[IC] [Ozymandias] The Way The World Ends [Catharyn]

[Cath]

Freyr was having a bad week. Not so much mood wise, but in terms of property sold: dismal. And although she was trying her hardest to remain upbeat, her commission pile did have an effect on her mood so you could actually say that it was starting to affect her. In the Realtor business you didn't get paid with 'we'll think about it' The smile that normally didn't wobble while greeting prospects was strained and her voice was noticeably tired. She had met the Goldschmitt couple outside of the house she was trying to sell: a delightful Greek revival with lush gardens that seemed to spring from Eden itself. In her usual style Freyr examined the couple closely, their mannerisms and the way they talked to her as well as each other. She tried to locate their hot buttons so she could make the property seem more appealing to them. They seemed like a power-couple, the man had the posture of a big-city lawyer and the woman the calculated guile of a banker; that meant they might be looking to rent it out, or use it as a retreat. And with a monthly rent yield of $5000 Freyr wished she had the capital to buy it herself.

Freyr approached airily as the couple strode up the pathway. "Good morning, Mr and Mrs Goldschmitt. What a beautiful day we have to survey the property." she said, shaking the woman's hand first. They nodded absently. Freyr ushered them inside the house, leaving the beautiful gardens til last to influence their decision. A Realtor's job also sometimes included furnishing the properties before sale; this was the case now and the interior had a neutral and very modern, minimalist look. They seemed impressed, and Freyr beamed at their compliments over the presentation. It was in the master bedroom that Mr Goldschmitt broke into a hacking cough and sat down on the bed. Freyr scurried off to fetch a glass of water while his wife sat next to him and rubbed his back. Upon her return the man seemed to have recovered somewhat. "I'm terribly sorry my dear, my husband has been a little under the weather recently." Mrs Goldschmitt smiled encouragingly. After standing around awkwardly for a minute or two, Freyr went for it. "Do you think you're ready to resume the tour?" Mr Goldschmitt nodded bravely and they started up where they had left off; the man carrying a refilled glass of water around like a walking stick.

They had just about made it into the gorgeous garden when the lawyer broke down again, spitting a little globlet of bile and blood onto Freyr's immaculately jet washed patio. Freyr tried to hide her disappointment when she saw it. Mrs Goldschmitt became worried and jittery, and after a few minutes Mr Goldschmitt indicated he was ready to leave. Freyr took one of his arms and helped escort him to the Lexus waiting outside. "So what did you like best about the property? I'm sorry we had to cut short like there, there are still a few more..." Mrs Goldschmitt cut her off as she bundled her husband into the backseat. "It's a gorgeous home, and it's me that's sorry. We'll think about it okay? We have your number." With that she was gone too, and the black car roared out of the driveway and onto the main road. Freyr waited until they were well away before making a face at the retreating car. "Awfully convenient cough Mr Goldschmitt." she said, before heading back inside. It was her dream to live in a house like this, instead they were confined to a two bedroom apartment in the busy heart of Atlanta.

Freyr decided to head home to make more calls, it was decidedly stuffy out here.

[Ozymandias]

Indiana wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. The classroom where he was teaching was stiflingly hot despite the windows being wide open. He was required to look professional and conservative which meant roasting in a tweed suit. He was sure he remembered the weather forecast on the TV at home mentioning the temperature would be in the low to mid thirties Celsius and out of the whole University of Georgia his classroom was the only one with a broken air conditioning unit. 'They'll have it fixed by Tuesday' one of the janitors had said. It was now Wednesday. Some of the students in the class of twenty or so undergraduates looked sickly green and fanned themselves endlessly with their hands or pieces of paper.

“Let's get back to this,” said Indy after a brief break. His accent was out of place for Georgia, being born and living most of his life in Princeton. He had only recently moved to Georgia a few years ago to teach at the university. He turned to a large black chalkboard decorated with detailed drawings and interpretations of stone age buildings and began writing. “Neo,” he began as he wrote in white chalk. “Meaning 'new' and -lithic... T.H...I.C,” he spelled the word aloud as the heat temporarily stole his concentration. “... Meaning 'stone'. Turkdean barrow near Hazleton,” Indy gestured to the chalkboard. “Contains a central passage and three chambers, or 'cysts'. This site also demonstrates one of the great dangers of archaeology. Not to life and limb, although that does sometimes take place. No, I'm talking about folklore. Local tradition held that there was a golden coffin buried at the site and this accounts for the holes dug all over the barrow and the generally poor condition of the find. However chamber three was undisturbed and the undisturbed chamber and the grave goods found in the area give us a good... uh, good reason to date the finds that we have,” Indy wiped his brow again, losing his chain of thought. “But don't confuse that with grave robbing, in which case we mean the removal of contents from the barrow.”

