OUTBREAK
Chapter 1
"The single biggest threat to ponykind's continued dominance on Equis, is the virus."
Dr. Time Turner
Virologist at Canterlot University
Royal Equestrian Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (REAMRIID) Headquarters, Mareyland
The young sergeant sitting by the large doors gave me a nod of respect as I strode up to his desk. "Morning, sir." He began, taking my ID card to thoroughly check it.
I yawned loudly before replying, "Morning, sergeant." The slightly younger stallion then returned my ID, stating firmly that I was cleared to go through.
With that, the doors opened with a low, mechanical whir, allowing me to trot inside the bright hallway. A few doctors and nurses entered and exited several doors on the sides of the hallway, which were labeled in terms of the diseases being studied behind each of the doors. To my left, there was one such door that was labeled, "Biohazard Level 1". Continuing on past this lab, I greeted several other stallions and mares that were all running about, performing their different duties.
At the end of the hall, two armed stallions stood at attention, guarding a large set of iron doors. There were safety hazard warnings, as well as signs stating that access was restricted to those with insufficient clearance. This was my place of work: Biohazard Level 4 Research.
One of the guards took my ID from my hoof, while I stepped up to a scanner and placed my hoof upon its blue screen. The device emitted a high pitched beep, and the doors hissed open. Retrieving my ID from the stallion, I trotted through the doors and onto the catwalk, walking briskly towards the actual laboratory. A couple of scientists, donning their biohazard suits, ran to and fro underneath the walkway, checking the structures underneath the lab.
Once I had reached the door of the lab, I tapped away at the keypad, throwing the door open and stepping inside the suit storage room. I took my positive pressure suit, and for several minutes, carefully searched the surface of it for any scratches or rips in the fabric. To my relief, there was no visible damage, and with a relieved sigh, I put on my bulky PPPS.
The encapsulating gear was very similar in design and function to that of a space suit, in the sense that it was created to protect the user from his or her environments. This would be necessary in the lab, where everything could kill me, including the air.
I often find it ironic how we ponies are dependent on oxygen, yet behind the doors of the pressurization chamber, the air was filled with viruses like Ebola, Lassa, and Hanta, which have no known cure. Any exposure to the air would most definitely seal my fate.
After I had donned my suit, I stepped inside of the decontamination chamber, connecting myself to the air supply, before realizing I was not alone. Standing next to me in the dim chamber was a young mare, glaring impatiently at me. Her lemon-yellow eyes met my grayish-blue ones, as she nodded in respect to me. Returning the gesture without a single word, I sealed us into the room, and the process began.
While we were decontaminated, I looked at the mare, who was aptly named Spring Fields. Her golden yellow mane shone beautifully in the dim light of the room, and her eyes sparkled, although I could sense there was some emotion that I could not quite put my hoof on. Was it sadness or despair? Perhaps it was anger. It was difficult to say, because the answer slipped away from me.
Snapping myself out of my thoughts, I opened the door, disconnected myself from the air, and stepped into the lab, where there was yet another set of connectors, dangling from the ceiling.
"Isn't today your last day?" I asked without looking at Spring, who turned to me and nodded.
"Yeah," came her reply. With that, I twisted the the connector onto my suit, and set to work. Since this was my ex-wife's last day, I figured that we should get as much work done as possible. Before I could retrieve the samples, however, Spring called out in command, "Alright, lets get cracking on these blood samples." I felt the blood in my veins boiling as I turned to her, trying to keep my anger from surfacing.
"You're acting as if I've never done this before, Spring." I stated with a hint of fury dripping from my voice. My ex-wife sighed and faced me. The look that had previously been there had been banished, and an extremely exasperated expression took hold.
Oh, shit, I thought to myself with a gulp.
Great, now she's pissed at you. Watch your back idiot, just in case she pulls something. A corner of my mind jeered, prompting the other parts of my brain to tell that rogue corner to shut up.
******
The Next Day...
