The Crowned Virus

A Week Before

BOOM! A missile shot by the enemy had rattled the ground. I had jumped out of the way as the shockwave made by the projectile threw my troops to the ground.

 I had taken my gun and shot blindly at the opposition. They shot back. A lot. So much that the tanks couldn't take it, and exploded, as the bodies of my allies showered the ground.

“No,” I had whispered through my lopsided helmet, “no.” The enemies were killing us, and bodies had been falling like puppets cut from their strings.

 The helicopters had to collect the survivors in an emergency evacuation. Even with the expert control of our pilots, the adversary had managed to gun down three of them.

It was the first defeat we had in a month. When we reached the camps we had fallen asleep before our heads hit the pillows. The next day, a messenger had come to me. “Sir,” he had said, “General Megavirus wants to meet you.”

“Alright.”

I had trudged to Megavirus’s tent. He had looked solemn. “General Ebola,” he had said while looking down, “General Smallpox is dead.”

No. It couldn’t have been true. Smallpox had infected the most humans. He just couldn’t be dead. His regiment had set the record for most antibodies killed in a month. 10,000.

 Along with that he had infected the most humans in a month, 5,000. 

“You’re joking, right?” I had asked with a slight smile on my face.

“No. He got killed in an explosion the white blood cells and antibodies had set off in a ditch. He and a regiment of his troops had tried to do a sneak attack. But the antibodies … they knew somehow.”

I had looked down. General Smallpox had never been close to me, but he had helped my regiment out of tight spots. I respected him for that.

“That means we’ll have to have another Council meeting to make someone a general, right?”

“Yes. We shall.”

2 days later

I walked across the corridor. Troops under my regiment and others saluted me as I walked by. “Good day sir,” they said.

“Good day,” I replied.

I was inside the Bacteria Headquarters. I am actually a virus, but I had a meeting with General Cholera. I rushed through a door while I checked my watch. Almost one o’clock. Better be quick. I was ushered into the transportation. It was called an SVTV, or “Specialized Virus Transportation Vehicle.”

I flinched as I kept my leg on the steps that led to the door. My foot was injured during the devastating battle that had killed General Smallpox.

After ten minutes of driving, I and my driver reached the Germ Headquarters. It was made for everybody: germs, viruses, fungi, and bacteria since we all are germs.

I went up the stairs and took a sharp right. There, about 50 yards in front of me, stood a door. It lead to the General’s Meeting Room. That was where I was supposed to be.

I rushed to the door and pushed it open. Standing in front of me were Generals Hepatitis, Syphilis, and Influenza. They were standing in a circle, slightly apart from one another. Hepatitis and Syphilis were murmuring in conversation. 

I took my spot beside General Influenza. We all waited for Generals Tuberculosis and Pneumonia to arrive.

“Hello General Ebola,” said Influenza.

“Hello,” I answered, “Any idea who we’re supposed to initiate as a General today?”

“Nope. But I did hear that he is only nineteen years old.”

“What! Only nineteen? Wow! He must be an expert at infecting humans then.”

“Indeed.”

We had nothing else to talk about and waited in silence. The murmurs of Generals Syphilis and Hepatitis sounded like shouts in the quietness that took place.

Finally, Tuberculosis and Pneumonia arrived.

“Now that we are all here,” Influenza started, “we can start. So, the reason for today’s emergency meeting is obvious. But, for formal reasons, I shall say it. As you all know, last week, in the devastating battle that took place within the human king of the world, General Smallpox was killed. Luckily, I have found a fitting replacement for him. He shall introduce himself.”

At the end of his sentence, a young man with a sort of weird crown entered the room. General Influenza shifted from his place in the middle and hurried over to the sidelines, near Pneumonia.

“Hello everybody,” the young man smartly said, “My name is Corona Virus VII. You may call me Covid. That’s my nickname. I enlisted in the Germ Military when I was … about seventeen years old. I’m nineteen years old. I’m a virus, as you may have gathered, and I was assigned to the Smallpox regiment. I’m thrilled to know that I’m going to be a general, and I hope that you all think that I’m worthy.”

He stopped there and stared at us. We didn’t know what to say, so there was some more silence. Then, Influenza began again, “So, that is Corona’s-”

“Covid,” corrected Corona, “just call me Covid.”

“Covid’s, introduction. Before he is officially made a general of the Germ Military, does anyone have any questions for him?”

“How many kills have you got?” I asked.

“I’ve gotten about … at least five hundred antibody kills and about one thousand white blood cell kills,” answered Corona.

“What military school did you go to?” asked General Hepatitis “I went to Verango Military Academy for your information.”

“I went to Erstwhile Academy. The one that was made first, not the more recent one.”

“So you know more about the old school techniques, right?” Hepatitis inquired again.

“No! Erstwhile has the same syllabus for both the schools. Just because the first one is older doesn’t mean that it’s old school!” shot Corona haughtily. It seemed that he was very proud of his school, and would do anything to protect it.

I went to Kelten Military Academy just so you know. It wasn’t fun there. The teachers were shouting all the time. I’m not going to talk or think about it now, it’s painful to even imagine it.

“Does anyone else have any questions for me?” asked Corona.

“Why do you have that weird crown on your head?” I blurted out before even thinking. Oh no, it’s his first day and we’ve already started on the wrong foot.

“Oh, this?” Corona said while touching the crown fondly. He didn’t look offended. In fact, he looked proud! “This is a part of every one of my kind. I am proud to have it, for it shows that I am a part of the long and most prestigious line of Coronavirus.”

“Oh! Alright!” I said.

“Anything else?” Corona asked us again, “No? Please ask me anything, even if it’s awkward! Nothing? Okay.”

“Now that we are done with the questions, let us hear Corona say his oath,” said General Pneumonia.

“I swear,” Corona began, “to do the following with the absolute best of my ability as a general of the Germ Military, this covenant:

To respect my fellow germs, whether they are fungi, viruses, bacteria, or protozoa.

To be cooperative with my fellow Generals.

To be brave in the heat of the battle

To make a proper judgment in battle

To be loyal to the Germ Military

And, most importantly, to infect the most humans and animals as possible.”

“Very good,” Pneumonia said, “we now officially make you a general of the Germ Military!”