City of the Dead

Chapter Three

It took several hours for the T-virus to spread throughout the Raccoon City water system and down all the thousands of miles of pipes spreading like a spider web all across the city. Like all viruses and bacteria, the T-virus thrived in a water environment, and it multiplied and grew each second, spreading deeper and deeper into the water system, originating in the huge water tank where the body of Richard Aiken remained floating in darkness.

And then, at around five o’clock in the morning, the city of Raccoon began to wake up. All across the city, people began to turn on their water faucets to make their morning cup of coffee, and within minutes it seemed that half the city was suddenly turning on showers, or flushing toilets, or running water in the sink to brush their teeth. Such tremendous usage of water brought the T-virus right into people’s homes.

Everyone who took a shower, everyone who washed their hands or faces, everyone who brushed their teeth or swallowed a mouthful of water to take some medication, everyone who used water to make oatmeal or other breakfast food, everyone who filled a water bottle to drink from during the day, everyone who washed their dishes after breakfast. All of the people who woke up in the morning and did any of the daily activities that so many people do. Anyone who used water that morning was at risk of getting infected with the T-virus.

Mechanics getting ready for a day of changing people’s motor oil in a car garage, teachers preparing their lessons plans and work sheets for the students, dentists and doctors getting ready for another long day of treating the flu or filling cavities, bus drivers and grocery store clerks and secretaries and even police officers, all getting ready to start their day. And even all the people who worked third shift and were still up, or self employed and simply preferred to be awake at night. More than two-thirds of the city used water at some point between five and seven in the morning, and almost all of them were exposed to the T-virus as it made its way through the water system.

And within an hour, all those people began to get sick. And the vast majority of them started getting sick at the exact same time.

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