Decrease

Monday - September 13

"Flown in by the Air Force?" I repeat.

"Yes," she says. "John, before I show you this cadaver, I want you to be aware that these three bodies have been collected secretly since last Thursday."

"What? Julie, what's going on? I haven't heard anything about..." Julie abruptly interrupts me.

"John, please keep silent for right now. I just want you to look at the bodies, or rather the remains."

I look into her eyes and see that what she is about to show me genuinely frightens her.

Julie pulls the cover back from the deceased on table one. I adjust my position several times to see exactly what I'm investigating. I move to the left and scan what are definitely the remains of a human being. As I particularize more of the body, the more astounded I become. I now understand why Julie is so afraid. The body has completely lost its flesh, down to where only cartilage clung onto exposed bone. The blood is so coagulated, that there are masses of hard lumps throughout the surface. The eyes have swelled, causing eruption, leaving the victim's eye sockets completely vacant. The head became distorted by caving in to the right side.

"We took x-rays of the victims', John," Julie says, as she watches me make a complete circle of the table. "The brain had signs of an extremely high fever, causing the vessels to implode, which in turn, caused the brain to shrink to the size of a walnut. This caused the right side of the victim's head to collapse, making it recede to the left."

Attentively, I walk around the table a second time, and notice that the victim's nails, fingers and toes, are completely gone; as if they had never been there. I halt, and look at Julie asking, "Are the others like this?"

Julie looks at the president to see if she needs permission to speak; she doesn't. Julie sighs deeply and softly mutters, "Yes."

The silence in the room is hair-raising. With my eyes still looking upon the deceased, I remind myself of my earlier thought from this morning that the week would be a long one. But also, an eerie unsettled feeling enters my whole being. What in the hell happened to these people? As Director of Viral Diseases, it's now my job to find the answer.

Everyone in the room stands absolutely still, and our silence is tense. Taking in a deep breath, and slowly exhaling, I look towards the president, but then instead turn my head to Julie asking, "What do you think caused this, Julie?"

With her eyes gazing upon the deceased, she looks up at me replying, "John, I haven't a clue. I have never seen such atrocity. I can't even begin to understand how, or what, made the body become so disfigured to where a medical examiner won't even know where to begin an autopsy. All three corpses have been examined, but not thoroughly. That's where you come in, John. I need you to do a full-examination, and immediately. You know, as well as I do, that we must figure out what happened to these people, and quickly, or the consequences could be disastrous. I'm sure you understand, John."

Acknowledging Julie's statement, I say, "I need whatever information there is on these subjects. I also would like to have Doctors' Jensen and Stewart assist me. Or is no one else to know about this?" as I direct my question to the president.

Julie waits for the president to answer. The president asks, "Can they be trusted not to say a word, Dr. Bennett?"

"Yes, Madame President, they can," I assure her.

The president then waves two of the Secret Service agents to come. With sound authority, and with immense control in her voice, the president relays her orders, "I want you to locate..." She turns to me, and asks, "What are their full names, Dr. Bennett?"