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stove to try the gas burner.
She turned the knob and was relieved to see that the ignition
sparked a perfect ring of blue flame on the stovetop. At least she
could cook! Her stomach rumbled at the thought and she suddenly
realised that it was mid afternoon, and she hadn’t eaten a thing
all day. She rummaged around in the fridge until she found some
leftover fried rice, made herself a cup of herbal tea, and went out
onto the little balcony to eat.
    As she ate her cold rice Sally considered
her options. She figured she had different choices depending on
whether she was thinking short or long term. In the short term, she
knew that she had to stay put to see what eventuated out of this
crazy situation. Longer term, though, she had much more to think
about. If this disaster didn’t resolve itself in the next few days,
she would need to explore the city and try to find someone in
authority or at least someone that could help her. She stared down
at the street where a cat crept around in the shadows of an
alleyway opposite her apartment. At least there were still animals,
she thought bleakly, as she stood up to head back inside. Then she
heard it - the droning sound of a plane in the distance. My god!
She leaned over the edge of her balcony and peered into the clear
blue sky. There it was, just visible above the skyline, heading
toward the city. As she watched, the tiny speck grew in size, as it
headed towards the airport. Her suburb was on the flight path of
scores of international flights per day, yet she was just realizing
that this was the first plane she had seen or heard since she woke
up this morning. Sally prayed that this was the first sign of a
return to normality, but in the pit of her stomach she had a sick
feeling that an alternative explanation was more likely. She
watched and waited. The plane continued to grow in size as it
cruised towards her. It was also decreasing in altitude, which gave
Sally some hope that it was in a normal flight pattern, and would
be landing routinely. She checked the sky. There was nothing else
in the air except for birds.
    The plane was close enough now for Sally to
tell that it was a Jumbo jet. It seemed to be heading to the
airport, but Sally realized with horror that something wasn’t
right. The plane was not slowing down or doing any banking that
would be usual at this stage of it’s landing. It was coming
straight in, and fast. From where she stood it seemed as if it were
coming straight at her. Each second that passed saw the jet grow in
size as it thundered towards her. Sooner than Sally realised, the
giant jet screamed overhead, so close that she could read the words
on the undercarriage. The noise was deafening. She just had time to
notice that the wheels had not engaged, as the backdraft from the
giant engine blew her off her feet. A second later, as she cowered
on the floor of her balcony, it felt like an atomic bomb had
exploded as the plane crashed into the nearby city streets.

Chapter 10
     
    The night passed uneventfully for Matt and
Elvis, who slept curled up together in Matt’s parents’ double bed.
The next morning, as soon as the dawn’s light began to wash the
dark from the room, Matt climbed out of bed and went outside. Elvis
followed closely behind, as Matt went to the veranda and listened.
Silence. Nothing had changed since the nightmare of the day before.
There was still no traffic on the road; no tractors were ploughing
the fields; and no planes were leaving white trails across the
early morning sky. Matt wondered about his sighting of the jet from
the previous evening. At the time, he assumed that it was on a
regular route, but after having time to think about it, he realized
that the plane could have been on autopilot, and in the air for
many hours. The Matt tried to visual a scenario where everyone in
the plane had been affected by the “virus”. With nowhere for the
passengers to hide, would they simply be sitting comatose in their
seats? Or would they