Iniquity

Part IV: Conclusion

A Story Written By:

Chase Merkley

The SUV slams violently and hits Cody’s head.  The head tears and rips from the body, but still manages to stay on the neck.  Cody’s blood hits the wife’s side window and hits Cody’s steering wheel.  As Cody’s head is crushed by the metal and ripped almost completely from his body, his back breaks as his body tries to hang on.  Cody’s car shakes and the father in the SUV slams on his breaks.

The boy awakes with sweat and sits up in horror.  He breathes hard and pulls down his sheets.  He wipes the sweat from his eyes and wipes his face with his shirt.  He lowers his breathing.  He stands slowly in the dark bedroom. 

The creaking door slowly opens as the boy looks out the door.  He opens the door all the way and silently walks to the bathroom.  The light hurts the boy’s eyes.  He walks to the toilet and stares at it.  He looks and stares at the sink.

“Josh!”  He hears in his ear.  He turns around quickly and sees his mother staring at him with anger.  “Josh, you can’t be in here,” she says grabbing him by the arm.  She pulls him out of the bathroom, shuts the door behind her, and turns on the hallway light.  “What’s wrong Josh?  You ok?”  She asks touching his moist face. 

“Mom, I’m fine,” he says moving her hands off his face.  “I just woke up from a dream,” he tells her.  She smiles and giggles a little.

“Aw…did my boy get scared?”  She says laughing.

“Yeah…that’s hilarious mom,” he says.  His mom laughs some more. 

“Ok…I’m tired Josh and you need to go back to bed.  Don’t forget that we are leaving on Friday,” she says.  Josh remembers that Friday is two days away and he smiles excited to be leaving the country.

Josh woke up the next day and smelled the warm, fresh cooked muffins.  He walks in the living room and sees his father sitting at the table.  He walks in the kitchen and takes a seat next to his father.

“Look who woke from the dead,” he says staring at Josh. 

“Well hey Josh,” his mom says as she sets the eggs on the table.  “Well wakey wakey big guy,” she says.

“I’m awake mom,” he says grabbing some muffins.  As he bites into the warm muffin, he hears the SUV screeching to a stop as he hears his mother screaming in his head.  He shakes his head trying to lose that image.

“Whoa, you ok?”  His dad says taking a drink from his water bottle. 

“Yeah I’m fine,” he says taking another bite.

“So Josh…I forgot to ask you…did you have a good birthday yesterday?  How does it feel to be 15?”  His mom asks. 

“It pretty feels the same as 14,” he tells her. 

“Well you get to get your permit this year,” she says.

“Sweet,” he says.  “Hopefully this disease will be gone so I can come back and drive,” he finishes.  His parents say nothing and continue to eat.

Josh, later that day, goes in the garage and grabs another water bottle.  He takes off his shirt and shorts and steps in the red bin.  He takes the cap off the bottle, and pours it all over his body.  He grabs the shampoo and begins washing his hair.  He grabs another water bottle to finish bathing.

“Finally,” Josh’s father says.  Josh turns and looks at him with a smile.  “You smelled like a skunk man,” he says.  Josh just laughs.  His mother walks in right after.

“Josh, don’t be like your father.  All he does is sit there,” she says smiling at his father.

“Oh please!  Josh, the reason your mother married me is because of my famous punch line,” he says.  Josh’s mother just laughs.

“Go ahead and tell Josh what you said to me that night,” she says.

“Fine!  Josh…I looked at your mother and looked into her eyes and said “I may not be Elmo, but you can tickle me anytime,”” he says.  Josh says nothing at first.  Did Josh just hear his dad’s punch line?  He shakes his head in disbelief.

“Awesome line dad,” Josh says sarcastically.  His mother laughs.

“See, I told you!”  She says looking at Josh’s father.

“Oh whatever!  That’s the best line out there,” he says.  Josh just laughs at his dad and walks to his room.

