Last Clash

The Peices Fit

1836hrs

Tennessee Georgia border.

We're trying to stay ahead of the affected area. Camped out making out way back to Ft. Campbell, we are eating before hitting the bunk. My phone beeps indicating it has service for the first time in days. We're under blackout orders, but I want to call Joe. He's always a good center, and his skill for problem solving has pulled us through so much. Nothing we do is having any effect on what's going on, and everything is still dying slowly. 

I step outside and walk away a bit under the pretense of having a smoke. Once I'm away from everyone's eye sight I check my phone. Half the service bars are up and messages are popping through constantly. It takes a few minutes to clear through, now I'm feeling the pressure of time. I dial up Bub, Janice starts chewing on my ass. I dont have time for this shit. 

"Shut up, put Joe on, I'm under blackout orders and I dont have time. Put him on now." "Hey bub, what's going on?" Finally. I tell him how everything is dying plants, animals, and people. I tell him how almost all of Georgia is now in flames. Nothing is stopping it, nothing slows down the spread. So far none under me have fallen probably thanks to his advice. 

He says it must be chemical or biological, but it doesn't make any sense if it was chemical it should burn off at some point. Nothing he knows of biologically effects all form of life. Someone must know something they aren't saying. He pumped me for a bit more information. Something I said must have really sparked a thought. He went almost crazy, I couldn't make out everything he was saying right away

"They've done it, they finally went and done it. Now they dont know what to do so they open the blocks hoping someone will slip an idea through." "What are you talking about?" "Wasting, as in Chronic Wasting Disease, Its a prion. Theres no way to fight a prion out in the environment. We couldn't even contain the spongioforms, but this has no species barrier and plants have no brains or nervous systems. It has to attack in a different manner that creates the speeded up wasting away process. It must be going after cells in general in a way closer to viral infection. " 

"Joe, I have no clue what your talking about. How do I fight it? How do I keep my men safe?" "You're not hearing me brother, it can't be. All we can do is monitor the spread and eradicate any infection. Get the hell out of there. Head as far away as you can. Dont use water of any kind for anything unless your drinking prebottled water from far away the more foreign the better chances. Dont wash utensils, dont eat anything that wasn't prepackaged well in advance like MREs or can goods. Stock up on supplies and run." 

"What about the infected? We call them the withered." "There's no known treatment, once a prion infects your system it will kill you it's simply a matter of time. I learned about them in college they aren't viruses or bacteria they aren't alive they're simply a protein. No way to kill. No way to treat. No way to really contain. Those birds already infected the area up here the day you were called in. Bub please to hell with orders run." 

The line went dead. My whacked out brother must be right about them listening in after all. I smoked quite a few cigarettes before returning to my men. Bunking wouldn't be an option we needed a much open discussion in light of this new information there was no chain of command this was survival.