Unknown by Jane Page A

prepared. For when we leave here, which will be soon.”
    “Okay.”
    I rub the back of my neck with aching hands and twist it from side to side, cracking my neck. A deep breath and I’m ready.
    “It started with the influenza virus. A strain that evolved quickly. Lots of people got sick and spread it across the world in a matter of days. It was winter. Getting a cold, or flu-like symptoms, was normal. By the time the media got hold of the deaths, the numbers, it was too late. There was no chance to isolate it, to slow it down or stop it with medicine and vaccinations. It became an epidemic, a modern day plague. It didn’t take long for businesses to shut down. One after another. Food, fuel, transportation. It all ground to a halt within weeks. Once the idiots in charge of the government and military decided to recognize this for what it really was there was anarchy everywhere. There were riots in the streets, fires, looting. Martial law was imposed but it didn’t matter. Who wanted to defend a supermarket when your own family was at home, vulnerable and scared, and soon, hungry and cold?”
    I pause and her stare is icy and clean, her hands clenched, elbows on knees.
    “A lot of people died in that first wave. The elderly and the very young almost immediately. There was a run on suicides. People were shot dead in the streets by local law enforcement, military, and anyone else with a gun. Once the president and vice president were assassinated it all fell apart. Soon the radio and television stations went out as local gangs jockeyed for position. The internet was next. When the luxuries we were used to and our means of communication were gone, it was surprising how quickly we reverted to animals. Gasoline became liquid gold. Generators were hooked up and then anybody with a light on was attacked for their power. The blackout ensued, more as a means of survival than anything official. Candles became the norm, with windows painted black, canned goods and bottled water stashed in piles.”
    I take a quick breath.
    “I’m not sure what happened next, but nuclear weapons were discharged. Not here, but abroad. Some say it was out of the middle east, others the far east, North Korea. They hit somewhere. I don’t know the truth about Europe and the rest of the world, there were lots of rumors and much speculation. The only thing that matters is that it drifted. Nuclear fallout drifted across the planet, sinking deep into the water, burying itself in the soil. That brought another wave of deaths. And then, the transformations.”
    “Like what?” she asked.
    “I’ve told you about the Blisterheads.”
    “Yes. But I don’t know much, I’ve never seen them.”
    “Again, nobody knows for sure, but some people with a certain genetic trait, well, they changed. They became agitated, brutal, cannibalistic. Maybe it was the fallout, or triggered by the rash of illegal street drugs that popped up everywhere. Illegal, that’s a joke. Just a new commodity. For some this was a dream come true. No job, no laws or rules, just drugs, booze and guns. This lead to stealing, raping and killing. The Blisterheads were spawned out of a final evolution. To join, you had to pour gasoline over your entire body and light yourself on fire. That was the initiation. You had to show that you were insane. Tattoos, piercings, shaved heads - those were for pussies. These guys, they were born, created out of some of the worst elements out there. They’re everywhere now and they show no remorse or hesitation.
    “Man...” she said, shaking her head.
    “There are other examples. Animals were effected. Packs of wild dogs turned rabid. Wolfhounds. They look like your average stringy mutts, but they’re aggressive. They rarely back down and usually hunt in packs. The Ethereals. Some bizarre genetic twisting of hawks and seagulls that brought back a bastardization of the prehistoric pterodactyl. There’s more. These are only the things I’ve