Impossibly large bones began washing up on the beaches, all unidentified though exhausted scientists claimed them to be a species of whale that was thought to be extinct. While this in itself was considered exciting by the general public, behind closed doors labcoats scurried to and fro in their desperate attempts to identify whatever they now held.
A few days after the first public briefing (complete with images of the alleged whale to further convince the public that it did in fact exist) more bones began washing ashore. The same species as the first and much larger, so much so that they had to be cut and moved in sections.
At first it was never made entirely clear as to why the government insisted that all of the bones be removed from the beaches. By the time the bacteria was discovered, everyone who had been studying the new bones was infected and rapidly quarantined in their labs.
Officially, none of this was happening. There was no outbreak of a highly contagious contact-spread bacteria that ate muscle and excreted a series of chemicals that slowly calcified the host. At least they knew what had killed the deep-sea behemoths that had washed ashore, though that left little hope of a cure.
After all windows were bordered up they grew desperate to find a cure, some even resorting to amputation and claiming that as long as the infected areas were removed and burnt they would all survive long enough to develop a less drastic solution.
When the first of the government-issued food rations arrived, it became clear that they were expected to remain in quarantine indefinitely. Opening ration packs was somewhat difficult with their now reduced number of limbs but they soon adapted, continuing their research and praying that they wouldn't be forgotten about.
Five months later the electricity was cut.
A week later the food parcels ceased to arrive.
One year later a newspaper ran a story reminiscing about the bones, wondering where they were now.
A few days after the first public briefing (complete with images of the alleged whale to further convince the public that it did in fact exist) more bones began washing ashore. The same species as the first and much larger, so much so that they had to be cut and moved in sections.
At first it was never made entirely clear as to why the government insisted that all of the bones be removed from the beaches. By the time the bacteria was discovered, everyone who had been studying the new bones was infected and rapidly quarantined in their labs.
Officially, none of this was happening. There was no outbreak of a highly contagious contact-spread bacteria that ate muscle and excreted a series of chemicals that slowly calcified the host. At least they knew what had killed the deep-sea behemoths that had washed ashore, though that left little hope of a cure.
After all windows were bordered up they grew desperate to find a cure, some even resorting to amputation and claiming that as long as the infected areas were removed and burnt they would all survive long enough to develop a less drastic solution.
When the first of the government-issued food rations arrived, it became clear that they were expected to remain in quarantine indefinitely. Opening ration packs was somewhat difficult with their now reduced number of limbs but they soon adapted, continuing their research and praying that they wouldn't be forgotten about.
Five months later the electricity was cut.
A week later the food parcels ceased to arrive.
One year later a newspaper ran a story reminiscing about the bones, wondering where they were now.
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