At that moment when Indy turned to write something on the chalkboard he heard a loud coughing and retching sound behind him. A young woman of a sickly green colour had keeled over her desk and began vomiting blood. Indy put down his chalk and turned to the classroom.
“Uh, Westgate and Hamley,” he said pointing to the two students. “Take her to the washroom, would you please? Oh and ask one of the janitors to come here too.” He looked around the classroom for a moment. A number of other students looked the same pale colour as the young woman. At that moment the bell rang.
“Any questions?” asked Indy as he gestured to the board. No one raised a hand. “No, ok, that's it for today then.” The students rose to their feet and made their way out of the classroom. “And remember Michaelson chapters four and five for next time,” he said loudly over the noise and bustle. "And I will be in my office on Friday but not Thursday." His lecturing for the day was finished but he was expected to be at a meeting in the next hour or so. He took out his phone from his desk and looked at the time. He wanted to phone Freyr and see how she was doing, but no, he thought, she was in work and probably wouldn't want to be disturbed. Indy remembered her mentioning something about showing a house to a wealthy lawyer. Hopefully her day was going well. He began to gather up a number of papers and items including a large briefcase when a middle-aged suited man entered the classroom.
“Doctor Ford,” he began. Indy put his briefcase down and smiled.
“Hello John,” he began. “I wasn't expecting you today, I have an appointment with two clients who want some research done on a mesolithic find.” John was the name of an old friend of Indy's who had worked with him on various sites as an archivist and researcher.
“Yes, that's why I'm here. Mr. Grave was here earlier waiting to speak to you but he had to rush away. As I was speaking to him he suddenly starting vomiting blood. Most unpleasant. His associate phoned up earlier and mentioned he was too ill to make it also. Strange.”
Indy looked at the classroom for a moment. He saw the blood on the floor.

“Yes, very strange.”

[Cath]

Locking up the house she'd been trying to sell for days with the spare key, Freyr jogged briskly down the sidesteps to the house's garage space in a pair of black pumps, work Louboutins stashed in her handbag. Her car waited, a Range Rover Sport, in metallic grey. Indy had always accused her of having a 'WAG attitude' in that a 4x4 was highly impractical given where they lived. Freyr didn't care, it was fast, comfy and people got out of her way quicker than in her old Fiat. Throwing all of her stuff in the back, Freyr climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine; it came alive with an eager roar. Making sure she was settled in the plush leather interior, Freyr checked her phone like she always did after work. She'd had three missed calls from Mr Ingram as well as a text from Doctor Nguyen.

[This is a message to everyone on my practitioner's contact list. Please schedule an appointment to come in for precautionary jabs ASAP.]

Plugging her phone into the hands-free system installed on her car, Freyr popped her faithful Rover into first gear and blipped the gates with the spare blipper. Displaying a rattly sigh, the side gates opened for her and closed again when she zoomed through. Once she'd got onto the freeway headed to the flat by Centennial Olympic park, Freyr called up Mr Ingram. It rang and rang, until he picked up on the last ring. "Hello?" He sounded stressed and...was he crying? "Hello mister Ingram, it's Freyr Laurent. Did you call me earlier?" The man on the other side didn't say anything for a few seconds, though she thought she could hear heavy breathing over the line. "Yes i, i did call you. I called you to cancel the appointment we have. It's my wife you see, she's been in an accident." Freyr put one hand to her open mouth, swerving the car a little bit. "Oh my god, that's terrible. Is Majorie okay?" Freyr didn't know Harvey Ingram that well, but his wife had gone to college with her, they'd been firm friends. "I don't know! The doctors won't let me see her, I've been stuck in this waiting room for hours." Freyr turned off the main road, heading down a smaller route which got her to the flat quicker. "Is there anything i can do?" She asked after a few more seconds of awkward silence. Mr Ingram remained still, content to breath heavily down the phone.

"Harvey, are you alright?"

"Yes, there is something you can do. Marjorie would love to see you. You should come down."

"I thought you said they weren't letting anyone in."

"They aren't, but maybe you could convince them."

Those words and the way he said them sent a chill down Freyr's spine. She hadn't talked to Mr Ingram a whole lot, but she knew there was something not quite right going on with him. She decided to end the call. "Listen Harvey, I'm driving at the moment and it's a bit hectic down here but i'll tell you what. Let me get back to the flat, get some stuff together, and then i can start to make my way down there. Phone me the moment they let you in, and i'll head over okay?" Half committing, genius. "Okay, hurry." The line went dead. Freyr wasn't 100% certain that she would go to the hospital. Certainly not if she was just going to be stuck in a waiting room with Marjorie's creepy husband. She'd talk to Indy about it when he got back. Traffic was heavy, there were people out of their cars trying to get some air in the blistering June weather; luckily Freyr had made it to within one mile of the Flat, it wouldn't take long now.

[Ozymandias]

“Just through there,” said Indy as he directed the janitor into his classroom. “Blood on the floor in the second row.” The janitor mumbled something in Spanish. He was a middle-aged man from Mexico who never spoke in English when he didn't need to. Indy turned away from the classroom and walked out of the university with his briefcase. At least a hundred or more students were milling around the front of the university. Crowds were gathering near a pair of ambulances which had pulled up nearby. Indy wandered over and peered curiously. A trio of young students had collapsed on the ground in pools of blood. Paramedics hurriedly picked them up and carried them away. Indy gripped the handle of his briefcase tightly. First the student in his classroom, then his clients, now these students, all vomiting blood. He was now sure it was not a coincidence. He thought it was the heat making people vomit and pass out until he saw the blood. He wondered if it was some sort of flu. He shook his head to himself and ignored the thought. What sort of flu makes you vomit blood? Then he remembered the Spanish Flu. Vomiting blood was very common and that flu had lead to the deaths of tens of millions. The Spanish Flu was long passed by now but Indy couldn't help but wonder if something similar was happening to Atlanta.