"Who's a good boy? Yeah, you are." I said in a loving tone of voice as I rubbed my soapy hooves across my soaking wet dog, Dandy, who just looked at me with a look that I could only identify as embarrassment. "I know you don't like it, but its almost over." I said to him, in an attempt to calm this large Golden Cocker Retriever. It was evident, however, that my tone was not doing its intended job, as my faithful companion continued to shake.
"Scaredy-cat." I insulted quietly, taking a small measuring bowl to scoop up some of the water from the tub to wash the soap off of my dogs beautifully golden coat. Some of the water failed to flow into the bath, and splashed onto the towel beneath my legs.
Suddenly, I heard a voice quietly calling my name, prompting me to cease my actions and listen intently. "Storm Dasher, are you there? Storm, pick up the phone." It was the deep, masculine voice of my boss, Brigadier General Shining Armor.
After several more seconds, I poured more water on to Dandy, dried my hooves off, and ordered, "Dandy, stay." Of course, the dog did not heed my order, and proceeded to jump out of the tub and race into the living room, leaving a trail of water on the carpet behind him. "I said stay!" I shouted one more time at him as he hopped up onto the couch. Sometimes, they never listen.
The phone clicked when I picked it up and held it up to my head. "Hey, Shining. What's up?" I asked with a furious sigh.
"We've got a level 4, Storm." My superior officer replied in a grim voice.
"Where is it, and how many are dead?"
"It's in a small village in Zebrica. No one knows how many are dead just yet?"
"Gee, that sure is helpful," I said in sarcastic voice.
"Shut up for a minute." Shining Armor ordered, before continuing on, "The CDC is preparing a team, but I want you there first. I'll have the details for you when you get to headquarters."
With a quick nod, I replied, "Alright, let me get my team together, and I'll get back to you." Before the General could speak another word, I slammed the phone down on its base, shooting an angry look at Dandy, who sat dripping on the couch with a red towel draped over his rear. "I can't fucking believe it. You're wet and on my couch." The large dog lowered his head and tucked his tail between his legs in shame. "You're busted. You look very guilty." He whimpered as I chided him. Sighing, I went back to drying him off, before rushed up to my room to get packed.
******
Later...
REAMRIID Headquarters, Mareyland
The sound of engines roaring and stallions shouting orders filled the air as I hopped out of the Humvee that had brought me to the base, taking a moment to stare at the commotion surrounding a single C-130 that was being wheeled out of its hangar. "Come on! Let's move! Get those medical supplies loaded up now!" I shouted, galloping over to the open ramp of the large cargo plane.
"Chaser? Where's Twilight?" I demanded from a young pegasus standing near the back of the aircraft. A set of bronze oak leaves shone in the sunlight, indicating that this stallion was a major.
The pegasus turned to me, and without looking up from his clipboard, he replied, "She went into labour an hour ago."
"Who's gonna do the tissue samples?"
"Oh, come on. You don't trust me?"
"Not one fucking bit, Chaser." I said, walking into the cargo bay of the huge plane, checking the pallets of supplies that had been loaded thus far. Taking a look back at Chaser, he pointed over to a yellow mare that had just arrived, donning a brand-new field uniform.
"Alright, fine. If you want the new hot-shot straight out of Canterlot, you can have her. But quite frankly, I'm hurt."
This perturbed quite a bit. "Who cut her orders?" I asked angrily. This new mare had probably never landed in a hot zone before, judging by how...innocent she looked. She seemed too cute to even be here.
"The old-stallion himself." Chaser replied, pointing again to a high ranking officer standing by a Humvee. "Haven't seen him up this early since Nightmare Moon returned.
"I'm gonna tell him you said that."
"And I'll deny every word of it." Chaser laughed mockingly as I rushed over to the general and saluted him. The old unicorn smiled, returned the gesture, and handed me a thin stack of papers.
"Well, here's the files on your new mare, and some images from our last bird over the area. Storm," He began in a grim tone, "Get in, get out. As much as I hate having you around at times, I don't want to lose you to some bug in the field.
"One question, sir." I said in a curious tone.
"Go ahead."
"What have I ever done to make your life miserable, sir?"
A sly smile spread across the stallions face as he answered, "You got up this morning, right?", eliciting a small chuckle from me.
