Quarantine: A Pandora Novel Read online

  Also by Richard McCrohan

  The Pandora series:

  Pandora

  Pandora 2

  Pandora: The Complete Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse

  Dead to the World

  Quarantine

  Short stories:

  Family Ties

  Old Haunts

  Win Yourself a Kewpie Doll

  Quarantine

  A Pandora Novel

  Richard McCrohan

  ISBN-13: 9781539482178

  ISBN-10: 1539482170

  Copyright 2016 Richard McCrohan

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons either living or dead are purely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2016917245

  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

  North Charleston, South Carolina

  To: Linda Blair---always

  This book is dedicated to Bobi Kraft, my biggest supporter and friend. We miss you.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  One month later …

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Prologue

  The grand limestone façade of New York City Hall in lower Manhattan stood majestically in the cool Thursday morning sun. The French Renaissance style building was the powerful center of government in the “city that never sleeps” since it was first opened in 1812. Inside of this magnificent structure there was a tense anxiousness in everyone’s movements. A palpable portend of disaster pervaded every nook and cranny of the center of New York City’s governmental headquarters. No more so than in the large Ceremonial Room located on the first floor of the structure.

  Seated at the head of a long conference table of dark, highly polished cherry, New York City’s mayor, Thomas Harmon Clarke closed the cover of his thick briefing folder and cleared his throat. A few chairs scraped the floor as the low hum of individual conversations quickly died down. Mayor Clarke looked out over the grim and serious faces of this ad hoc emergency crisis counsel that he had cobbled together. One of his two advisors, Dennis Cordova, quietly slid a paper in front of him. Briefly glancing down, Mayor Clarke picked it up and looking at the people before him started to speak.

  “I’d like to thank you all for moving your schedules and being here this morning. Firstly, I want to introduce everyone around the table. On my right is the Commissioner of police Donald McManus. Next to him is deputy mayor Adam Bernstein, then the National Guard commander, Lieut. Col. Gregory Murray.”

  Gesturing briefly, Mayor Clarke continued, “Across is fire Commissioner Henry Tropp, then head of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Hillary Cohen. From Homeland Security, Ned Steinholtz, New York FBI Assistant Station Chief Robert Termanello, head of New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation John Rosario, New York City Port Authority chief Sal Zucco.”

  The movers and shakers of the Big Apple’s governmental apparatus gave brief nods as the introductions continued.

  “Moving on down,” Mayor Clarke intoned, “New York Emergency Management Team assistant commissioner Carl Ellman, from the CDC in Atlanta, we have Drs. Estevan de Silva, Emory Galvin and Patricia Carnes. And finally, representing the New Jersey governor, Edward Caruso.”

  As everyone in the room gave a slightly puzzled sideways glance at the New Jersey attendant, Mayor Clarke added, “And you all know my advisors, Harrison Vander Vliet and Dennis Cordova.

  “All right, that out of the way, you all know what has been happening in Asia and Europe. According to the CDC, we will be next.” Looking at the group of doctors at the end of the table, the mayor nodded to the head of the contingent from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

  Rising from his chair, Dr. Estevan de Silva solemnly looked at the assembled leaders. He had steel gray hair swept back from his face and touching his collar in back. A trimmed mustache and goatee framed a pair of full lips set in a tight grimace. His hound dog eyes looked sad and world-weary. Dr. de Silva took a deep breath and in a deep baritone voice started to speak.

  “Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As I am sure you will all well aware when the Pandora comet entered our solar system and struck Mars, it brought a vast dust and debris cloud in its wake. Amid the detritus of dust and rock was also an alien virus. The resulting virus that had infected thirty percent of the world’s population caused moderate to severe flulike symptoms before disappearing after week or two. The virus had gone dormant and underwent a drastic mutation, the likes of which we are just now beginning to realize. This new permeation of virus, now named the Pandora 2 Mutation, attacks the brain and shuts down the organs of the human body, somehow taking control of and then killing off its host. It then re-animates the body which acts as a virus producing factory, so to speak, and goes on to infect more victims through blood fluid exchange.”

  “You mean, it bites other people,” interrupted police Commissioner McManus.

  Turning his sad eyes to the chief, Dr. de Silva nodded. “Yes. They attack and bite other people.”

  “How does this happen?” asked DHMH chief Hillary Cohen.

  Quickly speaking from her seat, Dr. Carnes answered, “We don’t know.” Now leaning forward, she continued, “You have to understand that this is an alien virus unlike anything that we have ever seen before. We at the CDC as well as WHO and other international health agencies are intently studying this disease using all of our resources. But it will take time to fully understand how this virus works. After all, this mutation is still relatively a new phenomenon. And it acts quickly.”

  As other voices raised frightened questions, Mayor Clarke stood and put his hands up in the stern manner. “Wait a minute. Enough. Let Dr. de Silva finish his presentation. We have quite a bit to discuss.”

