The Plague
by Robert M. Velkym

   The soft pitter-patter of rain fell down upon the small high school in California. Thadius Braxton, the son of the well known and well-respected bio-engineer, came to school late. His nose was running and his face shown white like a sheet. He went to the office and got his usual pass to class and continued onto his usual first period. Everything was usual, or was it?

   He walked into his classroom on the second floor of the Administration building. Slowly he walked, stumbling over his own feet, to hand his teacher, a balding man of 60 who had an undeniable speak impediment (he always emphasized "CLERKS"), his delicate pink slip from the attendance lady.

   As he waited for the teacher to acknowledge his presence he sneezed. Blood mixed with snot dribbled out of his nose as he covered his face. He reached for a Kleenex, the teacher snatching the bit of paper from his hand, and wiped the compilation off his face. He returned to his seat and was welcomed by another sneeze. This one was much more violent, spraying little bits of blood clot and phlegm on the girl that sat in front of him. He tried to apologize but as he raised his hand to wipe the stuff that blanketed her head, he was racked by the first in a series of convulsions.

   His eyes rolled up in his head, his body falling limply onto the ground. He was beginning to bleed from every orifice of his failing body. He screamed, his voice bouncing off the cheap-fiberglass walls.

   Susan Hicks was the first to behold the grizzly disease running its final lap. She was also one of the first to die. She turned to cuss out the freak who had sneezed in her nicely groomed hair. As she looked over at Thadius her scream mingled with his, creating a perfect harmony of horror. As her scream prevailed his died away, his body finally giving in to the maddening virus and turning into a chunky puddle of blood and gore.

   That was how it all began on that rainy Friday morning of February 2, 1966. The day the Braxton virus began.

   At 10:30 AM on that same day the Army got an anonymous tip from a school in California. The ultra secret password "Brussle sprout" was used, that signaled the early bio warning central. The army sent a small group of "shock troopers" into the infected high school. They were extremely interesting people. They were army special forces, troops armed with X-078 flame throwers and decontamination suits.

   The entire fiery episode could be seen from the student parking lot. The administration building went up in flames, if you had been there, you would have heard students screaming as they were incinerated in their seats. Then the adjacent building exploded as one of the shock troopers lit the gas pipes. The explosion rocked the school, sending cement and steel shrapnel in a rain of death.

   After the burning and cleansing of the school the second wave of troopers was called in. These were more rugged troops, armed with M-16's, bayonet's, and white phosphorus grenades. Their job was to kill all 100,000 residence of the surrounding Conejo Valley . They would break into every house then kill everyone encountered. Then they would torch the house. This "military justice" lasted for 4 hours as the 20,000 troops cleared the valley of life.

   The once lush and flourishing valley that was the Conejo, now lay in utter ruin. It was not over. The army officers ordered the troops into the town square, then dropped Napalm onto the valley, killing all the troops and destroying every living organism.

   All that remained was a long cement highway, striping through the black soot and dust storms. The smell of burnt flesh still clung to the air for two years after the "cover up."

   This entire scene took place only 30 years ago. Is it possible again?