Everything will be okay

The television crackled, black and white fuzz dancing indiscriminately across the screen for minutes at a time until finally a picture began to appear. Grainy and miscolored at first, the image of D Edgar Rite, Dr of disease and pathology, materialized out of the scattered lines and fuzz. He was seated at the large studio desk of channel 9 news, his name plastered across the banner that bordered the bottom of the screen followed by his extensive credentials.

"...as we've been reporting, our latest tests have shown extreme promise," the bespectacled doctor said from the screen, tapping pages of notes against the desk, stealing quick glances down at them. "My team is working around the clock with full backing from our government, leaving no stone unturned as we pursue a true cure." Every time he checked his notes his glasses slid down the bridge of his nose, forcing him to push them back into place. A keen eyed observer might have noticed the nervous flick of movement in the good doctor's eyes, or the bead of sweat trickling down his temple, but another moment and the clarity of the video declined again, leaving viewers to wonder if those signs had just been a trick of the poor quality. "I can confidently say there is no reason to panic..." The feed blurred and the audio turned to a shrill fuzz, but after a moment the image returned to relative clarity. Dr Rite was no longer on camera, as Esti Hoops, a young, attractive news anchor, came into view. She wordlessly lip synced a thank you to Dr Rite, the audio feed still crackling and incoherent. Her perfect, white-teeth smile showed as she spoke, soundless words evident until the fuzz faded again.

"As Doctor Rite has just told us," her voice finally came through, her words well-articulated, her tone bright and reassuring between auditory fuzz. "Our government is putting every available effort forward to combat this plague and find a cure. Treatment facilities are set up around the nation and working around the clock, taking on new patients and giving them the life saving care they need." Esti's face was bright and reasuring, her smile confident and her posture composed. The papers she held quivered, and she set them down, placing her hands in her lap under the desk. "Doctors, nurses, and all of our other first responders and medical staff are truly showing themselves as the heroes they are, bravely putting their health and safety on the line to administer medication, reduce the symptoms of those affected, and supervise the configuration of schools, churches, and community centers for use as additional treatment..."

Esti's image blurred out, the tv screen turning to black and white fuzz. Garbled audio began to come through, words struggling to make themselves heard as black and white images filtered through the static.

"... lest they give you a bite... we are the object of their single-minded pursuit..." a dramatized, male voice came through. The quality of the audio gave the impression it was from an old movie, some black and white horror film. Pictures were unclear but visible, flitting across the blurry screen. Sights of people stumbling along, arms limp by their sides, heads lolling loosely on their necks. "... beware the cover of night, for..." With a crackle of static, color whined imperfectly across the haunting images. Suddenly the vacant streets and shambling people acquired disturbing realism. "... again walk now the buried dead..." the voice buzzed and faded out again, the blurry, black and white feed continuing to run, silently. Patches of color flicked irregularly across the screen, showing how large the shambling crowd was growing. A dog barked in the street, its frenzied cries unheard through the crackle of static. The mass of people on the screen heard, several turning towards the animal, feet dragging, bodies shifting with every limping step.

"... nothing to be concerned about whatsoever," Dr. D Edgar Rite said, his voice coming through the television set again. His picture contended with the video of the street and the shambling crowd, the two mismatched broadcasts shifting in and out of focus. "Just as we've been reporting, our latest tests have shown extreme promise." The doctor glanced down at the copious paper notes in his hands, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. "My team is working around the clock with full backing from our govern..." Audio of a barking dog cut through Dr Rite's report, with it a sound like hundreds of people groaning. "... as we pursue a true cure." A keen eyed observer might have noticed Dr Rite's eyes flick with random movement. They might've seen the sweat beading his forehead and trickling down his temple. They might've seen the faraway look in his clouded eyes. "... no stone unturned as we pursue a true cure. I can confidently say there is no need to panic. Reports of the viral pathogen becoming airborne are greatly falsified, at this time there is no evidence to support such claims." The video feed cut back to Esti Hoops, sweet, attractive, young.

"As Doctor Rite has just told us, our government is putting every available effort forward to combat this plague and find a cure. Treatment facilities are set up around the nation and working around the clock, taking on new patients and giving them the life saving care they need." Audio from Esti's report continued unbroken as the picture on the tv finally stabilized, but now it was increasingly drowned out by the growing sound of groaning, pained voices. Esti's smiling face reflected on the store front window that separated the television set inside from the grumbling crowd of shambling bodies outside. Torsos, shoulders, and arms jostled each other against the window, dragging and bumping against the smudged glass. "Doctors, nurses, and all of our other first responders and medical staff are truly showing themselves as the heroes they are, bravely putting their health and safety on the line to administer medication, reduce the symptoms of those affected, and supervise the configuration of schools, churches, and community centers for use as additional treatment facilities." Esti continued, a smile on her face and calm confidence in her voice, replaying in an unbroken broadcast. A continuous reassurance that everything was under control, and there was nothing to fear.