When he came home he knocked on Luis door nervously, but sighed in relief when Luis responded "Yeah bro?"

"Just checking" Danny said. "How you feeling?"

"Fine" Luis responded. "I guess it's just a waiting game now".

He sounded confident. That was good.

"Can you--"

"Get you some cheetos and a Dew? Coming right up"

"Nice bro. I owe you one" he replied cheerfully.

After dropping these off at the door Danny went to his bed and crashed. Normally he would have checked to see if Dante had posted anything new or messaged him, but that would have to wait.

The next morning he was awoken by a phone call. He didn't recognize the number but the name he did: Jack. He'd put it in his phone last night.

"Hello?" he said, trying to sound awake.

"Hey Danny, mate. It's Jack. Jack King from last night... I didn't wait ya, did I?"

"No, no... Of course not" Danny lied. "What's up?"

"Well... this is a little awkward I suppose but I'll come right out and say it: About that Maine stuff... just be careful listening to ol' Tyrone and ScarLo about it. They're both charmers they are and I know they got their heart set on this place and it being some big rock candy mountain out there but no one really know what is and isn't, ya know mate? I mean, I got all the love in the world for those two but working in Hollywood I know something weird when I see it and... well..."

Jack grew silent for a second to the point Danny thought the call was dropped.

"...The thing is, Danny, I overheard you and them talking by your car and they really seemed to be pressing you hard to go with them. They've been on about Maine for awhile now and there ain't no talking them out of it. They never came at any of the rest of us like that, though. They mentioned it to me and Carol about going and we did think about it but when we decided it wasn't in the cards for us they dropped it pretty quick. But with you... well, damn mate, they were really pushing hard. Just... if you want to go, then go, but make sure it's your own decision. Go for you and not them, alright? Don't let them manipulate or pressure you into it. Just be smart about it is all I'm saying. I know you're a big boy and can make your own decisions, but you seem like a good kid and... well... anyway..."

Jack trailed off and Danny could tell how awkward this was for him.

"Well, I appreciate the advice" Danny said, not knowing how else to respond. "Really".

"Just trying to look out for you..." Jack said. "Well, I should get going, I'm doing some painting. We haven't told the rest of the Club but, oh hell, I can't keep it up anymore so you'll be the first to know: Carol's pregnant!"

Danny was truly surprised. There were a number of reasons for this. One was given Jack's age this was a pretty shocking development. But also there was the fact they'd both had the virus...

"I thought...?" Danny began.

"That people who had the virus couldn't reproduce anymore" Jack said, finishing his sentence. "That's what they say, but they've said a lot that turned out to be borrie".

"Borrie?"

"Oh sorry mate... that's how we said shit where I'm from..."

"Ah".

"Anyway... she'll be showing pretty soon so it can't be a secret much longer. Today I'm gonna start on the baby's room painting the walls. Fresh coat of blue paint. Yeah, mate, it's a boy!"

"Congratulations!" Danny said. He meant it, but at the same time in the back of his mind he didn't understand how anyone could be excited about bringing a baby into this world.

They said their farewells and Danny hung up.

Danny thought about what Jack said and after a moment came to one singular conclusion: Tyrone is right: they're pussies.

Here they were totally dismissing Maine and actually wanting to stay around here? With a fucking baby on the way? They were delusional.

Did they really think it was going to get better? Hell, if I had a baby on the way, the first thing I'd do is flee to Maine. Immediately.

Danny shook his head. The more he thought about the more it bothered him. He supposed it wasn't all their fault. They didn't have the information him, Tyrone and ScarLo had from Dante. They weren't like them. They didn't get it. They weren't in the know.

Painting a nursery while the world collapses around us. What the fuck? If that isn't delusional I don't know what is...

He hopped onto TOR to see the latest from Dante. It wasn't good. Rumors of two new hot spots in the U.S. of strains emerging similar to the ones reported in other parts of the world, including China. These were the bad strains that spread fast. No one knew how they got in. International travel had been completely shut down.

They were in two places: New York City and Indiana.

NYC made sense to Danny. It seemed like bad stuff always happened there. But Indiana? Memories tried to flood Danny's mind but he immediately pushed them out. His past stayed in the past. He remembered and knew he was from there, but didn't care to remember anything else.

BLING

He jumped. Why did that sound always startle him?

It was a new message from Dante.

"Hey dude, how goes it?"

"Not bad. Saw a movie last night. I'll give you a guess...."

Dante guessed it. Damn. But then again he had talked about it with him.

"Correct".

"WHAT THE SHIT!?" Dante wrote back. "I was joking. How!?!?"

So Danny told him.

"That's crazy man..." he said. "So I guess that means you're not on your way to the Free Republic of Maine yet...haha..."

"Nah, not yet". Danny said. "Some Australian guy I met last night called me and tried to talk me out of going with them".

"What did he say?" Dante asked.

"Oh not much. Just that it should be my own decision and something is weird about Tyrone and ScarLo and blah blah..."

From the other room Luis called him. Another request, this time for toilet paper. He was out in his bathroom.

"Just open the door and roll it towards the bathroom".

"Got to go" he told Dante. "My roommate needs help. Later man!"

And he signed off.

The rest of the day past uneventfully and then the next day came. It was Luis shopping day but he couldn't out. There was a rule that allowed you to shop for someone else if they were unable to shop so he decided to take advantage of it. Danny had no idea how it worked. He supposed he'd just have to hope the cops believed him if he were pulled over or hit a check point.

He went out and gathered supplies and on the way back his phone rang. It was Jack again.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Hello? Jack?"

There was a pause. A woman cleared their throat.

