A Cat From Canada Book 2 by Bassam Imam - HTML preview

 EBOLA X VIRUS

 

I must’ve been out cold for at least 12 hours. Upon awakening I sensed that something was quite odd. Looking around me I noticed no other persons. Furthermore, the mini spacecraft wasn’t moving. Not wanting to waste any time I exited the mini spacecraft. To my utter shock and dismay I saw a dozen dead bodies strewn across the hangar. Worse yet, the victims appeared to have bled inside out, their bodies looked very sickly, and there was a slight stench in the air.

 

Disgustingly, the blow flies had already begun to do their work on the corpses, maggots were on one body. I wasn’t sticking around. I took several steps towards the exit but fell onto the ground beside a corpse. I needed some time to recover from the drug in my system.

 

Having been so close to the corpse I studied it very carefully, even the skin appeared sickly.

 

I shook my head and then continued onward until reaching the exit. I was literally out in the middle of nowhere. For one thing I didn’t know which direction to go in. Roughly 50 yards in front of me was a long street. I couldn’t see when it ended in either direction.

 

Looking to my left and then to my right all I saw was sand and dirt. I wanted to know what was behind the facility so I walked to the long street. As soon as I got there I turned around and looked. Once again, there was nothing but sand and dirt behind the facility. And still, I felt a bit woozy.

 

It was mid-afternoon and the sun was hitting down on me like a ton of bricks. There was no way I was going to trek anywhere until later in the day. I backtracked, walking to the facility but not entering it. I lied down in front of the entrance; it was shady and a bit cooler there.

 

I closed my eyes, instantly falling asleep. I awakened late in the afternoon, stretched out, and then headed for the long street. Now, I had 2 options, head left or head right. I scanned the entire area searching for clues as to which direction was better. Seeing nothing on the horizon for either way, I chose to go right. Most people are right handed, so why not go with the majority.

 

I walked for roughly 2 hours before spotting a distant object. It wasn’t moving but looked like it was built by humans, in other words it wasn’t a naturally occurring inanimate object.

 

I felt a rush of anxiety and excitement. I sped up my walking pace. You don’t know what it feels like to be all alone, and considering what I’d been through the effects were magnified.

 

As I got closer and closer to the object it became clear to me that it was a vehicle. But this vehicle was partially submerged into the sand and dirt just beyond the shoulder of the street. I deduced that a vehicular accident had ensued.

 

Shockingly, I saw what appeared to be a person in the vehicle. Getting even closer, I was able to determine that the vehicle was a green-colored Volkswagen bug.

 

When I got to within 25 feet of the Volkswagen instinct commanded me to stop. There was some kind of danger looming nearby. I had no idea what it was though, but nevertheless I instinctively knew it was there. Naturally, I had to investigate however caution was the rule of thumb.

 

I stood on my hind legs and craned my neck kind of like a grizzly bear standing his ground. I sniffed the air and tuned in to any sound therein.

 

Lo and behold, a man perhaps in his mid-60’s was inside the Volkswagen. He appeared extremely emaciated and had horrible looking blood sores throughout the parts of his body that I could see. Although I couldn’t see his hips or lower extremities logic dictated that they were in bad shape too.

 

As soon as the man took notice of me he opened his mouth and then tried to speak. My intent had suddenly changed. Because the man looked like he was on the verge of dying I found it necessary to approach him and hear what he had to say to me; perhaps it was a doomsday-like warning to me.

 

I cautiously continued my approach to the Volkswagen keeping my eyes and ears attuned to my surroundings. Then, I leaped into the Volkswagen landing beside what appeared to be a man who’d been struck by a horrible plague.

 

It was too late for me to escape. I was either infected or not, or perhaps my immune system prevented any adverse medical effects on my body.

 

“Kitty, please listen to what I have to say, it is extremely important! My name is Dr. Walter Conrad I’m a physician and scientist at the Centers for Disease Control.”

 

This man sounded funny. He had a very strange accent, like a southerner or something of the sort. Instantly, I felt suspicion, maybe he was a foreign spy or an alien from another planet. Having no control over my immediate response I winced in disgust and then pulled my head back, like I’d just seen something awfully disgusting.

