The Armageddon Virus

By Richard Jodoin

The United States is attacked with a biological weapon by the rogue state of Iraq. The virus that is unleashed quickly spreads around the world. Can the government of the United States continue to function amid such devastation to its population? Is the societal fabric of the country about to be broken. The fight for survival is on. Who will survive the armageddon virus?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Jodoin
• Release date: May 3, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452466606

Richard Jodoin

Richard grew up in Apple Valley, California and moved to Iowa in 1995. Richard has two Masters Degrees in History and Public Administration. He currently resides in West Des Moines, Iowa with his girlfriend and soulmate, Robin.

Book preview

Sean could feel the sweat dripping off the end of his nose as he jammed the tire iron by where the lock was in the door frame. Taking a deep breath he pressed all his weight against the tire iron. He heard the wood around the lock snap and break with what seemed like a lot more noise than he was expecting. He hesitatingly pulled open the door and listened. Not hearing anything he took a few tentative steps inside and pulled the door shut behind him as well as the broken door frame would allow.

As he waited for a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the warehouse Sean wondered how his life had come down to this. Breaking into a warehouse to steal food and fuel from a gang of thieves that had refused to sell him any of their stockpile just an hour before because apparently the only thing he had that was of value to them was his wife, Danielle. Sean had been aghast when the leader of the gang had suggested that they might be able to part with the food and fuel they needed if Dani would spend a few hours with them. Furiously Sean had refused and then found himself being hustled out of the warehouse complex at gunpoint by the other members of the gang after hearing the leader calmly announce: I guess we don’t have a deal then, goodbye.

Sean and Dani had gotten in their car and driven off. After going just a couple of blocks Sean, still seething with anger, made a left turn and then another.

Where are you going, asked Dani

To the back of that warehouse to see if there is another way in, said Sean in a sharper tone than he had intended. Those bastards have the nerve to ask for you in exchange for some food and fuel that they stole anyway. We will just see about that.

Sean, lets just go, said Dani with a nervous quiver in her voice.

Where? We are almost out of gas, Sean said.

I don’t know. This just seems crazy.

Ever since the virus hit the whole world has gone crazy. Especially here in Dallas. This whole city has just gone insane. We have to get out of this city Dani. And the only way to do that is to get this gas tank full and get some food. No restaurants or stores remember? No gas stations either. You heard those people who told us about the warehouse. This gang controls all of the supplies in the area extending out fifty miles. We will run out of gas in about twenty miles Dani. We have to do this, said Sean as he reached over and wiped the tear streaming down her cheek.

The back door to the warehouse was where Sean was now and with his eyes adjusted to the gloom inside the warehouse he started to examine the crates that were piled around him. The first crate he opened contained a variety of guns with the ammo clips for each pistol or rifle stacked next to the appropriate weapon. Not being what Sean was looking for he left the crate open and went down a little aisle between crates until he got to the next stack that was at a level where he could open the crate sitting on top. Using the tire iron he pried the lid up and was once again disappointed to find lawn chairs in this crate.

It wasn’t until he got to the twenty-second crate that Sean almost shouted with glee as he saw this one contained military MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat). He started to stuff them into the knapsack that he had brought along when suddenly:

CLICK. The noise was so loud that Sean felt like he jumped two feet into the air.

Hey asshole, said the leader of the gang that Sean had talked to about an hour before. I thought I told you that we had no deal, he calmly stated. Sean looked up at him and saw that he held a huge shotgun that was pointed directly at him.

Listen man. We just need a little food and gas and we’ll be on our way. You won’t even miss the little bit that we take out of all the stuff that you have in here, Sean said as he waved his arm gesturing into the vastness of the warehouse they were standing in the middle of.

Sorry dickweed. I told you no pussy then no goods. Now I have to kill you, he said as he raised the rifle and:

BANG. Sean saw a flash come from his right and then almost instantly saw the gang leaders face explode as a bullet struck him right between the eyes. As the body crumpled to the floor Sean turned to his right to see Dani standing there holding some type of handgun with both hands. Hands that began to shake uncontrollably.

Thanks Dani, said Sean as he quickly started stuffing the food into the knapsack again.

Oh my God, what have I done, screamed Dani as her whole body seemed to convulse and she quickly leaned over and threw up.

Come on, said Sean as he slung the now full knapsack over his shoulder. He headed towards Dani who had dropped to her knees as her body convulsed in something that resembled a seizure.

It’s okay baby, said Sean as he reached her. But you have got to pull yourself together because we need to get out of here now before the rest of them find us.

As Sean was speaking they could hear doors opening and loud voices yelling out and seemingly starting to move closer to where they were.

