Author's Note
: This is a work of fiction; any similarity to persons living or dead is coincidental. The locations in this story reference real places, but are primarily imagined. All characters are over the age of 18.
The Story So Far
: This recounts events in a small Pennsylvania town infected with some mysterious plague, possibly with origins beyond Earth, as well as the scientists trying to cure the disease. The illness creates a strong desire for sexual contact, but the vast majority of people die at the point of orgasm, and quickly become consumed by crystalline structures. Most recently Katherine and Thorvald attempted to have sex in the portable shelter, but were observed and stopped by the team at HQ. Meanwhile Carl and Ruth are attempting to escape the infected town, while Melissa continues to rule the roost inside the High School. The scientists have at last been able to get some samples into their possession to begin study and analysis.
>>> Flashback to Day 1, late morning
It should have been terrifying. It
would
have been mortifying if they hadn't been laughing so hard.
Katherine had gotten back into her clothes, with Thorvald still bursting out in random cackles as he did the same.
"They must have had quite a show," she said.
"This situation is nuts. I don't know what's going on, but it's scary, it's crazy, and goddam if
you
aren't the sexiest thing that's ever happened to me."
"Thing?"
"You know what I mean. But what's weird is, I was feeling it for Melissa inside, but it was twisted somehow. It made me feel sick. With you this was... just... exciting!"
"You falling in love, then?"
"God I hope not."
"Finish buttoning up your pants there, Thor. I'm going to call this lady back."
She toggled the uplink switch. "Um. Hi. Remote shelter calling in, I guess. Anyone there?"
The green light came back on, the small video screen blinked on.
"Copy, shelter, CC online. Please hold."
There was a pause and then a woman's face came into view. She was older. Forties or fifties. She was striking, in a way. High cheekbones, a hard, fierce expression.
"Who am I speaking with, please?"
"I'm Katherine, this is Thorvald," Katherine said. "Kath and Thor."
"Ah, you're the one who went out and checked on my team?"
"Oh, yes, that's right Ma'am."
"And I think you found some of the infants?"
"Yes, I did find a few."
"Good work Katherine. I'm Dr. McKinnon. I'm supporting a team of scientists who are trying to ascertain what's going on. I realize you may be embarrassed, but as you have probably realized, this illness has a tendency to result in unintended sexual situations. Please put that behind you. However, as you
also
realize, such situations are lethal. It's
imperative
that you restrain yourselves."
"Actually," Katherine said, "That's not totally accurate..."
She blushed to think about it, and avoided going into detail, but explained to the woman that she had, in fact, survived two encounters.
This caught her interest.
"We are going to need a very in-depth interview, Katherine. You might be the most important person in the world right now. We are going to need to know everything about you: medical history, dietary habits, exercise, and, yes, a full sexual history. I'll put you in contact with one of my assistants."
"I can tell you right now, the sexual history is going to be short. I've never... done anything... before today."
"Well, I am very sorry your first experiences were like this. But we are working to understand this thing, and there are exactly two pieces of information we are trying to isolate. What causes it, and what cures it. You may hold the key to the latter. But there's no guarantee that Thorvald has similar resistance, so please, do what you need to do to avoid sexual contact."
McKinnon concluded: "In about five minutes I'll have you on the phone - you should have a satellite phone there - I'll have you on the phone with my assistant Andrea. I need you to give her an absolutely detailed account of everything you have observed. No observation is too small. Do you understand?
"You might want to have that conversation in private," McKinnon added with a nod toward Thorvald.
After the line disconnected, Katherine said sarcastically, "Well, this is going to be tons of fun."
>>> State College, PA, 16:02
The team reconnected on ConCall periodically through the day. The call at four, however, was when the bad news started.
HomeSec: "We've lost eyes on our runner. We tracked him to a house up in the hills, but lost satellite view with this storm. We had some drones over the area, but the weather was too much for them.We know they departed, but we missed their departure. They took a car, a red Mazda, and we have not located it in town."