 

“Kitty, please don’t be offended by my accent. I’m not a hostile foreigner, nor am I an alien from outer space. I’m an American from Atlanta, Georgia. Do you understand why I ‘speak funny’?”

 

“Oh, sorry Doctor, you had me worried for a while. Okay, you’re legit. Now, please continue with what you were saying, I’m all ears.”

 

“Listen, the entire world has been hit by a new, more deadly form of the Ebola virus scientists have labelled it Ebola X.”

 

“Why has it been labelled Ebola X?”

 

“The ‘X’ stands for the destruction of our planet’s inhabitants. Kitty, Ebola X has managed to spread throughout the whole world, worse yet it has also struck the animal world, even factory farmed animals.

 

Tens of billions of land animals have already died and its worse for the birds. Regarding the latter it struck pigeons first then spread to city birds and seagulls. Lastly, the migratory birds were hit. The latter helped to spread this deadly nemesis to other birds and animals in far off places.

 

Ebola X most often but not always kills its human host within 2 or 3 days. For animals, it depends on the particular species and overall health of the individual.

 

Kitty, where have you been for the past week?”

 

“Huh, I mean, I slept for several hours and then awakened. As for the past week I saw and heard nothing about Ebola X.”

 

“Wait a minute! I know who you are, you’re the killer cat. Don’t worry the rule of law within and amongst nations no longer exists. Almost all the humans have died, and for the most part the ones that are still alive are like me, awaiting death. Individuals who have natural immunity to Ebola X are extremely rare, perhaps one in every several or many millions.

 

Your legal name is Citizen Cat, right?”

 

“Yes, Dr. Conrad, that’s my name.”

 

“Were you in The Canadian Space Center?” “Yes, I was,”

 

“Citizen, actually, I was coming here. This is a secret base. I’d heard that they had special medicines and vaccines for these kinds of things.”

 

“Dr. Conrad, I don’t think they have either. But anyway, how did you get infected? I mean, being a specialist in this field, didn’t you follow standard protocol?”

 

“Yes, I did, and so did others like me. Unfortunately, Ebola X had a characteristic that no other virus that I know does; it eats its way through the material of the biohazard suit.

 

Citizen, I’m not going to make it. As you can see, I’m getting sicker by the minute. Listen, I suspect that you slept for an entire week. Perhaps you were drugged or maybe your body destroyed the virus during your sleep state. That’s why you apparently slept for an entire week.”

 

“Wait, Dr. Conrad, I need to know exactly where I am. I want to go back to Montreal. And, how’s Montreal?”

 

“If you go there you’ll see countless rotting dead bodies strewn across the entire city and boroughs. And one more thing, stay clear of the blow flies and maggots, and anything else that looks creepy in or near the dead bodies.

 

Oh, before I forget, some persons, and this also includes animals and birds, go crazy following infection. And watch out for ferocious dogs, raccoons, rats, and whatever.

 

(Pointing to his left) he said, “Citizen, walk in that direction for 6 hours. This will get you to the Greater Metropolitan area of Montreal. I have a feeling you’re not from Quebec. You sound very Anglophone, like you’re from an English province.”

 

“Dr. Conrad, you’re absolutely right, I’m from Belmont, Ontario. And to tell you the truth I really miss it. I wish I could go back and see my childhood mansion and my beloved friend Randy, he’s an incredible squirrel.”

 

Dr. Conrad’s tongue dangled to the side and then he closed his eyes. I didn’t have to check his pulse to know that he had just died. I lowered my head as a sign of respect, keeping it in that position for several minutes.

 

Upon raising my head I studied my surroundings very carefully. The best option was to do what Dr. Conrad had said. I had no reason to doubt his sincerity.

