Silent Hill fic: Outbreak - Chapter 9: Epidemiological Report (cont.)

[mistressofmuses]

In chapter 9: Anna takes note of new symptoms presenting in the disease, as well as a wave of violence sweeping the town.

Anna Garcia’s Epidemiological report on unknown illness (cont.)

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Official death toll: 7

The additional fatality by the end of the day on September 13 was Brayson Michelin (age 10).

This was the first day that a new batch of symptoms appeared, though they initially weren’t known to be connected to this illness at all. These symptoms were psychological, and initially appeared in victims who previously had shown no physical symptoms, delaying the realization that it was related. These symptoms included very sudden and very intense paranoia and rage, often leading to violence. Prior to understanding that these individuals were showing new symptoms, these events were reported on as part of a “new crime wave” in Silent Hill.

[Fight breaks out in South Vale (posted on the Toluca Times website in the early afternoon on September 13; altered print version appeared September 14)

by Elisha Brody

At 10:43 a.m. officers responded to a call of an altercation occurring in the parking lot near the Happy Burger on Sanders Street in South Vale. A group of three teenagers (whose names have not been officially released by police, as all are minors) were involved in a physical fight.

Michael Pleumer, age 17, claims to have been one of the three teens involved. He told us that they were all friends, hanging out together, when one member of the group “went crazy.”

“We were just going in to grab something to eat, just kind of joking around, talking about school and sports and stuff. Suddenly [my friend] just went crazy and jumped [our other friend],” Pleumer says. “He started talking about how [other friend] had stolen his wallet, was after his money, stuff like that.”

When asked if there’d been any indication earlier about his friend’s state of mind, or an argument leading up to the altercation, Pleumer said no.

“It was real sudden,” he reported. “One second talking about football, and the next he just jumped [other friend]. [Other friend] didn’t have his wallet even; it was still in his back pocket. Even if it wasn’t, that’s not the kind of thing he’d ever do. He’s a chill guy, y’know, not violent. If his wallet was gone, we’d have all gone to find it.”

When asked about his role in the fight, Pleumer said, “I was just trying to break it up. I was trying to pull [him] off of [other friend], trying to get him to stop. The way [he] was going was just so violent. I really thought it was going to end up with someone seriously hurt. He even said ‘I’m going to kill you.’ I just don’t know what happened to make him do that.”

The perpetrator is being held in the jail at the Silent Hill police station. Pleumer and the other young man were treated for minor injuries and released.

Names of other involved parties redacted.]

[Public domestic violence incident forestalled by bystander intervention (posted on the Toluca Times website in the late afternoon on September 13; altered print version appeared September 14.)

by Aaron Green

A frightening situation was interrupted by bystander intervention at a diner-café in Central Silent Hill.

Witnesses report that a quiet disagreement between Tyler Stein, age 37, and his girlfriend Elina Berger, age 36, escalated quickly into a violent assault.

Robert Martinez, age 39, was sitting at a nearby booth when he heard the couple arguing about something relating to a job. He says he tried to ignore it, as they were behind him, but suddenly the man grew much louder, there was a crashing sound, and the woman cried out, before everything went completely silent.

Martinez turned around and saw Stein with his hands around Berger’s throat, choking her. The crash had been cups and plates from their table falling to the floor.

“I didn’t really think after that,” Martinez says. “I just knew I had to pull him off her or else she was going to get hurt. He was strong, too. I got him to let go, but it was like he hardly even noticed. He just kept screaming at her. Lots of words I won’t repeat here, but was accusing her of doing something to sabotage him. Some of what he said didn’t even make a whole lot of sense.”

The waitress on duty, Annie Booker, age 24, called police, who were quick to respond. Stein was taken into custody and booked into the jail at the police station, while Berger was treated for minor injuries.

Berger did not make a formal statement, but before being taken home by family she did say that the assault was incredibly sudden, and that Tyler had never done anything like that before. She expressed her deep gratitude that Mr. Martinez was willing to step in, adding that he quite possibly saved her life.]

[Domestic incident spurs neighborhood panic (posted on the Toluca Times website in the late afternoon on September 13; altered print version appeared September 14.)

by Erika Matheson

There was panic in a neighborhood in Old Silent Hill earlier today when multiple officers responded to a police call of a hostage situation inside a private residence.

Miranda Scott, age 22, was held hostage at knifepoint by her sister, Beverly Scott, age 19, in their family home on Levin Street. The victim was able to briefly break away to place a 911 call from her cell phone, and multiple officers arrived at the residence shortly after.

They were able to rescue the victim after they entered the house and subdued the younger woman.

Beverly Scott was arrested, and is being held in the Silent Hill jail.

