Read The Reaper Virus for Free Online Page A

minutes. From
what I could gather, both were infected. I couldn’t get any info on
the cause of death, suspects, etcetera, but they called in the
investigative sergeants from home to respond to the scene.
Everything was becoming very hush-hush, and it was getting that way
fast. Too fast for comfort.
    If the following night wasn’t my last day
before a few off, I might have had to use up some sick time. I was
debating whether it was a good idea to go straight to the farm or
try and sit it out at home for a little while. My ever dwindling
optimistic side wanted to believe this would blow over in a week or
so. The pessimistic side argued that the human race was doomed. I
didn’t know what to do, but I figured that staying home and
protecting my family might be the best thing. The inner-conflict
took hold of me as I weighed the options. There was the dependable
employee in me who was well aware that any extended and unnecessary
time away from work could jeopardize my job. But beyond all of that
was the husband and father in me… that was the side that saw a
coming darkness and refused to let it envelop his family.
    One more day on and I realized that I had to
take advantage of this and find out as much as possible. Then if
and when we did have to run, we weren’t running blind.
     
    * * *
     
    0637 hours:
     
    The news was reporting that they had lost
contact with large portions of Seattle, Sacramento, Tucson, Kansas
City, Tallahassee, and Rochester. Lost contact? What in the hell
did that mean? I wondered if those were
cities hit hard by the R32PR strain. If so, it was morbidly logical
that they would be epicenters for the Reaper virus.
    I spent the afternoon getting things ready
just in case we had to go in a hurry. At the very least it would be
smart to make sure the bags were packed. The car would be a tight
fit with everything I’d collected, but it would have to do. I’d
much rather have too much than not enough.
    A few people on day shift had already called
out… typical. Thank God I’d already served my mandatory overtime
sentence for the week. I always ended up having to stay over or
come in early when it was least convenient. Murphy’s Law can be a
bitch.
     
    * * *
     
    1000 hours:
     
    The CDC released another statement:
    “ The pandemic is growing at
an alarming rate. Several urban centers that previously reported
high saturation levels of the R32PR virus have become overrun with
carriers of the R33PR strain. Specially equipped containment teams
have been dispatched to these areas to enforce quarantine protocol
and prevent further spread to surrounding areas. It is imperative
… imperative that healthy citizens defend
themselves against the afflicted. Violent outbursts from those in
the final stages of infection are believed to be the leading cause
of new infection. We cannot stress enough that any healthy
individual in close proximity to a suspected case of the Reaper
virus exercise caution, avoidance, and isolation.”
     
    Just one more night of work to get through,
but I’d never been more anxious about going in for a shift. I just
wanted to get through it so I could worry about staying on my side
of the river and away from the city.
    A police station should be the safest place
in a disaster right? My worst nightmare would be getting trapped in
dispatch. I doubted it would ever come to that, but getting a bag
together, a survival pack of sorts, put me at ease. I don’t know,
perhaps I was paranoid? In this day and age it might have been
better to be paranoid though, just in case…
    In my mind, a survival pack entailed the
following: Essentials like a box of power bars, a water bottle, a
flashlight or two (with several sets of spare batteries), and a
change of clothes. I was debating what the CDC statement about
“defending yourself” really meant. Should I have been taking a
weapon with me? Granted, I would be in a building staffed by people
with guns, but I was armed with… a pen and a headset?