Cryptophobia (Book 1): Outbreak [Fear The Unknown]

by Henderson, G. D.

  “Ria! Quick! Get in! Hurry, baby, hurry!”

  The twitchers tore down the road behind her, closing in on her as she ran as fast as she could. She practically dived into the car.

  “Okay! Drive! Drive now!” Her mother shouted and Lizzy, the designated driver, slammed her foot down on the accelerator, jerking them all forwards and speeding down the road.

  Her mother embraced her tightly as Ria wept into her bosom.

  “Ria... your father?”

  Ria glanced up towards her mother and didn’t need to say or do anything further for her mother to understand that Terry wasn’t going to be joining them.

  “You poor baby, what did they do to you?” Her mother asked, crying as well upon seeing the state of her.

  Being in the car with her mother, finally leaving London after what would be the third or fourth attempt that long day, came with a sense of relief, but even that relief was short lived, for she would never forget what she had endured on this day and to this moment she still waited to wake up from the horrific nightmare, waiting for someone to release her from this horror.

  If only she could take back everything she had said earlier that day about hating him and wishing for him to disappear, for karma was a bitch and she had claimed his life in the honour of penance.

  She didn’t even want to look at her brother, she could feel his eyes on her and she knew what he was thinking, she knew because she was feeling exactly the same thing. She wanted to scream, she wanted to punch something in frustration, but all she could do was cry and cling onto her mother like a new born.

  George was confused, he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to his father as he kept peering back, half expecting his father, his idol, his best friend to pop out from somewhere and surprise them. His heart sank further and further into despair as the slow realisation that his father wasn’t coming back began to settle.

  Natasha could think of only one thing, protecting what remained of her family. In a single day she had lost both her husband and ex-husband to something she knew next to nothing about. She had seen the deaths of friends and colleagues and watched the city crumble right before her very eyes. To this moment she still didn’t know what to think, but as she looked at the blood, wounds and bruises on her daughter, respect in her ex-husband was restored. Had he not acted as quickly and persistently as he had, she wouldn’t be safely in her embrace right now. Wounds and bruises would heal, but she’d never be able to reclaim her children from the clutches of death, for that, she would never be able to thank Terry enough.

  “Thank you, Terry…” She murmured under her breath and embraced Ria.

  The five survivors, Natasha Riley, her two children Ria and George and her colleagues Elmira Dowling and Elizabeth Rowth, also known simply as Lizzy to her peers, made their way out of the city in a little car south eastwards towards the coastline. They had no clear idea where they were going or what their destinies would have in store for them, but what they did know was that London was no longer a safe place, no longer a place to call home, for now at least.

  They stopped outside of the city once safe, to reflect on all that had occurred for a moment before progressing.

  George was hysterical, refusing to get back in the car and determined to go and look for his father. Lizzy couldn’t stop shaking, forcing Elmira to have to take over the driving and Natasha could only embrace her crying children as emotions erupted.

  ‘How long is the recovery period for this sort of thing? How big is the universe? Two questions that would probably never get answers, but everything will change from now on, is already changing and nothing that once was will ever be’.

  The last paragraph of Ria’s last words uploaded to the internet would hold more weight than she could ever know, for throughout that night, tanks, jets, helicopters and soldiers besieged the city, attempting to contain the threat by applying the Ministry of Defence’s contingency plan set aside specifically with the objective of tackling contagions on epidemic levels, including, but not limited to zombie-like threats, but what they could not have foreseen was anything quite like this one.

  News quickly spread that those infected with the vora-virus were far from dead, by no means slow, strong, adaptable, semi-intelligent, able to communicate up to a certain degree and of course cannibalistic.

  But those discoveries were only the beginning. Bullets to the skull didn’t seem to faze the infected like they would the undead of fiction. Their ability to continue moving without vital ligaments, their keener senses, their inflated blind anger, lack of pain reception and perhaps most intriguing, their ability to assimilate in order to evolve, made them the single most problematic issues that government and army had had to deal with years, but they weren’t to know just how problematic it could be until it was far too late and containment was slowly beginning to become impossible.

  The speed, ferocity and unpredictability of its spread made it next to impossible to anticipate and prevent, for shortly after the outbreak in London, there were further outbreak reports in other cities and rural towns. Operation Phoenix - an initiative called upon by the government to first attempt to identify and contain, if that failed, shoot on sight and in the worst-case scenario fire bomb any and all compromised locations - had failed, serving only to claim the lives of uninfected innocents.

  Information pertaining to the source of the outbreak remained undisclosed, a cure would not see the light of day until years later and the only short-term solution to eradicating those infected in the most efficient means possible was fire, but by the time this intelligence became common knowledge, the damage had already been done and the country fell apart.

  All forms of transportation in and out of the country was suspended, the stock market crashed, food and medical shortages would become a rampant problem, crime rates would soar, information became sparse, leaders fled, abandoning their country, armies retreated, instead refocusing their efforts on protecting key strategic waypoints and leaving civilians to fend for themselves.