Josh lies in his bed as “Late Night with Conan O’ Brien” is on.  He turns and stares at the clock and sees it’s almost dark.  He turns off the television and turns off the VCR.  He takes out the tape that was playing and gets back in bed.  He lies there wanting to sleep, but can’t.  All he can think about is leaving.  He rolls around, fixes the pillows, checks the clock, looks at the wall, and tries every other way to fall asleep. 

As his eyes begin to rest for the night, he hears his door creaking open.  He slowly opens his eyes and stares at the door.  The door continues to open slowly.  His eyes become wider.  The creaking door stops.  He begins to breathe a little more heavy.  Suddenly, Josh hears his mom scream.  As Josh quickly sits up, his door busts open.  A man walks in his room and points his artillery at Josh.  Josh screams as he sees his mother and father getting dragged in front of him by other people. 

“Get out of the bed!”  The man says.  Josh stares at the mask he is wearing.  He sees his dark, black uniform.  He shakes in horror and sits in the bed frozen with fear.  “GET OUT OF THE BED!”  He screams.  Josh jumps as his voice gets louder.  The man doesn’t have time and grabs Josh by the neck.  Josh screams in pain.  The man throws him out of the bed.  Another man comes into the room and grabs Josh.  “Alright,” the man says to the other member.  “Put them to sleep, and burn the house.  No evidence captain,” he says.  “The Government was never here,” he finishes.  Josh lies on the floor.  His vision becomes grey and suddenly dark. 

A powerful smell wakes Josh.  Josh wakes up with adrenaline and looks around.  He sees a man staring at him.  The man wears glasses, and a white, long jacket.  The man checks Josh’s eyes and checks the inside of his mouth.  He feels his neck, his ears, and jaw.  Josh is scared and confused.  The man turns to his assistant.  “He’s ok,” he says.  The assistant makes a mark on his clipboard with a piece of paper attached.  “Hey boy,” the man says looking at Josh.  Josh stops staring at the clipboard and focuses on the man.  “What is your name?  Do you remember your name?”  The man asks.

“Josh,” he says still confused. 

“Josh, I’m going to need you to answer some questions, ok?”  He asks.

“Where’s my mom and dad?”  Josh asks.  The man says nothing and looks at his assistant.  He looks back and stares at Josh.

“If you answer my questions, you can see them,” he tells Josh.

“No,” he tells the man.

“Listen son…Josh right?”  He asks.  “You really have no option here.  You will answer my questions,” he says.

“No…I…won’t,” Josh replies.  The man wants to hit the boy, but controls himself.  He stands up with rage and walks out the door.  Josh stands there confused and filled with anger as well.  He sits there wanting to know answers. 

Josh is walked down a white hall.  The lights make the walls whiter and the floors shinier.  The uniformed, masked man stops Josh.  Josh looks down and sees he is wearing a white gown.  He looks down and stares at his bare feet.  He looks up to hearing a door open in front of him.  He looks inside and sees nothing but darkness.  He stares back at the man.  The man says nothing.  Josh slowly walks in the dark room and feels around for a light switch.  The man shuts the door leaving Josh in there.  Darkness surrounds him.

As he sits in the corner of the dark room, he hears people screaming all around him.  He hears men, women, and children screaming horrifically.  He tries to block out the mayhem by covering his ears, but it doesn’t work. 

What feels likes hours, Josh’s door finally opens.  The bright light hits Josh’s eyes dead on.  A figure blocks the light from his eyes and comes into the room walking towards him.  Josh feels the wall.  The figure grabs him as Josh screams.  “NO!  GET OFF OF ME!”  Josh screams trying to break free from the figure’s grip.  Josh slides on the tiled floor screaming for help.  No help comes as he gets dragged out of the room.

As the door closes behind Josh, the masked man picks up Josh.  Josh is scared, but silent.  The man forces him to his knees.  Another masked man comes down the hallway and stands in front of Josh.  Josh is too scared to look up, and keeps his head down looking at the floor.

