The Hose Virus
Chapter 8
The Best Defense
Within 24 hours of the initial breakout the city was in utter chaos. The learning curve was over as far as the alien parasite was concerned. It had optimized its ability to take new hosts and was spreading exponentially. Ironically the best defense to the “hose virus” available seemed to be actual pantyhose. They offered little protection against attacks from humans and other large mammals but the insect conversions could at least be averted to some extent. There was nothing on the TV or radio in the way of local news anymore but early on reporters had flocked to the scenes of chaos in the hope of a career making story. One beautiful young reporter in particular Candice Stewart, while reporting on a gang of rapists near the park provided a great deal of insight into the workings of the plague.
Thinking themselves safe surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, armed police and emergency responders Candice and her crew had just began to report when a swarm of roaches attacked the crowd. En mass people began falling under the onslaught tearing at their clothing, undulating and crying out lustfully as the alien hose formed silky prisons around their delighted bodies. It was rare for anyone to witness an attack without being a victim and this was the first time one had actually been caught on tape. The roaches quickly reached Candice’s position and began running up her legs as well as those of her cameraman and crew. The crew fell as quickly to the attack as anyone else did but miraculously Candice was still on her feet using her microphone to frantically smash at the offensive insects. The enthralled roaches could sense the proximity of the orifices the parasite told them to attack but something was keeping them out. At least it was until her microphone tore a hole in the expensive nude hose. Sensing weakness the insects packed in forcing their way between her flesh and the hosiery until they found their mark. One after another they entered indiscriminate of which of hole they chose. Candice, an unusually strong woman managed to keep her feet. Her eyes rolled back into their sockets and an enormous wave of dark wetness issued from her bowels and cunt flowing down her legs and into her heels. Her mundane pantyhose once a form of protection now provided a well defined border for the parasite to follow.
The bulk of the live footage was of course edited to show almost nothing but the live feed had been seen on the internet. People began to realize that pantyhose could protect them to some extent. Men and women alike took to wearing as many layers as they could get their hands on. Large numbers of people tried to evacuate the city but the streets were impassible by vehicle. Many people had been pulled out of their cars by hose zombies and converted leaving the cars still running. This and the volume of trash left behind as they fed effectively blocked most streets. Those that managed to run were prime targets out in the open ripe for the taking. Those that holed up in hiding places were generally found by vermin or eventually compelled to come out of hiding or starve.
The federal and state governments acted swiftly to contain the outbreak. Political and military leaders had access to everything that was known about the infection. General Young a veteran of three wars was confident he could hold the line. He ordered the military to circle the city in a tight perimeter. All bridges leading out were destroyed. Anyone or anything attempting to leave was shot and a constant haze of pesticides was employed to keep the insects in check. Everyone was praying for a miracle while the nations best and brightest were working on a solution. Samples of the material in its dormant state were easy to acquire safely but catching a samples on living hosts had proved costly. The only way to really succeed was send volunteers out in two teams for the capture. Team one would attempt the capture and generally become infected. Team two could then eliminate the original target and capture the first team while they were helplessly being converted. The whole process didn’t sit well so it was scrapped however the practice did net some results and a lot of data.
For instance most of the nation wanted to nuke the city and be done with it. The science teams however spoke fervently against the idea. During one of the capture mission an operative threw a grenade to stop a wave of hosed zombies from reaching the survivors of his squad. It obliterated two completely and wounded or scattered the rest quite effectively. The problem was the blast. It wasn’t hot enough to kill the hose. Pieces of zombie and parasite rained down on the men and as surely as if the zombies had reached them they were screwed. They of course enjoyed it mightily in the end but it wasn’t an acceptable outcome for the uninfected. Nukes it was determined were hot enough at the core of the blast but at the outskirts not even close. All it would serve to do is spread the disease into the atmosphere to return as fallout.
Napalm was still on the table but it was unlikely to see use as the politicians didn’t want pictures of an American city in flames shown on the nightly news. Hell, human rights groups were already flooding the area calling the action a war crime, accusing the military of genocide. One sign carried during a demonstration had a pair of pantyhose draped over it read “Zombies are people too!” A late night talk show host even cracked a joke based off of a Bushism saying “Too many zombies aren’t able to practice their love with people all across the country.” The problem was no one believed the truth could be half as grim as the reality.
Thanks to the sacrifices of the military scientists were able to study the interactions between parasites and hosts. It was proven that the parasite of course could jump species from man to animal and insect without losing any momentum. The hosts were found to need huge intakes of food and water to feed their parasites the biological material that was required of them. If food or water was withheld the parasite eventually killed the host devouring the body and converting it into a larger parasitic mass before going into hibernation. This behavior was also noticed by intelligence gatherers utilizing web cams in the city. Gaunt zombies were occasionally seen masturbating, frantically trying to feed their masters with no success. Eventually they’d succumb to starvation and be devoured by their hose leaving nothing more then a dark blob to mark their passing. The fact that all of the zombies appeared to be in the reproductive stage for their species sat heavily on everyone’s mind. Really the only bright side was if the perimeter held the zombies would quickly starve and be rendered inert. Hazmat teams could safely sweep the city clear and destroy the parasitic material in special incinerators. It appeared to everyone not hosed involved with the crisis slow and steady would have to win the race. That was the plan at least.