READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 1: Chapter 1 - What?
Atlanta, USA. 29th of August, 2012.
Atlanta Suburbs, 3:43 PM, a few hours before the outbreak.
In the cold suburbs of Atlanta, Luther Weiss, a 21-year-old man was sitting in the room of his house, his blue eyes were staring at the monitor in front of him, his PC, which he often used for study purposes, was now staring at the bunch of news that had come up recently. On the elections held in the US on the 11th, the country was hit with major news, as an information leak had surged that the elections were going to be rigged, in favor of one of the candidates for Presidency. The country erupted into chaos as both left and right-wing parties collided with each other in a desperate attempt to gain an advantage over the opposing party, both sides were fiercely protesting and counter-protesting.He blankly stared as he watched the news, he wasn't much of both parties, he only wished that the law was respected as he, an aspiring lawyer, respected the law above anything else. He kept scrolling around as he remembered that classes were suspended due to the violent protests on his campus. "What a bunch of shit. Hope everything turns out correctly, violence should be our last resort.." He spoke, staring blankly at the roof which made his brown hair lean back. He pulled out his phone as he stared back down, pulling out Instagram to scroll around, there, he saw that some of his friends were actively protesting against the elections.Tired of seeing just the elections he decided to turn off his phone and stand up, stretching himself as he walked out of his room to walk down to his kitchen to prepare something to eat. He quietly walked down the stairs as he admired his house. It was simple, but It looked vibrant. He was met with the house's entrance when he walked down the stairs, with the main room at the left and the kitchen at the right. He walked to the fridge took out some leftover food from last night, and sat down to look at Atlanta. His house was positioned in a place where he could look over some of the city, the morning lights of his city always made him enjoy his day.Sadly enough, he could hear the protests in his city. They had become nonstop for the past week, and everything had just become a torment. His life had just turned out to be utterly messed around because of some elections. He wondered about his college friends. Where were they now? He did see some of them, but they must be rational enough not to risk their lives, right? Well, he didn't have any real faith."Hello, Luther. How are you?" His Father, Konrad, a massive 6'2 man with a Germanic accent and characteristics, was quietly standing at the kitchen entrance, his manly figure towering alongside the house's structure. "Hi, Dad. What's up? I'm all good." He muttered, chewing on a sandwich he had left there previously the night before. "Nothing much. Just wanted to tell you we can't go out today, things are getting violent. My friends are telling me that the situation is getting worse each day." His father said, sitting on one of the stools in the kitchen's little bar, taking a glass of water that was nearby."Ugh, fine. I'll just stay here." Luther started as he kept eating his sandwich, his father just chuckled and left for his studio to continue his work. Luther just pulled out his phone and kept watching the news, in which a header had taken his attention.*Breaking news! Strange virus spotted in France, French authorities declared that the virus string is from an unknown procedure and that it is under control. Unofficial sources state that at least over 30.000 persons were infected, presenting symptoms like fever, itchiness, nausea, increased strength, and speed. Some sources state that this might be more serious than the world thinks.*"Good christ. More shit for humanity to deal with now. Hope it doesn't become too severe.." Luther muttered as he finished to eat as he sat up and walked to his room. He could hear his father argue intensely through his phone, with an unknown person. This is the first time he has heard his father become so enraged with someone, he and his father were usually very collected persons who didn't lash out. Luther, blinded by the gossip, began to listen."WHAT DO YOU FUCKING MEAN 008 BREACHED CONTAINMENT? DO YOU NOT KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR LITTLE FUCKING GAME? THANK FUCKING GOD SITE-03 IS ON FUCKING FRANCE." He could hear his father blabber about an 'SCP-008' and a certain 'Foundation' but he couldn't guess what it was. Suddenly, his father fell silent as he calmed himself down. "Where is O5-4? Yes I know he's here in Atlanta. Call him immediately to my home. Yes, my home. Tell him the chairman of the fucking ethics committee is calling him." He finally said, ending the call.Luther had heard most of it, what was the foundation? What is he a chairman of? Who or what is O5-4? He had so many questions that were left unanswered. He heard his father walking to the door he was leaning on, so he decided to quickly run out to his room, and act like nothing happened.He heard that his father had taken the keys to their car, and was about to leave. So he yelled trying to take his attention. "DAD! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" He yelled as he remembered that his dad had told him that he couldn't go out because of the current situation.