Speaking to Miranda Scott afterwards, she said the attack came out of nowhere. According to her, they were discussing dinner plans when Beverly turned around and attacked her with a kitchen knife.

“She kept saying things like, ‘you’re always going behind my back,’ and ‘I know you know what you’re doing,’ and things like that. She seemed paranoid that I was, like, out to get her or something, but I have no idea what she was talking about. Up until then, we’d just been having a normal day.”

Beverly Scott allegedly has no history of mental illness, though it is not being ruled out as a mitigating factor.]

Wave of assaults in Silent Hill leads to 1 death (posted on the Toluca Times website in the late evening on September 13; print version combining information from this article and the three above appeared September 14.)

by Elisha Brody

Tensions have already been on the rise in Silent Hill, with the mysterious outbreak of an illness, tentatively called “SHIO” for Silent Hill Idiopathic Outbreak, that has now claimed the lives of at least six children and hospitalized dozens more.

Now there has been a wave of violent assaults as well. Three earlier reports of sudden violence were reported earlier in town [Ed. note: the online article links to the three articles copied above.] A fourth incident has ended tragically in the death of Marcus Clipsen, age 25. The alleged perpetrator was Austin Young, age 25, now in custody.

Reportedly, the two men were watching television together, when some type of argument began and quickly grew heated. Marguerite Young, 57, the alleged perpetrator’s mother, heard the argument from another room. She entered the living room in time to see her son strike the victim with a beer bottle, hard enough to shatter the glass. He then allegedly stabbed the victim in the chest.

She retreated and called the police, who responded and took Austin into custody.

As he was being taken away, he said, “It wasn’t my fault. He was going to hand me over to those things. He knew they were there, and he was going to let them take me. I had to protect myself before he betrayed me.”

Austin Young is being held without bail in the Silent Hill police station jail.]

While the final article mentioned the illness in context of “rising tensions” within the town, there was no definitive link between said illness and the violence being reported on. It is possible the reporter was speculating the tensions caused by the widespread sickness was contributing to the spate of violence, due to heightened stress levels for the citizens of Silent Hill. However, it seems more likely that they were simply remarking on multiple terrible things happening at once, and that the accidental connection drawn between the two was coincidental.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Official death toll: 12

The new fatalities by the end of the day were John Cane (age 42), Linda Muscowitz (age 26), Stefanie Wood (age 13), Gwen Park (age 11), and Esther Mills (age 9).

Today represented the first known deaths of adults attributable to the outbreak. Both adult victims had not sought treatment, and were found dead in their homes. However, children remained the most susceptible to complications resulting in death.

Alchemilla Hospital continued to receive more patients of all ages, with symptoms at many stages. Some still presented with small spots and mild coughs, while others were coughing up blood and suffering through weeping sores all over their bodies.

More of the earlier patients began exhibiting the “confluent blister” symptom, the agonizing state where the blisters merged below the skin, causing the layers of skin to separate from the flesh. Sadly, there was little that could be done to treat this, except for providing painkillers, sterile dressing, and hydration.

A few doctors allegedly proposed that this was a “mass hysteria” situation, considering that there was still absolutely no evidence found of any abnormal bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic infection. Reportedly, these doctors were taken to see these patients with confluent blistering and asked if they really believed psychosomatic worry could force a body to skin itself alive. I’m told this idea was not proposed again.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Official death toll: 17

New fatalities by the end of the day were: Todd Glover (age 43), Susan Michelin (age 32), Cassandra Lamark (age 30), Stacie Ward (age 15), and Thomas Gibson (age 8).

A new, horrifying symptom began to present in some of the patients who had been in the hospital the longest: disseminated intravascular coagulation.

DIC is a condition where blood clots begin to form throughout the body. These clots can cause problems on their own, blocking blood flow and causing organ damage and localized necrosis. The more dangerous and insidious effect, however, is total depletion of the body’s clotting resources, leading to uncontrolled bleeding. Blood begins to seep into skin and other organs, including the stomach and lungs, leading to coughing and vomiting blood. A red, and in some cases black, rash appears where blood leaks into the layers of skin, which in our affected patients seemed to replace the earlier blistering and sores. Three of the day’s fatalities resulted from DIC presenting in patients already displaying confluent blistering; essentially they bled to death from the skin.

Despite the bacterium not being found during any of the now-extensive testing, one doctor proposed that they could be looking at a particularly virulent strain of plague.

The suggestion was not completely baseless. Bubonic plague (infection of the lymph system by Yersinia pestis) is the most commonly seen type, which was clearly not the case with the current victims. However, there are less common and even more dangerous types: pneumonic (infection of the lungs) and septicemic (infection of the blood vessels.) Both could, in theory, be responsible for many of the known symptoms of the illness.

