Read The Dead Don't Bleed: Part 1, The Outbreak for Free Online

great pressure was now being vented into the atmosphere and would continue to do so until enough pressure was finally released to allow it to settle back down. He was already sure that this was not a methane pocket that was being released, it was too deep underground and was registering as a cooler temperature than the surrounding rock. In contrast, methane was typically found much closer to the surface and would present itself as much warmer on an infrared slide. What really surprised him was the depth of this particular fissure, if the measurements he was looking at were correct the pocket of gas that had been exposed by the mine collapse ran to a depth of four point two miles beneath the surface. The deepest drilling operation in the world under the Gulf of Mexico only ran down to a little over two miles. Whatever was coming out of that hole was a substance that had never been discovered before.
    Sharing the NSA imagery with the rest of the assembled crisis team , Dr. Woods listened patiently as theories were discussed. The growing consensus was that no matter what it was that was erupting up into the atmosphere above the mine, they needed to obtain samples of it as soon as possible and have them analyzed. The latest satellite readings of the area showed that the plume of material had already radiated out to cover an area of fifteen square miles out from the mine shaft. The good news from the last imagery was that the eruption of material did seem to be abating, so it was a possibility the underground pressure was already starting to wane. That should limit the exposure area of any toxic substance to the south central portion of the state. Even though it was a very large area that was effected, most of it was relatively rural, only two or three mid-size population centers were at risk of exposure at this time. Chances were that most of the victims showing up at local hospitals were suffering from a respiratory condition as a result of fine sand particles mixed with whatever gaseous substance had been trapped in that fissure. It was a similar condition to areas surrounding volcanic activity. Following a volcanic event ash and sulfur were released into the atmosphere, when breathed in they created a sludge like lining in the lungs that would cause respiratory problems. For most people it was treatable and they would fully recover in a few days, the very old and very young were the ones at the highest risk and it was common for some fatalities to result in these events.
    What was really troubling were the reports of flu like symptoms being exhibited by victims, high fever, vomiting and general weakness were not expected symptoms of a respiratory related incident. He had personally listened to that intern with the Geological Survey office describe his own symptoms and those that he had personally observed from another victim in a town within the affected area.
    Right on cue the door to the crisis center flew open and a haggard looking gentleman that Dr. Woods recognized immediately as his counterpart at the CDC and their resident adviser from that agency, Dr. Kyle Martin, stormed into the room. Dr. Woods could already see by the expression on his face and how he nearly sprinted to the front of the room with a folder of paper in his hand that he was bringing them less than encouraging news.
    "It’s bad," Dr. Martin said without preamble as soon as he had everyone's attention, "I just got off the phone with administrators from two of the three hospitals servicing the effected region in New Jersey. They have already reported multiple and I mean dozens of fatalities. Preliminary tests are showing that it is a viral infection and is airborne."
    This revelation caused an excited murmur to spread through the small crowd in the crisis center.
    "Could this be some type of terrorism? A biological attack of some sort?" asked the representative from Homeland security.
    "Possible, of course, but unlikely. Considering the rural area and the