A Very Uncommon Virus
by Lady_Gallatea_Ravenclaw

Part 1

Sally Beth strolled along a city street, enjoying the weather. The new cover-dome had a scenic blue sky and wispy clouds to cover the smog outside the cover-dome. She inhaled deeply, the crisp air filling her lungs.

Sally Beth Richards was a receptionist at the local biological research center. She loved her work, from the handsome bioengineers to the circulating gossip of the center. Plus, her job was the easiest. Thanks to the expensive and high quality robots the center owned, she rarely had to service the machines, unlike the poor women at the chamber of commerce.

Humming to herself, Sally Beth let herself into the research center and situated herself at the desk. Besides sitting there for show and servicing the machines, Sally Beth was there to present a human touch in the company. She leaned back in her soft desk chair. She loved her work.

Keith Vanguard glanced at his clipboard and then at the beaker in front of him. Code 6137, check. Code 6138, check. Keith sighed as he passed down the line of viruses all organized by the categorical number given by the computer. His job was to check those numbers with the actual stored virus.

Code 6259, check. Code 6260, check. Code 6261, —oops. Keith's face blanched.

The vial he had been holding was on the ground in a pile of glass. Crud. Keith grabbed the dustpan and broom to clean up the mess. Looking back at the chart, it read that 6261 was a rhinovirus, with a biohazard rating of 1. Keith gave a huge sigh. Thank the stars it was a level 1 virus, he thought.

Level one was reserved for those viruses that were naturally defeated by the human body without any outside treatment. So Keith would be fine. Plus, odds were that this rhinovirus, whatever it was, wasn't airborne in the slightest.

Keith threw the broken glass away and continued cataloguing the vials. As he left the area, another vial labeled 6261 was slid into place by a machine, as if Keith had taken a candy from a vending machine. And there was no sign that anything amiss had happened. Yet.

The collegiate of young scientists milled around in the cramped meeting room, ready for the presentation to start. All of them were handsome men in their twenties, in exception to the female receptionist who was setting out the refreshments and drinks.

One young man walked over to the receptionist to make small talk while the presenter set up his slide show.

"Hello," he said suavely. "My name is Keith."

The woman smiled and held out her hand, "Sally Beth. Nice to meet you!"

Keith shook her hand enthusiastically. He started off a conversation with small talk about her job and his, trying to get her to go out with him. Unfortunately, she wasn't biting his bait. He rubbed his nose to ease away a tickle that was sneaking up on him. Now wasn't the time to sneeze and ruin it!

"I'm sorry, I'm just not interested right now," Sally Beth tried to explain.

But Keith persisted, "Not interested for just one date? That's a-a- a," his voice halted, the tickle in his nose sneaking back up again. "AAASHOOO!" Keith sneezed wetly into his hand. "-A shame. Sorry, allergies."

Sally Beth ignored the sneeze. "Still, I'm not interested. Thanks anyway," she said, moving towards the door.

Keith shrugged his shoulders and held out his hand for another shake. Sally Beth shook it, figuring she could use the gesture as an escape. Quickly, she scurried out of the room.

Keith sighed and went to sit down as the presenter finally got his computer working properly. As the lights dimmed, the young scientist felt another tickle in his nose. He rubbed it, hoping that the sneeze would go away.

It did, but came back only a few minutes later, a stronger tickle this time. Keith rubbed his nose and sniffed as lightly as he could. The tickle eased but by no means disappeared. So he ignored it, figuring that it would leave on its own time.

On the contrary, this tickle was there to stay. Because when Keith dropped that vial in the lab, it was none other than the common cold virus, something that human beings had scorned for centuries until it was destroyed and locked in biological research centers.

And when Keith had broken the vial containing the rhinovirus, he had unleashed the common cold onto his own body. At this moment, the tickle Keith was feeling was the first signs of the impending head cold that was settling in his very nose. The same cold that he had now spread to Sally Beth and he would spread to the entire boardroom full of handsome male scientists with just one cough or sneeze.

Keith sniffed lightly, his tickling nose making the linings of his nostrils irritated. He scrubbed his nose roughly, feeling like the insides were being rubbed raw. And almost imperceptibly, to even Keith, a tiny trickle of mucus slid down his nasal passage to the entrance, or exit, of his nose. The tickling grew stronger and more insistent, but Keith put his hands in his lap to keep from rubbing it away.

