by Franz Bates
The police came and took my husband. They said something about Executive Order 23245. They said my husband would be taken to a country in Maine until a cure is discovered. The woman was crying even harder this time. She mentioned that her husband survived the suspected Superpox-99. After manifesting symptoms such as the difficulty of breathing and numbness of the body, his husband took several antibiotics and paracetamol. He felt a little better after two days and the difficulty of breathing was gone. Seth took note of the medications taken by the survivor. He will bring this to doctor Frankel’s attention to probably be able to help the infected little children of Boone. Seth is starting to lose hope. He cannot find any more survivors recorded in Boone. He tried listening to the news to see any possibility of survivors in a nearby area that he could travel by his truck.
Chapter Fifteen
Reporter: The president signed the Executive Order 23245, which aims to prevent the larger spread of the killer virus SUperpox-99 by putting all the survivors in a designated quarantined area. The recently appointed vice president Mr. Kennedy asked for the country’s help in identifying the survivors, and for the survivors to voluntarily submit themselves for the on-going clearing process.
On the other news, the public is not happy about the proclamation of E.O 23245. According to human rights advocates, this E.O is inhumane and is a clear violation of basic rights to freedom. The protesters rallied and they are asking President Hillary to leave the presidency for being incompetent. According to them, President Hillary has no capacity to resolve the on-going issue about the killer virus that is currently wiping out the human population.
Seth went back to doctor Frankel’s apartment feeling hopeless about the situation. He updated doctor Frankel about the reaction of the public at E.O. 23245. Doctor Frankel couldn’t believe that her sister signed such order. He started looking for his phone to call her. He found it in his drawer and realized that Hillary has been calling her for a few days now. He has been so busy with the creation of the vaccine and forgot to check on his phone for few days. He tried calling her this time but the line keeps cutting off. Doctor
Frankel knew exactly what is missing in the process of CDC that caused the vaccine to be ineffective. For someone who has been into virology since he was a kid, doctor Frankel couldn’t miss to point out the error of CDC. Doctor Frankel spent a few days in the laboratory. He studied the failure report of CDC in creating the vaccine. He is very positive that the antibodies they used were indeed from a survivor.
While scanning the pages of the report and trying to check every detail that the CDC may have missed, doctor Frankel felt dizzy. His surroundings started to go cloudy and he seems to be losing his eyesight. He saw several men in black suits approaching his direction. They are all wearing masks and one of them is carrying a suitcase similar to his. That is the last thing he could remember until everything went black.
Amelia and Elizabeth’s journey to Virginia continued without encountering any eventful incident. They took a rest under a gasoline station beside McDonald's when Elizabeth had to use the bathroom. Amelia also took the chance to use the comfort room so both of them headed to the different directions. Amelia had to wash his face and shoulders so he took a little longer than Elizabeth. After looking at the mirror and assuring that he looked fine with his new clothes, he went out of the comfort room to go back to their car. He was already expecting to see Elizabeth waiting for him. To his surprise, he didn’t see the young girl inside the car. He worried about her taking too long in the bathroom. He glanced around and he saw a man trying to drag Elizabeth to his car. Elizabeth cried for help and Amelia immediately pulled out one revolver in his bag. He asked the man to set Elizabeth free. The man claimed that Elizabeth was his daughter but Amelia was not buying it. The man’s hands covered Elizabeth’s mouth so she cannot speak. Amelia can assess that the man was not used to carrying a firearm so he shoots him in the shoulders. The man cried in pain and Elizabeth immediately run to Amelia. He shoots him one more time in the heart and the man was down. Amelia wasn’t sure of he as dead or not so he dragged Elizabeth back to the car and drove away from the place. Even after few minutes of driving, and having relatively distant already from the gasoline station, Elizabeth was still panting in shock.
Amelia slowed down his driving. He was sure that nobody is following them at this point. He felt sorry for Elizabeth because she is experiencing this at the very young age.
Do you know that man? Amelia inquired, hoping to get an answer from the teenager.
Elizabeth just shook her head. She didn’t say a word. Amelia sighed, completely aware that the young girl is not ready to talk yet. He continued driving. Amelia assured Elizabeth that she will be safe for as long as she will be with Amelia. He tried to turn on the radio to get some news but he was surprised to see that the car stereo was broken. He cannot remember when it got broken. He would like to ask Elizabeth if the stereo was broken by the man who dragged her earlier, but when he looked at her, she was still silent.
Elizabeth was silent the whole day. Amelia was unaware that a lot of things are going on inside the teenagers head. A while ago while Amelia was at the bathroom, Elizabeth took the chance to hammer the car stereo. She did that to prevent Amelia from listening to the news. Any moment the reporter may say something about the helicopter crash at Tallegada that involves the president’s daughter. Elizabeth was afraid to tell Amelia her whole identity. Under many instances, Amelia saved her life but still, there’s a part of her saying that she shouldn’t let him know that she was the missing daughter of the president of the United States. She doesn’t intend to lie for long. She is waiting until they reached a bigger city and she will tell him.
