Dean Cooper's schedule was hectic. He worked a typical 9-5 job and was taking classes at the local community college. At 24, he was quite farther along in his life plans than most of his friends, many of whom were still bar hopping. Married a year earlier, he had dated his wife for 7 years, starting in their senior year in high school. Dean was a big man, which was strikingly contrasting with his petite wife. At 6'5" and 250lbs, he towered over his 5'4" 100lbs spouse.

Working in sales wasn't exactly his dream job, but he was paid well, and it allowed him to buy a house with Sara his wife, and to pay for his hobbies, one of which was firearms. This hobby wasn't exactly a big hit among the corporate types, so he had to keep his love for firearms hidden while at work. He did manage to find a few people in the office that shared his passion. One, Ron Packard, was a retired FBI agent, and only a few months from retirement at his communications job. It was Ron that had brought Dean shooting for the first time by taking him out on his property and showing him how to shoot. Dean was a natural. He became quite proficient, and had even built a nice collection of firearms.

It was a Friday afternoon when Ron approached the sales department rather quickly. Dean noted a look of excitement in his eyes. Whispering so only Dean could hear, Ron asked to speak with him privately, and quickly moved towards Dean' office with him in tow.

"What's going on Ron, you ok?"

"Not really, but before I begin, you have to keep this quiet. If this gets out, it will be a lot worse for everyone, ok?" Dean nodded, a bit bewildered. "Ok, well you know that I used to work for the FBI, and I still have a few friends that work there. They keep me up to date on things that might be of interest, like what I'm about to tell you. I know a guy that has top secret clearance. He told me about a terrorist group that has stolen a bio weapon. This weapon is extremely dangerous. It was actually in the testing stage when they stole it. Anyway, it's supposed to reanimate the dead. I know how it sounds, zombies right?" Dean continued to stare with a blank look on his face, waiting for Ron to crack a smile. It never came. "Well, if that weren't enough, it appears that they stole enough to infect most of the western countries. There have been rumors that they plan to attack on Monday, in every major city. Including this one. Now, I am going to spend this weekend getting supplies, food, some ammo and tools. I suggest you do the same." With that, Ron hurried out of the office before Dean could respond.

"Was he serious?" Dean thought with a whisper. He knew that Ron wasn't the type to joke about something like this, and he had never seen him so visibly shaken. But zombies?

The rest of the day was a blur. He wasn't able to concentrate on his work, and spent most of him time trying to decide if Ron was just messing with him. By the end of the day, he came to the conclusion that he was telling the truth. He would have come by to tell him it was a joke by now, and he was too serious when he told him.
Now that it set in that there was a threat of a... a zombie attack, Dean knew he needed a plan. He drove home thinking about the things that he needed to do. Food, ammo, water; should he tell friends and family, buy a generator? He needed to talk with his wife. What would she think? Probably that he'd lost his mind. He pulled into his driveway, and automatically noted that living in a neighborhood wasn't the best tactical location to be in when/if a zombie attack happened. However, a weekend was not enough time to move, so they would just have to get by with their current home. It was the only neighborhood within 5 miles, and besides the grocery store, there wasn't much around anyway. By the time he unlocked the front door, he had convinced himself that they were in a pretty good area if anything did happen.

His wife was busy making dinner. He admired that after a long day of teaching children, she still had enough energy to make a delicious meal. Not wanting to waste any time, he made a bee line to the kitchen, greeted his wife, and proceeded to tell her about his conversation with Ron. It took him well into dinner, but he finally convinced her that he indeed was serious, and that they really did need to prepare. After dinner, she agreed to clean up while he took inventory of what they had, so they could accurately come up with what they needed to buy. She rationalized that worse case, they didn't have to buy canned food, ammo, or bottled water for a long time if nothing did happen.

After cleaning she sat down with Dean to find out exactly what he had in mind. He had a note pad and pen, and was trying to calculate exactly how much everything would cost.

"Ok, here's how I see it. We have a few boxes of noodles, some cans of sauce, quite a few cans of vegetables and canned fruit, almost no bottled water, a few cans of soup and some ramen, and a couple of cases soda. For weapons, we have 4 handguns, 3 that use 9mm and 1 that use .22. We have the two AR-15's that we built, both that use .223, and the two .22's that we bought a few years back. Finally, we have two shotguns, both 12 gauge. Now, for ammo, we have 200 rounds of 9mm, 500 .22, only 50 rounds of the .223, and 20 12 gauge."

"So, how much more do you want to buy?" she replied.