He was attracting too much attention from the man next to him and would rather not show his anxiety lest he be thrown out of the room. But that tickle! It was so strong! He sniffed lightly, feeling a thickness as he did so. But that tickle eased slightly, so he felt better. Maybe it would go away.

But alas, poor Keith. That was not to be. For that tickle was saving itself. Saving itself so that the mucus trickle could build against Keith's nostrils. It wanted to collect until the liquid could rub the raw and delicate lining of his nose and make the tickle even stronger. So the tickle waited.

Keith relaxed as the tickle subsided and settled in his chair for the rest of the presentation. He could finally pay attention and saw that it was about the Ebola virus, eradicated in 2255. He shivered, remembering the horror tales about that awful disease. It was lucky he hadn't accidentally dropped that vial the day before. Of course, he wasn't allowed to check those vials, them being biohazard level 4, and all.

He was able to focus for a full fifteen minutes before he felt a strange feeling in his nose. It was like that feathery light tickle, only stronger. This time he sniffed and felt a larger pressure in his nose than before. It was if the earlier rubs and sniffs had, instead of making the tickle weaker, made it stronger. His nose began to itch, centering mainly on his nostrils.

He wanted to rub his nose so fiercely it tickled so badly. Finally, he gave in, giving it a light rub around the itchy nostrils. Surprisingly, a small wet spot was left behind on his hand. Bewildered, Keith gave into a reflexive sniff. He was even more shocked to find how wet the sound had seemed.

He grinned sheepishly at the man next to him who had turned around and glared. Keith shrugged helplessly and mouthed 'allergies.' The man glared further but pulled out a crumpled tissue and thrust it into his hand. Keith mouthed a thank you gratefully and rubbed the tissue against his wet nose. He wanted to give it a good blow but couldn't, for fear of disrupting the meeting.

Instead, he settled with drying the wetness and went back to ignoring the tingle. As with most of his allergies, the tickle would last for an hour or two and then disappear.

Keith did not realize that he did not have mere allergies this time. He was suffering from a blossoming cold in his nose, one that would very shortly make its messy and germy debut. As it were, the mucus that Keith had wiped away was only the trial run. Literally.

Because a trail had already been created from Keith's sinuses to his nostrils by the priming mucus, the next trail slid down faster than before. It tickled his raw lining as it went down, making the already delicate skin even more sensitive. If Keith had been more aware of this cold, he would have felt the tickle before it reached his nostrils.

But he hadn't felt it. So the mucus slid down without obstruction to the curves of his nostrils. There they sat, tickling and tingling constantly. And finally, there was enough of the mucus for the incoming liquid to push it over the curving skin.

Keith was forced to sniffle wetly into the crumpled tissue as he felt a tingling trail of wet escape his nose. He rubbed it away, hoping that another wouldn't come. But alas, that was not to be. Within minutes of the second trail, a third followed, easing down and out as if out of a lightly leaky faucet.

He blew quietly into the tissue and felt much clearer and drier for it. He sniffed experimentally and felt the dryness of his nose lining. Much better. He settled back for the last twenty minutes of the presentation, happy that after it he could take his allergy medication and be done with this tickling nuisance altogether.

But all the while, the common cold virus was multiplying in his nose. And as Keith was dreaming about his finally un-tickly nose, the sinus ducts let out another clear film of mucus. It dripped down his nose, down the rawness of his skin, and to the nostrils that were already turning pink from use—to the practiced eye.

Keith's nose was tickling, but he wasn't aware of it. The virus was multiplying and spreading, down his throat, to his chest, and all around his sinuses. His nose tingled, but he ignored it—only two minutes to go. It itched relentlessly—one and a half minutes. His breath hitched as the tickle grew larger—one minute…

"Uh-Uh-Uh-UHHHSHOOOO!" Keith sneezed wetly. His hand had come up to catch some of the spray, but the sneeze had snuck up on him and he hadn't had time to catch it all with his hand.

The man next to him glared, as he had caught most of the spray. Other men in the room had turned to look at him and he grinned sheepishly with a blush. "Sorry," Keith mumbled. "Allergies, you know?"

Some of the men nodded in understanding and smiled in sympathy, while others—mostly the ones who had been sneezed on—glared lightly before turning back to the presenter.

