Cygnus Noir (Lawless & darkangel76)

A virus, by definition, is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. They are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and are the most abundant type of biological entity. The body’s first line of defense against viruses is the innate immune system, where the infected produces antibodies that bind to the virus and render it non-infectious. The second line of defense being the T cells, part of the cell-mediated immunity. If these fail, then the virus evades the immune system and there is no stopping it. Not ever.

It is because of the virus and the way in which they attack, mutate and thrive that humans began to study them. To create vaccines and anti-viral drugs. With this knowledge came the desire to create. To show off our arrogant superiority, to use them for bio-warfare. Unfortunately, in creating something such as a virus, something were not meant to dabble in, comes risk. And with risk, accidents are bound to occur.

It’s inevitable…

~+~+~

Two years had passed since the accidental outbreak. The viral outbreak that took the world by surprise, changing the face of the planet forever. An insider to a secret biological weapons unit smuggled the virus out. Little did that person know what the resulting implications of their actions would cause.

The outbreak had started small, affecting a small population in a rural part of America, a place easily isolated and quarantined once it became public knowledge as to what was infecting the town. Or so everyone thought. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the virus mutated, at a rate that floored all scientists trying to understand this newfound virus they’d created. Then, this is what happens when man tries to intervene with the balance of nature, when trying to bring order to perfect chaos.

The virus became airborne, infecting far more than the small population of people in that remote region of the states. Eventually, the infection was world spread. Mass deaths occurring at rates that were horrifying, crippling the human race as a whole. Within months, most of the humans of the world had died. And with death, so too died the natural order of things. The rules and laws that kept humans going. That kept us civilized. At least in the conventional sense.

But there was one man who wanted to bring order to the mess he saw before himself. To mold the world as he saw fit, in his own twisted vision. A kind of utopia people only read about in books or saw in movies. He saw it as his chance to rise up into power, to take control of the weak and the frightened. For what better time to introduce the planet to a new world order. One where everyone was united under a single leader. A dictator. Under him and his rule alone.

Xavier Rousseau.

~+~+~

Veronica Rousseau sat there silently, her crystal blue eyes taking in everything that she was seeing, her ears hearing everything.

“Nica, you will go to them and bring them here,” Xavier droned on. “For your brother, your leader.”

Veronica rolled her eyes and pushed a dark strand of her long, thick hair behind an ear. She was not happy about her brother’s latest demand. He wanted her to travel to the deserts of Arizona where a small pocket of people were rumored to still exist.

At present, what was left of the human race, those who’d been accounted for, most were falling under the rule of Xavier, Veronica’s older brother. His vision was their hope for a future, a chance to thrive and find protection. He’d been gathering them all together in southern California, a place where technology had been advanced at one time, where the weather was nice and where he could keep a tight leash on everyone. These people in Arizona were still clinging to the ways of old, something that Xavier couldn’t have if he was to bring the world fully under his thumb. No. He needed them in California and he needed to act quickly. The longer the wait, the higher the risk of rebellion. And that would mean war.

“But Arizona?” Veronica whined.

“Nica, you have a charm about you. You can reel them in. Make them see that I’m their only option for true survival. That they must come here if their future means anything to them.” Xavier was pacing now, but he paused to look at his sister, his eyes flashing. “I cannot have my subjects thinking they can do whatever they like.”

Veronica bit her lip. This wasn’t the first time her brother had asked her to act as his diplomat. Diplomacy had become her forte since nearly the whole race had been eradicated. She’d been on the fence about her brother’s plans, but with him being her blood and the fear of what he could potentially do given the new way of things since the disaster… it was easier just to follow. Besides, she loved her brother. She truly did.

Veronica stood up and walked over to Xavier. “Oh you know I’ll do it. It’s just…” her voice trailed. “There’s talk that Arizona has become like the wilds. The people there don’t listen easily. How in the hell am I going to make a difference?”

