PREFACE:
Shots ringing out from everywhere! Screams and cries heard from every damn direction! I don't know if I can do it anymore. It sounds like a scene from a war movie. i cant believe this is real. Every inch of me shudders uncontrollably as I huddle in the corner of this dark office, armed with everything I could find. Waiting, praying , hoping that I will soon wake up and this will all be over, being nothing more than another one of my terrifying nightmares. As I cringe being alone and as quiet as i can be in what used to be the Sheriffs office, But is now the only strong building left in this small town.
The past 3 months are almost surreal, a haze, just unimaginable. But, It's Real. As I still try to grasp what is happening, I just cant seem to wrap my head around it. Mine..., hell everyone's worst fears are being realized. Take your own worst fears and multiply by 20, now stick yourself in a small dark space with those fears. You aren't even close to what we are living!
But let me back up to the beginning. So you can get caught up and have an idea of the hell we are going through.
chapter one
My name is Mandy .I was 18 when it all started, but 21 when all hell broke loose. I am from a small Texas town about 65 N.E. of Dallas. Nothing and I mean NOTHING exciting ever happened here. I couldn't wait to go away to school. Don't get me wrong I love my family and friends but there is just no future in small town USA (or so we believe as a kid). Everyone in town has that great Texas hospitality. Well, almost everyone. Our population was 934 give or take a few. I had just graduated from North Texas College. I had a great life waiting for me and a hell of a job. I am a CPA and guess where I moved to...that's right , back home. My first few weeks were good. Picked up two clients. Everything was looking up.
I believe it was a Tuesday morning in the early spring. As I was standing in line at the bank, I am visiting with several people I have known for years and everything is good...Until, It starts.
But I really need to take you back to how it got to that spring morning.
It was about three years ago, I was a Senior in school that year , along with the "large" class of 23 other students. I told you it was a small town. A few of my classmates are, My Best friend since the womb ,Katrina a.k.a. Kat. The typical class clown, Dave , who is always getting into trouble or getting detention for one thing or another. The local tech-nerd, Wilson, He is usually busy conjuring up some experiment that causes damage. Or, you will find him with his face buried in a computer of his own or someone else's. That brings us to the "drama queen" and head cheer leader, Tish, What can a person say about Tish? Well, I will leave it arrogant, self righteous...ugh! And of course that all American jock Mike, He is a real sweet guy for the most part. He was Allstate for the past two years in baseball. But he loved and played all the sports. We all grew up together since kindergarten so we really knew each other.
You would never guess that Wilson and Tish were brother and sister...Talk about two peas in a pod. Extreme opposites. Their dad Joe Maxwell, is the town Sheriff. Needless to say, Tish is daddies little princess and could do no wrong. Poor Wilson was constantly take the heat for crap she had done.
We did have a great time together, all though we had our differences. Kat was planning to go to Mississippi after graduation to spend time with her Nana for about a year. I am gonna be so lost with out her , but I will be starting school in the Fall myself.
The school year started pretty much like all the others before. Kind of dull, yet exciting because we finally made it to our senior year. We were the "big dogs" now. As we all filtered into the cafeteria before 1st period, there was the typical greetings and glares. Tish and her onterauge strutting like they were gods gift, Mike and his crew talking sports and tossing the football around plotting the upcoming season.
We were all discussing our plans for life and the years to come...blah blah. Then he walked in...Oh my God! He is so, so..., shake my head and come back to earth with a dumb ass look and jaw hanging! It was Wilson! Wait...What!? Wilson? When did he get so damn hot? I swear at the end of last school year he was only 5'6 and weighed maybe 130 lbs. Now, he is at least 6' and 185 buffed to the hilt...wow! He looked at us ,smiled and waved as if nothing was different. But there was something different, everything was different.
The bell rings starting our first day of our final year. that sounds so Ironic, "Our Final Year" who knew it really could be. Well I am jumping ahead again, sorry.
The first day of senior year has long came and went. We are now almost 3 weeks in.
