Day Zero
Chapter 3

Day 8:

When Riley stepped off the plane at J.F.K airport he immediately noticed the man in a military uniform holding a sign with his name and Benjamin’s name scrawled on it in chicken scratch.

He paused and pointed out the man to Benjamin who eyed the man wearily.

“Looks like the plans changed” he muttered.

Riley nodded.

Benjamin motioned for Riley to follow him before he led the way to the man.

“I’m Dr. Benjamin Norwich and this is my colleague Dr. Riley Walker” Benjamin introduced.

“I’m Joseph. There has been a change in plan. We just received information that there was a report about a possible virus detected in the Boston area. We are moving the research to Seattle, Washington” the man said in a southern accent so strong that it was almost hard to understand him.

Riley looked at the man, he was tall and fit. His head was shaved and he was dressed impeccably in a uniform with polished buttons and shoes. He held his hat beneath one arm, the definition of a perfect solider.

“This is not a plan” Riley muttered to Benjamin.

“We have placed you both on the first flight to Seattle. It leaves in three hours. I will be accompanying you to Seattle from here” Joseph stated.

“I want to go to the bar” Benjamin announced.

Riley smiled. Benjamin was the definition of a true Irish man. To the rest of the world he was an alcoholic, but to the U.K he was just another Irish.

Joseph looked a little taken aback; it was 9:00 a.m. in the United States, but his lips quirked up. “I don’t see a problem with that”

“Are you going to hand us our boarding passes?” Riley asked.

“No” Joseph replied shortly as the three man began to walk towards the C terminal.

“Why not?”

“Because I like to hold the tickets- do you have a problem with that?” Joseph inquired.

“Not at all.” Benjamin replied.

∆∆∆

Abigail took the hand offered to her by Kingston and let him help her out of the helicopter that had just landed on the roof of the Infectious Disease Research Institute. He covered her shoulders with his arm and led her away from the helicopter before the stopping at the door way. “Good luck” he yelled at her before turning and running back to the helicopter.

Abigail waved to him before she followed the other members of WHO into the research institute. She descended the stairs slowly, on hand gripping the rail tightly and the other lugging her suitcase. Henry held the door open for her, always the southern gentleman she thought to herself as she slipped past him.

“Thank you” she replied as he closed the door and began to walk beside her.

He nodded in response “You’re welcome”

The trio was met by an Asian woman who looked to be in her mid to late fourties. She was dressed professionally in contrast to the trio who had departed from DC. Henry and Abigail had decided to follow James’s lead and ended up changing from their more professional attire into jeans. Abigail pushed her glasses further up her nose and attempted to straighten her wrinkled clothes. “Hello. My name is Yumi Sato, I am the director of IDRI, I’m glad you could join us. It’s an honor to get to meet Dr. Henry Suber” she said softly.

Henry shifted uncomfortably. Henry was modest when it came to his accomplishments in the medical field.

“Ms. Sato, I am glad to be working with you again,” Dr. Kennedy said with a smile as he shook her hand. “You already know Dr. Suber.”

Yumi nodded.

“I would like to introduce you to Doctors James Cassidy and Abigail McGee” Dr. Kennedy said motioning to the two younger members one at a time.

Abigail smiled and shook Yumi’s hand.

“Hello,” she greeted both members, although she seemed slightly taken aback by how young Abigail was.“I hate to rush you, especially after such a long trip, but we need to get you to the lecture hall” Yumi explained.

Abigail suppressed a sigh and grabbed her suitcase.

The research institute was a beautiful facility. The hallways were wide and lined with multiple windows and from what she could tell some of the state of the art equipment as she peeked into the hospital rooms that had their blinds open.

“The Surgeon General decided that this facility would be used as the ‘Head Quarters,’ if you will for the North American team. There will be eight of us, plus two more from Europe” Yumi explained as they walked down the hallway. They stopped before a meeting room and made their way inside.

Upon entering the room, Abigail noticed that there was a large rectangular table in the middle of the room.

Three chairs were occupied.

“Please, sit” Yumi said as she gestured to the large table.

