Since I've started watching "The Walking Dead" I have always wished the show explored the initial days of the outbreak more. The flashback scenes of Shane trying rescue Rick from the chaotic hospital and the Air Force bombing Atlanta fascinated me, and got me thinking : What did the US government do in those early days ? What happened to the Army ? Or to FEMA ? Where did the President go ?
I hope to be able to continue this in the little free time I have. I'll see how it goes :)
He may have been the most powerful man in the world, but that wasn't enough to stop his hair, what was left of it, turning grey as President James "Jim" Stephens term entered its third year.
"This job's gonna' be the death of me, you know that Chris?" Jim said to his Communications Director.
"Don't let the stress get to you Mr President. " Chris advised his boss "And for the love of God don't let the press see that you're stressed."
"They'll be able to see that with one look at my hair, Chris." Jim said light heartedly "I didn't have a single grey hair three years ago. Okay I tell a lie, I had a few grey hairs…and a few less wrinkles. Anyway, let's get onto business. These numbers are…well, they're shit, to put it bluntly. We had forecast a job growth of 230,000 for August and we have only 190,000!"
"It's not great Mr President but it's all there in the briefing folder, economic stimulus, creating new jobs, and new opportunities etcetera, etcetera. Basically just give them positive stuff, should keep them happy." Chris said.
"Alright, well, looks like its time." Jim said glancing at his watch. The Press hated being kept waiting but over the years the Washington press corps had become somewhat accustomed to the President being "fashionably late"
Jim straightened up his tie, took a deep breath, and opened the door to the press room.
"Ladies and gentlemen: The President of the United States." A spokesman said, handing the podium to the President.
"Good morning, or good afternoon now I guess," Jim started with a smile, referring to his lack of punctuality. His humour had helped in the election. He was a genuinely likeable guy and had appealed to people on both sides of the political divide for his down to earth personality.
As the President prepared to continue his speech, there was a sudden flurry of incoming text messages and phone calls from the press corps in front of him. He was quite taken aback; they were not usually that ignorant. Before he could call them out on it, a figure stepped onto the podium and whispered in the President's ear "Sir, you have to cut it short. We have a…situation." The White House Chief of Staff, Robert Donaldson said, looking somewhat distressed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you will excuse me, we will have to cut it short there for a while. The Press Secretary will be contact with you shortly." And with that Jim left the press room and entered the Oval Office where the Chief of Staff awaited anxiously, along with the National Security Adviser, Sarah Taylor.
"How bad?" were the Presidents first words. He was no rookie. No President gets called away from a press conference unless it was urgent.
"Bad." The Chief of Staff said "Details just coming in now. In addition to the incidents in Boston and Pittsburgh that Sarah briefed you on earlier, we now have major incidents in New York City, mainly isolated in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, plus unconfirmed reports of events in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago and…"
"Enough with the 'incidents' and 'events', just tell me what the hell it is!" Jim demanded. Outbursts were few and far between from this President, but it had been a stressful week.
"We don't know exactly, but the murder rate has suddenly skyrocketed in the North East in the past 72 hours…" Sarah, the National Security Adviser spoke up.
"I know that, just get to the point" Jim said, rubbing his head. He needed a vacation. A long one.
"The point is, this looked to be more than a spate of riots or civil unrest. Some of our people from Homeland Security and the CDC have begun to investigate the situation. They're concerned it may be viral. I spoke with the Director of the CDC a few moments ago on the phone and she assures me they are running tests now to determine what it is. Whatever it is though, its spreading Mr President. Eleven people have been murdered in Manhattan in the last fifteen minutes according to the NYPD. They informed us that victims were partially…eaten." Sarah replied, running two hands through her beautiful blonde hair. She had not developed any grey yet, unlike her boss.
"Eaten? You mean cannibalism?" Jim replied in disbelief.
"I'm afraid so Mr President," Sarah replied "I saw the photos myself. NYPD emailed them to me. It was like something from a horror movie."
"And CDC thinks it's what….an infection? A disease?" the President asked as he sat down behind his desk. His head was thumping.
"Nothing confirmed yet, but they should have results from the tests run on corpses in the next few hours. Obviously we cannot have this sort of information getting out before we really know what Is going on. God only knows the sort of panic that would cause. A virus that causes people to go berserk and eat people!" the White House Chief of Staff spoke up. He was new on the job, having only taken over from the titles previous holder a month before, but he had fit in well and knew his job.
"Good call Rob" the President said, rubbing his chin. The stubble was already starting to stubbornly fight back. "Make sure our people know not to leak this information out. I want a total media blackout on these virus rumours until we understand what we are dealing with here."
"They may be more than rumours, sir." Rob replied.
"I understand that, but regardless, we keep this quiet for as long as we can. And pray to God to these are just rumours. I can't imagine what carnage a plague that turns people into cannibals would do to the world." Jim said. "I want you to get in contact with the Governors of all affected states and let them know that they will have the full support of the Federal Government in containing this situation. Let them know they need to put their biohazard contingencies into standby mode right away, but insist they do not release any news about a virus until I give the go ahead. I want to wait on the CDC's tests coming back first."
"Right away, Mr President." Rob said dutifully as he went to man the phones.
"Just another day at the office." Jim mumbled, shaking his head.
"What was that sir?" Sarah asked.
"Huh? Oh nothing, Sarah. Just thinking out loud, would you be able to have one of the girls fetch me a cup of coffee. I feel like I'm going to fall asleep right in this chair." Jim said forcing a smile.
"Sure thing, Mr President."
Before the day was out, the President would go through a hell of a lot of coffee.
When the tests from the CDC came back a few hours later, the President wished for something much stronger than coffee.