Read Online Influenza: Viral Virulence by Steven Ohliger - Free Book Online Page B

for the latex surgical gloves but couldn’t find any. The grocery store probably didn’t carry them anyway. He also looked for, and was surprised to find, some masks that were intended to help protect the wearer from the noxious chemical-cleaner fumes. Remembering that the flu virus could be spread by inhaling contaminated air, he added more than a few boxes of masks to his cart. Then, he filled up any remaining space with gallon jugs of drinking water.
    Heading for the checkout, he realized he’d almost forgotten the pizza. He went back to the freezers and grabbed their favorite brand.
    He arrived back at the apartment a short time later and carried the grocery bags into the kitchen. He was just putting away the canned vegetables when Brian walked in.
    “Did you get the pizza?” Brian asked.
    Michael reached into one of the grocery bags and tossed a large, square box to him. Catching it easily, Brian turned the box around and read, “Pepperoni supreme! You got the best!”
    “Of course.”
    Brian eagerly took the pizza out of the box and shoved it inside the oven. He then turned to watch Michael put away all the cans of food. Brian had a really puzzled look on his face. “What’s with all the vegetables? You never eat vegetables.”
    Michael looked at the can that he was putting in the cupboard. Green beans. “We should be eating a little healthier,” he replied.
    “Right,” Brian said, looking at him curiously.
    Michael didn’t want to tell his friends anything yet, at least not until he knew more. He was praying that there was nothing to worry about, and he wouldn’t have to tell them anything. Then, the only problem he would be facing was what to do with all the vegetables he had just bought. He really didn’t like eating them.
    After storing the food and helping his two roommates devour the pizza, Michael retired to his bedroom under the pretense of studying. He closed the door, and instead of opening up his notes, he grabbed his laptop.
    It seemed like his connection was down, because it took him forever to bring up any web pages. It happened from time to time. Their internet connection in the apartment wasn’t very good. All the search results links he clicked on had a “404, page not found” error. He tried to bring up some video to see what his father was referring to, but most website links stated that the video had been removed due to “content.” The only news he was able to read was that the California governor had issued a statewide curfew in order to try to prevent widespread panic and looting.
    He did manage to find one video link that was still working. It was a shaky video, uploaded from someone’s cell phone, showing the outside of an unknown emergency room. It was dark, and there were flashing emergency lights and sirens everywhere. Ambulances were parked haphazardly in front of the entrance. The video was very fuzzy, but Michael could see that the emergency room was packed wall-to-wall with sick people. There were even people waiting outside the entrance, jamming the doorway.
    Occasionally, the person taking the video pointed his cell phone at a gurney being wheeled by. A sheet covered the entire gurney, hiding whatever was beneath. Dead bodies, Michael presumed. He wondered if the sheets were out of respect or if they were covering up the dead in an attempt to prevent others from panicking—probably both.
    Suddenly, like a light being turned off, the video went blank and disappeared. Then, Michael’s laptop flashed a blue screen error and crashed. He breathed in sharply and closed the laptop. What he had seen was really disturbing. It begged the question of just how much of the news coming out of California wasn’t being reported. Was the information being censored? Or could this all be just a hoax? It could be anything. He didn’t have enough information yet. Even more disconcerting to Michael was the admission that maybe his parents had been right all along and that he had been