Keith rubbed his tickly nose with a fist; the tissue all but obliterated in his other hand. Once his nose had been quieted, he balled up the tissue and threw it in the trashcan. Finally, without wet tissues in his palms, he shook the other scientists hands and left the room, intent on the allergy medication he kept in his desk.

Alone in a small office room a man sat, his head in his hands. The brown hair on his head drooped down, as defeated as the man's shoulders. A thick sniffle could be heard from beneath his hands, the muffling doing nothing to hide the wet sound. A hand moved to grab a tissue from the box sitting next to his arm. When the man's head raised to blow his nose, one could see how awful he looked.

His tired eyes were red rimmed and bloodshot. His natural tan color had faded to a paler tone except for his cheeks, which were flushed a light pink. The skin of his nose had been rubbed and touched so much that it was red around his nostrils and pink at the tip.

The man blew his nose into the tissue, a wet, gurgling sound, and grimaced. He balled up the tissue and threw it into the overflowing bin next to his desk. Putting his head back into his hands, he groaned, still sniffling thickly.

Keith didn't know what was wrong with him. Even after he had taken his allergy medication, the sneezes and tickles had persisted. And had grown worse. It had taken a only a couple of hours for his nose to become stuffy and full. And only an hour after that for him to feel absolutely miserable. Keith didn't have any other explanation other then that the rhinovirus had infected him. He just hoped it wasn't contagious.

"HEYISHOO! IISHOOOO! EEEHHHSHOO!" Keith snuffled into a tissue and blew hard.

The tissue was soon damp and he had to throw it away and grab another. Sniffling madly, he blew again, wishing that the tickle in his nose would just leave! Unfortunately that would not happen for another few days, as more sneezes made evident.

"IIISHOO! HEEHSHOO! Heh-heh…" the impending sneeze trailed off, leaving Keith breathless and waiting for it.

When the tickle eased, he relaxed and rubbed his watery eyes. Looking out the window, he could see a few cars here or there. But as a car turned the corner, a bright flash of light hit his eyes. And with the light came his sudden urge to sneeze, "HHEEYYYSHOOOOO!"

Poor Keith sneezed freely, not entirely ready for the tickle. He coughed lightly and blew his dripping nose again.

He plopped into his chair feeling like crying. He felt like crap; everything hurt, especially his nose, head, and skin. He was tired and stuffy. Plus, all the sneezing and blowing he had been doing had made his nose very sore and tender. And when he just wanted to curl up in his bed and sleep, he was still stuck at work.

Keith was hiding in his office to prevent anyone from seeing him. The last thing he wanted was to be shipped off to the hospital with some unknown disease. They would think it was Ebola or something. And then he would have to tell them about the accident in the lab and, ergo, be fired for endangering the human race. Or something like that.

So when almost everyone had gone home, Keith snuck out, hiding his face under the hood of his jacket. He made it to the parking lot under the building before the tickles in his nose forced sneezes out of him.

"Heh-heh-HEHSHOO! UHSHOO! IIISHOOO!" Keith blew his nose, trying to make it breathable, but to no avail.

He climbed into the car and pressed the button on his GPS for home. His vehicle was pretty old compared to the newer models running around lately. After all, he still had to manually program his automated driving capabilities. The Scions that came out five years ago only had a voice activated code for the automatic programming sequence.

Once the car started moving, Keith dozed in his reclined chair, snoring lightly from his stuffed nose. It was only when he reached his apartment that he woke up. Snuffling slightly, he made his way into the cold, empty building.

Not having enough energy at the moment to make it to his bed, he collapsed on the couch. It wasn't very comfortable without the conform-fit softness of the large queen size bed residing only ten feet from him, but when he was exhausted the couch was comfortable enough.

Just as he was about to drift off, however, a sneeze snuck up on him. "IIIIIIISSSSHOOOO!" Keith sneezed. Worse for him, it was a very wet one that he caught in hands, meaning he had to get up for a tissue and to wash his hands.

"Ugh…" he groaned after blowing his stuffy nose.

Because he was up, Keith went into the bedroom where he dressed in the flannel pajamas he had bought but never used. It had always been so warm under his downy bedspread that he hadn't bothered with wearing more than his boxer shorts. But this cold of his was making him shiver, and therefore he put on the pajamas.

Curling up in the bed with a tissue box was heaven, Keith realized as the warmth and readiness of his tissues surrounded him.

"HEEEYTCHOO! HEEEHSSSHOOO! IIISHOO! YYYIIIISHOOO!" he sneezed into the handful of tissues in his hand.

