Rise of the Prepper: A Story of the Coming Collapse (8 page)

“Are you sure?” Kennedy, the former Speaker of the House and newly appointed Vice President, fretted.

“Yes. I have reports from reliable sources that she survived.” General McCrystal assured him for a second time.

“It would have been better if she died.” Kennedy said. He saw the look on the General’s face and shrugged. “What good would be waiting for a young girl like her out there? How is she supposed to fend for herself? She would have been better off instead if she died. Look, I have a lot of ambition, General, but that doesn’t mean I like getting children involved. It’s too bad that it happened the way it did.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Vice President, sir. She was nothing but collateral damage.”

Kennedy flinched. He rubbed his face. “What are we going to tell her?”

“What else—that her daughter died, of course.” General McCrystal said easily.

Kennedy closed his eyes. General McCrystal watched him from his place by the window. “Tell me, Mr. Vice President, why did you order me to poison the pilot? For what purpose did you want the girl to die?”

Kennedy slumped in his seat and heaved a heavy sigh. “To make Hillary weak.” He looked up at the General. “To take the seat of power from her.”

“And so you do.” General McCrystal moved away from the window and walked towards the double doors. “Focus on your goal. Do not let something as trivial as the life of a little girl lead you astray.”

*****

President Hillary White was gazing out the window of her huge office, hoping that the scenic view of the surrounding mountains could help calm her nerves. A knock came on the door. Without turning around, she called for her visitor to come in, fully expecting it to be the temporary secretary she got while her Chief of Staff, Sheila, had not yet arrived at the Mountain Weather Emergency Operations Center.

“Excuse me, Mrs. President.” A familiar voice said.

Hillary recognized the voice and turned around. It was her new Vice President. “Kennedy. Why are you here?”

Kennedy smiled and sat down in the seat in front of Hillary’s desk. “I just wanted to see how you are doing.”

Hillary shrugged. “Not exactly well. I have become nothing but a nervous bundle of nerves.” She said lightly.

Kennedy chuckled good-naturedly. “I have always admired that about you, Hillary. You were always so strong—so brave. Even if the world were to crumble down around you, you will remain resilient and most likely face your problems with a smile.”

Hillary laughed. “I must say that I’m not sure what I have done to deserve such high praise, Kennedy.”

“Rest assured that I do not say this merely to flatter you. I mean it with all my heart for it is nothing but the truth.”

“Thank you, Kennedy. I knew it was a good decision to appoint you as my new Vice President after Wilmer had died from the virus—God rest his soul.” Hillary finished solemnly.

“And for placing your trust in me, I have nothing but utmost gratitude but I’m afraid that you might change your mind about giving me this position after you hear the news I bring.” Kennedy said.

Hillary frowned. “What news?”

Kennedy took a deep breath and sighed. “We have received a message that your Chief of Staff, Sheila Adams had succumbed to the virus and have passed away this morning.”

Hillary gasped. Sheila was dead. The closest person she had to a friend was dead. Hillary was quite shaken by the news. After suffering the loss of her husband and subsequently losing her good friend Wilmer, the former Vice President, to the virus one after another, hearing that another person close to her had passed away from it filled her immense, debilitating grief. Hillary did not know what to say. She sat in her chair, shocked and unable to think clearly. She was so lost in the wave of emotions that filled her that she did not notice the curious twinkle in Kennedy’s eyes.

             
Yes
, Kennedy thought,
that’s it
. Kennedy knew that the two were friends. To hear about her close friend’s death just a few days after losing her husband and Vice President, Kennedy could only imagine the dreadful weight of the burden she was carrying personally and politically. Now that the enemy had been considerably weakened, it was time to deliver the finishing blow.

              Kennedy assumed a mournful appearance. Sorrow filled his face and tears misted in his eyes. “I’m afraid the bad news does not end there.” He said quietly.

              Hillary looked up at him in a daze. “What more could there be?” She asked weakly.