A few minutes walk away was the car park he used to shelter his black audi A6. He heard the sounds of coughing nearby in the complex. It could have been far away for all he knew as the car park tended to echo sounds quite well. He clicked the button of his electronic key and sat down in the driver seat, placing the briefcase on the passenger side. The interior was immaculately clean. He turned on the air conditioning and for a moment he sat there and simply enjoyed the cool air. His car was parked on the third storey of the car park and looked out over Atlanta. He couldn't see beyond a few streets due to the amount of tall buildings. He looked down and saw one of the ambulances pull away from the university. He grimaced slightly and decided he needed to call Freyr. He had already decided it was no coincidence that people were falling sick in Atlanta and he wanted to hear her voice. He picked up his phone, flicked through his contacts and tapped 'Freyr'. He was immediately met with a busy signal. He grimaced and tried again a few seconds later. Still nothing. He calmly slid his phone into the mount on the dashboard and tapped his fingers on the wheel.
“She's probably turned it off while she speaks with her client,” he told himself. He turned the key in the ignition and the dashboard lit up. Checking the rear view mirror he slowly reversed out of the parking space into a three point turn and exited the car park. The apartment he shared with Freyr was just under half a mile from the university, only a five minute drive depending on the traffic. He wanted to be there before her to surprise her. Normally she came back to an empty apartment. He couldn't help thinking about the ambulances and the students being carried away.

[Cath]

Freyr had a hard time getting through to the hospital. She had the foresight to keep the reception’s number in her phone, although apparently to some that was a ‘weird’ thing to do. She waited five minutes on hold whilst crawling along the congested road to the flat, but she may as well have not bothered. The woman who picked up the phone seemed so overwhelmed by what was happening on the other side of the desk that Freyr may as well have been draining blood from a stone.

“Atlanta Medical Centre.”

“Hi there, i’ve been asked to come in for jabs…?”

“Yes, come in as soon as possible.” What sounded like a melee was audible in the background. It seemed like hundreds of people all shouting at once.

“Hold on, i didn’t say i wanted them yet. What are they for?”

“Just a precaution ma’am.”

“What are they protecting against? My mother studies pandemics, i know my stuff.” Freyr fibbed. Her mum did actually study dangerous diseases, but she had never taken any notice of her lectures until now. The receptionist started saying something but the line went dead, Freyr tried the number again but gave up when it went straight to voicemail. She went to call Indy but a gap opened up in the traffic and she sped aggressively into it, dropping her phone in her lap. Things outside seemed tense; there were people rushing into shops and others shouting at each other from opposite sides of the street. Slipping as covertly as she could through the lanes of traffic, Freyr sidled up to her destination. The sensor on the windscreen of her Rover made the wrought iron gates of their apartment building’s underground car park slide open noisily; Freyr wasted no time in disappearing inside.

The underground carpark was cool and, for now, empty of most cars. Halogen lighting strips on the ceiling bathed the concrete walls, floors and pillars in an eerie bluish light. Freyr found Indy’s Audi in it’s usual space right next to the elevator door. He must have kicked ass at that archaeological job thing he’d been talking about. Running her hand over the cold bodywork of Indy’s car, Freyr headed into the elevator and picked out their floor. Fourth from the top, floor 27. They'd got the three bedroom apartment for a snip at $490,000. Freyr put it down to the whole building being new. She couldn't wait to feel the wood under her bare feet after a stressful few hours.

[Ozymandias]

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?”

[Cath]

Freyr gazed absently out of the plate glass window as the Elevator sped up to the twenty seventh floor. It granted a view of the University, the prison, the neighbourhoods of south Atlanta. Further beyond that was the sea and beyond that, the Caribbean. Freyr wished she was on the beach right now. Sell four houses a week like father had done and she’d be able to take trips to the bahamas every so often. He’d been right in the middle of mentoring Freyr about the subtle nuances of realty when he’d died of congestive heart failure. Freyr remembered the funeral, with all the crying and sobbed speech making, like it was yesterday. The door pinged open and she turned around into the plush carpeted corridor which led to their flat. A huge bay window on her right extended her view of Georgia as she walked. Flat 2704. Slotting her key into the lock she pushed her way in and inspected it as she always did.

The flat was airy and cool, the fans were working overtime. A jug from the fridge had found it’s way out onto the kitchen island and was now creating a little puddle on the polished granite. She walked a little way in and dropped her bag unceremoniously on the floor, her mouth opened to call Indy but just as she did so his hands hooked around her waist and her call turned into a little sigh/moan. Shimmying round so that they were facing, Freyr batted her eyelids at the tweed suit she hated before looking up at Indy and putting her lips fully and quite satisfyingly against his, arms around his neck. “Of course i did, and i know you missed me.” She said teasingly, wiggling out of his grasp and pouring herself a glass of water. “You’re back early, how was your new work?” She asked, heading over to the shower room as she said that. Noise travelled ridiculously far and they often made a joke of having conversations while in opposite sides of the flat.

Closing the door but not locking it, Freyr quickly stripped down and hopped in the shower, turning the water on full and freezing cold. Another of the supposedly 'strange' things about her daily routine. Hot water in the morning, cold water after work. It applied to everything: drinking water, shower water. You name it. Hot water kept her buzzing whereas cold water relaxed and unwound her. It was certainly hot enough outside to warrant it, sweat had gathered on her brow and under her arms.

[Ozymandias]

Indy gazed quietly at Freyr for a moment before she broke free of his embrace. He smiled when she teased him. He leaned against the kitchen counter and watched her as she wandered away into the shower. He picked up her bag from the floor and placed it on the counter near the jug of water. Indy was a perfectionist and liked everything to be neat and tidy; which carried over into his archaeology as he often spent hours brushing dust and sand and dirt from neolithic artefacts or classical pottery finds.