He blew his sore, red nose carefully and tossed the tissues over the side. He could pick them up when he felt better. Keith coughed a little before settling down for a long nap.

Briefly, before he fell asleep, Keith considered being the first person to call in sick since 2078.

Sally Beth yawned as she walked home. The night was cool and crisp, but the air was so clean and nice. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the feel of the cold air she inhaled. The night sounds were so soothing after a long day at work. Especially when one of the scientists tried to hit on her.

Honestly, being looked at wasn't a crime—in fact, she loved the attention. But the guy was so full of himself it was sickening. She knew him…what was his name again? Oh yeah, Keith. He was known in the office for his one night stands and sex talk. Not exactly the kind of guy she wanted to be involved with.

She didn't know that at that moment Keith was suffering from a miserable head cold, one that he had unintentionally passed onto her when he sneezed and shook her hand. Sally Beth didn't realize that the cold virus had settled in her nose and was multiplying.

It was preparing to make her sneeze, sniffle, and blow her pretty little upturned nose until it turned red and sore with use. It was going to make her sneeze everywhere and on everything to then pass her contagious, sneezy cold to the other people of the city.

Sally Beth shivered as a colder wind blew against her. She sped up her walking and approached her small condo in record time. She opened the door and walked inside, calling for her boyfriend. His name was Samuel, Samuel Small.

A deep voice answered her back, and she turned to see the 6 foot 5 dark-haired hunk that was her man. His soft black hair lay neatly combed on his forehead, lightly brushing his creamy skin. The blue eyes that twinkled at her above his regal nose were kind and benevolent.

Sally Beth melted in his greeting kiss. She murmured as they pulled reluctantly away, "Mmm… that was wonderful. Just one more…"

Leaning on her tiptoes to reach him, Sally stole another sweet and tender kiss from his lips. He eagerly returned the affection, deepening it by entwining his tongue with hers. Regretfully, he pulled away with a small smack of her lips.

"What is it?" she asked with a coy smile. "It was just getting good."

"I've made dinner and we should eat it while it's hot," Samuel explained sweetly.

Sally didn't complain as he ushered her into the kitchen where a romantic dinner for two was laid out for them. He graciously pulled out a chair for her and she sunk into it. After taking his seat, they toasted to each other with a 2003 champagne and ate dinner ravenously.

Samuel washed the dishes while Sally took a shower and changed. He then joined her in bed, sliding half naked between the soft silk sheets. He cuddled her warm body and kissed her deeply, caressing her breasts under the sheer nightshirt she wore.

She immediately grew hard at his touch and returned the kiss, moving to straddle him. Samuel slowly unbuttoned her night shirt with his fingers, making the action deliberately slow. Crazy with passion, Sally Beth moaned as he took his time. Finally it came off and he was able to suck and kiss at her pert nipples.

She groaned in desire as she felt his cock rise against the silk of her pants. Carefully, Samuel kissed his way down to her midriff and pulled the pants down, exposing her to him. When she had pulled down his own boxers with a sexual slowness, she pulled him so she was then lying on her back.

Samuel kissed her deeply and carefully slid into her. They rocked together in passion until finally meeting at a climax. Breathing heavily, the two cuddled against one another and fell asleep.

Unfortunately, their meeting exchanged more than just passion. It passed the cold virus that had been multiplying since the morning in Sally Beth's nose to Samuel. It was there to multiply and tickle his nose. To make him sniffle and sneeze. It was going to force him to blow his nose and rub it to a lovely red hue. Now, not only was Sally doomed to an awful, sneezy head cold, but so was Samuel.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Sally Beth groaned as a jackhammer pounded on her head in sync with the alarm clock. She sat up carefully, and hit the offending object soundly. Once the blissful silence invaded her mind, she could think moderately straight.

At first she wondered why she had a monstrosity of a headache, but recalled the champagne from the night before. Figuring she must have drunk too much and therefore had a hangover, Sally got up from bed.

Popping two headache pills, she hopped into the shower for a warm wash. Once out, she combed her hair but left it hanging to air dry. She dressed in her normal office suit and grabbed a handbag to match. Happier now that the headache pills had eased the throbbing in her head, she left the house, ignoring breakfast altogether.

After arriving at the office, she checked the overnight/morning messages on the phone. She ran the voice recordings through her computer and recorded the names of absentee workers into a database. She was startled when she noticed that Keith's name was there.

