Ben Glueck was your average twenty year old college student attending Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He participated in the schools ROTC program with aspirations of joining the military after graduation. The family lineage of the Glueck family was definitely a strong military background. From his father to his grandfather to his uncles and even further, it was a way of life. Ben was never forced into this lifestyle, he felt drawn to it on his own free will. During his time in high school, he was an excellent student in both the classroom and in the Junior ROTC program. Because of his work ethic and success, Ben was now attending one of the most prestigious colleges in the country for his ROTC program. Little did Ben know, this would not matter soon. Everything he ever knew would be tarnished and the entire world was on the brink of ending. His mother and father both lived in Florida where his father was retired from the military and his mother still worked as an executive chef. They were all so proud of him but last night just might have been the final chance he had to speak with them but he missed the call because of guard practice he needed to attend. He honestly intended to call back but he just had been so damn busy.
The past week had been slightly odd. Throughout the entire country and even throughout the entire world, various influenza outbreaks were happening. Entire city's have been quarantined according to the media but the government never seemed to give much information. For the most part, everybody was still in the dark as to the situation surrounding the disease. Even on campus, Ben had noticed the strange atmosphere. In nearly ever class, at least half the classes had been absent along with many professors as well. In fact, they had been emailed time and time again by the Dean of Students warning of the flu outbreak they were experiencing nearby. It was considered extremely dangerous and the entire campus was closed down this morning. Things must have gotten significantly worse because the entire field looked empty along with the dorms. It was a slightly unsettling feeling and Ben was worried. This morning, he went out for breakfast and watched a convoy of military trucks pass through. It seemed as everything was only limping along and the light rain trickling from the sky only dampened the mood even more. For now though, all he could do was wait it out and keep isolated, keeping himself clean and away from anybody that would be infected.
It was almost noon when Ben arrived back to his dorm. The male lived on the eighth floor of this massive building. Thankfully, there was an elevator to help carry him wherever he needed to be. The location was perfect, close to most of his classes and close to the city where he could go shopping or get something to eat. With the silver key in hand, he twisted the know to the right and the door clicked open. Slowly, he entered the dorm room he shared with a close friend which he had known ever since they were young children. Nodding to his friend, Ben just walked on through and kicked off his shoes, plopping down on his bed. The room was rather massive and the beds hardly took up any space. Each person had a desk, a drawer, and a few other things. Ben provided the TV and reached to grab his remote and flip it on. The first five or six channels were showing nothing but continuous news reports about this outbreak.
"Damn it... everything's the same."
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Today was a special day for twenty-two year old
David Michael Vigil. One month ago, David graduated from the University of Georgia with his degree in criminal justice. Two weeks ago, he had been offered a job on the local police force right out of college with decent pay and wonderful benefits with plenty of opportunity to advance his career high in the rankings of the department. Today, he was finally moving into his first home. Clearly, he was not outright purchasing the home but it was definitely a nice place to start. Himself and his girlfriend of over a decade were making the purchase together and were really starting their lives off on the right foot. This young couple started "dating" in sixth grade and while most would not count relationships that young, this certainly counted. Ever since deciding they were boyfriend and girlfriend at the age of eleven, David and Maggie never took a break from each other. From high school and even into college, their love only blossomed and continue to grow rapidly. Their four years spent away at college was also spent together in an apartment they worked to pay for along with receiving help from Maggie's side of the family mostly since David's family was either deceased or just did not keep in contact.
At the age of six, David's father was killed on the line of duty as a police officer. His mother was a sweet woman but this was too much for her to handle along with bearing the stress of raising a son and a daughter. She fell into drinking and abusive relationships which never stopped. By the time he was sixteen, she was killed one night driving while she was drunk and piled off the road and into a tree. It was so devastating but David remained strong. His sister Alicia was younger by three years and the siblings were taken in by the Greene family since they were already so close. Despite all the tragedy and hardship faced in his life, David was able to find happiness on the farm with Maggie and his new family. David excelled at football and Alicia excelled at volleyball, both earning their respective scholarships in the sports. David remained close in Georgia but she flew to New York to study art. They were really close just like they had been their entire lives and David supported her one hundred percent. With all of this crazy influenza outbreak shit, he was checking on her more often but yesterday phone lines went dead and he had not been able to reach her since then. Yeah, this worried him but he knew the girl could handle herself.
Something David could not believe was the reports he heard about this outbreak. Apparently some people were becoming violent and attacking other people. Some videos have showed of this man dying, being put on a stretcher before attacking the medical worker and then charging into a crowd of police officers. It took ten or eleven shots to bring it on it's knees and only died after being shot in the head. Truly, it looked like something out of a fictional story and David found it hard to believe and he thought the video was fabricated, it had to be. Presently, he and Maggie were lounging around the farm in preparation to move everything to their new home. It was just an hour up the road closer to the city of Atlanta. Hershel and Annette wanted Maggie and David to wait until this outbreak passed through before moving but both their jobs would be starting next week and they needed to get settled in.
"Did you pack your clothes, yet?" David mused, standing on the front porch and searching down the checklist he created.