The three blocks of flats sat at one corner of a rough triangle of land bordered by wide roads in the centre of Leeds. To the east and south were the red brick buildings of a housing estate, all of which were surrounded by a border of trees that helped dampen the sounds of the roads.

Further east were the larger businesses, like the car-hire place, supermarkets, building supplies, army reserve base and the like. West was the university, general infirmary, shopping centres and music arenas. All of the many and varied places that brought people into the city centre.

To the north were student accommodation and more housing estates, while to the south were the markets, bars and shops of the city.

Which meant, in no uncertain terms, that the blocks of flats where Jack and Declan lived, were surrounded by the larger city that teemed with people. Being on the top floor, their windows looked out to the south and east, giving them a bird’s eye view of all the chaos as it unfolded.

Declan, leaning dangerously out of his window, watched as the police car sped along, turning off the main road and heading into the small housing estate that bordered the flats. Two uniformed men jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop and ran over to one of the houses.

“It’s kicking off again!” Declan called out to his friend and flatmate.

“Second time today,” Jack replied, wearily.

He didn’t move from the couch, not needing to see another snapping and snarling figure dragged from the house, blood smeared over his face. It was fast becoming an all too common a sight.

The TV was flashing images from around the world. Despite the media blackout, some things were getting through and it wasn’t anything good. Of course, there was more information appearing on the internet, but it was hard to pick out the truth from the crazy.

Pictures and video of crazed lunatics running rampant through towns and cities were everywhere on social media and despite warnings, mass account banning’s and threats of police action, it wasn’t enough to deter people from sharing them.

For weeks, the government had been selling the story that it was a new drug people were taking that was turning them crazy, but with every day that passed, it seemed more and more ludicrous an idea to entertain.

No, there was something wrong in the world and in many of the countries around the globe, the police and even military were working to contain the crazies.

It wasn’t working.

Jack watched and listened to the presenter on the news channel, telling people that they needed to stay indoors and only call the police or emergency services if they absolutely had to. While they didn’t explicitly state that the government were trying to contain the crazy people, it was there.

“Oh wow, you should come look, mate!”

“Not now, Dec.” He began flicking through the channels but there was little to see. Every single one was showing the same news reports.

“Seriously! The coppers are getting their arses kicked.”

That was enough to make Jack look over to his friend’s room and with a sigh, he pushed himself up from the couch and headed over.

The room was surprisingly neat, which would come as a surprise to anyone who ever met his friend. Declan dressed much like a homeless person, only changing his t-shirts when they were too encrusted with dirt to be comfortable or stank bad enough that Jack complained.

But despite that, he kept his room spotless. There wasn’t a thing out of place, with all of his clean clothes folded neatly and put away, while his dirty clothing filled a wicker basket in one corner. Books filled a bookcase beside the door, covering everything from quantum physics to horticulture.

Declan was a man who enjoyed learning, which was likely why he had been at university for the better part of a decade.

“Look,” Dec said, pointing at the window with a childish grin of joy on his face.

Jack humoured him and moved across to the open window, pulling aside the curtain that was flapping in the breeze and shivering at the chill in the air. He leant out, looking down on the housing estate and soon caught sight of the police.

Two cars had pulled up outside a house and when the four uniformed officers had approached, whoever had been in the house had gone nuts. One of the police officers was down on the well-kept lawn, lying still with blood soaking the earth beneath them.

Another two officers were fighting with an obese naked man who was twice their size, while the third was speaking rapidly into his radio as he pointed a taser with his other hand.

“Christ,” Jack muttered. That was the second dead person he’d seen in the two days since he’d left Helen at the hospital. “The world’s going mad.”

“Always been mad, Jacky-boy.”

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“Don’t start with your conspiracy nonsense!”

“Hey, I was right about this wasn’t I? told you something was going on weeks ago.”

That was true, Jack had to concede, but he wasn’t going to admit it. He watched the police struggling for several more minutes as the one officer fired his taser. The obese man barely flinched as thousands of volts of electricity rushed through him.

If anything, it made him struggle all the more and one of the police officers went flying and the other screamed as the obese man's nails raked great furrows down his cheek. The obese man leapt to his feet with surprising agility and rushed at the officer with the taser.

Blood burst from the back of the naked man’s skull and he dropped, barely three feet from a startled looking police officer. Jack followed his gaze and blinked in surprise.

“Fuck,” he whispered as the soldier lowered his weapon and approached the officers.

“What?” Dec said, stepping up beside him and leaning out. “Shit! The armies here now. Things must be really fucked.”

Several more soldiers were moving forward, weapons held across their bodies and eyes alert as they scanned the nearby houses. The Land Rover jeep that they had climbed out of, sat idling further up the road.

“I think we’re in trouble, mate,” Jack said, softly.

“No shit.”

Pushing away from the window, Jack walked out of his friend’s room and straight into the kitchen. He began pulling open the cupboards, one after another as Declan watched him, a bemused look on his face.

“What you doing?”

