Chapter 1
“I want to see Papa!!” A little girl walks up to the bedroom door of her tiny house in the mountain in the Village of Verbier in south-western Switzerland.
“Sweetheart, you know you can’t go in there,” mother responded.
“How is Papa doing?” the girl asked with concern in her voice.
“He will be just fine. You do not need to worry.” Mother pulls her closer and gives the little girl a hug. She needed the hug more than the little girl. She whispered it again but maybe this time just to convince herself or maybe it was just her wish. “He will be just fine. He has to.”
She walks into the bedroom after comforting her daughter. She put gloves on and entered a small quarantined area. Her husband was in bed looking lifeless. Blisters on his body and the sheets were covered in blood spots. She was trying to hold back her tears and be strong for her husband.
“How are you feeling, my darling?” she asked.
A frail voice spoke back “I am ok. Just waiting for it to be over so I can finally rest.” He seemed to be in a lot of pain.
“Don’t say that sweetheart,” she replied. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. “How am I going to go on without you? Your daughter needs her father.”
“You have to. She will need her mother more than ever. I let you guys down. I am sorry.”
“You didn’t,” she wanted to grab his hand to comfort him but she knew she couldn’t.
“I need you to let me go. The pain is too much to bear. I need to know you will be ok before I let go?” He knew the end was near.
“We will be ok my dear,” as she completely broke down.
He closed his eyes and was finally at peace. The virus has taken another victim in Verbier.
Local hospitals were over capacity and could not take any more infected patients. They called in for reinforcements because the virus was spreading too fast. They were not able to quarantine all the patients which led to more people getting infected. Doctors Without Borders had arrived with reinforcements and military was called in to help set up temporary quarantine and treatment areas. To this point there was no antivirals or medication that was working. They tried everything but there was no cure. They have never encountered a virus like this. Once someone got infected it was about ten days of pain and misery. The only relief from it was in the form of death.
The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) was sent to the village to access the situation and figure out a way to stop the virus from spreading outside of the village. They were still trying to figure out where this virus came from. There was no known virus strain that looked anything like this and was resistant to every known vaccine or antiviral. The ECDC knew it was spreading from human contact so they could try to contain it by not letting anyone leave the village and quarantine all the sick. The major flaw of the ECDC’s plan was they still did not know how patient zero contracted it in the first place. Until they figure out the source, there was no way to guarantee that the virus would not spread to other areas.
The first family to be infected led a life similar to the rest of the people in the village. The children went to school like all other normal kids in town and the wife took care of a tiny farm on their property. The father was the prime suspect who was an avid hunter and spent a lot of time in the mountains.
An entire team of ECDC agents were sent to the look for clues in the areas within the woods where he normally would go out hunting. It was a long shot but they were out of options at this point. After a couple of days of searching the area they didn’t find clues to the existence of a virus. No dead animals, no signs of anything unusual in the woods.
On the third day they moved the search higher up the terrain. As they headed up the mountain one of the local officers helping the search party pointed out something that got the team’s attention.
“This used to always be covered by snow. Never would have imagined a day we could walk up here without snow boots. How times have changed.”
“Is this the first time snow has melted on this part of the mountain?” the ECDC team lead inquired.
“Yes. There has been less and less snow on this mountain every year. This summer was unusually warm. All the snow is finally gone,” the Officer confirmed.
“DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!!” ECDC team lead yelled out to his team. “Walk down the mountain carefully and call in for full decontamination of the team.”
He had a pretty good idea as to the origin of this unknown virus.
Everyone was sent through the decontamination protocol. All their clothes were burned and they were given a disinfectant shower. As soon as they got out of quarantine they met with the ECDC officer leading the mission, “So, what did you find?” The field team lead had a really good idea where the virus came from.
“I don’t know for sure but I think we might know the location of the source,” pulling up the map of the local terrain and pointing to the mountain. “I am pretty sure this is the source. This is the first time in modern human history this mountain has been free of snow. I think the virus had been buried underground for a very long time and the melting snow brought it to the surface. The increase in temperatures has allowed it to find hosts to reproduce again.”
“Similar to the anthrax that was released when the snow melted in Siberia.” Mission lead had seen this before with snow melting all over the globe this was a reality they were dealing with. The world would have to be ready to face the threats that have been frozen for most of human history.
They had to be sure of that the mountain was the source so the team was sent back out there in hazmat suits to collect samples. They collected soil and also small dead animals in the area that confirmed the existence of this virus. After the tests came back they found the presence of the virus in several small and large animal samples. The virus used multiple species of animals including humans as a host. This was really bad news because it increased the potential that this virus could spread out of control. The only piece of good news was that it seemed to kill animals at an extremely rapid pace because there were no traces of this virus in samples from the lower parts of the mountain. With that said one rainfall could bring it down the mountain where there was a higher human and animal population. If it got into the water ways there would be no stopping its spread. In the time it would take to develop a cure or a vaccine this virus could wipe out a portion of the global population. They couldn’t count on developing a cure because they had never come across a virus like this. The best chance they had was to stop it from spreading all together.