  Clearing his throat, the stentorian doctor continued on nonplussed by the brief interruptions, “The one thing that we do know absolutely is that the only people involved in these attacks are the former victims of the original Pandora virus. No one else. Unfortunately, the Pandora 2 Mutation virus is highly contagious and 100% fatal. If you are unfortunate enough to be bitten by an infected person, no matter the severity of the wound, you will become infected yourself and you will die. And reanimate.

  “Therefore, the CDC in concert with the federal government is ordering an emergency quarantine for all hospitals and clinics around the country. This will be effective tomorrow. All previous Pandora victims and all patients exhibiting symptoms will be quarantined. If needed, overflow centers will be set up at Madison Square Garden, the Jacob Javits Center and both Yankee and Shea stadiums. As for the rest of the population, on Sunday a national quarantine will be put into effect. And while this won’t affect Manhattan, house to house collection of all previous Pandora victims will be taken throughout the rest of the country.”

  The assembled division heads squirmed in discomfort. Hillary Cohen then asked, “Why not Manhattan?”

  “Because,” continued the mayor, “all large, major cities are considered too populated and congested for any type of operation like this to work. Can you imagine the National Guard troops and vehicles going up and down the city streets and trying to take people down the tall condo and apartment buildings or
even going up and down five floor walk-up’s?”

  “National Guard?” queried Commissioner McManus.

  “Yes,” nodded Mayor Clarke. “All National Guard units have been called up across the country to augment the local police forces.”

  Already tentatively forewarned about this by the various rumors and scuttlebutt whispered behind closed doors, the various individuals in the room nodded and fidgeted anxiously in their respective seats. This was neither going to be an easy nor a popular action to achieve. Especially in the city as large and as diverse as New York City. In Manhattan alone the thought of the task was mind-boggling. The only fortunate thing about it was that it was to begin on a weekend and not during the weekday work and commuter traffic.

  While the reality and extent of the Pandora epidemic and the quarantine was sinking in, Mayor Clarke continued his agenda.

  “All right, the president realizes the unique problems of a major city imposing a quarantine. This extends not only to us but also to cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and such. We obviously can’t go house to house and apartment to apartment to interview millions of infected. We don’t have the manpower nor do we have the time frame. But together we will achieve a workable plan to implement in our great city. And that is why you specific individuals are here today.

  “Our first major goal is to use the many hospitals and clinics to pinpoint and separate all patients who come into them showing symptoms of the Pandora 2 Mutation. All hospitals already have received orders to compile a list of all previous victims of the initial Pandora virus and to use that as a checklist for incoming patients. If your name is on that list you will immediately go into isolation. The same will be done with others who exhibit symptoms.

  “John and Hillary, I want you working together to implement a working plan for accomplishing this task. The CDC and WHO are here to assist you. The situation might get a bit strained, so Chief McManus, I want you to make sure that the major hospitals are covered with extra security. I’m designating Bellevue, Harlem Hospital, Lenox Hill, Mt. Sinai, St. Luke’s and New York Columbia/Presbyterian as the focus hospitals. Dennis, I want you to oversee this.”

  People were quickly taking out pens and jotting down notes and reminders on their pads. Their aides behind them were quietly going off and speaking in hushed voices on cell phones. The Homeland Security chief was on his phone also. The only one remaining motionless in the midst of all this kinetic energy was Edward Caruso from the New Jersey governor’s office. He was closely watching everyone’s reactions around him while appearing to be waiting for something else.

  The Emergency Management commissioner Carl Ellman spoke up, “Mr. Mayor, I’m sure that when the public gets wind of this there will be a mass exodus of people leaving the city.”

  Looking pained, the mayor replied, “Yes, you’re right. And here’s where I need the help of the National Guard and the New York fire department. All of the ferry terminals will be manned by National Guard troops with the help of the fire department and in conjunction with the CDC to examine all passengers boarding and to only let the uninfected board the ferries to New Jersey and the outerboroughs.”

  “But this will cause a massive bottleneck,” objected Ellman.

  “No kidding,” the mayor bristled. “Do your best.”

  “What about the bridges and tunnels?” asked the Port Authority chief.

  The mayor shook his head. He chewed his lip seeming to think for a second then replied, “I don’t see how we can possibly close down all the bridges and tunnels right now. Some of the users will probably be out-of-state residents returning home. I think the best course of events is to wait until we assess the situation and see what the amount of deterioration is among the populace.”

  The New Jersey representative was slowly shaking his head while gazing defeated at his hands folded upon the conference table.

  The emergency meeting went on for another hour, while the hastily devised plans were ironed out and determinations were made as to who would be in charge of implementing them. Somehow, in the back of all of their minds, formed a picture of the boy with his finger in the dike, trying valiantly but vainly to stem the oncoming flood. Finally, the mayor was ending the meeting so that they could all start beginning to attend to the impossible tasks ahead of them. It was at that point that a greatly perturbed member stood up. It was Edward Caruso, the New Jersey representative.

  Taking a confrontational tone Caruso said, “I think we still have a problem Mr. Mayor.” All heads turned to him looking puzzled. That included the mayor.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Caruso?” he questioned.