“Look at me boy,” the man says.  Josh is silent and continues to look at the floor.  He begins to breathe hard.  “Look at me,” he says once more.  Josh doesn’t reply.  The man looks at the other masked man.  “He had his chance,” he says.  The man forces the kid to lift his head up.  Josh screams as a black bag is thrown over his face.  Josh breathes more heavy.  Josh feels something sharp go into his neck.  The pain is gone after a few seconds, but Josh begins to feel dizzy.  He can’t think straight, and becomes tired in just seconds. 

The bright light wakes Josh.  The bag is lifted off his head and Josh opens his eyes slowly.  He sees people around him, but can’t make out their faces.  He begins to focus some more, and sees three men staring at him.  He looks and sees a glassed window.  He looks in the window and sees another room. 

“Josh, this is Dr. Ripley,” the doctor that talked to Josh earlier says.  Josh looks at Dr. Ripley.  “Dr. Ripley has just arrived,” he says.

“Hello Josh,” Dr. Ripley says.  Josh says nothing.  “Uh…Josh…I am here to help you and your family,” Dr. Ripley says.  Josh looks at Dr. Ripley.  “These fine people want to help you as well, but you have to cooperate with them.  Do you understand?”  He asks.  Josh says nothing and keeps silent.  The doctor stares at Josh with a murky smile.  “Ok…Josh…you have to work with me here, I’m-” he says trying to talk, but is interrupted.

“Dr. Ripley, the Chief would like to speak with you,” a woman says stepping into the room.

“Can it wait?”  He asks.  The doctor stands from the chair.

“Um…Dr. Ripley,” he says.  “It’s ok.  We’ll watch the kid as you go on and we’ll try to work with him,” he finishes.  Dr. Ripley looks at him, turns back to Josh, and then looks at the woman.  He slowly begins to walk out the door, but keeps his eyes on everyone.  The door shuts and the doctor stares at Josh.  “Josh…” he says rolling his chair towards Josh.  He takes a seat and looks at him.  “I know your type Josh,” he says.  Josh looks up and stares at him.  “The class clown, right?”  He asks.  “The funny guy who likes to break the rules.  No one even knows you exist.  Your mom doesn’t exist, your father doesn’t exist; you whole life…never happened,” he says.

“What are you talking about?”  He asks.

“President orders,” he says.  “We have to find a cure and the only way to do that is to experiment and experiment…and experiment,” he finishes.

As they walk Josh out the door back to his room, he hears a woman scream down the hall.  The woman sounds familiar.  He hears the woman coming this way.  He sees the masked team turn the corner.  He sees them dragging someone.  He tries to put all his focus on her to try and make her out.  He suddenly becomes ill and sees his mother getting dragged by the masked, black people.  “MOM!”  He screams.  He tries to run for her, but a masked man grabs him and holds him against the wall as the other men.  He screams for his mom as she screams for him.  She reaches out for him trying to touch his hand.  Josh reaches out his hand as he gets dragged away.  “DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!  YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!  MOM!  NO!”

Josh’s mom gets thrown into the room.  She stands up and sees herself.  The doctor stares at her from the other side.  “Ok…do it,” he says.

Josh’s mom stands there scared shaking in the corner not knowing what to expect.  The door opens and she looks quickly.  Another woman is thrown in the room.  Josh’s mom screams as she hits the floor.  She runs over and helps her up.  She stands her up and steps back away from her to give the woman some space.  She waits for something to happen, but nothing happens.

“Doctor,” his assistant says.

“Just give her time,” he says.  “She’s almost there.  Everyone prepare,” he says as everyone in the room stare at the two women.

Josh’s mom stares at herself in the mirror again.  She sees her scared face and the tears running down her face. 

“UGH!”  The woman says holding her stomach falling to her knees.  Josh’s mom quickly turns and stares at her.

