Chapter Four

The prompt: Talk about a chance not taken by one of the characters. That can happen right now or be something from the past. Show me a consequence from not having taken the chance.


The president sat at the head of the long table, looking silently down its length. Seated on either side were some of the greatest political and military minds in the world. There was none of the usual banter as they waited for the meeting to start. They all knew that they were facing something as foreign and dangerous as mankind had ever seen.

“I want to start with the Director of CDC,” the president said.

Halfway down the table, the Director of the Center for Disease Control, stood up. “Mr. President. Approximately four days ago, a pathogen showed up in Northern California. It has since spread through the cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland as well as nearly all of the surrounding communities. The symptoms appear to be severe and often complete loss of memory. We have people on the ground there and they appear to have isolated the carrier.”

“That was fast. Can I suppose that a cure will be equally as forthcoming?” This was the first good news the president had heard in two days.

“No Sir,” she said bursting his short lived bubble.

“The carrier is a manufactured, non-carbon based life form. We have no idea how to deal with it.”

“Are you saying this thing is from – outer space?”

“No sir, I am saying that we have never seen anything like this before. It may have come from space or it may have always been here, just in a dormant state.”

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stood up and slapped his hand down on the table. That got everyone’s attention.

“Mr. President, it doesn’t matter where this thing came from. We need to deal with it and quickly. Hell, it’s taken over half of California in only a few days. We need to snuff this one out with extreme prejudice.”

The president had expected as much from the general. “What are you saying? That we should drop a nuke on California? You can’t be serious.”

“Sir, I am dead serious. We need to take that place right down to bedrock. Cut off the leg to save the body. We need to do it quickly. This may our only chance to take this thing out before it infects us all.”

“Sit down General. I am going to pass on your suggestion. You may be right. That may be our only chance, but I am not going to bomb California out of existence.

“Sir, I appreciate your position. In fact, I anticipated it.” He nodded to a guard at the conference room door. The guard opened the door and several armed soldiers double timed it into the room.

“Mr. President, I regret that I have to inform you that I am assuming control of the government of the United States and all of our armed forces. As we speak, the Seventh Air Wing is lifting off from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Northern California will be hot within the hour.”

Word count 492
Running count 1,759