“Get me a pad and paper please, mate.”

Seeing that he’d get no other answer, Declan did as requested, and grabbed the notepad and pen from beside the telephone. It had been bought a year previous to jot down messages from any callers, but they had soon realised that the only people who called were scammers and salespeople.

“Here.”

Jack took the offered pen and notepad and began scribbling furiously as he moved from cupboard to cupboard. He sighed often and shook his head, muttering under his breath as he did so. Fifteen minutes after he started, he tossed the notepad onto the countertop and swore.

“You gonna tell me what’s got your knickers all bunched up or what?”

“The shit is officially hitting the fan,” Jack said. “I’m calling it. Here and now.”

“What you talking about?”

“You’ve seen everything out there, yeah?” His friend nodded. “Things aren’t getting better. If anything, they’re getting worse.”

“Right, well what’s that got to do with you muttering over the cupboards?”

“We have way too many pot noodles and nowhere near enough proper food to last more than a few days.”

While Jack had a preference for eating healthily, he had gotten into the habit of buying ready meals and tinned stuff, just for convenience. Between work, his morning exercise and the small semblance of a social life that he had, there was little time for shopping every day.

“I went to the supermarket last week and there was bugger all on the shelves,” Dec complained. “I got what I could.”

“Yeah, well we need more. If this keeps getting worse we’re gonna run out of food. If people are already panic buying, we’re behind and I doubt anyone will be sharing.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll drive.”

The two friends pulled on their coats and Declan grabbed his keys before the stepped out into the hallway. It was narrow, barely room for two people to walk abreast. There was a door opposite theirs, then the lift and beside that the door leading to the stairwell. Beyond that was another two flat doors, mirroring their own side of the block.

As they closed their door, the one opposite opened, and a face peered out. Wrinkled skin, dark with age, and thick glasses that made her eyes look huge.

“Hey, Mrs Qureshi,” Dec said with genuine warmth in his voice.

He seemed to find joy in getting to know people and likely knew the names of half the block, Jack thought ruefully. It was a gift that Jack lacked, that easy charm that had people opening up to him.

“Hello, hello,” she said, bobbing her head in a birdlike manner. “Are you going out?”

“Yeah, to the supermarket. You need anything?”

“I have a list.”

The shy, old woman extended a hand through the half-open door and Declan reached out for the piece of paper she held. He gave it a quick glance and nodded once.

“Not a problem, darling. We’ll see what we can do.”

“Here, money,” she said as her hand disappeared and returned with a small wad of notes.

“Sweet. We’ll bring you your change.”

“You’re good boys.”

The door shut with a solid thud and Declan turned to Jack who smiled and shook his head.

“I think she’s warming up to me.”

“Yeah, perhaps that’s because you do her shopping and helped her move that washing machine in,” Jack said, laughing. “You’re a good dude.”

“I know.”

They waited for the lift in companionable silence and when it arrived, stepped in and pressed the button for the ground floor. Jack was wondering whether he should bother with work in the morning while Declan was humming softly to himself.

When the doors slid open at the bottom, they stepped off together, heading for the front entrance and the car park beyond. They didn’t get very far as the doorway was blocked by a man arguing with a uniformed soldier.

“You can’t do that!”

The man who spoke was middle-aged, with a round face and large bald spot on hair rapidly greying. He was shaking his finger at the young man in the soldier’s uniform who as standing in front of the open door, his weapon held ready.

“What’s going on, Mr Dobson?” Dec asked.

He really does know everyone, Jack mused with a hint of humour that rapidly faded as he noted the serious expression on the soldier’s face.

“This man, he says we can’t leave!” Mr Dobson snapped, without turning around. “I want to know why!”

“What do you mean we can’t leave?” Jack asked, voice incredulous.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the soldier said. “Everyone has to remain inside while we deal with the… the…”

“The nutters biting people,” Dec offered helpfully.

“With the current situation,” the soldier said, setting his lips in a thin line.

“We need food and supplies,” Jack said. “I have work.”

“I’m sorry, sir. Until further notice, everyone must remain in their homes. Supplies will be provided once the area has been secured.”

Jack didn’t like the sound of that, not one bit. He peered out over the soldier’s shoulder and saw more of them across the way, at the opposite block of flats. They were sealing shut the doors of the block.

“You can’t seal us in here! What if there’s a fire?”

“A squad will be stationed nearby. If there is an emergency, they will deal with it. Once the area is secured, an officer will visit to apprise you of the situation,” the soldier said, reciting his prepared speech from memory. “I would suggest you select a representative to be available here when the officer arrives.”

“The fuck is going on?” Jack snapped. “You can’t do this to us.”

“We can, and we are doing,” the soldier said, firmly. “Once this building has been sealed, anyone who leaves will be shot on sight.”

The three men were left staring open-mouthed at the soldier as he pushed closed the door and began the process of sealing it. Declan turned to Jack; eyebrows raised as though even he couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Well then, we’re fucked,” was all he said.