The Pandemic Sequence (Book 1): The Tilian Virus Read Online Free Page A
Author: Tom Calen
Tags: Survival, Zombies, apocalypse, Living Dead, Apocalyptic, Plague, walking dead, outbreak
Most airlines were showing cancellations across the board. The earliest flight was at 4:25 that afternoon.
“Okay, I just booked a flight up for this afternoon. I’ll be at work until 3:00, so you can reach me on my cell until then, and I’ll call you when I get to the airport. Keep me posted.”
As Mike prepared to head into work, the anxiety he felt for his family had turned his stomach sour. Forcing himself to eat, he grabbed a bagel from the bag on the counter and got in his truck.
* * *
The cafeteria crew was serving breakfast to the hundred or so students that were in attendance. Mike, along with seven other teachers, divided up class lists of the teachers not present and headed to their respective rooms as Mrs. Holigan announced the room changes over the PA system.
As the students in his room passed around a sign-in sheet, Mike noticed that it was not just a few hundred students absent that day. The teenage energy that filled the halls on a typical school day was also missing, replaced by a somber unease. Soon, conversations of the illness dotted the room. Students began discussing who they knew that had fallen ill. They compared the text messages they had received through the night from friends and family. Several students found themselves crying in the arms of their peers, fearing what might become of their loved ones.
Mike understood that hours of this type of speculation was not going to be healthy. He turned the old classroom television to the local news channel. Though the picture was fuzzy, the students started to cut off their conversations and watch.
The estimates had grown since the night before, with the World Health Organization now putting the number of infected at approximately twenty-three percent of the global population. The scale of the outbreak was unprecedented. Minutes later the broadcast was interrupted by a breaking news alert; the image of the presidential seal filled the screen. As the emblem faded, it was replaced by the image of the Vice-President standing behind the podium in the White House Press Briefing Room.
Good morning.
My fellow Americans, today is a day of struggle and uncertainty. Early this morning, President Obama was taken to Georgetown University Hospital with what appears to be symptoms of the recently discovered Tilian Virus. Before leaving, the President invoked the 25th Amendment of the United States Constitution, temporarily passing executive powers to me until he is able to return to office .
Mike was stunned. As a history major, he knew that the 25th amendment had never before been invoked. Even when Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, he passed his powers to his vice-president yet did not actually invoke the 25th.
It is with grave respect that I accept this temporary role to maintain the safety and security of our democracy, the Vice-President continued. This flu outbreak has shown how we truly are a global community. Doctors and scientists from around the world are working in a concerted effort to address the needs of those fallen ill and to rapidly develop a vaccine to prevent further infection. I have directed the Center for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services to make this their top priority.
In a minute, Regina Benjamin, the Surgeon General, will provide the most recent information regarding the Tilian Virus.
I ask, in what seems like a dark time, that we remain resilient in the face of adversity, as have generations of Americans before us. Thank you. May God bless you and may God bless America.
As the Vice-President, now Acting-President, stepped aside, an African-American woman in what looked to be her mid-fifties and dressed in a military uniform, began to speak. Mike was unable to focus as he digested what had just been announced. By invoking the 25th, the president had made history, but it also made Mike understand that the severity of this flu, this Tilian Virus, must be greater
“Okay, I just booked a flight up for this afternoon. I’ll be at work until 3:00, so you can reach me on my cell until then, and I’ll call you when I get to the airport. Keep me posted.”
As Mike prepared to head into work, the anxiety he felt for his family had turned his stomach sour. Forcing himself to eat, he grabbed a bagel from the bag on the counter and got in his truck.
* * *
The cafeteria crew was serving breakfast to the hundred or so students that were in attendance. Mike, along with seven other teachers, divided up class lists of the teachers not present and headed to their respective rooms as Mrs. Holigan announced the room changes over the PA system.
As the students in his room passed around a sign-in sheet, Mike noticed that it was not just a few hundred students absent that day. The teenage energy that filled the halls on a typical school day was also missing, replaced by a somber unease. Soon, conversations of the illness dotted the room. Students began discussing who they knew that had fallen ill. They compared the text messages they had received through the night from friends and family. Several students found themselves crying in the arms of their peers, fearing what might become of their loved ones.
Mike understood that hours of this type of speculation was not going to be healthy. He turned the old classroom television to the local news channel. Though the picture was fuzzy, the students started to cut off their conversations and watch.
The estimates had grown since the night before, with the World Health Organization now putting the number of infected at approximately twenty-three percent of the global population. The scale of the outbreak was unprecedented. Minutes later the broadcast was interrupted by a breaking news alert; the image of the presidential seal filled the screen. As the emblem faded, it was replaced by the image of the Vice-President standing behind the podium in the White House Press Briefing Room.
Good morning.
My fellow Americans, today is a day of struggle and uncertainty. Early this morning, President Obama was taken to Georgetown University Hospital with what appears to be symptoms of the recently discovered Tilian Virus. Before leaving, the President invoked the 25th Amendment of the United States Constitution, temporarily passing executive powers to me until he is able to return to office .
Mike was stunned. As a history major, he knew that the 25th amendment had never before been invoked. Even when Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, he passed his powers to his vice-president yet did not actually invoke the 25th.
It is with grave respect that I accept this temporary role to maintain the safety and security of our democracy, the Vice-President continued. This flu outbreak has shown how we truly are a global community. Doctors and scientists from around the world are working in a concerted effort to address the needs of those fallen ill and to rapidly develop a vaccine to prevent further infection. I have directed the Center for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services to make this their top priority.
In a minute, Regina Benjamin, the Surgeon General, will provide the most recent information regarding the Tilian Virus.
I ask, in what seems like a dark time, that we remain resilient in the face of adversity, as have generations of Americans before us. Thank you. May God bless you and may God bless America.
As the Vice-President, now Acting-President, stepped aside, an African-American woman in what looked to be her mid-fifties and dressed in a military uniform, began to speak. Mike was unable to focus as he digested what had just been announced. By invoking the 25th, the president had made history, but it also made Mike understand that the severity of this flu, this Tilian Virus, must be greater
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