Bob McCarty Writes

Below is Part Ten, the final pre-publication installment of a series of posts I’m sharing with readers of this blog. A change of pace from my usual writings on humor, politics, culture and capitalism, this series represents the first few chapters of a book I’ve been writing for several months. It draws from my background in the Air Force as well as from my experience in politics and public relations. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to your feedback. To receive an e-mail about the availability of SCRATCH OFF upon publication, simply leave a comment — including a valid e-mail address — below this post or send an e-mail with the book’s title in the headline to bobmccartywrites (at) gmail (dot) com.

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SCRATCH OFF

By Bob McCarty

Copyright © 2008 Bob McCarty, L.L.C. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, publication or broadcast
or other use of this document without the express permission of Bob McCarty, L.L.C., is prohibited by law.

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The first anniversary of Josh’s death came and went. During the past 12 months, Kastens’ mission to fulfill the promise made to his son had consumed nearly every waking hour. Had it not been for his job at King Chemical, the place where he had worked for nearly three decades, he might have spent 24 hours a day in the effort.

Before, during and after work, he had made hundreds of phone calls, e-mails and letters. He had even flown to Washington, D.C., and tried to meet with his members of Congress. None would meet with him as re-election campaigns were the only front-burner issues about which they seemed to care. When weighed against the potential loss of power and privilege afforded them via their elected positions, one ordinary man’s loss of a son in combat just didn’t rate high enough to demand their full attention.

The nation’s leaders, Kastens concluded, hoped to cut their losses by demanding a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East before the job was done. Selfishly, they had succumbed to the daily onslaught of anti-war messages broadcast over radio and television. They had paid too much attention to the results of polls conducted by interest groups with defined agendas. And they had traded long-term national security concerns for short-term personal gains delivered in the form of successful re-election bids.

At the same time, many average Americans had succumbed to the same anti-war pressures and were calling for their nation to bring troops home from the Middle East and elsewhere.

“Did anyone truly understanding the consequences?” Kastens asked himself time and again. “The terrorists are winning, and things will only get worse. What will it take for them to wake up?”

At one minute past midnight July 1, 2008, people across New York and in neighboring states began dying — thousands during the first four hours alone.

Feeling lightheaded at first, victims dismissed the strange, tingling feelings as being allergy-related or something else. Soon their feelings turned to fear, but it didn’t last long.

Some were in their cars, on the subway or walking on sidewalks, bound for a variety of destinations when their hearts suddenly stopped and their bodies simply shut down. Others were found inside their homes, at their graveyard-shift jobs and elsewhere when death greeted them abruptly, unannounced.

Ambulance companies and minor emergency clinics were overwhelmed by the sudden and unexpected flood of critical patients.

People of all ages displayed identical symptoms, including convulsions, irregular heartbeat and breathing difficulties. Eventually, all but a handful died. Only those who made it to advanced treatment facilities at the state’s best hospitals remained alive beyond the so-called “Golden Hour,” one hour after the onset of symptoms. Unfortunately, they owed their collective ability to breathe to the electricity that powered the respirators at their bedsides.

Other victims contributed to a new one-day record being set for motor vehicle accident deaths. Law enforcement officials realized later that most of the victims – including some police officers and taxi cab drivers – had been unconscious when their accidents occurred. Some, they suspected, may have been dead.

Experts in the medical and law enforcement communities were stumped. While most suspected terrorists had to be behind the wave of deaths, none yet had a clue how such an attack could have been carried out. Furthermore, they were having a hard time coming up with a plausible explanation to share with members of the news media who, soon after they arrived for work as early as 4 a.m., would begin asking tough questions.

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Note: To receive an e-mail update about the availability of SCRATCH OFF upon publication, simply leave a comment — including a valid e-mail address — below this post or send an e-mail with the book’s title in the headline to bobmccartywrites (at) gmail (dot) com.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2008 Bob McCarty, L.L.C. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, publication or broadcast
or other use of this document without the express permission of Bob McCarty, L.L.C., is prohibited by law.

To read previous SCRATCH OFF posts, click here.