I have recently been working on some ideas I have put together for an epic dramatic novel.  It is heavily influenced by Stephen King's The Stand in the way that it is set in an apocalyptic world, but the main story I hope to tell is that of a group of friends who make a pact to remain alongside each other and to travel through their last days/weeks as the entire population is wiped out by a new strain of MRSA.  I'm really hoping to capture human loneliness, dependence and desperation as well as painting a picture of modern society as it decays and of the world as it becomes increasingly desolate.  I am godawful at sticking to something without procrastinating though, so this will probably get no further than a crudely written opening chapter.

I have never shared my writings with anyone before, so this is a first for me.  I am 19 and naive, so be brutal... :D

The prologue is all I have written so far and it is (obviously) a transcript of a news broadcast.  This is a theme I'd quite like to implement throughout.

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Hello and welcome to UKNews24 with me Stuart Turner on Thursday the 17^th January 2008.  This is tonight's top story.

A 58 year old British man who has been a long time patient at the Royal Hospital in Bristol died in the early hours of this morning from what medical chiefs have confirmed as ‘a new strain of the MRSA virus.'  Peter Sellars was found dead by one of the staff nurses at 06:24 this morning.  The deadly superbug, which has been officially named as ‘EMRSA23+' by scientists, has found itself referred to as just ‘EMR' over the past week with the tabloids seeking a nickname.  The government has yet to release comprehensive information on the bacterium itself, but UKNews24 understands that while MRSA is treatable with certain antibiotics; all medical testing conducted on ‘EMR' is yet to reveal a treatment which has any effect whatsoever.    

Although ‘EMR' has been on the radar of the NHS for months now, this is the first recorded contraction in humans and subsequently the first death. 

The NHS has vastly improved its hygiene levels since the first emergence of the superbug MRSA, but it appears somewhere the standards have slipped.  We're led to believe that one doctor in particular is being held solely accountable for the outbreak, and has received several warnings in the past with regards to hygiene.  We have footage of a press release recorded earlier today with an official spokesperson for the Royal Hospital in Bristol. 

"I can confirm that we are holding a member of one of our Surgical teams for this outbreak responsible and he has been suspended for the foreseeable future on charges of gross misconduct with regards to hygiene - a full investigation will now of course be carried out.  In addition to this 3 of the directors at our hospital have stepped down.  We understand that these board members met with views to discipline said surgeon in the past with regards to poor hygiene and this is why they have felt the need to now resign. 

We have completely sealed off Mr Sellars' room for now and that ward is in lockdown, although it is too early to determine whether the bug has spread into other rooms of the hospital and if other patients are now carrying the virus.  I can confirm that we are moving closer and closer to a breakthrough in finding an effective treatment and at present this is our top priority. 

I would like to personally assure each and every one of you that there is no need for panic; we have the situation under control and we are working around the clock to make absolutely certain that this does not happen again." 

The 3 directors who have stepped down can not at this time be named, but UKNews24 understands that another may follow suit sometime over the next couple of days.  If this outbreak is as bad as initially feared, then this could possibly be the start of a mass exodus of NHS employees and government officials.

Our thoughts go out to Mr Sellars' family and friends at this difficult time.

Keep watching UKNews24 with me Stuart Turner, for more ‘EMR' breaking news as and when it happens.

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Thank you for reading.

 

Sounds horribly realistic actually! get your book written before somehting like this actually happens!! So don't procrastinate! Potential for a scary book there

Good luck!

well done good luck

Sounds really scary!

Can I just say, in a very nice way, that MRSA is a bacterium/bacterial infection, not a virus (which you've called it twice in your prologue). 

Still scary though...............

Thanks for the feedback, the first chapter is coming along nicely.

Didn't even notice my virus mistake, I've called it a bacterium and a virus in the same paragraph :o thanks for spotting it :D

Good stuff.

I can't even write a book review so am in awe of anyone writing a novel.  Good luck with it, and keep us updated with your progress!

Helen

 

I really like the sound of this - well done and keep it coming! It would be a bit scary though - maybe too close to home!