The economy was now a joke. Cash was no longer even close to being king. The ability to still use currency was only due to the government enforcing it. As soon as the transaction was completed at the grocery store people were trading for stuff on the black market like crazy. Hard to get pharmaceuticals, recreational drugs, booze, guns and ammunition were the real currency. Barter the new way things were getting done. Multiple houses had their windows boarded up at this point. Bart was working with Drew and LeBron to get theirs done when Yue walked outside to tell them it’d happened.
“I’m more scared of the people around here than I am of those things on the news.” LeBron said as they stood around watching the latest reports.
“I never really understood why the government would try to keep things under wraps. I’m getting it now. Totally explains why they’re still hiding the alien bodies.” Yue added trying to make a joke to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.
“Ok. Let’s get the windows boarded up and make sure we all know the rally points and the best ways to get out of here if we need to.” Bart said.
“Wait a second. This is the part I was telling you about. I think we need to figure out how to reserve a spot.” Nancy said before they could all roll out of the house to get back to work. LeBron and Drew were in no hurry to hold up the heavy pieces of wood while their dad yelled at them to not move. They immediately hopped on the sectional to watch the next news clip.
Emergency shelters were being built to emulate the forts the people over in Europe were still surviving in. The supplies normally shipped to stores would be rerouted to the shelters where everyone would receive free meals once they presented themselves at the sites. A ration card system was being worked out and would soon be in place. Emergency shelter designations would be sent out soon as well.
“That explains why they’re blocking off the first-floor windows of the high school.” Bart said.
“That’s good though right? We need to make sure we’re able to get in. Those types of shelters are the only reason those people over in Europe are still alive.” Nancy said.
“They’re also getting regular supply drops from the United States.” LeBron said. He didn’t bother following through to the logical conclusion of that statement. If they went into that high school, then no one was going to be making supply drops for them. It’d end up being a death trap.
“We don’t know that the whole country will be a loss. Remember they’re trying to set it up so the farmers are spaced out and can still put together crates of supplies that helicopters can airlift and deliver.” Yue said. There’d been a special on it the other day. An entire hour of television dedicated to the different plans the government was working on to ensure everyone’s survival. The show had kept emphasizing that the US would learn from their allies and use that knowledge to avoid suffering a similar fate.
Supply caches, mobilizing the national guard, and declaring martial law had all been done in the name of protecting the country. Travel between states was now severely restricted. It was getting bad, but everyone took some bit of relief from the fact that at least they were prepared. There was a real chance they’d keep the disease isolated even if the infection did hit some parts of the country. No one had really expected the South American countries to be able to keep out the diseased for forever. The news that it’d been detected there though meant that it was only a matter of time before it made it up to the US.
Chapter 5: Crisis at the Border
The border between Mexico and the United States had been completely militarized in a vain attempt to secure it. The refugees scrambling to escape the horrors of the surge didn’t care about being arrested. Most of them saw the finish line as being arrested and taken to a secure holding facility where they’d be fed and guarded. The infection was spreading throughout all of South America at this point. The people living there were forced to flee north or die.
The infected in the surge phase tore through the large refugee groups seeking to reach the safety of North America. Horrific videos recorded on smart phones showed the attacks and subsequent rapid spread of the infection. The attacks were happening in broad daylight as the people in the United States and Canada sat terrified in front of their TVs. The news showed massive mobs of South Americans knocking over walls and driving through the desert to escape the terror hounding them.
The United States border patrol disregarded the orders to open fire on the mobs of people streaming across the border. There was no way to stop them all anyway. People running out of a burning building weren’t going to stop just because the person in front of them got shot. This is where reality foiled the plans conceived and approved in the capitol buildings. The military couldn’t open fire on masses of innocent civilians with no provocation. Especially not in the presence of news cameras. Whether they would’ve if the cameras hadn’t been there was something