C’mon Dani, Sean whispered loudly while pointing to a spot right on the path they would take to get out. And grab a couple of those gas cans while I carry this food. Hurry

Dani seemed to snap out of whatever was happening to her and got up and after grabbing the gun started toward the gas cans. Sean went back to the knapsack and struggled to pick it up with all the MRE’s that he had crammed inside of it. Dani had reached the gas cans and somehow managed to latch onto three of the five gallon cans and started heading toward the door they had come in. Sean felt some of the MRE’s falling out of the bag but he wasn’t about to stop moving. He quickly followed behind his wife as they made their way out of the warehouse and back to their car. They threw their loot into the back seat and quickly sped off. No one had seen them yet or come out the back door of the warehouse.

After driving for about a mile Sean pulled the car over to the curb. He pulled the now crying and screaming Dani into his arms.

It’s okay honey. You saved my life, he told her as he held her close and stroked her golden blonde hair.

I killed someone, sobbed Dani. After all the death we have seen from the virus and I just kill. . .kill. . .killed someone, she stuttered out. Her whole body began to shake from the sobbing and despair that she was feeling at the moment.

Sean started to cry along with his wife. It was all just to much to handle. Their lives had been turned upside down by the virus that as of the last report that they heard was killing ten million people a day across the country. It had turned the city of Dallas into nothing short of a desolate war zone. A killing field for those who were not succumbing to the virus. It was evident to both Sean and Dani that over half of the population of Dallas was dead from the virus and that if they wanted to live they needed to get out. But with no businesses in operation anymore this had proved more difficult then they could have ever imagined. And now this.

He didn’t know how Dani would be after this. As he looked at the eyes of the woman he loved Sean noticed that those playful sparkling blue eyes looked different now. As Dani started to get control of herself and wiped the tears away Sean now saw a certain coldness creeping into those beautiful eyes. At the same moment Sean could feel a change within himself. His wife had just killed a man in cold blood. He could feel a certain emptiness and that weird feeling that one gets in the pit of the stomach when suffering a true scare. Sean knew that he was really frightened but not just for their lives. Rather, Sean realized that he was frightened for their relationship. Could anything be the same again after this?

Sean watched in stunned silence as Dani broke away from his embrace, wiped away a final tear, and grabbed one of the gas cans out of the back seat. She got out of the car with the gas can and went around the back of their Toyota Corolla, undid the gas cap and started to pour the gas in. Sean just watched her in the side mirror until she was done. Dani threw the gas can off to the side of the road as she got back in the car. Sean looked at her still unable to speak.

Lets go Sean. I want to get the hell out of this city.

Sean just nodded dumbly as he turned the key in the ignition and put the car in drive and started down the road out of the city.

Chapter 1 The Sword of Allah

Mohammed Alturah put down on his desk the file he was reading, leaned back in his chair and smiled. He didn't get to smile often, and Mohammed found himself savoring the moment.

He saw the final rounds approaching in the long fight against the great Satan, America. Now to the surprise of everyone who knew about the plan, which was a very small circle, Alturah was ready to initiate the plan which would apply a death blow to America.

To think it all began more than twenty-five years ago with the invasion of Kuwait by his predecessor Saddam Hussein . A perfectly executed attack, if not for the intrusion of the United States and that insufferable George Bush. The United States insisted on intruding, spoiling the plans of that lunatic, Saddam. Yet, the great Satan still bore responsibility for his country’s suffering that continued even today.

Mohammed reflected on the misery continually heaped upon his country, of which, ironically, the United States had been instrumental in assisting him in becoming the supreme leader. This did nothing to alleviate the feeling for revenge that Alturah was determined to obtain at any cost. After the debacle of Kuwait, the first humiliation to come to Saddam and his country came at the hands of the American Army and their Allies. Nevertheless, the defeat of the Iraqi Army hardly came as a surprise to Mohammed. There had never been a doubt in Mohammed’s mind that the Americans were a superior force. At the time he'd been extremely upset that Saddam did not have nuclear weapons ready for use against the great hordes of hell bent on destroying Iraq. Now he could clearly see that it was a good thing that Saddam didn't have the special weapons. Now Mohammed understood that Allah was again watching out for him and leading him down a path to greater glory and providing for him the way to become the leader of Iraq.

If the armies of the great Satan could have delayed another four or five months in their attack - then Allah would have blessed Saddam with the nuclear weapons to use in the struggle. And the records that Mohammed had examined since coming to power gave every indication that Saddam would have used the destructive power against his foes. It would not have mattered that the war was so very close to his country. Saddam would have eliminated the Israeli State with one powerful blow. However, Mohammed could see now the Allied powers would have returned the favor, and Iraq would not have been around to enjoy the victory over Israel. The wisdom of Allah provided for Saddam at that time just as it had always shown Mohammed the way. The appearances of what seemed like defeats, were simply hills in the way of victory.