It was time to sound the alarm and call in for reinforcements. The World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of the situation. Specialists were brought in to find a way to stop it from spreading and researchers immediately started working on finding a cure in case the virus got out.
As a last resort the Special Task Force was also brought on board. The STF was a task force that consisted of five members called in to handle catastrophic global events. They specialized in protecting human life during situations that could result in large scale casualties. They were called in during events that were caused by humans like terrorism, conflicts and full-scale wars. They also dealt with humanitarian issues that were caused by humans made or nature like floods, earthquakes, famines and droughts. Sometimes they even dealt with events that were too hot for the UN to get directly get involved. Things like state-funded mistreatment, discrimination, genocide of ethnic groups. While the UN had to go through the long process of condemnation, UN resolutions and sanctions before they can intervene in regional conflicts, the STF could jump in and help out right away. Sending them in did not require approval and resources from the member nations which was the case during any
other armed conflict.
A call came into the STF headquarters from the UN Security Council on behalf of WHO because only the UN Security Council could deploy STF. “We need to deploy your team in Switzerland right away,” insisted the UN Security Council President Lafayette Moreau of France.
“For what?” asked Kat, the team lead of the STF. “I am aware that there have been a few deaths from a virus infection but seems like things are pretty much contained in the town.”
“They are trying to contain it but not for long.”
“Is the virus really that dangerous that you need us to get involved? Seems like a job for WHO. What are you not telling me?” Kat inquired.
Lafayette Moreau paused, resignation in his voice, “It’s nothing we have ever seen before. It’s ancient. We don’t have a vaccine for it and scientists are not sure if we will be able to design one in time. If it gets out we could be looking at a total annihilation of the European population and maybe even further.”
“Ok then. Can’t make this shit up. Prehistoric virus rises to destroy humans. Seems like something we should get involved with. Goes without saying we will need some special gear if we are dealing with a virus that kills on contact. Safety first! Oh, are you sending a detailed report and mission documents for us to get ready?” asked Kat as she started mentally checking of the protocol requirements.
“Yes, team is finalizing the details and the case file should be with you by the end of the day. Read through it and get the team ready. We will have a full briefing in two days,” UN Security Council Chief ended the call on that note.
At the STF headquarters inside Global Security and Research Center (GSRC) located in the port city of Mersin in Turkey.
“Elliot, I may need your help with this mission since you have plenty of experience dealing with new unknown organisms. This one seems to be a blast from the prehistoric past. And it’s back with a vengeance,” Kat wanted to bring in Elliot to help.
Elliot was the scientist who ran GSRC and had expertise in dealing with unidentified species.
“I am not surprised. This was going to happen with global warming. Viruses and bacteria that were buried deep underground for hundreds of thousands of years will be released and the temperature will be conducive for them to replicate and spread. Humans have not dealt with these in our evolutionary cycle so we will not be immune. It’s our own doing and will lead to our extinction.” Elliot seemed very passionate about the topic.
“Seems like this one hit a nerve, professor. Well, since you are well aware of what is going on, we could definitely use you on this mission. I need to make sure the team is safe on this mission. Exposure to this seems like certain death,” Kat added. She felt responsible for keeping the team safe at any cost.
“Of course, I raised you guys. I am always here for you. You don’t even have to ask. I will review the safety protocol and will be with you guys all the way,” Elliot confirmed.
The mission-planning session was held in the GSRC the very next morning. Kat addressed the team, “I sent you the mission file. Some of you may have read the file but for those, Stan, who haven’t read the file we will go over the details again so none of you die out there.”
“Why would you single me out like that?” Stan asked.
“Well, have you read the file?” Kat asked.
“Of course, I read it.” Stan got a stare from Elliot. ”Fine… I didn’t read it,” Stan admitted.
“You do understand that if you are not careful you will not make it back alive?” Elliot wanted Stan to understand the severity of the situation.
“Don’t tempt me with good times. Bring it on.” Stan responded confidently.
“It’s a virus you dumbass. Your bullets can’t kill it. You would know it if you had read the file.” Yasmine jumped in to put Stan in his place. Yasmine and Stan were both skilled warriors and childhood friends. Yasmine just happened to be the smarter of the two.
“Would you like to see what will happen to you if you catch this virus?” Kat gave Stan a few pictures of the victims. Stan almost threw up after seeing the deceased. “Would you like to take this seriously now?”
“Yes. I am all ears. Keep that virus away from me. Holy fuck!! That was gross. This will give me nightmares now.” Stan finally realized the severity.