“Things were a little strange today,” he replied to Freyr's question. “One of my students started hacking up blood during the lecture, then both of my clients cancelled claiming to be sick – John said one of them was coughing up blood too – then two ambulances were parked outside the university taking students away. I don't know what's going on.” The thought of Spanish Flu came in to his mind again. “How've you been today? Did you sell that house?”

He decided to change out of his tweed suit and into something cooler and more comfortable. He wandered into their bedroom and withdrew a simple white t-shirt which displayed his arms, and a pair of beige shorts. The heat was suddenly a lot more bearable. Wandering back to the kitchen he cupped his hands under the stream of cold water from the tap and splashed his face. He gasped as the cold water hit him and immediately felt more refreshed. As he dried his face with a kitchen towel he considered joining Freyr in the shower. She'd probably be done by now though, he told himself. He withdrew a book on neolithic Britain from his briefcase and collapsed onto the living room settee while he waited for Freyr.

[Cath]

Freyr stopped dead in the shower when she heard Indy's words from the living room. It had been a little distorted because her head had been under the shower head but she could have sworn he'd said 'coughing up blood.' Normally that wouldn't have fazed her, all of the professors had appeared rather weedy and anemic characters when Freyr had visited with Indy a few days ago. But her mind flashed back to Mr Goldschmitt spitting that bulb of crimson blood onto the patio earlier on and her spine tingled. Was it worth consulting Indy with? Freyr pouted and decided no. He'd only worry and tell her never to see them again or something. She brought her mind back to the present. "Good. They liked it, no checkbook yet though. Remind me to call Mr Ross about his listing as well; he wants me to sell his delightful country house outside Riverdale." Freyr called. She turned off the shower and stepped delicately out onto the purple shag shower mat. In typical meticulous fashion she dried herself with a similarly fluffy towel before wrapping it round herself and heading back out again.

The flat was now deliciously cool thanks to their noiseless fans but a closeness remained in the air. Freyr padded into their master bedroom. "We should get lodgers or something. We have two bedrooms empty and it's not like your parents ever visit. Could probably charge about $800 a month each too." She said idly, the noise carrying effortlessly through to the living room. "Might be fun." Throwing her towel on the bed, Freyr slipped into some tight jeans and an airy white t-shirt with a printed logo for 'Stack Paper & Co' on the breast. She grinned, it had been a present from a hip-hop artist she'd sold a house to and she loved it. She looked out of the window briefly but did a double take. An apartment block a couple of miles away had gouts of flame escaping through the windows of the top floor. She could hear the siren of a fire engine as it raced to the scene, past their Block. "Shit, what's happening today..." Freyr mumbled to herself as she turned and walked back out into the main area. "There's a building on fire, down Washington Park way." She remarked, gesturing back over her shoulder as she re-emerged. Plucking a chicken salad out of the fridge along with a bottle of Vitamin Water, she came and snuggled up next to Indy on the settee.

"What do you feel like doing, now that we're both flunking off work so early in the afternoon?" Freyr grinned, grabbing the remote control off the oak coffee table she'd recently purchased with her foot and turning the TV onto the last channel it had visited. The news.

[Ozymandias]

Indy looked up from his book and glanced over to the nearest window as he heard the sound of a series of sirens passing by at what seemed like great speed. It didn't strike him as odd however. They were in the centre of Atlanta and the emergency services buildings were only a few blocks from the apartment. He returned to his book and continued reading about Turkdean barrow near Hazleton. He planned on re-reading the book over the next couple of days to refresh his mental notes. It wouldn't look very responsible of him to his students for him to have forgotten what he was supposed to be teaching them after all. At that moment he was reading about the local folklore he had talked about less than an hour ago, with the local populace at Turkdean claiming that there was a golden coffin or chest buried in one of the cysts. Had Turkdean barrow been constructed by the Saxons, who took great pride in being buried with the most expensive and extravagant items that they may be used in the afterlife – particularly treasures like gold and jewels –, this theory might have been more plausible. A neolithic barrow was less likely to contain such opulent finds, however it was not entirely implausible. Had it been a palaeolithic barrow such a claim to have a solid gold coffin buried there would have been impossible.

He heard Freyr talking from the bedroom and caught the words 'lodgers', 'parents' and 'eight hundred dollars'. In truth he wouldn't be comfortable sharing his home with strangers no matter how much they paid. Considering the amount of money the apartment cost should anything be damaged it would cost more to repair it than their rent would cover. He wasn't concerned about his possessions being tampered with or pilfered however as his most sentimentally valuable possessions were kept in his office at the university; as Freyr apparently wasn't keen on having eight thousand year old pieces of Egyptian pottery or neolithic stone tools decorating the apartment. His finds were sentimentally invaluable to him however and he would have happily filled his home with them. As ever he was tolerant and went with what Freyr wanted. “We probably could,” he replied.

He looked up from his book and smiled as Freyr sat next to him on the settee. She'd changed into more casual clothes and her hair was still slightly wet.
“Hey,” he said they sat closer together. He gave her a soft peck on the cheek and absently stroked her hand.

“I don't mind. I'm happy to do whatever you want.”