"I'm just going to pick up a friend, that's it!" He replied, going out of the house.Luther stayed in his room wondering where his father would go, could it possibly be related to that "O5-4" he talked about, he didn't want to follow his dad, or spy even more.His father drove down the suburbs until he reached the center of the city, where the skyscrapers shone with their imposing heights and shiny windows, Konrad kept driving around until he saw a 5-star hotel, he then carefully drove his Cadillac SUV to where the reception was, where he found a familiar face, his "friend" or colleague. "Hello there. Come in, Alan." Said Konrad as he lowered the windows of the Escalade, to which the man quickly jumped in the back seat of the car."Hello there chairman, it's a pleasure meeting you." Said Alan as he accommodated himself in his seat, starting a conversation with Konrad. "O5-4, pleasure meeting you again." Konrad quickly cut the chatting to interrupt Alan, if that was even his real name. "Alright. Cut it, let's just talk on the way. What the fuck happened in France?" Konrad aggressively asked, to which the O5 simply snarled and replied. "Typical containment breach, to what I've been informed, but, there are reports from MTF "Delta-5" that the Chaos insurgency had raided the site. We have lost comms with Site-06, and Epsilon-11, Beta-7, and Epsilon-9 have been dispatched from England. They should be there already." 'Alan' said, remarking the fact that the foundation they worked for had already sent men to deal with the Zombie prion.SCP-008 is an "anomalous" virus that infects individuals with a 100% effectiveness and infection rate. It zombifies those who become infected, going through a 5-minute infection process that ultimately results in death and transformation into an infected being, similar to a typical zombie virus. "However, we have unconfirmed reports that the Insurgency has spread the pathogen to local water supplies and may be planning a broader distribution. Foundation contacts in other continents have indicated the same; the Insurgency is on the move," O5-4 stated nervously, fidgeting with his hands. "Well, that's concerning. A global outbreak of 008 would be catastrophic. What did the President say?" Konrad asked while driving, getting closer to the suburbs where he lived."That's another issue. Iota-10 reports that the President is in danger and that a coup d'état may be imminent. Politicians are causing too many problems," O5-4 replied, pulling out his phone, and receiving a message from one of his colleagues."Shit! Shit! 008 cases have been discovered in Canada and the East Coast, O5-7 just sent me the information. You know he handles everything related to propaganda and information, fuck!" O5-4 said in a desperate tone as they arrived at their home. "Shit. Then what do we do? Declare an end-of-the-world scenario?" Konrad replied, turning off the car. "No! We should be able to contain it, we have more Task Forces in the mainland USA. For now, I'd personally recommend you to get ready." Said O5-4 as he stepped down of the car, and they both began walking to the entrance of Konrad's house. "I'm afraid the world is going to go to shambles, Konrad spoke in a sad tone. As Konrad pulled out the key to his house, O5-4 interrupted in a hurry."I'm sorry to interrupt you Konrad, but I need to go now. The O5 council was called to Site-01 by The Administrator, and we all need to go. I will be picked up by a helicopter in the Crawford hospital." O5-4 said, leaving Konrad with lots of questions, who only expressed annoyance and spoke."I can't go with you, my son will go with you. I need to collect everything in my studio, it's far too important, I trust in him." Konrad said, as O5-4 simply nodded in annoyance as he stood near the Cadillac. Without Konrads knowing, the situation had become far too intense for the US government or any organization to handle, the simple breach of SCP 008 a week ago became a worldwide disaster that would infect the world in literal days.Konrad walked in and explained the situation to his son, who managed to understand it as he had been watching the news as well and had seen how the situation had escalated to disastrous levels. Luther quickly understood and as he was about to walk outside, his father signaled him to stop and made him follow him to his studio, where he stopped him once more, and seemed to unlock a secret safe that had some documents, and most importantly, 2 handguns. 