Page 1 of Chaos Destiny
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TAYLER DIAZ MD, PHD
“So, as I’ve said countless times before, do not let inaction become our nation’s biggest crutch. If we fail to act, I guarantee the adage will prove true—pride will become humankind’s greatest sin. And it will be the end of us.”
I endedthe virtual call upset enough to foam at the mouth. The makeshift morgue at the Centers for Disease Control was at capacity. More and more infections were popping up all over the nation. Numerous babies had died, and the response from Washington D.C. remained lackluster and abysmal; they didn’t want to risk a public panic. Yet, they’d convened the country’s brightest minds to tackle what we were quickly realizing was a David and Goliath situation.
As far as I could tell, we wouldn’t be the victors.
“Hunter?” I called. “What were those numbers again?”
Hunter was one of two in the group without an endless list of credentials after his name. Still, he was the most brilliant of us all. He askedthinker’squestions, curious questions. Rather than regurgitating theories, concepts, and case studies, he looked further into what that information could tell us—how we could use that information to solve our current crisis instead of usingcircular arguments to reiterate the same thing: that we were screwed.
“More than half the nation in under thirty days,” Hunter said, his eyes so strained that I was surprised his irises hadn’t turned purple. “More than two-thirds of the globe in less than ninety.”
We were given Top Security clearance and shuffled into an underground bunker with limited access to outside communication, primarily through check-ins with the federal government. Each member had assigned security personnel, but our security seemed to be watching us rather than scanning for threats in the event of danger.
I faced our federal liaison, a brown-haired woman named Jane, who carried herself as plainly as her name. “They need to declare a national emergency before it’s too late,” I said, snapping off a pair of blue gloves she’d suggested I wear for optics during the call. “We should have been doing quarantines and curfews months ago. At this point, they need to be calling in the National Guard.”
Jane extended both hands toward me as if pushing air. “Wait, wait. What are you saying? You can’t be saying what I think you’re saying.”
“They need to start considering that this might be higher than a national emergency.”
“Or maybe you’re overreacting.”
I tossed the gloves into a nearby receptacle. “Look, why bring me in to lead this project just tonotlisten to me? Plus, you heard what Hunter just said. Two-thirds of the population? That’s global eradication. Instead of trying to break treaties with allies for no reason outside of political grandstanding, we need to worry about our country first.”
“The federal government would like to make sure it’s not a biological weapon from a hostile country,” she argued. “Imean, the virus, bacteria—whatever—stillhasn’t been identified. Maybe do that first before you start insinuating outlandish things. This is still America, Ms. Diaz.”
“Dr.Diaz,” I corrected. “You might not like my ideas, but respect my credentials.”
The only thing we’d managed to do, amongst all of our so-called brilliant minds, was name the strain—NPmS 14:
Neuropathogenic Polymutative Strain-14
It was infectious, entering the body through blood and saliva, and it mutated so quickly, I was afraid it would soon be airborne without strict lockdowns from coast to coast.
The symptoms weren’t immediate, and with the way it devoured brain tissue, it made Mad Cow Disease look like a twenty-four-hour stomach bug. However, the only thing we were confident about was that we had never seen anything like it before.
“Human lives are at stake,” I said.
Jane folded her arms, grimacing slightly. “China is mobilizing, Dr. Diaz,” she pointed out. “Why would China be mobilizing?”
“Could it be, I don’t know, prepping for a pandemic?”
“Or something hostile.”
“You’re a joke.”
“Excuse me?”
Hunter waved a hand. “Hey, Dr. D? Can I talk to you in private for a moment?”
I shot Jane a final look to ensure she grasped my contempt and joined Hunter in an empty conference room down a narrow, poorly lit corridor. The minute I entered, he peered into the hallway before shutting the door and joining me at the long tablein the center. Then, he said nothing, but he didn’t have to. All it took was reading his face, and I heard everything he didn’t say.
“Who’s infected?” I asked.
“Jane and Dr. Milton, I’m sure of,” he said. “Dr. Pearce is a hunch.”
