The Extinction Files Box Set Read online

  also by A.G. RIDDLE

  The Long Winter

  Completed Trilogy

  The Origin Mystery

  Completed Trilogy

  Departure

  Standalone

  see more at: AGRiddle.com

  Contents

  Stay in the Loop

  A Note about Fact & Fiction

  Pandemic

  Prologue

  Day 1

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Day 2

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Day 3

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Day 4

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Day 5

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Day 6

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Day 7

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Day 8

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Day 9

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  Day 10

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Day 11

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 78

  Chapter 79

  Chapter 80

  Chapter 81

  Chapter 82

  Chapter 83

  Chapter 84

  Day 12

  Chapter 85

  Chapter 86

  Chapter 87

  Chapter 88

  Chapter 89

  Chapter 90

  Chapter 91

  Chapter 92

  Chapter 93

  Day 13

  Chapter 94

  Chapter 95

  Chapter 96

  Chapter 97

  Chapter 98

  Chapter 99

  Chapter 100

  Chapter 101

  Chapter 102

  Chapter 103

  Chapter 104

  Chapter 105

  Chapter 106

  Chapter 107

  Chapter 108

  Chapter 109

  Day 14

  Chapter 110

  Chapter 111

  Chapter 112

  Chapter 113

  Chapter 114

  Chapter 115

  Chapter 116

  Chapter 117

  Chapter 118

  Chapter 119

  Chapter 120

  Chapter 121

  Chapter 122

  Chapter 123

  Chapter 124

  Chapter 125

  Chapter 126

  Chapter 127

  Chapter 128

  Chapter 129

  Chapter 130

  Chapter 131

  Chapter 132

  Chapter 133

  Chapter 134

  Chapter 135

  Chapter 136

  Day 20

  Chapter 137

  Epilogue

  Genome

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 78

  Chapter 79

  Chapter 80

  Chapter 81

  Chapter 82

  Chapter 83

  Chapter 84

  Chapter 85

  Epilogue

  Winter World

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Also by A.G. Riddle

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Published in North America by Legion Books.

  Published in print in the UK and Commonwealth countries by Head of Zeus.

  Pandemic and Genome Copyright © 2017 by A.G. Riddle

  all rights reserved.

  printed in the united states of america.

  Pandemic and Genome are a works of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Pandemic isbns:

&
nbsp; isbn 978-1-940026-15-2 (hardcover)

  isbn 978-1-940026-09-1 (paperback)

  isbn 978-1-940026-12-1 (e-book)

  Genome isbns:

  isbn 978-1-940026-16-9 (hardcover)

  isbn 978-1-940026-14-5 (paperback)

  isbn 978-1-940026-13-8 (e-book)

  edition 1.0.0

  Discover other great authors and their books at:

  LegionBooks.com

  Don’t miss A.G. Riddle’s next book.

  Join the email list at:

  AGRiddle.com/email-list

  subscribers also get free books & exclusive content.

  This novel is dedicated to a group of heroes we rarely hear about.

  After hurricanes and other natural disasters, they are among the first to arrive and the last to leave. Around the world, they operate in war-torn regions, though they carry no weapons to protect themselves. Right now, these individuals are putting their lives at risk to protect us from threats that pose a danger to every human, in every nation on Earth.

  They live among us; they are our neighbors and our friends and our family members. They are the men and women working in public health in the US and abroad. Researching their exploits was a source of great inspiration while writing this novel. They are the true heroes of a story like PANDEMIC.

  A Note about Fact & Fiction

  Pandemic is a work of both fact and fiction. I have attempted to depict the CDC and WHO responses to a deadly outbreak in Africa as accurately as fiction allows. Several experts in the field contributed to this work. Any errors, however, are mine alone.

  Much of the science included in Pandemic is real. In particular, research regarding the M13 phage and GP3 protein is 100% factual. Therapies developed from M13 and GP3 are currently in clinical trials, where they show great promise in curing Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and amyloid disorders.