[Cath]

As Indy withdrew the kiss from her face, Freyr looked at him as he stared absently out of the huge bay windows overlooking the Financial centre of Atlanta. He hadn’t liked her suggestion about lodgers and now she could tell he was thinking about his day. She hadn’t heard much of it with the shower on full blast, but she gathered enough to realize that it had him shaken. Freyr thought what her options were: she could be a good girlfriend and talk it out with him, eke out every last detail then persuade him that he was being silly and that he should try and forget about it. Or she could be a great girlfriend and take his mind off it completely, the way to do that being…

Freyr looked at him again as the news blared out in the background. They hadn’t had sex for over a week now; they’d both been busy with work and stuff. Indy did look dashing in those beige shorts she hated. The loud pitter patter of rain as it began appearing on the bay windows brought her back to the present. At least that apartment fire would be easier to put out now. Indy made some inane comment about the weather which tipped Freyr over the edge. Pushing the book on Neolithic Britain out of his hands and onto the floor, Freyr discarded her food and straddled Indy on the sofa, arms around his neck and back arched. “I know what we can do…” she kissed him.

[fade to black, Ozy feel free to IC both before and after the fade should you wish.]

Freyr opened her eyes to darkness. Getting drunk in the early afternoon is always a bad idea because you never get through the whole night. She guessed it was maybe four AM, two and a half hours til sunrise. A tiny waxing crescent moon shedding barely any light. Her head hurt, who’s idea had it been to open the scotch that Indy’s dad had gifted to them three christmases ago? Beyond the subtle nuances of Indy’s breathing, she could hear movement and sound in the corridor outside their apartment. It was difficult to tell but the tone of the various voices seemed like they were more than a little stressed out. Freyr sat up, the covers falling off a little. Where the hell were her clothes? “Indy.” she whispered, laying back down and putting her arms around him like a child grabs their teddy bear.

[Ozymandias]

Indy intertwined his fingers with Freyr's as they cuddled on the settee. He wondered about all the students at the university. Over a thousand students went there and they were rapidly falling sick. He wondered if it was some airborne flu, or if it was passed by physical contact, whatever it was. Then it began to rain. The glass window became a blur of running water and Indy came back to his senses. He enjoyed the rain. He loved the sound of it tapping on the windows at night. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Freyr staring at him. As he turned to looked at her she knocked the book of his hand and within a moment was on top of him. He'd forgotten all about the day's worries when she began kissing him. He'd been so busy with lectures and research all week he didn't realise how much he had wanted her until this moment.

[fade to black]

Half of Indy's body was exposed to the cool night air while the other was covered by the duvet. For an academic his body was relatively well toned. His profession as a field archaeologist kept him fit and healthy. He had always been one of the more keen and physical archaeologists compared to his colleagues at the university. Their clothes were littered around the bedroom floor and the bedroom door hadn't been properly closed. The intense bright lights of downtown night time Atlanta crept partially through the closed blinds. His eyes opened slowly as he felt Freyr sit up. She whispered his name and he felt her arms around him. He then heard the voices and movement in the corridor.
“Probably nothing,” he whispered back and closed his eyes again. He ran his hand over Freyr's bare body for a moment as they cuddled. He turned on his side to spoon with her when he heard banging on one of the doors in the corridor. It was growing increasingly louder. If this morning had been Saturday morning he would have put it down do drunkards coming home after Friday night drinking. What was going on?

[Cath]

Shivers ran down Freyr’s spine as Indy’s cold hand moved down her boiling hot body. The fans had been working overtime to make everything cool but she had a habit of making a nest for herself in and among the bedcovers which preserved heat. It often meant stealing the duvet from the man sleeping next to her but that was a sacrifice she was willing to make. He turned on his side and gathered her up in a spoon and for a moment Freyr buried her head in her pillow and tried to block out the sound of frantic voices from outside and feel safe again, but the noise got increasingly loud over a period of minutes until she couldn’t bare it. If Indy wasn’t going to find out what was going on, she would.

Gently squirming out Indy’s vice like grip, Freyr shimmied towards the precipice of their king bed and put her feet on the cool wooden floor. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the half light of their bedroom and she picked out items of their clothing scattered everywhere. Instead of going through the palava of fitting into her tight jeans Freyr grabbed a pair of Indy’s boxer shorts and a short silver silk dressing gown and left the room. The hallway looked a lot scarier by night. The experimental artworks on the walls left strange shapes which seemed to move and shift in the moonlight. The sculptures which hid in corners and crannies left horrific shadows that kept Freyr’s pace slow and steady.

She reached the kitchenette and main open space. The stairway that led to their two guest rooms was shrouded in darkness and the breakfast counter was a mess. A half empty Scotch bottle beside two empty tumblers the figurehead beside opened crisp packets and other rubbish. The noise had escalated to various banging, scraping. Freyr couldn’t make out what they were saying but she heard the familiar squeak of wheeled suitcases. Unlatching their door and pulling it open slightly, Freyr saw a family she’d never seen before banging on the flat next door. A man, a woman and two little girls. “Tiana! Open up right now, it’s your sister!” The woman shouted as she pounded furiously away. Freyr decided to reveal herself, they could use her help. Stepping over the threshold with her arms loosely crossed she called softly out to them. “Hey. May i ask whats up?”

They all whirled round towards her. The man, who was closest, couldn’t help but hungrily eye up the slices of body that had slipped out from between the silk curtains of Freyr’s dressing gown. The woman abandoned her knocking of next door and rushed her, throwing her arms distraughtly around Freyr, tears streaming down her face. “My sister, she won’t answer the door! We need to get out of the city.” Freyr was shocked by the woman’s tears and hesitantly returned the strangers hug. Over her shoulder, Freyr gave the man a ‘help me out’ face and he obliged. “We’re leaving the city, had a phone conversation with Tiana and hour or so ago but she isn’t answering the door.” At this point the woman peeled herself away from the door, recovering a bit but still distraught, and resumed banging on the door.

