DECEMBER 21ST by John Bias
Josiah Jamison, 2022, Oil and silver leaf on canvas
It is a blank screen with some finger smear marks and a light coat of dust. There are slight reflections of people on the blank screen that can scarcely be made out. Some people on the reflections are scientists wearing white lab coats, and the others are military personal wearing dress uniforms. The sounds of “clicks” are heard as the screen comes on.
An image on the screen shows a doctor holding on to a desk as everything around him shakes violently. The doctor is a white male, mid to late 40s, slender built, wearing a white lab coat, stained dirty blue shirt, and having long brown messy hair and an uneven beard. Behind the doctor, other scientists and security personnel are running for their lives as the shaking increases. Then from above, the ceiling starts to be torn off from the building. Debris starts to fall from the ceiling as security personnel aims their weapons and fire at the ceiling. The doctor turns around and tries to look up, and when he does, he sees a dark figure lifting the roof off. Security forces yell at everyone to evacuate the building and call the Army. The doctor finally stands up straight, looks up all the way, and slowly takes off his glasses. Now calm, with all the chaos around him, the doctor drops his glasses and says, “What have we done?”
The screen goes blank again, only showing the slight reflections from the people in front of the screen. They start to talk among themselves as the sounds of “clicks” of buttons are heard again.
“Did someone watch this footage already?”
“Are there any more like the one on this footage?”
“Were there any files saved or bloodwork recovered from this facility?”
“How are we going to stop….”
“Okay…I think we are good. Restarting the video.”
The screen comes back on, showing that same doctor again sitting at his desk. This time he is all cleaned up, showered, hair pulled back in a ponytail, and clean-shaven. The doctor presses a button on his keyboard, making a red dot appear at the upper right corner of the screen with the word “recording” right next to it. The doctor then sits back, smiles, takes a deep breath, then says, “Hi, my name is Dr. Aaron Norton, head scientist here at the CDC, Secret Military Branch. It is December 21st, 2025, with Christmas being four days away. I’m not sure if I am supposed to make these videos right now, but I must do something so that our record be saved for what we have done and what is to come.”
Dr. Norton then reaches over and grabs some files from his desk. “Months ago, we were assigned to create a new strain of the coronavirus and to make sure that it only affected people with certain genetic family traits or susceptible to what they might be able to be affected with due to their genetic make-up. When I saw the list, I started to run my test as I was helping create this new strain. Once my results came back, I figured out that this new strain would only affect African Americans. I asked myself who would want to create such a virus, but I put my head down and did it anyway.” Dr. Norton laughs a little, puts his head down, shakes his head slightly, then continues, “This is only the beginning, and I think that we all just signed our death certificates.”
***
The video skips and shows Dr. Norton again with the same clothes on, pressing the keys on the keyboard. The doctor then sits back, takes a deep breath, “Hi, this is Dr. Norton again here at the CDC, December 22nd. According to the orders from high above, we here at the CDC released a new strain of the coronavirus yesterday, and the reports coming in are…I would say amazing if that were the case. The virus is not making African Americans sick, well at first it is, but then as soon as they recover after a few days in the hospital, something happens.”
Dr. Norton shuffles through some files on his desk, then pulls one out, “Seems as if some African Americans are getting strange abilities after being affected. This first report reads that someone in Boston ran at a speed where no one saw them and stole everyone’s wallet, then outran the police when they arrived on the scene. Second, in Los Angeles, another person was upset at a server in a fast-food restaurant, then he suddenly combusted, burning everyone inside. Police arrived afterward and shot him dead. Last, they have been reports all over the southeast states saying that someone is flying across the sky. They can’t make out who.”
The doctor drops the file, takes off his glasses, and rubs his eyes as he puts his glasses back on and starts to press the keys on his keyboard. Another video pops up on the screen in the upper left-hand corner, but smaller, “And today, military soldiers brought in a…test subject for us to observe and draw blood. A 12-year-old girl named Tracy, no one knows where her parents are, and no one can explain how they came across her. Here is the video footage from my camera attached to my lab coat when Tracy was brought in.
On the small video in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, Dr. Norton walks up to the military forces. They are all in camouflage uniforms, wearing a black bulletproof vest, armed with pistols and rifles. Tracy is a small African American girl with them, her natural black hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing a pair of jean shorts and a yellow and blue tank top shirt. “How is she?” asked Dr. Norton, “And where did you find her?” All the military forces are standing around Tracy as if they are in a daze. The soldier that is holding Tracy’s hand finally speaks, “We found the information to where she was, and her parents agreed to let her go. Now she is here with us. Here you go.” The soldier spoke like a robot and reached Tracy’s hand toward Dr. Norton. Dr. Norton stands there confused as he takes Tracy’s hand. The military forces then turn around at the same time and walk away. Dr. Norton watches them leave with a confused look at first, then leans down towards Tracy, “Hey, how are you…” as Tracy pulls her hand away from him and steps back. She does not look at Dr. Norton in his face but stare at the floor and keeps her hands behind her back. Dr. Norton stands straight up, takes a breath, and smiles, “It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you here.”
