Indy dropped the briefcase onto the dining room table with a loud thud. It was heavy with papers and two or three books he had been referencing during his lectures. He wandered over to the kitchen and flicked a series of switches. Several ceiling fans throughout the apartment whirred into life. He opened his mouth to call Freyr's name but stopped himself. Her vehicular danger to the environment and their personal economy wasn't parked in her usual parking space. He'd use the time he was alone to change, but not before he poured a glass of water from a pitcher in the fridge that was so cold solid ice had formed on the outside of the glass. He wandered over to the living room and turned on the TV, flicking through the channels until he reached the news. The presenter was describing the scene at one of Atlanta's hospitals. A crowd of people, perhaps fifty or a hundred or more, was attempting to force its way into the hospital. The doors had been locked due to unprecedented overcrowding. Police were being called to the scene to disperse the crowd. The presenter then explained that the crowd had been advised to visit the hospital as soon as possible to receive a vaccine. Indy stared out of the nearby window and sipped from his glass of water. The only words he half heard in the background were 'vomiting blood' and 'contagious'. The apartment looked out over Olympic Park in the centre of Atlanta. The park itself was quiet but the roads surrounding it were becoming increasingly congested with cars. Indy thought himself lucky that he left the university when he did.

He pressed the power button on the remote and tossed it onto the settee when he heard a key in the apartment's front door. It was Freyr. He sighed a sigh of relief and smiled. She hadn't seen him yet. He placed the glass of water on the window sill where he'd been standing. He hadn't had time to change out of his conservative tweed suit yet but he could still surprise her like he wanted to. She probably hadn't been expecting Indy to be home this early. He stepped his way over to and behind her as silently as he could as she wandered into the apartment. He forgot about whatever was happening in the outside world as he put his arms around her waist.

“Welcome home. Miss me?”