Twenty

By David Osborne

COVID-19 is real. Twenty is an imagined outbreak that could be unleashed on the Earth’s population. We could even be at threat from otherworldly contamination. Labs exist for research everywhere, mostly driven by greed, which is a basal instinct of human nature.

There are some who believe the COVID-19 epidemic was wrought on civilization either by intentional or accidental release from a laboratory funded in most part by the United States in Wuhan, China. The ensuing ineptitude of all parties involved should convince someone their safety is most definitely at risk from future disease mutations and creation in the incubator the global population provides. Trust in governments, drug companies, and major corporations to ensure your ultimate protection is doubtful at the very best. This novel portrays one of the possible scenarios that could happen. All you need is to turn the first and the journey thereafter will hook and lead you to the explosive finish.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Sep 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638290483

Book preview

About the Author

David Osborne currently resides in Middlesboro, Kentucky with his lovely wife, Marilou, and beloved dog, Casper, who has a starring role in this book. Mr. Osborne is a graduate of the University of Kentucky as an electrical engineer and has been employed as such most of his career. He always thought he could write a novel but never followed through until now. Being born in South-eastern Kentucky, he is intimately familiar with its history and beauty. Ultimately a relocation to Hilton Head is planned with intentions to write more novels and children’s books about Casper.

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to the following: my loving wife, Marilou, my two sons, Matthew and Benjamin, and my step-son, Brooks. To my loving parents John and Betty who have gone on to be with the Lord. All of my family and friends who have lived and put up with me all their lives.

Copyright Information ©

David Osborne 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Osborne, David

Twenty

ISBN 9781638290452 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781638290469 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781638290483 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9781638290476 (Audiobook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022915088

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Prologue

COVID-19 has inflicted a massive death toll on the United States and it appears there is no nullifying that onslaught in the near future. Government funds have been thrown at the major pharmaceutical companies to find a cure. There is a state of fear for most people in even completing their daily tasks. The rest are resolute in their freedom of choice and live their daily lives in as much ease as possible without government mandated restrictions. The pandemic has roots in China and theories around that it began in an accident in one of their germ warfare development facilities. Governments are at conflict with each other, with most blaming China for causing the pandemic and allowing the spread worldwide. There is a sense of desperation as never felt since World War II. The presidential election is in progress and both parties are playing the disarray on each other and stymieing any kind of recovery that the people so desperately need.

Paranoia by society is driven to rabid levels by information blared by liberal national news media blaming the party in control with mishandling management of the whole situation. One doctor claims a cure based on alien visitor spores. It goes on and on. The economy has tanked and ensuing damage to the entertainment and dining industry seems catastrophic and irreversible. Availability of food and basic supplies is scarce and what is available is suspect for virus free assurances. Even grocery shopping is forever changing to a curbside pick-up operation. Businesses are realizing that they can operate for shorter hours with less personnel and make the same profit, causing further unemployment and shopper inconveniences. Face masks have become a mandated lifestyle change. Vacation plans have been stymied and life is plunging to new levels of depravity.

And so, this most believable story begins…

Chapter 1

Bright, colorful leaves fall outside Harlan Denny’s window in Harvard’s medical school complex. It is a truly beautiful setting as he sits and enjoys the view on this fall morning and watches the leaves fall. He sees the picture in his mind of his wife Grace as they walked through the trees on that fall day years ago and find a pile of colorful leaves. He gently lays Grace down on the leaves with the light filtering through the trees and joins her for a lustful afternoon nap. This visage has stuck with him just lying under the surface of normal thought throughout their married years. Those years have been full of love and faithful companionship. No children but a great life.

As a child, Harlan only and always dreamed of being a pilot in the US Air Force and moving on to be a jet pilot for a major airline. Very often, parents only want the culminating greatness of a college education for their children. Coming from a long lineage of physicians and medical researchers, Harlan was shoehorned into a medical education. He is Dean of Medicine and has had an illustrious career; first as a brain surgeon, then president of the AMA, and now this comfortable position. Grace is supervisor of nursing at Boston General Hospital. They first met while he was in his Surgical Residency at the hospital and she was a young nurse.

Harlan had a deep-seated desire of making great contributions and finding new methods in his field. Grace was enamored with the drive to help sick and damaged people in any way she could. She fell head over heels in love with him, and he was slow to admit it, but his love for her grew just as strong. One fine day, he proposed to her over the operating table with cheers from co-workers and champagne toasts. After a brief but passionate engagement, they whisked away to Spain for a month-long honeymoon. They toured the country by automobile, stopping at most of the towns and villages and enjoying the people and their lifestyles. Their life is more than he ever hoped for and they now live in the most upscale neighborhood in the city. Their lives are structured around professional affiliations and church involvement. If life could be more enjoyable and fulfilling, he could not imagine how.

Looking at the falling leaves, Harlan realizes that they are like lives lost in the COVID pandemic. Preparing for incoming students, that are not likely