Ten days have lapsed since the nightmare began. One minute the world is trudging along as it has for the last 100,000 years; and now, whoever is left is probably wishing that they no longer existed, no longer cared for how their demise is to be. They're probably hoping that death will now take them in order to end the misery they're in; this misery that men, like Ted, have made.
Confused, dubious, aloof, I return to my office to escape from the spiraling adversity that has been knowingly unleashed by those who took the destination of humanity into their own hands. Staring out my office window, I intently watch the melting snow form tiny ripple-like waterfalls glistening in the Sun, demonstrating the beauty that nature allows us to freely enjoy. This is where we are now. We have tried to control our destiny; but yet, destiny is a powerful entity that we have misunderstood, and have allowed to manipulate life in hopes to make life better for everyone. God, how wrong we were. As usual, everything we have tried to benefit humankind has been perverted, or twisted, to benefit only those who want to be in control. God, am I one of those controllers? I close my eyes and for the first time in my life I pray. I pray for forgiveness and for direction. Forgiveness is the most important one I care about. Have I, too, become a god and twisted the natural order of things? God, please, please, forgive me! I spin my chair around and continue gazing out the window into the void.
At one time my chair was a place where I solved problems that once inflicted humanity. Easy problems, now that I look at the massive problem that lies before us. As a scientist, I am for once in my life unsure of myself and question my capability as to what I can possibly do to remedy this abomination that my fellow colleagues have wreaked upon this planet. In less than thirty hours, humanity may seize to exist, unless the antidote Ted is concocting is able to be distributed in time to the remaining survivors on our fragile planet. I wonder how many are left. I wonder if the remnants even want to remain in a world that must literally start from scratch again. I wonder if I even want to continue since I have nothing left. Claire and our son are gone and nothing can bring them back. I spin my chair around, open my desk drawer, and take out Claire's picture.
"Oh, baby, I miss you so much. I wish you were here to help me. I don't know what to do, Claire. I'm so lost and confused. Help me, Claire! Please, help me for once in my life to make the right decision. Please, help me!" I take her picture and press it to my chest as if she were here. Help me, Claire! My thought is interrupted by someone knocking on the door. I put Claire's picture back in the drawer and see who it is.
I open the door and see Ted and Monica standing before me in silence. None of us say anything. I release my hand from the door handle and walk back to my desk. I plummet into the chair and sit solemnly in confused thoughts.
"John," says Ted, as he breaks the silence, "are you ready?"
I turn my chair around and look out the window once again. Such peace and solitude exist outside. For once in my life there is no noise, no hoards of people going to and fro, only tranquility. Would I rather have this, or what I have always lived in my whole lifetime? This is going to be the hardest decision I have ever made. I have got to make this the right decision. If not, then we will be like the dinosaurs and exist no more. Help me, God! Please, I beg of you! Help me! Ted repeats his question.
After what seems like ten minutes, I turn my chair around and look into Ted and Monica's eyes to let them know that this decision is final, and I can only hope that it is the right decision.
I stand and walk to them both. I address Ted first. "Ted, you have put an enormous weight of responsibility upon my shoulders. A responsibility I never asked for. As a child, I was well-prepared to live out the remainder of what little life I had left. At times my affliction was cumbersome and not in any way joyous for me. But my parents, they made my life as a child as comfortable and as trouble-free for me as they could. And because of that, I had a happy childhood, as much of it that I can remember anyway. But nonetheless, I was happy."
"But now, I'm neither happy nor sad. I'm puzzled as to what I am. Am I a normal human who can continue to move forward in a world that you have managed to bring to the point of extinction? Am I a person who can continue to live knowing that most of humanity has died by your hands? Am I a person who can live without any guilt or shame, knowing that someday all of this is going to bite me in my ass, or not worry about any repercussions? How can I live a normal life with questions like these haunting me forever?"
I exhale a deep sigh and continue.
"My whole life has been a lie, Ted. You and others have made my life worthless. I always thought I was a good man; a man who contributed his entire life to help understand what I can do to make life for others happen, without worrying about diseases, or other aggressors that wish to prey upon humanity. But now, I know who the true aggressors are. I've seen them prey and devour the weak. I've seen them destroy what happiness they had. I've seen hearts torn apart. For I, myself, have been there and still am."