Gen. Buckley: "Nor have we intercepted it at any of our checkpoints. When he first tried to off-road it, we tightened up security to include all drivable access points, roads, dirt roads, open fields, anything navigable. We have the manpower. But there's been nothing."
McKinnon: "Do we know
why
he's running?"
HomeSec: "No idea. We don't know who he is. He may be with another person. We had an additional heat signature from that house, and there is definitely no one in there now."
McKinnon: "Well, that's your area, Glenn. Once the storm clears, you will nab him, or them, quickly enough i'm sure. When do we expect that by the way?"
HomeSec: "The storm should be gone within the hour, but cloud cover may remain well into the night. We expect a clear day tomorrow."
Gonzales: "I have some concerning news to add. We have a reported incident in suburban Philadelphia that was
not
on our contact tracing list. It's a positive match: a couple found crystalized in a coital position in restaurant bathroom. We are doing the contact tracing, but there are a lot of potential exposure points."
McKinnon frowned. "So, it could be out then."
Gonzales: "Yes, it could be out."
HomeSec: "Which suburb please? And timing?"
Ana Gonzales consulted her notes. "A place called Narberth. The couple was discovered by cleaning staff after close last night, but it took some time for the information to reach us. We've isolated the cleaning crew themselves, as well as the first responders, but the secondary contacts are going to reach into the low hundreds. Glen, I'll have all the names to you, but depending on the contagion of this thing, it is possible it has escaped us. Fortunately, there have been no signs in any of the contacts. If it turns out *not* to be airborne, or considerably less contagious than we have been thinking, we might have some hope."
Glen at HomeSec looked concerned. It was the first time McKinnon could remember him showing an actual expression. "Well, Doctor McKinnon, we'd better hope the scientists can work quickly."
McKinnon: "Right, well, we managed to get our scans done and samples pulled before the storm hit, we have about 80% of the equipment requested up and running. We also have some interesting data from what we're calling the mature survivors on site. There is some evidence that ingesting electrolytes mitigates the worst symptoms. There is also some kind of dampening effect from sunlight. With regard to the impetus to sexual behavior, the loss of impulse control appears to respect no taboos, with one possible exception. We have confirmed that none of the children have been affected or molested. This means that either that taboo remains intact, or else the effect is only extant between two affected individuals, and the children are unaffected. The latter could be excellent news for diminishing contagion, but it's too early to tell."
HomeSec: "I don't believe in luck, Doctor M, but if it exists, we're going to need it."
>>> Philipsburg, PA 16:27
"I don't understand," Melissa said. "Why won't Dr. McKinnon talk with me?"
She didn't know why it was important that she continue to talk to McKinnon, she didn't even
like
the woman. But somehow it seemed important.
The man Gebre stayed patient. "Dr. McKinnon has shifted her attention to working with the scientists to find the cure for this, Melissa. We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety and comfort of everyone in Philipsburg. We had to suspend shipments during the worst of the storm, but we will have the remaining bedding and some more food options arriving before seven PM."
The line rasped to dead air.
A different flush went through Melissa.
Anger
.
They were sidelining her. They got what they needed from her, and it was just
taking care of children!
The thoughts continued to spiral in her head.
She
had seen things no woman should see.
She
had single-handedly brought this whole safe zone together.
She
had ensured the safety of the children by exiling Thorvald. Not on anyone else's orders. On her own initiative! They
needed
her. She would
be
someone! Even Cody recognized it, and he had been class
president
. He was going to
Columbia University!
"Get hold of yourself, Melissa," she said sternly. "Let's not be self-indulgent. The children
do
need you, and we
all
need the cure for this, if there is one."
She was, after all, still half convinced it was divine punishment.
She had been very careful to avoid situations where she and Cody were alone together. This was not hard, the school was quite full of people.
Her next temptation was, of all people, Robby.
She had just been doing some story telling with the younger children, trying to keep their spirits up, and their mind off things. She had always found that bible stories were best, but the school didn't have those, so she just told them from memory, studiously avoiding the story about Lot's wife.
That
