Prepper: A Story of the Future Collapse

by Franz Bates

  Seth was at his cabin enjoying a native breakfast with Brodie while listening to the news. He already knew about Kennedy’s arrest from Doctor Frankel yesterday. Seth did not actually think that he would be the one to have interest. He was not even in the medical field. How could he expect people to believe that he produced the vaccine himself? Or well maybe, he will sell the vaccine to other countries and get rich and ran away. Yeah, sounds like a plan. Seth is talking to himself more than to Brodie. He knew the Rottweiler can understand his point but it would not respond to him.

  Seth went back to Boone that day with full of hope. He was welcomed by Father Alian who heard the news the newly developed vaccine. Father Alain said that the number of infected residents of Boone is increasing exponentially. Father Alain added that he is writing a letter to CDC to get the vaccine distribution be expedited in their area due to the fact that most of the virus victims in the last few days are kids aging five to seven years old.

  The CDC just released the news that they are now starting the reproduction of Doctor Frankel’s vaccine and they will have it distributed to the entire nation as soon as possible. A nation-wide air clean up drive was also launched by several volunteers. They will be in charge of the gas counterpart of the fluid vaccine. They will use choppers to release gaseous chemicals that would kill any presence of Superpox-99 in the atmosphere. They will start the operations in New York City where the first virus victim was reported. President Hillary once again made an appeal to the people to remain calm and be assured that everyone in the United States will receive their share of the vaccine.

  Doctor Frankel woke up early that morning feeling excited about the reproduction of the vaccine. His sister Hillary asked him if he would like to go back to Raleigh so that she could arrange his flight but he declined. He decided to stay in Virginia here in Mount Weather Operations Centre to personally administer the vaccine reproduction. He would like to assure that everything will be set in place properly. He couldn’t contain his happiness as he walks down the aisle to the laboratory. The subject they used for the test, fully recovered two days after the vaccine was injected to her. The results confirmed that the virus was totally washed out of her system. Almost everyone in their seats jumped out of happiness when the results came out in the CDC headquarters. Doctor Frankel was speechless and it took a lot of hugs and taps on his back from his colleagues before he could come back to his senses. He couldn’t believe he did it. His vaccine actually worked.

  The President ordered full blast reproduction of Doctor Frankel’s vaccine. After hearing the news, people came to the streets asking to be prioritized. Several advocate groups for women and children’s rights came to appeal that their sector is prioritized. President Hillary made an assurance that every single person will be given equal attention. They just have to focus on reproducing the vaccine to cater everyone. The CDC employees are working non-stop to expedite the process. Doctor Frankel is personal in charge of the quality team; the last stop before the vaccine goes out for distribution. A lot of organizations and civil groups are eyeing on giving the doctor awards and recognition for his heroic contribution to the nation’s salvation against an almost end of the world era.

  President Hillary took a deep breath as she left the CDC headquarters in that very early in the morning. She came to assure that all the operations are properly placed in the vaccine recreation and distribution. She also made especial orders regarding Doctor Frankel’s request to prioritize the town of Boone as soon as the first batch of vaccine goes out. She already felt exhausted, but her day was just about to start. She woke up very early today to attend to her appointments in Virginia before flying to North Carolina by lunchtime. She knew that going to the typhoon-affected area could be assigned to any of her Senators and representatives and she can stay in Mount Weather to monitor and send out orders, but there is something about this North Carolina situation that’s pushing her to personally visit the situation. She called Michael to check if he would like to come with her but Michael declined. He would like to monitor the search operations for Liz and the reports are coming to Mount Weather Operations Centre. The President would like hourly updates on the search for her daughter. Now that the vaccine for Superpox-99 has been discovered, she has one less dilemma to face. She can focus more on her daughter’s whereabouts. Hillary can feel in her heart that her daughter is alive and is probably safe keeping herself from the killers. Whatever it takes she will take her back. Before she left for North Carolina that lunch time, she talked to Michael and ordered to double the efforts and does the country-wide search. She was somehow amazed by Michael’s response.

  Now that Kennedy is in prison, I am pretty sure that our Liz will be coming home soon. There will be no more killers chasing after her. And our staff and team will be able to locate her first before the potential kidnappers. Michael said, feeling so sure about his statement.

  We can never be sure; Kennedy is not alone in all his evil plans. We got to figure out who are with him in this. Monitor McCrystal’s moves. Get the best investigator to find evidence pointing to him; being an accomplish of Kennedy. We need him behind bars too, so we can freely move in all our plans. Hillary ordered and Michael nodded in assurance.

  Hillary boarded the plan that would take her to North Carolina. The Presidential security team prepared a temporary command station in Jacksonville, where most of the damage is identified. While in the plane, Hillary wasted no time in listening to the damage assessment report from the Disaster Management Council of North Carolina. The whole of Jacksonville, Goldsboro, and Rocky Mount still has no electricity and it will take some time to put the fallen posts back thus the power supply. The total infrastructure damage of Jacksonville alone is 34 million, adding to is the 8 and 9 million from Goldsboro and Rocky Mount respectively.The president ordered to prioritize hospitals, banks, government offices, and police stations. A larger number of transmission lines are still damaged resulting in more car accidents the following day.

