Quiet Earth

I woke to news on Friday of trouble starting up in Americas' largest cities. "Rioters" had re entered the streets on Thursday morning, just after dawn. Taking the cleanup crews and the small peace keeping forces in the city by surprise.

The "rioters" were all in the last stages of the KKK infection. They weren't interested in destroying property, either by acts of violence or arson. Seemingly intent only on hurting/ killing other people.

Roof top web cams in New York caught the disturbing images that were being repeated all over America.

Groups of the infected chased down and attacked clean up workers. Poor bastards didn't see it coming, just doing their jobs, intent on cleaning up broken glass, burnt cars and buildings. Most of em were probably wearing ear muffs, to protect against the noise, and the cold. Then they were set upon.

I watched in horror as the workers and other people just going about their business were mobbed. The victims mostly went down quickly and were covered by the infected, you could see glimpses of them being virtually torn apart.

The small number of peace keepers (mostly local Police by the looks of their uniforms) fought bravely. Trying to protect the unarmed civilian workers, They were mobbed and fell beside those they were watching over. Some when their ammo ran out, some were overwhelmed by growing numbers of monsters before they could reload. A few of the infected stopped using their hands to tear at their victims, apparently teeth were more effective.

I dragged myself away from the TV, and caught the late bus to work. The boss didn't seem to mind that I was an hour late, there were no customers to serve anyway. A quick check around the rest of the dealership confirmed that about half of the staff didn't come in. Most of them were probably crowding the local supermarkets, it was bedlam at the front of Woolworths as the bus went by on the way in.

As nobody wanted parts for their Falcons, Mondeos, Focus's and Transits, I had some time to think on the mornings developments.

With most of the day to myself, my workmates were crowded around the TV and the customers were elsewhere. I took the time to think on the problems in the US. How they might affect me, half a world away.

I felt I was reasonably safe from the monsters now terrorising America (there are not a lot of Africans in OZ). It might be wise to take a few precautions just to be sure.

As I wrote earlier, I live around 35 km / 20 miles North of Newcastle (Australia's 6th largest city). My home sits on 2 acres of land in the rural community of Salt Ash. Surrounded by farmland, which backs onto bush land and then onto Stockton Beach. The largest moving sand mass in the Southern Hemisphere.

I cant hold a drivers licence, due to quite poor eyesight. I have ridden motorbikes, trikes and quad bikes on the beach since I was a kid, you don't need a licence for those. My farmer neighbours don't mind me cutting through their land. Standard "country rules" apply; don't stir up the cattle and shut the gates.

My thoughts centred on two things. First, Increasing the security of my home. Being of wooden / weather board construction, there was only so much I could economically achieve. Secondly setting up an escape route should things get too ugly.

We all left work early, there didn't seem to be much point in staying til 5. I made a beeline for the nearest camping store.

Good to see an update. I was wondering about the next episode of Oprah...

Not a lot of people at "Anaconda", probably still crowding the supermarkets.

I had spent the day planning my escape, should things get violent, my fears and plans centred on hungry people from the city, If the economy or government were to fail. I bought three of everything I might need to comfortably live in the bush. along with a two man inflatable boat and a large amount of dehydrated "camp" food. Thank God for credit cards.

Another expensive taxi ride home.

I had to ask the driver to change the radio from his sports station, to hear the 6.30 news report (who would be listening to stupid horse racing during an international emergency?). The situation in the US had calmed somewhat with the coming of night (I would have known this earlier had I taken notice of the TV at work). The "monsters" as they were being referred to by the commentators, seemed reluctant to attack after dark. He went on to warn listeners not to let down their guard, they (the monsters) were still dangerous. Armed forces were reporting that they would sometimes still attack, always, if cornered, but were more likely to try and hide.

Switching on the TV as soon as I was home, Almost every Channel was broadcasting a US News feed.

They were all showing the same things, replays of people being attacked the previous day. Horrific images of innocents people being pulled down, clawed and bitten, torn apart. devoured by the monsters.

The TV talked in the background. I unwrapped and sorted my purchases.

Three piles, one for the quad, one for the bush, one for the lagoons.