  Wales fell in quick succession, Scotland attempted to ward off the threat with vast walls and electric fences, Ireland attempted to cut off all connections to the mainland and other surrounding European countries instigated and or participated in Operation Blackwater to prevent the vora-virus reaching French shores, this word coming shortly after news that the virus had somehow made it as far across the globe as Puerto Rico. The initiative would prove to hold out for a number of months, but would ultimately fail.

  Then came black day, September 10th, the day that all went dark as telecommunications and electricity was cut indefinitely nationwide and with it all hope was crushed.

  For London, one of the most powerful cities in the world, to buckle beneath the weight of its own conceited grandeur, it sent a powerful and long-lasting message to the rest of world, even the mightiest could be forced to kneel.

  See, in mankind’s relentless search for more, knowledge is power and they who know all, control all. Fear what the eyes don't see, what the ears do no hear and what the mind does not know, fear the unknown.

  End

  BONUS CHAPTER 1 - ELLIE: 12:45pm - 6 Days until outbreak

  Ellie Branning was always a shrewd woman, she knew exactly how to get what she wanted when she wanted it. Everything was always about her and why shouldn’t it be? She was a distinguished woman who had worked hard her entire life, she wasn’t a layabout benefit scrounging leech, she never once asked anyone for anything and made it her mission in life to aim for the spotlight.

  She could have been an Oscar winning actress, she was always told she was a brilliant performer. She could have been a multiple number 1 selling singer, she was always told she had the voice of a maiden. She could have been a model, she was always complimented on her beauty.

  She could have been all those things and more, but she wanted an entirely different type of fame and admiration. She came from a long lineage of successful and ambitious people. Money and success flowed through he
r veins, where normal people only found blood.

  She chose to become a reporter, a job she loved because it meant that she was always the focus of the camera.

  More people watched the news then watched movies, the career of a reporter was more varied, stable and long lasting than a music artist’s and she'd feel far more valued and respected as a reporter than a model strutting on the catwalk.

  With this career she could flaunt herself and all her beauty at all and any times during the day. Her name and face would be ingrained into minds, she would never be forgotten. She would make friends in high places and be granted the opportunity to travel the world free of charge, what could be better?

  Ellie took part in documentaries and was even an anchor for a few years on competitor news network SBC (Sun Broadcasting) News. She became a TV personality, highly recognised and established amongst the higher ups. Her determination to reach the clouds of success had no limitation, she certainly wasn’t afraid of stepping on toes along the way, so for all the friends she had, she also had her fair share of enemies. She left disaster in her wake and her name alone struck fear into those who also sought the top.

  But nothing could be said about her, she was amazing at her job, unmatched even. Three years ago, a disgruntled bitch made an attempt on her life and needless to say, like all other losers who had challenged Ellie to that point, she failed and was arrested and sentenced accordingly. Maybe next time someone wanted to break into her house, hide in her cupboard and jump out at her with a knife, they’d have the fucking intelligence to not leave evidence of their forced entry everywhere and do their fucking research, just a little bit went a long way and if they had, they would have discovered that she was a 1st dan taekwondo student, it would have saved her assailant the humiliation of ending up on her back... with a knife protruding from her thigh.

  On the day of the outbreak, Ellie was due to exclusively cover the autobiography book signing of one of the greatest Olympic medallists in the world, it was a big day for her, a day she had fought hard for and in doing so, squashed bugs vying for the same position just 6 days before the outbreak.

  3:45pm - 2 Days until outbreak

  Two days before the outbreak, Ellie was more than prepared for the book signing, it was going to be an amazing day and she wasn’t going to let the bitter ones ruin it for her with their insistent moaning, they would have to deal with it, she was better at this. You win some you lose some.

  She was assigned this story along with cameraman Zachary Lincoln, the only cameraman she would agree to work with, for the others were imbeciles or amateurs. Zachery knew her inside from out, what she liked and what she didn’t, as well as being a perfectionist at capturing her very essence of being on camera in such a way that she could only radiate.

  6:45am - 5 Hours until outbreak

  The morning of the book signing arrived and Ellie had her crew scrambled around like headless chickens. She wanted to look like a goddess on camera, outshining even the story subject, the athlete.

  She had been here since 5, ready for the morning broadcast, but what the hell were the rest of her crew doing like this? If any one of those fuckers ruined this day for her, she’d make damn well sure they were fired.

  Jesus fucking Christ, why did she had to work with brainless disorganised chimps half the time? A little bit of professionalism went a long fucking way.

  12:12pm - 27 Minutes since outbreak

  Ellie was at the scene of the book signing and it was all going fairly well; crowds were amassing, clearly recognising her face more so than the so-called Olympic celebrity she was interviewing.

  Funny that, she didn’t even need to have a gold medal around her neck to be respected, adored and admired, what a world she lived in.

