We'd all met downtown in a filthy but exhilarating club. Dark and mildly dank from spilled drinks and copious amounts of mingling sweat from the multitude of dancers. I'd come with Ames and Tori and was glad I had. I was usually DD but skipped on that responsibility tonight, knowing how desperately I needed the burning sensation of liquor I didn't like to chill me the fuck out.

What I didn't know is that He would be here. I felt it was quite possible that both Ames and Tor intentionally left that detail of tonight's planned events out on the very accurate assumption I would have bailed immediately. It wasn't that I disliked him, he just made me uneasy. Uncertain of myself, reflecting on my own behavior too much. It was exhausting to think of myself that much in one sitting, I annoyed myself with the habit induced exclusively by him.

Taking a self-assuring breath and internal pep talk, I continued across the club with my companions to meet he and his friends at the bar. He smiled brightly at all of us, we were taking turns ordering drinks and sharing casual greetings and vague conversation starters. He glanced at me frequently, sometimes lingering sometimes not. I can't shake the feeling he knows how I feel toward him and it in turn causes me to feel both guilty and defensive because he's never actually done anything wrong. Already unsettled, I don't jump too readily into the various subjects being discussed and opt for a dance.

"Tor, I'm heading out" I shout/whisper, elbowing my raven-haired companion to my right.

"You can't leave, we just got here! Also, I drove you?"

"To the floor, you ding dong. Feel free to join" I step away, pulling the mostly full beer from her hand and bringing it with me, swallowed into the sea of bodies before she can protest.

Only a few moments pass before Ames finds me and we dance, bodies grinding but without an ounce of sexual interest. Ames was my favorite to dance with for that reason. His dark hair, short on the sides but lengthy on top and hanging into his eyes, long and lean muscles against me. A tipsy smile on his face as we share my stolen beer.

"As happy as I am to be out here with you and Tor tonight, I don't love being tricked into the company of Galen" I say into his ear while elbowing his ribs mid sip, causing him to splutter and partially soak his sweaty tank top. A sheepish grin takes over his beautiful fucking face.

"Okay, I'm sorry but I didn't invite him!" He defends raising up his now dripping hand in peace.

"But you knew he was coming?" I counter with a raised brow, already knowing the answer.

"Okay yes, but I also knew you wouldn't come if I forewarned you and I just wanted to dance with my friend, alright? You know how horrifying these experiences are when your only options are sweaty creeps trying to fuck you or seemingly confused females trying to turn you straight. I don't know how they think that'll work?"

Laughing at that last bit, I don't answer but keep dancing and pull the beer from his hand, taking slow sips to avoid ending up as drenched as he is. I understood why he didn't tell me, even if I was annoyed to have to endure Galen. Or rather endure the obnoxious level of distraction that he brought with him.

"At least he's nice to look at" Ames whispers in my ear, causing my eyes to dart across the room to where I'd last seen the subject. He was no longer at the bar though, so I followed Ames gaze into the dance floor, and he certainly was a site to behold. Truthfully he could've been doing anything and that statement would have been accurate. He was stunning. He was a god damn snack. Perhaps that played a role in how uneasy he made me but I liked to think I was less shallow than that.

"That he is." I admit, I can practically feel Ames smirking behind me. "Look I don't hate the guy, he just makes me uncomfortable and as delightful as that sensation is, it isn't. I don't know what it is but I just can't seem to have a normal fucking conversation in his presence let alone with actual him." At this point Ames is snickering behind me, though never ceasing the constant grinding the tempo demanded.

"You should just fuck him, then you'll probably never take him seriously again"

"Oh well thought out, Ames, I'll just head over now and ask him if he's perchance not a heterosexual man" I smirk.

"He's not, Tor asked him"

"god she has no chill" laughing at this point, I abruptly stop "Wait, he's gay? I did not see that coming"

"Well you also never speak to him or linger in his presence for more than like twelve minutes so that could be why your gaydar is off on this account" laughs Ames.

"Fair."

