Decrease

Thursday - September 16

Intently watching Leslie as she continues to dissolve, the cameraman whispers, "Holy crap!" as he observes one last grisly act of destruction. Leslie's belly begins to heave like a soon erupting volcano, ready to baptize its freedom with hot molten lava. Her chest and abdomen concave, leaving exposed, coagulated tissue once held together by bone. Leslie's skeletal structure completely perishes. The abominable malady has claimed another victim, and knows that it is unstoppable.

The cameraman steps back from his camera, and looks around to see if anyone else is still with him. There's no one. He alone looks once more at Leslie before turning the camera off. His head rests heavily on the camera, as he stands in shock of videoing a hard gut wrenching news broadcast. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously takes small steps as he approaches Leslie. He hovers over her as he continues to watch how the human-eating virus devours its victim, rendering it to a pile of lifeless flesh. The cameraman looks over his shoulders and notices how attendees are gasping at his being so close to her. He looks at Leslie, and whispers, "What a helluva show! Thank you, Leslie! Thank you!" He looks again at the attendees, hoping that none of them are able to see how excited he is that this event's going to be great for his career.

Seeing the military rushing towards him and the once beautiful Leslie, the cameraman quickly turns around and runs towards his camera. As he runs, he picks the camera up with his right hand and manages to throw it and himself into the television station's van. The cameraman starts the van, puts it in gear, and peels away. He watches in his side mirror as the soldiers pick up the once beautiful Leslie's remains, and deposits them into a body bag. He lowers the mirror, and softly says to himself, "What a fantastic morning!" The cameraman drives back to the television station, alone.

__________________________________

Claire and Aunt Ruth sit in the living room as they sip their tea, and like the rest of the world, watch in disbelief the horrible death of Leslie Gatewood. Claire sets her cup on the table, but due to the horror she just witnessed, she misses the table and her cup drops onto the floor.

"Oh, no!" screams Claire, as she jumps from her chair, and runs to the kitchen to grab a towel to clean up her unintentional mess. When Claire returns, she sees that Aunt Ruth's already pressing a towel onto the spilled tea.

"Aunt Ruth, you didn't have to do that. I was careless, and not paying any attention..." Claire says, until Aunt Ruth interrupts her.

"Now, dear, there is an old saying that there's no use crying over spilt milk. Well, instead of milk, we have tea. Claire, dear," Aunt Ruth says as she dabs the towel onto the soiled area of the throw rug, "you mustn't become distressed over the deaths of other people. You must concentrate completely on yourself and the baby; for both your sakes."

Claire stares at Aunt Ruth, and blurts out, "What? Aunt Ruth, I... we just witnessed how this disease kills. Do you just want me to forget about that and act as if everything's rosy! What the f... I mean, Aunt Ruth, explain to me why I shouldn't get upset, since we both know that you have something to do with this ungodly screwed up mess! Explain it to me, Aunt Ruth! Explain to me how you, my parents, John's parents, and other people from... I don't know where, but... Aunt Ruth, what have you all done? Why? Why?" Claire yells at the top of her lungs as she collapses on the couch in tears.

As Aunt Ruth continues to kneel on the floor, she grabs the wet towel, tosses it between her hands, and then throws it on the floor. She carefully pulls herself up, and stands directly in front of Claire with her hands folded like a parent ready to punish an errant child.

Claire lies on the couch crying and looks up at Aunt Ruth, and says, "I'm sorry, Aunt Ruth. All of this is a nightmare. Why does any of this have to involve John, the baby, and me? Why, Aunt Ruth?" Claire pleads, as she continues to weep.