The alarm wasn't supposed to go off yet… The terror on the soldiers' faces was indescribable, while the screeching beeps of the alarm sounded non-stop and with increasing intensity. "BLACKOUT-003 activated, proceed to immediate evacuation. This is not a drill. BLACKOUT-003 activated, proceed to immediate evacuation," the pre-recorded voice announced throughout the city. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;~~~~ A few years ago, there began to be cases of a strange disease that caused the death of those who suffered from it, or that is what was thought, since one day, scientists who were studying the corpses of the deceased to try to understand this new disease affirmed that the bodies were not completely dead, but that they continued to have abnormal activity for our species.&nbsp; The senior government officials did not give it any importance at the time until one day one of the "corpses" began to move, in fact, it got up from his stretcher and caused the slow death by biting one of those in charge, who, after a few days, became one of them. This did attract the attention of the government, and the isolation of all those suffering from the disease was automatically ordered, and the bodies were to be immediately cremated. However, this was not enough to stop the spreading of the disease, which they called VIR-LZ, nor was it enough to stop the attacks of these living dead. Things began to get out of control when these attacks left the barriers of the laboratories and spread throughout the city little by little. This, as expected, caused panic on a national scale, and citizens demanded the government to take serious measures, given that World War Z was a great movie, but it had to stay just like that, as a simple movie.&nbsp; There was no time to think about cures or vaccines because the speed of contagion had become incredibly fast in a matter of a couple of weeks. On the other hand, desperation and general chaos were also increasing, and the nation had become a completely unstable place. As a solution, the BLACKOUT project was started, with which the government went back in time and brought back the infamous atomic bombs. No matter how drastic or surreal that measure might seem, it was the only thing that could stop a national emergency in a matter of a couple of minutes. Furthermore, the disease and the living dead were concentrated in a city that was not even considered especially large compared to the others in the country, so the damage would not be that much compared to what was about to come if nothing was done. Like any other government project, this one needed to be studied and tested before any official action was taken. This simple process of studying how those bombs would explode in order to try to control the level of damage would have normally taken a few months, since they wanted to ensure that everything went as planned from the beginning and avoid unnecessary incidents. Obviously, with the threat of a zombie apocalypse just around the corner, there was nothing but time to waste, so bombs BLACKOUT-001 and BLACKOUT-002 were prepared and detonated in two towns with an almost non-existent population, which were obviously isolated, at an incredible nine-day mark.&nbsp; Despite the positive results, the scientists involved in the project stated that the bombs were still very unstable and that everything was very unsafe in general, and that there was a high probability that things would not go as expected. However, even though the scientists had higher IQs and more wisdom, the governors had much more power and authority, so they basically told the scientists to shut up, even though they were probably completely right. And boy, were they right… The initial plan consisted of three phases: the first one was the thorough evaluation of citizens to detect those who were infected and confine them for everyone’s well-being; The second phase consisted of a gradual evacuation of completely healthy citizens to the nearest cities and only leaving the zombies in the city, whom they had managed to isolate in some way, and, as unethical as it may be, the people who unfortunately had already been infected, who had also been isolated; and the third one was the activation of BLACKOUT-003 that would destroy everything that was in its range.&nbsp; Everything seemed to be going splendidly until, in the middle of the second phase, the voice from the megaphone began to announce the activation of the bomb. None of the citizens were aware of the government's plans, so their confusion was noticeable as all the soldiers went from one place to another, shouting unintelligible things at each other and making strange calls. It didn't take long for this confusion to turn into pure terror and chaos after a group of citizens overheard the general in command saying something about an emergency situation and something about an unstable bomb, and as expected, they expanded the information they heard. This way, what at the beginning was a controlled and organised evacuation, became a chaotic situation with people running terrified from one place to another, others pushing and even hitting each other to obtain a vehicle with which to escape, others demanding explanations and everything that could happen in a situation like that.The panic was not limited to just the citizens, the same sensation was felt by the workers at the isolation centres for the sick and zombies. They were not as well-trained as the military, so they let panic invade them as soon as they heard the megaphone announcement.&nbsp; But, as we all know, things don't usually go well when you let anxiety take over, and that's exactly what happened when one of the workers accidentally deactivated the safety button, releasing dozens and dozens of zombies into the city. Because of that simple mistake, the screams heard on the street increased drastically, as they were now accompanied by the desperate cries of pain of those who were slowly slaughtered by the zombies, as they tore off pieces of flesh here and there until their bodies couldn't take it anymore.&nbsp; The soldiers, who were armed, unfortunately couldn't do anything if five zombies suddenly jumped on them, so that was basically a pure massacre. However, this did not last long, since, after ten eternal minutes, those who were still alive heard an explosion that almost left them deaf. They did not have much time to react, as they were instantly blinded by a light, and, shortly after, they felt their skin and organs disintegrate at a speed slow enough so that they could feel everything. BLACKOUT-003 had exploded, destroying an entire city and its inhabitants, whether zombies or trapped victims. "Oh!" Jeremy exclaimed. “So that's why you can't access the city next to ours?”&nbsp; “Exactly, my dear grandson,” said Wallace, one of the scientists who had participated in the BLACKOUT project forty years earlier. "The radiation levels there are not healthy for us. Also, I don't think anyone wants to see the remains that have been left in that place." “Well, but at least there are no more zombies.” “Yes, Jeremy,” Wallace agreed. “But at what price?”

BLACKOUT-003

BLACKOUT-003

reeniepanini

Maureen

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BLACKOUT-003

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