Genesis

Day -16

Sixteen Days Before DAY ZERO

Carla Aldrige stood in front of the silver counter, her fingers rapidly moving across the keyboard of her laptop. She glanced behind her once again at the sterile building, anxiety blooming in her chest; warning her that something was going to happen.

Call it a premonition; dismiss it if you'd like, but Dr. Aldrige will always claim that she knew that day, fifteen days and twenty-three hours before the world would seemingly come to an end, that something was going wrong.

She'd never admitted it before. She had felt it for days now. Had locked herself up inside her personal lab, only letting colleagues in after they were testing for the Virus. Swore to herself that she wouldn't get. She'd stay away from everyone; isolate herself in hopes that she could continue her search for the cure even after everyone started to turn.

Her efforts could prove to be useless in the end, she knew. She knew that may never create a cure. She knew that there was a possibility everything wouldn't spiral out of control, even if the signs were all there--more and more cases everyday (unreleased to the public, of course); faster and faster turns; more accidents in the work place; an increased number of towns going 'off the map'.

There was a possibility she'd die before her research was completely typed up.

A notification popped up on her screen. She clicked on, quickly reading through the information. Twenty-nine miles south of where she was now, middle of the Black Rock desert, laid a town called Stronghurste. Honestly, it was more of a city; large enough to have two malls and a public and private school.

This town of 73,401 had just gone off the grid. Over 90% of its population was infected, and quarantine techniques hadn't begun yet.

They could reach her. She was within a mere thirty or so miles.

At that moment, merely seconds after reading the notification, Dr. Aldrige began to pack. She packed her laptop, her charger and what little lab work she had left. She then went to the rooftop with her good friend Dr. White, the only other individual remaining in the building. With Dr. White flying, Dr. Aldrige finally finished her lap report. She saved it, sent it to her personal tablet, and turned her head to watch as they passed over Stronghurste. The streets were crowded from what she could see; a gyrating mass of what was probably Virals. Luckily, the town was secluded for miles, the only thing anywhere close to it having been her lab.

She took a long look at the soon-to-be-destroyed city, preserving the last look of it in her mind as the helicopter flew past, over the desert; headed to Georgia.

GENESIS - DR. CARLA H. ALDRIGE

INTRODUCTION : In 2013, we experienced The Ecchymosis-Encephalopathy Virus. We did not discover much during this first discovery. The autopsy results simply backed up our previous theories--the virus affected the brain, stomach and skin and eye color. The victim first appeared jaundiced, but all test results were negative. In fact, all test results were negative for everything. Most doctors that examined Emily Hawkins deduced it was a freak incident.

But a few months later, two more incidents occurred. I had already begun work on the cure, and, as more and more reports came to be, the work for the cure became high-alert. Whole countries had become isolated due to a surplus of accounts.

It has now been five months. The United States Government has attempted to create a sense of normality within the surviving towns and masses, but I feel it will soon fail. Hospitals internationally are now shutting down out of hopelessness. Towns are being deemed 'off the map' or 'off the grid' and destroyed.

But it isn't working. More and more cases show up everyday.

But I've discovered something I think is of high importance.

I call it Genesis.