[center][h1][u]Chapter One[/u][/h1][/center]

[center][h1]Quarantine[/h1][/center]

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/u8dSecn.jpg?1[/img][/center]

[u][center][i]The lobby of the Three Towers Apartment Complex[/i][/center][/u]

[i]"... the Secretary of Defense has announced the establishment of a quarantine zone around the city. Our sources say that two whole national guard divisions have been dedicated to this effort, but there has been no official word as to what resources are being utilised, and where the Government is getting them from,"[/i] the 38 inch wide screen blared away in lobby, as a group of the apartment buildings' inhabitants crowded around it. 

The lobby had become a sort of social area, more than it usually was, because no one enjoyed being alone these days. Being alone was a dangerous business. 

[i]"Again,"[/i] the anchor continued on the TV. [i]"we urge our viewers to remain at home, and only to venture outside if absolutely necessary. The CDC is advising that everyone segregates themselves from friends and family who may have contracted the virus... um, we're going live now to Washington, D.C, where the President is due to address the nation."[/i]

The room shook suddenly, as the deafening roar of a nearby explosion tore through the airwaves. Automatic gunfire followed in quick succession, and reached an ear drum shattering crescendo within seconds. A war was being waged outside, and the living were losing - badly. The group started to take stock of their situation; it was Hell out there, on the streets. Several other inhabitants had gone to work the day before, and hadn't been seen since. Others had fled the city before the quarantine. In any case, the group wasn't going anywhere in a hurry, not with the National Guard holding firm control over all access points in and out of the city. 

[i]"... Is this a military matter, or a health concern?"[/i] crackled the TV, showing a room full of reporters besieging the President at his press pedestal. [i]"Both,"[/i] came his icy reply.

A convoy of police cruisers sped by the front of the building, their blue lights flashing from the darkness, their sirens blaring out the sounds of gun fire, if only briefly. Though, they vanished as quickly as they had appeared. It's wasn't safe outside any more, and it was only going to be a matter of time before the sick people realised that the apartment building was still inhabited. If escape had been ruled out, then the first thing the group wanted to do was fortify the place - making it an unappealing obstacle to the sick and the healthy alike. 

Though with seven floors each containing six different apartments, and only a small portion of the residents accounted for, maybe the group would have been better served by checking to see if no one was sick and hiding away. An infected running amok inside the building could prove a fatal dilemma. 

[i]"Thanks Dean, keep us updated... Moving onto the 10PM weather forecast,"[/i] the TV had switched back to the anchor, the president apparently having little to say. [i]"It looks like we have some light rain throughout the night..."[/i]

It was going to be a long, long night.