Amelia was feeling tired and sleepy from driving so he asked Elizabeth if it’s ok to take a nap for a while. They tried to look for any hotel or transient house along the way but they cannot find any. Amelia found a big tree along the highway. He glanced at Elizabeth and the teenager nodded. She knew that Amelia has been driving for long and he needs rest too.
Elizabeth was noticeably quiet in the next few hours of traveling. Amelia thought that it must have been an after effect of her attacker in their stop by at the gasoline station. He was genuinely worried about her so he tried to talk to her to lighten up. He even asked if she would like to stop by for a while and eat but the girl refused. So Amelia continued driving and just kept the attention on the road. He respected the girl’s choice to be quiet.
Elizabeth’s mind is in roller coaster this time. She cannot think of any reason as to why there seem to be some people following her and trying to get her or kill her. She feels sorry for Amelia now that she is under his care. Her mind is full of questions. Will she tell him the truth? Will she tell him about her true identity? Elizabeth trusts him now that he has saved her life twice, but just like everybody else that’s getting close to her, Amelia’s life will be put in danger too.
Being the only daughter of the United States president, Elizabeth was well trained not to trust people easily. She is so used to receiving threats and her life is always in danger. She grew up with bodyguards and most of them have sacrificed their lives to save and protect her. She even compiled the files of the bodyguards of her family who died during their tenure with them. She solicited scholarship funds for their sons and daughters and provided their wives with alternative home-based jobs to support their family. Elizabeth as young as 14-years old knew the importance of life. And she has always been frustrated every time a bodyguard would risk his life for her or for any member of her family. The past few events, starting from the bomb found in one of her outreach activities, to the helicopter crash and just recently the attacker in the gasoline station; Elizabeth feels that some group of political opponents of her mom is trying to get rid of her again. She has a bad feeling that those are not just co-incidents that she as in the area. She feels that she is the target of the people behind these incidents.
If her intuitions are right at this time; she i
s worried that she is putting Amelia’s life in danger. She is confused whether to tell him the truth or to wait until they get to Virginia. She is expecting three types of reaction from the man; first is that he will get mad and make sides with the killers or he will get mad for putting his life at risk and kick him out of the car. The third reaction and the one she really hopes to get are that Amelia will accept her true identity and still genuinely help her get back to Virginia.
Meanwhile, in the Mount Weather Operations Center in Virginia, Michael is busy making a left and right calls for the search and rescue operations for Liz. He contacted the police department in Alabama and ordered checkpoints for all entry and exit roads of the state. He sent pictures of Liz in all Chief of Police and ordered them to implement strict reporting for any leads about the location of the president’s daughter.
Michael also ordered staff to check on the hospitals along the crash site to see any possibility that somebody might have brought Liz there and is now unconscious or being treated. It is almost 11:00 o'clock in the morning and Michael has just finished deploying all the search and rescue related instructions for the day. He has no intentions of giving up anytime soon because he has a strong feeling that she is still alive and needs their help right at this very moment. He is silently praying that someone with a good heart has taken Liz under his or her care.
The president has been locking herself in her office for a few hours now. She has not taken any sleep yet or has not eaten any meal yet. She knew that the world hates her now for signing the Executive Order 23245 but she has no other choice. She missed her husband and her only daughter. If she is being honest with herself, she is at her weakest. She couldn’t make sense of everything happening in her life. She couldn’t understand where all these things are leading her to. She couldn’t lead a country in her current condition. She took a deep breath, she has made a decision. She needs to do something about all these dilemmas. She is Hillary Frankel White, President of the United States of America, the strongest woman to lead the country.
Chapter Sixteen
Back in the town of Boone, Seth and Brodie continued their mission of maintaining the peace and order even during at night times. As they were doing the nightly routine of guarding the streets, they saw an old man hiding in one of the abandoned cars parked in. At first, Brodie was alarmed and is trying to bark at the strangers but Seth stopped him because the old man raised his hand in surrender. What’s your name and why are you hiding? Don’t you have a home? Seth asked series of questions, hoping to get clear answers. Please don’t get near me. I am infected with the killer virus. I’m just waiting for my final hours. The man pleaded. Seth instantly became sympathetic to the old man’s situation. He offered to bring him the nearby health center to get a treatment.
There is no treatment young man. The government has not invented any vaccine yet. I was listening to the news every day for any hope since I started feeling ill. The man continued speaking. I know you. Is your name Seth Andrews right? You are a good man. Do not get anywhere near me. The world needs more of you in it, so you cannot get sick.
The marshal’s heart is swelling at the man’s words. It has been a long time that he has not receive any pat on the back for all his actions. He thought he was ok with it but today he felt a little different. How long has it been since you caught the Superpox-99?
He asked the old man. It has been four days now. According to the statistics, I am reading, the longest life span is six days and they all die. So I have two days left. The man laughed, he seemed to have accepted his fate. Seth left the man with the heavy heart. He couldn’t do anything about it.
