[Naz] Anathema 1

Anathema 1- Outbreak

Avril

“Reports have been sketchy but sources have claimed in the last 24 hours the outbreak has spread dramatically, claiming more and more patients here in the ward. Doctors and government officials are working…”

“The Niora Hospital in Kerning City is under lockdown at the moment. We learned that one day ago, a serious disease has…”

“I’m here with Hugh Snare from the Department of Biohazard Safety Control who has taken point here in Kerning City. How is the disease spread…”

“The hazmat suits have just entered the building. We will bring you up to date reports on their progress as they sweep…”

I switched off the television and ran my fingers through my long blonde hair absentmindedly. Staring out of the window into the Henesys street, I could already make out the morning newspaper boy calling out his extras. Propping myself up with my elbows, I shifted myself off of my bed and walked to my bathroom. With a yawn, I slipped out of my blue satin nightgown and stepped into the shower. Ice cold rain.

As the freezing beads of water slid down my skin, I sighed quietly to myself. I don’t know why I love the cold so much, it’s unnatural. But nothing was ever really natural about me; my amethyst eyes wandered to my left shoulder where there was a mysterious tiny scar in the shape of a crescent imbedded into my skin. I traced my fingers around the moon, and looked down, seeing my breath as I exhaled again.

My mind wandered again. I hate it when it does that, especially when there are memories that I cannot remember. It’s as if I try to recall an event that isn’t there. My mind tries to invent scenarios and people that I know do not exist. Maybe this happens to other people too…

Switching off the water, I wrapped myself in a white towel and sauntered back into my bedroom, leaving a small trail of ice cold beads on the hardwood floor. After quickly changing into my Red Armis, I made my way back into the living room and flipped the television back on. It seems as if all the world cared about now was the incident at the Niora Hospital. Sighing to myself, I turned the TV off and grabbed my Red Arnah Shoes and my brand new pair of Red Hunter Gloves and headed for the door.

Tucking my Red Arnah Cap under my arm, I looked down at the golden dragon that leant lackadaisically on the wall next to the front door. I could see my reflection off of its lustrous scales as I picked it up and slung my quiver over my shoulder. Hastily, I exited the threshold and slammed the door behind me. The lock latched shut with a quiet clink.

The sky was perfectly grey and overcast, and I could feel the cold front already start to make its way across Henesys. Little kids rushed past me in their race to Mushroom Park to enjoy what was left of the morning before it started to pour. I remember the young days, when all I had to do was listen to my parents. Everything would be alright as long as I followed their instructions. I would not be here right now if not for them. Too bad they’re gone now.

That troubled me the most. My mind did not seem to care at all. Was it so horrible to not even wonder why your parents disappeared, to not make any effort to search for them? I knew I should, I knew it was morally wrong, but I felt no guilt. What was wrong with me?

Without realizing it, I made my way into the Free Market. The vendors were busily putting up obscenely large umbrellas in preparation for the oncoming rain. Looking up at the big screen MapleTV, I noticed the same news report still jabbering on and on about the outbreak in Kerning City.

Suddenly, the picture changed. The quiet newscast erupted into chaos right before my eyes as the glass front doors of the Niora Hospital shattered without warning, the hospital’s inhabitants immediately engulfing the guards stationed at the entrance. Screams emanated from the pixels and I saw a brief spray of blood just before the screen blacked out.

The street was silent, dead silent. Every single eye was fixated upon the MapleTV, uncomprehending what had just happened. A breeze floated eerily down the merchants’ stalls, followed by a deep rumbling thunder in the distance that punctuated the silence inharmoniously. My amethyst eyes surveyed the people around me. No one moved. The Henesys Free Market had just transformed into a ghost town filled with mannequins.

Then, as if the city wasn’t freaked out enough, the MapleTV screen flickered on again. Screams filled the tension-charged air as the video feed shook violently as if the camera man were running for his life. The screen revealed the cameraman approaching a wall of gunslingers who all had their weapons raised locked and loaded. Just as the cameraman crossed the lines, he swiveled back and the crowd in the market place gasped in unison.

Hundreds of screaming people were sprinting towards the wall of pirates. As they neared, the gunslingers fired. Immediately, the front row of bodies fell, the bullets meeting their marks. But then, right before my eyes, they staggered back up again, as if the bullets were nothing. The gunslingers reloaded again and fired, but to no avail; the numerous men and women kept advancing like a tsunami.

The cameraman had enough and started running again, but kept his camera fixated behind him this time. As the defensive line was overwhelmed, the screams reached a whole new octave as the people in Henesys started to join in the cacophonous symphony. They were being eaten alive, right before all of our eyes. The men, women, and even children, slammed into the wall of military trained pirates and started to rip, tear, and devour all flesh available.

Someone vomited to my side, but my eyes remained fixed on the MapleTV. They just wouldn’t stop… The defense was quickly broken and they continued. One of them, faster than the others, swiftly overcame the cameraman and knocked him to the floor. The camera pointed up, revealing the man’s facial features. He had blood all over his jaw and neck. His eyes were cloudy, turning increasingly white as he raised a hand high above his head. A low moan escaped his throat and he brought the hand down, clawing ravenously at the off-screen cameraman’s body. A mist of crimson sprayed into the air, staining the camera lens with spots of blood.

The cameraman’s screams rang out above everything else, rivaled now only by the shrieks of the man hastily ripping him apart. As the bloody man frenzied, his elbow came down on the camera, and the MapleTV fizzed into blackness. The rain started now, right on cue. I gripped my Dragon Shinebow extra hard in my gloves as the sky’s tears dripped down my face. The screaming did not stop.

I pushed my way out of the pandemonium that had ensued within the Free Market. Children who were eagerly running there only ten minutes ago now found themselves trying desperately to get out and get home. Merchants urgently gathered their belongings and got the hell out of there. The mass of strident screaming echoed the sky’s own earsplitting reports.

As I made my way down the street towards the western entrance to the city, I suddenly bumped into a tall burly man wearing a pitch black Napoleon Cloak. He whipped around, his spiky teal hair shaking beads of hair violently to the ground.

“Excuse me, Miss… Oh, it’s you, Avril.” His gruff voice rumbled almost as low as the deep voice of thunder.

“Iro, did you see that?” I asked, jerking thumb behind me towards the horde of panicking Henesians.

“Yea, I’m on my way to go check it out now,” Iro replied, shaking his head once again to rid his eyes of rain. The rainwater seemed to just reflect off of his Canopus gear.

“I’m coming with you,” I stated. I’ve known Iro for several years now, actually for as long as I remember. His 184 years on this world as compared to my 124 years made him the oldest close friend I had. He knew that once I had made up my mind, there was no stopping me.

“Sure pumpkin, suit yourself,” Iro replied and continued in his brisk pace to get out of the city, “It’s your funeral.”

I cursed at him under my breath and followed, not taking a look back.

The lightning streaked ferociously across the blackening sky, the thunder clashed furiously in the heavens, and the Gods of Maple fought their terrible wars with no concern to their subjects below.