I turn around and see the Sun shining as if there were absolutely no qualms in the universe. I turn back to Ted and say, "But because I am a good man and a damn good scientist, I will not allow humanity to dwindle away in the wind. Life is precious, no matter how much of it is left. Therefore, I have decided to put all of my effort into making sure that we do not become extinct. God has given us one more chance and that chance is through me. So, with what time that is left, we better not waste one more second, because now more than ever, every second counts."
Ted looks at me and knows that my heart's aching for what he has done. Monica begins to cry.
"Therefore, as acting director of the Center for Disease Control, I hereby order everyone to get their ass in gear and let's bring Operation Scrooge to an end. Agreed?" Ted and Monica both nod their heads in the affirmative.
"Okay. Let's get down to the lab and get the serum out there and try to save as many lives as possible."
"John, I'm sorry, man. I'm... truly sorry," apologizes Ted.
"I know you are, man. But let's kick this in the butt right now, and then later on I'll kick yours."
Ted chuckles and says, "Okay, John."
The three of us leave my office and go to the cryogenics lab to begin the process to save humanity.
_________________________________
We have twenty-four hours left in order to save the world. That's it. Everyone's working harder than ever. Trucks are being loaded with the antidote to distribute among the remaining citizens of Atlanta, and military jets are in flight to distribute the serum across the U.S. and other countries.
Aunt Ruth and Henry Taylor left earlier to go to the Plaza to retrieve all computer files, along with the remaining personnel to help with the saving of the Earth's remaining population.
President Mansoor and her Cabinet have been in constant contact with other world leaders, informing them that help is on the way, and to be ready to inoculate the survivors upon arrival of the serum. The CDC appears to be fulfilling its original mission, which is to cure and kill the malady before us.
As I look around the lab, I see everyone frantically scurrying about, knowing that the clock's ticking away. At times one minute feels like an eternity. But in this case, one minute is like one second. I check on Ted to see how he's doing.
"Ted, how's it going? Can I help with anything?" I ask, as Ted oversees the assembly line of each syringe being filled with the antidote.
As Ted continues to watch the line he replies, "Everything's going to plan, John. It looks like we're going to make it."
"Ted, can I talk to you?" Ted looks at me, wondering what I have to say.
"Sure," he says. We both walk over to an empty corner of the lab and Ted asks, "What is it, John?"
"Ted, why was I chosen? Why did my Uncle Gerald use me?"
I continue to look into Ted's eyes, waiting for an answer, the right answer, the truth. After a few seconds, Ted replies, "It wasn't a matter of choosing you, John. Your father, your biological father, he was the one who wanted you to be used. But your mother, your biological mother, it was she who insisted that you be the test subject, because she could no longer stand to watch you suffer from the cringing pain that you were experiencing. She insisted that Raymond inject you with the serum, even after she saw what the serum did to him. She was quite adamant that you be injected, frozen, and reborn. Your mother wanted you to have a chance to live a normal life, John."
"You said my biological father and mother. Do you know who they are, Ted?" I anxiously wait for an answer. Ted looks around the lab. I grab his arm and sternly ask, "Who are my parents, Ted? Tell me!"
Ted slowly replies, "Your father was... Dr. Raymond Dorsey. Your mother... your mother... is Ruth, your Aunt Ruth."
I release Ted from my grip and find myself leaning against the wall so as not to collapse from shock. I look around, and then I shout at Ted, "Liar! Liar! Dorsey and Aunt Ruth! You're a damn liar, Ted!" I grab both his arms this time and shake him, yelling, "Tell me the truth! Who are my parents?"
"Raymond and Ruth worked together at the CDC in the early part of the century. Sterilization was becoming a hefty political issue, John. And there were many, and I mean many, who would not allow the birthing of humans to be controlled by the government. When Ruth became pregnant, she nearly aborted you, but couldn't. She knew what the future was becoming, and the thought of a child living in a world that was to be completely dictated by the government was unbearable to her. When you were born, you were born with fibrous dysplasia ossificans progressiva. As you know John, surgery of any kind is useless and more dangerous to the victim than the infliction itself. Ruth was devastated when you were born. She asked Raymond to put you to sleep forever. Raymond nearly did. But when the time came, Ruth couldn't go through with it. Instead, between Raymond and your Uncle Gerald, they worked around the clock to find a cure. When they did, things changed drastically. The both of them had no idea what would change exactly. Because of Raymond's failure in the lab, he was dismissed from the CDC, labeled as a quack, and he retreated to a secret laboratory, the Plaza, that he, Ruth, and Gerald created. It was in this laboratory where you were injected with the serum, John. Then you were encased in a cryogenic chamber until the right moment came for you to be reborn."