Sally didn't think that he had been injured any time the day before. He had been in a meeting in the morning and in his office the rest of the time. She shook her head when she realized the truth: he had probably gone out to some bar after work, had sex with a random woman, and gone home piss drunk. Ergo, he called in absentee this morning with a hangover.

Her lip curled in disgust over men like him and felt infinitely relieved that she had rejected him the day before. Moving on, she checked her e-mail for anything from the main office that had to be catalogued or sent through her computer. Finding nothing, she settled back for another day of greeting strangers and making sure that the computers worked properly.

As the hours passed, Sally Beth knew that the day would be perpetually slow. It was almost noon before a non-worker entered the building, and even then that was the cleaning service. She wasn't sure if the cleaning machines' maintenance man really counted as a guest anyway. He, after all, had an easy job—watch the machines work all day.

While all of this was going on, however, Sally was not aware of what was happening inside her nose. The cold virus given to her by Keith had multiplied quickly and efficiently. And throughout the hours, the viruses had begun to create the infamous tickle. And by the time the cleaning service had come around, this tickle was well on its way to success.

Sally Beth had not noticed the few automatic rubs she had given her nose as time passed. The tickle in her nose came and went, irritating here and there. Unfortunately for her, by noon, the tickle was tired of waiting. It started at the bridge of her nose, quickly spreading through the rubbed parts to engulf her whole nose.

The pointy, jaunty little part of her face twitched with the tickle, dying to get rid of the thing making it all sore and pink. Sally Beth only then started to realize the itchiness of her nose. But by then it was too late.

The cleaning service man stood right in front of her, asking for a screwdriver to fix a bolt on his vacuum machine. And it was at this moment that the tickle seized her whole nose.

"Excuse me, miss. Could I please borrow…?" the man had started asking politely.

"AAATCHOOO!" Sally Beth sneezed freely into his face.

She was shocked herself, not having any indication of sneezing before that moment. She recovered, sniffling embarrassedly. "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I honestly didn't mean to do that! Here," she said, handing him a tissue. "I am so sorry, please forgive me."

"That's alright," the man said with a chuckle. "I understand; allergies and all that. My kids get them frequently. Now, if it isn't too much trouble, could I please borrow your screwdriver?"

"Oh yes, of course," Sally said, still blushing.

The man took it, tightened a screw, and returned it. She didn't stop blushing and apologizing until the cleaning guy had left with his machines in tow. Only then did she calm down.

Still sniffling after her sneeze, Sally Beth blew her nose into a tissue. Figuring that the man was right, and that the sneezes were from some newfound allergy, she ignored the tickle in her nose. However, it was unlikely that the tickle would go away, because as far as the virus and her nose were concerned, that sneeze had opened up the floodgates, also known as her sinuses.

The sneezing and running nose weren't about to stop anytime soon.

"Uh-uh-uh-HUHTCHOOO! IITCHOO!" Sally sneezed into a tissue, unable to keep the tickle back any longer. She blew her nose, not realizing that the rough tissues were making her nose a shade of pink to match her handbag.

"HHHIIIHTCHOO! IIITCHOO!" snuffling into the dry cloth, Sally Beth felt like her nose had been rubbed raw from the inside.

Ever since that first sneeze, her nose hadn't stopped running like a faucet. And, therefore, she had been forced to blow it almost every two minutes to keep it from dripping messily. She just thanked any deity out there that no one had come through the doors recently.

However, it was obvious that Sally's strength was fading fast. Her sneezes grew noticeably wetter and more forceful over time, taking much energy out of her. Not only that, but her nose stuffed up although the running continued. After she started coughing heavily, Sally Beth decided that she should go home.

She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she knew that if she felt tired, then she should rest. And rest meant going home.

Quickly, Sally sent an e-mail to her boss saying that she was going home early. An automatic response was sent back okaying her request, so she left immediately with nearly half her box of tissues stuffed into her pockets.

And she sneezed the whole walk home, blowing desperately to combat the congestion swarming her.

"HEETISHOO! EETISSHOO! TISHOO! TISHOO! HAATISSHOO!" a messy sneezing fit left her with a very wet nose and a handful of soggy tissues.

