Red sat atop the crest of the hill, surveying the small valley below. He had sat up here every day, as long as he could manage, for over three months now. Sometimes he had to go hunting or fishing or simply gather water from the well at the nearby farm but as much time as he could possibly spare he sat up here, watching carefully for signs of movement.

The last six months had passed by in the blink of an eye and yet, paradoxically, it seemed like years had passed since the 'old world' had ended. Red could no more imagine going shopping in a supermarket or taking a relaxing trip out on a boat than he could being able to fly to the moon. It was terrifying how things had all just disintegrated so fast.

Just as he was about to give it up for another day and head back to the shack he now called home, a small dot appeared at the far end of the valley, about two miles away. He stared at it intently as it grew in size unforgivably slowly, cautiously making its way towards his position. Hunkering down behind a rock so as not to reveal himself just yet, he stared unblinkingly at the dot and held his breath.

SIX MONTHS EARLIER

It didn't end with either a bang or a whimper. Nothing as prosaic as that. It ended in chaos and fire and blood and violence and long, slow, painful death rattles. It was horrific. Much, much worse than anyone could ever have envisaged. The virus, seemingly come from the Far East, spread by birds, had infected nearly 95% of the world's human population in about six weeks. The only people who hadn't succumbed at that point were people living in far flung communities away from 'civilisation', the very few naturally immune and the very lucky ones who had been given a hastily developed vaccine. Some got the virus and survived but it had a 98% mortality rate. Earth's human population was near annihilated in the blink of an eye.

In Washington D.C. it had been perhaps more brutal than elsewhere. The government responsible for keeping its people safe were right there in the early days, and so were able to take the brunt of people's fury as so little was done to stop the spread of what had been hastily dubbed 'The Plague'. However, even the President and senators and all the public faces of the country's leadership didn't stick around that long. It was clear that the virus was going to bring about complete anarchy. And even though all political leaders, the military and government officials were priorities for the vaccine, along with emergency services, there was no way they would be safe in the city anymore. The decision was made to relocate the government to two aircraft carriers, some thirty miles out to sea. There they would fiddle as Rome burnt.

Liz, Ressler and the rest of the task force had all been given the vaccine very early on due to their jobs. Red had, of course, procured himself some as well as some for Dembe and his family and a select few of his other associates. There just wasn't enough to get for everyone. Red's money was fast becoming defunct. Nobody wanted money anymore, they wanted protection and food. They wanted the vaccine themselves. Red was lucky to know one criminal greedy enough who chose a million dollars over a dose of the cure for himself and from him Red got what he could.

Red was sitting in his Bethesda apartment with Dembe when the news came through that the FBI HQ downtown had been besieged by hordes of people, desperate for the vaccine. Word had gotten out that federal employees were being given the first doses and as desperate people started to cluster around various buildings where such people would be, the mood turned ugly very quickly. Red listened to the radio in his apartment and the blood drained from his face, his heart sinking deep to the bottom of his body. Liz was there. The Post Office had been mothballed for now, Red's list of criminals never to be a judiciary priority ever again.

By the time Red and Dembe had fought their way through the streets to get there it was all over bar the shouting. The whole building was in flames, there was no way they could get in. It seemed that a lot of people had made it out first and some of them were now engaged in running battles with the looters and rioters who had done the damage. Red and his loyal friend combed the area and the wreck of the building for over two days but they found no trace of Liz or anyone else they knew. At last Red turned away from the building. He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath before turning to Dembe.

'Okay, my friend. Liz is either dead or elsewhere. For now, let's just get you to your daughter's house'

And with that, they left Washington. Red's mind was in a turmoil, he had no idea what to do now. He had nothing left to live for. But, as promised, he helped Dembe get to his daughter and granddaughter. Once there, he rested up for a few days. And as he rested, he formulate the only plan he could. In the absence of any form of communication, phones and the internet having been down for some time now, he would have to set out to find Liz on his own. He would go anywhere he could think that she might be. He wouldn't give up until he found her or found out what had happened to her. His only purpose in life was the same as the one he had had before all this; protect his beloved Elizabeth with everything he had.