“Are you ok?”  She asks the woman.  The woman just screams in pain.  Josh’s mom cries for her as she steps back knowing she has been infected.  She closes her eyes and listens to the woman scream.  She hears a crack and opens her eyes.  She stares at the woman and looks at her leg.  Blood runs from her broken kneecap as she screams.  She stares at the blood and hears the sizzling, boiling blood coming out of her body.  “LET ME OUT OF HERE!  SHE’S DYING!”  She screams at the mirror.  She runs to the door and bangs wanting to leave.

“PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!”  The woman screams holding out her hand.  Josh’s mother just cries watching the boiling blood kill her.  Josh’s mother closes her eyes again and falls to the ground.  She crawls to the corner of the room by the door and hides from the chaos.  The woman at this point has stopped screaming as the blood overlaps her face.  All she can hear now is the crackling in the blood. 

“Doctor,” the assistant says.  The doctor turns from the window and stares at the men in front of him.  They wait for him to reply.

“Alright…take her for testing and clean up the mess,” he says clicking his pen.

Josh’s mom is brought into another room.  They force her to sit in a chair.  The men wear protective clothing with masks.  The doctor walks in with the protective clothing on and walks up to her.  He stares at her and checks her skin, her heartbeat, and so forth.  “She’s not infected,” he says.  The men surrounding her begin to write on their clipboards.  “We are now going to phase two ladies and gentlemen,” he says holding out his hand.  A man hands him a long, needled shot.  Josh’s mom stares at the liquid inside the tube.  Her eyes become wide.  “You are going to have to be still ma’am,” he says.

Dr. Ripley stands looking out the window.  He turns as he hears the door open and sees the new President, the Secretary of Defense.  “Good to see you Dr. Ripley,” he says shaking his hand. 

“Same to you Mr. President,” he says.  The President tells him to sit down as he sits at his desk. 

“So what can I do for you?”  The President asks.

“I was talking to the director of this facility and I don’t know really know sir,” he says laughing.  “No one has tried to contact my team,” he finishes. 

“Yes and I would like to talk to you about that,” he says.  “As I am the new President of the United States, I have decided to try some new ways to find a cure.  Your way isn’t working,” he says.

“What do you mean sir?”  Dr. Ripley asks.

“I’m sorry Dr. Ripley; all of this is confidential,” he says.  “All I can say is that your team tried and failed.  Now were trying something new,” he finishes.

“I’m sorry that I do not agree with you.  We have not failed yet sir and I would like to know what is really going on here.”  The President hesitates and looks at him.

“Do you know how many people are left in this country?”  The President asks.

“A little over a thousand sir,” he says.

“Exactly Dr. Ripley.  You know as well as I know that there is no cure,” he says.  “You stated the parasites die without a host after a period of time-”

“Yes, that is true, but-”

“There’s your cure Dr. Ripley,” the President says leaning back into his chair.

“What?”  He asks.

“You take everyone left in America that is possibly still infected and you get rid of them; where do the parasites find their hosts?  The cure has been solved Dr. Ripley,” he says.

“Are you telling me you are taking these people from their homes and injecting them with the infection?”  He asks standing with rage.

“The way you put it, it sounds like were doing harm.  I’m saving this country Dr. Ripley,” he explains.

“No, you’re going against your Americans and killing them-”

“THEY WERE ALREADY DEAD!  We infect these people and let the parasites die.  These people are heroes,” the President says.

“These people are not heroes.  You are murdering these people!”  He says.

“DR. RIPLEY!  Think about it…and I want you to be honest…will this work?”  He asks.  Dr. Ripley stares at him with a sickening face.

“You call yourself a man Mr. President?  I call you a coward and a menace that this country despises,” he says turning his back to him walking towards the door.  As he walks out the door, the doctor walks in the room.

“So…?”  The doctor asks.

“He didn’t say it wouldn’t work,” he says with a smile.  “Let’s continue doctor,” he tells him.  “I will save this country.”