Ruefully, she let herself into her condo and washed off her hand. Then she pulled on her pajamas and crawled into bed with a box of softer tissues from the bathroom. Sally was just glad she had bought them for Samuel's allergies rather than her formally nonexistent ones. Sighing through a stuffy nose, Sally Beth sniffled and sneezed her way to sleep, exhaustion finally trumping the tickle in her nose.

Part 2

"HEEEYYIIISHOOO!" a man sneezed into his handkerchief. "HEEEHHISHOO! IIIISHOO!"

The thirty-year-old man blew his nose with one hand, honking softly as it grew dry. When he removed the cloth from his face, his watery brown eyes and large, red nose were displayed to the world. Or would have been if he were not in his office.

Taylor Prince was a scientist at a biological research center. And had never had allergies in his life. But all of a sudden, in the last few hours, he had started sneezing uncontrollably. Not only that, but also his throat hurt, his head hurt, and his nose was running and tickly. Taylor blew his nose again into the damp hanky.

When that one expired, he pulled out a cleaner one and tucked it into his fist. Sniffling slightly, he focused back on his paper work but could hardly concentrate as the tickle excited his nose yet again.

"HHEEEHTIIISHOOO! HEYISSHOOO! HHEEHHIIISHOO! HIISHOO!" Taylor sneezed into his handkerchief.

Snuffling, he winced as the cloth rubbed against his sore nose while blowing. When he finished, he sighed and leaned back in his chair, too exhausted to try to think. Closing his eyes he sniffled again, wondering about the thing that was making him feel this way.

It couldn't be allergies—he'd never had them in his entire life! And the sneezes were too frequent to be caused by a random allergen or thing in his nose. No injury could cause sneezing and there was no such thing as infection at the current day.

Thinking back, Taylor also could not remember hearing or reading about any infection exposure or release of a disease. So why was he, dare he say it… sick?

Puzzled, he tried to open his textbook of diseases—just in case—to find one that matched his symptoms. But he was just too tired. His head pounded and the words ran right off the page when he tried to concentrate. It was useless, he was too sick to work.

"HEEHTIISHOO! HEEEYIISHOO! IIISHOO! HHHEEEHHISHOOO!" Taylor sneezed.

Giving up, he packed his things, e-mailed the boss, and went home early. Stumbling to his car, Taylor sneezed loudly, "HUUHHHSHOOO!" and climbed in.

The Scion started and drove him home while he rested in the reclining seat. He woke up after the thirty minute drive to find that he was home with a wet handkerchief and a very tickly nose. Desperately, he hurried as much as he could to get into the house before he could sneeze.

"HEEEHHSHOOO! IIIISHOOO! HHHEEYYYIISHOO! IIISHOOO! HHHUUUHHIIISHOOO!" Taylor sneezed freely into the air. His hands full with a briefcase and notebooks could not contain his sneezes and his handkerchief was thoroughly used.

He sighed as he let himself into the small house, sniffling constantly. As someone without allergies, Taylor looked down on those that would continuously sniffle without blowing their noses. Now he knew why they generally preferred to sniffle.

He looked around desperately for something to blow his nose into, but his only handkerchief was used up and he did not have any tissues. He sniffled angrily and in frustration before grabbing some toilet paper in his bathroom. Sighing, he emptied his really full nose into the dry and hard cloth, finally feeling partially clear.

It took nearly five handfuls of toilet paper before he could breathe again. Coughing lightly, Taylor looked around his house. He only had an empty orange juice carton, a two-day old spaghetti, and five cans of beer. He was hungry and tried to eat the spaghetti, but the pasta sauce burned against his already raw throat. And the noodles churned unhappily in his stomach.

Deciding that it was too much work to eat the spaghetti, Taylor grabbed his wallet and got back in the car. From there he drove to the grocery store to stock up on food and tissues. He sneezed his way through the aisles, grabbing everything from tissues to canned soup and the latest issue of National Geographic. He filled his basket in no time, but grew increasingly weary and sneezy.

After he had tossed an allergy medication that would likely just knock him out until this whatever was over, Taylor went to the checkout line. It was unfortunate that a tickle decided to hit him when he was a crowd of people.

"HHEEEHISSSHOO! IIISHOOO! HHHEEHHTIISHOOO! IIITISSHOO! IISHOO!" he sneezed, trying to catch most of the spray in his jacket sleeve.

It was a shame that the sneezes did fall onto the checkout lady and many customers. He apologized thickly, sniffling into his sleeve. An older lady offered a crumpled handkerchief, which he accepted gratefully.

