Hello readers!
This story is based on a thought I had during my daily commute to office. I had jolted down the idea least I forget! This is inspired by one of my all time favorite apocalyptic movies starring Will Smith.
Hope you all like it :)
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She still had nightmares about it. She'd get up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat, terrified. Even during the day, if anything...like a conversation, a movie scene or a newspaper article was remotely connected to her fear, it would upset her so much, many a time it lead to extreme panic attacks.
Drowning.
She hated that word. She hated the feeling associated with it.
Her sibling... Her twin sibling had passed away many years ago...they were teenagers back then when it had happened. Her sister had drowned to her death due to an unfortunate accident at the pool. She was scared for life. She had missed her so much. She'd always feel...If only we were able to breathe underwater..if only... This thought had fueled her.
She had researched about drowning after her sister's death with an obsession that was driven by a need. She didn't herself understand it but acted on this need.
When she was researching about drowning, it was as if she could relive the last few minutes of her sister's life...it was gut wrenchingly agonizing. Drowning is a very painful death wherein the victim has to go through a few seconds of torture as their lungs are filled with water...and she vowed to do something about it.
This was her drive, the need behind the obsessive researching and work.
She was very focused on what she wanted to do. She wanted to find a cure for drowning so that it no longer remained a mortal danger to humans.
And she did it! After finishing college where she had studied marine life, she starting commencing her research. She found a breakthrough after years of hard work. She had used the DNA from a particular marine species which had regenerative capabilities. This lead to her creating a vaccine that enabled humans to breathe underwater.
After the initial animal trials, began the human ones. It was a 100% success!
After successful demonstrations and endless boardroom meetings...it was approved!
There was no looking back! She made sure that the vaccine reached every corner of the planet. In a short span of a year, it had reached almost every nation. It had absolutely no side effects and was a life saver for people who faced drowning as a occupational hazard on a daily basis.
She was hailed a hero and was not only conferred the Nobel peace prize for services to humanity, but also hailed as a worldwide icon and was worshipped as a goddess.
Drowning.
She hated that word. She hated the feeling associated with it.
Her sibling... Her twin sibling had passed away many years ago...they were teenagers back then when it had happened. Her sister had drowned to her death due to an unfortunate accident at the pool. She was scared for life. She had missed her so much. She'd always feel...If only we were able to breathe underwater..if only... This thought had fueled her.
She had researched about drowning after her sister's death with an obsession that was driven by a need. She didn't herself understand it but acted on this need.
When she was researching about drowning, it was as if she could relive the last few minutes of her sister's life...it was gut wrenchingly agonizing. Drowning is a very painful death wherein the victim has to go through a few seconds of torture as their lungs are filled with water...and she vowed to do something about it.
This was her drive, the need behind the obsessive researching and work.
She was very focused on what she wanted to do. She wanted to find a cure for drowning so that it no longer remained a mortal danger to humans.
And she did it! After finishing college where she had studied marine life, she starting commencing her research. She found a breakthrough after years of hard work. She had used the DNA from a particular marine species which had regenerative capabilities. This lead to her creating a vaccine that enabled humans to breathe underwater.
After the initial animal trials, began the human ones. It was a 100% success!
After successful demonstrations and endless boardroom meetings...it was approved!
There was no looking back! She made sure that the vaccine reached every corner of the planet. In a short span of a year, it had reached almost every nation. It had absolutely no side effects and was a life saver for people who faced drowning as a occupational hazard on a daily basis.
She was hailed a hero and was not only conferred the Nobel peace prize for services to humanity, but also hailed as a worldwide icon and was worshipped as a goddess.
The vaccine was working absolutely fine! With people being able to breathe underwater for a while. This drastically reduced death by drowning. But over time it was found that people were able to stay underwater for a longer period of time. Everyone rejoiced at the fact that the vaccine was proving to be more powerful than given credit for. No one suspected anything.
All was well till the dreaded day it started. Death reports started coming in from places like Africa and middle East. Initially it was just deemed a coincidence. But as the numbers starting increasing almost exponentially....alarm bells started ringing.
By the time she and her team got hold of a few with the symptoms and understood what was happening, it had spread.
It was nearly a year later that the deaths started occurring. People started feeling uneasy. They felt like there was less air to breathe. They felt like they had to struggle to take breathe. They felt like they were choking. After many deaths, it became apparent that the vaccine was robbing them of the ability to breathe above the water surface. People started a mad rush to the nearest water body. Many took the risk and reached the beach. But many panicked and dove into the nearest lakes and ponds.
After a while, there wasn't a single live human being above the surface of water.
Either they were dead or underwater.
How will the surface world look now? Without human life? It'll take a few years before nature engulfs the cities, buildings, roads. All man-made structures will be unrecognizable after they become one with nature.
And the human race? Only time will tell whether the effects wear off over time.
Till then, they will need to fend for themselves and keep themselves alive till their salvation arrives.
All was well till the dreaded day it started. Death reports started coming in from places like Africa and middle East. Initially it was just deemed a coincidence. But as the numbers starting increasing almost exponentially....alarm bells started ringing.
By the time she and her team got hold of a few with the symptoms and understood what was happening, it had spread.
It was nearly a year later that the deaths started occurring. People started feeling uneasy. They felt like there was less air to breathe. They felt like they had to struggle to take breathe. They felt like they were choking. After many deaths, it became apparent that the vaccine was robbing them of the ability to breathe above the water surface. People started a mad rush to the nearest water body. Many took the risk and reached the beach. But many panicked and dove into the nearest lakes and ponds.
After a while, there wasn't a single live human being above the surface of water.
Either they were dead or underwater.
How will the surface world look now? Without human life? It'll take a few years before nature engulfs the cities, buildings, roads. All man-made structures will be unrecognizable after they become one with nature.
And the human race? Only time will tell whether the effects wear off over time.
Till then, they will need to fend for themselves and keep themselves alive till their salvation arrives.
