by Burke Bryant
But plagues didn’t strike the same way in two different places at the same time.
Unless it wasn’t a plague, Chris thought. Illness spread, but not like this. There was another possibility, one much worse—an attack. Someone or something had planned these illnesses, caused them. Whatever this was, it was coordinated.
“The same thing that is infecting the people here was happening in my brother’s village,” Martees continued, confirming Chris’s suspicions. “People were dying. A lot of people. In fear they dug a pit and began to place the bodies into it. The pit got very full. The more people that died, the more scared the rest became. They lit the bodies on fire, hoping to kill whatever had been killing them. When there were only a few left they burned the entire village in fear the Devil would still be lurking there, waiting to kill the rest of them. The ones who could, left.”
Again, Chris thought of the burnt body in the hut. The ones who could, left. Those that couldn’t stayed and burned.
“Where did they go, the survivors?” Nick asked.
“They came here, and shortly after they arrived, they died too.”
“Were you having problems before they arrived?” Maria asked. Her voice was flat, almost disinterested.
“No, we are sure they brought the monster with them,” the larger man continued. “I must ask you all now, did you bring the monster with you?”
The men’s eyes tightened up in anticipation of the answer.
“No. No we didn’t,” Chris said. He didn’t add that they’d lost one of their number, who’d perhaps succumbed to the same illness of the villagers. But how had Grace gotten sick? They hadn’t been in either of the infected sites.
Her photographs, Chris remembered. As their photojournalist, Grace had often ventured off on her own to take photographs, document the jungle. Had she come into contact with someone—seen something?
The men smiled, and their bodies relaxed as Chris’s mind still spun with unanswered questions. Natalia held her hand out to Chris, as if sensing his discomfort. He took it.
“Good. We are glad,” one of the men said.
“Can you take me to see someone who’s been infected?” Maria asked.
Martees nodded. “Yes, follow me.”
Chris almost stopped her, almost interrupted, reminded her that whatever this was, it might be contagious. Deadly.
He didn’t.
Maria never looked back nor said a word as she followed Martees and his men toward one of the huts. Chris, Nick, and Caroline stayed back, watching them as they left.
“What do you make of that?” Chris asked Nick.
Nick pulled up his shoulders. “I’d say we’re dealing with some type of virus—but one that doesn’t behave like anything I’ve seen before.”
“I agree,” said Chris. “This isn’t contagion. It’s contamination.”
“I’d say you’re right.” Caroline’s voice was tight, decisive. She had a wad of papers in her hand, and she thrust them in Chris’s direction. “I found these when I pulled Maria out of the plane. Looks like Maria is really Dr. Maria Ferrari, and she’s a virologist that works for the government.”
Chris’s eyes skimmed over the papers, reviewing what looked to be classified medical reports of some kind, severely redacted. There was something else too—a paper on a suspected terrorist organization called CROW. The organization’s symbol was familiar.
He pushed the papers to Nick. “Ever seen that symbol before, Brannon?”
Nick scoffed. “Once. On Hunter’s dead man two days ago.”
Realization slammed into Chris. “The one we pulled the vial off of.”
He fingered at his pocket, felt the vial of unknown viscous material still intact.
“There’s something else you should know,” Caroline added. Emotion clouded her eyes. “I put the papers in my pack, but later when Grace …” Her voice trailed off. “Well, when Grace went missing, I found them under her tree. Whoever Maria is, she’s no victim—and she’s no friend.”
Chris shook his head trying to make sense of it, to force the pieces into place. They didn’t fit, the irregular pieces of a deathly illness, an unknown contagion, a burned village, and whatever Crow was, refusing to fit together. But there was one thing that stood out—one question that, when he had the answer, would push everything else into place.
“But where did it come from?” he asked.
Natalia looked up into the direction of the sky and pointed as she had all along.
“The sky,” she said. “It came from above.”
They all looked up into the sky, and then back to the village. The plane.
“It’s time to figure all this out,” Chris said. “Let’s go see who Dr. Maria Ferrari really is.”