I'm intrigued. I cant help myself from glancing more frequently toward Galen. I wont deny that knowing he's playing in my field has him in a different light for me, especially in my buzzed and forever horny state of mind. Unfortunately for me, I am so stupid. In my already acknowledged buzzy mindset, my glances are getting less and less inconspicuous and lingering for longer and longer. Eventually, Galen meets my eye and I have a heart attack. I cant tell if its weirder for me to instantly look away or linger or smile in acknowledging the eye contact and by the time I've considered all these options I've been staring at him for thirty seconds with a totally fucking blank expression. I cringe at myself and I'm sure it showed on my face. Despite that, he gives me a tentative half smile and then looks away, continuing to dance. I awkwardly continued to stare before I had the sense to look away to see Ames staring right at me, having witnessed the entire interaction.

"Well, that was really fucking weird, Cal."

"Thank you." I say, sarcasm and embarrassment dripping from my voice. "fuck."

We leave the floor to get more drinks. After taking shots and sloppily carrying our beers we're back on the dance floor, much more intoxicated. After a bit I forget how weird I was and get back into dancing. Halfway through our beers, giggling for no reason and sensually dancing against one another, Ames raises his eyebrows, looking somewhat behind me and I feel someone tug on my elbow. I glance up to see Galen, looking flushed but more sober than we were. One of his companions who'd come to the club with him was not so subtly sidling up to Ames who immediately grinned and allowed the contact.

"Dance with me" Galen says, not letting go of my elbow. It didn't sound like a question, and I wouldn't have said no if it had been. I blink at him for a few seconds before bringing my glass to my lips to chug the remainder of my beer.

"Maybe you should slow it down, have a water" Galen says, with a smile on his lips.

"You're annoying" I respond, slipping my elbow out of his grasp, but sliding my hand into it instead and tugging him away from Ames and Galen's friend I don't know. I pull him further into the throng of people and lean into him, slowly getting back into dancing. I'm not sure if he actually wanted to dance with me or if he was getting me away from Ames for his friend so I can't decide how enthusiastically to dance, not wanting to seem to intimate or interested.

To my relief and now new anxiety, he immediately has his hands on my waist, pulling me nearer. His lips brush the top of my ear as his proximity closes in, swiftly putting one arm to my hip, the other remaining in place near my ribs. I can feel his fingers gripping my shirt, pressing against my skin, my shoulders against his chest, I can feel the heat of his breath on my neck.

Maybe he is drunk.

We dance for what seems like a long time, bodies comfortably grinding now. I couldn't help but get into it, he felt nice against me and the alcohol induced confidence was a nice change in behavior for me. I was less inside my own head, and more present, though I suppose that's easy to say in a scenario where no one is speaking, and all were doing is grinding against each other at various tempos. His hands started to wander a little more, pressing a thumb against my hip bone and sliding down slightly, suggestively, causing me to poorly mask a light gasp, my hands once smoothly against his arms now gripping at his flushed skin as I leaned further into him than seemed humanly possible.

Eventually our rhythm slowed, and he became bold.

"Do you want to leave?" he whispered over my shoulder, his lips becoming intimately acquainted with the outer shell of my ear, seemingly unaware that he caused a heat to rush through me. I hesitated a second, but couldn't even help it as I answered "Uh, yes." Breathlessly, a light blush creeping up my neck at the sound of my own eagerness and lack of control.

I tried to collect myself a bit and it helped an absolutely minuscule amount as he tugged my shirt at the elbow, leading me off the floor and out of the club. We left our companions behind without a word and I prayed to any gods up there that no one would try to follow. Being caught now might knock some sense into me and at this point I'd rather be senseless and fucked. Or fucked senseless.

I spotted Ames and what's his face on the way out and intentionally avoided eye contact. Their bodies seemed to meld into one on the dance floor and I had the feeling Ames wouldn't mind being left behind in his current company.

The cool night air brushed against my face in a relieving sort of way, after all that sweat and alcohol. Galen had a loft downtown somewhere, only a 5-10 minute drive but we walked with the breeze, enjoying it. He didn't take up my hand but playfully grabbed at my fingers whenever our hands met at our sides. He had that constant half smile on his lips. The kind that both made you want to smile back but also had you a little self-consciously wondering what brought the expression. I couldn't help throwing lingering sideways glances at him every few minutes but he didn't pay me any mind. There's no way he didn't notice so I appreciated him not calling me out for it.

Finally at the complex, he entered the security code, opening and then closing the door behind us. There was an elevator but he led the way to the dimly lit stairwell and we walked two flights up to a pale hallway, his front door at the end of it. We hadn't spoken the whole walk from the club. When we stepped into his dark apartment he tugged my shirt again, this time at the front hem, pulling me along with him to the kitchen. He let go to open the fridge and tossed me a water bottle.

