The Island: Part 3

By Michael R Stark

Day by day The Fever grew stronger, surging across boundaries in its relentless assault on humanity. The news pouring out across the airwaves turned more shocking by the hour. Hospitals had started closing their doors. The dead and dying littered the landscape.

The tiny group stranded on Portsmouth Island listened as the horror unfolded. They had no where to run, and no where to hide. The struggle to survive had taken on a new meaning. The Fever promised an eventual death. Something else had come to The Island though, something wicked and hungry.

As if life wasn’t complicated enough, a stranger arrived in an odd little boat and brought with him, both hope and fear. No one knew the man was sick. No one knew he had a fever.

To save him, William Hill would have to violate the travel ban. To save himself, he would have to face down an indescribable evil.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael R Stark
• Release date: Jul 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476222981

Michael R Stark

Trying to figure out when I started writing is like trying to decide when I started walking. The stories have always been there, rummaging around in my mind. Some went on paper. Most didn’t. I wrote my first novel when I was 22. Thankfully, I left it to the dustbin of history where it shall always remain.Imagine the grin, yes, it was that bad.As for influences on my latest story, The Island, that one has been up there banging away in my head for a long time. Parts of it were told at bedtime. Though honestly, those who heard the parts wouldn't recognize them in the story. By the time we get to the second book in this series, they will find some recognizable moments. They'll also probably be upset that the adventure turned into something of a horror story.Ahh, well, most of them are old enough now to read it for what it is.I grew up in North Carolina, which is why part of the story is set there. I’ve been to exotic parts of the world, many countries, and most states. None of them I know as well as the one I called home for most of my life. It makes it easy to write about it, and the people in it.I hope you enjoy the stories.MS

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The Island

Part 3

by

Michael R. Stark

PUBLISHED BY: Michael R. Stark on Smashwords

The Island - Part 3

Copyright © 2012 by Michael R. Stark

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced without the author’s written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

Forward:

This is Part 3 of the Island. If you’ve not read Parts 1 & 2, go back and read them first. If you can’t find them, come visit me at http://www.michael-stark.com/ for a list of places where you can read them free.

MS

Chapter X - The Beginning of the End

This is Christine Arapaloe, with your WKLE news wrap-up. Just to let you all know, this is an extended edition of Five on the Hour. We have a lot to cover this evening.

The woman paused. Silence clung to the airwaves for a moment. Seconds later, the hiss of drawn breath slid through the old radio’s speaker so clear and defined it sounded like the newscaster sat beside me.

The World Health Organization confirmed today that the disease known simply as the Fever has been recorded in every country and on every continent except Antarctica. Figures released today put the world wide death toll at two hundred and fifty thousand. Spokesperson, Ellen Marks, said those numbers are expected to rise as the infection spreads and medical facilities become increasingly overwhelmed. The disease continues its eastward march, radiating outward from its epicenter in Mexico with the United States, Europe, and Africa ranking among the hardest-hit areas. Middle Eastern countries are reporting substantial numbers as well.

From the Far East, indications are that the Fever has not yet gained a strong foothold. Incidents have been scattered and isolated. With a fifth of the world’s population living within its borders, China has enacted especially harsh measures to quarantine suspected victims. Stories have circulated that rather than treat patients, authorities have packed them into internment camps and in some cases, ordered their disposal. Chinese officials denied those accusations, saying that the reports are nothing but ill-founded rumors.

Riots broke out in several US cities today including New York, Los Angeles, and Houston. Looters rampaged through downtown streets hitting grocery stores and food markets. Authorities said that in at least two cases, flash mobs had been instigated using online social networks, leading to speculation that Internet services might be cut to areas with large populations. In a phone interview this afternoon, ACLU spokesperson, Marilyn Levinson, said that the organization would be watching the government’s response to the developing crises closely, indicating that lawsuits might be pushed into international courts if U.S. judges denied them standing.

Rioters in Los Angeles clashed with police and National Guard units across multiple sections of the city. Two center-city police officers were gunned down just before noon by suspected gang members not far from Huntington Park. Police snipers opened fire on the gunmen as hundreds rushed through city streets. At least 34 people were killed in the violence. LAPD spokesperson, Julio Campano, said in a prepared statement that the murderers would be brought to justice. He also noted that no charges would be filed against officers and that internal investigations into the incident would not occur until the President suspended martial law.

Shots were fired in Kansas City overnight in two residential neighborhoods. Responders came under attack by unknown individuals as they rushed to the scene. An ambulance and a police car were found overturned and abandoned. The body of one EMT was discovered the next morning in a drainage ditch less than a hundred yards from the scene of the crash. Searchers said the body had been mauled and partially consumed.

General David Brukhauser, acting commander of the newly created U.S. Forces Americas, ordered military planners to designate sections known as community blocks for the entire United States. He also authorized the dissemination of millions of flyers that are scheduled to be posted in the newly announced blocks. The flyers are said to contain emergency contact information, reporting lines for alerting authorities to residents who violate the ban, and a list of symptoms associated with the disease that includes high fever, uncontrollable coughing, increased aggression, hallucinations, and eventual death. The flyers note that Fever victims can also appear as if they have been severely beaten with massive bruising and bleeding from a variety of orifices.

When asked to define a community block, General Brukhauser stated that block sizes will vary, with those in heavily populated areas potentially as small as three to five square miles. Rural sections of the country may see blocks as large as fifty square miles. The General noted that community blocks will be the focal point of relief supplies and define the area in which residents cannot leave without violating the travel ban. The idea, Brukhauser said, is not to ban all travel, but to eliminate transmission of the disease across community boundaries.