Of course, Mohammed thought, now there is no need to complete the development of nuclear weapons. The humiliating U.N. inspections inflicted on his country after being forced out of Kuwait had put an end to that dream. And things had only gone downhill for Saddam from there. The event known as 9/11 brought an end to the reign of Saddam Hussain. It almost brought about the end of the Iraqi State as a whole.

Still, even as things were looking really grim, Allah again showed the way over the mountain to Mohammed. After many years the Iraqi people became much more connected to their faith allowing the Sunni minority to once again rise to power after the United States had finally gotten most of their combat troops out of the country. It seemed that the only answer to the ever present threat posed by the Shia dominated Iran was to bring back Sunni rule. And Mohammed was more than up to the challenge. Strangely enough it was with the help of the Americans that he was able to re-establish firm Sunni rule. More importantly, Mohammed was able to restart a secret small biological weapons program that was geared toward a very specific goal. Biological weapons proved easy to hide from the still present inspectors and remaining American military forces, moving them temporarily to avoid discovery.

The pressure he applied to the international community and the U.N. with the pictures and reports of the starving and dying children in his country did great things for his cause. During a critical stage in late 2013, Mohammed managed to finally force the removal of all remaining U.S. troops and stop the U.N. inspections completely for five critical months. At that time, his scientists had said crucial human trials needed to be performed. Of course the experiments also reduced the prison population by around 250 to 300 people during the ninety-day trials.

The construction of Mohammed’s secret weapon, a biological virus was now complete. The assembling of all the pieces of the complex puzzle had begun. Now, Mohammed thought, his scientists and operatives were inserting the final pieces of the puzzle in their proper places. He leaned forward in his chair, staring at his personal computer screen. The screen displayed an e-mail message waiting to be sent. The message consisted of just one line. Mohammed reviewed the line again to make sure he’d typed it in correctly according to the established code. This one message he wasn’t going to delegate to any staff or assistant. Mohammed was anxious to finally get the revenge that was due him and his country. This vengeance would be so sweet that tonight he would go to a mosque to pray and give thanks to Allah, something he hadn't done in years. As he hit the enter key to send the message, Mohammed thought about how ironic it was that the United States which was responsible primarily for his rise to power would be the first to feel the effects of that power as he was prepared to repay them for the humiliation and abject terror that they had inflicted on Iraq in the name of fighting terrorism. While grateful that the lunatic Saddam was out of the way and that the course to power had been provided to him by Allah, Mohammed was still consumed by the extreme anger and hatred that he felt towards the United States for the unwarranted destruction that Bush the Second had brought to his beloved Iraq. For what, Mohammed always asked himself? Iraq had nothing to do with that fool Bin Laden and the 9/11 plot. It had been sheer arrogance and abject hatred that had provoked Bush the Second into attacking Iraq. The United States would now find out that when it came to holding onto hatred, that Mohammed was more than a match for these infidels. There could be no redemption for the United States, only total destruction could be in the future of the Great Satan. He was sure that his namesake, the prophet Mohammed, would have wanted him to destroy America. With this strong conviction behind him Mohammed realized he had a lot to be thankful for. He watched until the computer indicated that the one line communication had been sent to its electronic mailbox:

Initiate The Sword of Allah

The final stage was now beginning.

Chapter 2 Construction of The Armageddon Virus

Late 2013

Salem Achmed rubbed the fog from his faceplate so he could see more clearly. He hated wearing what could only be considered a space suit. The damn thing was so heavy and bulky. Nevertheless, since he did not feel like dying just yet, Salem found a way to tolerate the discomfort. Renewing his concentration on making sure the light brown powder he was working with did not spill, Salem poured it into the test dispersant container. When he was through with the transfer, he carefully sealed the container. He then dropped the deadly package into the nearby tub of disinfectant. The procedure was to make sure the other members of the staff could safely handle it, albeit very cautiously, and take it out of the level four biocontainment labs to the other levels of the lab for further testing.

Of course, Salem would not touch the container outside the level four area as he was too valuable to take that kind of risk. The disinfectant he applied, in theory, helped to ensure the safety of those who would be handling the dispersion device during the future testing.

Salem felt proud today. This afternoon the final stage of testing was going to begin on his creation. In spite of his excitement about the trials, Salem felt bad about this final stage of testing. Who wouldn’t feel bad about testing on humans? Salem salved his conscience by concentrating on the people participating in the final stage of testing. The subjects were some of the worst criminals taken from the prisons in Iraq. He did not believe anyone would miss these men, as they’d all been condemned to die anyway. Salem requested a few women be included in the testing, but none had been provided. It was really okay with Salem, though, as he did get a bit of a queasy feeling about women being involved. Besides, the reaction to the virus should not be different between genders.

