November 12, 2007

• Going strong

  CONTINGENCY PLAN

  six-PREPARATIONS

  It was one thing to realize he was surrounded by undead. It was quite another to try and convince people of the danger. It wasn’t as though Josh could very well go to his attending or resident and say “pardon me, but I have this new bug all figured out, and the only cure is to behead those infected.” He could imagine how that would play out.

  And technically, he wasn’t in a movie…he didnt know for certain if it was impossible to cure…heck, nobody even knew who patient zero was yet. So Josh decided he would implement the contingency plan among those he could trust, and continue to work his assigned shifts at the hospital, the better to learn his enemy.

  The first thing Josh did was to go and check on Mr Greenberg in the Intensive Care Unit. Still intubated, still comatose, with a body tempurature below the point of hypothermia, Mr Greenberg was probably the longest dwelling resident of the hospital with the superbug, and yet the only one who had not yet undergone the seizure stage before the final transformation. That meant he bore closer examination than any other infected, since any potential cure, cause, or treatment would likely lay with him.

  When Josh returned home that day, he redecorated his apartment a bit, loosening the window frames so he could easily leap to the next building should the street become too dangerous to maneuver in. The he moved the sword hanging in the common room to his bedroom, where it would be close at hand when, not if, he needed it. Then he sent out an email first to those he knew would believe him. The list was depressingly short.
  
  To: Phil; Crystal; The machine; Tammy; Brian; Aytch;
  Subject: Contingency Plan

  Hey all,

  So here is the deal with the new superbug: we are talking zombies. I have been denying it to myself for weeks, but there can no longer be any doubt. These people, once reaching a certain stage of infection, suffer a seizure and become the shambling legion of undead that we all know from films and comics. Now they wont appear to be rotting…it’s still too early, and I admit I dont know if they are actually dead, or more like the rage or solanum virus. But I can tell you they do gain increased strength, the traditional shuffling gait and the semi conscious awareness of their surroundings without apparent higher thought functions

  Right now, you are the only ones who know the truth, and that is because you either have contingency plans of your own, or we have discussed your roles in mine. We have a chance and privilege few horror film characters ever receive, and that is we know what is occuring with enough time to prepare. So that is what i am telling you to do. Make sure you have your alternate methods of transportation and food preparation…once this becomes bad we dont know if we can rely on modern conveniences. Have both your ranged and melee weapons…you all have basic marksmanship, but ammo is not unlimited.

  By the same token, do not yet make any aggressive moves toward zombies yet. The general public has not yet realized, nor would they believe the danger facing them. Once they do, we will be the best equipped to deal with the problem, but until then, we dont want any of us going to jail for what would appear to be brutal murder. Bide your time, prepare, and stay in contact…everyone should leave their AIM on so we can keep each other updated as long as possible. I will continue to stay in the lions den and see if i can learn more about the zombies and what we can do…the rest of you, buddy up when traveling, and make sure any one who can realistically be convinced of the problem is. If you tell them, and they are not, well at least we have our decoys in case of emergency. You all know what to do…the world as we know it is about to change…

  Now that he had sent off the email, he felt much better. He was ready for the coming storm. It only remained to prepare others…

  ………

  Phil read the message, tabbed over to the latest news report, and tabbed back. Yep, it was true. And that meant that those who took the threat seriously would be few and far between, at least for a while. Well terrible as it sounded, the general populace wouldn’t be ready until humanity’s numbers had been thinned a bit. And by that time, the majority of the media would probably be panicking too much to do anything useful. Phil went to go ready his safehouse and advance his planning preparations. When Crystal returned, they would be ready

  …………………

  Crystal was up in Santa Barbara visiting Jenn, a friend of hers and Josh’s from college, when she read the email. She told Jenn what Josh had said, and, as predicted, Jenn didnt believe it.

  “Crystal, zombies aren’t real. Josh is playing a prank, although an admittely well thought out one. Just because the sickness makes some people walk funny and spreads like wildfire does not mean they are the dead and have to be killed.”
  
  “Could you at least consider what you would do if it was? I mean you have that homemade mace from Japan already. And it wouldnt take that long to teach you basic marksmanship-we could go to the firing range and do it over the next few days, so when things get bad, you can be a valuable asset to the team.”

  “First off, I told you, i am not learning how to shoot a gun. We have been over this before. Second, isn’t being your best friend enough of an asset? and third, even if this cockamamie story was true, which i seriously doubt, I have my stick with nails in it. It was good enough to intimidate small japanese children, and it will be good enough to scare off any of your ‘zombies’. Not to mention that there aren’t any in santa barbara anyway. We have just had a run of the flu or mono or something.”

  “Dont you see? Any sickness is suspect now! You are in a college town, which means you should be more prepared than any of us. When the infection goes south, this will be one of the most dangerous places. I am not telling you to abandon it now, just to be prepared, so when the time comes, you can meet up with Phil and I”

  “I am sure if it got that bad, the government would do something about it. Isn’t chicago quarantined by the cdc right now anyway? How would you guys meet up with Josh?”

  “Josh isn’t our leader-him and Phil are just both best prepared for this kind of situation and trying to make sure as many of us are too”

  “Well, I will think about it…in the meantime, let’s go get some ramen.”

  ………………..

  Phil “The Machine” Szeng just put his head into his hands on reading Josh’s email. Sure Josh might have exagerrated or gone off the deep end just a little bit, but he had always had an overactive imagination. And there was no doubt about the actual results of the sickness he was describing. Phil had been seeing it in his hospital too. With the city under quarantine, and the situation likely to get worse, it couldnt hurt to follow most of Josh’s advice. At least he wasnt saying to strike off the heads of any of these patients yet. Phil would call Tammy and Ryan later and let them know he was going to at least prepare for some kind of crackdown.

  ………………………..

  Tammy out and out laughed when she read the email. At least, initially. She and Josh had talked about the plan before, and she was glad to be included in it, but she had never really taken it seriously. However, while she wasnt as familiar with zombie films as Josh, she HAD seen the patients, and had to admit that they did measure up pretty well to what he had described when compared with zombies. Couldnt hurt to do what Josh suggested. Didnt look like things were getting better anyway, and at least she could feel like she was doing something.

  …………………..

  Brian went out immediately after the email, and purchased shotgun ammo, an ax, batteries and a bunch of rolls of dv tape for his camera. He trusted his brother, and dammned if he wasnt gonna be prepared, or get the best story ever. Think how much money he could save on special effects. It was like army of darkness, only he would get to be ash AND sam raimi. Now if could just figure out a way to safely film patients in the nearby hospital. Maybe if he set it up as some kind of community interest documentary. that might work…

  ………………….

  Aytch turned to Andy.

  “Josh says there are zombies in America now”

  “Really? Neat. from what?”

  “Some infection. He was just letting us know the contingency plan is being activated…you have a weapon?”

  “Aikido staff and bow. I can be a samurai zombie slayer if they make it out here to okinawa-do you have a weapon?”

  “Andy, I’m a marine. I AM a weapon.”

  Ken had heard reports from his commanding officer. The U.S. government had pretty much come to the same conclusion Josh had, on the basis of much less evidence. As such, Kens unit was on mild alert for any outbreaks in Japan or Okinawa, where he was stationed. Once the situation was controlled here, they might be recalled back in to the quarantined cities to help contain the fallout. Ken only hoped Josh’s plan would be good enough to see him through that time. Because if projections were correct, Josh wouldnt have long to wait before people were a LOT more convinced that he suspected…

  TO BE CONTINUED…

  • 1:18 pm
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