"And I looked, and behold, a pale horse and his name
that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the
earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death,
and with the beasts of the earth."

-Revelation 6:8

.x.x.x.

Penny was not a morning person.

When she slowly opened her eyes to the morning light flooding in and saw the clock on her bedside table flashing 6:59 am in bold red numbers, she groaned. Her first thought was to go back to sleep. She was still on sick leave, she could afford to get a few more hours. She'd try to be up by noon.

But sleep wouldn't come. Something was wrong. Her apartment was eerily silent. No faint sounds of life from the building around her, no rattling pipes or flushing toilets or footsteps in the hallway. Inexplicably, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she was suddenly wide awake.

She sat up, frozen in the middle of her bed, clutching her sheets and feeling puzzled.

It was only then that she realized that she was no longer sick. Her head was clear, her joints weren't painful, and her skin was no longer scorching with a fever. Maybe that was the problem. The sudden clarity that came over her when her fever broke must be throwing her off.

For the past few days she had been hostage to a particularly nasty flu bug that had been spreading steadily across the country. The bug had people concerned, both because of its severity and its wide reach. Not many people had caught it but it had already shown up in every state as well as Canada and Mexico. Apparently, it was also quite an odd strain of the virus and they were calling it Flu X. Penny didn't really understand the details but she knew that it had doctors puzzled.

Fortunately, she didn't know many other people who had gotten sick; just herself, a co-worker, and Mrs. Vartabedian downstairs.

Oh, and Sheldon. Yes, poor Sheldon had caught it too. He'd blamed her of course even though he had absolutely no reason to. They'd both started showing symptoms at the same time; it wasn't as if she could have infected him.

So she'd spent the last few days in hell with Sheldon, snuggled on his sofa in thick blankets as the television flashed an always-alternating but never-ending stream of sci-fi movies and reality shows. They'd sipped chicken noodle soup and hot cocoa; his spiked with marshmallows and hers with Kahlua. To kill the flu germs, she'd told him.

He'd been grumpy at first but as he got sicker, the sweet child inside of him had reared its adorable head. He'd been particularly pitiful the previous evening, asking her to help him to bed before she went home. She couldn't resist his big, blinking puppy-dog eyes. So after a heavily congested round of "Soft Kitty" and a healthy dollop of Vapo-Rub, she'd left him tucked safely in his bed and stumbled home to her own.

So it was amazing how wonderful she felt this morning; stronger than ever. She climbed out of bed and turned on the shower, deciding she might as well start her day. She'd shower off the sickly grime and then go check on Sheldon.

Penny was just stripping off her shirt when she heard him at her door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Penny!

She paused, frowning. There was something odd about his voice. She pulled her shirt back over her head and turned off the water.

Knock, knock, knock.

Penny!

Fear. Desperation. That was what was different about his voice. Stumbling over discarded magazines and dirty clothes, she ran for the door with her heart suddenly pounding. She threw the door open before he could knock a third time and was floored by the sight in the hallway.

Dr. Sheldon Cooper was standing in front of her with two bulging duffel bags over his shoulders, a shotgun strapped to his back, and a handgun clutched to his chest.

Penny felt her jaw hit the floor. Oh, God. This was it. He'd finally snapped. They'd all known this day was coming. The flu had just pushed him over the edge.

She tried to shove the door closed but he rushed inside, nearly bowling her over. She squealed in surprise as he slammed the door shut behind himself and locked it with a quick flick of his wrist.

"What the hell, Sheldon? What the hell!" She demanded as he flattened himself against the door, planting against the floor as if for traction.

"Penny, this is it! This is not a drill," His eyes were wild, spinning in his head like a slot machine.

"What? Sheldon, calm down. Sheldon, where is Leonard?" She asked slowly, her mind racing as she considered how best to keep him calm until she could get help.

His gaze darted to her face and he seemed to flinch when she said Leonard's name, his jaw clenching. Some sort of realization dawned across his face as he glanced at her blank television screen. She hoped it was the return of his sanity.

"Penny, turn on the news," he said quietly, insistently.

She stared at him for a moment, frozen in place with her heart thudding against her ribcage, "Sheldon-"

"Penny! Turn on the news," Sheldon cut her off and she noticed he was trembling.

She backed away slowly, never taking her eyes off his, and fumbled for her television remote. She was still watching him as she pressed the power button.

"This is an official broadcast from the emergency services station in Washington DC. We're reporting on widespread panic this morning over what many are calling a zombie outbreak."

What? Penny turned to the television screen in shock, her crazy neighbor suddenly forgotten. She barely noticed as he pushed her armchair in front of the door and balanced his weapons in it, dropping his bags with a heavy thud.