Seth and Brodie continued to roam around the town that night. In one of the streets adjacent to the town’s public garden, they saw four motorcycles approaching their direction. Even if they seem to be blinded by the lights coming from the motorcycles, Seth saw one of them pulled out a revolver so Seth quickly pushed Brodie to the side of the street where there is a big delivery truck parked. His intuitions were proven right when one of the guys fired shots to their direction. Seth jumps sideways to avoid the bullet. He pulled out his Supergrade from his right belt and shoots the first convict to arrive. He fired three more consecutive shots nad suddenly a total of four lifeless bodies are lying on the pavement. All of them have distinct headshots. Seth still has it. He remembered suddenly his firearms competition days where he used to be the sharpshooter of his generation. Those hard training days seem to be paying off this time.
It has been three days since he started looking for possible survivors, but he failed to find anyone. He called doctor Frankel to check for any updates but he is not picking up. He left a message on his voicemail, asking him to call back if there are any updates. He needs to stay in Boone for a while to manage the peace and order, as well as the prevention of virus spread but he will come home to Raleigh soon to help the doctor.
The next day, Seth and Brodie visited the health center in Boone to check on the situation. He talked to the medical attendants named Tara and Noah Kagan.
We are running out of clinical beds and basic supplies. We are not in the capacity to handle these large numbers of patients every day. Noah told Seth. Tara also added that most of these patients are showing symptoms of the Superpox-99 and they are afraid that even those not infected may catch the virus since they are all breathing the same air with the virus victims. We tried contacting the Department of Health for more supplies but the trunk lines are busy. We’ve been trying to get more basic medical kits for a couple of days now, but we have no luck any luck so far. Seth pulled out a small handbook from his bag. This was given to him by doctor Frankel during their last talk. She gave it to Noah and Tara in the hopes that they could use some herbal tips from the genius virologist.
Take this Noah, this is a special edition book from doctor Frankel, the famous virologist. He listed down some herbal tips that you could use to treat the patients faster. I’ve checked the public garden nearby and most of the plants mentioned in this book can be found there. If you need more help, I can send some church volunteers here to help you do the work. Seth gave the handbook to the medical attendants.
Thank you so much, Andrews, this will help us a lot in treating the patients better. I have been idolizing doctor Frankel since I entered medical school. He is very famous in our field. He is one of the geniuses that founded virology association of United States. It has been a pleasure handling one of his books. Noah said, feeling thankful for the additional help.
Seth went back to the office of Father Alain. He informed him that the medical assistants might need volunteers because of the increasing number of patients in the last few days. Father Alain talked to the community right after the mass. Most of the women were afraid to volunteer in fear of getting the virus themselves. This is the first time that people are afraid of their own safety. Seth felt that he is failing in his mission to keep the town of Boone a safe place for anyone. That afternoon, he roamed around the town to appeal to any survivors. He assured them that they will not be contacting the police authorities just like what the Executive Order is saying. Seth waited for any volunteer survivor in the next few hours but nobody showed up. He also kept trying to reach doctor Frankel but he is not picking up. He started to worry about the doctor. It’s not so usual that the doctor will not pick up his calls in three straight days. He packed his bag that morning and set Brodie in his designated seat in his truck. He drove back to Raleigh to check on the doctor. He felt something is wrong and he couldn’t just wait for him to call back. He is silently praying that nothing bad happened to the doctor. He is the only hope that this humanity has.
Seth and Brodie’s drive to Raleigh was eventful. They have encountered several checkpoints and the police are very strict in checking the cars upon passing the entry and exit point. In one checkpoint stop, Seth became impatient so he introduced himself as Deputy Marshal. My name is Deputy Marshal Seth Andrews. I am maintaining the peace and order in the town of Boone. Right
now I am traveling back to Raleigh to check on my friend and that is where I live too. Got more questions? Seth introduced himself impatiently. The police did not question any further, sensing that the Marshal was getting irritated. Seth continued driving peacefully until he reached Raleigh. He immediately went to the doctor house to check on him. He started to feel odd when he saw that the door was left open. The doctor has never left an open door since the incident of the robbers last year. He instantly felt something was wrong. He went inside to see more unusual things. He saw scattered pieces of papers and handbooks, broken flower vases everywhere and the aquarium was shattered too. He ran immediately to the laboratory and he was welcomed with empty graduated cylinders and test tubes. He shouted for doctor Frankel’s name but he wasn’t answering. He found him unconscious in the kitchen. He checked for his vital signs and got immediately relieved that all the signs are stable. He lifted him to the nearby couch and tried to wake him up. He gave him water and when the doctor opened his eyes, Seth thanked the heavens. The doctor narrated to Seth about the men in black suites that entered his house and collected all the samples of vaccine experiment he is working on. Seth requested for an investigation to the Raleigh Police Department.
Chapter Seventeen
