The Enemy – Background Story
By Kathryn Bell / Spinebreakers Crew
Carrie leant her head on the smooth glass of the desk she was sat behind. It was cold and soothing and only just penetrated her layers of make up. She’d been sitting behind this very desk in the early hours of the morning for nearly three years now but not much longer would it be needed, she knew. She loved her job. Reading the news. She was a journalist, an anchorwoman, and enjoyed every second of it. That was until this whole epidemic started.
‘Carrie?’ A small voice pulled her to the surface. It was the intern who had been with them for a week or so.
‘Sorry.’ Carrie replied. ‘Yeah I’m fine now, sorry.’ The intern nodded and walked away meekly.
Looking over to her colleague, Jonathan, Carrie saw him undoing his top button and fanning himself with some sheets of paper. He had it too. She knew that. Maybe it was her who had passed it on? It doesn’t matter, she assured herself, he would have gotten it anyway. A few short claps were heard.
‘Five minutes to broadcast.’ A woman with a headset and a clipboard shouted across the studio. Carrie straightened herself out and sat up properly. Jonathan was doing the same and did his top button up and pulled his tie up to hide the greying skin beneath. It wouldn’t be long now but thankfully make up and lighting could hide the effects for the time being. Watching as the crew rushed around, Carrie went over her notes. Of course they all knew what the main, in fact only, story was going to be. The epidemic. It was all anyone could talk about, think about, worry about. It’s all the public wanted to know about. As the area in front of the camera began to clear and people took up their places behind the wall of lenses and senior crew members, Carrie let her eyes wander up towards the Autocue standing perfectly in her eye line. A countdown began to show on the screen from thirty going down.
The numbers fell and fell until, at five Carrie put a smile on her face. At zero the title music played from a small speaker next to the main camera. It was now or never to tell everyone what they already knew.
‘Good morning, it’s six o’clock and you’re watching BBC News.’ Jonathan opened the show.
‘Today’s top story, the epidemic becomes more advanced as large areas of the country all fall foul to this strange illness. Still reports confirm that it is only children that are escaping the effects.’ Carrie tried to keep her voice level but clear as she had done countless times.
‘Scientists confirm that they can find no scientific cause for the sudden pandemic, one expert was reduced to “blaming God” for the outbreak as “he can find no logical reason”.’
Jonathan seemed to be holding out well as he passed the baton onto her. Carrie paused for only a second as she read ahead on the Autocue.
‘A government official has released a statement confirming that the NHS have no vaccine. Blaming it on the “suddenness of the epidemic and it’s devastating effects” they believe that there is no time for any cure to be found. they’re best advice is to-.’ Her voice cracked a little but she recovered quickly. ‘Resume life and try to keep normality.’ She thanked the script editor silently as the speech passed over to Jonathan.
‘They go on to say when an individual’s condition is at it’s worse it is their responsibility to isolate themselves from vulnerable members of society which, at the moment, is children under fifteen.’ Jonathan was about to go on when he stopped, glanced at Carrie, then looked straight into the camera lens.
‘Basically, there’s nothing you or I can do.’ This wasn’t scripted but the crew didn’t move an inch because it was what they were all thinking. ‘I’m sorry but,’ Jonathan continued. ‘There’s no hope.’
The silence hung in the air and tears began to roll down Carrie’s face. Recording and broadcasting the whole scene the cameraman tried not to wobble the picture too much as tears began to stream down his face also.
‘Kill transmission.’ The woman croaked quietly into the headset she wore. Seconds later the red light at the corner of the camera flicked off and the silence hung not only in the studio, but across the whole country.