"something really weird just happened" 

Shane reached for the landline of his small flat and picked up the ringing phone. Lori looked over at him as he moved, wrapping an arm around Carl, her son, and watching to see who was calling. Lines on her forehead formed as she watched, guilt washing over her. 

Before Shane could even speak, before the phone was properly against his ear, the sound of heavy sobbing could be heard over the line. 
"Shane! Shane! It's me! Its...Jo..." There were sobs in between each sentence, heaving for breath, sheer and utter panic. "Something bad just happened! And nobody! Nobody is coming! I've called..."
"JO!" Shane sternly quietened her, shushing her over the line. "Calm down! Breathe." He paced over to his walkie, strung across his couch with his sheriff's uniform. He waited eagerly for Fox to calm down and explain what was wrong. A bad trip? Paranoid? Caught baked at work and fired right there on the spot. 
"Shane..." she murmured, her voice shaky and emotional. "I...I think I just fucking killed Kathy..." 
Shane's heart stopped, and he dropped the walkie on to the couch, moving to sit beside Lori with the small phone in his hands. 
"What?" he questioned. "Are you alright? Where are you?"
Fox paused, taking in a deep breath. 
"I'm...I'm...I'm at work. I...nobody's here, and...I've called the station...I've called the work centre. And I'm just sitting here...covered in blood...she's dead...she's fucking dead...there's nothing I could do-"
"What happened, calm down Jo, breathe and tell me what happened," he stated. Carl and Lori looking over at Shane worryingly, eager to hear of the situation. As he listened to Fox speak, he pulled on his jacket, grabbed his car keys and motioned for Lori and Carl to follow. 
"Shane..." Lori hissed, motioning to the News playing across the television screen. Reports of the virus spreading. People fleeing the city or coming into the city for independence day celebrations, traffic, or people fearful of the epidemic spreading to themselves or their loved ones. Either way, traffic wasn't moving and there was no way in or out of Atlanta. Shane shook his head at Lori, dismissing her and opening the front door. He looked at her as to say 'coming or not?' and she sighed, pushing past Shane and exiting the house. 
"Jo...I need you to be calm. Okay, sweetheart? Fool - be my fool and just stay cool. I'm coming. I'm gonna send some of my team out to get you. It's going to take a while and I need to hang up. Whatever you do, don't leave." 
"Shane..." Fox murmured, the silence on the other end getting eerily worrying. "There's something else..." she whispered. 
"What?" Shane questioned. 
"I...I don't think I was the first person to find Kathy...I...uh...Rita...my co-worker. She's here. She's not breathing. I think she's dead too." 
"Just don't touch anything Jo, stay where you are baby.  I'm coming." And before she could freak out he hung up the phone and chased Lori and Carl to the car. 

He opened the door, sliding in grabbing the portable police siren and lights.  
"It will take hours to get there in this traffic," Lori responded, watching as Shane brought his walkie talkie to his lips, as he did so, he placed the lights on the car and began the siren. 
"We'll go as far as we can and I'll walk." He stated. "I need a dispatcher, come in? Anyone? Have I got a team near Buford nursing home?" 

Radio silence. 

"Mom?" Carl called from the backseat of the car, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm scared."
"Don't be, baby." She whispered, watching Shane as he started up the car. "It's all going to be okay." 

Shane drove, the car in anxious silence. Lori was right, all intersections were blocked - and the police siren atop his car did nothing to help. There was congestion, horns blowing and people arguing at each other from the windows of their cars. It was chaos. 

"The fuck is going on?" Shane grumbled, rolling down the window and sticking his head out of the window. "It's like they're not letting people get past the border...military?" 

"It's the virus. Timmy at school says we're all going to bleed from the inside out and become radio-active monsters." Carl stated bluntly. Shane scoffed, whilst Lori shook her head. 

"Don't be silly." She simply stated. 

"Lori..." Shane breathed out, thinking things through. "We gotta split up. I'm gonna walk you both to your house, get you there. Pack some stuff and I'll pick you up once I got Jo."

"What? You think Jolie can wait that long?" Lori questioned. Shane looked over at Lori and nodded. 
"She's going to have to." 

Shane reversed, and despite the beeping and protests, began driving further away from Jo. It took him maybe an hour before he had Lori and Carl dropped off safely, and then he drove as far as he could in the traffic, got out and walked the rest of the way to the nursing home. He opened the front door and strolled in through the corridors, holding up his flashlight as he searched the place. 
"Jo?" 

No answer. 

"Jo?"

He found himself opening every door, every small flat of the nursing home, only to find it either empty or covered in blood.

"What the fuck?" He hissed, opening the door to the pink apartment flat with the name Kathy Freedman on the door. 
"Jo?" He called out, searching through the room. 
Inside were two bodies. 
Kathy, head bashed in...and Rita, half-eaten, with her head bashed in too. 
"Fuck..." Shane grimaced, kicking the body to see for any movement. "JO?" But no answer.
"I need a team to Buford Nursing home. Now..." He spoke into the walkie-talkie once more. Shane stopped, crouching down by the bed to pick up the bright pink cell phone. It was Jolie's. 

"Fuck...Fool...where are you?"