Kat made the team aware of the severity of the mission, “Now that we have everyone’s attention we deploy tomorrow. I can’t emphasize it enough that safety comes first on this mission. This virus has no cure. This is not a usual mission. Our weapons don’t work on it. Our mission is to stop it from moving downstream especially into the river and then spreading out of that area. We are expecting rain in a few days that means we have to finish this mission in two days. We cannot fail or this virus will wipe out millions.”
“Sol will provide our action plan,” Kat asked Sol to take over. Sol was the tech and weapons expert on the team.
“Guys. As Kat already said this is not a typical mission. Our enemy is microscopic but very deadly. Before we target the virus we have to create a parameter that can contain it in the area and not let it spread out. Your guns will not work on this mission. We need different type of equipment. We need a parameter at the bottom of the mountain around the infected area that goes wide enough and deep enough for the virus to not be able to escape. Luckily UN and local authorities are helping with creating a parameter for us. By the time we get there, there should already be a wall at the bottom of the mountain. The wall will be sprayed with compounds on the inside to avoid contamination of the wall.”
“What then? How are we supposed to kill this ancient virus that has already spread across who knows how much area?” Yasmine inquired.
“Flamethrowers!!” Sol responded.
“FUCK YEAH!!” Stan yelled in excitement. “Finally, a mission where I get to use them.”
“I knew you would love that. Wait till you see the equipment,” Sol added.
“When you children are done geeking out can we get back to the minor detail. How will we destroy the virus on a mountain this size in two days?” Kat asked.
“I know it seems humanly impossible and it is. Luckily that is never a problem for our team. We just have to handle the downstream flow. Burn anything that gets remotely close to the wall.” Sol added, “We got this. Just handle your tasks and let him do all the heavy lifting.”
“Where is he anyways?” Yasmine asked.
“He is already at the site. Trying to map out the infected zones,” Kat informed the group.
The next day the team arrived in Verbier in south-western Switzerland.
“Hey... Are you too good to come down from there and say hi to me?” Stan looked up and yelled at the sky.
An object in the sky started to head towards the ground. It looked like a human as it approached the ground. As it got closer and landed it was a lot different than any human. It did have the similar physical structure as humans but the similarities ended beyond that.
“Still growing I see... bigger than I remember... How much taller are you going to get?” Stan asked.
“Wish I knew amongst other things,” the response came from what looked like the creature’s mouth.
“I hope not much bigger. I’m sure it is keeping a few people awake at night,” Stan joked as they hugged.
“Omega!!” Kat yelled. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in forever. I missed you brother.”
“I missed you too sis,” Omega responded. “I was running errands for the UN.”
“Who would have thought that the all-powerful Omega would be the UN’s bitch?” Yasmine added as she ran up to Omega to hug him.
“You haven’t lost your charm one bit since I saw you last,” Omega joked.
“Good to see you brother,” Sol was the last to hug Omega.
“You as well. I have the terrain mapped based on the info you provided,” Omega responded.
“Here comes the mood killer. All business all the time. I guess we should get bac
k to saving the world,” Yasmine said.
“Sorry for being the party pooper but you know... millions, possibly billions of lives are at stake and we have two days to stop it. We can catch up over drink after this is over. I’ll even buy them.”
“Oh, UN better be buying all the drinks once this is over,” Yasmine added. “We keep risking our family for their bull shit while they sit in Air-Conditioned buildings far away from danger.”
“I know how you feel about the UN but millions of innocent lives are at stake here. Focus on them,” Kat put things into perspective.
“Why don’t I show you guys your flamethrowers,” Sol tried to change the topic.
“Yes, please,” Stan picked up one of the flamethrowers in the equipment area. “So, what is so special about it?”
“Nothing,” Sol replied.
“You are breaking my boy’s heart,” Yasmine added.
“Yeah, what the fuck man,” Stan chimed in.
“They are not special because they are not for you. They are for the UN forces,” Sol replied. “Those over there. They are yours.”
He pointed to the three armored tanks.
“Have I told you, you are my favorite?” Stan was excited.
“Well I think you needed more firepower for this mission. Plus, you will be safe inside which makes Kat happy,” Sol explained.
“And I won’t have to wear those nasty body suits,” Yasmine added.
“Get in there and give it a try. I will give us time to go over mission details without distraction.”
“I would be offended if I wasn’t this excited,” Stan went over to try out the flamethrower tank.
At the crack of dawn, the team was in position and ready to start the mission. Kat as usual was coordinating the mission in the control center. Yasmine, Stan, and Sol were in the flamethrower tanks right by the wall. Hundreds of UN soldiers were also at the wall armed with handheld flamethrowers.
Omega flew up on the air and stopped just above the highest infected point on the mountain.
“Is everyone in position?” Kat asked for confirmation. Everyone confirmed.
Hero Falls Kingdom Rises Page 1
