The Pandemic Sequence (Book 1): The Tilian Virus Read Online Free Page B

than even the news was letting on. And why was the Surgeon General briefing the country and not the Secretary of Health and Human Services? Was it to put a military face to the situation, to show the government was still in control? Or was the Secretary unable to brief? As the questions multiplied in his head, Mike caught snippets of the briefing.
    Apparently, the virus had only targeted those with blood type O, both positive and negative. Due to a car accident in his youth, which required a transfusion, Mike knew he had A-positive blood type. Relief quickly spread over him as it seemed, at least according to the Surgeon General, that he was immune to the virus.
    The first sign of infection was the typical elevated fever, followed by nausea. More advanced cases were displaying hemorrhaging from the ears and nose, hives over the body, and ruptured blood vessels in the eyes. The Surgeon General stressed repeatedly that there were no reported cases of fatalities, and there was no indication of permanent damage once the flu ran its course.
    The briefing continued for another thirty minutes before returning to the local affiliates. The remaining time provided tips to prevent a spread (washing hands frequently, and the like), as well as phone numbers to call in case of a possible infection.
    As the morning wore on, the class continued to watch the news. Little information had changed since the White House briefing three hours ago. When the students returned to the cafeteria to eat lunch, Mike tried reaching his aunt. After several attempts resulted in no response, he headed in to join the students and perhaps grab something to eat. The cafeteria was subdued as the students quietly ate pork riblets or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Mike chose one of the latter and sat at a table with the other faculty members that made it in to work. The conversation among them was no different than the students’ own discussions.
    Lost in thought, Mike did not hear at first when one of the other second year teachers asked him if he had been able to reach his family. He told her what he had learned that morning about his mother, brother and niece. Using his Blackberry, he then checked to see that his afternoon flight was still scheduled. With the flight confirmed and lunch concluded, Mike walked back to his class with the students. Michelle Lafkin passed him in the hall and asked if she could spend the rest of the day in his room. Mike said it would be fine, but told her to make sure her other teacher knew she was switching rooms.
    Once again in the room, the class returned to its rapturous watching of the local news. Michelle came into the room and handed her history teacher a note. She then took a seat with her friends, Derrick Chancer and Jenni Calente. Before her mom left, forcing her father to downsize the family home, Michelle had been Jenni’s neighbor. Though Jenni was a year ahead, the two had remained friends through middle school and into high school.
    Jenni, one of the school’s star soccer players, came from a middle class family. Her father worked in the city at a mortgage company and her mother worked part time as a teacher’s aide at the elementary school. It was not a shock that her delicate features had attracted the attention of Derrick at the beginning of their freshman year. The two quickly paired off and had been dating ever since. Not wanting to be separated by graduation, both had applied and been accepted to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Jenni hoped to pursue a career in nursing, while Derrick was hoping his football scholarship would lead to a chance in the NFL.
    As time passed, the reports coming in from around the world increased the number of infected significantly. Twenty-three percent became twenty-eight, which was soon replaced with thirty-two. By 2:00 PM, the world’s leading health experts placed the number at forty-three percent of the world’s population with confirmed cases of the Tilian