Silver City is on it's way and will be released between March-April time this year. I will update the official release date as soon as possible, but until then here is the official book cover design and first three chapters of the book.
CHAPTER ONE
DYING EMBERS
~MARIE~
The night before the virus broke out
was my first wedding anniversary. It was a special night full of laughter.
Friends and family gathered from all over to celebrate our night; they came
from as far-ranging places as Rio, New York, Spain and Venice. Many of our
family members and friends had emigrated abroad, leaving England behind for new
jobs and partners but we were amazed by their commitment to fly over to
England, just in time for our anniversary. It was a special surprise that made
everything perfect, for although we did
not know it, this would be the very last time that we would all
be together. My husband was happy that night, his smile lit up the room like a
cathedral of burning candles.
Then the
virus came, wiping out the world’s female population one by one. Women all over
the globe would become sick and bed ridden, until they began to fade away, like
dying embers in the night. At first no one suspected the virus as a global
threat, but when more and more patients were brought into the hospitals, the
virus was named as a killer.
I was a
nurse before all of this happened. I worked in one of the busiest wards of
Meadow Park hospital. Every day used to be the same; we would get people in
with injuries from work, accidents and general illnesses. We also had a ward
exclusively for cancer patients, as cancer was the biggest disease we
encountered back then. But nothing on this earth, could have possibly prepared
us for what we were about to experience: the Pandora epidemic. Pandora is what
they named the virus, as when it began it was like unleashing hell upon earth,
straight from Pandora’s Box. We never truly understood how Pandora attacked
only the female population, sparing all of the males all over the planet:
although men could contract the virus, they were free of symptoms, and instead
of ending with a cruel fate such as a woman would, they acted as a carrier of
the virus instead.
Pandora
started with a fever and night sweats, followed by vomiting blood, paralysis of
the body, and eventually every organ failing, until each patient passed away.
The smell of death filled the air everywhere I turned, and no matter what we
did to extinguish the stench, it would linger on for days at a time. As more
women came in, the stench grew overpowering, and we all had to wear a number of
face garments, under the masks we already wore, to ensure our safety.
I have
always felt mildly attached to the patients I have treated in the past. I
believe that every person brought into Meadow Park deserves to be saved. No
matter what crimes they have committed in the past, every person should get the
chance to start again. Most of my colleagues told me that not everyone is worth
saving, but I found this rather contradictive of them, as why would you study
years at university and train to become a doctor or a nurse, if you didn’t
believe that everyone should be saved, and, more importantly, is worth saving.
I
respected my patients and always tried to make them feel as comfortable as
possible, no matter if that meant supplying them with an extra pillow, or
bringing them a vase of freshly cut flowers out of my own pocket. There was
nothing I would not do for my patients, and they always thanked me greatly for
it, and when it was time for them to be released home I would say goodbye,
hoping to never see them again, as I knew if I did it would be back here.
I never
really spent much time at home as I worked seven days a week, most weeks
covering other people’s shifts as well as my own. My husband was always
considerate, and understood that caring for people was a big part of my life,
and he was fine with everything. Although he did worry about me a lot because
of the Pandora virus, he liked to make every night we shared extra special on
my return home, just in case the worst case scenario became reality. As a
nurse, I was trained in maintaining a professional manner at all times and
therefore was unable to personally mourn the death of any of my patients.
However, one woman’s suffering affected me more than most, to the point that I
felt completely heartbroken at her passing. Her name was Sera.
Sera was
a gentle soul that had suffered a great deal throughout her life. Her eyes
spoke of pain without anyone having to ask any questions, and yet she would
tell you all of her stories regardless. She had a kind angelic face with pink
rosy cheeks, rose red lips and honey blonde hair. Sera caught my attention the
moment she arrived at Meadow Park with her delicate soul. She told me of Victor
- the man she loved. She described him as strong but gentle and handsome, with
the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen. Sera and Victor should have been married, but
their fate was interrupted by her cruel sister. Sera claimed her sister was the
jealous type and always wanted to have anything that Sera had, including the
man she loved. Her sister tried to seduce Victor, knowing that she was in the
early stages of the Pandora virus, but Victor refused her. But Sera’s sister
had deeper motives than just trying to steal her sister’s lover, she knew that
if she touched Victor then he would contract the virus, and when he touched
Sera the consequence would be fatal for her. Sera was the first patient that I
couldn’t bear to watch die. She never told Victor that she had contracted the
virus, and instead admitted herself straight to hospital, where she was
immediately quarantined for further testing. When Sera told me her story I
wondered why she would not want the man she loved to be with her on her final
days. I asked her why and she simply said, ‘I could not tell Victor because it
would destroy him. He loves me so much, and I him but if he knew that he was
the one to pass the virus onto me, he would never have forgiven himself. This
way he will think I caught the virus elsewhere, and not live in torment with
the fact that he killed me’. Sera’s words had me at the point of tears but I
still could not help but think that Victor should be here to say goodbye.