Xavier gently touched his sister’s cheek and caressed it lovingly. “Because you’re my Nica, that’s why. How can they resist my beautiful sister?” His silky voice dripped with a sweetness like honey. “You will get them to come here, just like you got the others to come here. I don’t doubt you, so why do you doubt yourself?”

Heaving a sigh, Veronica looked into Xavier’s eyes. He was slowly becoming a man she no longer knew or understood. But she’d be damned if she left him alone now. He needed her. And not just for diplomatic missions. She’d seen how frightening her brother could be, how far he would go to gain what he wanted. She shivered just then.

“Are you cold, my Nica?” Xavier asked, hos arms wrapping tightly about his sister, pulling her close.

Veronica closed her eyes, her body shaking a little as a strange sense of fear washed over her. “No. I’m fine.” She pulled out of her brother’s strong embrace. “When do I set out?”

“As soon as you can get yourself ready to go,” Xavier answered, a smile playing on his lips.

Veronica averted her eyes, cast them down to look at the ground. “I guess I better get moving then. I’ve a long trip ahead of me.”

Adrian Walker, known to most by his code name 'Hidden Arsenal', was sitting in a candle lit shed, meeting with the head of their order. He was once just a street performer. A little sleight of hand here, a distraction there, and he'd pull off marvelous tricks for everyone. However, now there was no need for entertainment. Everyone had grown cold, and serious... so did he.

He now used his talents to hide his weapons. He had a few duties. He was a spy, an assassin, and a peacekeeper in their 'order'. Everyone had their own role in the village. His role was to scare the living hell out of people when they started trouble. It was the only way to keep people to their senses. After all... they were going to be at war, soon. There was a large group of people over in California who were apparently rebuilding society.

It sounded all well and good, but it wasn't the way the world was supposed to be. They believed that was too much power for just one person.

One of the elders looked at Seth. "We've got some information on them. Apparently the main guy's name is Xavier or something... and his sister is Veronica. Veronica has been going around, convincing people to join them." The man looked at Seth. "We want her out of the way. Attack their establishment from the base-up. Understand?"

Seth blinked, and then nodded. "You know... it's against our ways to just up and kill someone." He said, defiantly, and bitterly.

"That isn't your call to make, Seth." A lady in the corner said. "You have your role, as do we all. Fulfill your task."

Seth nodded. "Fine. But I won't drop this." He said, and walked out.

"California it is..." He said. He was in New York, as of now. He got into a car, and started it up. He winced as the radio came on with static, so he just turned it off, and started to drive. "California... all the way on the other side. Go figure."

Veronica packed an extremely large suitcase and rolled it along the corridor of the building Xavier had turned into their headquarters, so to speak. The wheels made barely a sound as they rolled over the shiny linoleum. Heaving a sigh, she pushed open the large glass door and walked outside to where they kept their vehicles stored for occasions such as this. Stored and fully gassed up.

As Veronica flung open the trunk one of her brother’s henchmen brought out a cooler. “Xavier wanted me to bring you this.” He hoisted the cooler into the back seat. “Some food for you while your on your trip. And he told me to tell you to check in with him every couple hours or so.” The man handed her a fully charged cell phone, along with a wall charger and a car charger. “Keep the battery charged.”

Veronica nodded as she took the cell phone from the guy’s hand. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I will.” She bit down on her lips before making eye contact with the guy. His face showed very little expression. Just a menacing sneer, but it was enough to make her shiver a little. She knew what guys such as this were capable of. They followed her brother blindly, would do exactly as he asked whenever he asked it. Things that could make even the most hot-blooded person’s blood turn to ice.

Once her car was loaded up, Veronica got in, buckled the belt and put the key in the ignition starting it up. The engine roared and she inhaled deeply before shifting gears into drive. She’d be making the trip out to Arizona on her own. Solo. It was her preferred way. It made the persuasion seem less threatening, giving the hopeful followers a sense of choice.

Veronica began the drive down the road and got onto the highway. She looked up at the large sign, her sights set eastbound. Heaving a sigh, she felt a strange rush of adrenaline course through her body. It was a long way to Arizona. Anything could happen. Even if practically no one was left on the planet any longer.