The door opens and Josh stands there.  He does everything the masked men tell him.  He stands there, naked, as water is thrown on his body.  He keeps a straight face looking at the floor.  Water rushes down his face as he pictures that night and pictures his mother screaming.

As he comes back to reality, he sees himself staring at a warm meal.  He doesn’t touch the food and keeps his depressed face.

The door opens.  The masked men surround the doctors as they bring in Josh’s father.  Josh’s father looks like he has been beaten.  His bruises on his face are dark.  His eye is swollen.  They force him in the chair.  The doctor sits down in the chair in front of him and checks him out.

“Hello sir,” the doctor says.  “We met your boy Josh,” he says.

“What did you do to him?”  He asks coughing from his bruised lungs.  “I swear to God I’ll kill you if you touched him,” he says.

“Please calm down,” the doctor tells him.  “Your child is just fine.”

“Where’s my wife?”  He asks.  The doctor says nothing.  “WHERE IS SHE?”  He screams.  He stops and begins to cough drastically.  The doctor says nothing and holds out his hand.  One of the other doctors hands him the shot.  Josh’s father looks at the liquid inside.  “What are you doing?”  He asks wanting to leave.

“Were just doing an experiment,” he says.  The masked men hold down the father as he screams wanting to leave.  The doctor tells them to hold out his arm.  Josh’s father yells trying to fight back. 

“NO!”  He screams as they hold out his arm.  The doctor makes his closer and closer with the tip of the needle getting closer to his skin.  “GET OFF OF ME!  NO!”  He screams as the doctor wipes his arm with the wet cotton ball.

“You won’t feel a thing,” he says staring at him.

“Please…why are you doing this?”  He asks with tears coming down his face.

“Saving the country sir,” he says.  “To save a nation, you need sacrifices,” he says throwing the cotton ball away.  “Think of yourself as a hero,” he says sticking the sharp into his arm.  The man twitches as the infected blood runs through his body.  “You’re a hero sir,” he says again.  Josh’s father sits there dizzy with his mouth open.  He looks around the room and looks at everyone.  “Alright, take him to the room,” the doctor says standing.

“God bless America,” the President says on the live camera.  The people from America that got out of the country tune in to watch.  “The process is going quite well America.  You’ll be coming home in no time,” he says with a smile.  “We are becoming strong again America.  After this is over, we will once again be the strongest and nothing will be able to knock us down,” he finishes signing off.

Dr. Ripley walks down the hall.  The masked men stare at him as he walks pass them.  He walks to a door and a masked man steps in front of him.  Dr. Ripley looks at him.  “Step aside soldier,” he says.  The soldier doesn’t say anything and stays in his position.  “Step aside soldier,” he tells the soldier again.  Again, the soldier stands his ground.  Dr. Ripley turns around and sees the other soldiers staring at him as well.  He counts three masked men staring at him and then turns back around and looks at the one guarding the door. 

“Chief, we have a code red in Section 7,” the soldier says.  He waits for the Chief to reply, but no response comes back.  The soldiers touch their ears and check their headphones.

The door opens as the doctor walks into the Chief’s office.  “Chief?”  He asks seeing the Chief in his chair with his back turned to him.  He walks towards him and hears dripping.  He walks quicker and looks at the Chief.  He stares at the deep cut to the throat.  The Chief’s eyes stay open and dilated.  He quickly runs out of the room.

