An Emergency Alert Broadcast I'll NEVER Forget

It all started out like a regular Friday night. I was driving home after a long day at work with the sun slowly dipping into the background. Long shadows stretched over the open road as I pulled my old truck into my driveway. There sat my little 1 story ranch house, almost completely isolated by the fields surrounding it. Just like every day, I went inside, took off my shoes and got to work cooking dinner. Of course, being the five star chef that I am, I decided on a ham and cheese sandwich; Gordon Ramsay would be proud. What can I say? It was late and I was tired.  So I sat down on my alarmingly dirty couch and switched on the local news, detailing all the mundane happenings of Middle of Nowhere, USA. The reporter stood in front of a green screen, pointing at the week's forecast when suddenly my TV screen went black. The familiar monotone 'beep' of a severe weather alert blared through my speakers as I sighed. Typical. It was probably just a wind warning, or so I thought. The barely audible man spoke through garbled static, his sharp words filling my living room.
"This is an emergency broadcast alert for Custer County. At 7:18 CST, a large mass of storm clouds appeared over the area, accompanied by winds in excess of 70 miles per hour. It is reported that a foreign gas is contained within the storm, resulting in multiple cases of fatal respiratory issues within the county. The DoD is not aware of any impending chemical attack. Do not panic. The CDC advises that shelter is found and residents are not to leave their shelter until an all-clear message is issued. Do not approach any animals or other people, and if entering the gas clouds is required, wear respiratory protection and do not remain exposed for more than 90 seconds. Do not attempt to contact anyone outside the affected alert area. Remain in shelter until further instructions are given. This is not a drill."
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. This wasn't a weather alert, no, this was warning of a disaster. I rushed over to my large front window where I looked out to the rapidly darkening sunset. Sure enough, large black clouds were rushing to fill the sky at an alarming rate. I could already feel the strengthening winds push up against the side of my house; it wouldn't long until whatever this was was right on top of me. Normally I'm some sort of situation like this, I would usually stay in my storm shelter out back, but as it turns out the shelter was build near a natural well and so there was currently a flooding problem that still hadn't been fixed. Admittedly, I was very freaked out at this point because although the thought of high winds wasn't all that unusual, the idea of a ‘foreign gas’ made me uneasy.
Unfortunately, I had no real way to protect myself, so I simply hunkered down and prepared for the worst -this wasn't my first storm. Within about 20 minutes the winds were whipping around outside, pressing in my windows and whistling incessantly. At the 40 minute mark I could hear debris flying around outside as I tried to quietly read a book. The sound of rocks and other objects flying around made an almost rhythmic drumming, almost like the sounds of rain. However, my relative peacefulness was interrupted by the sound of a loud bang against the window next to me, causing me to jump. I carefully moved over to the window, primarily to make sure it wasn't cracked. Outside, laying on the dusty ground below the window was the body of a crow. It had flown directly into my window.
This was strange, but at the same time not impossibly so, as the bird could have possibly been pushed into the window by the strong winds. However, seeing that dead bird made me very uneasy; I knew something was very wrong here. Resigning myself to cleaning up a dead bird later, I sat back down out my couch.
Bang. Another loud one.
Then another.
I looked out again, and to my horror more crows lay dead around my house. As I peered out the window and into the deep dusk, another bird flew right into my face, rattling the window with great force. That one left a small chip in the glass. Within seconds more birds descended on my windows in rapid fire. So many of them flew into my windows that the sound was deafening. I ran back through my house, to the only room with just one small window in it -the bathroom. I ducked next to the sink as bird after bird rammed itself into my house, leaving bloody marks and small cracks. The birds were shrieking right before impact, wailing like ghouls in the night. My ears filled with the terrible noises; I covered my ears and closed my eyes to block it all out. I sat there in that corner for what felt like hours.
In truth, I have no idea how long it was, but when I finally uncovered my ears I was again met with only the sound of whistling wind. I cautiously walked back out into the main area of my house, carefully checking for any of this 'foreign gas' I had heard about. Luckily, all of the windows remained intact, though with major structural damage. Though it was hard to see outside, I could see the bodies of hundreds upon hundreds of birds surrounding my house, sitting in piles and scattered about. It didn't make any sense, none of it did. The wind was just starting to die down as the darkness outside thickened. I was hoping that whatever it was would be passing soon, but no 'all-clear' message had been ordered yet. And to make matters worse, as I looked out my windows I could see a thick white blanket of what I hoped to be fog rolling into the area.
It quickly descended upon my little block, engulfing the street before quickly moving over the front of the house. The fog swirled and clung to my windows, creating a thin layer of condensation on the inside of the glass. I backed away from the window slowly, worried that this might be the poisonous gas that the broadcast had warned about. I had no respirator and no masks of any kind; I couldn't risk being exposed. As I stood there, trying desperately to figure out what to do, I heard the last thing I would expect in a time like this: someone had knocked on my door. Filled with curiosity and a growing sense of dread, I approached my door and looked out through the peephole. On the other side was a person wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit, thick rubber boots and gloves, and a large gas mask. I froze in place; who the hell could possibly be outside? I thought maybe it was someone form the CDC or a rescue team, but they were completely alone -no other people, no vehicle, nothing.
I thought maybe I could just ignore them and maybe they’d go away, but before I could think of a plan the masked person started doing something. They reached into the chest pocket on their jumpsuit and pulled out a small card, holding it up to the peephole. It said ‘I know you’re in there’. I backed away from the door, running back towards the bathroom. Along the way, I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and proceeded to lock myself into the bathroom. I could still hear them pounding on the door outside, growing louder and more violent with every second. I heard one last loud bang before the sound faded away completely, replaced by the loud thudding of heavy boots against the floor. I clutched my knife, holding my breath, waiting for the worst. With each passing moment I could hear the loud, wheezing breath of the gas mask coming closer and closer. Soon, it stopped right outside my door.
Out of time and out of options I threw open the door to see the person towering over me, holding a large hammer in their hand. They raised it over their head but before they could strike, I stabbed them directly in the neck, causing the person to fall over. I couldn’t stop to process my actions as a large cloud of thick white mist billowed through the house, enveloping me in it’s embrace. I couldn’t think anymore, I couldn’t feel anymore, I couldn’t even breath. I tried harder and harder to move, but it was all futile as the poisonous gas filled my lungs and I sunk down to the ground. The sounds of screams and sirens filled my ears as I sunk into the blackness.
I woke up to bright lights in a washed out room. A man stood over me, watching as I came about.
“You’re in a hospital,” he said, “Can you hear me?”
“Yeah, I can… What happened to me?” I asked.
The doctor seemed hesitant to reveal the truth, he had a concerned look on his face.
“Yesterday, your contractor was coming over to your house to discuss something. He said he found you in the middle of your living room, yelling incoherently.”
The man hesitated; he didn’t want to tell me what happened next.
“In your apparently impaired state... you stabbed him with a knife. He passed a couple of hours ago. We did a panel of tests on you, and it seems you had been hallucinating from carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Category:Cliche but good
Category:Emergency Alert
Category:EAS