Prep For Doom Read online

  Amy tapped a button on her watch and a red light indicated it was recording.

  “I am Amy Savino with WMNM news with Mr. George Pascelli. Former Federal Judge. As you know, Mr. Pascelli, I have reported on several stories about the group known as Prep for Doom. Can you confirm that you are a contributing member to this organization?”

  Mr. Pascelli smiled. “Straight to the point. That is why I asked for you specifically.” He coughed a few times before clearing his throat to continue. “I don’t have much time. Yes, I am a member of the group Prep for Doom. Although I did not choose that name for it,” he laughed which led him to more coughing.

  Amy reached for the water in front of him and helped him get a drink.

  “Thank you,” he said when he had control again.

  “I assume your role in Prep for Doom is investment?”

  “I see you have done your investigative work well Miss Savino. Yes, I have contributed large amounts of funds to the organization.”

  “For what exactly?”

  He widened his eyes. “To prepare of course.”

  Amy didn’t think her line of questions was going to lead anywhere, but had to ask anyway.

  “And what does Prep for Doom have that makes them more prepared than any other prepper group?”

  He smiled. “Safety, Miss Savino. A promise of safety, of food, of maintaining life.”

  He looked sad then and Amy realized why he was willing to talk to her now. His life was ending anyway. What did he have to lose?

  “Can you tell me, Mr. Pascelli, who is the original creator of Prep for Doom, and why has this group, above all the others, gained the interest of such influential people, such as yourself?” Amy asked.

  Mr. Pascelli ignored her first question. “Prep for Doom is not a game. Although some of those online kids treat it as such. Viruses like the one in Africa are very real threats.”

  Amy’s pulse quickened.

  “Of course, but it was contained, Mr. Pascelli.”

  “Ah yes, but for how long?” He let the question hang in the air for a moment.

  “Are you implying that AVHF is still a threat?”

  Clearing his throat again he said, “Well, no but I do know there is a company working on a vaccine for it as we speak.”

  Amy nodded. “That would be Peter Franklin Donalds. Everyone knows they won a contract to begin preliminary testing. What does a vaccine have to do with the virus?”

  “Hopefully to prevent future outbreaks, Miss Savino.”

  Amy smiled. He was a sly old man, she would give him that.

  “So what does Prep for Doom have to do with Peter Franklin Donalds? Are they related?”

  “No,” he said again quickly. “Although, at the moment, they both seem a bit focused on the AVHF virus.”

  Amy nodded, her eyes widening at the thought. All kinds of theories were taking bloom in her mind. “What do you know of the original outbreak in Africa?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Only what I have seen in your reports on it. It is the first time in history a virus like this has been airborne. It kills faster than anything we have ever seen. It has a seventy to eighty percent mortality rate. Some are immune and some can survive it. That is about it.” He trailed off at the end, succumbing to a coughing fit.

  Amy’s attention piqued. “I never reported that some are immune because I could never confirm it. How would you know that?”

  He shrugged again. “Maybe it is just wishful thinking.”

  Amy wasn’t so sure.

  “Mr. Pascelli, is Prep for Doom promising its members safety here in New York if something were to happen?”

  “That would make sense wouldn’t it?” he paused then to cough violently again.

  When he was done she placed her hand on his arm. “Where? Where would it be?”

  “How would I know? I am just a rambling old man wishing to help those who are still alive.”

  Amy smiled then and believed him. “Thank you for your time Mr. Pascelli. I will let you get some rest now.”

  “No, thank you Miss Savino. Don’t ever stop, you hear? You keep telling it like it is.”

  She smiled and squeezed his hand. “Now, that, I can promise.”

  Amy left feeling sad for the man, and with her head swimming with theories of conspiracy. She was heading out of the hospital when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She stuck her ear bud in without even looking.

  “Amy Savino, how may I help you?”

  “Amy! This is Miguel.”