Nether-the- less, I respected Sera’s wishes and I made her comfortable until
the end, holding her hand until she passed.
I felt a
terrible sadness after Sera’s death and felt the need of a well-earned day off.
I knew that a day off was out of the question though, when fifty two more women
were admitted with the beginning symptoms of the Pandora virus. None of the
patients that I treated ever died peacefully, or with any inch of dignity left
in them. It was a horrible virus that spread, not sparing a single soul in its
way.
A couple
of months after the virus made itself known to us, it mutated. The mutation
sped up the dying process, giving each patient on average up to seven days life
expectancy and no more, which was a drastic change from the usual two to three
week process. This was devastating news to family’s worldwide, and everyone
prepared for the worst. Pandora spread like a cold and anyone could catch it.
Although it helped if you had a strong immune system and stayed away from
anyone that was already infected, there was always going to be a ninety eight
percent chance of catching the virus regardless. I considered myself very lucky
to be within the two percent of women that never caught Pandora during its
initial spree, but with my job it seemed that it was inevitable that I would
eventually become infected.
CHAPTER TWO
GLIMMER OF HOPE
~MARIE~
When I became infected with the Pandora
virus, I wasn’t ready to give up. My husband continuously watched the news and
searched for any hope of a cure, but there was nothing, despite the government
at one point promising the fresh hope of a cure that was within the final
stages of testing. The rumours spread far and wide until people began flooding
into the hospitals, looking for the cure. I asked around my colleagues, to see
if anyone had heard of a real cure that would beat the virus, but nobody seemed
to know anything, or they were too exhausted from working twenty four hour
shifts on a daily basis. Now that they had lost me and a few other female
members of staff, the struggle began. Some people had to be thrown out of the
hospital, as riots began to escalate.
Men
started fighting each other trying to get into the hospital. Everyone wanted to
be the first person to get their hands on the cure that they had been promised
by their friends and the government officials on the news. But
the cure never existed. Many people had to be thrown out of the hospitals and
banished from being with their wives, girlfriends, sisters and mothers, who lay
upon their death beds. The violence grew stronger, and groups began to form
outside of the hospital. People marched on in circles and as the numbers
increased, the groups grew so large that they surrounded Meadow Park entirely,
forming an impenetrable barrier of defence. The news anchors continued to tell
the same lies over and over again, and problems got so bad that all of the
doctors began to flee from the hospital. Fearing for their own safety above
their patient’s illnesses, they sneaked out one by one, blending in with the
mob outside. The mob, were still anxious for a cure and simply would not understand
that there was no such thing. Huge logs of wood were thrown through the
windows, which had to be replaced with table tops from the cafeteria.
Meadow
Park was eventually abandoned by the mob outside, as they had finally realised
the hospitals had no cure. Instead they decided to go after the government.
Reports were all over the news of brutal murders by a group they called the Savages.
The news station was the next on their list. The savages broke in late one
night, when all of the staff had retired to their homes. Upon their arrival the
next morning, the savages were waiting for them. It was rumoured that they
locked the news station down from the inside out, and butchered everyone in
sight. One of the savages recorded clips of the bloodbath, posting them all
over the internet with a message- that signalled what was to come: ‘you’re
either with us or against us’. All order was lost after that day and a new
world began: a world of murder, chaos and destruction. The world was at war
with its own people, and the price was far greater than was ever imagined.