  My website (agriddle.com) includes a fact vs. fiction section and other bonus content for Pandemic.

  Thanks for reading.

  - Gerry

  A.G. Riddle

  Pandemic

  The Extinction Files, Book One

  Prologue

  The US Coast Guard cutter had been searching the Arctic Ocean for three months, though none of the crew knew exactly what they were searching for.

  At their last port, the icebreaker had taken on a team of thirty scientists and a dozen crates filled with some very strange instruments. The crew was told nothing about their guests or the mysterious equipment. Day after day, ice broke and crumbled at the Healy’s bow, and the men and women aboard carried on with their duties, operating in radio silence as instructed.

  The secrecy and monotony of the crew’s daily routine inspired an endless flow of rumors. They speculated while they took their meals and in their off-hours, while playing chess, cards, and video games. Their best guess was that they were searching for a submarine or sunken military ship—likely of American or perhaps Russian origin—or perhaps a cargo vessel carrying dangerous material. A few of the crew believed they were searching for nuclear warheads, fired decades ago during the Cold War but aborted over the Arctic Ocean.

  At four a.m. Anchorage time, the phone on the wall by the captain’s bunk buzzed. The man grabbed it without turning the light on.

  “Miller.”

  “Stop the ship, Captain. We’ve found it.” The mission’s chief scientist, Dr. Hans Emmerich, hung up without another word.

  After calling the bridge and ordering a full stop, Captain Walter Miller dressed quickly and made his way to the ship’s main research bay. Like the rest of the crew, he was curious about what it was. But most of all he wanted to know if what lay beneath them was a threat to the 117 men and women serving aboard his ship.

  Miller nodded at the guards by the hatch and ducked inside. A dozen scientists were arguing by a bank of screens. He marched toward them, squinting at the images that showed the rocky sea floor bathed in a green hue. In the middle of several of the images lay a dark, oblong object.

  “Captain.” Dr. Emmerich’s voice was like a clothesline, stopping Miller in his tracks. “I’m afraid we’re exceptionally busy at the moment.” Emmerich stepped in front of the Coast Guard officer and tried to corral him away from the screens, but Miller stood his ground.

  “I came to see if we can provide any assistance,” Miller said.

  “We’re quite capable, Captain. Please maintain your current position—and radio silence.”

  Miller motioned toward the screens. “So you’ve been looking for a sub.”

  Emmerich said nothing.

  “Is it American? Russian?”

  “We believe it’s a vessel of… multi-national sponsorship.”

  Miller squinted, wondering what that meant.

  “Now, Captain, you really must excuse me. We have a lot of work to do. We’ll be launching the submersible soon.”

  Miller nodded. “Understood. Good luck, Doctor.”

  When the captain was gone, Emmerich instructed two of the younger researchers to stand by the door. “Nobody else gets in.”

  At his computer terminal, Emmerich sent an encrypted email.

  Have located wreck believed to be RSV Beagle. Commencing search. Coordinates and initial imagery attached.

  Thirty minutes later, Dr. Emmerich and three other scientists sat in the submersible, making their way to the ocean floor.

  On the other side of the world, the cargo ship Kentaro Maru was moving through the Indian Ocean just off the coast of Somalia.

  In a conference room adjacent to the ship’s bridge, two men had been arguing all afternoon, their shouts causing the crew to wince periodically.

  A bridge officer knocked on the door and waited nervously. They ignored him and continued yelling at each other.

  He knocked again.

  Silence.

  He swallowed hard and pushed the door open.

  A tall man named Conner McClain stood behind the long conference table. His angry expression made his badly scarred face look even more hideous. He spoke quickly, with an Australian accent, his volume just below a yell.

  “For your sake, this better blow my mind, Lieutenant.”

  “Sir, the Americans have found the Beagle.”

  “How?”

  “They’re using a new seafloor mapping tech—”

  “Are they on a plane, submarine, or ship?”

  “A ship. The Healy. It’s a US Coast Guard icebreaker. They’re launching a submersible though.”