I started to take an interest in the story after a fairly intriguing man, who looked to be about twenty, which was also my age, came into my restaurant. He was accompanied by a younger woman, probably in her early teens, which I was assuming was his sister due to the almost identical appearance shared between them. They were seated in my section, and I could hear them discussing the situation whenever I would approach them. From eavesdropping, I gathered that they lived in a town beside Philadelphia, and had fled here to stay with a friend of his to escape what was happening up north. As I brought them their drinks (a Yueng-Ling for the mister, a Sprite for the missus), I nervously stood by their table, and practically lunged at them with my words:

"Is it really as bad as they say it is?" I asked, only then realizing how eager and anxious I sounded. I hadn't realized before this point how much interest I had actually taken.

"Excuse me?" He responded, in a low, raspy voice.

"That...Green Flu stuff. It's all over the news here. I tried to pay no mind to it.. but I saw the car you came in and noticed the plates were from Pennsylvania," - a blatant lie - "and I just wanted to ask," I was a mess at this point, slightly embarassed at the way I had approached the situation.

I believe he picked up on how I was feeling, and let out a dry chuckle, and half-smiled at me. "Oh, right." He exhaled deeply and took a sip of his beer. "Yeah, I definitely wouldn't say it's pretty around there right now." I stole a glance at the young woman he was with, a distant and sad look in her eyes. She was spinning the ice in her cup with her straw, hardly noticing my presence. "We came down here a few days ago.. shit's getting rough up there. Let's just pray it stays up there."

He stared at me for a bit, as if he were expecting something. I studied his face; it was rugged and looked as if he had neglected to shave for a few days. There was a scratch under his right eye that looked fairly fresh, and very deep. His hair was shaggy and a light blonde. I didn't realize I was staring until he said, "Uhm, sorry to interrupt whatever thought you're having right now, but my sister hasn't had a proper meal in about two days, so if you could go ahead and take our order..."

I shook myself and let out a nervous laugh. "Right, of course, I'm sorry. Excuse me." I cleared my throat and took out my notepad. "What will you be having?"

He looked at the girl across from him. "Malissa, what would you like to eat?" She didn't respond, or even look up. She just continued to stir the drink.

He sighed and looked up at me, handing me the menus. "We'll just take two cheeseburgers, please."

I nodded and took the menus, not bothering to write down the simple order. "I'll be back soon," I announced before heading back to the kitchen.

When I returned with their order, his sister wasn't at the table anymore. I assumed she was in the restroom or something of the like. I set the food down and took this oppurtunity to inquire further about what had happened.

"I'm sorry.. I know you don't know me and for me to be asking a complete stranger such questions may be a bit out of line, but I must know.. what exactly is happening to those people up there?"

Staring up at me solemnly, he nodded. "It's alright, I understand. I would be curious, too." He scratched his head. "It's.. frightening, to be honest. These people.. if you want to call them people.. they become so ravenous.." His voice trailed off and he got the same sad and distant look that his sister had earlier. "They have this look in their eyes, they aren't who they used to be. Even the children lose their innocence in a matter of seconds after they're bitten..."

"Bitten?" I exclaimed, horrified. "They go around biting people?"

With a slow nod, he explained that that was how the infection was spread. My mouth was wide open at this point. "We left after our parents were bitten. My father didn't come home for days and so my mother went looking for him. She came home in tears, saying she had found him and he had attacked her. Hours after, we noticed something changing in her. We tried - "

"COLIN!" I heard a loud shrieking voice yell from behind me, directed at the man I had been speaking with, "STOP TALKING ABOUT MOM AND DAD! WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP ABOUT THEM?" She kicked over a chair and began crying loudly. "All you ever do is talk about them and I don't want to think about them anymore!" She collapsed in the floor and her body began shaking in deep, heart-wrenching sobs. Colin stood up immediately and picked up his mourning sister from the floor, and, after laying a twenty on the table, quickly exited the building. Everyone's eyes were on them and they slowly turned to me. I cleaned up the mess she had made and retreated into the breakroom for an early break, to consider everything I had just heard.

As soon as I entered the breakroom I was bombarded by Karen, my boss. "Sarah, who the hell was out there shrieking like a witch? What on God's Earth happened?" Not wishing to satisfy her hunger for all things related to the Green Flu, I told her that I didn't know, that some child got upset and started screaming, but that she had left.

"Well, you need to get a better hold on your customers, or I'm going to have to let you go. Your attitude as of late has been really getting on my last nerve. And this just adds to it all."

I laughed in her face. Annoyed, I barked, "Don't worry about it. I quit. I'll be back for my last paycheck in a few days." I stormed out of the room and into the dining area. I grabbed my things from behind the counter at the hostess station and stomped out of the restaurant. I started fumbling for my keys as I made my way to my car, but was stopped halfway through the parking lot by Colin.

Startled, I let out a small gasp as he tapped my shoulder. "Excuse me," he said softly. "We were about to leave but I noticed you coming outside so I thought I would come apologize for the way my sister acted in there. She's been very sensitive and emotional since..well, you know. Anyway, I'm sorry for any trouble we might've caused. Here," he pulled out a pen from his back pocket and tore off a piece of cardboard from his cigarette case, and wrote his number on it. "Let me make it up to you sometime, okay? Just give me a call if you ever need anything. My name is Colin, by the way."

I smiled. "I'm Sarah. And thanks," I took the number and put it in my pocket and began walking to my car again. "I'll talk to you soon," I said, as I slid into my car.

What I didn't know was I'd be talking to him alot sooner than I had anticipated.