"As you know from Gerald's journal, when you were reborn, you were healed John; completely healed. Your disease had been reversed, never to reappear. It was then that Raymond and Gerald knew that diseases could be eliminated. But when the cure was discovered, there was a group of elites who didn't want to use the serum for cures, but instead, to control the world's population. For they also knew that this serum, when injected into a person without any major birth defects, would also increase the aging process, causing death to occur much quicker. This is what was released two weeks ago, John. It had to be done in order to reduce the Earth's population, so that humanity could continue, giving those who remain a chance, a fighting chance, to have a life, a real life, John. Not the life that was before all this began. No one had a life then. It was a dog-eat-dog world and you know as well as I that that world could no longer exist. It had to be reduced. It was for the greater good."
I push Ted back and disgustingly say, "For the greater good? Who in the hell made you God? Who in the hell gave you the right to say who lives and who dies? Are you mad? Are you all mad?"
Ted just stands before me and replies, "It was for the greater good, John. It was for the greater good."
I could only stare at Ted in disgust. Looking over my shoulder at how everyone's working so hard to save humanity, and then looking back at Ted, at the one who helped try to destroy humanity, I conclude that there is hope for us, only because the survivors want to continue to exist. The survivors themselves know that life is precious, and that to continue may be a struggle, but they will continue and beat extinction.
"John, when I took blood samples from you the other day, it was because we needed it, since the blood samples Raymond had given to Georgia from when you were reborn had to be used to revive her. Your blood is the blood that's going to save humanity, John. Your blood will cure this plague. Do you understand that, John? Do you?" Ted asks, waiting for my reply.
Not giving Ted an answer, he continues, "John, let's bicker about this later. For now, we must save everyone we can. Okay, John? Let's save who we can."
Ted's words are sincere, but does he truly care? I nod my head yes and Ted returns to the assembly line, making sure the serum's being processed as quickly as possible.
Dorsey and Aunt Ruth! She's not even my aunt. She's my mother. Damn, so many secrets.
I hear a buzzer and wonder what that is. I walk over to Ted and he says, "It's just a timer, John. There's nothing to worry about. Everything's on schedule. Everything's okay."
"I'm going down to shipping, Ted, and see how they're doing. If anything happens, and I do mean if anything happens, notify me immediately. Understood?" I give Ted such a cold, hard stare he replies with an immediate, "Yes, sir."
"Okay." I leave the lab, hoping that all goes well.
When I enter the hallway, I run into my old nemesis Julie. Wishing deep down that she would die again, I try to pass her without any confrontation, but am unsuccessful.
"John, may I have a word with you, please?" asks Julie.
Reluctantly, I stop and say, "What is it, Julie?"
"I know you hate me, but please, John, hear me out."
Not giving a shit about what she has to say to me, I tell myself to act professionally. I say, "Make it quick."
"I know things have been hard for you to understand, John, but you must realize that what happened had to happen. It was a necessity for all humankind. Natural resources, as you know, were nearly depleted. There were no jobs, people were starving. Even with sterilization there was no future to be had by anyone. The decision to decrease the surface population needed to be done, or else we would have extinguished each other in an inhumane way. Do you understand that, John? This had to be done."
"Oh, I understand, Julie. I understand that you and all the other assholes took the world into your own hands and decided to play God. I also understand that all of you decided to kill Claire and our son, which I will never forgive you for. Never! You brought me out of death's grip as a child just to torment me in the future by killing my wife, my son, and everything I loved and ever wanted. Oh, I understand perfectly, Julie."
I step closer to Julie, and with a voice so abhorrent, I say to her, "You will get your just desserts, bitch. And when you do, I will dance and spit on your dead corpse. Do you understand me, Julie? Do you?"
Julie steps back with fear in her entire being and glides pass me as she furiously heads to the lab. As I watch her disappear through the lab doors, I can only hope her demise comes swiftly and quickly.
I continue to my original destination, hoping that no one else interrupts me with their sympathetic lies of understanding.
