The teachers moved much more quickly than the students; not a one had stood up or even moved after the announcement, partially out of shock, but mostly out of fear. Principal Vickers came over the intercom once more, repeating the same message:

"Please pardon the interruption, the government has issued a biological hazard warning,"

A few screams were heard throughout the buildings of the school.

"We will be dismissing ALL students in twenty minutes. At this time, all students, faculty, and staff report back to the main building."

There was a massive scrape of chairs on the linoleum floors in the cafeteria. The students headed for the doors, and pushing them open, sprinted for the main building. Holly noticed that the air looked sort of smoggy, like the exhaust of a car. Twenty minutes later, everyone piled onto the buses they had been on barely an hour before.

Viktoria took her seat next to Holly. This time they cracked no jokes.

At her stop, Viktoria turned to Holly and said "Text me when you get home, and hopefully I'll see you soon."

She walked carefully down the stairs and sprinted to her door, where her family was waiting for her. Holly turned away from the window, and began to wonder if her parents were okay. They were probably home too, right? Holly shook off the thought of the absence of her parents at home. They were fine, she reassured herself.

At her stop, Holly sprinted down the bus stairs to her garage. She punched in the door code, unlocked her house, and ran in, all in about twenty-five seconds.

"Mom? Dad?" She asked of the house. There was no response.

"Mom? Dad?" She said again, fear now creeping into her voice. She walked through the rooms of the house, searching for her parents. They were nowhere to be found. Panicking now, she texted each one. Then, she texted Viktoria.

"My parents aren't here." She typed. "Help me out?"

Holly went to her room, flopped down onto her bed, and cried. She was very worried about her parents, about what was going on, and about what she was going to do. Drying her tears, she walked into the living room and turned on the news. The news wasn't very good, either.

"Breaking news! Atlanta overrun, CDC unsure of problem." The headline flashed. A pretty blond news anchor appeared on the screen.

"Good morning, Georgia." She said elegantly. "This morning at approximately 9:00, a special virus being tested at Atlanta's Center for Disease Control and other facilities around the world contaminated the air. Citizens are warned not to go outside for at least 24 hours. It is also recommended that your doors stay locked. Also, if you encounter any strange or sick individuals, do not confront them. They are potentially dangerous. And now we hear from our correspondent in downtown Atlanta."

The footage flashed to a shot of downtown Atlanta, where a man was standing with crowds of people behind him.

"As you can see here, downtown Atlanta is crowded with people demanding answers to this phenomenon. These people want to know what's-"

Just as the man was finishing his sentence, a soldier popped onto the camera.

"I'm with the National Guard." He said. He turned to look at the camera. "Every citizen in downtown Atlanta is asked to evacuate within the next three hours because of the eminent danger caused by the escape of the virus from the CDC. There will be legal consequences if anyone remains. Thank you."

With that, the soldier left the stunned newsman.

Holly turned off the news. She attempted to call her parents, but there was no response. There was a text from Viktoria.

"See you in 24 hours. We're coming to get you tomorrow, so be packed up." It read.

Holly looked at the text, her eyes brimming with tears. Her parents must be gone. The hot, salty tears rolled down her face and dripped on the flooring. Since she was alone, she could cry as much as she wanted; those were the only tears she shed. She had to be strong now.