 

I leaped out of the Volkswagen and then began my long trek to Montreal. The sun pounded me for the first 4 hours of my walk causing me to slow down significantly. Nevertheless, I continued walking. At the 7 hour mark I reached Cote Vertu Metro Station. During the final stretch of my walk to the metro station I began to see corpses scattered in just about every place. Many of the corpses had already had their skin and flesh eaten away, others were relatively fresh, and to tell you the truth some of the bodies were those of persons still dying, but they were well beyond repair. In this kind of a torrential situation a person barely has enough time to care about one particular body let alone a stockpile of them.

 

Then, I took notice of countless dead birds, many of them had fallen to their deaths, too weak to continue flying, others were perched on trees, a third category were on the ground perhaps foraging for food or doing something else.

 

Vehicles were frozen in place most of them had dried or semi-dried blood splotches and stains on the interior and exterior. I couldn’t but help ponder about the horrible chaos that ensued. Thank goodness I saw this particular metro station, I was now able to direct myself due south to Westmount and then east to the downtown core of Montreal.

 

But really, I couldn’t ignore one important fact, many of the dead humans appeared to have been violently killed, some of them killing others, no doubt. There was an ominous aura in the air. I suspected that many humans and animals had gone crazy before dying.

 

For the time being, I could hear nothing but the rustling of leaves on trees thankfully a light breeze added some semblance of life in the area. Ebola X can never be harmful to plants otherwise most of the trees would’ve begun to or would’ve died already.

 

I was careful not to step on any of the corpses, and certainly to stay clear of any blood, blow flies, and maggots. Just in case, I didn’t want to be infected with yet another mutated strain of Ebola. I lucked out the first time, and I surely wasn’t going to gamble on my life this time.

 

After much walking I made it to Vendome Metro Station before deciding to take a long rest. It was strange to be the only person walking around.

 

I studied the area intently, noticing a large beautiful tree nearby I crossed Maisonneuve Boulevard. Following a brief pause I leaped unto the tree scaling it high until reaching a large tree branch. I wasn’t taking any chances. I didn’t know what to expect at nightfall.

 

I closed my eyes, instantly falling into a deep sleep. A few hours later I was awakened by the roaring and grumbling voices of humans fast approaching, they were walking through area. I crouched down in order to stay hidden. Shockingly, the people that I saw looked like zombies. Previously, I never believed in ‘monster people’, but after seeing these creatures with my own 2 eyes I now did. They’d been infected with the Ebola X virus, and would die very soon. Under the circumstances, it was safe to assume they were extremely dangerous.

 

Individuals, pairs and clusters of zombies walked passed my tree without giving me any notice. Then, I saw something quite shocking. A man and a woman began to howl like werewolves, turning to face the nearest person. They ran to him and then launched a horrific attack. The unsuspecting victim went down really fast. Thereafter, each of the attackers reached for a nearby stone then began to smash the victim’s head. Following this, they smashed other parts of his body. When all was done, they continued walking.

 

I almost lost my balance in all the confusion. My micro movement caused one of the attackers, a woman, to direct her gaze in my direction. I quickly curled up into a ball, even closing my eyes tightly.

 

I used my incredible feline hearing and sense of smell to determine the location of the woman. She stood in her place, not moving for a whole minute. Being a predatory animal myself I knew to stay still, and to breathe quietly through my nose.

 

After the couple left the area I began to terrorizing roars and screams. But this time many more persons were involved, it sounded like they were fighting each other. I figured they were one of the last remnants of humans who were alive in Canada; though I understood that I could be wrong. And there were certainly mentally ferocious animals too. Thankfully, it looked like time was on my side and against the zombies. They were dying off. I had to weather the storm, holding out for perhaps a couple, or 3 days at the most.

 

Every single zombie appeared sickly and gross, blood seeping from different parts of their bodies, and a pungent smell that could scatter even the toughest of hogs or skunks.

 

I waited a total of 3 hours before deciding to descend to the ground. Being on the west side meant that I had a long walk ahead of me. I made certain to walk on the side of the sidewalk closest to the grass, this way I could leap into hiding in a moment’s notice.

 

As soon as I reached Westmount Park I craned my neck and then sniffed the air intently. I smelled many dead humans and animals, but there were live animals therein too. Not satisfied, I stood on my hind legs like a giant grizzly bear and then raised my head as high as I could, I sniffed the air with every ounce of strength I had. When I finished my investigation I deduced that there was a live monkey and a squirrel in the park.