"Well, we need a lot more food and water, so we need to go to the store. I'm thinking we should go to Sam's club and stock up on the food. Buying it in bulk would be easier. For the ammo, I'd like to have a lot more. Ammo prices are going up, so even if nothing does happen, we would be saving money in the long run. I can get 1000 rounds of 9mm, 1500 .22, another 1000 rounds of .223, plus some more magazines for the AR's. And maybe a few more boxes of 12 gauge. I have some wood in the garage, so if we need to board up the windows, we can. Oh, and I almost forgot, we might need a way to cook the food, so I think we should fill those empty propane tanks, and get some more tanks for our camping stoves."

"Well, how much do you think all of this will cost. We've done a good job saving money, I'd hate to spend it all in one weekend. We could probably spend a couple thousand, but any more than that would be way too much. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I know how this all sounds, but I'm telling you Sara, I've never seen him so worked up over something." Jim felt he had to plead his case again.

"Alright, well, I guess there's no harm in buying this stuff. But what do we do about our friends? What about my brother and your sister? Do we say anything? I mean, even if we did, would they even believe us?"

Dean was still undecided. He wanted to warn his friends and his sister, but what if nothing happened. They discussed it into the night, and fell asleep after deciding to make a decision in the morning.

Saturday morning was a busy morning. When Dean woke up, he immediately began to put their plan into action. By 7am, he had cleaned out his gun safe, and organized it. He had also piled all of the canned goods onto the kitchen table, organized them into meat, vegetables, fruit, sauces, and soups. With that, he created a shopping list for their trip to Sam's club. When he had completed this list, he went into the garage and started to go through their hiking gear. Both of them loved to go hiking, spending many nights under the stars.

While he was in the middle of emptying out their hiking packs when Sara walked into the garage, showered and dressed.

"You need any help" she asked energetically.

"Sure, I am just looking through our packs to see if we need to update anything in here. I've already gone over the food we have in the house, and all of my ammo and guns are organized too."

Dean moved over and handed Sara's pack to her. She opened it and began to remove the contents.

"So, have you thought about whether or not we are going to tell anyone?"

Dean looked into her eyes to answer. "Yeah, I have. Look, as severe as this situation could be, we really don't have any proof besides what Ron told me. Now, if for some reason nothing happens, we are out some money, but it's not that big of a deal. However, if we try to warn our friends, and nothing happens, well..." He trailed off, knowing that she understood.

"But we can't just not do anything for them." Sara protested.

"Honey, I know that. I was thinking we could get more supplies than we need. That way, we can have supplies if anyone comes here. Plus, I have my old police scanner, we can monitor that, and at the first sign of trouble, we will call everyone we know, and either pick them up, or have them meet us here. Sound ok?"

"Thanks, that's fine." Sara loved the fact that they were able to agree on just about everything. When they couldn't, they were at least able to compromise. They continued to go over their packs and the rest of the camping gear for another hour. After taking care of a few more things, they were ready to go to Sam's Club. They decided to take Sara's SUV due to the carrying capacity compared to Dean' sedan.

The store was pretty busy. It was usually pretty packed on the weekends, so this was no surprise to either. They each grabbed a cart, and went isle by isle picking out canned foods and bottled water. By the time they were finished, they could barely move their carts. They got strange looks from the cashier, but paid for the food and left. They drove home in silence. They unloaded the vehicle, and set back out to the sporting goods store.

As they entered the store, Dean gave Sara a list of supplies that she was to pick up, and they would meet in the firearms section. This is right where he was headed. He grabbed a cart, and started to load up on the ammo they needed. He was excited to see they had a sale on ammo, and with the amount he was buying, he would save quite a bit of money. After getting the ammo, he made his way over to the counter to ask about getting some AR15 magazines. The salesman stated that they had them available for $15. They already had 3 for each gun, so he decided to buy two more for each. The whole process had taken less time than he had expected, so he decided to go check out the hunting rifles.

Sara was almost done with her list. She had been at it for thirty minutes, and decided to go over the list one more time. "Ok, I got the camping stove fuel, the socks, gloves, binoculars, flashlights, spare batteries, two black balaclavas... whatever those are for." She didn't understand why her husband wanted these, but he insisted on getting them. Now, all she needed to find was a good first aid kit, some spare filters for their water filter, and they were done. After a few more minutes of searching, she found what she was looking for, and headed for the firearms section. She walked up to Dean and saw him filing out some paperwork.

"What are you doing? Are they making your fill that out for the ammo?

"No." Dean replied. "Actually, I'm getting a heck of a deal on this hunting rifle" Dean nodded toward a rifle sitting on the counter. After filling out the paperwork, and getting a few boxes of ammo for the rifle, they set out toward the registers.

The rest of the day was spent organizing the items they bought. By the time they were done, both were exhausted. After eating a nice dinner, they went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a relaxing day. The plan was to keep an eye on the news, and spend some quality time together. Dean was especially excited about that part.