  On the other side of the recovery operations, President Hillary allotted a bigger budget for the relief operations. She was happy to see so many volunteers for the repacking of goods that will be distributed to those stranded residents affected by Typhoon. She missed Liz very much. She would normally be the first person to organize volunteers and help the calamity victims.

  Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Garreth was busy planning their days ahead. They never had the chance to listen to the news the whole day as they were repacking their goods. They anticipated flooded areas as they move forward with their route. They have to leave some of the unnecessary items and fill their minivan with food and more clothing to use along the way. They were having dinner that night when Garreth turned the radio on. He wanted to have an assessment of the road situations.

  Reporter: According to the released report of Disaster Management Council of North Carolina, the whole of Jacksonville, Goldsboro, and Rocky Mount still has no electricity and it will take some time to put the fallen posts back thus the power supply. The total infrastructure damage of Jacksonville alone is 34 million, adding to is the 8 and 9 million from Goldsboro and Rocky Mount respectively. The president ordered to prioritize hospitals, banks, government offices, and police stations.

  In news, the President ordered the search and rescue team of her daughter to double their efforts in the operations. The search will now be country-wide and the president is confident that she will get her daughter back soon. The President also added that the investigation on the chopper crash is now yielding clear results pointing to evidence that would reveal the people behind it.

  “President Hillary: Apparently it is not an accident. We have evidence pointing to the masterminds of this. We are in the race with them in searching for my daughter. I will use all my means, all my connections to get her back. To whoever is behind all these tragedies targeting my family, you will be behind bars in no time. Better run away now, or, pack your clothes and be ready for prison. “

  That was part
of President Hillary’s statement in a media press conference a while ago. Garreth turned the radio off, in order to save the battery. They have gathered enough news to light the hopes in their hearts.

  So, your mom is back on track huh. And she’s getting you back. We really need to get going. Garreth told Elizabeth while smiling. The young girl smiled back and nodded in agreement. Yes, she is. My prayers were granted. Elizabeth closed her eyes and silently recited a thank you prayer.

  That night, Elizabeth couldn’t put herself to sleep. Listening to the voice of her mom on the radio made her realize how she misses her family. She really wanted to be with her sooner but she knows she couldn’t just do that. Even though Kennedy is already in prison, it is still not safe for her to be out in the open. And traveling to Virginia with Garreth is the safest way to get back to her mom. At any moment they become careless, they could fall in the hands of the bad guys chasing after her, so they need to be careful communicating with anyone. She hated the situation but she knew that with few more days of sacrifice, she’d be able to survive this dilemma. Once she’s back in Virginia headquarters and be with Michael, she’d be 100% safe and she’d be able to thank Garreth properly for saving her life multiple times.

  Elizabeth is thankful as well that the vaccine of his uncle Tim finally worked. She wonders who pushed him to make the vaccine, knowing that his uncle was still hurt by the last rejection from his very own group in CDC. Her father died last week because of the Superpox-99 and it really turned her world down and she knows she is not the only child who was left fatherless by the virus. There could be hundreds of children out there who lost their parents too in that virus outbreak. When everything comes back to normal, which she is hoping to be really soon, she will make sure that she will organize outreach activities to all the children who lost their parents in the virus outbreak. She will start a foundation that will take care of them until they are emotionally stable. She doesn’t know yet where to get resources but the will cross the bridge when she gets there. Elizabeth misses her old life, she has been traveling and hiding for a couple of days now, it feels like she’s been missing a lot already.

  Garreth could roughly estimate from his point of view that the young girl is still awake. He knew that she has been thinking a lot lately. Probably, how she misses her free life. He would assure to do everything in the next few hours to reach Virginia as soon as possible. They just have to be careful because it is still not safe for her to be out in the open. They could not trust any means of communication to the President and her assistant’s lines because it could be wiretapped. Garreth thought about how they could travel while the flood has not fully subsided yet. The earlier they get to Virginia, the earlier that Elizabeth will get her normal life back. He felt sorry for the teenager for going through all these hardships. He thinks she will surely be a very good president someday. In their few days of the journey on the road together since that day he saved her, he knew that the teenager has a soft heart for the people.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Man on the phone: There has been a big explosion in the CDC headquarters building a few minutes ago. The police and the bomb squads cannot determine yet what caused the explosion but it is identified to be coming from the laboratory of the CDC. Right now we have around nine people dead and another twenty injured. We are in the retrieval operations for those volunteers, doctors, and researchers at CDC that were trapped inside. The large fire that ate up the main building where the vaccine reproduction is operating has not been cleared yet. It is where the explosion came from. The man reported, almost panting and out of breath. Hillary could barely say a word in shock of the news. Michael must have noticed it so he took over the conversation.

