The Reaper Virus by Nathan Barnes Read Free Book Online Page B

issued a mayday minutes before
the crash. It is believed that the mayday was in reference to an
outbreak of the Reaper virus from within the cabin of the aircraft.
It is too early to ascertain how many may have been killed in this
tragedy.”
     
    All the pictures showed a city on fire. It
looked almost like a scene from any disaster movie. A silhouette of
what remained of downtown Louisville was backlit by a hellish
glow.
    Was this really happening?
     
    * * *
     
    0050 hours:
     
    The White House released a statement to all
major news outlets saying that the FAA had grounded all flights to prevent another Louisville from
happening. People were advised to stay indoors until the National
Guard could be mobilized in all metropolitan areas.
    Outside, people weren’t being quite as civil
as they were when I came in. There were fights breaking out all
over the place. I wouldn’t have been surprised if all the officers
had run out of OC pepper spray by sunrise. Phones had lit up, but
with escorts being completely shut down it could be worse. We had
plenty of people working, but I didn’t think patrol was as
fortunate. I was seeing officers from other shifts that never
worked midnights too, so things had to have gotten bad out in the
streets of Richmond.
    The hospital area went into total quarantine.
Richmond Ambulance was all over the city doing their best to treat
people on scene, but there were only so many people that were able
to help. Truth be told, we simply didn’t seem to have the manpower
for this pandemic.
    I needed to get a look outside. If there was
a chance I could get out, I was going now. Going in to work that
night was a bad idea, which I didn’t realize until that moment. I’d
have given anything to be home listening to Sarah lecture me about
her being right. Maybe it’s true that women are always right.
     
    * * *
     
    0100 hours:
     
    I stepped out front onto Grace Street to
assess any chance of getting home. The answer became abundantly
clear in the two minutes I was outside. In front of the 7-Eleven,
half a block away, five guys were in a nasty fight. Two of the guys
were covered in blood, one with a gaping wound on his right
forearm. I heard maybe half a dozen gunshots; didn’t see any muzzle
flashes, but they sounded close. Everyone around ducked in response
to the booms. The group fighting didn’t seem to take notice,
probably distracted by the knife the guy with the open wound was
waving around.
    There were a lot of people out, cars backed
up, and the air was thick with a palpable panic. Looking around, I
didn’t see anyone in uniform, and I felt like I had a target on my
back. It didn’t take any more convincing; I practically jumped back
inside. A magnetic door and bulletproof windows had never felt so
comforting.
    I didn’t have to explain the situation to my
coworkers. My expression must have said it all. Not to mention the
gunshots were plenty audible from within our brick tomb.
    My mind raced over everything it had seen. I
had to call Sarah immediately. That was all my brain could think to
do.
     
    * * *
     
    0127 hours:
     
    Moisture welled up in my eyes as I listened
to Sarah try and hide her own tears caused by what I was saying. I
know she was also angry because I hadn’t listened to her and I
wasn’t there with her, at that moment, doing my duty as a husband
and father. Of course, I didn’t tell her what I had just seen – I
even tried muffling the phone to cover up the sounds of gunshots
probably a block away. I don’t know if it worked, but she didn’t
ask about the background noise and I didn’t feel the need to alarm
my wife more than necessary.
    Craving a distraction from my situation, I
said, “Sweetheart, I need you to lock the door, turn off all
unnecessary lights, and pull the drapes. For all intents and
purposes, the house needs to look like it’s empty.”
    The reality was I had no idea what was going
on in the streets by our house, but I wasn’t taking chances.