Seth drove on. Luckily, there was a group of people who had found a bulldozer, and had cleared the roads for the most part. Every now and then, he'd have to stray off the road just a little bit so he wouldn't hit any random cars. He sped off after getting to the highway. The highways were all cleaned up around there. He had helped out. He figured, he'd take the backroads as much as possible when he got away from New York.

He decided ti go through Pensylvania, because he always liked going through there. "As much as I like driving... I HATE this." He grumbled.

The road to Arizona was lonely and desolate. And even more so with the human race being nearly extinct now, nearly annihilated by their own doing, their own arrogance. By means of dabbling in things they weren’t meant to dabble in, by creating something they had no right to create. A virus.

Veronica turned off the air conditioner and rolled down the windows, letting the wind and the air blow against her skin. She smiled as she felt it caress her dark tresses, making them tangle slightly as they blew about her face. It was refreshing, but she could already feel the heat of the lands inland starting to increase as the desert’s temperatures rose the farther away she drove from the ocean. She hated the excessive heat, even if it was dry. To her it felt like heaving breaths from a monstrous dragon. A creature who delighted in the idea of slowly roasting its victims while still alive, a most sinister method of torture.

Just then, there was a ringing sound. It caused Veronica to jump slightly, startled as the electronic tone reverberated off the walls inside her car. She looked at the screen. According to caller ID, it was her brother. Xavier.

“Hello?” Veronica asked after flipping open the phone and speaking into it.

“How’s my Nica?” came Xavier’s voice through the receiver.

Veronica heaved a sigh and tried not to roll her pale eyes. “I’m fine. Making decent time, I’d say.”

“Wonderful, so you must be clearing the California border then?” Xavier asked.

“Soon. I’ll be in Nevada soon enough and I’ll probably stop in Vegas to pick up some supplies since there’s still quite a lot there for the taking,” Veronica replied.

“Be careful there, Nica. There are still some looters there,” Xavier said, his voice showing a hint of concern. “Fucking riff-raffy asholes.”

“I’ll be fine…” Veronica began. But she was cut off before she could finish.

“Make your stay there as brief as possible. I don’t trust the place. Never have, never will. And I won’t risk losing you to the likes of that scum. They’re the slime of the world. Pity the E.I.-Virus didn’t wipe that shit off the planet,” Xavier spoke, his voice becoming more passionate with each word that passed over his lips.

“Shh…” Veronica shushed, her voice soothing. She knew that no one could calm her brother down like she could. It was almost like she was safety mechanism on a highly volatile weapon. She knew what her brother was capable of, what he could and would do. And she knew that she was the only one who could talk him out of it. She hoped that would always be the case. To be on the receiving end? The idea made her shiver. “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. I’ll be stopping at the outpost just before the desert in another hour or so. I’ll gather some fuel there and head on in the Vegas. I’ll stay only as long as I need and then head south into the desert. I’ll stay the night there before I continue on.”

“Good, good,” Xavier said. “I want my Nica safe and rested before she works her magic on that group in Arizona.”

Veronica closed her eyes a moment and refocused them on the open road in front of her. “I’ll call you once at the outpost and then again when I reach Vegas.” Veronica swallowed and bit down on her lip. “And I’ll call you once more when I leave, all right?”

“Excellent, I want my Nica to be safe.”

“I know, Xavier.” Veronica was annoyed, but she wouldn’t dare let her brother know this. However, his overbearing nature when it came to her was getting to her, even though she was in the middle of nowhere and he back in California. “Until later then,” she said, hoping that her words would cue her brother to leave her alone for a while.

“Sounds good, I’ll talk to you then.” At that, Xavier hung up making Veronica smile in relief.

A little happier, Veronica flipped her cell phone shut and flung it onto the passenger seat. She let out a small breath. It was going to be a long night. She knew that. And she still wouldn’t reach her final destination in Arizona for another day and a half. A sad truth, but the way of things. She’d deal, she always did. Besides, she had no choice but to do so.