The figures blurred past us as the taxi sped through the winding streets of the backed-up city, leaving very little to witness within the bright yellow vehicle. The large cover of golden light was setting just beyond our backs as we sat in the sanitised seats, my Nana staring out the window; her wary eyes fleeting between each person gathering near the retail stores with roller trolleys filled with an abundance of unnecessary amounts of food, or essentials of what is needed with to keep a household functioning.

A small breath breezes past my dried lips as my fingertips grip the firm cushion beneath my slender thighs.

What is the reason for all these people to rationally believe that there is a reason for buying so much?

The bodies pile together as they surge through the doors of the grocery store, some hanging back, wary of the relentlessness of the crowd shoving their way through the automated doors. You can almost see the ones watching from their cars, twitching at the sight of even the slightest gap for them to slip through.

In one swift motion, I turn my attention away from the stores that now turn back into a blurring mass as the traffic light turns a dull green.

What do I have in my fridge? Or my cabinets? It's coming up to the day that I usually go down to the store to stock back up, but with what's going on out there, and the way people have been acting, I don't think there will be anything left on the shelves once the store closes, or in a worst-case scenario, nothing when they open back up.

I begin to think of ways to ration the food that we have left at home, stored away in the dark corners of our fridge and cupboards.

Is this also connected to the flu? I know that it's progressing to a dangerous point, but those people who did pass from it were more likely at high risk anyway; have medical issues, have low immune systems...or were older in age.

I can't help my gaze shifting toward my Nan-nan as she mumbles a question to the guy in the front seat.

"Sorry, young man, would you mind turning the radio on?" Nana rests her hand against the head of the passenger seat, the veins running just beneath the thin layer of frail skin is no longer the greenish, blue tint that we as a society have all come custom to, but now a dark purplish coursing through her, as if the vines themselves have lost its pigment, and now take on a translucent effect.

The driver's eyes connect with my Nan's, a dread pooling within the depths of his irises.

His fear, everybody's fear.

Just this morning before I left for work, everything was normal, the news played its typical segments; the bigger crimes that happened throughout the city, the tornado that took out half of a town not too far from here and whatever else it bloody played, so why - no how - are people now rummaging through the stores, fear so apparent in their actions?

"Even if it's just for a second, my dear."

The man is hesitant as his gaze flicks between us and the now car-ridden roads, crashing us in, unmoving in the traffic jam, but reluctantly he gives us a small smile as he pulls his hand from the wheel, leaving a sweat mark where his palm had just been gripping.

"Yeah, no, of course. Sorry, the news has just been," he breaths out, somehow not letting the tension in his body out, "it's been...not something I want to be thinking about while working,"

An automated voice cracks through on the man's radio filling the awkward void that had once been there, "the casualty rate for the flu that has recently surfaced, now spiking close to six thousand within just a few hours. The professionals over at the local testing facility have now confirmed a title to put to this ever-fast-growing epidermic, now named the Deirigh Virus, as it no longer is classed as a flu-" the static flicks off quickly as the man thrusts his fingers into the button, his knuckles now pale as his grip tightens.

"Sorry, I just...I don't need to hear what's happening out there, I can see...we can all see it." The man's voice cracks as his brown locks fall into his wide eyes.

A lump forms in my throat while my head begins to bob around the car windows as I search the buildings around our ideal vehicle, identifying the surrounding area for anything that might tell us where we are stuck, and how close we may be to the hospital.

I shouldn't have left Eliana home, I should have waited for her to come home, and then we all could have gone. I would know she was safe because she would be with me. I left her there, what if she comes into contact with someone who has the flu – no, someone who has the virus?

I left her alone.

A bold sign a few meters away from the car, with bright yellow colouring spells out, Hospital, with an arrow pointing to the direction that we need to be heading in.

I lean forward a little, "can't you just go home...you know, with everything that is going on?"

His smile is reluctant as he meets my gaze once again and shakes his head solemnly, "no, if I were to 'just leave' I'd lose this job, because I don't have the go from my bosses, and my bosses don't have the go from their higher-ups." He undoes one of the buttons that's pressing against the bobbing of his Adam's apple.

"And I need this job, my family needs me to have this job, so no matter how much I want to go home right now, to them, to my daughter, I can't. I have to continue until my rostered time before I can clock out."

My heart aches at his words, because of how similar they are to my own, and what I've had to do for my own family, for my sister.

A din chimes through on the cracked screen, with Eliana's name popping up.

Eliana – hey, I just got home, was a bit later than usual because there was an issue with the train, something to do with a commotion on one of the other units.

Eliana – how far off are you?

The tips of my fingers scramble over the low low-lit screen.

Naseria – lock the doors, turn off the lights, pretend you are not home, okay?? And do not watch the news, on your phone or the TV.

The three bubbles pop up immediately as I sit here waiting in the smouldering car, my leg fidgeting what feels like the whole vehicle.

Eliana – what why??

Her three bubbles pop up again as she types something else out, but I beat her to it.

Naseria – Just do it. If anyone knocks on the door or yells out to you, you need to ignore them and stay as quiet as possible, okay?

My breathing is shallow as I stare at the screen for a moment, contemplating the next thing to type.

Eliana is my whole world, my reason for living, the motivation I have to get up in the morning. I might only be her sister, but I've taken on the role that our mother left behind all those years ago. To begin with, she'd left that to our Nana; her own mother, someone who's been there as much as she could, but in a lot of ways couldn't provide, unlike me. So, I took on that burden, the responsibility of the both of us, but Eliana was also only young, only a mere child when she left us, when she left her.

I wonder if she's worrying about us right now, wondering if we are safe from, whatever this might be.

I wonder if she's thinking about us at all.

Naseria – and if you hear any loud noises, do not move and try to stay as still as possible, the floorboards creek if you move too much.

People are unpredictable in times like these, and I guess that's because times like these are unpredictable.

Suddenly, the mind can no longer ensure itself that it is safe, that its loved ones are safe, so people begin to do things with no rationality, actions untypical to its normal routine, the usual rationality the mind has built itself.

Naseria – I know what I'm saying right now doesn't make any sense, but I'll explain it to you later, for now just stay silent.

Naseria – please.

Unpredictably makes people scared, and fear makes people dangerous.

Chapter Two | The Tilting of People

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