2 Glock sidearms were there standing silently with 3 magazines each to the side.Konrad picked up one of the handguns and the munition and handed it to his son, who gratefully accepted the weapon, concealing it within his plain shorts and the 3 magazines that he hid in his left pocket. "Son, listen to me. I need you to understand that you will only use this gun in your defense, and as I told you before, you may encounter an infected person. I need you to directly aim at their head, understood?" Konrad seriously said as he picked up a handgun too.Luther nodded in agreement as he hugged his father, his fit was simple, a simple black hoodie with some Nike shorts, as well as some simple sports shoes, Luther hugged him and left, as he stepped down, he quickly went down as he was received by Alan or O5-4. "So Crawford? I can get you there. But you know, with the Chaos, it can turn complicated." Alan spoke as they both got inside the Cadillac and turned it on."Yeah, but I have a team of people in the Hospital who can help me. The important thing is to get me off, and the kid, personally, get ready. Shit WILL hit the fan, especially since we can't fix it." Alan told him as they simply continued driving off, through the streets of Atlanta they could see a massive amount of violence, it was usually Red vs Blue, but nothing they could just pass off."From what I can understand, and my Dad told me, you guys work for a secret organization? Christ. Thought those only existed in fiction... " Luther said, with his eyes stuck to the road as they kept driving through the streets littered with protesters, careful not to run over any of them."Yeah, you could call it that. I'd guess your father still has many things to tell you but, I'd guess you're now part of us. Normally, people who know about us, either suppress them or administer amnestics that alter their memory. But since you're the son of the Chairman who directs the Committee that stops us from abusing that. I'd guess we forget you." Alan explained as he looked at the bystanders who all held different things, from rocks to handmade melee weapons. "I guess. Dad explained to me the basics in that short while, I don't know what I should feel getting to know both a Chairman and an O5 Council member, haha." Luther nicely joked as they kept on driving.Minutes passed as they saw the street the hospital was on, and soon, a dramatic scene appeared. Multiple ambulances and cars were rushing in, desperately attempting to treat their friends and comrades who were hurt in the protests or were being treated for different things.They both managed to barely park, as they both started to head out to the inside of the hospital, there, they were met with a dramatic scene.Hundreds of people move from one place to another, in desperate attempts to exercise medicine on those who need it the most. He could see burned skin, intoxicated people, and even people with wounds related to firearms. The scene was disastrous, and he only stayed still until O5-4 which he hadn't described yet, woke him up. He then saw a middle-aged man with short height and a casual outfit that made him go undercover for normal civilians. They kept on skipping through people, as they both reached the stairs. They thought the stairs were the best option as they knew that the elevators were crowded with staff and patients. They climbed up the stairs, making periodic pauses so they could get a little rest. While they rested, they could hear the yelling and screams of people attempting to treat them, which quite honestly, made Luther nervous."Aight! We're here. If you want to leave, go. I'd recommend you to, everything will go to shit in a few days. Heard a nurse say they had a patient with the 'Thing in France'. So, I'd say for you to get your Dad and friends, and get to Site-02, which is literally near Atlanta." Alan said, to which Luther simply smiled and said goodbye.Luther, now on his own, walked down the stairs calmly in the look of the elevator. Going up was an issue he could avoid, but going down would just be a waste of time. As he opened one of the emergency doors he almost crashed with some doctors who were handling a patient in a stretcher. When he reached the elevators, he was met with a familiar gaze."Is that you Luther? Hi! It's been a bit huh?" Luther heard a feminine voice to his right when he was a familiar nurse whose height couldn't be more than 5'8, her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, and her mouth was covered with a medical facemask. "It's me! Amy Harrison! From High School, you don't remember?"After mentioning her name, Luther's memory clicked as he recognized the woman before him. She was Amy, one of his High School friends when he was still there. He didn't remember her at first, but now that she mentioned it, he remembered her."Hi there Amy. How are you? How's nursery treating you?" Luther casually asked as he hugged her as a way of greeting her."Fine... Until now. I was just fired. It turns out that giving people free medicine was a bad call, especially in these times. Andrea is going to kill me." Amy said in a soft tone as she crossed her arms in shame.Andrea is Amy's sister. Both of them are less than 30 years old. Amy is 23, and Andrea is 28. They both knew Luther, as Amy had been Luther's friend since childhood, and they both knew each other well.Luther's plain personality wasn't a problem for Amy, as she was an outgoing and extrovert girl who could break those self-imposed barriers that people put themselves in, Luther was just a simple guy who didn't want to bother anyone or anything in his life."So what are you going to do now?" Luther asked staring at Amy