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already infected.

      After dinner, they sat together in the living room, anxiously watching the TV for any news that might give them hope for a cure. They heard only more disturbing news about the spreading contagion and the rapidly increasing number of reported deaths.

      The news from Asia and Australia was not encouraging. It was already Monday morning there and the number of reported deaths had increased dramatically, with more than a thousand deaths reported in Sydney and Tokyo.

      Her parents were distraught and Margaret was not far behind them. In some ways, her professional experience and knowledge made things much worse for her. She realized SDC could now only be stopped by a miracle.

      She dreaded going into the office on Monday morning and facing her patients again with nothing to offer to calm their fears. She decided to stay over with her parents and return to Ripon and her patients early the next morning. After the stressful day, they all decided to go to bed early. Margaret did break down and give both her mother and father a strong sleeping pill from her bag. After lying awake for more than an hour, she took one herself after setting the alarm for six.

      She left early the next morning, leaving a note for her parents, who were still asleep. Just before she left the house, she crept into their bedroom to assure herself they had not expired during the night. In her note to them, she promised to come back that evening, after her day at work.

      She returned to Ripon by the same back roads route she had taken the previous evening. She avoided any roadblocks until she entered the outskirts of town. This time, she had a much harder time persuading the police officer operating the roadblock to let her through. After a call to his sergeant and to one of her partners to confirm her profession and residence in Ripon, she was finally let through. However, she was warned that a total ban on all automobile use outside city limits would come into effect later that morning. She did not know how she was going to keep her promise to her parents and return to Dishforth that night.

      After a quick shower and change at home, she arrived in the office before eight. Both her partners were already in the office, reviewing the latest Ministry of Health bulletins and listening to the latest news on TV.

      There was no good news. The number of deaths in Asia and Australia had increased dramatically. The situation in Europe was getting desperate, with nearly fifty thousand SDC deaths already reported. The TV commentators estimated the true numbers would be two or three times that when all the reports were in. In some countries, panic was rampant and civilization was already breaking down.

      By nine, the calls from patients were coming in at an unrestrained pace. The doctors were in despair because they were still not able to provide any more helpful advice to their panicking patients. They could only tell them to stay home and to avoid contact with other people to avoid potential contagion contacts.

      It seemed that Ripon, like most other European communities, was coming to a standstill, as most people were staying at home and not going to work. There were still no reported deaths in the Ripon area. However, the numbers of deaths reported from the nearest big cities of Leeds, York and Harrogate were mounting rapidly. Everyone anticipated it was just a matter of time before SDC reached Ripon.

      Margaret was the first doctor in Ripon to see a case of SDC. She may have suspected, but did not know this for certain, until the next day. When the office opened at ten, one of her favorite patients was first in line. Mrs. McKenzie was nearly eighty and she had been one of Margaret’s first patients when she had arrived in Ripon. Despite suffering badly from acute arthritis, Mrs. McKenzie was always in a cheerful mood.

      On Monday morning, she had brought her daughter, Joan, with her. Joan, who lived and worked in Leeds, had just arrived at her mother’s home that morning after traveling on the back roads overnight. Both Joan and her mother were very worried because Joan had begun to experience a runny nose and a mild headache on Sunday. Now they were concerned these were the early symptoms of the deadly contagion now sweeping across Europe and the rest of the world.

      Margaret had her own concerns but decided to keep them to herself. She sent them away with the usual common-cold-cure instructions: Stay home, have plenty of rest, drink plenty of liquid and take aspirin as required for the headache.

      During the remainder of the office hours, one of her partners had a similar visit from the family of a regular patient who had also arrived from Leeds. The symptoms and the treatment were the same.

      At their end-of-day conference, the partners agreed SDC had probably reached Ripon that day. They also agreed there was nothing they could do anyway. It was just a matter of time now. By the end of the day, the Ministry of Health bulletins had stopped coming.

      This, together with the fact that TV had stopped reporting the mounting death counts, was enough to confirm that the “end” was coming soon. They jointly decided there was little more they could do. They would not open the office the next day or until further notice. They would devote their quality time remaining to their own families, in their own homes. They would keep in touch with one another frequently by phone.

      When Margaret got into her car to return to her parents’ home in Dishforth, she was anticipating major problems getting past the police roadblocks. However, she was able to bypass two unmanned barriers. She decided the police officers must have also decided to change their personal priorities and had gone home to look after their own families. She arrived at her parents’ home without any trouble.

      Her mother and father welcomed her warmly. They were relieved to hear she intended to stay with them for the next few days and not return to Ripon. Dishforth was now a community in despair and panic. There had been two SDC deaths overnight: the village police officer and his six-year-old son. No one knew how they caught the infection, but the common theory was that the policeman had been infected while he was manning a roadblock on the nearby highway.

      Margaret patiently explained that it was inevitable SDC would reach Dishforth eventually. She also explained there was nothing she or anyone else could do to prevent them from catching and dying from the contagion. There was a long silence. Margaret’s mother started crying softly and soon her father did too. Finally, Margaret succumbed to their emotion of despair and started weeping herself. Margaret’s announcement was not a real shock to them. However, the blow of her confirmation of their fears was hard to take. After a few minutes of weeping and hugging, they recovered their self-control and resolved to stay calm and quietly enjoy what time was left to them together.

      Margaret and her mother enjoyed preparing a good dinner with some of their family’s favorite foods. The three of them consumed two bottles of good French wine with their leisurely evening meal. They noticed, but did not comment on, the runny noses they all had developed during the evening. An early night was in order and the effects of the wine ensured they all fell asleep quickly.

      On Tuesday morning, Margaret woke up late. It showed after nine on the alarm clock beside her bed when she slowly stirred into consciousness. She quickly remembered the reasons for waking up in her parents’ spare bedroom. It was with some relief she heard her parents talking quietly and normally in the kitchen. They had all survived the night. Their infection was in too early a stage to have had a fatal effect during their night’s sleep.

      She immediately called her partners, who confirmed SDC had reached Ripon. There had been six reported deaths so far, including the Monday arrivals from Leeds who had visited their office.

      When she went to the kitchen to get some breakfast, her mother calmly told her that according to their neighbor, six people had been found dead in their beds in Dishforth that morning. Margaret felt a little guilty about not offering her medical services, but she knew there was nothing she could do to help.

      She spent the day and the evening pleasantly with her parents, reminiscing about the happy times they’d had together. The cold like symptoms were even more apparent for all of them. They knew and openly discussed that this most likely was their last day together, at least on this Earth. They went to bed early again, this time with the help of a sleeping pill from Margaret’s medicine bag.

      Despite taking a sleeping pill herself, Margaret woke at four.

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