  “Miguel! How are you?” Amy asked, smiling. He was a many-time informant who often had the uncanny luck of being in the right place at the right time. She had known him for years and they had grown to become friends.

  “No time for small talk, Amy. Something is happening at the hospital. Something major. They are locking it down.”

  “Which one?”

  “Mount Sinai.”

  “Okay, I am on it. Thanks Miguel! I owe you boxed seats for this one.”

  “Sweet girl! I’ll take them.”

  Amy smiled. She liked Miguel.

  She cursed that she just happened to be in Queens. She called her boss and Vince on the way. Vince was going to meet her there.

  Amy was not expecting the chaos that was already erupting around the hospital when she arrived. Guards in full containment suits were standing outside the hospital doors. People were gathering in front of the hospital getting louder about getting in to see loved ones or because they themselves were sick or hurt and being turned away. Determined, she double parked, not caring about a ticket.

  Amy scowled to see two other news stations already rolling cameras.

  Amy looked around. She saw a building scaffold adjacent to the hospital and climbed it quickly. She turned to see into the hospital windows. It was too far to see too many details, but what Amy did see made chills sweep down her back. Men in containment suits were everywhere.

  People were vomiting in the hallways, screaming and crying. She watched as a patient was wheeled by the windows. Even at this distance she could see blood staining the white bed around his head. She had seen enough. She climbed down and went back to her car and paced, fighting the fear building inside of her. AVHF was back.

  The second Vince arrived, Amy pulled him around to the back of the hospital.

  “Why are we back here?” Vince asked her.

  “You’ll see,” Amy said.

  They waited a long time until the back doors opened and a man in a doctor’s coat came out.

  “Sir!” Amy yelled. “Can you tell us what is happening in there?”

  “No!” he yelled, waving her away.

  “Is it the AVHF virus? Is it here in America?”

  “No! I don’t know! No comment!”

  Armed men in containment suits burst out of the back door, heading straight for Amy, Vince, and the doctor. Amy took off running and luckily Vince paused to keep filming as they surrounded the doctor and corralled him back into the hospital. When one of them noticed Vince, the men in suits started running toward them. By the time Vince caught up with Amy, they still had a head start. They got around to the front of the hospital and lost themselves in the crowd still gathered there. Eventually they made it back to his van.

  “Whew!” Vince said bending over, breathing hard. “I need to start working out to keep up with you girl.”

  Amy laughed, breathing hard herself. “Did you get all that?”

  “Yeah, that was freaky.”

  Once they had recovered, Amy recorded a piece with the crowd and suited guards in the background. She spoke as if the virus AVHF had found its way to America.

  Hours later while she was just finishing editing the recording back at the studio, her worst fears were confirmed. It was AVHF. It did not take long for the virus to escape the hospital and pop up all over the city. The phones around her were soon ringing nonstop as New Yorkers called in to report cases. With the virus being airborne and fast acting, it was impossible to contain
and obvious where it had traveled. It was hard not to notice someone bleeding from their eyeballs.

  Amy worked tirelessly for hours that soon stretched into days. She reported almost constantly, throwing herself into her work to keep the fear at bay. Since she was an orphan with no family, her work was her life.

  People were dying by the thousands. She and Vince were driving to various places throughout the city to get coverage on every aspect they could. Both trying to keep the news flowing but also trying to avoid getting infected themselves. It was getting harder to avoid as the virus continued to spread and Amy saw things she knew she would never be able to forget. Children clinging to their dead parents. Babies bleeding from their eyes. Amy’s sleep was filled with nightmares of the horror that was now known as the Fever.

  Story after story began trickling in of a safe zone that had opened up on Staten Island. Hundreds were supposedly going there. New Yorkers were scared and so was Amy. Supposedly Staten Island was safe because only those who did not have the virus were allowed in. They were keeping people out by cutting off all entry onto the island except by the Goethals Bridge.