  Make sure that you prioritize rescuing all the remaining people inside the building. Send maximum security so that no one can get inside the building further. Max out the number of medical teams responding to all the victims. I will call back in few minutes for more orders. For now, all we value is to save lives. Understood? Michael strongly ordered and the man on the other line acknowledged him. Hillary took a deep breath. Why can’t problems stop and take a break with her? She just resolved Superpox-99 breakout and now the whole building was the vaccine reproduction was on-going, was blown and burned to ashes. Who has an evil state of mind would plan out such world distraction? Do they not want to save their dying people from the Superpox-99? Hillary felt like she is on the brink of crying again for all the problems piling up, one after another.

  Reporter: The nation has not even recovered yet from the casualties and damages of the typhoon that visited us last week; here comes another misfortune for the people of America. The main building of Center for Disease Control headquarters was blown and burned downed to ashes by a big explosion. According to the reports, the explosion came from the left wing of the main building where the laboratory was located. The laboratory is currently being used for the expedited reproduction of the Superpoxx-99 killer virus. The police and bomb special unit could not determine yet the source of the explosion but initial evidence is pointing to an explosive device placed in the wall of the laboratory. Many are thinking, is this the plan to sabotage the vaccine reproduction? Many groups and even individuals may have an interest in Doctor Frankel’s vaccine and this maybe one of their ways to get their hands to it. Garreth turned the radio off. He decided that they have enough news for the day. Finally, they are back on the road on their way to Virginia. Thankfully, with the expedited restoration efforts, the flood has subsided and the fallen trees and branches have now been cleared and the pathways and roads are now passable. Elizabeth knew that her mother ordered all of these fact actions. She knew how that woman can be in times like this.

  So, none of the terrorist groups claimed responsibility for the explosion? Garreth askedElizabeth but the tone of his voice is more like declaring it. Elizabeth just nodded, not knowing what else to say. It must be Kennedy and his allies. How I wish he dies sooner. Elizabeth said out of desperation. Garreth laughed at the teenager's antics while he was driving. He knew as well that it would have been Kennedy that actually came up with this plan. Kennedy is desperate to knock down Hillary’s presidency and putting him behind bars wouldn’t make him stop with his evil plans. He must have someone outside working for him, and it also means they are not yet safe. Elizabeth is still under his target to make the president weaker. Garreth felt the worry crept up his face because of his own realization. He did his best though to hide it from the teenager because he doesn’t want her to worry more for their safety.

  In the command center, Michael was busy talking to his trusted investigator and friend. They were trying to track down the movements of General McCrystal because they are pretty sure that it was him who is responsible for the explosion.

  Investigator: The traces in the explosion site are impossible to use. We have to check on a different angle that will point out to him. This is a punch in the black space Michael, I would like, to be honest with you. We will have a hard time making him answerable to this.

  Michael: Yes, I know Chuck. It’s is going to be a hard battle, he works clean. He is a general after all. But I will not give up sooner; there must be some loopholes in this crime that will reveal the truth. For now, I will focus on retrieving Liz back because she is an integral part of their plans against the president. Michael said full of determination.

  Neither the president nor Michael knew how to work around in catching the criminals behind the explosion. They are both sure that the main purpose is to disrupt the vaccine production and distribution. Clearly, this is a plan to threaten the safety of the people and to prevent the nation’s recovery from the Superpox-99 outbreak. Hillary has ordered maximum security for Kennedy’s prison cell. She asked the security team to monitor his visitors, his day to day activities inside and his phone calls too. They need to catch the allies of Kennedy outside. She is sure that McCrystal is one of them but they could not point out any strong evidence against the general. They sure do w
ork clean, Hillary thought.

  Aside from this dilemma, she also needs to focus on the restoration of typhoon damages in North Carolina. Many of the communities are still in the evacuation centers and the power supply is still not back in most part of the Jacksonville and Goldsboro. Roughly around 11,000 houses were crushed and more than 13,400 were partially damaged in Jacksonville, Goldsboro, and Mount, where Typhoon Riza first hit land as a category 8 typhoon last Saturday.

  The president made an appeal to the people to stay calm and be cooperative in the government procedures. In connection to the CDC headquarters bombing, Security measures were tightened up in the airports, bus stations and other lines of transportation to assure that no terrorists’ attackers are roaming around the United States.

  In North Carolina, the majority of the communication lines are still down and especially the power transmissions going up north mainly due to the strong rains and winds brought by the storm the signal has become intermittent. Garreth and Elizabeth are still pulling up their luck for signal in the road. Some parts of their drive, they have no signal at all and no chance of getting any updated news. Elizabeth became instantly worried for the stress that her mother is going through once again. Just after a day of rest, here comes another set of troubles that the president will need to face. How she wishes she could be by her side at this time to support and encourage her to keep fighting.

  For all those years of Hillary’s presidency, Elizabeth has been a supportive daughter to her. Elizabeth will encourage her mom always and remind her to ignore the bashers. All they ever wanted as a family is to serve the nation better than they did yesterday. Hillary was a tough woman, but without her husband and daughter beside her, she crumbles down like a pile of soft tissues placed in rummaging water. She provides and helps everyone but she needs moral support too. Michael has been doing his job excellently lately but having her daughter beside her right now will bring immeasurable strength to keep going.