The soldier stands there still waiting.  Suddenly the assistant comes on the signal.  “Chief is dead!  Cut to the throat!  Attention!  Chief is DEAD!”  He screams into their ears.  Dr. Ripley hears the man.  He quickly turns and sees the Alarm.  He quickly acts; turns on the Alarm, and takes out a Glock 22.  The loud, very annoying to the ears, alarm made the masked men lower themselves and hold their ears at first.  Dr. Ripley quickly fires a 9mm bullet into the masked man’s head.  The bullet almost goes all the way through his head, but stops in the back of his brain.  The blood that was holding the pressure from the brain shoots violently out the back of his head and hits the door.  His body hits the door from the force and falls almost immediately.  The other three masked men didn’t hear the gun shot, but saw what happened and pull out their artillery.  Dr. Ripley was already one step ahead of them and open fired on all three of them.  Bullets fly out of his gun as they hit the three men.  One man gets hit in the chest three times and falls to his knees.  He turns as he falls and falls on his back.  He is still alive, but is drowning in his own blood.  Another man gets hit in the arm.  As he turns his face to look at his arm, he automatically gets hit through his ear.  The bullet makes a new direction and shoots out the bottom of his neck.  He hits the wall and falls down to his death.  The third man gets hit in the face right beside his nose.  The bullet shoots to the back of his neck.  Another bullet hits him in the head and falls dead before he could die a slow death.

Dr. Ripley stops and tells himself to hurry.  The Alarm continues to go off as he opens the door.  The door opens and he walks in and sees Josh holding his ears.  He screams for him, but Josh can’t hear him.  He grabs his hand and he runs out of the room.  He shuts the door behind them, and walks the other way down the hall from the bodies.  He moves Josh in front of him and holds his neck violently as people pass him.  He begins to yell at Josh as they pass trying to convince the people he is doing his job.  The alarm is shut off.  Dr. Ripley opens another room and walks inside the room.  He shuts the door behind him and locks the door. 

“What is going on?”  Josh screams.

“Don’t worry Josh…I’m on your side.  I’m not going to hurt you,” he says shaking from the deaths he caused. 

“Where’s my mom?  Where’s my father?”  He asks.

“I’m sorry,” is all he could say.  Josh begins to tear up and begins to shake his head.

“Don’t you tell me that,” he says beginning to cry.  “DON’T YOU TELL ME THAT!”  He screams not able to hold it in.  He falls to the ground with tears flowing down his face.  Dr. Ripley, as he sees the boy cry, remembers walking in to see their fatal conclusion.

“Dr. Ripley,” the doctor says walking towards him quickly.  “What are you doing here?  I thought you got reassigned?”  He says.  Dr. Ripley stares in the window and sees Josh’s mother and father in the room together.  The father is tied to a chair as the mother is tied to another chair.  They sit and stare at each other.  They are shown both talking to each other crying.

“What are you doing doctor?”  He asks.

“Finding a cure,” he says.

“No, you’re torturing these innocent people.  If you want to kill them, why not just shoot them?”  He asks.

“How would that help us find a cure?  What if this parasite returns Dr. Ripley?  We just want to be ready,” he says wanting him to leave.

“You don’t see anything wrong about what you’re doing here?”  He asks.

“Life is cruel Dr. Ripley.  Someone with greater power is the only person who can take your life away,” he explains.  “Were saving this country, and these are our orders.  Experiment with the humans and find the truth behind the plague,” he continues.

“The only person who can take away life is God,” Dr. Ripley says.

“God lives in us Dr. Ripley.  So I am God, and I am doing the work of the good,” he finishes.  Dr. Ripley is disgusted.  Suddenly he hears Josh’s mother scream.  Everyone turns and stares at the window.  Josh’s father is shown violently puking his boiling blood up out of his mouth as it hits and lands all over his wife.  The father shakes the chair trying to fall backwards to he doesn’t kill his wife, but it doesn’t work.  The mother stops screaming within seconds as the boiling blood begins melting her scalp and getting into her brain.  She dies within minutes due to the blood melting and disintegrating her brain.  Josh’s father finally uses enough force and adrenaline and forces the chair backwards.  He falls hard on his back and faces his horrific, most painful death.  The doctors are writing during this entire process.  The doctor turns around to talk to Dr. Ripley again, but sees no one there.  He turns back around.