  Amy was researching Staten Island very early one morning when her ear bud started buzzing on her desk. She shoved her ear bud in and pressed it quickly.

  “This is Amy Savino of WNMN news,” she said, rubbing her eyes.

  “Hey girl,” Miguel said. He sounded strange.

  “Miguel, is that you?” Amy asked worried.

  “Yeah, it’s me. I’m sorry, I’m just a bit…drained.”

  Amy was instantly scared that he had the virus. “Miguel, are you okay?”

  “I don’t have it. At least not yet, if that’s what you’re asking. But a lot of people I know do…or did. But that’s not why I’m calling. You need to know who started this. Who to rip apart in one of your best stories yet, girl.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “It started at Mount Sinai, Amy. They think the first was an ambulance driver. He was coming back from a Peter Franklin Donalds truck that crashed.”

  Amy stood up out of her chair so fast she knocked it over. “Did you say a Peter Franklin Donalds truck?”

  “Yeah. The driver died on the scene. My ma is a nurse. Was a nurse. She worked at Mount Sinai. She never got out. She died before they gave up keeping the staff locked in, but she called me. Told me everything. Told me she was never coming home.”

  Amy could hear him break into tears.

  “I’m so sorry, Miguel. Is there anything I can do?”

  “Yes. Make them pay, girl. Make whoever did this sorry they ever messed with New York. Can you do that for me?”

  “I will Miguel. I promise.”

  “Bye, babe. Keep it real.”

  Amy held her breath for a moment, fighting the tears burning in the back of her throat. She had no way of knowing if she would ever speak to him again. Either one of them could get the virus and be dead in a day.

  “Bye, Miguel.”

  She hung up not knowing if she would ever talk to her friend again. Anger soon replaced her fear. She had work to do. She worked for hours researching Staten Island, following up on leads and pinning confirmed cases on the New York City map on her wall. Anything to keep her busy. Waiting for it to be morning and what was left of the staff to come in. She called the ambulance company that worked for Mount Sinai and was able to use her pull as a well-known reporter to find out the location of the actual crash of the Peter Franklin Donalds truck.

  She became impatient and decided to call Vince at home. She rarely did so, but she was growing worried. He was late and it wasn’t like him to just not show up without calling.

  “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t call,” Vince said as a weak hello.

  “Are you okay? Where are you? I got a hot lead I have to follow.”

  “I’m sorry, Amy,” Vince said pausing. “There won’t be any more news from this kid.”

  “Vince?” Amy said, tears springing to her eyes. “No, Vince, no!”

  “I’m sorry babe. I got it. I got the virus.” Amy let the tears slide down her cheek as she heard him sob for a moment on the other end.

  “I should have called,” he said finally, his voice still hoarse with tears, “but I was busy puking my guts out. I thought maybe it was something else at first, you know…”

  Amy covered her mouth with her hand, tears streaming down her face.

  “I’m so sorry, Vince. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have dragged you into all those places for a stupid story!”

  “Not your fault Amy. You know the camera is what we live for.” He paused for a long time again. So long Amy was not sure he was still on the line. Then finally he said: “You keep bringing the news to New York though, okay?”

  Amy nodded, taking a shaky breath. “I will, Vince.”

  “You know,” he laughed then coughed. “I always had a crush on you. I don’t know why I never told you that.”

  Amy laughed irrationally. “You should have. Who knows? Maybe you and I could have actually gone on a real date. That would’ve been real nice, Vince.”

  “Yeah, it would have.” Vince’s voice was so quiet, Amy could barely hear him now.

  “Well I’m going to go now,” he said eventually. “See you.”

  “Oh, Vince,” Amy broke into sobs. She couldn’t hold them back.

  “Goodbye, Amy.”

  “Goodbye, Vince,” Amy heard the click in her ear and let her grief overcome her. Not just for Vince, but for the horror of it all. For all those dead and dying. For a virus that killed without thought or remorse. She’d never let it sink in before. Not even with Africa being ravaged by it. Now it was real. It was home.

