A Family's Last Stand

Look I get it, 'What do you mean the end? The book just started.' Yeah well the end is where it all began. Everything was going just fine untill some assholes with too much money and not enough sense came along and dry-fucked the whole world.

Nanotechnology had made major improvements it the recent years. We could fight infections and viruses in minutes with med-bugs and amputees could have a better life with Neuro-nanomites. All this was going fine untill and group of brilliant scientists tried to create a nano-bug that could replace our immune system and stop all illnesses. Well that meant that it had to have AI to perform optimally. As you might have guessed, that's where they screwed up. The nano-bugs made a healthy man into a raving lunatic that was nearly impossible to kill.

This company tried to stop the growth of the nano-bug but shot themselves in the foot with the self-replicating function. Now we have a bug that can heal it's host, control it's host, infect others with any contact and was almost completely impossible to kill. We managed, in our infinite wisdom, to create a robot zombie virus. The only thing that made us giggle at the end of the world was the organization's name. The Syndicate Housing Advanced Technologies Incorporation. The world as we knew it was ending because S.H.A.T. inc. wanted to better humanity. Yup.

As for how I got draged in and am writing this, well I'm a nobody from nowhere and am nothing special. My name is Marcus James Conner. I was born in a middle class family from Mississippi. I live with my parents, sister, and 2 dogs. My dad was a welder before an accident put him in a wheelchair. Mom is a store manager at the local supermarket. Sis is still in school and is, again, nothing special. I am 17 and was attending a trade school when the world went sideways.

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"Nicely done Marcus, another month and you will be going home will all your welding certificates." said Mr. Collins, the welding instructor. I had just finished welding the frame to my custom Ford F-350. As the highest ranked student in class, I was well on my way to a successful lifestyle and well paying career in welding. All that i had left to do was build something that would represent my skills and knowledge. My time at this campus was not just fun and games. I had to work constantly to achieve my goal of building my own business.

"And by the way, what are you doing to this again?" he asked pointing at the truck.

"I plan to turn it into a party barge. I want to reinforce the frame, attach a 5th wheel plate, and custom build a trailer to take to Mardi Gras."

That was the plan. I had all the parts but needed to put them together. As for the trailer, all it needed was a paint job and it too was done. All in all i had it going on.

As i lowered the body back onto the frame I noticed my phone and everyone else's phones going off. Put off by the timing, I grab my phone and check the alert. 'To all American Citizens, this is an emergency alert. This is not a drill. An outbreak of T-309-A2 nano virus is spreading across the U.S. Lock all doors and do not leave shelter for any reason. I repeat THIS IS NOT A DRILL.'

What. The. Fuuuuuck. The miracle bug that was supposed to save millions is now a virus that has sent the U.S. off the deep end. Mr. Collins immediately shut all the doors and locked us in.

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2 Months Later

Now that we have backstory, we just need a hero. Well if you hadn't figured it out, we weren't going to get one. Not only are we kids with no combat experience, we had no way out of our situation. We were trapped. In just a few hours the virus had spread to over 45% of the U.S. we will S.O.L'ed with no contact with the world. The first things is to go out were the power and the communications. After 2 weeks a band of idiots left and came back infected with friends. We got through by the skin of out teeth, but that's not important. The big problem was getting out. After 2 months of shitty rations and bad company, I was ready to move.

"Hey Marcus, what are you doing? We are not supposed to be hear." That is José. He is my right hand man. Whenever I had a problem, he had a problem. If I was fighting then so was he. He was the older brother I needed. So when I snuck out one night to start my plan, he was right behind me.

"I'm getting stuff ready."

"What stuff? And ready for what?"

"I'm getting out and going home. No I'm not stupid and no I'm not going to stop. Go back to the dorms if that is what you want. You will not stop me."

"Dude slow down. I'm not stopping you and I'm not going back. I want out and you are my best option. When it comes to logistics and battle plans, you are the only one here that can help. So in light of my infinite wisdom, I'm gunna help you."

"Ok, fine. I'm going to prepare my truck and trailer and bulldoze my way out. If you want to help, I need someone to help me load my gear and food."

"Ok but one thing. If you leave alone you'll die. So how's this. I'm gonna round up our group and send them this way. We all know that if we want to leave, we're gunna need some luck. How many can you take in your rig?"

"At most 20, but the problem is we-"

"What the hell are you two doing out here?" Mr. Collins was standing in the path with a foul look.

"See we needed to breathe-"

"Don't play that with me. I know you plan on leaving and it's not happening." Well shit. All my work is for nought.

"Look I'm just telling you that without some major skill and heavy dose of luck, you aren't getting out of this town. So in light of my past, and my connections, I think you two are going to need some help."

"What! You're saying that you want to help us get out?"

"Yes and not just me." Well my day just got brighter. I now have a loyal group of friends and an ex-military powerhouse on my side. My high may never come down.

"Who else is in?"

"All the staff and 90% of the kids are going insane trying to get out. If you have a plan, let's hear it."

And that started a shit-storm of preparation for the escape. We had people building crude weapons and outfitting trailers to hold everyone. We got 3 more big-rigs from the nearby warehouse and started putting plows and other Mad Max style defenses on them. We had 2 of the trailers hauling people, 1 hauling fuel (lucky find there) and the last one was full of food, weapons, camping gear, water, tool, etc. After a week of tense working and bickering, we were ready.