Abigail sat in the closest chair and looked at the three people sitting across from her. A stern looking middle aged woman with thinning brown hair tied back in a bun so tight that it looked like she was trying a natural Botox. She was dressed in the khaki colored uniform of a woman in the military. Her uniform was decorated with various medals and ribbons, showing her rank and awards for her service in the military.

Next to the woman sat what looked like a recent medical school graduate. She looked around the room with wide dark eyes and her black hair was tied back in braid. She looked like she was from Central America. When Abigail made eye contact with her, she looked down quickly, a blush already staining her cheeks.

The third person was a man probably around James’ age. He looked like he could have been a Viking. A big red beard adorned his face while big hands were crossed over his chest as he leaned back in his chair balancing dangerously on two legs. Abigail couldn’t help but notice the tribal tattoos that barely peaked out from beneath his shirt sleeves. The man noticed her looking and winked at her. She gave him a slight smile back although her cheeks were heating up.

Yumi took the seat at the head of the table, indicating to Dr. Kenney to sit at the other end. James sat on one side of Abigail while Dr. Suber sat on the other. Yumi wasted no time before she walked to the whiteboard and began her lecture.

“We have a reported 105 cases of this outbreak from the middle east and so far 80 fatalities via attacks from the cases” she began as she wrote the numbers on the board.

“What happened to them?” Abigail inquired.

“They were mauled to death and some of them partially eaten. It looks like whatever this is could be something that leads to cannibalism” Yumi explained.

“Cannibalism? How do we know this is an epidemic and not a crazy cult, eh?” The Viking man inquired. Abigail quickly deduced he was from Canada.

“Because I saw the whole thing” the military woman stated meeting his gaze.

“According to Capitan Jackson, people were reported dead before coming back to life” Yumi stated.

“Are you serious?” James demanded looking at the military woman.

Yumi flipped through her notes before nodding.

“This sounds like something out of a horror movie” Abigail said.

“What do you mean?” Yumi asked.

“Like zombies or something like that” explained Abigail.

The people in the room exchanged glances, the Canadian-Viking man even let out a chuckle, but Henry gave her a knowing smile.

The woman across from Abigail gave her a disgusted look while the shy looking girl smiled slightly.

“This is why we shouldn’t hire kids” James muttered once again.

Abigail shot him a glare. “You need a new line”

“Then stop acting like a kid” James shot back.

“Has an autopsy been conducted?” Dr. Suber inquired taking the attention off of Abigail.

“It’s in progress. The last one ended in multiple fatalities before the infected could be subdued” Yumi explained.

Silent glances were exchanged.

“So far the infected show these behaviors” Yumi said as she began to write on the board.

“Anger, loss of speech, death with self-resuscitation, cannibalism, and something along the lines of not caring about lost limbs” Yumi said as she read the words out loud.

Abigail pushed her glasses back up her nose as she read the words on the board.

“Do we have any guesses as to what could have caused this?” Dr. Kennedy questioned.

“We know that it’s not airborne” Marian stated.

“That the incubation can last anywhere from 3-10 days, at least that is what the notes from Kabul said” Dr. Kennedy explained.

“It could be something neurological” Dr. Suber said.

Once again Yumi wrote on the white board.

“That’s the best place to start. If there are changes in mood, loss of speech, and paralysis. There is something neurological happening.” James said.

Yumi nodded. “We will start there”

Abigail looked over at the other three people in the room. “I’m Abigail” she finally said waving awkwardly at the other members.

The shy girl smiled slightly “Hello. I’m Fabiana” she said. Her voice was so soft that Abigail almost had trouble hearing it. “I am an animal behaviorist” she had a slight Spanish accent, like English was not her first language. She also spoke with a shy stutter.

She is one of those people who likes animals more than people Abigail thought to herself.

“I’m Capitan Marian Jackson” the stern woman stated.

The big Viking waved. “I’m Hunter. I’m a research associate” he introduced himself.

Abigail, James, Dr. Kennedy, and Henry introduced themselves.

“Looks like we need to get started, our colleagues from Europe will be here in a few hours” Yumi explained.