Operation Black Mariah
Wave One
All over the world, from small rural towns to big cities, from Alaska to South Africa, something is happening. Though events differ from place to place, all point to the same chilling outcome: the implementation of a New World Order by the global elite. Their goal—to centralize the world’s power and wealth into their own hands, and to control humanity. But first they need to cull the human population to sustainable levels, and their plans have begun.
Welcome to the world of Marie D. Jones Presents Black Mariah, a harrowing near-future ripped from today’s headlines that dares to look at what might come next. This is a world of conspiracies and cover-ups, of lies and deception, of chaos and confusion, and of small groups of people who realize the only way to survive is to harness the power of the human spirit. To defy and persist. In the wake of the quest for survival, a revolution called “Defiance” is born.
This is a stand-alone story in the Black Mariah Shared World, a collaborative effort by authors from all across the globe whose characters react and respond to the same events, but in their own unique ways. Each story takes the reader on a journey of one of these characters, allowing for multiple perspectives to unfold. The only thing these characters have in common is that they survived Wave One. But will they survive what’s to come?
Experience Season One
Morris, Indiana by Marie D. Jones
El Desaguadero River, Nicaragua by Burke Bryant
Juneau, Alaska by Lindy Ryan
Hanau, Germany by Dorothy Dreyer
Las Vegas by Mercedes M. Yardley
Tandragee, North Ireland by Julieanne Lynch
San Antonio, Texas by Eva Pohler
Victoria West, Northern Cape, South Africa by Monique Snyman
Changi, Singapore by Pearry Teo & Lindy Ryan
Jasper, Indiana by Marie D. Jones
Immerse yourself in the world of Black Mariah and stay up to date on news and announcements at BlackMariahSeries.com.
Acknowledgments
To Jennifer Jaynes, for sticking by me even in spirit. Your love and encouragement is still felt, and greatly appreciated.
To Lindy Ryan, for all the long days (and nights) spent pacing together to make sure this creation was bulletproof. *spritz *spritz!
To my agent, Italia Gandolfo, for believing in me, and all the great conversations that have gone along with it. Aliens?
And, to my mind, which continues to work hard and never complain about the hours, adherences, and constant mental chatter that always seems to persist until the end.
About the Author
Burke Bryant was born in Everett, Washington. His creative career began as an actor working alongside talent including John Cleese, Emily Mortimer, Alford Molina, Christopher Walken, and William H. Macy. Today, Bryant is a full-time traveler, writing and researching from the road. When not writing, Bryant is studies the paranormal, meditates, and runs the Humanitarian Aid and Rescue Project (HARP), a humanitarian organization that delivers critical aid into areas experiencing war, ethnic cleansing, conflict, and disaster.
Learn more at HarpRescue.org.
Visit Burke at www.burkebryant.com
Keep Reading
Season 1,
Episode 3
Juneau, Alaska by Lindy Ryan
After her wife’s death, Rachel Mason wants to grieve in peace. But when the place she’s sought for sanctuary becomes another site in a series of strange events sweeping the nation, she’ll have to brave the Alaskan wilderness to survive.
Former cop turned mystery novelist, Rachel Mason wasn’t ready to live without her wife Ruby, but that didn’t stop the hiking accident that claimed Ruby’s life from happening. Heartbroken, Rachel left behind the noise of the East Coast to hide away in her parent’s guest house in Juneau, Alaska with nothing but her grief, her memories, and her two dogs.
When she is startled awake during a weekend camping trip by the sound of a low-flying plane, Rachel returns to town to find her parents and her dog have disappeared—along with everyone else in Juneau. The only clues to the disappearance of over thirty-thousand people are a strange white dust, the tail end of a ferry in the distance, and a caravan of blacked-out military vehicles she’s never seen on the island. Concerned that all of her late wife’s “doomsday predictions” are coming true, Rachel is forced to lean on the knowledge Ruby taught her if she’s to find her family, and—as the first hints of snow arrive in the mountains—stay alive.
Read the next episode on Amazon.
