The sound of typing couldn't be heard over the music the young woman was playing from her old school CD player, clunky headphones placed atop her head as she focused intently on her computer screen. She was just finishing the conclusion to her most recent novel and couldn't be bothered to pay attention to anything but the story.

Not the TV that she had mistakenly left on the news channel, not the urgent news alert that played, warning of a vicious outbreak that seemed to be turning people into cannibals. Not even the whimpers of her beloved fur-baby Eva and the hissing of her solemn Solaris were heard through the characters that demanded to be written.

However, that was about to change in a very life changing moment.

With one final tap, she saved and closed her document. Shutting off the monitor of the computer and taking a moment to simply breath. A moment that was interrupted with a shrill bark from Eva.

The young lady turned her swivel chair, one bare foot sliding along the plush rug she had under the chair to see her adorable mini dachshund cowering away from the front door of their apartment, her long little tail firmly lowered between her tiny legs.

She frowned, wondering what could be upsetting Eva before she heard Solaris hissing, the huge Maine Coon had his back arched further away on the couch. He too was pointed towards the door.

Finally, she heard the TV repeating its' latest broadcast and turned to it, wondering what the hell was going on. She focused her attention on it and was alarmed, even more so when she heard thudding coming from the hallway outside the cozy apartment. She could hear sirens in the distance outside on the streets now. Lots of sirens.

She quickly stood from her chair and grabbed the remote from the side-table along with her cellphone. She turned the volume all the way down and focused on the subtitles before one line made her pupils contract and her heart race with fear.

The young woman turned the TV off with a click of the remote after reading the repeating line of "Infection turning people into cannibals" and swiftly picked Eva up in her arms, shushing the sweet little dog and gently rocking her to calm the shudders that racked the ten pound dog. She went to the couch and smoothed a hand down Solaris' back and set the mini Dach down to cuddle with the much larger Maine Coon.

Her fur-babies stopped their hissing and whimpering now that their mama was aware of what was going on. But they were still tense. She was tense too, a haunting silence seemed to echo outside the apartment door now. She felt sweat start to build on her back now, the air conditioning making her shudder.

She took her eyes off the door to look at her phone and set the ringtone to total silence. It wouldn't do to make any noise until she was absolutley sure of what was going on after all. Within a few taps, she was calling her oldest friend and the editor of her novels, Diana.

It rang, and rang and rang. Her heart felt as though it were dropping to the pit of her stomach. It connected as soon as she thought it wouldn't.

"Artie, Artie is that you? Are you ok?! I've been trying to call you, I was just packing my things." The delicate voice of her friend breathed, just loud enough to hear through the phone.

"I'm sorry, I just finished my novel, I've been working on it for the past week now. What's happening, is the news serious?" Her voice was hoarse after multiple days of not sleeping or eating and she felt weak. She hadn't eaten in forever, only took bathroom breaks in her rush to finish the novel. She had only had the functioning ability to drink water and make sure to feed her babies.

She took a few light steps to her kitchenette before grabbing a thankfully still fresh banana and all but cramming it in her mouth. A jar of peanut butter was still on the counter from the last time she'd used it and she grabbed a spoon, chewed what was left of the banana and took a few bites of the crunchy peanut butter. She nearly choked on it, but she was able to grab her water bottle and pound half the bottle in her rush.

Even with the horror and fear painting Diana's mind, she couldn't help the slight humor that she felt. It was just such an 'Artie thing' that she knew her friend well enough to know she was probably grabbing the nearest thing in the kitchen and stuffing it down her throat.

"Artie? Artie, I need you to listen ok? Things are getting bad, capital BAD, ok! I need you to pack what you can and try to meet me at the train station, there's a group of us, some special ops that will be there to protect us, but you need to get there by noon. I know it's a stretch, but you need to get there, I can't leave you behind. And I couldn't travel earlier because everyone was on lockdown. Please, please say you'll get there?" Diana spoke in a rush as though she was afraid the phone would cut out. Though, with everything happening, she might not be too far off.

Artie took a moment to clear her throat before she answered, "I'll be there, I just have to ready Eva and Solaris."

A pause, "I know Solaris and Eva are your babies, but please don't let them get you killed." Diana loved the two pets too, but Artie raised them from stray kitten and abused puppy. In all essence, the two were her children. She knew it was a foolish thing to say to Artie, but she had to say it.

"If anything, they'll help me survive. Anything that tries to attack, i can get rid of?" Artie asked, getting dressed and putting on her most comfortable hoodie and hiking boots.

"Don't let anything bite! That's how it transfers." Diana said with a shudder, the tall man next to her narrowed his eyes at her and gestured to get a move on.

"Artie, are you sure you'll be ok, I mean-" A chuckle was heard on the other end, "I'll be just fine Dia."

And just like that, Diana felt a sense of relief.

The next moment, the dial tone was heard, as usual Artie had hung up as soon as she was done with the call. She sighed and turned back to the man in front of her. He was her cousin's friend and a military man out on leave. He had been visiting her cousin when everyone got put on lockdown, and since her cousin was visiting her, she had had to house the two grown men.

It was the sargeant that had recieved notification that people would be meeting in the train station, and with the help of her cousin, convinced her to go.

He was a very upright man, if a little comandeering but Diana figured it had to do with his job. She respected him but also was a bit timid around him.

"Are you certain she'll be able to make it? If need be, I can take you and Aero to the station and then go to her." His voice was a rumble but his eyes were kind as he stared down at her.

"Nic, there's no way. Artie's apartment is way, way downtown. I don't even know if she'd make it, there's no way you would, the only way you'd be able to navigate is if you had a paper map. No one carries those anymore." Aero chimed in from where he was packing their go bags. He didn't mean it as an insult but he was worried about his cousin holding onto false hope and he knew his best friend would just get himself lost and then they'd be down two people.

Nic scowled at him but knew he was right. They would simply have to hope.