“Why are you leaving Atlanta?”

“You haven’t noticed yet? There’s something going on out there, we’re not sure what but i think it’s best if we get out for a few days. Til things blow over. Freyr looked behind her and found Indy in the threshold of their flat, just as there was a banging from the other side of Tiana’s door. From inside. The woman jumped away like she’d seen a ghost, but the banging continued.

[Ozymandias]

Indy tried patiently to block out the sound of whoever it was banging on the neighbour's door. With Freyr in his arms there could have been a war going on outside and he wouldn't have moved from that spot. A fact which, unknown to him at the time, would be tested soon. He kissed the back of her neck and was moments away from dropping back off to sleep when he heard her sigh frustratedly and get up.

“Ignore it, Frey,” he mumbled lethargically. In truth he hadn't expected her to come back to bed, so he propped himself up on an elbow and watched her bare form moving in the semi-darkness. The banging continued in the corridor. When he heard Freyr's voice he shot out of bed. They didn't know who was in the corridor, whoever it was sounded pretty violent, and she had just opened the door to their home to them. He dressed himself in an olive t-shirt and long dark trousers with deep pockets and pouches. He wandered out of the bedroom and walked swiftly to the front door where he saw Freyr in a silver dressing gown. He relaxed slightly when he saw that she was talking to a woman and not a violent man. He stood beside her and saw a family in the corridor. Putting his arm around Freyr's waist he asked them “Everything alright?” in a tone which meant 'Why are you banging that door like a steel drum?'. The woman looked petrified with tears streaming down her face. The children looked startled by their mother but were otherwise quiet. The man was silent and open mouthed. Indy realised this was because he was leering at Freyr who had nothing on underneath her gown. Reaching further around her waist from behind he gently pulled the two sides of the gown together and held them there to cover her abdomen and her almost exposed chest. He cleared his throat loudly and the man looked up at him and froze. His eyes fluttered and he stumbled with his words.

“I, uh... we've come... My wife's sister is...”

“Why are you leaving Atlanta?” asked Freyr. The woman mentioned something about strange things happening in the city. Indy wondered if she meant people passing out in the street and vomiting blood. They'd have to have bad hypochondria to flee the city simply because of that however. He remembered the fire that Freyr had mentioned the night before. Then he remembered the sirens and the ambulances. While those things were relatively common in the downtown area of a big city like Atlanta, Indy thought they would be too much of a coincidence to not be related to the sick students he had seen.

“... Till things blow over,” had been the only thing he'd heard. He'd missed the rest of what she had said. What was going on outside? He'd have put the fires and sirens down to some sort of riot, but that didn't explain people coughing up blood. Then he heard banging on the door again, this time from the inside. Indy and Freyr looked at each other briefly. The woman began calling out for her sister more frantically. There was no reply except for louder and more violent banging along with the occasional guttural noise or low groan.

[Cath]

For a moment, everyone was silent. The only noise along the corridor seemed to be the ululations of Tiana behind the door. Freyr had never heard anything quite like it before; she sounded almost animalistic behind the choking and moaning that was going on. The woman whirled round and grabbed her husband. "We need to knock the door down, she's dying in there!" For a moment the man was unsure, but he could see the look on the woman's face and there was no way he could refuse. He began eyeing up the door. They had been designed to put prettiness before function and wouldn't prove too much of a challenge. The wails of Tiana increased in pitch slightly as the man committed to an initial investigative barge against the frame. "Tiana, get away from the door! We're coming in!" Freyr realized that no one had called the emergency services yet. Tiana was obviously in pain. Wiggling free of Indy's protective grip she spun round and looked him in the eye. "Help him. I'm going to get changed and call 911." With a quick kiss she was off, leaving the door to their flat open as the man launched another assault on the door.

Freyr wouldn't admit it openly, but the noises coming from next door scared her. She needed a moment to compose herself before dialing 911. In the year or so that they had lived in this flat, she thought, they'd spoken to Tiana perhaps a dozen times before inviting her over for dinner. She had been an attractive lady, in her odd sort of way, with her short raven hair and incessant jokes. As the phone rang Freyr padded through into the bedroom and seeing as she'd only worn them for a few hours before getting them ripped off her, she retrieved her tight jeans and Stack Paper t-shirt and put them back on. Leaving the dressing gown and Indy's boxers on the bed. The phone didn't stop ringing. It went on and on, Freyr initially sat on the bed but got up impatiently and as she walked back into the hall an automated message responded. "Helo. We are currently experiencing a large volume of calls. We are working hard to get to you, but please be advised to keep roads and freeways clear and stay indoors for the duration of this situation." The message repeated. "What situation..." Freyr mumbled, just as the sound of splintering wood and a shattering scream erupted from the hallway.