"Scenes of terror are emerging from around the country. This amateur footage out of Manhattan is shaky but it seems to show a group of people violently attacking a woman in the street and presumably murdering her before appearing to exhibit the cannibalistic behavior associated with all reported attacks. We must warn you, this footage is extremely graphic."

Grainy cell-phone camera footage flashed across the screen. It was obviously filmed from a window a few stories above the street. Penny saw a young woman in a black dress running, stumbling on her high heels. A group of seven people pursued her with jerky, unearthly movements and frightening speed. Off camera, someone fired a gun and one of the pursuers stopped in his tracks as a bullet ripped through his chest. Penny could see the dark spray of blood. But shockingly, that didn't stop him. He started running again until another gunshot exploded his head. Then he hit the pavement like a sack of potatoes.

Penny's stomach turned violently because it wasn't enough. The others never slowed down. They overtook the woman quickly, tearing at her and dragging her down. Penny saw her mouth open in a silent scream before she disappeared beneath them.

When one of the attackers stood, clutching a bloody mass of slippery flesh in his hands, Penny gasped and looked away.

"It's fake, it's got to be fake," Penny whispered, looking to Sheldon for confirmation.

He just shook his head, jaw clenched as he stared at the television screen.

"We have received no official confirmation, the White House has been silent this morning, but this behavior is being reported all over the US. We have every reason to believe this is a major catastrophic event. Again, reports are still coming in but experts tell us they have reason to believe this outbreak is in some way related to the recent Flu X outbreak."

Penny only realized she was shivering wildly when Sheldon reached out a trembling hand to touch her shoulder. His expression was grim.

"Sheldon?" she asked, knowing her voice was full of questions she couldn't put into words.

"I don't know, Penny," he answered.

"We can only urge citizens to stay inside their homes and wait for further direction. We'll bring you more information as we get it in."

With that, Sheldon scoffed and took the remote from her. The television went black as he pressed the Power button and that eerie silence was back again.

Penny felt like she was losing her mind. How could this be happening? Zombies weren't real. She said as much to Sheldon.

"Sheldon, zombies aren't real!"

He shrugged, just a quick twitch of his bony shoulders, "Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you wholeheartedly, Penny. But the circumstances surrounding this event are extraordinary, even by my estimation. My knowledge of the current situation is limited of course, but it would appear that those infected with the virus are, in fact, exhibiting characteristics which we would normally attribute to the zombies traditionally depicted in movies such as-"

She stopped him there, "But we had the virus, Sheldon, remember? We were sick! Does that mean we're going to turn into zombies?"

He shook his head, "Quite the opposite, Penny. Based on my, admittedly limited, observation, it would seem that those who didn't exhibit symptoms of Flu X are now exhibiting violent cannibalistic behavior."

"Oh, God," Penny said softly, her eyes leaving his as she pondered this, "Nobody I knew was sick except for Gina from work and us. Oh, Sheldon…does that mean my parents are zombies? And my sister? Oh, God."

Penny covered her face with her hands as the reality of the situation sank in. Pain seemed to constrict her chest until she couldn't breathe. She couldn't even sob.

"My family wasn't sick either," Sheldon said softly, his gaze focused on the floor.

She glanced up at the sound of his voice to find him looking like a lost little boy; obviously just as heartbroken and terrified as she was. But then he shook his head and it was gone, replaced with the cold determination of the Sheldon she knew so well.

"What about Leonard?" Penny asked suddenly.

Penny watched as Sheldon gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing frantically. When his eyes finally met hers again, they were pleading.

"He's dead," Sheldon whispered.

Penny inhaled sharply, opening her mouth to ask him how, to ask him when, but the sound of an otherworldly screech from the floor above startled her into silence. It was unlike anything she'd ever heard and suddenly she knew without question that she did not want to meet the creature making that noise. She felt the prickle of goose bumps rising across her flesh as she looked to Sheldon desperately.

"I believe that was one of the infected. We've got to get out of here, Penny. If we stay here like the reporter advised we'll be overrun in no time and then there will be no escape," He explained as he rushed into her kitchen, throwing open her cabinets, "Do you have a large carrier bag, perhaps one used for sports equipment or travel?"

Spurred into action by the fear still pumping through her body, Penny didn't even question him. She dashed into her bedroom and dug her old gym bag out from under her bed. Uncertain of what to pack, she turned to call out to Sheldon and found him standing in her doorway.

"You'll need to change your clothing as well. Thick materials such as denim or leather would be a prudent choice," he informed her, crossing his arms across his chest as he took in the chaos of her bedroom.

It was only then that she noticed his attire which consisted of stiff, thick jeans that looked as if they'd never been worn before and a thick denim jacket over his favorite Green Lantern t-shirt. Her eyes lingered on the jacket; it was baggy in the shoulders and hung loose around his arms.