Dr. Ripley comes back to reality and stares at Josh.  He isn’t crying anymore, but still sitting on the tiled floor with a pale, red face.  “Listen Josh…I need to get you out of here,” he tells him.

“Why?”  He asks not caring about life anymore.

“You’re one of the last left Josh!  There’s a couple more, but I need to get you out first so we can bring this mayhem to an end.  What these people are doing is wrong and un-American,” he says pulling Josh up to his feet.  “Are you with me?”  He asks.  Josh nods his head.

The President sits in his chair with a face filled with rage.  His assistant walks in the door.  “Did you find him?”  The President says calmly. 

“Well…um…no, but-”

“How can you not find one man,” he says leaning up in his chair.  His assistant walks in the room a little further and closes the door.

“They are checking each room.  Cell and lab room we have sir,” he explains.  The President stands.  A knock comes to the door.  The assistant begins to make his way to the door. 

“Who the hell is it?”  The President says holding his head like he has a migraine.

“Mr. President,” Dr. Ripley says walking in the room.  Josh stands and walks behind him.  The assistant lets them in and shuts the door.

“Go and get help!”  The President screams at the assistant.  The assistant stands there and looks at the door.  He looks at Dr. Ripley and looks at Josh.  He slowly moves his head back and stares at the President.  He gives a smile and shakes his head.  The President is confused.  “What are you doing?”  He asks.

“We have to save the country Mr. President,” he says pulling out his handgun and pointing it quickly at the President.  He fires the metal and the bullet flies into the Presidents arm, but close to his chest.  The President screams as he falls to the ground.  He walks to the President and stares at him.  The President stares at him holding his arm breathing hard. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”  He screams spitting everywhere. 

“Mr. President, we found a cure,” he says pulling out a long, needled shot.  He sets it down on the table.  He grabs the President’s comfortable, leather chair and takes a seat.  “Dr. Ripley and Josh are going to be considered heroes Mr. President,” he says.  “They will bring forth the truth and what you have built which are lies and corruption,” he continues.

“Why are you doing this?”  The President asks.  The assistant turns and faces Dr. Ripley and Josh.  He turns back around and gives another smile.

5 hours earlier…

            Dr. Ripley leaves the room and makes his way down the hall.  “Dr. Ripley, can I talk to you?”  The assistant says.  Dr. Ripley turns around and stares at the man.

            They walk into a room and Dr. Ripley stares at the man.  “Yes?”  Dr. Ripley says with an angry look.  The assistant stares at him.

            “I want to help,” he says. 

            “There’s nothing we can do,” Dr. Ripley says.

            “Don’t doubt yourself to easily Dr. Ripley,” he says.

            “Who are you?”  He asks.

            “My son died from the parasite a little over a year ago Dr. Ripley.  They tried to save him, but they failed and it just spread like a spilled carton of milk.  My wife couldn’t handle the loss and the outbreak and took her own life.  My son was Jacob Clemens Dr. Ripley, and you’re staring at the last Clemens left,” he finishes.  Dr. Ripley and Mr. Clemens begin to talk some more.  “Without hope, we have nothing Dr. Ripley.  Hope creates dreams.  It drives us to succeed,” he says.  “If we don’t try, then hope is lost for good,” he finishes.

            “How?”  Dr. Ripley asks.

            “I have an idea,” he says.

            The President stares into Mr. Clemens eyes.  “WAIT!  You said you found a cure!”  The President yells.

            “As you left the sizzling corpses in their rooms, the parasites died from our atmosphere.  The parasites are dead indeed Mr. President,” he says.

            “So my plan did work,” he says.

            “Congratulations Mr. President,” he says picking the shot.

            “What are you doing?”  He asks.

            “In this tube, there are about 250 parasites in this woman’s blood.  A woman you killed.  A woman you murdered,” he says.

            “WAIT!”  He screams.