              “Your—” Kennedy seemed to struggle to say the words out loud. “Your daughter, Elizabeth—”

              Hillary sensed it before he even said it. She felt as if she knew what he was going to say but up until the last second that he finished uttering the words she most feared to hear, Hillary’s heart and mind desperately wanted them to be a lie.

              “The helicopter carrying her crashed. It seemed that the pilot had been infected by the virus but had been hiding it. He lost consciousness while they were in the air.” Kennedy said. “No one was reported to have survived. I’m sorry.”

              Hillary remained still in her seat. “You’re telling me my daughter’s dead?”

              Kennedy rightly remained silent, as any sympathetic person might do in an effort not compound the situation. Hillary remained motionless in her seat and Kennedy watched as the light faded from her eyes. It was as if her energy—her life—was being sucked out of her until she was nothing more than an empty shell of the person she used to be.

              Kennedy put his hands together in front of his face in a seemingly contemplative manner but was in reality hiding a grin, a grin that could only come from knowing that he had won the game.
Checkmate
.

              “I’m sorry but I suddenly feel unwell. I hope you don’t mind but I will have to ask you to leave now, Kennedy.” Hillary said.

              Kennedy inclined his head. “Of course.”

              Without saying anything more, Kennedy got up from his seat and walked quietly out of the room, closing the door on an image of Hillary staring listlessly out the window.

*****

Hillary had asked all her staff not to bother her for a while unless an urgent matter turned up that required her attention. She was still in her office, in the same state she was in when Kennedy left the room.

It was too much. What did she do to deserve this? She wanted nothing but the best for everyone. She tried to be the best president that she could be. She tried to be the best mother that she could be. So, why were everyone she’d ever cared for
dead
?

Just when she thought that she could no longer take any more tragedy, the phone rang. She told everyone that she would not be attending to any matters for the moment so she was sure that for them to disobey her order, it must surely be an extremely important matter.

Though unwilling, Hillary picked up the phone. “Yes, what is it?”

“Hello, ma’am.” Her secretary said from the other line. “We have just received news about the virus from the CDC. They have done some analysis on Superpox-99 and have found something… unsettling about it.”

“Go on.”

“It seems that there are some people who are able to escape infection despite having been exposed to the virus. The CDC is not sure yet why they were immune to it.”

“Well, it’s good that there are those who are immune to it. At least now there’s a chance that this country won’t be completely annihilated.”

“If only that were so. There is a problem concerning those who are immune. Exposure to the virus may not lead to infection but it seems to trigger something in them.”

“What do you mean?”

Her secretary hesitated for a moment. “…They become violent towards those who have not been exposed yet. In other words,” Hillary held the phone tighter against her ear.
Please, God, no
. “They will kill those who have not been exposed yet to the virus.”

Hillary felt her knees weaken. She thanked her secretary for relaying that important piece of information to her and put down the phone.

It had been such a long day. Hillary fell down on her knees. She couldn’t help but break down and cry.

Chapter Eleven: Intruders

              The following morning, Seth decided to stay at the cabin and spend the day caring for Brodie. He attended to the dog and cared for him to help Brodie make a speedy recovery. He gave Brodie a bath and gave him ample food and water. He even spent some time walking Brodie around the property as the dog couldn't engage in vigorous exercise yet. They returned to the cabin for lunch.

After administering some medicine on Brodie and setting his food and water, Seth went up to the rooftop. He set aside his sandwich on the small picnic table beside him and turned on his radio transceiver. He remembered telling Robert, the guy he spoke with over the radio two days ago, that that they should keep in touch.

Seth turned the knob on the transceiver fully expecting an endless parade of static when he tuned into a line. It was the emergency line used by the government to make announcements and disseminate information to the citizens in times of distress.

"...tion to all citizens. This... not a drill. This is an emergency broadcast. For your safety, we urge you to please remain indoors or in your shelters at all times as there has been no cure discovered yet for the virus at this time. We will be providing aid at evacuation centers and designated relief points. Please go to the following locations to receive aid..."