  It was midway into the interview that she noticed people around her behaving shiftily, something was awry and people were making their way out. Shortly into the interview, the Olympic medallist was also called aside, putting an abrupt halt to the book signing, an action that pissed Ellie right off. She had prepared 6 days for this, what the fuck was he doing? What could be so important that it couldn’t wait until afterwards?

  Pacing back and forth in a foul mood while she waited for his majesty to return - one stupid little gold medal and he thought he could behave like this -, she got a call from her bosses who alerted her to the fact that a possible terror attack in London had occurred, was still occurring and they wanted her on it immediately. Of course, she jumped at the opportunity, anything to get away from this snooze-fest.

  They sent a helicopter to retrieve she and Zachery, piloted by the one and only Steve Phillips, a man they had flown with before and who had racked up at least 20 years’ worth of helicopter flying experience, an expert, just how she liked her men and co-workers.

  They flew into the heart of the city, navigating around buildings, taking chances with no-fly zone without expressed permission, hovering dangerously low, for today was an exception, never before had anything quite like what they were seeing occurred., this was a scoop she couldn't afford to miss a single bit of detail on.

  It was not until they reached the heart of the chaos did they realise the full extent of it. Below them, people chased other people, killed other people in the most horrific, barbaric and shocking manner, it was as though they were possessed. Ellie had seen some shit during the course of her career, more than any ordinary person would ever desire to see, from live beheadings, to massacres, to rape cases and even trafficking, she had even seen the aftermath of terror attacks, but nothing, absolutely nothing compared to what she was now witnessing. Humans were capable of some truly depraved things, but this shit right here made them all pale in comparison.

  People were being ripped apart and eaten on the streets by other people. Cannibals were far from unheard of, but this... this was something entirely different, this genuinely scared the shit out of her and that was saying something coming from someone who didn't scare easily.

  Zachery tried his utmost to keep track of the ongoings and she found herself becoming too distracted by everything to effectively report on what was happening below. It was all happening so quickly.

  2:10pm - 2 Hours, 25 Minutes since outbreak

  An hour later and they were still filming, still trying to comprehend just what was happening and the horrors showed absolutely no sign of slowing down.

  Rare as it was, Ellie entirely forgot about how she looked, she forgot about what she was supposed to say, she forgot everything.

  “Are you getting all of this?” Was about as much as she could muster. The question was directed at Zachery, but it could just about be extended to her audience, for it was without doubt the centrepiece of the broadcast.

  Below, people waved up to the helicopter with hopes of being rescued, but alas, Steve could not and would not be performing any rescue stunts to put the lives of those on board in jeopardy, as painstaking as it was to overlook desperate cries for help.

  Suddenly and startlingly, there was a loud slam towards the front of the helicopter, followed by a horrendous grating and clanging sound coming from the propeller above. Blood from an unknown source sprayed absolutely everywhere and the helicopter jerked backwards, throwing them all off their balance and the camera from Zachery’s hands, plummeting to the ground below.

  The helicopter went into a free-falling spiral of death with everyone on board clinging on to anything they could find and screaming. They lost altitude blisteringly fast and the last thing Ellie could recall before all went dark was her and the helicopter’s reflection upon the windows of a shopping complex.

  2:21pm - 2 Hours, 36 Minutes since outbreak

  When Ellie finally came around, the smell of gas filled her nostrils, a fire alarm’s insistent ringing filled her ears and she was soaked.

  Absolutely everything ached, but what she couldn't determine just yet was the extent of the damage inflicted on her from that crash.

  She glanced around, a little hazy and unsure of where sh
e was, it took her some time to figure that out. Even as she stared at the wreckage of the helicopter, she couldn’t ascertain how she had managed to survive.

  With more investigation, she became aware that she was in the cafeteria section of a department store, but it was difficult to distinguish anything with so much dust and debris everywhere.

  The water could be explained by the sprinklers above, preventing the flames from the helicopter burning wildly out of control, which was most certainly a good thing given the smell of gas lingering in the air. It was any wonder how the helicopter hadn't blown up yet, or blown something else up.

  She coughed and returned her thoughts to the helicopter. Staring at it only brought the memories of the events prior back to her like a fucking punch to the face.

  She gasped and scrambled away from the wreckage, wondering how on Earth she had survived. She checked herself over, but other than a few bruises and a gash to the head that a trip to the hospital and stitches could fix, she was fine.

  What the fuck had knocked them out of the air like that? How had she survived? Maybe she was indeed lucky, maybe she was difficult to kill. She may have just thought it before, but now with the sheer amounts of scrapes with death she had had in her life, she had begun to genuinely believe that... but what about Zachery and Steve?

  She got up and inspected the wreckage, being cautious around the unstable floor surrounding it.

  Steve was a goner, she could only just about see his burning corpse in that mangled mess of metal and debris. She covered her mouth in abhorrence.

  Agonised groaning tore her attention away and to the side of the wreckage she found Zachery, the lower half of his body lodged between a metal beam and the wreckage.