Post-Pandemic: A New World

Chapter Twenty Nine: The Extra Terrestrial

The Phoenixes had just discovered the origin of the St Peters Virus and had been horrified to learn that the Unity Order created it and unleashed it on purpose. Bridge had long suspected that the Virus was the result of some top secret Government experiment gone wrong, but He had never expected THIS! Anna and a few other Phoenixes had come down into the lower levels and Bridge had explained what They knew so far. Anna was of course horrified to learn that the Virus was man made and was petrified by the corpses of the innocent people who had been kidnapped and experimented on by the Order. Of course there also came the important question of "Who was the man who committed suicide in the laboratory?" 

Laid on the floor was the corpse of the Man who had been identified as "Doctor Daniel Young" by His identification papers that were found in the front pocket of His jacket. There were two holes in His head from a single bullet, both on either side of His head. Some blood was still coming out and forming a small puddle around His head. This made the Phoenixes sick to the stomach, especially Anna who said "Michelle and Eleanor should not see this". Bridge agreed and said "Indeed. Who knows? They could end up going into labour". Joe was carefully examining Doctor Young's fatal injury and trying to determine what kind of bullet was used. The Phoenixes had searched all over the place and found no bullet. They had, however, found a series of security camera screens that showed whoever looked at them footage of the cells along the hallway that lead from the hanger to the laboratory. The Phoenixes realised that there was also an audio transceiver and Doctor Young must have heard Them talking. But the reason for Doctor Young's suicide was still unknown. 

Joe carefully examined the bullet holes in Young's head and said "High calibre round, probably a forty five. Aimed right at where His brain was and bang..... Instant death". That was when Sebastian, who was examining the huge bookshelf that had all sorts of books on viruses, said "Hey guys, I think I found the bullet". They all looked at Him and saw Him remove a few books and put them on the floor to reveal that the bullet had flown into the shelf penetrated a hole into the back of it. Sebastian and Solomon then moved the bookshelf and They could all see the bullet jammed into the wall. Solomon looked at the bullet and said "Yep, definitely a forty five calibre". Bridge looked a bit worried as He said "We may have found the weapon, but We are yet to find the motive". Bridge then looked over at the metal table where a body was laid down and covered in a white sheet. A few Phoenixes were gathered around it and one of Them asked Bridge "What do you think is under it Bridge?" Bridge wasn't sure. There was something strange about the body. The person under it had to be at least seven and a half feet tall and the head was oddly shaped. Everyone looked right at the mysterious corpse as one of the Phoenixes said "Ya know what, I'm gonna see what's with this thing. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" The Phoenix then pulled the sheet off and both He and everyone else froze in shock at what They saw. While there was a diverse set of eye colours and ethnicities on Earth, no one had ever seen anyone with eyes that were completely black! Nor had anyone been seen two tall antennas that began at the top of the head, directly above the eyes and with what looked like a flower petal on each one. The person was clearly a woman, with a skin type similar to that of someone from East Asia, but She had three breasts! The only Human looking part of Her was long black hair that went all the way down to Her, or "It's" shoulders and had evidence of being cut in some places. There were also several scars across Her body, clearly surgical ones. It was in that moment the the Phoenixes realised that They were looking at a dead Alien.

The Phoenixes were looking at the body in utter shock. Right there on the table was a dead Alien that looked like She had been dead for at least a couple of weeks. Bridge, Phinehas and Anna were all staring right at the deceased humanoid with Their mouths wide open with shock and Their eyes locked onto the Alien. The Phoenix who had pulled the sheet off gasped as He saw the Alien and said "God almighty!" Bridge slowly walked over to the cadaver and said "It looks like She's been dead for at least a few days" upon seeing that the skin seemed to be in good condition and wasn't very pale. Bridge then noticed the scars across Her body and realised that the scars were in places where the organs would be. There were three scars across Her chest, likely for Her heart and lungs. There was a large scar across Her belly as well, definitely for the stomach. Finally there were three scars below the area where Her stomach once was and Bridge easily guessed that those scars were for the kidneys and liver. Bridge then looked to His right at the mysterious fridge that had the words "Project: Autopsy" on it and said "Check what's in that fridge". One of the Phoenixes opened it and She screamed with horror upon seeing what was inside. She almost fainted, but was caught by another Phoenix who was equally shocked by the organs of the dead Alien, perfectly preserved in jars within the fridge.