Pneumonic plague is less common but far more virulent than bubonic type plague; untreated, it could have a mortality rate of between 90 and 100%. The most common symptoms are coughing, coughing up blood, and rapidly developing pneumonia, along with fevers, headaches, and general weakness, all of which have been seen in the current patients. However the known progression of pneumonic plague takes place over 2 to 4 days maximum, with potential mortality in less than two days without treatment. Most of the infected at Alchemilla had been symptomatic for far longer.

Septicemic plague is rarer than either of the other two types, but has multiple transmission pathways and can cause DIC. Its mortality rate untreated also approaches 100%, with an only slightly better prognosis if treatment is received but delayed. Often the deaths occur within 24 hours of symptoms appearing. Again, the usual progression and mortality of this type is too rapid to account for the current disease.

It is my opinion that we can definitively rule out plague of any kind as the culprit. We know well how to test for the Yersinia pestis bacterium, and have found no traces. While the doctor was correct that a combination of pneumonic and septicemic type plague would account for a majority of symptoms, it does not account for all, and the timeline of the disease does not match up with what the victims at Alchemilla were experiencing.

Despite this, apparently someone who heard the suggestion made at the meeting—whether they were meant to be there or not—leaked this proposed explanation to the press.

[Local Channel 12 report given by reporter Linda Carlisle, transcribed from recording:

Linda Carlisle, a dark-haired, light-skinned woman, stands on the sidewalk, Alchemilla Hospital behind her. She is dressed for the cool weather, in jacket and thin gloves. A few people can be seen walking in the background, but the hospital exterior appears fairly quiet.

Linda Carlisle: We’re here outside of Alchemilla Hospital, where we are told over 150 hospitalizations have occurred for an outbreak of some sort of illness. Doctors and spokespersons for the hospital have remained quiet on what they believe to be the cause of the illness.

The video cuts to a pre-recorded segment, a white man with brown hair, dressed in a white coat being interviewed, with a microphone held toward his face. Text at the bottom of the screen reads Dr. Colin Spratt.

Dr. Spratt: Unfortunately, we don’t have an answer as to what’s caused this illness yet. We haven’t yet received conclusive results, and right now we are seeking all possible information and continuing testing. We will absolutely explore every avenue until we determine the cause of this horrific disease, as we continue to do all we can to help our patients.

The video cuts back to Linda Carlisle, in front of Alchemilla Hospital.

Linda Carlisle: However, a source within the hospital spoke to us on condition of anonymity. They told us that it is currently thought to be an outbreak of plague. Plague is, of course, known mainly for being the cause of the Black Death in Europe in the fourteenth century, killing millions.

With modern treatment options, plague is not nearly as dangerous as it once was, but with the number of fatalities attributed to this illness—at least fifteen at the time of this report—it seems safe to say it’s beyond dangerous enough.

Plague is commonly spread through contact with infected animals, so avoid any animals that appear sick, or any wild animals at all.

As always, we urge anyone experiencing symptoms to avoid contact with others and seek treatment immediately.]

Fortunately, this report was not as damaging as such reporting of unsubstantiated information could have been, despite the fear-mongering inherent in invoking the Black Death and the millions dead as an example.

It came with incomplete misinformation: bubonic plague was never what was being considered, and that is the subtype most likely to have been responsible for the Black Death, as well as being the type spread by contact with sick animals (often via flea bites.) This incomplete information/misinformation would have been more of a concern if plague had truly been under consideration as a cause, but as the ultimate advice (“avoid spreading illness and seek treatment”) was sound, little effort was spent on trying to correct it.

The hospital did issue one statement as a press release:

[Press release from Alchemilla Hospital, prepared by spokesman Alfred Goings:

We are aware of the report that we are investigating this as an outbreak of plague. While it has not been definitively ruled out, that is not currently what we consider a promising avenue of investigation. Our tests remain inconclusive, though we are continuing our testing round-the-clock to uncover the cause of this illness. We are also continuing to explore the best avenues for treatment of those afflicted, doing what we can to combat their symptoms and keep them comfortable.

We urge the public to be patient and to wait for official information released by the hospital for news relating to this illness. If you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms, please do not hesitate in getting to the hospital. Early treatment can be the best hope of avoiding complications.]

It is unclear how effective this statement was; there was little discernible difference in public behavior, as far as I can tell.

Later in the day, one other significant event occurred. All four of the aggressors from the assaults that took place on the previous day had been arrested and placed in the Silent Hill Police Department’s jail. In the mid-afternoon, all four of them very suddenly sickened, beginning to show extremely severe, advanced physical symptoms of the disease.

All four (Austin Young, Beverly Scott, Tyler Stein, and Colby Wood [the minor whose name had not been publicly released]) were immediately taken to Alchemilla, though they were kept under guard.

