Extermination Day by William Turnage Read Free Book Online

remember.
    “Congressman Madison, the attack is an airborne virus.” The president’s booming Southern Texas drawl came through clear on the video feed. “We believe it originated from the meteor cloud that Earth passed through earlier this evening. There doesn’t appear to be any terrorist group involved that we know of at this time. However, we’re speculating that the Chinese could have initiated the attack.”
    “The Chinese?  But why would they do this? Aren’t they killing their own people?”
    “General Rowan and I believe that they could be manipulating the Stream and the video feeds to show false information.”
    “So people aren’t really dying?  The videos are all fake?”  Jeff was shocked. He couldn’t believe that everything he just saw wasn’t real.
    “No, people are certainly dying, at least here in the U.S.”
    Paulson paused for a second, then continued, his voice shaky. “I haven’t seen anyone die with my own eyes, in person . . . ” 
    He paused again, then spoke more firmly. “We’re still gathering data. I don’t think that we can assume that everything is fake. There are too many of our people not responding. The logical scenario is that the videos from China or another one of the countries outside of the U.S. are fake, while those in the U.S. are real. But we can’t be sure.”
    “So those people in China are not dying. How is that possible? Have they been inoculated?”
    “That’s what we’re assuming, but nothing has been confirmed.”
    Jeff couldn’t believe that China would initiate such a horrendous attack. He knew that U.S. and Chinese relations had deteriorated over the last few years, especially after the U.S. had defaulted on all of the debt they owed, but would the Chinese really resort to killing everyone? And everyone in other countries as well, just to get back at the U.S.?
    “So what now?” Jeff asked.
    “We have to assume that this is a real attack. Based on conversations I’ve had with the CDC and NORAD, they tell me the virus is everywhere, saturating the air. No one is safe. The only large pockets of survivors are those in secure, isolated locations with their own independent air and water supplies. You can’t go outside without a specialized gas mask or you’ll be infected. We’re telling survivors to stay put until we find a way to destroy the virus and inoculate them. As for the elected government of the U.S., right now it appears to be only you and me left, and Secretary Farrow is here with me as well.  Everyone else is dead.”
    “My God, Mr. President, what are we going to do?” Jeff was unable to keep despair from his voice. Everyone was dying and the U.S. government had been wiped out. He had a sudden urge to throw up or to scream his rage into the strong walls of the cavern.
    “I suggest you pray, son. I’ll be in touch as I learn more from NORAD and what remains of our government and national defense. I’m also trying to contact any other governments still operating, see if they have answers. Stay safe, and God save us all, Congressman.”
    Jeff could hear chatter at the other end as President Paulson signed off. He quickly looked around and saw the work still continuing frantically on the dome and in the central control room. There was nothing for him to do here, so he got up and headed out to see if he could uncover information on Project Chronos. The two Secret Service agents followed him, mumbling to themselves about what they had just heard from Paulson.
    He knew the best place to find loose tongues was in the break room or cafeteria. He noticed Dr. Conner, looking agitated, sitting at his desk near the exit of the control room, and walked over to him.
    “Dr. Conner, I’m starved. Is there somewhere to get some something to eat?”
    “There’s a twenty-four-hour cafeteria in the building right beside this one. You can’t miss it.”
    Jeff headed out from the control room, glancing at Dr. Chen as he left. The man was so busy