"Do you want anything to drink? Aside from the water..." he asked, pulling down a bottle of cheap but not too terrible whisky. I don't drink whisky but I nodded. He smiled and poured a thumb into a couple of glasses.

We sipped it quietly, sitting on the plush carpet in front of an old sage green sofa. I continually made a face with every sip, garnering small bits of laughter from Galen. The sound itself caused me to smile lightly. After a moments silence he played some vague stand up comedian on Netflix. I don't think either of us was even trying to listen or pay any kind of attention.

It seemed like an eternity passed and the added whisky in my already pretty fucked up system spurred me on. I sat my nearly empty glass on the coaster provided and hesitated a moment before leaning and crawling the few feet between us, I paused again with nerves before I leaned into him, my arms now straddling either side of him while my waist remained twisted. Our lips didn't touch but were so close I could feel his breath brush against my skin. He didn't pull away and his eyes stayed glued onto my mouth. I flicked my tongue out, teasing his slightly parted lips. He made a wildly satisfying noise in the back of his throat before capturing my bottom lip between his teeth causing my breathing to hitch and all the blood in my body to rush to my Netherlands. I leaned further into him to deepen the kiss, sliding my leg over his body to straddle him. He sneaked his hands up my shirt, grazing his fingers across my lower back, then lowered his right hand to hook his fingers into the top of my jeans. I couldn't help but immediately respond to his touch and there's no way he didn't feel me harden against his abdomen, our lips never losing contact.

Shattering this breathing taking moment, emergency alarms sounded on both of our phones. We pulled away from each other but only long enough to realize it was probably an amber alert we were to drunk to have been any help to anyway. Reconnecting our lips we tried to get back into our heated rhythm only to be disrupted by a second, slightly altered alert on our phones again followed immediately by the telly switching from Netflix to an emergency channel and broadcasting nationwide pandemonium.

"The fuck?" Galen rasped, getting onto his knees, causing me to slide off his lap and kneel next to him as we both stared into the tv. The reporter speaking was breathless, seeming distracted. Still a little drunk I was struggling to piece together what she was trying to convey with snippets like "outbreak" and "was said to be under control" and "do not engage infected." Along with some vague safety guidelines like staying indoors and locking up until help arrives in 'quarantined' areas and then she began listing the various off limits locations. Our city wasn't listed but it seemed like everywhere around us was. Finally realizing the seriousness of whatever this was, I stood to grab my phone from the counter and opened the emergency alert but it was almost the same as the televised broadcast. Searching further into the local news outlets I immediately wished I could unsee it.

There had been news of a virus in the previous months, but it seemed so far away, like Ebola or Zika. I don't think I even spared a truly worrying thought about it. The coverage had been vague, listing fever, mouth sores, dilated eyes and characteristic changes as some of the symptoms. That sounded startling but the news outlets also reassured that it was contained and in motions with a vaccine and the goal of ultimately creating a cure. It was all very hushed seeming. I suppose now I know why. It was not contained as they'd claimed. At least not anymore.

More than one live feed had the sick staggering around, their limbs jerking about them, gnawing into their own flesh. They're eyes seemed black, sticky substance dripping down their skin onto their lips, revealing seemingly sharp teeth. Once the sick realized those around them also consisted of flesh they seemed to target them, chasing after them and screaming though it came out inhuman. Most feeds seemed to cut out before anything progressed further but that was answer enough.

"Galen." I quietly called. He was still sitting in front of the tv but on the phone with someone. I hadn't noticed until now that he'd been engaged in a conversation. He glanced at me when he heard my voice and his eyes seemed impossibly sober.

"I know." He responded quietly and raised his hand, beckoning me over. I slowly responded and the closer I got I could hear the frantic person on the other line but couldn't make out their words as Galen intently listened to them.

"What do we do? Most of the cities surrounding us are beginning quarantine, is anyone really coming? Can they even contain it?" He sounded both calm and frantic as he pulled me closer by the front of my shirt. There was a long pause on the other line but finally a woman started to speak. Being this much closer I could hear with more clarity.