  Eventually her grief hardened once again. Suddenly she was furious.

  She washed her face and re-did her makeup. She had a story to shoot.

  “Mick,” she said, walking into his office without knocking. He looked horrible. Haggard really.

  “Amy?” he asked.

  “I need a cameraman. Vince won’t be…he can’t make it in,” she struggled to keep her resolve. “I found the source Mick. I found out where it started.”

  Mick nodded, suddenly more alert. “Alright. Marcus can run a camera and he is still here, but I have to warn you Amy. This may be our last shoot.”

  “I know,” Amy said sadly. “That’s why I need to do this now. The people responsible for all of this need to be held accountable, Mick.”

  He nodded again. “Then let’s make this good, huh?”

  “Best of my career, Mick. I promise.”

  He reached for her hand and held it for a moment before reaching over and pushing a button. A young man answered and Mick explained the situation.

  “He will meet you at the van. Stay safe out there.”

  “Safe as I can.”

  * * *

  “Hello, New York. I am Amy Savino reporting to you live. WNMN news has found the likely source of where the Airborne Viral Hemorrhagic Fever outbreak in NYC originated.”

  The camera zoomed out to show the blackened pavement and dented rail beside Amy.

  “A transportation truck owned by Peter Franklin Donalds crashed at this very spot. The driver was killed. However, not before transferring the AVHF virus to an ambulance driver. The virus quickly spread throughout the hospital.”

  Amy knew she did not know that as fact, but at this point she figured she had nothing left to lose. She was angry and so was New York. They needed someone to be responsible for the virus that was killing their city and so did Amy.

  “The virus continued to spread relentlessly from there. As you probably know, Peter Franklin Donalds is a well-known pharmaceutical company that was manufacturing a vaccine for the AVHF virus at the time of the outbreak here in New York.”

  She left that hanging for a moment, letting New York put their own pieces together.

  “New York, this may be my last broadcast, but it may also be my most important. This reporter believes that the virus here in New York has
too many coincidences. I will not rest until I find out the truth. My heart is with you, New York. God bless you all.”

  Amy let her eyes fill with tears when Marcus indicated the feed was done. She had never allowed a report to be so personal before. Time was running out though. She knew it, and she was going to keep doing what she did best until she could no longer.

  “That was great, Amy,” Marcus said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  “We are not done yet, Marcus. I just wish I had more proof.”

  Amy watched Marcus pack up the equipment. She was reluctant to leave. She felt like she was right on the edge of something, but wasn’t able to see any further.

  “You okay Amy?” Marcus asked, stepping up beside her.

  “Yes, it’s just that this whole thing,” she said waving her hand around her indicating the city. “I can’t believe it’s real.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  They both leaned up against the van talking quietly for a long time. Amy learned that Marcus had already lost family to the virus. His parents and his younger sister, who was in college, were already gone. Amy told him about Vince.

  “Well enough of that,” Marcus broke into Amy’s dark thoughts suddenly. “Where to next?”

  The truth was Amy wasn’t sure.

  Suddenly a van came screeching toward them. It stopped right by them and a young man got out.

  “Amy Savino, you need to come with me.”

  Amy froze. “No way, I’m not going anywhere.”

  Marcus had already started backing away when the young man drew a gun.

  “We don’t have time for this. I’m not asking.”

  Amy put her chin up high. She would not show him fear.

  “Fine.” She turned back to Marcus. “Tell Mick it was worth it.” While she was talking, she indicated her watch, widening her eyes. Marcus looked to the watch and back to her eyes, nodding.

  She got in the van. After they were speeding down the interstate, she looked over to the man driving. He looked perfectly normal. A bit nerdish even.

  “Are you going to tell me where we are going?”

  He said nothing.

  They drove through a small crowd into a gated area in front of a huge building.