Chapter I: One Huge Clusterfuck

Time: Early Morning 0600 hours (UTC +8, EST)

Z-Day Plus Two, May 2013

Location: Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center

near Bluemont, Virginia (between Clark-Loudoun Counties)

45 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. (overrun)

"Please place your left on the Bible and raise your right above your head." A member of the Supreme Court said, replacing the Chief Justice who was presumed dead after the chaotic evacuation of the nation's capital. "Now repeat after me: I, William G. Watson* do solemnly swear..."

"I, William G. Watson so solemnly swear..."

"That I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States..."

"That I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States..."

"And will to the best of my ability..."

"And will to the best of my ability..."

"Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

"Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

"So help me God."

"So help me God."

"Congratulations Mr. Watson, you are now president. Here are your nuclear launch codes. Keep them with you at all times."

The newly elected President accepted the case and walked on his way to one of Mount Weather's emergency meeting rooms, accompanied by heavily armed Secret Service agents. It was designed to simulate the meeting rooms in the Situation Room, the Cabinet Room, and the one in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.

President Watson looked stressed than he ever was since the outbreak began. Just four days ago, he was the Secretary of Homeland Security. As the secretary, he coordinated with FEMA, local and state police, as well as the National Guard in trying to stem the outbreak and establish safe-zones in America. The major cities of the United States, in the East, West, and Gulf Coasts, as well as the Central regions, saw the worse of the infected. DHS sent in their armed operatives to assist police and the National Guard in the cities but it was a losing battle. One-by-one, cities went dark: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Detroit, San Antonio, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and many more. The list kept on growing.

Washington, D.C. was added to it the day earlier. The former President, elected in 2008 and assumed office in 2009, insisted on staying on the sinking ship which was D.C. He continued to operate beneath the PEOC bunker until the Secret Service convinced him to evacuate to Air Force One. On the way from Marine One to Air Force One parked in Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Due to the chaotic evacuation of D.C., many staffers and Secret Service agents hid their bites before boarding the VC-25. From there they turned and infected many officials and other agents. The then-President, the First Lady, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff were bitten. Before he turned, the Joint Chief managed to convince the to activate Code 666 Delta which called for a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the People's Republic of China (codename: Romeo Charlie) and North Korea (codename: North Korea), holding them responsible for the outbreak due to the possession of nuclear weapons. The President and Joint Chiefs of staff were both euthanized by a Secret Service agent. Air Force One soon crashed somewhere in the Florida Keys as it attempted to fly into either Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands since the mainland was deemed to unsafe. Following the death of the President, the remnants of the U.S. government desperately tried to look for someone within the Presidential Line of Succession. With the Vice President dead from the crash of Air Force Two over Arkansas, the Speaker of the House dead too from the evacuation of Capitol Hill (he never made it to the extraction point), the Secretary of Defense having been bitten and committed suicide, plus various cabinet members missing or turned into the infected, the responsibility ultimately fell on William G. Watson, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the highest surviving member of the cabinet and the last one on the line. Four days have passed and the stress of outbreak took the toll on the former Secretary of Homeland Security. He had looked like he had aged 20 years ahead.

"Mr. President, we are ready for you." A senior military official said.

"How the hell did it come to this?" The President asked himself.

"Mr. President, with all due respect, you must order Code 666 Delta. We must attack our potential adversaries while they have not yet attacked us. We can't let them strike us or our allies once we are distracted with the outbreak!"

"Jesus Christ, I'm not gonna go down as the last President who ordered a nuclear holocaust on the Chinese and the Koreans!" The President yelled.

"If we do not attack now, we may lose everything. There won't be a United States to rebuild. It would be a nuclear wasteland filled with walking corpses. Please, Mr. President, for the sake our nation..." another military official said.

"Good Lord, what did I do to deserve this fate?" He asked himself again. "So what are our options? What is the world situation?"

"Europe is worse that we thought. Things have gone to shit in the UK. The government and the Royal Family have relocated to Switzerland. Spain and Portugal have united and formed a defensive line on the Pyrenees; so far no infection there. Our bases in Moron and Rota are currently active in supporting NATO and civilian ships in the Straits of Gibraltar. Speaking of which, Gibraltar is doing fine. The French government have relocated to Corsica while the Italians have relocated North. We lost contact with our forces in Italy, but last we heard they were assisting the Italian military in the retreat to Verona. Germany is getting worse with our Army and Air Force assisting the Bundeswehr's retreat into Bavaria. The same could be said for Central Europe. The Russians have also mobilized, bigger than the Great Patriotic War, and are fighting intensely in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Sources have already said of blocking the mountain passes in the Urals."

"God damn it!" The President swore. "This is getting much worse. Is there anywhere safe?"

"Right now, Mexico has agreed to let American refugees enter on the condition if they are not infected. The Mexican Army and the border guards have already executed thousands of infected and suspected infected. Africa is safe from infection but the place has devolved into chaos with the end of foreign aid. Much of the Southern Hemisphere is safe. Our allies Australia and New Zealand are infection free but could not commit to helping us in the Asia-Pacific since their forces are needed at home incase the infection hits their shores."

"What are our allies left in Asia?" The President asked.

"Japan and South Korea bore the brunt of the infection. The situation is bad in Japan. They're evacuating many citizens to Kyushu and Hokkaido and parts of the Ryukuys. Okinawa is on the verge of being overrun while the U.S. Navy and the Marines evacuate to Kyushu. South Korea has infections in Seoul, Incheon, Daegu, and Daejon while half the military is deployed to the DMZ since North Korea may attack anytime. Our littoral combat ships in Singapore are to far to help out whilst our ally, the Philippines, is on the risk of over-stretching its forces in preparation for the worst."

"Do we have any other options?" The President asked again, hoping that nuclear hellfire would not be the solution. His hopes would soon die off.

"No Mr. President, the nuclear weapons are our only option. We currently have 28,000 troops in South Korea assisting the ROK Armed Forces in fighting the infected and another 50,000 in Japan assisting the JSDF. We have taken casaulties in both fronts. Our ships in Guam and Hawaii have remained in order they are needed to defend the state or territory from the infected although it remains infection free from now."

"Christ, it's fucked. It's fucked! Then we don't have a choice!" He yelled, slamming his fist on the table. It was already apparent that he would lay judgement on millions of civilians in China and North Korea. He did not want that. The thought of it made him sick but he had a duty to fulfill: to protect the United States from its enemies; foreign or domestic.

"Before I give the order, what is our nearest nuclear asset that could strike China and North Korea?"

"The USS Alabama and the USS Louisiana are in the Western Pacific. The Louisiana is on the Philippines right now. It was due to visit our former base in Subic Bay but it still about to enter the country from Leyte. We could order them to launch their Trident missiles, but it wont look good on us once the Filipinos know we have a nuclear-armed submarine in their waters. Their constitution prohibits it but what can they do? Plus, desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Then from there, we could launch our ground-based missiles from silos in Kansas, North Dakota, and Wyoming. They have not been overrun. Estimate would be 75,000,000+ dead in both China and North Korea plus the elimination of their leadership..."

Sighing, the President muttered and took out his nuclear launch codes. He then began reading it and transmitted the orders to the silos in central United States and the submarines in the Western Pacific. In a few minutes, he would become the grim reaper.

The order had been given and it was time for it to be executed.

"Forgive me." He bitterly said.