One day during science class the subject of the weather and meteorites came up. The past 2 years had been crazy weather wise. Where it is supposed to be cold and wet had been unusually hot and dry. Where it was supposed to be hot and dry had been cold or cooler and wetter than usual. There also, had been 2 meteorites that had came close while passing the earth. There is currently a 3rd one that they say will be closer in passing than the others, but with no ill effects. They are predicting it to pass sometime in November. Everyone is so focused on it. It's crazy. You have the religious nuts screaming the end of time. Then you have the dooms day prepers buying up ammo, water, and doing drills. Do they really think some little hole in the ground is really going to save their ass when a meteor hits? Then there are the rest of us that are intrigued but are going on with our daily lives.
The Homecoming dance was just around the corner. We were all excited and getting it set up. I was hanging some decorations from the streamers from the top of a ladder...(I know, go ahead and say it...you can see it coming ). the ladder wobbled, I panicked, I started to fall . But there was a hero there to save me...you will never guess who. WILSON! I never really looked at him that way before. Oh Lord! What is happening to me, why do I have feelings for Wilson all of a sudden? We stood there looking at each other as though we had never met before. Just as I was saying "Thanks for sav.." He kissed me , I think out of nervousness. Well whatever it was I did not care. But, that was all it took. We were together from then on. who knew!?
Chapter Two
The Night of the Homecoming Dance:
There had been news reports of a Meteorite that was supposed to pass the Earth that night, but was of no threat. The dance and after party was amazing. As i crawled out of bed the next morning, The news was on the radio. IT HAD HIT! but where? any damage? so many questions. I rushed to the TV and turned on the national news and they were airing video. It was amazing to watch yet scarey. They said it had hit the earths atmosphere somewhere over Southern Mexico. There had been no damage. the injuries were minimal. Mostly scratches. imagine someone throwing a handful of gravel into the air and it coming down on a crowd. ..That was the extent of it. I sat in amazement as I watched the video. It was a definite "Awww" moment.
It was a large brilliant bright light . Soaring at amazing speeds through the dawn skies, with a large trail of fire behind it, moving over the city, looking so much closer than it was. Almost looking like the sun falling. Then just all of a sudden, with no warning, EXPLODING into millions of pieces all different sizes. I sat in awe. It was incredible there were no major injuries.
The man in front of me in line, Lets out a blood curdling scream! Catching everyone's attention. As I turn to look at him ...OH MY GOD! His arm, what the hell just happened ! His right arm is bent IN THE WRONG direction at the elbow! Not seeing or knowing what just happened we are all panicked and unsure of what to do. The teller starts screaming , As I watch in a state of disbelief , His other arm just twist and mangles as he scream in agony and crumbles to the floor. I rush to try and see what I can do. But, before I get close enough, he turns as if to look at me...The terror in his eyes, the pain. He head keeps turning..the snap and crunch of breaking bones. His cries stop.
As we all scramble for our phones to call 911. Everyone is in shock.
The paramedics and the sheriff arrive. They are asking questions that no one can answer. I cant even begin to pretend to know what happened. After we were all allowed to leave, I went home instead of back to work still in the state of shock. Throwing up and unable to sleep i turn on the tv. The news came on and the story they were showing was all too familiar. I would swear they talking about our event at the bank , but it was 2000 miles away in Oregon. This time it was a woman. A school teacher . It then went on talking about how this was the 12th case of this type in the US. The symptoms were extreme nausea, headaches, body aches almost flu like symptoms. The CDC stated "after numerous autopsies, they do not know where it is coming from or what is causing it". They have deemed it a unknown virus causing bone breaking seizures. I sat in total disbelief with hundreds of questions. Was this a real thing, was it warfare, was it from another country brought over by tourists. What do we do ? how do we keep from coming in ...OMG I was at the bank! I was 10 feet from this guy. Do I have it? How do i get checked ?What do i do?. I psychologically slap myself back to calm.
Chapter 3
The next day I go to see the sheriff to learn what i can. There has been two more attacks of this so called "virus". Two people I have known since childhood. This was devastating, and getting way to personal.
It's been 5 days , five very long days since the incident at the bank. We have all been scared shitless of what has been taking place and the CDC has no new information. All they would tell us is to stay away from anyone that displayed symptoms. They couldn't even tell us if it was a air-born or contact virus. pathetic! Everyone is acting nuts. Even i was overly paranoid of anyone that even sneezed.
Day 7. The CDC finally has scheduled a news conference .
"The Virus is mutating" is all I heard as the press agent for the CDC spoke on national tv. There is something coming from these mutations. They have discovered a live micro-organism that is being released after the "bone breaking seizures".