The small video goes away on the monitor and shows Dr. Norton. “As you can see, they were acting weird…as if…” said Dr. Norton, “I’m not sure what that was about, but I ensured Tracy that she would be taken care of, and no harm would come to her. She was clearly in fear of where she was, so we had to make sure that we gained her trust before anything. She didn’t want anyone to hold her hands, so we just led her to where she needed to be. We took some blood samples and put her up in her room to ensure that it did not feel like jail. As for the rest of the country, things are getting interesting, to say the least.”
***
The video skips and show Dr. Norton again in the same clothes, unshaven and hair no longer in a ponytail. “Hi, it’s now December 23rd, and we are no longer allowed to leave the facility.” Dr. Norton said with fear in his voice, “Things are getting out of control outside as more and more African Americans are contracting the new coronavirus, and the same result happens. They get these abilities, and all hell is breaking loose. The government doesn’t know what to do. State and local authorities are gearing up for war, calling in the National Guard. At this rate, in one or two days, every African American will be infected with the virus, and we are unable to determine what abilities they will get.”
Dr. Norton presses the buttons on his keyboard again and brings up the small screen in the upper left-hand corner. “But today we have another…test subject, yes, I hate calling them that, but I don’t know what else to call them. This is James, a 17-year-old teenager who they caught interfacing his cell phone to a cell tower. I’m not sure how he was doing that, but I guess he received some super-intellect. But the same military forces that brought in Tracy brought him in as well, and this is the other strange thing that happened.”
The military forces bring in James, tall for his age, medium built, neatly braided black hair, blue jeans, and a black sweater on the small screen. The security forces have him handcuffed behind his back as they talk among themselves. Dr. Norton walks up to them and points, “Is this the young man connecting to the cell tower?” “Yeah, it is.” replied the soldier who had James by his arm, “Here is the cell phone he was using. He did some rework on that thing. We have no clue how he did it.” The soldier then un-cuffs James and pushes him towards Dr. Norton. “Here you go, not our problem anymore. And it looks like we are going to be reassigned due to the chaos going on elsewhere. Good working with you, Doc.”
The security forces turn around in different ways and start to walk off. “Wait!!!” yelled Dr. Norton, “Do you want an update about the young girl you brought in, Tracy?” The soldier turns around, confused, “Tracy? Who the hell is that? You may want to get some fresh air Doc.” The soldiers walk away as Dr. Norton stands there with James, not saying a word but slightly smiling. “Are you okay, young man?” asked Dr. Norton, placing his hand on the shoulder of James. “Yeah, I’m good.” replied James with a cheerful tone of voice, “I’m used to getting roughed up by police anyway. They’ll get what’s coming to them. What’s the word for that? That’s right, karma.”
The small screen goes away as Dr. Norton scratches his head and shakes it slightly. “I’m not sure how to explain that….” Dr. Norton said, “But…after talking with James, he seems like a very good person, and he had a good attitude about what was going on. We drew blood from him and set him up in a room right down the hall from Tracy. I looked at the device he had, and it was a cell phone that he updated himself. I couldn’t find out what he was looking for and why. I’ll make sure that the staff brings them dinner and keep an eye out for them.
***
The video skips again and shows Dr. Norton in his office, late at night, still unshaven and now unbathed. In the background, all the lights are off, and no one is around. “This is Dr. Norton again, it is December 24th, Christmas Eve, and I have just seen some footage that I would like to share with you.” Dr. Norton presses the buttons on his keyboard quickly as the small screen comes up in the upper left-hand corner. “For some reason, I wanted to get up and check the security camera footage that is recording the doors of Tracy and James’s room. And what I found was some activity that I’m not sure was alarming or not. Therefore, I’m making a video log about it.”
The small screen brings up security camera footage of the hallway where Tracy and James’s rooms are. From an overhead angle shot from the camera, a female nurse brings Tracy a plate of food for dinner. The nurse goes into the room, but minutes pass, and she does not come out. Then the nurse comes out with Tracy, holding hands with each other. Following the camera views down the hall, the nurse and Tracy make it to a workstation in an office space. The nurse takes a laptop from the office, a Wi-Fi cable, and a power cable. Then the camera footage shows her and Tracy walking back down the hallway and in front of James’s room. The nurse opens James’s door, hands him everything she took out of the office, then reaches into her pocket and hands him her cell phone. James takes everything and closes this door behind him. The nurse then turns around, walks Tracy to her room, closes the door behind her, and walks away.