He pulled the container out of the disinfectant, setting it inside another larger container that he would deposit into the equipment airlock to be picked up and taken to the test area. Salem, as he’d done hundreds of times before, contemplated his creation and the years it’d taken to get to this stage. What a tremendous feat of genetic engineering he’d accomplished. When the special weapons division of the Iraqi military asked him to take different viruses, and link three together as one, Salem had proved to be equal to the challenge. As testing had thus far shown, none of the viruses seemed compromised by the others. Salem knew a great deal of discussion took place before his being instructed about what viruses to merge into one. After years of work, he’d finally succeeded.

Salem thought how ingenious the creation was. The initial planning had focused on the Ebola virus. While finding the most deadly strain (Ebola Zaire) proved easy; the real problem for the scientists was to make the virus airborne. Therefore, the rhino virus was added to the mix. Then Salem decided the new plague needed something extra to boost the effective kill rate of the virus above the 90 percent achieved by the Ebola and the rhino virus combination. The introduction of the smallpox virus was the final addition to his genetically engineered masterpiece. For reasons unknown to Salem, the Ebola and smallpox virus did not fight each other, instead, they seemed to coexist well, without affecting the rhino virus. Of course this was the greatest thing about the common cold: it seemed able to exist anywhere and with anything while still being effective in infecting humans.

Having worked long and hard to link the three viruses together so wherever the rhino virus went, the Ebola and smallpox viruses would go also. Salem also worked on the aerobiology (dispersant systems for biological and chemical weapons) aspect to enable his newly created virus useable in an attack. This final step in making his creation a reality in warfare proved the most difficult.

The key came one morning when after working most of the night, Salem woke up to the sun shining through his window. He had been so tired when he had gotten back to his apartment that he had forgotten to close the blind. The sunlight revealed a column of dust, floating through the air in the morning sunlight. When Salem got to the lab, he started testing dust to see if a dust column could carry his genetically engineered virus. It’d taken several weeks, but Salem discovered each particle of dust could carry about one thousand particles of the new virus. In subsequent testing on monkeys, he discovered it only took a couple particles of the dust to infect one monkey. One infected, a monkey could infect any other monkeys that were breathing the same air.

So far, the testing had resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 monkeys, under all sorts of environmental and ecological conditions. The testing proved that the virus was airborne. Salem also confirmed that the virus was just as potent of a killer in its tenth generation of airborne infection as the first generation.

Salem stepped into the disinfectant spray in the decontamination airlock connected to the level four biocontainment labs. He reviewed some of the reports provided to him on virus penetration of a ten-generation virus targeting a human population.

The report’s had been obtained from the Soviet Union during the collapse of the famed Russian Army. These reports broke down what could be expected from all manners of biological attacks. The Iraqi government had obtained the reports more than two years before Salem found the need to review them. It wasn’t until after he created what they dubbed the `Sword of Allah’ virus that Salem sought out this extensive research on biological warfare. When Salem finally read the deadly projections, he found them impressive. According to the Russian research, one critical factor which would improve the penetration of the `Sword of Allah’ virus, was the time between infection and the onset of severe symptoms. So far, the monkey testing revealed this period to be approximately six to ten days. A monkey became contagious twenty-six to forty-eight hours after initial infection. The data suggested each infected human should have approximately five days of being relatively symptom free to spread the virus. After five days, the symptoms would be so debilitating that further spreading of the virus by the infected person would be reduced to a minimum. Salem searched for the right report to confirm his findings. All the tested factors concurred with the following report on population penetration of a ten-generation virus:

The generation time line heavily affected the population infected by each generation of the virus. Salem read the supporting documentation:

Salem found the figures impressive and felt relieved that he could use the Russian’s data. All the years he’d already spent developing the virus proved more than enough work for him without the added burden of projecting results. Salem glanced quickly over a reference to children when reading another report because he really didn't like to think about it. However, he did acknowledge that children as well as adults would die from his creation. Salem pushed the fact somewhere in the back of his mind and that’s where he chose to keep it.

Other factors considered during the development of the virus included estimates of how long the dust, once dispersed, would continue to be effective at infecting people. The problem with this testing is it could not be done in an actual outdoor environment for fear the virus would get loose in Iraq. Sending someone to another country was discarded. Iraq didn't want anyone to get a chance to develop a vaccine so the virus continued to be contained and studied within the research facility.

Salem felt the Ebola part of the genetically engineered virus was the weak link in the deadly dust. This seemed logical as