The
death count rose, with thousands of victims being slaughtered. The savages
invaded people’s homes, killing anyone who would not join them. Evidently many
joined out of fear. No one wanted to die. The virus was killer enough, without
a town full of rebels wiping out the remainder of the population. The ones that
didn’t want to join the Savages but also didn’t want to die fled their homes
taking shelter on the streets. They lived in the sewers and did what they could
to go unnoticed. People say they started living off rats and insects, and
eventually were so ravenous that they began eating each other. Whether the
rumours were true we will never know.
I
convinced my husband to take me home. I didn’t want to die in an abandoned
hospital, or anywhere else for that matter. I wanted to be within the comfort
of my own home. When it was safe and there was word of the Savages moving out
of the city, he brought me home.
I laid
in bed trying my best to not show the fear in my eyes, or the pain that took
hold of me. I wanted my husband to remember the good days and to not see me
like this, but he insisted on being with me in every passing moment. He read to
me, fed me, bathed me and made me as comfortable as I could possibly be within
this situation. I loved my husband, he was my rock, but when he let a complete
stranger into our home I could have killed him - if I wasn’t dying already of
course.
The
minute I saw the man I feared him. He was of an African origin, around six foot
five, with a shaved head and muscular build. He wore a white robe and brown
sandals. His neck was mounted with golden neck chains, with what looked to be
animal teeth on the end of them.
‘Marie
this is Simba, he’s here to help’.
My first
reaction was instinctive, ‘what could this man do to help me?’
The Pandora virus was literally invading every inch of my body.
‘Hello
Marie I come to help ease your pain. I am a priest and maybe I can help you.’
A
priest? He sure as hell didn’t look like any priest that I’d ever seen before.
As his face neared my own, I saw the horror trapped within his eyes; this was a
man who knew pain, a man that said he could help me, but still I did not
believe him. I worked in a hospital before it was ruined, and I saw the many
women who were taken by the virus, so there was no way I was going to let this
stranger barge into my home, leading my husband astray with the false hope that
I could be saved.
‘Dale,
I’m sorry but please get rid of him. He is a con artist and has no idea what
he’s doing. Please get him out of here,’ I protested.
The man
stared at me with a glare of death, before turning to my husband. He put his
hand upon Dale’s head. Dale’s body became limp and he swayed before falling
onto the ground like a sack of potatoes.
‘What
have you done to my husband? Get out of my house!’ I yelled.
I felt
like the life had been knocked out of me. As I lost my breath whilst trying to
cough, I began to choke as blood spurted out of my mouth. The priest ran over to
me, and holding me within his arms he chanted a few words in another language
that I didn’t recognise. He then spoke in English.
‘You’re
right; I cannot save you. But another will.’
Before I
had the chance to ask him what he meant, he had vanished. I tried to reach out
to Dale, but my body began to shut down and before I knew it I was out.
I opened
my eyes and looked around to find Dale, but he wasn’t there. I felt utterly
dazed and confused. I could hardly see anything. What was wrong with my eyes?
Everything around me was one huge blur upon another. All the blurs seemed to
mix up together and every colour muddled into one giant mess. My head ached.
‘Am I
dead?’ I asked myself. I looked around hoping to see the outline of my husband
somewhere still lying on the floor, but no one was there. I was all alone and I
have no idea where I am. My eyes rocked back and forth in their sockets. I
tried to close my eye lids only to discover that I didn’t have any. I tried to
touch my face, but my arms wouldn’t move. It was as if they had been locked
into place, and no matter how much my brain told my arms to move, they would
not. I screamed in fear of what was happening to me, but as I screamed no sound
came out of my mouth, and I found that my mouth was actually shut.
I moved my eyes slightly to the left to see a
silver glint. It was a mirror. Finally something that could make sense of this
whole situation, or so I thought. I looked deep into the mirror, unaware of my
appearance. When my eyes met with my reflection, I immediately jolted four feet
into the air, and came crashing down, taking half of the ceiling with me. I was
strong and,
more importantly, my skin was silver. I didn’t recognise myself at all: it was
as if I was trapped inside someone else’s body which I couldn’t command. Then
all of a sudden the ground began to shake beneath my feet, and I heard a faint
voice calling out my name.
‘Marie,
please wake up.’
My eyes
had closed and reopened again, and I weakly pulled my hand closer to my face, sweeping
my fingertips over my eyes.
‘I have
eyelids and I can see,’ I smiled in amazement.
