"What if it wasn't a mistake?" Said Jane.

"Excuse me?"

"You have a thing that can reanimate the dead and possibly make the living stronger, faster,-" She stopped and restarted: "Okay, I'm gonna rephrase that. This parasite could potentially have medical and military applications, but after twenty years you are pretty much where you started. What if somebody else asked the same question Karen did? Someone with a weakened immune system got willingly infected with the parasite, and suddenly they found themselves smarter or whatever... And then they left the lab, and the parasite spread."

"Well, on second thought... Maybe didn't get that much smarter. "
This message was last edited by the player at 06:50, Mon 04 May 2009.

"'Almost impossible.'  You said it's 'almost impossible' to be accidentally infected with the parasite.  And since it takes a little while for the infection to show, someone who is infected could leave the lab none the wiser, and start infecting others." Nephi started to get a little heated.  "Furthermore, since we're dealing with an outbreak, either the lab's security protocols failed somewhere, or this was a deliberate release.  Either way, lots of people are dead, and lots more are going to die before this is over - one way or another.  Heck, before we figured out how to kill them, we came close a couple of times - Karen there is only alive because I was blessed with a gift."

"So as long as we're healthy, we could get bit by one of those things out there and be fine? Is that what you're saying." Monica shook her head. "I'm sorry Doc, but I'm not buying it. The Reverend said Eddie's entire precinct is dead. The average cop is healthy and physically fit. I think this bug's already affecting more than just those with weak immune systems."

A look of sadness crossed Allan's face as he watched his wife retreat once more into her own world. The knowledge that Xynthia's madness protected her, provided him with very little comfort. He kissed her hand and stood up. "Get some rest. I'll be nearby should you need anything."

Karen smiled at Nephi and kissed his cheek.

"My knight in a shining armor... But, if Monica is right, and the parasite is affecting healthy people, haven't we all been exposed? Is anybody feeling sick?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Mon 04 May 2009.

"Doc says it's a parasite, Karen, not a virus. I think we still need to be bitten for it to pass from one of them to one of us. Geoff's the only who got bit, right? And Nephi took care of that." Monica sat back in her chair. "If this thing goes airborne, like a virus, we might as well put our heads between our legs and kiss our asses goodbye."
This message was last edited by unknown at 20:18, Mon 04 May 2009.

After checking to make sure that the front door was still secure, Allan picked up the shotgun and returned to the dining room. He placed the shotgun along the wall, near the doorway that separated the dining room from the living room. He picked up his wife's unfinished wine, and poured more into the glass. He took a drink as he silently observed the ongoing conversation.

"Oh hell" said Hector, as he nearly choked on the last bite of his meager helping of the meal, "You mentioned a 'military oversight' didn't you, doc? Could the military have gotten its hands on a sample of your parasite? 'Cause if you're swearing blind that your lab has nothing to do with this....... "
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:23, Thu 07 May 2009.

"They most certainly did: not long after I left, the whole laboratory was in their hands. The more recent group was based in a different facility entirely." The doctor unconsciously rapped his fingers on the table, troubled by the implications.

Nephi blushed bright red from Karen kissing his cheek, and completely forgot what he was going to say.

"Are you thinking that somebody might've been messin' around with this to use as a weapon, or make some kind of super soldier?" Monica asked Hector. "I guess we should never underestimate the government's ability to screw things up. That's our tax dollars at work." She let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, if the military's got any hand in what happened, I'm sure they've already gone into cover-their-ass mode. We'll probably never learn what really happened. Keep that in mind when you hear any word from official sources." Monica was suddenly struck by a thought. "We should turn on the news. They may be lying about what set this off, but at least we'd get an idea of how wide spread it is. Doc, do you have a radio or TV?"

"Now, now!" Admonished Mrs. S: "You are not thinking about leaving the table halfway through lunch, are you? Whatever news may be on, I'm sure they will keep airing them for the next half hour."

"Mrs. S, I swear if I eat another bite, you'll need a crane to get me outta this chair." Monica smiled at the older woman. "Lunch was great, really. We can't thank you enough. I just need to check the news real quick, and then I'll come back and help you with the dishes."

Monica stepped into the other room and turned the TV on, keeping the volume low. She flipped through the channels of static, infomercials, and reruns. She paused on a channel showing a news set. The camera was at an odd angel, and the set was completely empty, as if it had suddenly been abandoned in mid-broadcast. "That can't be good," Monica muttered to herself. Finally, she found a national news report. Chaos seemed to be erupting all over the world.