"It was my fathers," Sheldon said quietly to her answer her unvoiced question.

She nodded and pulled a pair of jeans out her closet, sliding them on as she fired questions at her companion, "So do you think it's like the movies? Do you think their bite can infect us?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly, placing a few boxes of granola bars he'd found in her cabinet in the bottom of her open gym bag, "My theory is that we have some sort of immunity or resistance to the virus but that doesn't mean that a bite from one of the infected wouldn't transfer enough of the virus into our bloodstreams to overcome that resistance."

"Of course you have a theory," Penny sighed, thumbing through her closet until she found her only leather jacket, "You're going to have to catch me up on it when we get out of here."

Her jacket wasn't real leather and it wasn't all that heavy but it was all she had aside from hoodies and blazers. She held it out for Sheldon's approval and he frowned, rubbing the slippery material between his thumb and index finger.

"I suppose that will have to suffice," He said hesitantly, spouting off some nonsense about fabric counts as he watched Penny slide it on before lacing up her old tennis shoes.

She shoved some extra clothes and underwear into the gym bag and then stared at him for direction, "What else should I take?"

His cold blue stare met hers, "Do you have a weapon?"

She rolled her eyes, "Of course! I'm from Nebraska!"

Her father's old gun was loaded and in hand. Her bag was filled to the brim with extra clothing, extra ammunition for her gun, an old first-aid kit she'd found in her bathroom, snacks, and water bottles. When Sheldon wasn't looking, she'd also managed to cram in her birth control, three bottles of booze, and a bag of chips. As her father was fond of saying, you could never be too prepared.

"Sheldon, won't the roads be crazy? Where are we going?" Penny asked as he picked up his bags and strapped the shotgun over his back, "And why did you have guns just lying around your apartment?"

"Penny, I've been prepared for an event such as this for years. If you had bothered to attend my preparedness drills, you would be aware of this. And as for the roads, they are likely to be nearly impenetrable. But the longer we stay here, the less probable a successful escape will be. We'll be heading for an open, rural area where we're statistically less likely to meet infected people. They'll be easier to manage in small numbers."

As he spoke she chewed her lip, toying with a thought, "Wouldn't a bigger vehicle make it easier to get through the crowded streets? Like, you know, an SUV?"

He sighed, his tone impatient, "Yes, I suppose it would. But as neither of us owns a sports utility vehicle, I don't see how that's pertinent."

Penny rolled her eyes, "No, but Mrs. Vartabedian does. You know that big Yukon or whatever her son gave her when he sold his restaurant? And she got sick too so she might be okay. We'll have to take her with us."

Sheldon processed this quickly, she could see the gears turning in that big head of his before he finally spoke.

"We'll stop by Mrs. Vartabedian's apartment on our way down. Now, are you prepared? Be quiet and be aware of your surroundings. Also, you saw the video footage earlier…aim for the head," his voice was quiet and serious.

Penny could only nod, clutch her gun, and pray that her aim was still top-notch as Sheldon slowly opened her front door. Her heart started pounding, adrenaline rushing through her veins as her body prepared to fight or flee. But the hallway was empty.

She was on edge all the way down the stairs, waiting for some staggering creature to lunge at her from around every corner. But they saw no signs of life, or death, and heard nothing.

They stopped outside Mrs. Vartabedian's apartment, Penny watching Sheldon's back as he lifted his hand and rapped his knuckles against the door. They both jumped back in surprise when the door shifted open with an ominous creak. Penny's eyes met Sheldon's and she knew what he was thinking. This didn't bode well for Mrs. Vartabedian.

Without a word, she inched forward and raised her gun to cover him. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and slowly pushed the door all the way open.

Together, they peered into the dark apartment. Nothing seemed out of place…aside from the prone body of old Mrs. Vartabedian in the middle of the floor. Penny stifled a gasp, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.

The old woman was stretched out on her back just beyond the door in a pool of dark red blood, her floral nightdress ripped and torn. Penny took a hesitant step closer, pressing her lips tightly together as she quickly assessed the body. It was hard to tell for certain but it looked as if Mrs. Vartabedian's throat and abdomen had been ripped open.

Penny gagged at the sight and covered her mouth and nose to the smell of blood. She wanted to cry for the poor old lady, and for her parents and friends. But she shoved the sadness aside to deal with later and forced herself to stay alert, eyes roaming over the neat apartment. She wondered where the old lady would keep her car keys. Probably in her purse.

Sheldon turned towards Penny, his big eyes wider than she'd ever seen them. He opened his mouth to speak but no words emerged as a crash to their right made them both jump. Penny screamed as a figure leapt from the shadows with an ungodly howl and lunged for Sheldon's throat.