"This is Carol..." she said and Danny could tell something was wrong.

"Carol... you don't sound so good, is everything okay?"

There was a pause.

"Jack... Jack's dead..."

Danny almost ran his Subaru into the guard rail.

"What!?" he gasped.

"Heart attack" she sobbed. "That's what they think... He was painting... and... maybe the fumes.. they say that the virus makes your heart permanently weakened and..."

She stammered into a sob and Danny said what he could to comfort her.

"I'm just... letting everyone know... I... "

There was a pause. She took a breath and followed by several sniffles.

"I'm sorry Danny, I have to go".

She immediately hung up, leaving Danny calling her name into an empty phone.

He got home and put away the groceries and other supplies in a fog. He checked on Luis. He was fine he said, but had Danny not been distracted he would have noticed the scratch in Luis voice that wasn't there before.

He tried to play video games but couldn't bring himself to do it. He thought about seeing if Dante was around to chat, but decided against it. Then his phone rang. It was Tyrone.

"Yeah..." Danny answered.

"I take it you heard about Jack" Tyrone said.

"Yeah" Danny managed. "I didn't know him well but..."

"Yeah" Tyrone said. "We're pretty broken up about it. Carol is a wreck. I tried to talk to her but she couldn't stop crying..."

"Same when she called me" Danny said.

"They say that virus really fucks with your organs, especially your lungs and heart. If it was a heart attack like they're saying, maybe that makes sense..."

Danny just made a sound in agreement.

"Well... listen man, I know this is short notice, but can you meet me and ScarLo at the house?"

Danny looked at the clock and as if Tyrone could see him do it he said "yeah, I know it's late, but you can crash here again so you don't have to worry about getting caught out past curfew. Plus, ScarLo is pretty broken up. She could use some comfort and distraction if you know what mean. You'd be doing me a favor on that front..."

Why can't you comfort your own wife? Danny thought, but didn't dare say it.

After a few seconds Danny agreed. He needed to be around people and Luis was not an option.

About 20 mins later he was at the house. It was the same as before: the gate closed behind him and this time Tyrone and ScarLo came out to greet him.

ScarLo had been crying. Her face was puffy and red. She hadn't bothered to put on make up, not that she really needed it. She immediately hugged Danny, falling into him.

"It's so sad..." she whispered.

Tyrone padded him on the back.

"Come inside man" he said and Danny made his way in, ScarLo's arms around him.

"You want something to drink?" Tyrone asked. "We're drinking coffee but we're more than willing to go stronger if you want..."

"Coffee sounds good" Danny said. Tyrone made him a cup while ScarJo laid against him as they say on the couch.

Tyrone brought the coffee and handed it to him.

They spent a few minutes talking. Danny barely had known Jack and Tyrone basically was writing his obituary for him. As he went on, ScarLo became more and more distressed. Not knowing what else to do he rubbed his hand in circles on her back.

This seemed to work because she regained her composure.

"He called me yesterday morning" Danny said finally.

"Really?" Tyrone said, showing surprise.

"Yeah... I, well, I think he was trying to look out for me. But, uh, he said that I shouldn't let you guys talk me into going to Maine and it should be my own decision..."

Danny decided to keep the conversation vague. He wasn't even sure if he should mention it.

"Oh really?" Tyrone said, frowning.

"Yeah..."

"Well..." Tyrone said after a moment. "I hope you don't think we've been... I guess too pushy about it?"

"No, no..." Danny sighed. "Actually, and maybe I shouldn't be talking about this, but... well... you were right with what you said the other day. They're totally delusional. It's not their fault. They don't know what we know. They're not like us. I mean, who's okay with bringing a baby into a home in a world that's crumbling?"

Tyrone looked surprised. ScarLo even more so. Her eyes were big.

"So... he didn't....make you rethink things at all?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Tyrone flashed her a look.

"No" Danny said "The opposite actually. He helped me wake up to what you guys have been saying all along..."

ScarJo looked down mournfully. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"Oh God..." she muttered and immediately began sobbing.

Tyrone swallowed hard.

"Come on sweetie... it'll be okay..." he said coming over so that they had ScarLo sandwiches between them.

"We have to be strong..." he whispered in her ear. After a moment she nodded.

Danny watched a tear fall from her face and hit the wood floor. A few feet away was Tyrone's shoes. He always wore immaculate sneakers. There were Jordan's and looked brand new except for one thing... there was a small blue speckle on the rubber near the sole.

"You got something on your shoe" Danny couldn't help but saying. It seemed like a weird thing to bring up right now, but he came out.

Tyrone looked down and with alarm said "shit..."

He immediately jumped up and went to the kitchen and grabbed a paper towel.

ScarLo had looked up and then jumped up, grabbing a second paper towel and wetting it.

"It's that Gogurt from earlier. The blue raspberry" she said. "Got to be. That stuff leaks out of the tube and gets everywhere"

She bent down to clean it immediately.

"Yeah, guess so" Tyrone said, nodding rapidly.

Danny looked on at the crazy seen and ScarLo, still red and puffy faced, took notice at his gaze.

"Tyrone is really crazy about his shoes" she said by way of explanation. "Total sneaker head".

She tried to laugh but he came out as a distraught snort.

"You got it, babe" he told her and helped her up.

"Yeah" Tyrone said, with a light laugh lacking any feeling. "I am really crazy about my shoes".

They both made their way back over to the coach.

"So, Danny... we had you come over for more than just to talk about Jack and be together, truth be told. I've got an update on your Maine plan. If you're comfortable with hearing it right now, of course..."

Danny nodded with more confidence than ever.

"I am".