 

Suddenly, I felt a rush of loneliness run through my entire body. There was only one thing to do, find the monkey and the squirrel then befriend them.

 

I chose to walk through a pre-treaded path leading to a beautiful pond. The ducks therein had already died off. But I wasn’t interested in them I had more important business on my mind. I cropped up my ears to hear any movement or speech then continued to walk until I reached the area near the public restrooms. As I studied my immediate surroundings intently someone called out to me.

 

“Hey, kitty, are you feeling well? Or are you Ebola X positive?”

 

As soon as I heard the first word I meowed loudly and was catapulted off of the ground, perhaps 5 or 6 feet. The speaker caught me off guard.

 

Turning to see who was speaking to me I caught sight of a monkey perched atop a tree. He was grinning at me, thankfully without baring his canines. Then, he waved at me. I didn’t move. Following my inaction the monkey waved me over to him once more.

 

I sniffed the monkey studying him intently. I wanted to determine if he was healthy or sick. To tell you the truth, I simply wasn’t sure. I was receiving mixed signals, but then, I was so desperate for a friend, whatever suspicions I had were promptly regressed deep into my psyche.

 

It was time to see if the monkey had good or evil intentions. I noticed that the monkey’s patience was running out. He appeared to be genuinely friendly. Suddenly, he descended from the tree and then hopped and skipped towards me.

 

Instinctively, I arched my back, hissed, bared my teeth and extended my claws. I’d never seen a real live monkey before.

 

As soon as the monkey was within a foot of me he extended his right hand in an act of kindness. I slowly extended my right paw. We shook hand and paw. As soon as we retracted our appendages the monkey began to converse with me.

 

“Hey kitty, I’m very happy to see you. You don’t know what it’s like to see people all around you sickly and dying. Not to mention their bizarre and often monster-like behavior.

 

And oh, by the way, my name is Chip Walker. I was born in Vancouver. My parents came here a couple of years ago; my mother was born in Belgium, my father was born in Germany.

 

Kitty, I think it would be logical if you and I became best friends in the whole world to each other. We have no one else. We must stay together at all times. Do you agree with me? And that’s not all we can watch each other’s back, until the ugly zombies all die out. Following their deaths the blow flies and maggots will eventually die off too. They need food like everyone else. Sooner or later nature will clear these corpses away.”

 

“Chip, my name is Citizen Cat. I guess that’s a given, I’m the killer cat, wanted in all Canadian Provinces, and hailed as one of the worst serial killers in our history. I guess it doesn’t matter now, the rule of law and order has disappeared. Gold, silver, and money are now worthless. The only articles that are of use are food items, water, shelter, safety, and decent companionship.”

 

Suddenly, we heard the treading of feet nearby; whoever it was, he or she was fast approaching us.

 

(Pointing to his right) he said, “Quickly, Citizen, you must scale that tree over there, go to the highest branch and then curl up into a ball. Don’t move or say a word, and don’t forget to breathe through your nose.”

 

We scaled the tree and then quietly perched on a branch that was roughly 50 feet high. Lo and behold 6 zombies walked through our area, howling and searching for something. Then, they sniffed the air. One of them focused his gaze upon us; the others followed.

 

“Citizen, they know we’re. We must descend from the tree and then run for our lives. Please, don’t go anywhere until I’ve laid out a game-plan. I live in this part of town so I know what I’m talking about.

 

We must run through the soccer field. Now, I know for a fact that there will be zombies therein. It’s either the soccer field or we run up steep hills. By the time we reach the top of any one of those hills we’ll be exhausted. We can’t be in that state, not when there are zombies everywhere.”

 

“Wait a minute, Chip. Why do the zombies only come out at night?”

 

“Citizen, their eyes and skin are sensitive to sunlight.

