The Complex: (The Reanimates) Read Free

reanimation? I seriously must not be all the way awake."
    Just as my lips started to make words the CRT screen lit up and his head whipped to the screen. The anchor woman said now they were going live to the CDC in Washington DC.

 
    Official Words
     
    The CDC director wore a stressed expression and it seemed like he hadn't slept in days. He stepped onto the podium and stood behind the lectern like it was a shield protecting him from the inevitable.  As he waited for the reporters to settle down he drew a deep steadying breath. When he cleared his throat you could hear a pin drop.
    "Good morning." He began. He paused to allow the cameras in the room to take a storm of photographs, flashes lit up the stage like a strobe light. "As you all know, we are here to talk about the new threat to the health and safety of all people. I'm not about to sugar coat this statement. It's too important.  As of 7AM EST we have identified a new virus. For sake of simplicity we will be referring to this virus as the Shelton virus after Dr. Shelton who identified this virus.
    “ Shelton's appears to be a highly mutated strand of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, or LCMV. This virus, in the mutated and unmutated strain, is carried by rodents, including pet rodents like rats and mice. LCMV causes inflammation of the spinal cord and the lining of the brain but is rarely fatal. In the Shelton version of the virus, fatality is certain. We believe that the origin of this mutated form is from Japan. Recent earthquakes in Japan and the ongoing malfunctions in the nuclear power plant may be a factor in causing the mutations of the virus. We believe that the evacuations of the affected area in Japan is what broke the containment of the virus. Flight logs have been studied intensively to determine if any possible correlation of the transportation of rodents and the outbreaks existed and indeed, prior to the outbreak, a rat had been transported. Each known outbreak hot spot coincides with a route from Japan to New York on a trip that had a pet rat registered on the plane. We believe the virus to be accelerated by using the wild rodent population as carriers.
    "We have been evaluating an antiviral cocktail to try to halt the disease process. We hope that if we can treat the infected individual prior to death and reanimation we can gain the upper hand. After the disease ravages the body and cardiac function fails it is too late. There is no chance of any recovery.
    "Shelton's is a catastrophic virus. It is fatal. It is highly communicable through bodily fluids. Any breaks in skin by an infected person to a healthy person will result in transmission of the virus and certain infection. There is no known natural immunity. There is no vaccine.
    "Symptoms of Shelton's are as follows. The infected individual complains of an extreme migraine and generalized body aches, similar to the aches of an influenza infection. Following the onset of the migraine, the individual that is infected will develop a high fever that does not lower with medication or cooling measures. There is a period of delirium during the fever with apparent hallucinations. As the infected person's core body temperature increases the individual will have a febrile seizure. During this seizure the individual ceases to exhibit signs of life. Our monitoring indicates the individual is completely deceased. Following death, the infected individual reanimates. This process of reanimation occurs 30 minutes to eight hours after the initial time of death is determined with the more rapid conversions happening with a more significant initial transmission. For example, someone who is scratched will take longer for the reanimation to occur than someone who has been bitten. Bites that breech major blood vessels, like the carotid, jugular or femoral may cause a more rapid time line on the first death. These individuals will succumb to their injuries and will not present with a fever. They too will reanimate