The announcement continued on to list the locations for the relief points. Seth listened closely and listed them down. The announcement finished and Seth turned the knob again to find Robert. He tuned into Robert's signal.

"Robert, this is Seth, are you there?" Seth asked.

"Hey, Seth! Almost thought I wouldn't hear from you again." Robert's voice said from the other line.

"Yeah, well, I've been busy. How are you doing?"

"Good as anyone can be in this situation. I just got out of—"

"Seth? Is this really Seth?" A female voice came on the line, interrupting Robert.

"Uh... Yes?"

"Oh, my God! It really is you! I've always wanted to thank you for helping my son and me."

Seth finally recognized the voice, bringing with it a memory of him talking to another person on the transceiver other than Robert that day. "Jaime?"

The woman on the other line shrieked with excitement. “I never expected to hear from you again. I didn’t know you and Robert knew each other.”

“I just happened to talk to him after I talked to you that day. But, wow, it’s incredible that you’re together. How did you two meet?”

“I followed your advice. My son and I packed our stuff and drove out Ukiah. Our car broke down in the middle of the drive however and we were stuck out there with no clue what to do or where to go. We spent the next day on the road using the car for shelter. Luckily, a car stopped by and it was Robert.”

“That’s really good. So, are you and your son okay? No infection?”

“Yes. We’re fine thanks to you and of course to Robert, too.” Jaime said.

“Okay, lady. My turn now.” Robert said, taking the radio from Jaime. “Geez. Women, huh?”

“No.” Seth said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, okay.” Robert cleared his throat. “Yeah, so, as I was saying before, I got out of Gloucester two days ago. Town was brimming with dead people and it was just no good staying there. I've been travelling, headed west on my car hoping to reach the relief point in Atlanta when I came across Jaime and Todd. By the way, have you heard the government's announcement?"

Seth took a bite of his sandwich. "Yeah, I just did." He said. "Seems like there's still no cure for this virus."

"Yeah, talk about bad news. Well, nothing we can do about it. I heard that there would be some antiviral meds at the relief stations so there's that, along with food and even clothes. Took them a long time but at least the government’s trying to at least mitigate damages now. Are you going to a relief station? We could meet up somewhere. You said you’re in Boone, right? We could come pick you up."

"Hm." Seth pondered the question, scratching his jaw. That would be a good idea, he supposed, but he wasn't in urgent need of supplies so it was kind of pointless at the moment. Plus, he's got Brodie, too. The dog's not in any condition to be travelling too far yet. "I don't think I'd be going to any relief station just yet. I just finished gathering supplies so I'm good for a while. I'm sorry I can't meet up with you but if there's anything you need, advice or whatever, you can always call on me. I'll try to be online as much as I can."

"Oh, that's too bad. Thanks for the offer though. Likewise, if I hear of any important information there, I'll be sure to pass it on to you."

"Thanks, Robert. Take care of yourselves."

"Don't mention it. You, too."

Their conversation having ended, the two men parted ways and Seth turned off the transceiver. He tucked the small notebook where he listed down the relief station locations in his back pocket. He had to remember not to lose it as it will be important for when he had to replenish his supplies.

He went back downstairs and was greeted by Brodie with a bark. “Hey, buddy.” He said, scratching the dog’s head as he passed by. Seth went straight to the kitchen to wash his plate. He straightened up things in the kitchen and checked on Brodie once more. After making sure that his companion had eaten and was feeling better, Seth went to the bathroom to take a bath.

The sun was setting outside by the time Seth finished his bath. He had some time to kill before bedtime however so he decided to watch a movie. As there were no more channels airing, he couldn’t watch his favorite shows anymore. It was a good thing that he was in the habit of recording his favorite shows. At least now, he had something to stave off boredom.

It was already eight o’clock and Seth was starting to feel sleepy. He had finished three episodes already and it was dark outside. He glanced down at Brodie who was resting by his feet. “Are you sleepy, too, Brodie?” The dog whimpered and huddled closer to him. “Should we go to sleep now?”