In all four cases, they seemed to skip all initial phases of the disease; later interviews I conducted with family and friends of the four confirmed that none of them had displayed any symptoms, not even those that could be mistaken for a minor cold or allergies.

Within less than an hour they developed spreading, deep-tissue sores, severe bleeding into mucous membranes, and coughs that resulted in spitting up blood. All four were also suffering from high fevers. Additionally, they all continued their paranoid ramblings from the previous day; belief that they were being persecuted, that loved ones had turned against them, that they needed to violently defend themselves from those who sought to harm them were all standard.

The police station’s now-vacated cells were all immediately placed under quarantine, and teams from the hospital went to sample everything possible from the environment, from swabs of all surfaces to water samples to the food and drink that had been provided. The fact that all four could so severely sicken in such a short span with no previous symptoms seemed to be more than coincidental, though the jail’s one other occupant (a man who’d been arrested on a drunk-and-disorderly charge), as well as the officers and other staff had not started to display symptoms.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Official death toll: 19

Additional deaths by the end of the day: Eloise Marks (age 22), and Jareth Combs (age 8).

In the hospital, the illness continued to progress, though within the expected range of symptoms. Nothing new presented itself, though many patients continued to worsen, and most treatment remained supportive in nature.

Another tragic event struck the town, another that only retrospectively appears connected to the outbreak.

[Local Channel 12 report given by reporter Alexander Chen; transcribed from recording:

Alexander Chen is a man of East Asian descent, with short black hair. He is dressed professionally, but suitable for the cold autumn weather. There is a one-story suburban house behind him, with a caution-tape perimeter blocking anyone from entering the property. He looks and sounds extremely somber.

Alexander Chen: Tragic news today, coming from the police who responded to a call on Levin Street. Neighbors reported hearing gunshots within the home. By the time the police arrived, it was too late.

Ethan Price, age 43, allegedly shot and killed his wife, Caroline, and their children, Keely and Julian. Ethan reportedly attempted to attack a police officer when they arrived, but was taken into custody. A neighbor, Melinda Myers, who had come outside to see what was happening, said that he sounded, quote, ‘crazy’, when he was taken away. We have her here now. Mrs. Myers, what do you remember witnessing?

He turns to a woman who was previously off screen. She has light skin, and long blonde hair. She appears to be in her thirties, and is wrapped in a winter jacket. It looks as if she might have been crying.

Melinda Myers: Well, we called the police after we heard the gunshots. I didn’t even want to believe that was what they were. It’s so silly, but like they always say, I was wondering if someone was setting off fireworks or something, but it just didn’t sound right. So I had to call. Anyway, the cops came in and a few minutes later Ethan just went running out the front door, one officer following him. A few officers were here outside, in the yard, and Ethan just rushed at one of them.

The officer grabbed him and wrestled him down to the ground. Ethan just… he didn’t look like himself. I don’t know if it could be drugs or what, but his eyes were wide and it didn’t seem like he was seeing anything, y’know? He was shouting. At first I thought it was just noise, but then I finally heard him over everything else.

He sounded crazy, too. He was saying things like “I had to kill those things, they were going to get me if I didn’t. I had to shoot, they weren’t going to stop. I had to protect my family, let me go, they’re coming after me.” Something like that anyway.

It wasn’t until after that… [Melinda lets out an involuntary sob, and takes a moment to compose herself before she keeps speaking, voice audibly strained.] It wasn’t until after that I found out the others were dead. I was thinking maybe he’d shot an intruder, but no, he killed his wife and those two sweet children. Oh God.

Alexander Chen: And this seems to have been a total surprise. Did anything seem wrong with them in the last few days?

Melinda Myers: No, no, not at all! They were the perfect, photo-album type family! We’ve had cookouts and parties with them, and they just loved each other so much. [Melinda begins to cry again, and the camera cuts away.]

Alexander Chen: Truly senseless, as so many terrible acts like this are. It’s chilling to consider that this sounds so very similar to the reports of a couple days ago, when several assaults between friends and partners occurred, all seemingly unprovoked. We send our heartfelt condolences to all who have been affected by this tragedy.]

With no other choice, Ethan Price was taken to the Silent Hill Police Department jail, despite the earlier quarantine. He was not placed in one of the cells that had previously been used by one of the four prisoners who had gotten sick. He was sedated, as he continued to lash out at anyone who got close. He still seemed to be under the delusion that he had done what he’d done in order to protect his family, though he reportedly vacillated between believing he’d killed “something” that would have harmed them, and believing he’d killed them to save them from that “something.”

To my knowledge, at this point no one had even suggested that these paranoid bouts of aggression were in any way connected to the illness sweeping the town.

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