"Thank you, sir." I finished, before trotting off to the C-130, which was just beginning to start its engines.
********
As soon as the plane had gotten airborne, we had all fallen into our spots for the long, arduous journey to the third-world country of Zebrica. Chaser sat atop a bundle of medical supplies, listening to dubstep and munching away happily on the snacks in his rations. The new mare, whose name was Fluttershy, found a seat near the back of the aircraft, where she silently looked around. As for me, I sat up near the cockpit, studying the recon images and reading up on the new addition to my team. Although she was new, she came with many high recommendations from her instructors, and even a letter of recommendations from the Princess. She was young; I'd say not much older than 25. Yet, this mare had been through college, Army Basic Training, OCS, Helicopter Flight School, and several other courses that the Army had offered. It was mind boggling how she had managed it all without losing her mind.
With that thought in mind, I gently stood up and trotted over to her, calling out, "Major Fluttershy," as I approached her. At the mention of her name, she stood up and snapped to attention.
"Colonel Dasher, sir. Might I say what an honor it is to have this opportunity-"
"Alright, sit down." I cut her off and took a seat next to her, before going over her record. "Well, your background is first rate. West Cloudsdale Military Academy, Canterlot University, and Helicopter Flight School. How many hours have you logged in?"
"Eighty two, sir."
"You married?"
"Yes, sir." Chaser and I chuckled.
"Good luck." I replied, drawing a confused look from the young mare. "So, despite your outstanding record, you've never been in the field?"
"No, sir, but I'm fully trained and highly motivated."
"No, I mean landing in a hot zone. Have you seen the effects of hemorrhagic fever?" Fluttershy shook her head feebly.
"Allow me, sir." Chaser said, hopping down from his place on the bundle of medical supplies and taking a seat across from me. "Major Shy..."
"Yes, Major..."
"When a patient first catches the virus, he displays several flu-like systems, and in two or three days, pink lesions begin to appear all over his body, along with small pustules that soon erupt with blood and pus, a sort of milky subst-"
"The legions become full blown, and feel like mush to the touch. There is vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding from the nose, ears, and gums. The eyes hemorrhage, the internal organs shut down and begin to liquify." Major Fluttershy interrupted in a loud tone that seemed very unusual for her. All the while, her vivid description of these symptoms had no effect on Sunny, who continued chewing on a chocolate bar from his C-rations.
"That's very good, Major. We've all read that in the book, too. But in about sixteen hours, you are about to see it." I said to her, with a grim look.
Before Fluttershy had the chance to speak up, Chaser replied jokingly, "In the flesh, so to speak." Of course, this joke obviously did not amuse the pink-maned mare, who rolled her eyes.
"I feel confident I can handle anything we encounter, sir."
"It's just that if one of us panics, it puts us all in danger." I said reassuringly, gesturing around to everyone that was on the plane.
"And he's under direct orders not to die out there. That's one set of orders he actually plans on following." Chaser said, causing the three of us to chuckle heartily, before the conversation turned to things about our personal lives. Talking about your experiences and family is one of the best ways of relieving stress, and we would need that relax in tension.
Chapter 2
The engines of the UH-1 Huey roared loudly as it swung low over the canopy of the Zebrican jungle, weaving its way between the the taller trees that sprouted out from below. Looking out the window, I could just barely make out the small form of another helicopter, rapidly approaching. Before it could reach us, however, the Huey gave a small jerk, and the crew chief slid the doors open, motioning for me and my team to jump out. I took a moment before exiting to make certain that I had pressurized my suit, and connected it in the correct manner to the oxygen supply hanging from my belt. With a satisfied nod, I stood up from my seat and jumped out.
As soon as I had leapt out of the chopper, I could tell that something was wrong. In most situations that I had faced, we would have been swarmed by villagers pleading us to save them. This small settlement seemed to be abandoned, yet there was a large plume of smoke going up somewhere within the village.
I took a look back to Sunny and Fluttershy, nodding to both of them before continuing on slowly. There was a light haze that hung over the town like a blanket. It doesn't need saying that I was apprehensive at the sight of this ghost-town.