[Ozymandias]

A low groan emanated from within the apartment, followed by a series of bangs and thuds. Some were lethargic knocks and others were violent kicks. Tiana, a woman Indy had only met once or twice from what he could remember, was unable to string together a coherent sentence. The only sounds she made were gargles or groans. Indy wondered if she had gone in to some kind of fit or seizure. He watched as the man half-heartedly threw his weight into the door. He stumbled back each time and rubbed his arm. He sighed and groaned in frustration. Indy knew this man would probably break his arm before getting the door open. The moans from within the apartment rose higher in volume and became more aggressive with each futile barge of the door. Indy was reluctant to help as he knew that any damaged caused to the door would have to be paid by the person who caused it. Had he known at that moment the state that the city – and soon to be the entire country – was in he wouldn't have thought twice about such things. As far as he was concerned at that moment there was some rioting in the city, a strange flu going around and Tiana was having some sort of fit.

“Help him,” was all Indy heard Freyr say before she kissed him and wandered off into the apartment. Normally he would have allowed the family to take care of their own business – not that he didn't care, he just wasn't sure if he should interfere – but now Freyr had asked him. And he'd walk on broken glass for her (provided he was wearing shoes). He stepped out into the corridor and silently placed a hand on the man's shoulder. He looked up at him with a pained look on his face and panted. Indy wasn't exactly a navy seal but he understood how momentum worked well enough. As he lifted his right leg he leaned back slightly, then leaned forwards again as his leg straightened and connected with the door so that his centre of mass was over his balancing leg and the momentum carried through into the kick. His foot connected just below the door handle. The corridor shook from the shock as the lock was forced through the wood of the door frame. The bottom hinge of the door had broken and was hanging lamely in the air. Indy grunted to himself and grit his teeth hard. Why on earth had he done that bare footed? His momentary pain was forgotten a moment later however when he saw Tiana on her back on the floor. He took a step forward and was about to apologise profusely when he noticed a huge pool of blood near the door and several other smaller pools a few feet away. Tiana was pale. Her dark hair was a matted mess and her peach coloured pyjamas were torn and wet with blood. Indy remembered the students at the university again. They had been a sickly pale colour too.

Indy was half way through the motion of offering his hand to Tiana to help her to her feet when she began snarling and gnashing her teeth. She rose to her feet lethargically and shambled towards him. This reminded him of a television series he used to watch with Freyr. They used to have conversations about how a thing like that might happen in the real world and how they would survive if it did. They always laughed it off. Such a thing was impossible after all. The only thing Indy could think of doing at the time was to reach quickly into the apartment, grasp the handle of the door which was barely hanging on one hinge and close it with such a force that it made the breach sound like a gentle knock. The mother shouted something incoherent and tried in vain to pull Indy away from the door.

“Keep your children safe,” said Indy to the man. Banging on the door resumed from the otherwise. Indy had to hold the door shut now that the lock was broken. If he let go Tiana would shamble in the corridor and while he wasn't sure if she was actually dangerous – she certainly sounded dangerous – he was main thing between Tiana and Freyr and he wasn't going to move until he figured out what to do. At that moment however he didn't have a clue.

[Cath]

Freyr was petrified. What could have happened? She heard Indy yell for the man to 'keep your children safe' and that confounded her even more. She could only surmise that the banging on the other side of the door, the growling, now these alarmed cries meant Tiana was for some reason being inordinately violent. The emergency services weren’t going to be able to help so action would have to be swift and decisively enacted. Putting the house phone down gently on the breakfast counter, Freyr crossed the room and grabbed an art deco metal vase from a cabinet by the stairwell. She hefted it in her hand and felt the reassuring weight of it before

Steeling herself, Freyr rushed back into the corridor where a cacophony of sound had long since shattered the relative calm. The first thing she noticed was that several other people had emerged from their flats and were staring dumbly at her. Putting them out of her mind for now, she ran up behind Indy and showed she was there with a quick tap from the metal vase. “What’s happening?” She asked the group, who didn’t seem to know. “She’s sick, we need to help her!” The woman cried, trying again to peel Indy away from the door. The door, Freyr noticed, had been kicked in and now hung loosely from one hinge. Through the gap that had appeared Freyr could see frenzied movement.

“What the hell is she doing?”

[Ozymandias]

The door continuously opened and was repeatedly slammed shut as Indy fought against Tiana's untiring assault. He looked at the unnamed man again who scurried away to collect his children. He moved them to the edge of the stairwell and grasped his wife's arm. “She's already gone,” was the only thing he said. The woman cried in anguish again. Despite her attempts to pull Indy away from the door she eventually gave up and was lead away by her husband. Indy guessed that whatever had happened to Tiana had happened to other people and the family had seen it happen. 'Gone'? Indy wondered what the man meant. Gone insane? That seemed apparent. He wasn't going to stand there and ponder the situation however. He needed to do something. He couldn't just run in there and attack Tiana, he figured, that would practically be murder. If he knew then what Tiana had turned in to he wouldn't have hesitated. He wished he hadn't broken the door.

It was then that Indy noticed the rest of the corridor had emerged to see what was happening. The shaking walls from the force of the breach had probably gotten them more than a bit frustrated and confused. At that time they knew as little about what was going on as Indy and Freyr. Freyr herself had appeared at his side with a metal vase in her hand. The whole scene probably looked very strange to the onlookers.

“Something's very wrong,” said Indy unnecessarily. “Go back inside,” he called out to the spectators. Some of them were more than a bit startled and immediately fled into their apartments. Others were either more sceptical or were simply being awkward. They hung around in the corridor. “Turn on your TVs, look out your window, something's wrong with Atlanta,” had been the last thing he had said at that moment. He didn't know what they'd see out of the window or on the TV but he assumed they'd see something. The pugnacious onlookers had stolen Indy's concentration and in his momentarily lapse of attention Tiana had wrenched the door open. Indy grabbed Freyr by the arm and moved her behind him. What was once Tiana, now a bloody mess of torn clothes and pallid flesh, stumbled lethargically towards the stubborn residents who were now paralysed with indecision.

