One day before the first recorded human case, 3:12 pm. Westview, Clarkson, Downtown
Kael tapped his fingers on the driving wheel; his gaze fixed on the slow crawl of brake lights ahead. The line of automobiles didn't appear to move more than a few feet every few minutes, surrounded by sidewalks jammed with gawkers and angry drivers leaning on their horns. He exhaled hard, felt perspiration bead at his temple. "This is meaningless. At this rate, I will still be here when the sun rises."
When he saw a small side street ahead, half-lit by a single buzzing bulb, he turned on his turn signal and crept into a traffic break, ignoring the irritated honk from the delivery van he had cut off. His tires slid over a section of uneven cobblestone as he entered the smaller street, which rapidly took him to the back end of downtown. It would take another thirty minutes, or more, to wind through the city's oldest neighborhoods. At least he was moving.
Kael relaxed back in his seat, the strain relaxing somewhat.
Still, when he looked out the window, the gloomy buildings of downtown Clarkson appeared to loom closer than normal, their black windows like watchful eyes. The doctor tightened his hold on the steering wheel as he navigated downtown's meandering streets. The ancient brick buildings pushed in tight, with graffiti-tagged shutters half-closed above stores.
At the intersection beside a little drugstore, he had to slow to a crawl. A mob had collected on the sidewalk, their voices rising in furious debate. Two males, one holding a half-torn box of face masks, shouted at a pale woman clutching her own stack to her chest.
"I have kids at home, too, lady—don't be selfish! "
"You bastard, it's first come, first served! Back off! "
A panicked pharmacist lingered at the door, attempting to calm them with quivering hands.
Kael pushed forward, feeling a foul twist in his stomach.
People are already at odds with one another after only the recent official warnings. But as he got farther into downtown, closer to the strips of red neon bars that came to life at twilight, he slowed down again, this time drawn by a heavier, almost magnetic dread.
A collection of police cars was parked partially on the curb, their lights whirling slowly. Several cops waited near the door to a filthy public restroom, whispering into radios. A handful of locals lingered nearby, phones out, recording despite being shooed back.
One black human-sized body bags were on the ground, sharply illuminated by lighting. Yellow crime scene tape encircled the little concrete square, spanning the toilet door like a foreboding warning. Kael felt breath leave his lungs. The police tape shook slightly in the air, giving a flimsy, even ridiculous barrier against whatever danger lay beyond.
He swallowed and tightened his grasp on the wheel till his knuckles became white. Then he pressed the accelerator, eager to get somewhere else.
Words coming from the bystanders murmured around it.
"Have you heard, the young lady's face was unrecognizable. they only determined it when a family member noticed the outfit of the victim..."
"Oh that wh*? She deserves it after cheating with my boyfriend, but not in this way.
"Lord, have mercy… people are getting more crude and vulgar this days"
Even the officers and investigators are confused and puzzled, even hard to rule out any suspects. One of the officers stated that this type of grotesque scene is inhuman, some speculating wild animal attacks connecting it too the recent environmental changes happening in Westview Creek Sanctuary.
Kael eventually drove into the cracked lot outside Clarkson's main government building, his brakes squeaking slightly as he halted. The edifice loomed in red brick and marble trim, with the American flag swaying in the hot evening wind. As he silenced the engine, he noticed a familiar figure: Mayor Woods, striding briskly through the glass doors, escorted by two assistants. Even from here, Kael could see the man's broad shoulders stooped, and his suit jacket crumpled as if he'd slept in it.
The doctor grabbed his phone and backpack, slammed the door harder than he intended, and dashed across the lot. "Mayor Woods!" " he yelled, his voice breaking from the effort. The mayor paused in mid-step on the top landing, turning slowly with a strained expression. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized the doctor. "Dr. Kael Woods mumbled under his breath, as if preparing for a headache. "What in the heck are you doing here again today? "
Kael ascended the steps two at a time, his breath coming quickly, more from the boiling pressure inside his chest than from the short race. "We should discuss. Now. Before things grow worse than they currently are."
With a short, annoyed sigh, the mayor looked at his aides, who were standing awkwardly near the door. "Goddammit," Woods thought. What on earth am I into now? He nodded slightly and motioned for Kael to come in with him.
Mayor Woods opened the massive double doors to the government hall, the hinges squeaking. Cool air met them inside, carrying a faint whiff of floor wax and old paper.
Kael took a half-step back, his bag banging against his hip and his trainers scuffing the marble.
Woods exhaled sharply, not looking back. "You've been calling me nonstop, Kael — I know."
