Vaccinated

© 2022 Vincent N. Scialo. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  01/07/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-4772-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-4771-0 (e)

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DEDICATION

Once again as done in my last eight books, I want to praise those who have continued to offer me guidance, strength and support.

To Jen, my wife and forever supporter. We have been through thick and thin and no matter what, you stand by my side. From the moment I saw you as a nerdy thirteen year old with my zipper pulled all the way up my parka, I was blinded by my love for you. You complete me and continue to complete our growing family.

To Marissa, Harry, Stephanie and Emma, you all mean the world to me. Living as close as we do makes life all the more enjoyable and I love every minute I can spend with each of you.

To Jeff, my ambitious son. Keep on striving and chasing that dream. Remember that dreams really do come true!

To Michele Ronzo who took the time to read and critique this novel. And for your constant pushing me to move it along with no stopping or time for writer’s block.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To Cristen Ronzo-Marcy, for the editing of this book which is never an easy task.

To CHRISTOPHER Zappia, for your cover design and friendship. You LIVED!

And lastly to my faithful readers who continually enjoy my novels and inspire me to once again take pen to paper or shall I say fingers to keyboard.

ENJOY the story!

CONTENTS

New Year’s Day

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Chapter 85

Chapter 86

Chapter 87

Chapter 88

Chapter 89

Chapter 90

Chapter 91

Chapter 92

Chapter 93

Chapter 94

Chapter 95

Chapter 96

Chapter 97

Chapter 98

Chapter 99

Chapter 100

Chapter 101

Chapter 102

Chapter 103

Chapter 104

Chapter 105

Chapter 106

Chapter 107

Chapter 108

Chapter 109

NEW YEAR’S DAY

Life was anything but new for the first day of January. Since last March, the whole world had been shut down from the pandemic, which still hadn’t been given a proper name. Some countries were calling it the next black plaque. Others, the inhumane strain. Here in the good ole USA though it was referred to as the Rapid X virus. Rioters were taking advantage of businesses shut down and were pilgrimaging the stores of their entire inventories. The police forces throughout the country didn’t have the manpower to stop the influx of destruction in the major cities. The number of cases of the virus had lessened their task forces by almost half. With close to 100 million people infected and over 27 million deaths, there was mass panic in the United States. With the total US population at 340 million Americans, that number of deaths was crucial. Even the President and his cabinet were not able to calm down the nation. His most recent Presidential Address left the nation feeling hopeless. Without any type of cure in the near future, people from every state were taking matters into their own hands. Supermarkets couldn’t stock the shelves fast enough due to supply and demand and others were selfishly taking more than what was needed as if this was the apocalypse. Most government offices were operating with a minimal staff. All schools and universities were closed until further notice, and children were being home schooled. To make matters worse, many people were either laid off or working from home, making the situations at home unbearable for most. The economy and stock market were the worst in American history, and the unemployment rate was at an all-time high. Foreclosures had quadrupled in the past year. Even most of the banks weren’t approving loans since there was a lack of money circulating around the country. Hospitals weren’t able to keep up with the overload of patients and had temporary tents set up in their parking lots to accommodate the overload. Along the eastern and western seaboards, Navy carriers were docked and being used as treatment centers as well. The morgues were at their highest capacity, and trucks with freezers were brought in to store the bodies. Currently, no funeral services were being allowed in order to contain the spread. The dead were being buried and cremated as fast as time would allow. Families were left in total shock without a chance to say their final goodbyes. Many of the dead died by themselves in various hospitals as family members were not permitted entrance into them. The country was crumbling and fast. The President had ordered the National Guard to patrol the streets in order to maintain the curfew and even to assist in the removal of the bodies from homes. The 911 call operators were inundated with neighbors informing the police of the strong odors coming from the decaying dead left unattended in houses on their streets. Massive panic was a daily occurrence as people were unable to live their normal lives.