As I near logistics, I hear diesel motors running, as trucks get ready to deliver the serum to the remaining population of Atlanta. I have never seen such teamwork before as I see right now. Men and women, working together for the "greater good" as Ted put it. But this "greater good" is politically correct. The determination to exist is the one thing that can never die in humans. No matter what our status in life is, we are determined to live, to exist, to continue on, and to be whatever, or whoever created us to be. We are the destiny of this planet, no matter how desolate and corrupt it becomes. The future of the Earth will be stronger by those remaining and will cherish life to its fullest. We are human.
"Dr. Bennett?" a young man calls out, startling me in my thought.
"Yes."
"Sir, I was wondering, would it be possible for me to go out with the trucks and help inoculate the public? I was a student of medicine at the university and would like to continue by contributing whatever I can."
I see the reflection of myself as I was in the past through this young man who stands before me. I, too, wanted to do the same; help humanity. I give the young man a smile and ask, "What's your name?"
He replies, "My name is John. Dr. John Molloy."
I extend my hand out for him to shake. He accepts with my deepest approval for him to go and help restore Atlanta back to life. Here is where the future lies, with young people like Dr. John Molloy, to make sure humanity continues. Our new hope begins.
_________________________________
Sunset returns as a cool breeze swooshes across Atlanta. I step outside for the first time since my return from the Plaza, and inhale the freshness the air deposits upon us. I close my eyes and wish that the zephyr were on a secluded beach somewhere; a beach where Claire and our son could live happily together, forever. I look to the sky and hear the sound of helicopters flying overhead. I walk towards the front gate as I watch them disappear into the sunset to help the remaining survivors of Earth, which nearly vanished by greedy, controlling politicians and scientists. No one can estimate the remaining sum of Earth's population. I wonder how many have been exterminated due to those who were entrusted to take care of them; those who took matters into their own hands and used extreme measures to control humankind. God, how did you allow this to happen?
I step outside the front gate and notice a long line of survivors waiting to be inoculated. Silently, they stand with weak knees in the frigid cold, deep snow, waiting for the cure in hopes that it won't be too late for them. Military trucks begin to roll down the road where the weary stand, with hands extended, as they each are given a ration box and a bottle of water.
Leaning against a brick wall, I notice a woman, tattered, worn, near death by starvation, hovering over two children who are barely warm enough to withstand the coolness of the early winter. A soldier brings over three ration boxes and hands them to the woman and children. So weak from hunger and being out in the elements, the woman collapses to her knees and begins to pray to God for thanks. I bend down to open her ration box and hand her a cracker and the water. As she takes a minute bite of the cracker, a tear begins to stream down her sunken cheek. She mutters, "Thank you," then collapses into my arms. She exhales her last breath.
The children look at her, and then ask, "Can we have her food and water?" I give them the box and signal military personnel to come and take the woman away. The children engulf the contents of the ration boxes. With nourished bellies, they crouch against the cold, brick wall and huddle together, not fully aware of the loss of their mother. Maybe in time they will understand.
Doctors and nurses begin to exit the CDC for the first time since this horrendous extinction began. Each of them has a backpack filled with syringes of the serum ready to inoculate the remnants of Atlanta. I step back and watch young Dr. John Molloy inoculate the two children, who gladly allow the needles to be inserted into their thin arms. Not a sound came from either one of them. They both look at Dr. John Molloy, and one of them says, "Will we be okay, now? Or are we going to die, too?" Young Molloy brushes his finger across the little ones hollow face and says, "You're going to be okay. Everyone's going to be okay."
Dr. Molloy stands and deposits the used syringes into a plastic container being held by a young lab assistant, and continues to move down the line inoculating hope into the destitute.
As I look around and see the survivors who have endeavored through their near extinction in Atlanta, I can only wish that Claire were here. I begin to hear voices giving thanks to the doctors and nurses as survivors are inoculated. The sound of their voices is something no one has heard in days in Atlanta. I step out into the street and gaze down as far as I can. I see shadows in the evening twilight as people begin to laugh, cry, and shout out in joy, praising those helping them and thanking God for His mercy.
Will God show mercy to those who brought thisdevastation upon humankind? Will God forgive us for what we have done to Hiscreation? Will God allow humanity to take such uncontrollable matters intotheir own hands again? After what the world has gone through, I look up intothe night sky and ask myself, "Is there a God?"