The Zombie Proof Fence

Sydney, 04:45 AEST, Day 1 “Gen, I just saw Ian in NZ come online”, Dan called, forgetting she had dozed off. “I'm going to Skype him.” It took only a few seconds to get through, although it was voice only. “Hey Dan, how you doing?” Ian said. “Not so great Ian, how's things over there?” “Fine mate, you're up early, wet the bed or something?” Dan was surprised, normally Ian was sharp as a tack and right on top of current events. “What have you heard about these shutdowns and riots?” “The what?” Dan was amazed. “Have you seen any news today?” “No, why? Has something happened?” “Well yeah Ian. Australia is in lock down. They've closed all the airports, there's a national curfew and things are going a little crazy.” “What the fuck are you talking about?” Ian said. “Mate, there is a global plague happening. The Middle East has disintegrated. Europe is collapsing. The US has riots breaking out throughout the country. We've had some sort of incident at the airport. It seems like everything's turning to custard.” “Are you taking the piss? I've just got out of bed turned on my PC. I've read maybe two emails and I haven't heard crap about any of this.” “Ian, you aren't going to believe this until you see some news, but it looks like the world is going to hell. Have a quick look at a news web site - there's an email from Marcus Kopfer you should look at as well.” “Righto, hang on a sec.” Dan heard some rapid key strokes. Three seconds later he heard Ian saying “What the fuck?” followed by some mouse clicks. “Pretty incredible eh?” Dan said. “Is this everywhere?” Ian asked. “So far as I can tell it seems to be all over the place, you remember Piotr that ran the training in Melbourne last month?” “Yeah, sure, nice bloke. Just had a new baby.” “Well, I just talked to him on Skype. While I was on the phone to him his neighbour that lives across the street had infected people dive through his window and attack him. Piotr is hiding in his upstairs rooms trying not be noticed.” “You're kidding? Is he OK?” “He was when I spoke to him a few minutes ago. I'm not sure how long that will last.” “What else have you heard?” “The late call I have with the global team got cancelled and Marcus shut down all offices and told everyone to go home. No-one's replied to any of my emails. Piotr told me that Munich was really bad. The news we've been getting here says that it's happening pretty much everywhere. He said that he had heard it started in Pakistan and might have been biological warfare.” “No fucking way. That's just nuts.” “Well, that's what Piotr said.” “It's not much of a weapon if you can't aim it. That sounds like bullshit to me.” “I don't know, the news had the British PM saying it started in the Middle East a few weeks ago - maybe it just got out of control.” “Maybe, but it could have just started there. Really, it's beside the point at the moment. What did you say about a curfew and all that?” “The Australian Government declared a State of Emergency. There's a curfew and a quarantine. No-one's allowed on the streets today. The news said there had been one incident at the airport but that it was under control. A whole pile of countries have announced quarantines.” “Have you heard anything about New Zealand?” “Nothing on our news. The only report I saw with areas of infection had you guys as clear. The way this thing is spreading I doubt that will last.” “I'll put the news on in a sec, but the NZ Herald web site doesn't say anything about quarantine here - lots of reports of it happening in other places though. So have you been awake all night? It's either really early or really late there now.” “Yeah, I was waiting on the meeting at 1am when I started seeing reports of it going out of control. I've been too wired to sleep since then.” “Mate - you need to sleep. If things are turning to shit you're going to need to be able to think clearly. Why don't you go crash now and I'll give you a call in a few hours and let you know what's going on here.” “Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Gen fell asleep on the lounge a little while ago. I've been online since I got back from the shops.” “Since you got back from the shops?” “Yeah, I guess I panicked a bit. When I saw the first reports I thought `Zombie Apocalypse' and went and bought a tonne of groceries just so we could hole-up without leaving the house.” “Jesus, it really freaked you out eh?” “I'm still freaked out mate. Who knows how long this will last?” “That aside, stocking up might not be a bad idea. I think I might duck down to the supermarket as well. I'll give you a call back in a couple of hours - you go grab some sleep.” “Sure Ian, talk to you soon.” Dan clicked off. He leaned forward, putting his head in his hands for a few moments before leaning back in his chair. “Fuck it” he said, and went back to surfing the net, trawling for news