Phinehas looked over at the organs in the fridge with a horrified stare, Then at the dead Alien, then at the organs again and began to realise the gravity of it all. Phinehas then stuttered "So that Alien c-c-c-c-crashed on....Earth and then the Unity Order.....They......They...". Knowing what Phinehas was about to say, Bridge said "Chopped Her up". Phinehas then stuttered "Yes" and then put His hand over His mouth, only to vomit at the realisation of what the Unity Order had done to the Alien. Bridge had to help Phinehas up as He said "Those Order guys are insane!" Bridge agreed and said "Tell Me about it! They have completely disrespected that poor woman!" Sebastian seemed confused as He asked "What do You mean?" As Bridge finished helping Phinehas to a chair, He explained to Sebastian "Every culture on Earth has it's own way with the dead. Some cultures choose to bury, others choose to cremate. We don't know what that Alien's culture says about what should be done with dead bodies, for all We know it could be a sin or something to chop up someone like this. Plus I'm sure that She wouldn't like the idea of Her organs being extracted from Her and being studied". Sebastian understood what Bridge meant, but there was something else He didn't understand. He turned to His father and asked "Hey Dad, assuming that Alien is the same one that crashed here all of those years ago, then why does She look like She's only been dead a little while?" Joe scratched His head as He answered "I'm not sure, maybe They decay slower". Bridge walked over to the dead Alien and picked Her arm up to feel Her skin. Her arm had a series of tattoos across it, all in purple and in bizarre religious like patterns. Feeling how cold Her skin was, Bridge realised that She had been frozen and said with disgust in His voice "They put Her in a freezer to preserve Her..... Like a science experiment". Knowing that the Phoenixes had to respect the dead, Bridge crossed the Alien's arms at Her chest and carefully put the sheet back over Her body.

Bridge turned back to the Phoenixes and said "We should bury Her". The Phoenixes all had looks of sadness on Their faces, feeling sorrow for this poor Alien who was chopped up and posthumously treated like She was some kind of science experiment. The Unity Order had mutilated Her body in an absolutely horrible way, denying Her a decent funeral for almost a century. That was when Bridge noticed a piece of paper next to where the body of Doctor Young had once been placed and walked over to it. The paper was lined and had two punched holes, one at the bottom, the other at the top. Bridge noticed the word "Goodbye" at the end and realised that it was a suicide note! Bridge then began reading it aloud "To whoever You are, the people up top who have killed all of the Unity Order soldiers and liberated the Potentials. My name is Doctor Young and I am the creator of the St Peters Virus". Bridge gasped upon reading it and so did the other Phoenixes. Bridge then continued reading "The Unity Order told Me of Their plans and I refused immediately. But They kidnapped Me and brought Me here, to Area 51. It was here that I was told of the Alien that crashed here seventy eight years ago and how Her body potentially was teeming with Alien bacteria. So They forced Me to harvest that bacteria and create the Virus". Bridge then looked over at the Alien and said "So the Virus is based of Her bacteria?" The Phoenixes near the Alien immediately backed away, fearful of being infected with whatever bacteria the Alien had. Bridge then read "The St Peters Virus, the Virus I created, has helped kill billions and I cannot forgive myself for it. It is why I have chosen to end my life with the pistol a guard left here by mistake. I do not ask for Your forgiveness, only that You burn My body. No, better, feed Me to wild animals. Besides, I'm not worthy of this world. Goodbye".

Bridge placed the suicide note down in utter shock and said "I don't believe it". None of the other Phoenixes could as well. They were all horrified by what the Unity Order had done in Area 51. They had kidnapped Doctor Young and forced Him to harvest bacteria from the Alien and use that bacteria to create the Virus that had killed so many billions....the St Peters Virus. Anna was especially shocked, but then She realised something and said "That's why the Virus killed so many in so little time!" Bridge looked at Anna and asked "What are talking about?" Anna looked at Bridge and answered "Think about it. The Virus is based off an Alien disease and We have no resistance to that disease because We have never encountered it!" Bridge realised what Anna meant and said "Of course. The reason why We have no natural immunity to the St Peters Virus is because We have never encountered whatever diseases the Aliens have and here I thought the Virus was due to global warming". Bridge then looked at the rest of the Phoenixes and said "Well then. We should start figuring out what to do with the Alien and scavenging this place of anything of value. Then We keep on heading for San Francisco". The Phoenixes all agreed with Bridge's suggestion, but little did They know that soon They would find out that the reason the Alien had come to Earth in the first place, was to save it.