[Cath]

Upon seeing the wreck that seemed intent on advancing menacingly on them burst through the door, the corridor descended into chaos. For some reason a lot of people didn't think going back inside their apartments was a good idea, so instead they milled around, both struggling to get a better look at Tiana whilst trampling people to get away. Freyr looked about her but couldn't find the couple with their two children in the melee. Tiana had reached where they stood and began throwing herself on Indy, who managed to keep her at arms length. Freyr couldn't handle it. What did she do? What was she supposed to do. Her once charming and outgoing neighbor had turned into a... rabid beast who was now trying to bite a chunk out of her boyfriend with bloodstained teeth. She felt a hand grab at the metal vase in her hand and then it was gone from her grasp and she looked round and it was Tiana's sister who hefted it over her head and brought it crashing down on Tiana's head.

The zombie fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, hitting her head hard on the floor. Tiana's sister blubbed visibly, dropping the metal vase with a muffled clang on the carpeted floor. Freyr pushed her head into her bosom and let her cry it out, motioning for Indy to get rid of the body. Everything had gone quiet; all along the hall residents were halted in their tracks to watch as Tiana was dragged back inside her flat. Looking around, Freyr motioned for the man and their two sniveling children to follow her back into their apartment. He nodded slowly. Almost dragging the sobbing mum with her as she seemed incapable of movement on her own, she sat her down in the living area where she was joined by her family. Getting them all a drink from her jug of water, Freyr sat down beside the woman and hugged her because her man seemed like he'd gone into shock and wasn't going anywhere.

[Ozymandias]

Indy reacted purely on reflex. He had no clue what to do, no idea how to handle this situation. He wasn't going to attack Tiana. For all he knew it was a momentary madness that would pass. The onlookers screamed in panic. Some withdrew to their homes and others stood there dumbly. Indy shouted something incoherent which drew Tiana's attention. He didn't know why he did it, his vocal chords acted of their own will. The bloodied young woman stumbled towards him, arms outstretched, and grabbed him by the shoulders. Her grip was violent and painful. Indy grunted and grit his teeth as Tiana edged closer to him. He refused to harm her, his sense of honour dictating a man should never harm a woman; a fact which very nearly cost Indy his life in that corridor. He struggled against her to push her back into her apartment. He'd lock her in her bathroom – that was his plan – she'd be safe in there. He'd barricade the door with an arm chair or something like that. He grunted and pushed back against Tiana's unnatural strength. She was far stronger than she looked and despite Indy's effort she was going no where. One of his arms was on her shoulder, keeping her at length, with the other trying desperately to fend off her flailing arms. Freyr was standing there with the vase in her hand. Indy knew she wanted to help but was struck with the same conflict he was. Neither of them wanted to hurt Tiana. The bloodied young woman snarled viciously and knocked Indy's arms out of the way. There was nothing separating them now. She fell forward towards him as he raised his arms in a futile effort to push her away. Her gnashing teeth were less than a centimetre away from his throat. Thud. A brief wail emanated from Tiana as she fell to the ground. Her head had suddenly split open. Fractured bone protruded from an open wound and crimson liquid flooded out like a stream. Indy looked at Freyr who had moved away. She wasn't holding the vase. Thud. The vase dropped next to Indy's bare feet. He looked down and moved back just in time to avoid the pooling blood from touching him. At his side he saw Tiana's sister collapse to her knees. She had just killed her sister and saved Indy.

In a blur of movement Freyr gathered the woman and her family and moved them from the corridor into their apartment. Indy simply nodded when he was told to hide Tiana's body. He glanced along the corridor for a moment. Those few people too stubborn to go into their homes were still stood dumbly, staring. Indy waved his hands in a shrug. He didn't know what to say. He doubted many people would in that situation. He stepped over Tiana and checked the inside of her apartment to make sure she was alone. It was clear. He knew there was no one there – if anyone else had been in the apartment in the same condition as Tiana they would have come stumbling through the doorway along with her – but it didn't hurt to check. He lifted her up slowly by the waist. Her head was still streaming blood on the carpet. He had to fight back the reflex to retch. He carried her to the centre of the apartment, unsure where would be suitable to leave her, and lay her on a small rug near her dining table. He gathered the blanket from her bed and covered her body with it. It seemed like the respectful thing to do. He gently pulled the door by the practically shattered handle, it closed with a gentle thud against the wooden frame. The white door was streaked and decorated with red marks. That was when he looked down at his hands and realised he was covered in blood. He didn't bother to look at the spectators again. No doubt they were still there, dumbly staring. Freyr had taken the family into their apartment. Indy looked at her silently for a moment before going in to the kitchen to wash his hands. Red water disappeared into the drain. Indy scrubbed with soap to get the last of the blood from under his nails.

“Is everyone alright?” he asked before he could stop himself. He gritted his teeth as the woman looked up at him. He knew the answer before he'd asked the question. He moved over to the TV and switched on the national news.

“Panic spread nationwide after a leaked report from the World Health Organisation declared that the initial vaccination tests had failed.” Indy flicked to the local news channel.

“... The number of confirmed deaths has passed two hundred,” said a woman on the news. “The Governor has called a state of emergency...”