  Looking directly at the mayor of New York City, Caruso responded, “I believe we still have a huge problem here. The governor of New Jersey has expressed to me his strong concern over the expected large influx of refugees fleeing the city and seeking shelter in our state. And especially about the vast amount of infected that is sure to come over among New Yorkers fleeing the city.”

  Noticing everyone staring open mouthed at him, he explained, “I want you to know that it’s not just New York City that we’re worried about. As we speak, the same exact conversation is happening with the mayor of Philadelphia, also.”

  His face slowly reddening, Mayor Clarke stammered out, “Refugees? New Yorkers? You have a huge number of New Jersey workers and visitors in a city every single day. What about them?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Mayor,” Caruso said, “but we must look after our own citizens. We don’t have the means of dealing with a massive influx of a non-native population. We are quite probably speaking of millions of people; a third of which will probably be infected.”

  “Jesus Christ,” police Chief McManus shouted, “are you nuts?”

  “This isn’t one state versus another,” spat out Mayor Clarke, “we’re all American citizens. I am not shutting down our tunnels and bridges and hurting our people just to make it easier for your governor to cope with this. And that’s final!” He slammed his palm flat on the table.

  Grabbing his notes, Edward Caruso turned and strode briskly for the door. “I was afraid of this. We will have to seek other means of accommodation.”

  With that, the irate representative walked out the door slamming it behind him. The meeting quickly fell into disarray as everyone started yelling and talking at the same time; while the mayor wearily sank into his chair in disbelief.

  As the day wore on, slowly and innocuously at first, the Pandora pandemic started to affect the Western Hemisphere and its last victims of this world.

  1

  The Saturday morning sun streamed brightly through the kitchen window. The aroma of freshly grilled bacon wafted through the air. Rick Sturges picked the last piece from his plate with two fingers and bit the crispy strip in half. The sound of the newscasters on the television was background noise as Rick finished the last of his bacon and microwave pancake breakfast. Although he was really only paying scant attention to the countertop TV, the tone of the newscaster’s voice made him look up at the screen. A shaky videocam image was now being shown with the words Cairo, Egypt superimposed across the bottom. The jarring image showed a nighttime street scene of burning automobiles and rioting people. As the text banner scrolled across the bottom of the picture, including the words Pandora virus several times, the shaky, handheld camera suddenly steadied and focused in on a group of people standing in front of a burning SUV. They were all holding long poles in their hands and appeared to be beating several men who had their hands up, apparently trying to unsuccessfully ward off the blows. On further observation, it now seemed as though they weren’t really trying at all. Instead, they were reaching out for their attackers. Suddenly, one man got past the flailing poles and grabbed one of the group. He attempted to bite the arm of his abuser and as that man backpedaled, they both fell into the furiously burning vehicle. As the person holding the pole fell screaming into the fiery wreck, incredibly, the other man turned and started walking toward the r
est of the attackers. His clothes had ignited and the flames curled and leapt from his blackening body. The other men holding the long weapons kept backing away while this flaming individual continued to plod on after them. Several others, who were initially being attacked now joined their comrade and swarmed the terrified group. At this point, is one of them turned to the cameramen and advanced growling menacingly, the picture jumped and blurred. Then the screen went black.

  With a stunned expression the seated newscaster cleared his throat and spoke, “That was video from our reporter Tom Eversoll in Cairo. It seems that the attacks have apparently resulted from the re-emergence of the Pandora virus pandemic previously thought to have run its course. The ensuing rioting and mass panic that is now happening has spread throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa. This was certainly horrifying footage and we wish our colleague Tom, a safe return home.”

  As he shuffled some papers in his hand he continued, “We now bring you an update on this developing situation. The CDC in conjunction with the WHO and--”

  Just then Rick’s iPhone rang and jarred him out of the moment. He reluctantly pried his eyes away from the screen and reached out for the ringing device.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, pal. Are you about on your way?”

  The voice on the other end belonged to Rick’s best friend, Phil Jordan. Called “PJ” by everyone including his parents, he was impatiently waiting for an update. This was the weekend that both men had taken the day off so they could take their girlfriends into New York City to hear a lecture at the New York Museum of Natural History. The popular author, Vernon Knox, was appearing in the city for a series of interviews concerning his new book The Coming Plagues. Both Rick and PJ had read it and were fascinated by the concept of an apocalyptic pandemic devastating the world’s population. Vernon Knox was very adamant about the likelihood of an event like that happening sooner rather than later. And with the advent of the Pandora virus, it finally seemed that the author’s dire portends had come to fruition. While the virus brought to earth by the rogue comet, created no more than severe flulike symptoms in the individuals it affected, the fact that one third of the world’s population had been infected by this alien plague generally frighten most people and brought Vernon Knox’s hypothesis into the forefront of public concern. The wily author swiftly turned this attention into a lucrative series of book signings and speaking engagements. A quickly cobbled together date at the Museum of Natural History was the intended destination of Rick, PJ and their reluctant girlfriends. The two girls were really there to go out on the town afterwards.