Ingrid Birnbaum woke up on New Year’s Day with the hope of this day being the start of a better year. Having lived alone with only the assistance of a daily aide Monday through Friday from nine to five provided her with just the right amount of care. After she lost her husband of sixty-four years twelve years ago, Ingrid still lived in the house where she raised her only son, Jonathan. Jonathan was sixty-three and married to his high school sweetheart for the past forty years. Their three grown children and their children’s eight children made for a very fulfilling life for Ingrid. She still lived on the same block where all her children were born and raised. Ingrid and her husband made their house a home in Rhode Island. She counted her blessings as no one in her family succumbed to the deadly virus. Today was her hundredth birthday, and she could never have imagined living as long as she has to become a centenarian. Her children had planned something simple, as most establishments were closed or forced to close from lack of business. At first, she was too afraid to venture outdoors in fear of the unknown, but having been the first group selected to be vaccinated put her mind at ease. The CDC had issued a mandatory vaccination for all Americans. There was no getting around the vaccination regardless of your health, wealth or mental state. To ensure this requirement was met, the everyday function to exist in the world required this to be performed. To travel, attend school, receive medical assistance and even grocery shopping meant you needed to show proof of your vaccination. In order to guarantee this was performed, a permanent star was tattooed on the left inside of the tip of a person’s pinky. You needed to place your pinky on a scanner where all your pertinent information, along with a photo, proved your inoculation. Each and every state set up temporary borders to prevent any form of transportation amongst states. Citizens throughout the country were up in arms from being forced to follow these protocols until people started dying faster than imaginable. Most Americans abided by these rules administered to them. Sixty percent of the world’s current population had been given an antidote to kill Rapid X. The other forty percent were broken up as follows: Twenty percent of the world had succumbed to the virus, and ten percent were children under five, who didn’t seem affected by this pandemic. The other ten percent hadn’t been accounted for since many variables came into play in tracking them down. Soon after the outbreak, many people fled to various parts of the world. Rumors circulated that communities were developed in hidden parts of the world, hoping that one day the world would go back to the normal they once knew. Until then, your safest bet was to abide by current laws. Ingrid didn’t see much harm in spending the afternoon at the nearby park with a picnic lunch that her family had insisted they do outdoors where the air was fresh and clean. Eating outside would provide the whole family a sense of comfort under the current circumstances. Dressed in her Sunday best of her favorite floral pattern, Ingrid slowly stood up from her recliner after hearing the doorbell ring. As usual her kids were prompt. They had set the time for noon and it was eleven-fifty-eight. Ingrid could hear voices and laughter from the other side of her front door. Since it was such a clear and sunny day she had her curtains pulled back to allow the sunshine in. Gathered on her front steps, she caught a quick glimpse of most of her family. She couldn’t place their faces as balloons and presents obstructed her view. Packages and presents so decorated it made her smile. The amount of balloons made her giggle as she imagined herself a young girl again pretending they would lift her off the ground. The doorbell kept ringing as she pictured some of the younger great-grandchildren pushing against one another to press the bell. Ingrid placed her hand on the doorknob just as her grandfather’s clock in the living room struck twelve noon. The first chime of the other eleven to follow always sounded pleasing to her ears. Ingrid was the happiest she felt in quite a while. And as she went to open the door to the sounds of laughter and well-wishes, Ingrid dropped dead right there on the floor.

