Read Online The Plague Years (Book 1): Hell is Empty and All the Devils Are Here by Mark Rounds - Free Book Online Page A

just lecturing David on civilized table manners.”
    “Good luck with that,” quipped Heather. “Hi Dave, been a while.”
    “Hi Heather,” said Dave.
    Both Heather and Dave had been to parties and barbecues at the Strickland’s before and were nodding acquaintances. However, the last time they had met, Heather and David were both married to other people. There was a certain energy in the air between the two of them and both Chad and Mary were not unhappy about that.
    Heather’s three kids were also there. Katy, who was fourteen, was one of Fiona’s classmates and closest friends. As soon as they were done with the polite talk with the adults, they took off for Fiona’s room to listen to music along with Katy’s little sister, Ginger, who, at eight, thought she was one of the big girls.
    Heather’s twelve year old son Jason was also there. He idolized Connor, partially because the high school senior let him hang around and sometimes, like now, would take him up to his room to play video games that Heather wouldn’t let him own.
    Heather and Mary opened a bottle of Chardonnay from their employer, and poured a glass each and found places around the picnic table.
    “Ok Chad, this has to do with what you were on the news for doesn’t it?” said Heather.
    “Yes, it does,” said Chad.
    “How bad is it really?” asked Heather.
    “What you heard on the tube is the straight stuff.”
    “How bad is going to get?”
    “We really don’t know. David and I thought it was prudent to make some preparations.”
    “Oh God! Not paranoid survivalist fantasies!” said Heather. Then she looked embarrassed because she realized that was exactly why they were here.
    “Just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you,” said Dave in an attempt to keep the mood light. “Seriously though,” he continued, “Chad is a pretty smart guy and he is saying he doesn’t know what will happen, that there is not a cure, and the disease can now transmit via contact, however poorly. That means it will get worse before it gets better.”
    “But we have had AIDS and God knows how many flu viruses go through this country that we can’t cure and we get along fine. Why do you think this is different?” asked Mary plaintively.
    “Well, AIDS has pretty much the same death rate but you have to exchange body fluids to transfer the disease. People can be educated slowly to avoid that. Flu is transferable by contact or even via airborne vectors but even the most deadly flu virus only kills a few percent of those infected. Even then, we have vaccines that can inhibit the spread of the disease. Finally, some of the symptoms of this new disease actually influence the sufferer to spread the disease.”
    “How is that?” asked Dave.
    “They become paranoid, violent, and combative, often attempting to bite their caregivers. This has proven to be a very high probability method to transmit the disease. There is more than a little evidence to suggest that if their now huge calorie needs are not met, they will result to cannibalism.”
    “How horrible!” said Heather under her breath.
    “What is distressing is that it is my contention that there is a significant portion of the population that isn’t reporting this and is not seeking treatment. Initially, it was people who don’t want to be noticed, drug users, illegal aliens, petty criminals and the like.” 
    “That’s how AIDS snuck in under the radar,” said David.
    “That’s part of it for sure,” said Chad. “But now, it is filtering into the mainstream and because there are now multiple populations, it is going to be really hard to contain and control.”
    “Why don’t they shut down travel and everything,” said Heather.
    “It would strangle the economy and probably result in food shortages,” said Chad. “Consider what we are about to eat for dinner. The tomatoes in the salad came from Mexico, the corn from Iowa, the fruit in the pie we are having for