            “Mr. President!  Welcome to your own Hell,” he says getting on one knee and holding out his arm.  The president screams as he grabs the wounded arm.  The needle goes deep into the skin as the parasitic blood gets pushed into his blood stream.  The President screams.  “You’re a hero Mr. President,” he says standing up.  “Since you decided to kill yourself with the last parasites alive, you saved the whole country,” he says.  “Consider yourself a legend and you can earn your honor by suffering in the depths of Hell,” he says turning his back to him.

            “DON’T YOU LEAVE ME!  SOMEBODY!”  He screams wanting someone to help him.  Josh stares at him and shows no emotion as he walks out the door with Dr. Ripley.  Dr. Ripley stops and walks back in the room.  He walks towards the President.  “Dr. Ripley!  You are going to pay for this!”  He screams.  Dr. Ripley walks to the video camera in the room and pushes eject on the camera.  He pulls out a tape and stares at him.

            “Like everyone says…evidence can end anything,” he says walking out of the room.

One Year Later…

            “I promise to all of America that this will never happen again and God rest the souls of the victims,” The new President says at the State of the Union. 

            “If you are just turning in, the former President has been charged with Treason and is sentenced to jail time for life,” the reporter says.  “We go now to John Petty as he has an exclusive with Mr. Clemens,” he says.

            “Thank you Pat,” John says.  “Mr. Clemens; people are calling you the angel that saved America.  How do you feel?” 

            “I just hope Jacob and my gorgeous wife can be proud of me.  I love you both,” he says. 

            “Can you tell us how you brought the President down from his reign in power?”  He asks.

            “Well, I just gave him blood from a healthy woman.  I told him that the blood was indeed infected so he would cooperate,” he says.  Mr. Clemens remembers the President screaming, “I’ll be dead anyways!”  Mr. Clemens comes back to reality laughing.

            “A final question for the viewers out there…is the infection gone for good?”  He asks.

            “No one knows for sure.  People need to live life like it’s their last time on this earth.  Create dreams and follow those dreams,” he says in the camera.  “If you don’t…be prepared to become infected,” he says metaphorically speaking.

            “You heard Mr. Clemens and the life sentence of the former U.S. President hear first,” John says.  “I guess thank God and God bless America,” he says signing off. 

One Month Later…Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

            A little boy runs by a tiny taxi.  The taxi cab honks his horn and flips off the child as he runs off.  The child runs into his home and his mother begins screaming at the boy.  The boy says nothing, grabs a piece of bread, and stops.  He looks at the floor.  He takes off running screaming.  The taxi makes his way down the road as the kid runs and stops in front of him.  The taxi cab man gets out of the car upset as it is.  “QUE PASO?”  The man screams walking to the kid.  The kid screams as he begins to puke out blood all over the man’s shirt.  The man freaks out and pushes the kid.  He turns back to go to his car, but stops.  He begins to scream.  He turns back and faces the child.  The center of his shirt is gone.  The boy continues to look as the blood begins to melt his outer skin.  The man screams as his insides begin to slowly fall out of his body.  Everyone around the chaos begins to scream.  The boy screams in horror.  Everyone screams seeing iniquity.

The End

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Comments (4)

Posted by Chase07 2008-02-10 12:05:29 sorry Sorry for making the last part so long...that's my bad. And don't worry...this is the last one haha for those of you who are sick of the story. + Report this comment
Posted by thirteen 2008-02-10 12:32:05 Excellent Dont apologise, this is very good chase.I am not sick of this story.This could be a movie.Realy like the end, are you writing more. + Report this comment
Posted by Reese 2008-02-10 15:38:37 ... Great story. Kept me reading it all. + Report this comment
Posted by Chase07 2008-02-10 21:47:58 .... Hey thanks guys for liking the whole story as one. To answer your question if I'm going to write more...I'm not really into writing another one, but hey you never know...but right now I'm working on a supernatural ghost story for 1800. I heard he likes the supernatural stuff.. + Report this comment

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