Allan followed Monica into the other room and watched the news broadcasts. Shaking his head, he said, "It's spreading much faster than I expected. The Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, didn't see fit to show me when things would start." His voice was filled with bitterness. "The city isn't going to be safe. Too many people. We need to get away from the populated areas, and we need to leave soon, before the roads become congested."

After he finished eating lunch, and thanked Mrs S. for her efforts, Nephi drew the Reverend aside and asked "I hope you don't mind indulging my curiosity, but I wonder, why did you Bless only the water?"

Allan was staring at the TV screen when Nephi approached him. He turned to face the younger man, but the pastor seemed distracted by other thoughts. "What? The blessing?" Nephi's question finally registered with him. "Because it was enough to just bless the water."

Allan walked back to the dining room, where most of the group was still gathered. "This is rapidly going to get worse, much worse. Staying in the city, surrounded by a dense population, is not going to be safe. Fort Monroe is a few hours from here. It has solid concrete walls, surrounded by water. It's a good, defensible location, and we may find supplies there -- weapons, food, first aid. But there is the risk that the parasite is already running amok through the military population that is based there."

"Another option would be to head for the mountains and get away from the infected. We'd have clean mountain water, and plenty of fish and small game that we could live off of indefinitely. I have a vehicle already prepped and ready to go. We could be there in less than a day."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Monroe

Geoff steeled himself, "I'd agree with you, Reverend, we need to do something and soon." he paused uncomfortably, "Every fibre of my body says run and hide, but I swore to serve and protect the people of this city."

he swallowed hard, "Now, admittedly, I've not done a good job of it thus far, but this isn't the same world as yesterday. I'm going to try to find some sort of authority, Fort Monroe is a good idea and see if we can fight this think, or at least save as many as we can. I appreciate that lots of you have other priorities and I respect that."

He instictively touched his badge, something he'd always considered as a meal ticket, "It's time to start earning this."

Xynthia stretched and rose from the couch, looking at Geoff like a curious cat: "That is very heroic and all but... By this time tomorrow, there won't be that many people left to save."

"You might be right, which is why if we're going to do something, we need to start soon." he replied to Xynthia, "Boss," he looked over at Eddie, "what are your orders?"

Eddie rubbed his cheek in thought, then started in a dubious tone: "I think our first priority should be to keep as many people alive as possible, which means finding those who are still alive and bringing them to a safe place. 'Course, we need to find one of those first. We need ammo, plenty of it, those damn things just shrug them off."

He sighed and paused for a second before continuing: "And I think we must do anything we can to stay alive: there are many good cops who are dead, but no dead cops who are good."

"Agreed, Sir," Geoff repiled, "so, what options do we have? We'll need guns, ammo and some form of protected transports, of course, a secure area too. I'm getting hazy on my geography here, what choices do we have? Fort Monroe is one and it sounds good, but are there others?"

"Monroe is a six-sided stone fort, completely surrounded by a moat. Assuming the place isn't already over-run with infected, it could offer some protection from the outside world. It's an active army base, so there are a lot of soldiers and their families stationed there. Which means, they could've already been compromised by the parasite. If we go there, we'll want to be prepared to run into a lot of infected."

"The other option I can see, is to head to the mountains and get away from the spreading plague. There are resources in the Appalachians that could sustain us for a long time." Allan shrugged. "Those are the best options I can think of, but I'm open to any ideas the rest of you may have, as long as we make a choice quickly."

"As for transportation. I have a vehicle already stocked and ready to go. It might be a little tight with a group of this size, but I think we can make it work. Xynthia and I can go get it and be back shortly."

Nephi broke in "You might want to Bless your weapon before we go anywhere Reverand.  I Blessed my rapier, and it worked wonders against the infected.  Didn't need to hit them in the spine, but a spine hit was much easier to finish them.  As for transportation, my car's outside, and so is their police cruiser.  And I've got some fencing equipment in the trunk for anyone else who needs a little protection."

Allan nodded at Nephi. "Already taken care of." After checking his ammo, Allan turned toward Xynthia. "Time to go, sweetheart." Gun in hand, he unlocked the door and opened it just enough to see if the street was clear.

Xynthia stretched one last time, put on the shoes she had taken off as she was laying down to get some rest, and waved friendly at Mrs. S, looking quietly at them from the dining room threshold: "Right-o. Doc, Mrs S, thank you for a wonderful lunch and a great time. Now, let's go get home."

As soon as Xynthia and Allan left, the others locked the door behind them.