 

However, I must inform you that not all zombies refuse to come out during the day. You and I must be able to weather the storm. If you happen to run faster than me don’t wait up. Another thing, the moment you take notice of a zombie in the soccer field you and I must split up. Keep running east on Maisonneuve Boulevard until you reach Westmount Square. Descend the steps and then enter through the doors. Go to the restrooms on your right. You’ll have to enter through a pair of black-colored doors they’re pretty hard to open. Once you’re in the restroom hide and wait for me. If I beat you there, I’ll do the same thing, okay?”

 

I followed Chip down the tree. By the time we were on the ground the original zombies and many more had begun to take interest in us. They roared and screamed literally signalling an alarm call. A moment later, we heard many other zombies roaring and screaming. It was at that moment I suspected many of the zombies weren’t going to die off as fast as Chip and I presumed. Perhaps, they’d built up partial immunity to the Ebola X virus, but only after considerable damage to their bodies and brains.

 

We hurried to the soccer field, all our senses highly attuned to our surroundings and ready to run like crazy. As soon as Chip and I entered the soccer field we heard a horrendous onslaught of shrieks, roars, and screams, noticeably worse than before. Unfortunately, we hadn’t planned on running through a maze with so many zombies. We expected them to be scattered in various parts of the soccer field.

 

Thankfully, Chip and I had good night vision. We glanced at each other, Chip spoke to me, “Citizen, what the hell are we supposed to do? There are so many zombies, and look, they're fast approaching us. C’mon, Citizen, you’re a cat. Use your incredible feline genius to find a way out of this horror story, before it’s too late.”

 

I did a 360 degree turn, like a live carousel, studying the entire area thoroughly but quickly.

 

“Chip, cutting through the soccer field is out of the question. We’ll be sitting ducks. Playing the part of a prey animal, I surmised it would be best to run up a very steep hill or two, with the hopeful expectation that there will be no zombies in the place where we pass out from exhaustion. Remember, capture would certainly result in being eaten alive, me first because cats are much cuter and attractive than monkeys.”

 

We turned to our left and then ran through the north end of the park. Meanwhile, we could hear the screams and treading of a multitude of feet. I was under the assumption that zombies lacked endurance. As soon as we passed the peripheral of the park we crossed Sherbrooke Avenue then ran up a very steep hill as fast as we could.

 

Believe me, it was one hell of a workout even for a very cute, stream-lined athletic cat like me. Chip’s breathing became quite laborious he lagged behind in the process.

 

“Chip, listen, please look behind you, my hunch was right. Zombies don’t have good endurance.”

 

As soon as I finished my statement Chip collapsed onto the ground, thankfully, we’d made it far up the first hill. The zombies had actually stopped their chase just beyond the bottom of the hill. They were staring at us with their evil, wicked, bloodshot eyes.

 

But just as I thought that the coast was clear, the zombies shifted their gaze to Chip. Instinctively, they knew that this could be an easy ‘kill and meal deal’. The stronger zombies amongst them attempted to speed-walk up the hill, with the intent of reaching Chip. I tried in desperation to wake him up but to no avail.

 

“Chip, please, if there was any time in your life when you had to get on your feet and run, it’s right now! The zombies are approaching us with strong resolve.”

 

I feared that Chip wouldn’t be able to get on his feet and run. With no other options, I heftily scooped him off of the ground and then carried him on my back. I speed-walked away, like a donkey carrying a heavy load. Carrying Chip blocked my ability to turn my head to see where the approaching zombies were. Therefore, I was forced to use my auditory and olfactory senses to compensate.

 

As soon as I cleared the second steep hill I almost collapsed from what I saw; it was another steep hill. I knew that there was no chance of scaling another hill while Chip was on my back. The good news was, the scent and sounds of the zombies had faded away allowing me to gently place Chip onto the ground. Believe me I was delighted to see the zombies end their chase.

 

Almost immediately afterward, I crossed the street and then started to puke my brains out. I’m certain all of the contents in my stomach had been catapulted onto the ground. I walked away from the puddle of puke, opened my shoulder bag and then removed a pack of breath mints. I yanked off 3 pieces, then put them in my mouth and chewed on them. I had no time to suck on them. I put the remainder of the pack of breath mints back into my shoulder bag.

