Atlanta was buzzing with government activity. Federal agents, government scientists, and Secret Service were swarming around the Center for Disease Control like ants on roadkill. The building had been completely quarantined, as well as the surrounding area. Half the city had been evacuated west to nearby Douglasville, and no one was allowed in or out of the city without top secret government clearance, and even then, not without proof of decontamination. The half that HAD been evacuated was the furthest parts from the Center, and everyone else was forced out of their homes and to the Center to be evaluated for infection.
A team of highly-trained biologists and chemists had been working on a new, top-secret project for the US government to speed up the evolutionary process of a mind-controlling bacteria found in rats, known as toxoplasmosa gondii, for the benefit of the US military. The experiments were a blazing success, and the CIA was ready to use it to gain political and militaristic advantages around the world.
Unfortunately, this made the scientists nervous about its usage, and how many hands were reaching for it. In the anxiety, one scientist grew careless and did not properly seal the evolved bacteria. As he was exiting the laboratory to be contaminated, he swiped his card on the door scanpad and let it snap back. He did not move his finger in time to avoid being nicked by the retracting cord attaching the card to his belt. He started to bleed. He realized quickly that he was exposed.
Within the next hour, the building was in its present state. The scientist had been segregated from the rest of the CDC staff. Only a few CIA operatives and a doctor remained with him for monitoring. It was here that the infection began to spread. It only started with the scientist scrambling to find a nullifying drug that would kill the bacteria on impact. When his attempts were unsuccessful, panic began to set in.
The agents grew concerned and ordered the doctor to sedate him. The doctor pulled a syringe out of his first aid bag, and filled it with a vial of propofol. He moved over to the scientist, who was pacing the floor and muttering to himself. He noticed the doctor's advance and stopped. The scientist watched as the doctor raised the needle to inject the powerful anesthetic into his arm. The doctor pierced his skin with the needletip, but before he could inject, the scientist suddenly began to flail his arms, knocking the doctor into a glass case, shattering it. He took the needle out of his arm and lunged at the closest agent. He jammed the needle in his hand and pressed the plunger down to rush the propofol into the agent's system.
During this attack, the scientist noticed the gun on the agent's belt and grabbed it. In the confusion, the agent couldn't stop him. The other agent rushed to the first one's aid and tried to subdue the scientist. To keep control of the situation, the scientist didn't even think twice and shot the agent three times in the chest, effectively stopping his advance. The doctor got up, and noticed that his hands were lacerated by the shards of glass around him.
He looked at what had happened. He saw both agents on the floor and the scientist was trying to get out of the room. The doctor picked up a shard of glass, and while the scientist was distracted, he jammed the glass into the scientist's leg to disable him. After he did that, he exited the room by swiping his access card and ran out to the front of the building. Other agents, who thought he was the quarantined scientist at first glance, opened fire as soon as he came out and started screaming. He couldn't shout what had happened fast enough, and his body was riddled with rifle and pistol rounds in a matter of seconds, dropping him quickly to the ground.
A team of highly-trained biologists and chemists had been working on a new, top-secret project for the US government to speed up the evolutionary process of a mind-controlling bacteria found in rats, known as toxoplasmosa gondii, for the benefit of the US military. The experiments were a blazing success, and the CIA was ready to use it to gain political and militaristic advantages around the world.
Unfortunately, this made the scientists nervous about its usage, and how many hands were reaching for it. In the anxiety, one scientist grew careless and did not properly seal the evolved bacteria. As he was exiting the laboratory to be contaminated, he swiped his card on the door scanpad and let it snap back. He did not move his finger in time to avoid being nicked by the retracting cord attaching the card to his belt. He started to bleed. He realized quickly that he was exposed.
Within the next hour, the building was in its present state. The scientist had been segregated from the rest of the CDC staff. Only a few CIA operatives and a doctor remained with him for monitoring. It was here that the infection began to spread. It only started with the scientist scrambling to find a nullifying drug that would kill the bacteria on impact. When his attempts were unsuccessful, panic began to set in.
The agents grew concerned and ordered the doctor to sedate him. The doctor pulled a syringe out of his first aid bag, and filled it with a vial of propofol. He moved over to the scientist, who was pacing the floor and muttering to himself. He noticed the doctor's advance and stopped. The scientist watched as the doctor raised the needle to inject the powerful anesthetic into his arm. The doctor pierced his skin with the needletip, but before he could inject, the scientist suddenly began to flail his arms, knocking the doctor into a glass case, shattering it. He took the needle out of his arm and lunged at the closest agent. He jammed the needle in his hand and pressed the plunger down to rush the propofol into the agent's system.
During this attack, the scientist noticed the gun on the agent's belt and grabbed it. In the confusion, the agent couldn't stop him. The other agent rushed to the first one's aid and tried to subdue the scientist. To keep control of the situation, the scientist didn't even think twice and shot the agent three times in the chest, effectively stopping his advance. The doctor got up, and noticed that his hands were lacerated by the shards of glass around him.
He looked at what had happened. He saw both agents on the floor and the scientist was trying to get out of the room. The doctor picked up a shard of glass, and while the scientist was distracted, he jammed the glass into the scientist's leg to disable him. After he did that, he exited the room by swiping his access card and ran out to the front of the building. Other agents, who thought he was the quarantined scientist at first glance, opened fire as soon as he came out and started screaming. He couldn't shout what had happened fast enough, and his body was riddled with rifle and pistol rounds in a matter of seconds, dropping him quickly to the ground.
Personally I didn't really care for this one, but it's a part of the series, and I'd do myself and my readers a disservice by not sharing it. It's tough writing a story involving so many characters and with not a single line of dialogue. I do not like it. The next one is much better.
The purpose of the "Patch of Gray" series, for me, is to write it from as many different perspectives and experiences as I could. It was really an exercise of creativity and attention to detail. Each story is connected in that all these characters are in the same world, experiencing the same major event, but they are all dealing with it in their own way. Each character has a unique perspective. This is also one of the reasons I chose to not give most of the characters a name. I wanted it to be as relatable as possible.
The bottom line is that the important element here, for me, is the human one. How do PEOPLE react to their environments, and how do they adapt to new situations? There's no better way to explore that than in a post-apocalyptic scenario.