Taylor rubbed it on his nose, too embarrassed from his sneezes to blow properly. The checkout lady quickly scanned all the items and asked for his card and thumbprint. The scientist gave over his credit card and put his right thumb on the scanner. When done, he loaded the bagged groceries into his cart and went back to his car.

He was ready to spend the next few days in bed with his canned soup, tissues, magazines, and blossoming head cold. Taylor sneezed, "HEESHOOO! HHEEHHSHOOO! IIISHOOO!" and added to that. He would be in bed with soup, tissues, magazines, an illness, and very messy sneezes.

Sam walked into the condominium, laden with grocery bags. He plopped them on the kitchen table and went straight to the bathroom. But when he entered the bedroom, he saw Sally Beth sleeping and snoring softly.

Worried, he ignored his bladder and gently shook her shoulder.

"Sally? Sally?" he called in a whisper. She was so peaceful, sleeping there, but she never left work early to sleep. What was wrong? "Sally Beth, wake up!"

"Mmm?" she stirred, snuffling and rubbing her nose. "Whad?"

Sally Beth's voice was thick with congestion and hoarse. She grabbed a tissue and blew heartily, emptying her nose. Sam winced at the sound but grew even more worried; she didn't have allergies.

"Sally, what's wrong?" Sam asked with a concerned tone.

He sat next to her on the bed and put an arm around her waist. Tiredly, she leaned in and put her head on his chest. She wanted comfort. In return, Sam started petting her hair.

"I don't know," she sniffled, near tears. "I started feeling sick at work, so I came home."

"What is 'sick'?" Sam asked, confused. He had never heard of feeling 'sick' before.

"It means I don't feel good. Like an allergy attack, but worse," Sally explained, snuffling into a tissue. She forgot that not everyone worked in a bio center like she did.

"Awww, baby. I'm sorry," Sam said, kissing her forehead. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No," she said, her voice thick with congestion once more. Sally blew her nose again and continued. "What do the doctors know about curing sick people? I think I'll just stay home and sleep some more."

"Okay," Sam agreed, still not understanding much. He would let her do what she wanted unless it got serious. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"Some water and tissues would be great," Sally suggested hopefully.

Sam readily agreed and ran to get the goods. He brought them back and helped her sip the water greedily. He refilled the glass and put it on the side table, leaving the tissues next to her.

"Here you go, sweetheart," he said, caressing her cheek. Sam frowned when he felt her skin. It was warmer than usual. He didn't know if it was a side effect of being 'sick' or not. "Sally, your skin is hotter than normal. Is that a part of being 'sick'?"

"I think so," Sally said. She tensed when she felt the tickle in her nose come back. "I remember reading files at work that said that illnesses often come with fevers—HUHTISHOO! IIISHOO! HIIHTISSHOO! HIIISHOO!"

"What is a fever?" Sam asked innocently.

"A higher temperature," Sally said a little impatiently. Her throat and head hurt, and her stuffy nose was making it hard to breathe. She didn't want to talk or answer questions any more.

Sam picked up on her annoyance and stopped the questions. He'd try a web search on it later. "Why don't you take another nap?" he suggested. "You look tired."

"Okay," Sally said weakly, tired from blowing her nose and sneezing. "Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked, suddenly needy.

"Of course," Sam melted. She was so cute and vulnerable, lying there. He held her hand and stroked her hair until Sally drifted off into a deep sleep. Sam smiled as her stuffy nose made her snore.

He kissed her head before getting up and hurrying to the bathroom—his bladder was really full!

After washing up again and putting away the groceries, Sam yawned tiredly and fell asleep next to Sally. He didn't feel that hungry and wasn't sure what she would eat when she woke up. Figuring that he had nothing else to do, Sam gave in to his exhaustion and curled up next to his cold-stricken girlfriend.

It was unfortunate for Sam that he had already caught Sally's cold, because as he slept, the viruses in his nose started their devious work. After only a few minutes, Sam started to sniffle and snore, his nose stuffing up with mucus. The tickle that had started Sally's sneezes built up in his nose and throat, making him cough and rub his nose. It grew pink and well-loved throughout his nap.

And by the time Sally woke up in the middle of the night, Sam's cold was just as potent as hers.

"HHUUHHRASHOOOO! HUUHHSHOOO! YYEESHOOOO!" Sam sneezed into a tissue he had grabbed at the last minute.