 

Following several few minutes of heavy panting I was able to determine that there were no imminent dangers in the area, I dragged Chip to a nearby tree then mustered much of my remaining strength to carry him for an entire block and a half. I stopped beside a beautiful tree located at the peripheral of a very nice, spacious old-style mansion. Without delay, I went into ‘leopard mode’ carrying Chip to a high-level branch and then securing his body on it, making sure that there was no chance of him falling onto the ground.

 

I slithered to another branch on the same tree literally collapsing then losing consciousness. I awakened the following day at 3:00 P.M.

 

I rubbed my glassy eyes and then fixed my gaze upon Chip. He was still in the same spot.

 

I chose to carefully drag Chip off of the branch and then descended to the ground, holding him tightly with my powerful canines. As soon as we reached the ground I sensed that something was terribly wrong.

 

I noticed that Chip had blood seeping from at least a dozen different parts of his body. In spite of this, he was mumbling about something. I had to investigate.

 

“Chip, what’s going on here? Are you all right?”

 

“Citizen, I’m not going to make it. I think I have the Ebola X virus. Some people don’t manifest any symptoms until days or up to a couple of weeks following infection. I’m burning up inside, and I’m having a hard time breathing. Please stand at least 25 feet from me and if I die don’t approach me. Say what you must from a safe distance.

 

Citizen, I love you so dearly. Please, don’t forget me. I don’t want you to wait up for me. Go to the downtown core. I was told there are more survivors there. Also, there’s an underground group called ‘The Surviving Few’ who have a secret hiding place to live in.

 

Listen carefully zombies can smell their own kind and the dying from a good distance. There are probably zombies in the vicinity, and they don’t have to scale a hill. Please get out of here right now!”

 

I stayed clear of Chip as instructed, but felt a strong urge to approach him. I knew better though. But I was determined to get a few words in before I left.

 

“Chip, I also love you so much. That’s not all, I think you’re a real life Canadian hero, and thank you ever so dearly for the precious information, I shall never forget you.”

 

Chip’s head flopped over, and then his tongue dangled to the side. He started to froth at the mouth, his nose and ears were now bleeding; finally, his eyes closed for good. I knew it was all over. What a sad way to end your stay on this planet.

 

Knowing the possible danger but not caring, I embraced Chip with all my might, holding my position for at least one minute. When all was done I rose to ‘my feet’ I walked to the other side of the street, and stayed there for an hour before realizing that I just couldn’t leave my pal Chip.

 

I roared, hissed, and screamed, unable to control my emotions. I stayed in the area for 3 whole days, not eating or drinking, or even urinating or defecating.

 

Following my 3 days, I entered the nearest yard, where I proceeded to relieve myself. I had a giant load of fecal matter and urine to dispose of.

 

As soon as I finished doing my thing I took one last look at Chip before heading off. I was lucky the zombies didn’t return. Being as it was, my primary goal was to get to the downtown core. People like me who had complete immunity to Ebola X were to become my new brethren and sisters. I couldn’t be alone, it would’ve been suicidal.

 

I chose to stay on the mountain rather than descend to Sherbrooke Avenue. The mountain was for the time being, a place where I was safe from zombie.

 

Throughout my walk I had an eerie feeling of being watched. Furthermore, I smelled live squirrel, constantly nearby despite my continuing to walk. In fact, it was the exact scent that I smelled before entering Westmount Park. What’s going on here? I said to myself. Was there someone actually trailing me, or was I losing my mind? Being all alone and considering what had happened to me, going mad appeared to be a state I was heading to.

 

Upon reaching Atwater Street I noticed that the sun was descending; I had to stay alert though. Although I heard zombies here and there these particular pockets of individuals and tiny groups were a safe distance away and likely on their last stretch of being alive.

 

I turned south on Atwater Street until I reached Maisonneuve Boulevard, thereafter I headed due east. This part of town was more dangerous than the hill. I could hear zombies nearby, some of them fighting to the death inside apartments and business establishments. The police had literally been erased