This afternoon, the CDC announced that reports indicate The Fever is spreading rapidly and appears to be uncontainable. Officials are pleading with residents to remain indoors and limit their risk of exposure as much as possible. CDC spokesperson, Ann Trankin, said that early stages of the infection cannot be detected and that the only sure method of avoiding the disease is to avoid any and all contact with others. She estimated that the country may be facing millions of active infections at present. The organization also released new guidelines today telling residents to avoid all contact with animals, including pets.

PETA decried the new rules, saying that many pets live indoors and should have the same protections as their owners.

White House officials confirmed that the president and vice president have been moved to separate, secure locations where they will remain indefinitely. Officials also sought to downplay speculation that either man had been exposed to The Fever, saying that all persons in the presidential details were thoroughly tested and none showed any sign of infection.

On another front, the White House moved quickly to quell rumors that the virus had been manufactured by a government or terrorist organization. A statement issued this afternoon stresses that the stories are irresponsible, unfounded, and serve only to increase tensions around the world. Interim Chief of Staff, Dorothy Ortiz, said the president had taken personal offense to those suggesting that the disease may have escaped from a U.S. military facility or secret biological weapons program. Ortiz indicated that governments around the world were working diligently to defeat the virus.

The newscaster paused to catch her breath. The disc jockey evidently thought her segment at an end. The station apparently only had two DJs, or at least, only two had been allowed to travel. Right or wrong, radio voices had always fostered images in my mind to go along with the personality. Night brought out a man who made me think of ascots, Clark Gable mustaches, and smoking jackets. He filled the darkness with soothing strains that blended greats from every style and genre music had to offer. Glen Miller might front for Ella Fitzgerald. Louis Armstrong might slide in after the Carpenters. He blithely ignored lines that would anger a purist, and blended both ages and eras without worry as to who might be offended. Morning hours, oddly enough, put the doper at the wheel. Flick the switch on the radio and it might blast out Jimi Hendrix, coast along with Mama Cass, or venture along kaleidoscopic highways with Janis Joplin.

At least the tune-spinners seemed to get time off. The woman was the only news announcer I’d heard on the station.

Wow, Christine, it just gets worse and worse, the man said in his smooth, unhurried voice.

Oh, I’m not through, Martin. Hang on. You’re not going to believe this next segment.

More than a dozen residents in Opelika, Alabama last night reported, get this, troll-like creatures roaming the woods. They were described as eight to ten feet tall, greenish-brown in color, hairless and exceedingly ugly. 911 callers reported seeing them on multiple occasions, usually around wooded areas. The creatures were said to carry clubs and, in some cases, rough stone axes.

Two people are missing in the area. Police spokesperson, Evan Andrews, said in a news conference that the city would not be, quote, arresting trolls, fairies, or any other mythical beasts, pointing out that nearby Auburn had more than a hundred cases of the Fever. He went on to note that residents reporting such nonsense might be infected and should be avoided.

The AP released a story today indicating that the quickly evolving virus has claimed more victims from the new symptoms associated with heightened aggression. A patient in Milwaukee set fire to a hospital last night, killing himself and as many as forty others in what local authorities are describing as the worst murder-suicide event in the state’s history. Officials said that the man had been restrained after screaming about small demons slipping into his room and telling him they couldn’t wait to eat his dead body. How he escaped his restraints is not known.

And finally, on a personal note, several callers have asked how we are able to stay on the air. WKLE released a statement today pointing out that, for now, we are considered part of the essential communication infrastructure.

Her voice lost its official tone and dropped into a conversational mode. That means we’re escorted to work, stay here for sixteen-hour shifts, and then are escorted home. Trust me. We’re not driving around with the music blaring and the windows down.

Static hissed for a second before Linda Ronstadt started feeling bad on her way down to Blue Bayou. Martin had chosen a good one, but I had little desire to slide along the musical meanderings with him. I beat Elsie to the off switch, rendering an abrupt silence in the room.

It’s the damned Chinese, Devon said hoarsely.

Denise, her ponytail back in place, turned abruptly, smacking Joshua across his face with the tightly bound tress.

What are you talking about? she demanded.

He climbed to his feet, his thin features hard and angry. Muscles in his jaw quivered, pulsing like an extra heartbeat.

You heard them. China has almost no infections. Explain to me how one-fifth of the world’s population gets to slide by when everyone else is dying, he shouted. They made the friggin’ thing and gave their own people the antidote. That’s how.

The girl rolled her eyes.

That’s just crazy. No government would do that. It would be stupid to create a disease capable of evolving, she retorted. Otherwise all the vaccines in the world wouldn’t do them any good. By the way, an antidote is for poison. Vaccine is for disease.

The man looked barely able to contain his anorexic anger. You’re calling me crazy? How much clearer does it have to be? They’re not dying. If they didn’t do it, who did?

Joshua leaned over to look at his friend, still wiping at the eye that had borne the brunt of the ponytail assault. That’s all we need--a war on top of a pandemic.

Elsie shook her head. I caught the movement out of the corner of one eye and glanced in her direction. The expression on her face squatted somewhere between incredulous and dismissive.

It ain’t the Chinese.

Devon looked hard at her. How do you know?

She frowned. Settle down, boy. They may be able to make a disease, but not little demon-critters like Hill William seen. No, it’s all tied together somehow.

He wanted to argue. I didn’t blame him. Nothing about the Fever seemed natural. Riding on top of the peculiar list were two items that seemed at odds with each other. Diseases that killed rapidly usually burned themselves out in a relatively short period of time. Quarantine measures had proven extremely successful at stamping out such infections using logic that worked for firefighters and doctors alike. The virus needed a constant supply of new hosts. Break the chain of infection and it died just like a wildfire severed from its source of fuel.

Diseases that killed slower often proved more successful in the wild. Ebola and AIDS highlighted the difference perfectly. The first