Opening his eyes slowly against the burning sun, he reached his arm over to the other side of the bed, disappointed in the fact that his wife was already awake. He sat up and stretched. Taking a deep breath, he noticed the delicious smell of bacon and eggs. This was more than enough to make him hop out of bed. Walking into the kitchen, he stepped behind his wife, who was too busy cooking to notice him, and kissed her neck. She jumped in surprise and almost threw breakfast all over the kitchen. She playfully slapped her husband and continued to cook the meal.

"So,anything on the news yet?"

"I haven't checked, I just woke up and thought I would make you breakfast in bed. Thanks for ruining that by the way." She smirked.

"No problem. I'm going to turn on the tv." He kissed his wife on the forehead and went to the living room in search of the remote. Finding it, he turned on CNN. A few minutes later, Sara joined him with two plates of food.
"Anything?" She asked.

"Nope, just about the war in Iraq. I'll try another station." He changed the channel to Fox News. "Same thing here." He reported after a few minutes.

After breakfast he cleaned up while she took a bath. After washing the dishes and straitening up the kitchen, he joined her in the bath. Once again he surprised her, but this time he was met with a smirk and an embrace.

By noon, they were dressed and ready for the day. Dean had a few more things he wanted to pick up at the store, and Sara agreed to clean the house while he was gone. So after kissing his wife goodbye, he grabbed his pistol, pulled his shirt down over it, and left. After getting his permit to carry, Dean never left the house without being armed. He got to the store, and picked up some cleaning supplies, some personal hygiene products, and a few 5 gallon jugs of water. Finally, as he was leaving, he exchanged the propane bottles with new ones and drove back home.

He greeted his wife with a kiss, and put the newly purchased items away. The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house, and lounging around watching the news. They weren't shocked that the news hadn't mentioned anything, but for different reasons. Dean figured the government was keeping tight lipped due to not wanting to cause a panic. And those that were fortunate enough to know were doing the same. He couldn't even imagine what it would have been like if everyone in America new what was going to happen. He knew that he wouldn't have been able to get the supplies they needed once the public found out. Sara on the other hand had a different outlook. She was a little skeptical of the whole idea. In fact, the only reason she went along with it is because Dean had seemed pretty freaked out. More than she had ever seen. For her, this was going to be something they could laugh about years down the road. So, the day went on, the house was cleaned, and once again inventory was taken. As night came, there was still no news about the stolen weapon or any terrorist attack. Just before midnight, they both went to bed.

They woke up early so they could call in sick, and while Sara was able to get back to sleep, Dean was wide awake. He started a cup of coffee, and turned on the TV. For a few hours, he scanned both local and news, and occasionally logged on to the computer to check the news. By 8 am, Sara was awake.

"Nothing yet?" she asked.

"Nope, nothing. I was going to make some eggs or something, you hungry?"

"Hmm, not really, but that coffee smells pretty good." She walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a glass. She went to the couch and sat next to Dean.

"I wonder what the world is going to be like if this does happen?" Dean began, almost talking to himself. "I mean, we've seen what can happen when normal life is interrupted. Right now everything is going pretty well, but if there were some virus out there, who knows what will happen." He looked into his wife's eyes, half hoping that she shared his fear.

"Well, we just have to wait and see. We've prepared the best we could, and if something happens, I think we'll be alright."

She could always comfort him, and she had. "Thanks." He said and kissed her softly. They continued to watch TV for a while longer, and Dean went to take a shower. If anything did happen, and the power were to shut off, they wouldn't have a hot shower, so Dean enjoyed ever second of it. After almost an hour, his fingers pruned in protest, he decided to end the shower. He got dressed and went back out into the living room. His wife was busy reading a book, so he took this time to make lunch. Wanting to use as much of the food that would go back if the power went out, he made grilled chicken salad. This was his wife's favorite, so he knew it would be a hit. They both enjoyed their lunch, and finished it off with a bowl of ice cream. With their stomachs full, they returned to the couch to watch the news.

At five that afternoon, there was still nothing to report. Dean was beginning to feel a bit disappointed. It wasn't that he wanted the world to end, but he had spent a lot of time and money preparing for it. The supplies they had spent the weekend getting now just sat there reminding him of his false prediction. But worse, his wife. He knew that she didn't fully believe him, but she went along with it. If nothing happened, what would she think? Would she think he had cracked? Zombies?

Dinner came and went, he cooked some pork chops, and they ate in silence. Dean not speaking because he was simply too embarrassed. Sara not saying a word because she was afraid of making him feel embarrassed. After dinner, Dean cleaned the dishes while Sara got everything ready for work tomorrow. They went to bed, ready to put this behind them. Just before he fell asleep, Dean whispered to his sleeping wife. "I'm sorry."

She was already asleep.