The Reckoning

Your boots are soaked. The cold feels like it's seeping into your bones. A shiver passes over your body. You've been walking for hours in the rain. You want to stop, but you know you can't. You have to get home to Maisie and Eli. They're probably scared. They're not answering the phone. You hope their doors are locked. Your car is abandoned on the highway, about three hours behind you. The traffic, pileups, and fires completely block the main arteries of the city. Side roads are all you have left. The street feels eerily quiet. The lawns are well kept but nobody seems home. In a few weeks everything will start to degrade, but for now, the only giveaway is the lack of people. The infection went airborne in the middle of a Wednesday. Kids in school, parents at work. The occasional stay-at-home parent or retiree is probably hiding behind closed curtains, waiting for things to "blow over". They won't.