Eden Rising - читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги автора Brett Battles (What Came Before) #1

Brett Battles Eden Rising

What Came Before

The Earth was forever changed. Project Eden unleashed the KV-27a virus — known to all as the Sage Flu — and watched as the reaping of humanity began. It was part of the master plan, a necessary step toward a restart of the human race in which the Project would control the future.

Billions had already died, with the promise of more to come.

In a well-intentioned effort meant to save as many people as possible, the US government set up emergency camps for children and other survivors. Brandon Ash, after escaping the attack on the Resistance compound known as the Ranch, was picked up by military personnel and taken to one such camp in Colorado. It was not long, though, before the virus reached the camp. Brandon, with a few other children and one of the teachers, escaped the outbreak and found a cabin in the mountains to hide in.

Brandon’s sister Josie and Chloe White left the Ranch to find Brandon. They traced him to the camp in Colorado, and arrived at the cabin as a Project Eden team attempted to capture the children. The kidnapping was averted, and Brandon was reunited with his family.

Martina Gable and Riley Weber descended out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where they left family members who had died, and returned to their hometown of Ridgecrest, California. There, they found several other friends still alive. All had contracted the Sage Flu during the trial outbreak, which had apparently made them immune. Together now, they vow to survive.

Sanjay and Kusum led their group of survivors away from Mumbai, looking for someplace where they could all stay in safety, eventually finding an abandoned boarding school.

On Isabella Island, east of Costa Rica, the workers and guests of the island’s resort were spared exposure to the flu during the virus’s initial release. They knew, however, if they were going to continue surviving, they would need to keep anyone else from reaching their shores. Several times they had to turn away boats. They missed one, though — a small boat that drifted ashore with a victim of the virus lying dead inside. Dominic Ray, the resort’s manager, unintentionally exposed himself to the body, and realized the only way to save everyone else was to swim out as far as he could away from the island. With the reluctant help of his friend Robert Adams, he sacrificed his life.

The Resistance, having failed to stop the pandemic and barely surviving the attack on its main headquarters, was forced to switch its efforts to do what it could to save those who were still breathing — a mission it knew would be more than difficult.

Then, on December 27^th, Principal Director Perez of Project Eden gave the go-ahead, and all over the world, the televisions and radios that had days earlier fallen silent began broadcasting a false message over and over…

“My name is Gustavo Di Sarsina. I am the newly appointed secretary general of the United Nations. You are all aware that our planet has been undergoing a catastrophe beyond anything we have ever experienced. The deaths from the Sage Flu are…incalculable. Billions have already died, and many more continue to do so. Friends, family, loved ones. In the span of ten days, the human race has gone from our normal, everyday existence to a desperate race for survival. If you are hearing this, it means you are one of the lucky ones.

“The good news is, help is now available. A vaccine has been developed, and we are in the process of producing it in large enough quantities so that all those who have survived can receive it. To that end, we need to determine exactly how many of us are left and where everyone is located.

“The problem we now face is one of communication. Many of the world’s telecom systems have begun to shut down, and we fear the same is starting to happen with power grids worldwide. In an effort to work around this problem, we have set up various means by which you can reach us — Internet, shortwave radio, and even a phone number those of you still with service can try. And if none of those are available to you, we are setting up dozens of what we are calling survival stations throughout the world. These might require a difficult trip, but they are an option. Those of you watching television will see the information scrolling across the bottom of the screen. If you’re listening on a radio, I will give you the numbers and addresses at the end of this message.

“This is the most important part. Whatever you have been doing to survive, continue to do so. The virus is still out there and contractable. Until you have been vaccinated, you must avoid contact with it at all costs. If you need to travel to one of the survival stations, wear protective clothing and stop for no one.

“While we at the UN have also been hit, we are still here. Our only goal now is to save everyone we can. As soon as the vaccine is ready, we will get it to you. After that, we will rise above the ashes of this horrible tragedy and ensure that this is not the end of the human race.”

While the battle to keep the virus from being released had been lost, the war over who would survive had only just begun.