As I checked the tents and sleeping bags, I heard Oprahs name on the news.

She looked terrible, the tell tale marks on her face, her skin looked grey and she was sweating profusely. Then she spoke.

No pre amble, just straight to the point. "I feel terrible, its like the flu, my joints, my whole body, aches. You can see the marks on my face, they are all over my body" (at this point a nurse went to mop Oprahs' brow), She screamed "LEAVE ME ALONE" and lashed out at the poor girl. The screen went black for just a moment. and then Oprah re appeared.

"I would like to apologise for my terrible behaviour towards my nurse and my friend, Theresa, I have already made my apologies to her. I could have had this edited, but it is important that you all know the truth of this disease. In the last 12 hours, I have become very angry, even now, I am struggling to suppress my rage. I want to attack the camera operator, I want to tear him apart".

Oprah revealed that she was tethered to the bed, She had secured the serviced of properly trained personnel to attend to her needs. She had instructed that the cameras keep rolling and that all footage that could be helpful to the public to understand the disease be broadcast.

Oprah said a short prayer, asking that the Lord watch over all of us. She finished with "This is Oprah Gail Winfrey, Signing off, I love each and every one of you". It was the last intelligible thing she ever said on camera.

The Anchorman was visibly shaken, He paid homage to Oprah. Continuing with the headlines, England, France and most other European countries had called out the army. Security forces were patrolling population centres, armed to the teeth, both countries leaders had made it very clear that any trouble makers would be dealt with "ruthlessly".

10th Dec sat.

I tried to stay awake, to see what would happen at daybreak in American cities. I must have dozed off, in front of the TV.

I awoke in the early hours to frantic scenes. The monsters were being cut down by peace keepers (from their uniforms, I would guess Army and National guard). They had no fear of guns, as soon as they saw another human being, they attacked, and were shot down like rabid dogs.

As the sun rose higher in the sky over New York, the number of infected increased. The Bronx looked like a slaughter house. Still they kept coming. Obviously the virus was really starting to take hold.

I Caught the bus into Newcastle, my first port of call, one of the smaller hardware stores. I preferred them to the big chain stores. Their prices might have been a little higher, but they were staffed by Men and Women who knew what they were talking about, not school kids. Also, they delivered.

I bought some timber to fortify one room in my home. A kind of redneck panic room. Some good locks for all the doors and windows, and a couple of dozen 55 litre plastic storage containers, and a few other odds and ends. My purchases would be delivered on Monday.

Sunday was spent in my shed. First job was to put my Yamaha 700 Raptor into storage. Next, service my older Honda 350 ES. It broke my heart to forego the Yammy, I'd only owned it for 6 months and it was my pride and joy. So fast and capable on the sand, no hill too steep for the mighty Raptor. But, it was loud, thirsty and demanded too much maintenance. The older Honda, being designed for farmers was quiet, economical and totally reliable. What it lost in speed and agility, I felt it would make up in practicality and durability.
The Honda came fitted with racks and was far more suited to some of my plans.

Sunday Night was memorable for just one thing ... Oprah Died.

Millions of African / Negro men, women and children dieing horrible deaths.. but it took one celbrity's' death to really bring it home...

I guess it was "real" enough for people in countries with a large black population, but Australia was at that time, basically untouched by the KKK disease..

Monday evening rolled around, and I had plans to go on a quick trip on my quad. My "quick trip" took around two hours.

I planted one of my camping kits in the sand on top of Pages Hill. A tall dune, open sand on one side and vegetation on the other. The only way to reach the top was to walk (hadn't seen too many people do that. it was a tough slog, especially in summer). or a Quad. The sand hills were quiet. as they normally were on a week night.

After ensuring my supplies were not going to be found, I returned home. A return trip of around 8 miles. I arrived in time for the late news.

Oprah was on the news again tonight, kind of. Around twenty KKK members had held a gathering in a southern town park (cant recall the name). I don't think the woman planned it. I think she just snapped when she saw the sheet wearing cowards. Cindy Anderson, a mild mannered Librarian. A white woman and a born and bred southerner if her accent was anything to go by. Ran down and ran over almost every one of those bastards. Twelve dead, two critical in hospital, not expected to see the night out, two more with broken limbs, and the rest untouched.