"Galen...Babs, I need you to listen very carefully. People are coming but it wont matter. You need to leave the city-" Galen started to interrupt but she cut him off "please trust me, you need to leave the populated areas and you need to do it now. This is dangerous, Galen, incredibly fucking dangerous. It isn't anything like they're saying. I need you to leave and head to the coast. Try to get to Mattie's old house in Depoe Bay. I'm coming to find you, okay? I'll meet you there. Just stay to the coast, try to stay by the water-"

"What is happening?" Galen breathed into the phone, cutting her off.

"Galen. Focus. You need to utilize every basic fucking survival skill that dad ever taught you. Pack only essentials and get the fuck out of there, if they quarantine your city, which is sure to happen, it will be much, much more difficult to get you out. Do you remember when we used to hot wire Mrs. Harpers old Honda?"

"Yes." Galen looked terrified but his voice was strong.

"Great, find a similar vehicle and try. Take the camping gear out of my old closet, there's dehydrated food in there and it'll be easier to carry and last. I will call you as soon as I can, I'm coming for you, okay? I'll meet you there. Take care of your little one. Get out and make it to Depoe Bay." She hung up before he could respond.

There was only a moments silence before reality settled and Galen flung himself into action. Dragging me to a bedroom and flinging the closet doors open to pull down a couple of serious looking backpacks, clearly used for genuine treks.

"Who was that?" I asked while he pulled rubber maid containers from the depths of the same closet.

"Open those and pull out any food or fuel you see, anything useful seeming. That was my sister." He was right back to work, reaching into the closet. I started on the tubs before I remembered the words 'take care of your little one' that caught me off guard. I hadn't noticed a pet or anything and anxiety set in that there was a little kid I didn't know about that we needed to get to in all this shit.

"Little one?" I asked stopping my motions of separating food.

"She means you." He said quickly, not skipping a beat but I frowned.

"What the fuck?"

Galen didn't respond but a light blush crept up his neck. I narrowed my eyes but dropped it and continued my task.

Suddenly remembering Ames and Tori still at the club I tried to balance the handful of food packets in one arm and pulled my phone out.

It rang once before Ames picked up and relief flooded through me.

"Hey, you guys seeing this shit?" He asked. It was loud and hectic in the background.

"Yeah, we got a shit ton of alerts but have you seen any footage? Where are you and Tor now?" At this point Galen realized I was on the phone and glanced my way.

"Tor left ages ago, before you and Galen. I'm still at the club but they're ushering everyone out. There's a huge police presence but I haven't seen anything beyond the phone alert we got. I'm with Galen's friend-what's your name?" I could hear Ames distant conversation with said companion. "Nando, I'm with Nando. Where did you guys go?"

"Fuck, Nando!" It had apparently occurred to Galen that he, too, was missing a friend. "would you put it on speaker?" He whispered to me.

"Ames, I'm at Galen's, I'm putting you on speaker."

"Ames, can you put Nando on right quick?" Galen chimes in and we hear Nando's voice.

"Galen, you hear from Margot?"

"Yeah and its shit. Bring Ames with you, she said we need to leave the city before they block the roads and close us in."

"...Well Fuck, we're heading to you." we heard the phone being shifted between the two and Nando's voice is distant as he speaks to Ames "Alright, you precious creature, lets go"

"Get off me" I hear Ames clearly slapping Nando's hands away "Stop it. Actually, hold my hand but stop calling my precious its fucking weird." and then the line drops and I can't help the smirk on my face.

Ames and Nando arrived and didn't hesitate to join our efforts in gathering essentials. It was strange how quickly we all accepted the need to get out. No one questioned it. The panic sitting beneath the surface as we all silently moved about the small space. Finally we all paused in completion of our tasks. Galen moved to the door first, leading us out into the night. It felt wrong as we all searched for a vehicle Galen felt capable hot wiring, but it didn't take long to stumble on something. We piled in, no one really breaking the ongoing silence, and Galen pulled away from the downtown neighborhood. It was surprising how few people were out on the roads. We saw some scurrying from house to house, clearly following the direction of boarding themselves in. I felt relieved that we were moving, rather than securing the tiny apartment. Something felt inherently wrong with staying here while they clearly struggled to contain whatever this was. I've never seen a virus that leaks what looked like black tar from your eyes or causes your teeth to suddenly become predatory and terrifying. I felt deeply unsettled as we continued on, avoiding major roads as we could, afraid of being forced to remain in the city. All of us silently hoping or praying we'd make it through. It was like we all silently, unanimously knew we couldn't stay here.