight he retired to his private residence at the top of the apartments a place that could be seen for miles since Longden had it intentionally designed that way. Very few people ever saw just what exactly was in that apartment, and perhaps Mr. Longden always known as a man of privacy intended it to be.

People around the hospital know of only three outsiders to see the inside the maid who keeps the place clean with an army of miniature robots, a gardener specializing in creating, and caring for hybrid types of plants, and a famous cook who worked with the Renault Firm until Longden violently raided, and destroyed their offices during the war with the European Federation back in the mid to late '90s. There was, of course, the private detail of hired security from Black Crest Securities which trailed Longden anywhere he went. The only known staff member to visit was the manager of the grounds Fred Hansen. Rumor has it him, and Longden goes way back forming what you could consider a friendship after Fred supposedly lead a team of mercenaries to destroy his bosses competition in Japan as it was being overrun. Of course, to many people, this makes sense given the spike in recruits of East Asian descent in 2006 before the epidemic went global.

[Benuty]

Longden Memorial Campus
Command, and Control Center
Top Floor
October 12th,2011
8:45 am

Mr. Longden sat down at his desk in his office dialing up the number for Boston General an misnomer given its size was much smaller than one would expect for the main hospital in the city. One of the nurses assisting Dr. Heinkin walked in here out of breath apparently forgetting the buildings had skywalks that make things so much easier, but while she was here he motioned her toward the recording device. The doctor who stabilized the patient with the bite mark was one Dr. Stevenson, and Mr. Longden intended to make a call to him. The phones in this country never bothered to update beyond the rotary dial so calls were often infuriating to make. A woman spoke up clearly distracted before she realized this was a call "Operator speaking how can I help you today?".

Mr. Longden rushed to find the direct line number, and said: " Yes I need to place a direct call to one Dr. Stevenson at Boston General please." The operator responded "Hold on just for a moment please", and suddenly a ring was heard a man picked up sounding off as if it had a cold or something. "Dr. Stevenson speaking who is calling?" Mr. Longden spoke up "Hello Dr. Stevenson this is Richard Longden I have some questions for one of the patients relocated here to Longden Memorial I hope I am not taking up your time am I?". "Not at all, for now, the hospital is relatively quiet considering the recent spike in admissions of patients lately, but what did you need for him?". "Well, I was wondering why his file is so empty considering the seriousness of this mans condition?".

" Yes well, our hospital was swamped with patients until we got them examined, and kept them in here with meds to combat whatever it is they have we didn't have much of a choice with him." Mr. Longden paused and continued to speak " So what were the conditions that brought this man in exactly?" ruffling of papers can be heard before Dr. Stevenson talks again " The patient lives in an apartment not far from here, and one of the residents heard some noise and went to get the superintendent to investigate finding the mans family unconscious, and the man himself in a life or death struggle with a woman who according to them was incredibly strong." Mr. Longden spoke, " By any chance was this woman incredibly pale, and have a black substance coming out of her mouth?". Dr. Stevenson spoke again "Yes she did actually, but unfortunately no one can seem to find her and get this the superintendent put shotgun shells in her, and she still had enough strength to jump out of the window.".

Mr. Longden scratched his head at the strangeness of the tale before speaking up "So what happened to the man's family, and how bad is the spread of the necrosis?". Papers shuffled in the background as noise started up in the hospital in sounded like someone yelling Dr. Stevenson started to speak up again, but noticeably louder " Well the man's family was sent out to Fort Devens, and as for the patient we did get far enough to examine the spread. We think the arm can be saved, but that was hours ago. When first admitted it was around the man's bitemark before starting to spread in both directions of the top part of his arm. I don't know how far the spread is now, but he needs to be opened up to see if the spread has started going deep into the arm if it has then there is no choice, but amputation".

"I see well thank you for letting me know, but out of curiousity did anyone else show up in the hospital with bites? Dr. Stevenson this time talking normally as the sound dies down "Yes, there were nine others, but they don't seem to show the same signs of rapid necrotic spread or any at all we aren't sure why he is the exception. Either way I have got reports of more sick patients coming in, and I need to take care of them the hospital just decided to issue biohazard suits to those of us on this level out of concern for an epidemic so I really must be going." Longden seemed concerned as the nurse waited patiently "One last question did you send any of those people home?" Dr. Stevenson coughed violently " Yes, we didn't have a choice, but the hospital has confirmed we are receiving support from Fort Devens quite soon so it should get better soon".

"Thank you for giving up a small part of your time to answer my questions Doctor Stevenson, and good luck" the last part was somber as he knew for sure the doctor was infected thinking "Poor fool" as sending all those people to home meant the epidemic in this city was only going to get worse. The nurse stopped recording, and Mr. Longden said: "Get this to Dr. Heinkin immediately I know it isn't a report that he normally likes, but the man's life is in danger." The nurse nodded and hurried down to the elevator to get back to the surgery ward where Dr. Heinkin was waiting. Mr. Longden sat down at his desk and turned the fan on while busying himself writing up stuff to get sent to the various staff at all corners of the campus. Family day would start soon, and things would hopefully get better for everyone here, but not for the city.