Blowing his nose gingerly, he threw the tissue over the side of the bed with a groan. It was positively unnatural to feel this bad. Snuffling into a fresh tissue, he leaned against the headboard, wanting to whimper in discomfort.

His head hurt, his throat had knives rubbing it raw, his nose was all stuffy and runny, tickling him into uncontrollable sneezes. His throat screamed when he coughed, a light cough that had no purpose other than to make him miserable. Sam blew his nose again, wincing at the pain in his nose. And now his nose hurt too!

Curling up, he nearly cried in misery. So this was feeling 'sick', Sam guessed. It really was worse than the worst allergy attack he'd ever had. Sniffling, he pressed his face into a pillow, trying to fall asleep. But his head wouldn't let him.

Sally stirred from her sleep, groaning as the full weight of her cold hit her. She blew her nose gingerly into a tissue and tossed it over. She was amassing quite a pile there. She fell back into her pillows and turned over to find Sam in a similar state.

He opened his eyes to see her awake and whimpered pathetically. Instantly, Sally opened her arms for him and let him crawl into them. Ignoring her own misery, she comforted her obviously sick boyfriend until he relaxed. Then she got up and stole into the kitchen for pain medicine. She had some kind of pain remedy from when she broke her arm, so grabbing that and water, Sally went back to the bedroom.

If Sam's head hurt as much as hers, then he would need something too. Sally swallowed a pill and gave one to Sam. He was a little weak, but managed to sit up on his own. Once he laid down again, she curled into him, shivering from the cool air outside the bed. The two shared body warmth as their headaches eased and they could go back to sleep.

They were the perfect image of many future young couples that would be stricken by vicious head colds, thanks to Keith.

Keith stirred from his bed and yawned. He felt much better, all around, after two days of feeling like crap. He had called in to work and had then spent the following time, blowing his nose, sneezing, coughing, and being generally miserable.

He sniffled and walked into the living room, curling on the couch with his comforter. He was tired of sleeping and ready for entertainment besides his own sneezing. Grabbing a tissue from one of the boxes scattered around his apartment, Keith blew his red and chapped nose, honking from congestion. He threw the balled tissue away from him and grabbed the remote, his voice not up to the voice activated controls.

Keith turned the tube on and changed the channel randomly. He passed several news stations and ignored them, but one headline captured his attention.

"… a mysterious illness has swept the city. Experts cannot pinpoint its origin, but have declared it to be harmless. Reports have declared the disease to be a rhinovirus, the common cold, that was eradicated nearly two hundred and fifty years ago," the announcer said.

Keith's mouth dropped open, not daring to believe it. Turns out it was contagious.

"The common cold, biologists report, is characterized by sneezing, coughing, a sore throat, running nose, congestion, headaches, and low grade fevers. If you have any of these symptoms, contact your local hospital to aid experts in finding the origin of this outbreak. Chad Murray of the local biological research center says that while harmless, the common cold is very contagious. If you start feeling sick, please remain inside your homes to prevent the further spread of this disease…"

Keith sat, stunned, and stared at the screen. The little vial that he accidentally dropped in the lab had done this! Started an epidemic! He sniffled, closing his mouth. If they traced it back to him, he would be in so much trouble!

A sudden tickle forced him to sneeze into his two hands cupped around his mouth, "EEHHSHOOO! HHHEEEHSHOOO! IIISHOOO! HEETIISHOO!" The sneezes left him sniffling. Keith grabbed tissues and blew his nose again.

When his hands were removed from his face, he saw a special bulletin report on the screen.

"Attention. It has come to this station's notice that the common cold, originally started somewhere in this city, has spread to other places in the nation. Experts report that the common cold will have spread to the entire country within two days and the world within a week. Ladies and gentleman… the common cold has been released to the world once more."

Keith's face had lost its color. He sat on his couch, wrapped in a blanket with his hair tousled and a very red nose. In his hand he clutched a half-used tissue while many used tissues were scattered around him.

The unimpressive sight was finalized by the two congested words that Keith uttered. "Oh crap."

THE END!!!!

Response to Weekly Hatching #165 (Gen)
Oh, and if anyone wants to add to this, write another character's POV, etc. feel free! I am really happy to see other's take on my stuff, and can't possibly write about everyone's reactions to the common cold.
Enjoy and thanks for reading!