All around the world cellphones dialed into their respective emergency phone numbers to report the sudden death of a loved one, neighbor, or a person they came across outside. The volume of phone calls eventually overloaded most cell towers and calls were no longer capable of going through. Hysteria was in full overload and people were scrambling to the relative safety of their homes. Reports were coming in confirming that almost every casualty was a victim over the age of one hundred. Drastic events had taken place all around the globe. Car accidents caused major pile ups because a centenarian driving behind the wheel of his or her automobile simply died and swerved out of control. In doing so, cars collided, crashed and careened into any object that crossed their paths. News media outlets were trying to calm the general public into believing that a supernatural phenomenon had taken place causing anyone one hundred years of age or older to perish. This was not a calming effect and only raised the tension level of almost every human being able to understand the magnitude of this catastrophe. Citizens all over the world expressed outrage, confusion, and a need for a more definitive answer. It appeared the moment of death for all of these individuals occurred at exactly the same moment in time. It was estimated that at least one percent of the world’s population had succumbed to this untimely death. An exact number of casualties could take weeks to determine. Numbers from every country and continent were streaming in as each government did their best to report accurate numbers. Having just suffered and survived the worst pandemic to ever occur, this additional burden struck a chord close to every human heart. Just when people’s spirits were resurfacing, a blow of this kind set them back to day one of the worst virus mankind had ever experienced. In barely the time it took to realize that a tragedy of this proportion was underway, within the next twenty-four hours any individual ninety-nine years of age soon met the same demise. At precisely the same time of the previous day, the exact same scenario took place once again. Phone lines were once again jammed, this time at a faster pace than the day before.

1

One Week Prior

I n a remote cabin on the outskirts of Shandaken Township, Peter Palumbo double checked to make sure all of his windows and both the front and back door of his house were locked. Living at 29 Timber Lake Road was the farthest place The Organization would look for him. Still, Peter felt completely on edge. It had been over five weeks since he fled the building in the middle of the night. His shift wasn’t over until 7pm that evening, but he managed to flee during his hour- long break. Harry and Darryl were completely unaware of his agenda when he told them he was stepping outside for a smoke. The Organization strictly prohibited smoking on the premises, but with the urgency and pressure they were under, neither of them questioned his whereabouts. Lately, most employees dealt with the daily pressure in their own ways. The restrictions they were forced to follow didn’t allow them much free time. When Peter joined the company, he was just an intern straight out of college. For the first five years, he basically went from department to department fulfilling most other employees’ needs. In such a short time he became intrinsic to the company’s future. Under the guidance of Doctor Walter Anglim (pronounced Ann-Glim), he took Peter under his wing and taught him the true nature of the beast. The beast being what was now underway to contain the pandemic virus and the future of civilization. Doctor Anglim had been closely monitoring Peter’s work ethics the past few years. He seemed like a young man who could be trusted, and trust was of utmost importance to what The Organization, led by the doctor, had in mind. Since the pandemic was spiraling out of control, this was the perfect opportunity to put their plan into effect. An arrangement that was caused by something which they thought was trivial at first, now proved differently. A master plan to rid the world of the general population and leave only the superior was long overdue. Bringing Peter on board took some convincing to the higher authorities. Dr. Anglim had prepared a presentation which documented and highlighted all the attributes that Peter had performed. Once convinced of how Peter could benefit the project, the elite board of directors agreed and shook hands with Dr. Anglim, cementing their agreement. An agreement that sped up faster than anticipated. Again, this all happened so rapidly within the past year that Peter barely had time to register what was actually taking place. All he knew was that over 27 million US citizens had perished from the outbreak in the past twelve months. No one in any capacity of government or the medical field was prepared for such a fast moving virus. What was brought over from Europe from an unspecified tourist area in either Germany or Italy, was as close as they were to pinpointing its origin. Several Americans that were on the same flight were the first to contract the deadly virus upon returning to the United States. Two hundred and forty people were on that deadly flight from all areas of the country. The initial spreading of the pandemic had reached seventeen of the fifty states within the first four days of the contagious flight.

Now, at age twenty-nine and just a few months short of his thirtieth birthday, Peter was a hunted man. There were quite a few close calls when he thought this was it. He would be taken, bound, and most likely killed within a few hours of his capture. Peter had and knew too much information that would destroy The Organization he once was so proud to say he was employed by. Since he fled, Peter dyed his hair from a sandy blonde to a dark brown. Weeks prior he had ordered online contacts to change his sparkling green eyes to a vivid brown. His grandparents were both from Campania, Italy, just north of Naples. Many of his ancestors were of lighter hair coloring and light eyes. In fact, Peter was named after his father’s father which was very common in