The small screen goes away, and Dr. Norton sits there with his hand across his mouth. “I’m not sure what just happened.” Dr. Norton says with confusion, “And I guess Tracy trusted the nurse well enough to hold her hand, which she did not let anyone do since she got here. Except for the security forces when she was first brought in. I guess I will have to report the nurse first thing in the morning, but this is just crazy. At the same time, things are deteriorating across the country. We received reports that African Americans have organized and taken over certain cities. Police departments in St. Louis, Baltimore, Minnesota, and Los Angeles have surrendered. New York and Miami want to start internment camps, and the President is in talks about national martial law. I haven’t been to bed yet, so I must get some sleep. Hopefully, tomorrow is quieter due to it being Christmas.”
***
The video skips again, and Dr. Norton looks like he was first seen when the video came on the first time. In the background, security personnel is running around directing others. Scientists are running around as well with files and cases in their arms. Flashing red lights are seen throughout the floor as Dr. Norton sits unfazed in front of the camera. “This is Dr. Norton, and it is Christmas day. All hell has broken loose.” Dr. Norton says calmly, “It was all a setup, the whole time, it was all planned. Tracy’s abilities were to control people using that first initial physical contact. And that is why she was able to purposely get in this building, have the nurse do what she did, and early this morning, right after I went to sleep, she had the nurse and some of the security personnel escort her and James out of the facility.”
Dr. Norton looks down and holds his calm as the building shakes again. He looks up, refocusing his attention on the camera. At the same time, people continue to scream in the background, “And then with James, I think that he was the mastermind behind this, whatever he did, he was able to access all our files, and the government files as well. And it looks like he used the cell phone that we recovered from him when he was first caught as a transmitter to access my computer since I left it here on my desk right next to it.”
Dr. Norton lifts the cell phone to the camera showing it again, then drops it on the desk. He starts to slowly rock back and forth in his chair, shaking his head at the same time, “With that, James put all the files about the new virus on the internet and the plans for it. That was the spark that started everything this Christmas day. He also blocked all codes to all nuclear launch sites across the country. When that happened, the following across the country happen at the same time.” Dr. Norton brings up the small video in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
The small video shows Air Force One stationed in Andrews Air Force Base in Laurel, Maryland, in flames. The video skips and shows a Navy Destroyer, somehow was thrown into the White House and the entire area on fire. In Mississippi, the Governor has surrendered to African Americans as the white citizens try to evacuate to another state. Footage, after footage, shows the uprising of what is going on.
The small screen goes off, and the background chaos worsens. Dr. Norton wipes a tear from his face. “We did this to ourselves, and I went along with it.” Dr. Norton says with sadness, “Who wouldn’t be upset when your government tries to kill you by the millions. And last, the cell phone was a beacon of some kind, and it stopped transmitting a couple of minutes before what you hear and see happening now. And that is why everyone is trying to evacuate as soon as they can.”
Suddenly, the building starts to shake. Dr. Norton holds on to his desk, and the shaking increases. Then from above, the ceiling begins to be torn off from the building. Debris starts to fall from the ceiling as security personnel aims their weapons and fire at the ceiling. The doctor turns around and tries to look up, and when he does, he sees a dark figure that cannot be made out, lifting the roof off. Security forces yell at everyone to evacuate the building and call the Army. The doctor finally stands up straight, looks up all the way, and slowly takes off his glasses. Now calm, with all the chaos around him, the doctor drops his glasses and says, “What have we done?”. The dark figure, now looking like an African American male wearing coveralls as if he works at a car maintenance shop, lifts off the roof entirely. Sunlight enters the facility as Dr. Norton holds up one of his hands to block the sun. Then the roof is slammed down in the facility, including Dr. Norton, and the camera cuts off.
The monitor goes blank, only showing the slight reflections of the scientists and military personal standing there looking at it. No one speaks right away, with an eerie silence across the room.
“What are we going to do?”
“Do we have enough resources?”
“A Russian sub was taken out of the ocean and thrown back to Russia.”
“That made China stand down quickly.”
“The infection rate and uprisings are going on in London, France, Germany, and most of the African continent.”
“What are we going to do? The President is still missing.”
“Surrender, now.”
In the reflections, all the scientists and military personal turn around and see the African American male wearing the coveralls standing behind them.