as she took off her facemask, revealing a tired face that showed signs of arduous work."I don't know... Probably go home." "Amy, question. Have any of you lately received patients with fever or rabies?" Luther asked, remembering the dangerous virus that had been released worldwide."Yeah... Now that you mention it yeah. 6 people were bit by people seemingly in rabies, but like in steroids. Ap." Amy said as the elevator finally opened.They both tried to budge in, watching the sick patients and doctors alike trying to move around the massive hospital, they awkwardly fit inside the elevator as both of them didn't almost fit in the elevator. Amy, controlled by the embarrassment turned red result of the shame. Luther didn't mind, as it wasn't either his first time, or it was a big deal. The elevator stayed completely silent as the smell of medicine erupted in the air. They both got to the bottom floor after the elevator somehow stopped on every single floor, they managed to get out of the hospital. As they walked to the car, the previously chaotic scene intensified even more as even more individuals attempted to pour inside the hospital and more people were fighting each other. Some even would see people acting as if they had rabies or were cannibalistic. The chaotic scene was ignored by Luther, Amy in her nurse sense didn't want to leave some of them alone but was utterly obliged by Luther, who prompted her to get on the co-pilot seat, as they got on the vehicle and drove off.They passed through the chaotic streets of Atlanta, and both of them just kept silent as they stared at the utterly disastrous scene. Suddenly, Luther's phone rang as he drove, but managing to answer his father, who was the person who tried to establish communication with his son."Luther. We need to go, thing is getting far worse. More cases are appearing everywhere in the USA, we underestimated the entire thing, cases are spreading like the common flu and we need to evacuate immediately. I've already mobilized some people to rescue you, I'm not in the house. I need you to find a safe place to stay so my people can rescue you." Luther's father ended."Okay! Fine! I'm with someone though, can you bring them as well?" Luther asked through the phone, receiving a curious stare from Amy who wondered what he was talking about."Yes! But you need to go! Atlanta will fall in a matter of weeks! We have a safe place, Site-02 " His father yelled through the phone, which Amy could barely hear.Luther was forced to stop, as a bunch of cars that were rushing to the hospital crashed around him, chaos intensified even more as people started being attacked by people with "rabies", who wrathfully bit down the people that they encountered, this scene horrified both Amy and Luther, luther had listened to his father on to what these things were and could do, but it was still horrible and terrifying seeing how they butchered innocent people.The streets were now littered with both those things, and terrified people attempted to fight back. Up until now, they both were completely still, terrified of the picture of the streets becoming a savage kingdom only those things ruled and controlled, Luther, thinking fast woke up from the shock, and immediately so after did Amy. They both ran, avoiding the terrible streets as they entered several alleys, attempting to hide but utterly their cover being blown, Amy had realized she left her phone in the car, but Luther told her to not go for it.In an unexpected turn looking for a safe building, a zombie that was hiding in a corner jumped at the couple. Luther, with quick reflexes, pulled out his Glock and aimed, after some seconds, ended with the "life" of the infected person. Amy gasped as she saw his friend kill someone or something. But due to the hurry, decided to just keep running until they found a relatively empty clothing store. Luther scanned through the area spotting people running from the infection, and once he saw there was no one around, grabbed Amy by her hand and sprinted to it, barely managing to escape the imminent threats.Inside the store, it was relatively simple. A small, complex store that served as a cheap market for people who lived around the area, Luther pulled out his pistol once more and scanned the rooms with Amy behind him, in a tactical fashion, Luther cleared out the area as he noticed that nobody was in the store, the owners must have left in panic of the outbreak or could have been infected and gone out for more blood, they both decided to climb up the stairs of the building, reaching the roof of it and seeing the chaos unfolding within the city, the dark sky contrasting with the explosions and fires occurring within Atlanta.Luther managed to bring his phone and communicate with his Dad who told him rescue would come in the form of a helicopter, and that they should wait on the roof of the building they were in. They complied with Konrads orders as they just blockaded the entrance to the roof and decided to sleep, staring at the endless stars as the world was consumed by a mere pathogen.