{"id":171,"date":"2013-07-21T12:08:32","date_gmt":"2013-07-21T12:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/?page_id=171"},"modified":"2013-07-21T12:08:32","modified_gmt":"2013-07-21T12:08:32","slug":"chapter-19","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/story\/chapter-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 19<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Infernal Friday. <\/i><\/p>\n

That term is so natural now.\u00a0 It’s actually funny to me.\u00a0 Because I remember how the term was first coined for that cursed day.\u00a0 It was a fluke, really.\u00a0 I was trying to be dramatic with the current trouble that was rapidly consuming the United States.\u00a0 I wanted to make it as big as possible, because it was the juiciest story I’d been given to date.\u00a0 And yes, that was what was on my mind.\u00a0 Not the victims, not the families, just the story I was going to tell about it.\u00a0 The day the infection swept across the country, I didn’t give one thought to anyone suffering because of that damn super-virus.\u00a0 I didn’t care at the moment. <\/i><\/p>\n

What was really bad was that the reason I got the story is because the best reporters had all fallen ill as a result of the virus.\u00a0 I knew that, and all I could think about was the fact that this story may be the one to get me noticed.\u00a0 Nice, huh?<\/i><\/p>\n

I was a selfish bitch, and deep down, I think I always knew that.\u00a0 Hell, I think I still am.\u00a0 Always, my thoughts were focused on myself and on my career.\u00a0 Nothing more, really.\u00a0 With the exception of occasional thoughts of my family, and even those were rarer than I’d ever like to admit.\u00a0 But it’s true. <\/i><\/p>\n

By all rights, I should be dead.\u00a0 With all the circumstances, the odds, I know I should be dead in the ground.\u00a0 Or… the alternative.\u00a0 But not alive. <\/i><\/p>\n

Yet, I’m still here. <\/i><\/p>\n

Maybe that’s why I’m still alive.\u00a0 Because I’m meant to suffer for my lack of compassion, my selfish and cold ways, my shallow life.\u00a0 Perhaps my surviving this whole thing was karma’s way of kicking me straight in the ass, right down to hell.\u00a0 I wouldn’t be shocked. <\/i><\/p>\n

Because all those who died?\u00a0 Man, do they have it easy.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Friday, April 13, 2012<\/b>
\n10:00 p.m.<\/b><\/p>\n

“Seriously?\u00a0 Really!\u00a0 Josh, that’s… well, not great \u2018cause they’re sick, but that is fantastic you’re giving me this chance.”\u00a0 Riley paused to listen to her station’s producer as she drove down the roads of Tampa.\u00a0 “I’m on it.\u00a0 I’m not too far from Tampa General anyway.\u00a0 Get some rest; you sound awful.\u00a0 Tell Mare I hope she feels better!”\u00a0 She clicked off the Bluetooth clipped to her ear and flipped her Jeep in a sharp U-turn with a smile.\u00a0 She had just landed the best story she’d ever gotten.<\/p>\n

“I can’t believe my luck,” she mused to herself.\u00a0 “Everyone else is either on location or sick themselves.\u00a0 What is going on, anyway?”\u00a0 The news, for part of the day, had been reporting that there had been some strange jets up along the east coast, specifically around Washington, D.C.\u00a0 Then came news of a strange new illness sweeping the northeastern part of the country.\u00a0 Today was actually supposed to have been her day off, but mostly, as she\u2019d done some errands, she\u2019d kept the news station on her radio so she could keep up with what was going on.<\/p>\n

That was until about 4:00 p.m.\u00a0 Suddenly, there was no news being told.\u00a0 No one was able to get in contact with anyone up north.\u00a0 Even stations like CNN that were set up in cities like New York and even Washington D.C. went off the air, with only the Atlanta headquarters left to deliver any news.\u00a0 And they kept repeating how they couldn’t contact their sister stations.\u00a0 You could turn on any cable station news show, radio station, anything stationed further north than Georgia or the Carolinas, and you’d get either dead air or a blank screen.\u00a0 It was a media blackout unlike anything Riley had ever seen.\u00a0 One that would probably scare her if she wasn’t so focused on the fact this could really make her career.<\/p>\n

Many were falling ill, and fast.\u00a0 No one had seen anything like it.\u00a0 Definitely headline or top story worthy, and it was hers.\u00a0 Riley was a bit concerned that she would catch it like her colleagues had, but that was overridden by the fact that she wouldn’t get another shot like this.\u00a0 Not anytime soon, anyway, perhaps not ever.\u00a0 At that very thought, her foot pressed down harder on the gas pedal, and she felt herself accelerate.<\/p>\n

After driving a bit, Riley also turned her Bluetooth right back on, as she dialed a familiar number.\u00a0 She had to call.\u00a0 “Dad? Oh…”\u00a0 Her face fell as she got the answering machine.\u00a0 “Dad, it’s Ri.\u00a0 Look, do me a favor.\u00a0 Stay HOME.\u00a0 Don’t leave the house.\u00a0 Tell the boys that, too, for me.\u00a0 I don’t know what’s going on.\u00a0 But some bug… it’s bad, I’m hearing.\u00a0 I don’t want you guys getting it, okay?\u00a0 So… please, when you hear this, stay home.\u00a0 I love you… bye.”\u00a0 She sighed in defeat. Well, she\u2019d tried.\u00a0 And she would again later, just to be sure.<\/p>\n

The young blonde tried turning on the radio, just for some music to fill the air, and was surprised to find nothing but static on the local stations.\u00a0 She thumped her radio once as she stopped at a red light.\u00a0 “Jeez, what gives?” Riley muttered, with thoughts that it was just her radio that had problems.\u00a0 Whatever had caused the blackout up north couldn’t be happening down there in Florida, could it?\u00a0 No, no way,<\/i> she tried to convince herself.\u00a0 Whatever happened up there is different.<\/i><\/p>\n

“Oh, forget it.”\u00a0 And she plugged in her iPod, switching it on to Hinder.\u00a0 She beat her head to the music as she continued down the road.\u00a0 The streets were oddly still, especially for a Friday night.\u00a0 Usually, all the college students were out and about, since the college didn’t sit too far from the hospital.\u00a0 Riley’s sharp, blue eyes glanced around warily at the empty streets.\u00a0 She felt like she was living in a ghost town.<\/p>\n

Research tonight, and the story would air tomorrow.\u00a0 It sounded perfect to her as she finally pulled into the parking lot of Tampa General Hospital.\u00a0 After she grabbed her recorder and camera,\u00a0 she climbed out of her car.\u00a0 Swift, confident strides carried her through the large doors of the facility.<\/p>\n

Riley wasn’t prepared for what she saw.<\/p>\n

What she saw was death, or at least the doorway to it.\u00a0 The hospital was in chaos, no one able to truly help the ailing the way they should be helped.\u00a0 People were lying on the floor, having sporadic convulsions.\u00a0 Many were covered with festering, deep violet lesions that oozed a darker fluid.\u00a0 What truly disturbed her was the sight of one patient foaming at the mouth, like he had rabies.\u00a0 Something animals were supposed to have, not people.\u00a0 She saw a doctor collapse before her eyes and nurses rush to help the man as they coughed heavily themselves.<\/p>\n

And what did she do?<\/p>\n

Riley simply just turned on her camera.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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Chapter 19 Infernal Friday. That term is so natural now.\u00a0 It’s actually funny to me.\u00a0 Because I remember how the term was first coined for that cursed day.\u00a0 It was a fluke, really.\u00a0 I was trying to be dramatic with … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":19,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"onecolumn-page.php","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/171"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/171\/revisions\/172"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}