Week of 28/4/14: Death Cloud

Prompt: Pretend you are famous reporter on TV. Write a story about what you’ve read for the evening news.
Pages read: Start to 103

If we pretend that there was modern news back in the 1860's this blog should unreservedly make sense.

*Ahem* "Breaking news!  Two have been found dead in the town of Farnham.  Reports we have received notified us that both victims were described with bearing red boils on their face and arms and both had no previous major ailments. We haven't seen anything like this since the Plague...  Farnham doctors have issued a warning to all inhabitants of the town, and all are advised to bathe regularly and avoid contamination from colleagues and neighbours.  From recent reports, symptoms include dizzying and incoherence, although this has not been proven.  Whatever affected the two civilians seemingly came up out of nowhere, and nothing has transpired about how this can be directly prevented.  We have two townspeople here today to talk to us about what Farnham is going through...."

"Sir, may we speak to you for a minute about the recent plague affecting your city?"

"Sure.  Ya know we all ain't seen anything like this in our lives... Frankly, all we can do is try and protect our wives and children, but this damned thing better not take anymore of my workers.  Charles was a good man, always an earnest worker.  I don't know why this plague has gotta be in Farnham, almost like it was planned... I swear if anything malicious is going on here and it's human, I'll be the first to put him to death.  I don't believe it's a plague, it's a ploy by someone who's thinks he's clever and obviously deranged-"

"Yes, yes, thank you for your time..."

*Man huffs but returns to loading cargo into cart.*

"Excuse me miss, but do you happen to know anything more about these mysterious deaths?"

"Oh... No, no, I'd prefer not to talk of it..  We're all scared enough, why get everyone worked up over some virus affecting the unhygienic..."

*Two teenage boys run up behind the shaken woman, the shirtless, long-haired boy speaks first*

"I know, I know, there was a cloud, a death cloud!"

*His dark-haired, tall friend interrupts, and they both desperately try to inform the newscaster of their discovery.  This continues for awhile.*

"Yellow powder on the scene of the death- I inspected it myself.  I made a few deductions, one of which is-"

"The cloud just crawled out of the open window, it climbed the walls, it disappeared!

"This is not the plague.  More likely, they events are poisonings.  The question is, who did this..."

"Let 'em talk, he's real bright, oh listen miss!"

"I examined the footsteps around the body, they were erratic in the moments before he fell, but previously straight and normal.  Yellow powder lay on the grass.  If my friend Matty's theory is true, Farnham is in great danger."

"Cloud of death, I tell ya!"

*The newscaster frantically interrupts, and behind the boys a large, burly man grabs their shoulders.*

"Sherlock!  What the hell are you doing?"

"Well folks, that's all we have time for today....!"