Sempiternal

PROLOGUE

 

General Shelsher pursed his lips and frowned as he gazed from where he perched- high up on the grandstand of a top secret military facility located far from the city and suburbs. He’d only just received word that War might be likely prospect in time to come; the cavalcade of bad news had sent him reeling back in shock. It so seemed like now was the time to release the big guns. He’d heard that many scientists had been working to hone this latest project- one which involved nuclear power and some toxins that served to momentarily stun someone and leave them mentally- impaired, rendering them immobile and asinine for a good few minutes. General Shelsher watched from behind the domed wall; the battle would unfold within an arena somewhat like this, only larger, much larger. It would be a crazy bloodbath; he scrutinised the procession with a doubtful and astute gaze, feeling somewhat unnerved and certain that this weapon was more lethal than the scientists were letting on.

 

Hampering one’s cognitive abilities, now that was really something but the General held a foresight that was unrivaled and knowing that the toxins, once released, would be air- borne, couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this was a weapon for mass killing. Everyone in the dome would not be spared unless…

 

His gaze locked onto the huge device now sitting atop the frustum in the middle of the arena. They were about to carry out this test on an elephant to see if the results were as hypothesised. A couple of stodgy elephants ambled in clumsily, clamouring and wrestling for space as soon as they entered.

 

The scientists who had led them in were wearing thick jumper suits that were meant to withstand the high levels of radiation. Standard protocol was followed and everything was a go. General Shelsher, however, felt like he was staring right into the eyes of the grim reaper, the harbinger of death. He stood and having decided not to launch into yet another one of his verbose asseverations, strode hurriedly out of the place. Beads of perspiration dotted his back and he didn’t even know why.

 

He moved swiftly into his office and practically slammed the door shut. General Shelsher felt  like a soldier asunder; Maybe he was overthinking things, letting his intuition get the better of him. It was not until he heard the explosion, felt the tremors which were very much like seismic waves tearing the ground apart that he knew his ‘premonition’ had reached its devastating end (in reality). The General turned on his walkie- talkie and all other devices in his room, waiting for a call (from anybody) but it never came.

 

If he’d been just like a flustered harridan before, right now, he was practically insane. He tried calling anyone he knew, the scientists, the people in the arena and that was when it hit him like a nail through his solar plexus; the air vent! As his eyes surveyed the room, it was all he could do to stifle a scream as the fingers of death shot forth at warp speed, a torus of particulates opening a gaping hole to engulf him. Like all others, he should have met his demise quickly, swiftly, but he didn’t. A gallimaufry of feelings punctuated his heart and seized his soul as the ethereal quality of the serpentine- like projection of particles hovered around him, as if considering whether to devour him raw or not. The… thing’s entire monad was glowing, incandescent and General Shelsher felt the radiation seeping through his pores, inundating reality as it sent him spiraling into oblivion. Purgatory.

 

*****

In minutes, the toxins had spread, leaving the building which was now only filled with corpses and death, spreading to take over the rest of America. It so happened that the toxins, like drugs prescribed to us by doctors, contained a strong and mutating form of virus, or maybe a more accurate term would be parasite . In the test earlier on, the entire canister which served to hold and control the concentration of the toxins released malfunctioned, causing voluminous and copious amounts of toxins to fill the dome and spread to the rest of the building through the air vents. The toxins moved at breakneck speed, unable to be contained as it infiltrated every level of the facility, rendering everyone dead. Today, one facility, a few officers. The next, the whole of America.