It hasn't even been two weeks yet since the outbreak, and thousands, YES! I said thousands are dead!this virus, this mutant organism. What is it, where did it come from? How...how can we stop it? Can it be stopped?
Now, not only is it in the US, but all over the world. Russia, china, Korea...EVERYWHERE! We have gone from it being a virus to a living mutant organism? What is it? how did it get here ? the same questions over and over. No one has answers or no one is claiming to anyway.
It has been ten days now and total hell has broke loose in the last twenty four hours. There has been crazy reports that this so -called mutant virus has taken on a life form of its own. REALLY! A life form of its own? It, this thing, has attacked and killed numerous CDC agents that were working with it trying to find a cure (or just flat pissing it off). It has taken a new form. There is a monster running loose. I don't know what to do but write all I know down in this ledger as it happens. Maybe, if I survive, It will be documented and if I don't...well maybe someone will live to learn from it. I don't know, I am just rambling now, I'm sorry. I'm just so scared.
I am going to try to make it north to the mountains, away from the populated areas. Hopefully there will be a safe place that hasn't been affected .
It's been 2 days on the road, the devastation is crazy. Bodies everywhere. No one trust anyone. The "mutants" as they are now called are mutating even more. I have met up with a guy I knew in school. Ike Nedrob, he was study Meteorology in college. He was just as scared of being around me as I was him. But, we decided to stick together.
As we tried to cross into Colorado, the highway was closed by the State Police. As we sat there waiting to get turned around, BOOM! multiple Gun shots! everyone tried to race away but it happened to fast. Theses things , these mutant organisms had gone drastically life size.
I am screaming at Ike "GO GO! He is driving like a mad man. He says "Open the glove box, get the gun out" I grab the gun , looking behind us . Cars are flying off the road as they try to speed away but just aren't quick enough. What the hell was that ?i hollered. trembling not known what to expect next when Ike says Hang on. OH MY LORD! there was one in the middle of the road! It was ...it's eating on a body. It looked so grotesque. Imagine a two foot tall veiny looking blood clot with claws and and teeth...almost demon like teeth.
I don't know what to expect ,everyone is dying. how do we stop it? whatever it is. Ike wants to go back to Texas. He has access to the college. He says we can get into the labs there. Maybe we can do some of our own research.
On the way back we stopped in what is now a ghost town. Blood, bodies, death everywhere. I stop as we walk through the doors of a gas station. I am so saddened, and angered at what I see. There is a rag doll laying on the floor. something a little girl would have had. The sadness and the stress over take me. I break down, sobbing for the loss of the innocent children and all the lives lost to this...this horrible creature that has ruined our world. Ike grabs me and says I know its hard but we have to move. He grabs some bottles of water and some snacks. we fill the tank on the truck and continue.
Chapter 4
Finally, we are at the college. As we enter we are both armed by this time...heavily. We have to try to see what we are dealing with . where it came from and if it could be stopped. Making our way down the dark corridor we hear screams coming from the west. We run to the screams to try and help. What we see is more than we expected. It has grown more, mutated if you will.
Ike shoots at it and it falls...only to get back up and come for us. We are both shooting not knowing if it will even stop it! The clip on my gun was empty. As I fumble for the next one it falls to the ground. I grab a fire hose, just because it was convenient. I spray it ! It ...it backs off making a horrible sound. a sound like i have never heard. OH MY GOD...IKE ! I screamed, One down,as it falls to the ground. Ike carefully approaches. I am screaming at him to stay back. We can not be sure that it is dead.
After some period of time, Ike is able to hack the C DC's website so we could see what they had discovered. We cant believe the file on this. It shows that there was a small meteorite that had came into the earths atmosphere. It was so small that NASA wasn't worried about it. But it was the cause of our demise. You see, when it hit our atmosphere it exploded sending trillions of particles our way. As we would breath , it was like dust and pollen in our air. We inhaled it and inside the human body it (the organism) mutated to adapt to its new environment...our lung tissue. But, then when it grew too big and ran out of food our bodies went into these "bone breaking seizures" as their means to survive. Then again, once our bodies died and they hit their NEW environment of the earths air, they mutated again. the only way they can be stopped is by wounding them and getting water into their open wound...To Be Continued