"I was just in the West Wing Conference Room. The press arrived barely fifteen minutes ago, including local networks and a few state reporters. I had to reassure them that this was not Chernobyl on American soil."
Instead of the anticipated laugh, he sighed bitterly, almost as if reminiscing old times. Kael didn't immediately respond, saying, "I couldn't pick up because I was too busy keeping people from burning down their own damn crops." His jaw twitched, his eyes were black, and his hands fumbled with the strap of his bag.
"Wish I gone there to end with a positive note…" the mayor added, layered with a sarcastic laughed.
Woods turned to him and lowered his voice as they came to a quieter hallway, near the entrance of the mayor's office. "If you have any more bad news for me, you should tell me right away." I'm not ignoring anything; I'm just attempting to contain my fear or perse anger until we learn what it is.
A young secretary came around the corner, iPad gripped tightly against her breast, definitely on her way to catch up with Woods. He raised his hand, palm out.
"Samantha, give us a minute. "Wait at the reception desk." The secretary paused, her gaze bouncing between Kael's strained expression and the mayor's uncharacteristically serious tone. Then she nodded and backed away down the corridor. Mayor Woods sighed deeply and touched the back of his neck, as if bracing for an impending migraine.
He took a moment to look back down the corridor, where the young secretary had vanished. "So, who was that? "I have never seen her around before."
Mayor Woods squeezed the bridge of his nose and exhaled hard.
"Samantha. She had been on holiday with her family in San Diego for three weeks. Just got back in this morning, poor girl — right into the deep end."
Kael offered a faint nod, then ran his hand through his hair to collect his thoughts. Finally, he stared Woods straight in the eye.
"Mayor, I just talked to Dr. Nividia again. Her crew discovered scores of animal carcasses along Westview Creek, including raccoons, deer, and rats, all drifting downstream. "The water is practically red."
He hesitated, his voice lowered. "In the downtown area. " there's a bloody body bag that was currently being investigated."
Mayor Woods froze, his hands falling to his sides. His gaze flashed to the office door, as if he planned to escape inside. Kael swallowed.
"Things get worse. I overheard a conversation recently…. It was a relative of the cook in our laboratory, a tourist from Westview boarded a flight to Japan, already exhibiting early signs. "The muscle in Woods' jaw trembled. He mumbled beneath his breath.
"Jesus Christ… not even out of our county and it's already halfway across the goddamn Pacific."
Kael's lips felt sandy.
"I warned you before—this isn't something we can keep local. It's moving quicker than any of us expected." Their voices had lowered to anxious whispers as they huddled close inside the mayor's office.
The pensive doctor, found himself reiterating the same sad facts about the rotting river, as well as discussing the lab findings he obtained from Dr. Lee's cross-sample and comparing them to Dr. Nividia's tissue samples and slabs. They didn't even know how long they'd stood there, inside Woods' office, until the mayor eventually looked toward the wide window behind the mayor's desk.
Outside, the sun was already falling low below the roofs, casting long, bruised shadows over the passageway. The sky beyond the glass was a swirl of dark orange and deep violet—that eerie, restless hour when day gave way to night.
Woods gave a raspy groan.
"Goddammit… I thought it was still afternoon."
He brushed his palm over his face, deepening the creases at the corners of his eyes.
"We've been out here for hours."
Two men simply stood there while Kael's heart hammering a tense rhythm against his ribs, realizing for the first time how completely fatigued and terrifyingly little —he felt.
Mayor Woods leaned back against his office door, the knob digging into his lower back as a painful reminder of the strain that was gathering behind it. He looked out the office window, seeing the last rays of sunshine go behind the roofs.
He gave a faint whistle, like a hollow chuckle.
"Well… this is grim."
Kael didn't respond. He merely remained there, shoulders tensed, and eyes fixed on Woods, waiting for the hammer to fall. The mayor straightened, twisting his neck as if to shrug off the fear that clung to him.
"I will issue immediate isolation orders before the situation worsens." No more half-measures. I'll meet with the other local authorities tonight and advise them on all you've told me." His voice became harsher, and his eyes narrowed with fierce determination.
"We must contain this. I will put border control on standby. There are checkpoints on every state route. Clarkson City will be placed under tight isolation before midnight"
Kael gulped, felt the words sink into his belly like cold lead. This was it: the line was crossed.
Woods gave him a final glance, his jaw stiff.
"I will call you again tonight. Be ready. If we're lucky, we're still early enough to prevent this from becoming biblical."
Then he pushed off the door and slid outside, the heavy wood slamming shut with a muffled thud, leaving Kael alone in the mayor's office with the first lamps outside flickering to life against a lowering sky.