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I ca No sign of Franky So a glow on a layer of fog that was settling in the low areas like puddles of ghost piss

I saw John about ten feet away, on his feet but bent over at the waist, gripping his pants at the knees He was blinking, as if trying to focus his eyes

"John? You all right?"

He nodded, still looking at the ground

"Yeah I’et him?"

"Don’t know I just came to"

A white truck pulled up with a dish apparatus on the back It had a TV station logo on the side We were about to be on live TV I tried to fix my hair withpeople back into the building It looked like every police stateoing, before we got asked a bunch of questions that, once again, we didn’t have any non-crazy answers for Not just about tonight, but everything I turned toward John but John wasn’t there any one pair of cops a wide berth along the way I thought about just going ho out by the street and talking to a goddaht in front of the ca him ahen John said, "Oh, shit!"

I followed John’s gaze and said, "Oh, shit"

The reporter lowered her uys, a lot of therayish urban careen truck across the intersection where the hospital driveway et out, and soldiers were going down the line and issuing instructions to angry drivers

Up by the truck a soldier raised a bullhorn and said:

"ATTENTION DO NOT LEAVE THE AREA THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANCE YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO A CONTAGEOUS PATHOGEN LEAVING THE AREA COULD LEAD TO SPREADING THE INFECTION TO YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS BY ORDER OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL YOU ARE NOT TO LEAVE THE AREA PLEASE GO BACK TO THE LOBBY OF THE HOSPITAL WHERE YOU WILL BE GIVEN FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE AND YOU WILL BE RELEASED AS SOON AS IT IS DETERMINED THAT YOU DO NOT POSE AN INFECTION RISK TO THOSE AROUND YOU THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION IF YOU ATTEMPT TO LEAVE THE AREA YOU WILL BE PROSECUTED DO NOT ATTEMPT TO LEAVE THE AREA"

John tossed down his cigarette, stamped it out and said, "Let’s leave the area"

"Yeah"

We left the reporter behind and circled around, looking for a way out We found the AMBULANCE ONLY entrance around the block had a Hu a perirounds We looked around behind the building, where there was a little strip of woods separating the hospital grounds fro spools of razor wire froht sound like an odd thing to say right at thishaz their mouths"

"There wouldn’t happen to be a door around here, would there?"

"A door…?"

"You know One of the--"

"Oh There’s not one in the hospital as far as I know That would have been awfully convenient though"

John thought for a ht on the other side of the trees there" BB’s was a convenience store about two blocks away, but on the other side of that little wooded area Ae ditch we’d also have to cross

"Man, I don’t know…"

He edged around to get a look at the Guards between us and the woods He said, "Cooes to help unload soap there But if we’re gonna do it, we have to do it now, before the sun couys won’t shoot us in the head?"

"They’re not gonna do that All these guys know is they got up in the wee hours of the uy went on a shooting rae and they’re afraid some diseases may have escaped They don’t know there’s a, you know,on"

"And you know all of that how?"

"TJ Frye is over on the other side You reo and stuck his dick in the jelly? He’s like a sergeant now Said they haven’t been told shit"

"Well, they’re gonna chase us"