We continued our search into the settlement, keeping our eyes peeled for any signs of life; however, there was not a single person alive in the village. At least, not that we could find.
Finally, I spotted a small hut on the outskirts of the village, and beckoned my team over. Brushing aside the curtains, I stepped inside. When I was in the hut, I almost regretted it. Laying all around the hut on the ground or in beds, was the entire population of the town. Stallions, mares, and foals, all of them here in this one building.
A grim look of remorse swept over my face. I felt sorry for these zebras, who had suffered more than I could care to imagine.
Showing pity on these zebras had to wait, however, as we had a job to do. Turning to my subordinates, I ordered, "Alright, let's get to work. Sunny, I want you to start asking the living if they know how they might have gotten sick. Fluttershy, I want you to get a few tissue samples from them. We need to be out of here quickly." With that, we separated and went about carrying out our various duties.
Whilst my associates worked fervently, I walked around the hut, surveying the dead and dying. A good portion of the townspeople had already passed on, and those that were still alive had no more than a few minutes at least, but no more than three or four hours.
My attention was drawn away from the dying villagers by a small, child-like cry. There was pain and grief in that cry, which turned my stomach inside out. Before I could turn to the source of the scream, a series of hushed whimpers were uttered through my headsets, followed by the sounds of vomiting. I looked in the direction of the noise, and saw Fluttershy was heaving into her suit.
Without so much as a thought, I rushed over to the young mare, and shouted, "Shy! Don't take your helmet off!" Instead of heeding my orders, she struggled against me, trying to remove her helmet. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I attempted to calm the panicking pegasus, although she wasn't as feeble as she seemed. Before I could stop her, she had pushed me to the ground, and removed her helmet.
"Lunadamnit!" I screamed in anger as I got up. Looking towards Chaser, I growled, "Isolate her, right this minute."
Before he could respond, a very deep male voice cut in, "Don't worry. It's not airborne." I turned to the entrance of the hut to find a zebra leaning up against the doorframe. There was a look of slight depression on his face.
After taking a moment to compose myself, I walked over to him and gave him a hoofbump. "Colonel Storm Dasher. We came as soon as we could." I said to him.
"Not soon enough." He replied, "The village is dead. Come with me, Colonel." I chose not to answer, as he would most likely provide me with the information that I needed to know about the virus. The two of us stepped out into the bright sunlight and began trotting along a small dirt path that led back into the village.
I figured that there was no threat of being infected from breathing in the air, so I removed my helmet. The air was filled with a dense cloud of smoke, causing me to cough and hack violently. After several moments, my coughing ceased, and I looked back toward the zebra. "Do you know the incubation period?" I inquired.
"No, but it kills in two or three days. The mortality rate is one hundred percent." This shocked me quite a bit, as there were very few viruses that could kill that quickly, leaving no odds of survival.
"Sweet Celestia. Is it possible that an infected individual has gotten out of the village."
"No. If he did, he'd be dead or dying in the jungle. And the closest village is fifty miles away"
"First case?" I asked with a sigh.
"One of the locals went with a pony to build a road into the capitol city. When he returned, he was sick. He drank from this well," The zebra pointed to a small structure made from bricks, "From there, it spread to the entire village."
I stopped right there and took several seconds to look around at the village, which was now populated by a clean-up crew. "Did you identify the carrier?"
"No. Patient Zero was incoherent when he arrived. He died two hours later. He didn't say how he got sick." My attention was drawn to one of the hills that surrounded the village, as there was a loud chanting echoing throughout the settlement. Standing on the hilltop was a female zebra, chanting in her native tongue.
I nodded in the direction of the zebra atop the hill. "She's not sick." I pointed out.
"She's a local witch doctor," My guide replied with a sigh. "She stayed in her cave for an entire week."
"I'd like to talk to her, too." I stated.
Obviously, this was not the best course of action, as the zebra guiding me was quick to deny what I had said. "No. She speaks only to me. You see, she believes that the gods were awoken from their sleep by the ponies cutting down the trees. This...is a punishment."