Dale
looked at me as if I had gone mad. That’s when I realised that I must have been
dreaming. Then I remembered the priest.
‘He’s
gone’, Dale said in response to me glaring towards the door.
He told
me that the man was recommended to him by a friend of his. He was known to have
extended life expectancy, with his creepy chants, to help women survive a few
days longer. Apparently he had been using his techniques on as many women he
could find, to try to find the one he could heal fully. Then with the knowledge
of how to terminate the virus, he could begin curing the world of its disease.
I hoped that one day he would manage to cure someone fully back to health, but
I knew that that one day was not going to be today, and it was never going to
be me. The dream I had remained strong in my mind. Maybe it wasn’t just a
dream, but instead a glimmer of hope that the world could be saved.
CHAPTER THREE
NEW WORLD ORDER
~MARIE~
After only three months of the virus
making itself known to mankind, most of the female population was declared
dead. We were fast becoming a dying breed that would eventually end up extinct
altogether. Everyone who was left wondered how mankind could possibly survive
without the possibility of reproduction in our species. The human race would
cease to exist in the end and, with no females around to reproduce, how could humans
continue to survive much longer? The apocalypse was upon us, and no matter what,
there was nothing any of us could do to stop it. Until the day that the
government made an official announcement.
I
remember it clearly as if it was only yesterday. The news stations were back
up, and radios were hacked everywhere, to only play one channel and frequency.
The sane people who were left immediately stopped what they were doing and
tuned in to listen to what the government had to say. Some hoped that there was
a cure, as many husbands, brothers, fathers and uncles could only watch as
their female family members decayed, until there was nothing left but blood and
tears. Others continued on their rampages, destroying everything and everyone
in their way. But for those of us who listened, there was a powerful message to
be heard.
‘Dear
public, my name is Sebastian Galloway. I am the chief leader of the governing
body, and I am here today to speak for the Government as a whole. The world as
we know it is changing more and more every day. I understand there are many of
you that have questions to ask, and I am here to answer all of those questions
for you right now. Believe me when I say that the Government has been doing
everything possible in their power to put an end to the Pandora virus. We
underestimated the virus from the very beginning, but this will never happen
again. We have the greatest scientists that our generation has ever known, but
even these great minds were unable to provide closure. We have tried our best
to help save the many lives that have been lost, however we regret to inform
you that there is nothing we can do. We have closed down all workplaces, as we
want you to spend this time with your families, you all have a right as human
beings, and that right is to say goodbye. Spend this time wisely, and do not
blame anyone for what has happened here. This virus attacked us out of nowhere
and hit us where it hurt the most, but we cannot be held accountable for anyone
who joins the Savages, or any other group out there for that matter. We will,
however, be closing off the city from anyone entering or leaving now. It is for
your own safety from the violent groups. Barriers will be placed up, armed by
guards to close off the city, and when the walls are built, we will all be
secure. Then we can all try to start again.’
‘In the
memory of all those brave women who have died, we would now like to announce
that we are bringing a new world order into development. We have created
something that will give us men a chance to survive, with the introduction of
highly advanced female robots. Now even though we are in separate areas, I
understand your concerns. What are robots going to do for us? Well I will tell
you what they are going to do, my friends. They are going to save us from the
brink of extinction. We are looking to add new features to the Bots over time,
such as a way to reproduce, so that we can carry on our birth right as human
beings. We are still working on this, but we get closer with each day that
arises. The Bots can cook, clean, work and pleasure their owners in any way
they please. They are programmed specifically to your commands by the
implantation of your DNA into their system. They will all wear a silver cuff on
their arms, so if any malfunctions should arise they can be easily tracked and
admitted to the clinic for testing. A number of Bots will be issued to the
first forty males. They will all go onto general release tomorrow morning at
10am. We hope to see you all there, and we will answer any questions or doubts
that you may have. But for now, stay
safe, goodnight.’