As they led her into court for her arraignment, she screamed to the massed news cameras "I got em for you Oprah".

I hoped she'd be ok.

Funny story, next day it was all over the news. She was just fine. Seems that the police officer who made the arrest neglected to Mirandize Ms Anderson. She walked from court a free woman. I guess the officer, a forty year veteran of the force, could be forgiven for making such an error, His wife, also of 40 years, had passed away 3 days prior.. from the K.

Officer Joseph Michael Washington passed away from the K a week later, I don't think being put on suspension for his "mistake" would have bothered him one bit.

Tuesday 13th December 2011.

I haven't really mentioned Africa up until this point, That country just didn't have the media resources that the US did,. Most people in Australia at that time looked to America first anyway (me amongst them).

All of Africa was on fire with the "K". The infection maps being show on TV were pretty much all Red. The number of refugees trying to escape was in the hundreds of thousands. They streamed to Europe any way they could, Even though the borders between the two continents were, by that time, firmly closed.

The Gibraltar Strait was the busiest area, though by no means the only crossing. On Tuesday the 13th December 2011, the shooting started in earnest. The worlds Navies and Air Force' patrolled the strait. It had been made very clear that anybody, black or white, coming from Africa would be shot. No warning, no second chance, you make a move toward Europe, you die.

As the alternative was to remain in Africa and be infected if you were Black or be torn apart if you weren't, they came anyway.

Boats were the most common form of transport, but not the only thing those poor terrified people tried to use to flee their version of hell. Several jet airliners tried to run the Gauntlet, some protested that they had only white people on board over the radio. I felt it was wrong of the media to release audio of the pilots screaming as their planes crashed into the ocean.

The boats meanwhile came en masse, from row boats to Ocean Liners, oil tankers and container ships they came, and the defenders shot them to pieces. Some got through, the numbers were just too great. I watched some of the bigger boats making their runs on the news. Their Captains (or whoever was in control) were pounding the guts out of them. Liners that might have topped out at 18 -20 knots were being pushed way beyond their limits. Ships engineers found every bit of speed those boats could give. One fairly old liner made it. She had been shot to pieces and was afire, her bridge and super structure mostly gone. Listing to one side at a terrifying angle when she hit the Spanish Coast. I couldn't even begin to guess at how many desperate souls piled off that ship. The newsman said 15,000. That felt like a very conservative estimate to me.

The oil tankers never had a chance, it took only one or two explosive rounds to set them ablaze. or sometimes to simply explode instantly as the fumes in their holds went up. They were covered in poor innocents fleeing unspeakable terror. Only to be engulfed by something even worse.

Most of the Container ships were holed by torpedoes capsizing very quickly, sending God knows how many thousands of people to their doom.

Some people tried to swim across the Strait, it was less than ten miles I think. The news said that some got through.

A huge show of force for no real result, as I said earlier, the K was already running rampant in Europe.

For the next few days, Poor wretches tried and failed to flee Africa. The flow ebbed as all the boats and all the planes dried up, they lay broken on the ocean floor between the two continents. Eventually a feed from an African Television station was captured and replayed throughout the rest of the world. We (the rest of the world) found why the Worlds armed forces had tried so valiantly to stop the Africans from breaking through.

A very sick and very white man (a news anchor with his areas biggest television network apparently) gave the world the news that our governments apparently already knew. The K had jumped, No longer was it a disease of the black man. It had mutated and those still alive in Africa feared that it was now a disease that would affect every human being on earth.

As I was working on improving the security at my home, on the evening of Saturday 17th December 2011, an unnamed nation unleashed the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh Nuclear bombs to ever be deployed against Humanity. They were big ones, an awful lot of the African continent would not be habitable for God knows how many years.

The usual Suspects, IE the US and USSR both vigorously denied responsibility, most other countries condemned the actions. The condemnation was not particularly strong. I think most people were a little relieved. France was conspicuous by its silence.
No more refugees came from Africa.