I
couldn’t believe my ears. As I lay there upon my death bed, the government were
announcing a new world order. A future where robots would exist, partnered with
all of the husbands we left behind, to take over from where we left off. It was
not normal, and it certainly wasn’t natural. What did he mean by making them to
reproduce? I couldn’t even imagine the monstrosities that would create. Were
the government mad? Had they lost their minds? One side of me thought that this
could be the worst idea ever. However there was another side of me that, though
I hated to admit it, thought that this could actually work. There was no point
feeling jealous that we were all being replaced by female robots, as soon none
of us would be left to care. I did want Dale to be happy, and I wanted him to
live his life after I was gone. But I didn’t really know how I would feel if he
brought one home tomorrow, before I’d even gone. Call it jealous or whatever
you like, but I was still alive and as long as my heart was beating, I wanted my
last moments to be how they should, not with a robot whizzing about the place.
Dale sat
in silence as I vaguely smiled over at him. He came over and lifted my head up
to put his arm beneath my neck. Whilst my husband supported me, I decided to
ask him the long nagging question that had been bugging me since he had turned
the radio off.
‘Are you
going to get one?’
He
looked at me with a blank expression upon his face, then his jaw dropped when
he realised of what I spoke.
‘Honestly.
You really think I want to replace my one and only wife with a piece of tin.
Trust me when I say you honestly have nothing to worry about there. I hate to
think about it, but when you have gone, I will be alone and that’s how it will
stay. I will never get one of those things, they’re wrong and you’ll be right
here with me, forever in my heart. That’s all I need.’
My eyes
swelled up as if bees had stung them, and tears poured down my cheeks like
raging waterfalls. I loved Dale from the moment I first laid eyes on him and
this was why. His loyalty had always astonished me, from the moment I met him I
knew there would never be anyone else.
Then
there was a knock at the door. I hesitated and tried to stop Dale from
answering the best I could in my current condition. I tried to tell him that
the Savages were still out there, and other groups that had formed afterwards,
but he would not listen. He had to be the hero.
‘Felix,
what are you doing here?’
My panic
was over when I realised that Dale knew this man. He walked into the room where
I laid. His entire body was covered in dirt and he was drenched from head to
toe, as if he had just decided to take a swim on the way over here. However I
knew that wasn’t the case when I saw the fear and exhaustion in his eyes. I
stared at the man until he eventually caught his breath and spoke.
‘They
tried to kill me.’
‘Who
tried to kill you Felix?’
‘The
Government they know that I know. I know everything,’
‘Ok
Felix, slow down take a seat and explain. It’s alright you’re safe here.’
The man
named Felix sat down but shot back up into the air as soon as he heard a rustle
coming from outside.
‘They’re
here. They can’t find me. I’m sorry I must go.’
After a
moment of hesitation, Felix ran towards the back door, and lights began to
shine through the window panes. He ducked for cover as a voice shouted:
‘Come
out with your hands up!’
Felix
panicked even more. Dale began screaming at him, shouting 'no' over and over
again, until I heard a strange thrust and a loud bang on the floor. I tried to
stand up but I was too weak. The virus had drained every ounce of strength from
my body. The front door then burst open, and a line of military men marched in
one by one. One man came up to me and apologised for any upset or inconvenience
caused. I asked him why they were here, and why the man named Felix was being
hunted by them. He briefly paused before explaining that Felix was one of the
detached members of the Savage gang. He told me that Felix had murdered a lot
of people in cold blood, and was one of the main leaders of the gang. Then he
went on to explain that they had been tracking him for some time, but he was
always one step ahead. Eventually, they received an anonymous tip from someone
who knew him, and where he was headed.
‘So we
followed him here and that was it. I apologise once again for any inconvenience
this may have caused yourself and your husband.’
Then he
left. They all left, carrying a black body bag out of the door with them. It
made me sad to think of what happened to Felix, as soon that would be me being
carried limp and lifeless through the doorway. Although not in a black bag I
hoped. Even though the military soldier was charming, I did get the impression
that he was trying a bit too hard to convince me of the truth, therefore I
didn’t believe a word he had said. When Dale came back in after being
questioned in our kitchen, he told me that Felix killed himself. He said Felix
looked so terrified of what would happen to him that he picked up a sharp knife
and slit his stomach open from top to bottom. I couldn’t believe my ears. The Savages
were named savages because that’s how they acted, but Felix didn’t act anything
like one. If anything, he was afraid, but of what we would never know. His words
repeated in my head that night, as I tried to sleep.
I know everything.
Keep posted for more updates including the release date and an interview about Silver City.
Thanks for reading,
Louise Lake.
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