(Untitled)

[1struleiscardio]

In the interests of full disclosure, let's get one thing straight from the beginning: I was never a normal child. I don't know what my parents would have done with a normal child; they barely coped with me. Given the choice, I never went out to play in the snow and there is a lot of snow when you're growing up in Columbus Ohio. Winter would roll

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[knowthyexits]

Sarah's not one to enjoy this winter wonderland. She's used to deserts and heat and she likes the arid feel of it on her skin, like it reminds her of the war she's waging. This cold isn't for her and the decorations, likewise, make her cringe.

Still, she's not about to ignore someone on her way back home, especially when they've taken a spill like that. Bundled up tight as she can be, she lingers over to his side, gingerly stepping on each patch of snow. "Need a hand?" she offers.

[1struleiscardio]

I'm pretty used to humiliating myself, so it doesn't really phase me that she's watched me...you know...fall flat on my ass. I've got gloves on, so I manage to get my hands under me.

"Yeah," I say, clearing my throat. "I mean, yes. Thanks. That's...very nice of you."

[knowthyexits]

Sarah offers something like a genuine smile. He's not that much older than John, by the looks of it and she can't imagine she or John would fare that well on the snow. "I'd want someone to help me up if I took a spill," she admits. "The golden rule drives me forward. Plus, maybe it'll build me some good karma so I won't take a fall in this stuff."

[1struleiscardio]

Despite the fact that she's offered me her hand, I manage to get to my feet myself. I dust the snow off my pants and manage to smile. Sort of.

"Better shoes," I tell her. "I...yeah. That's what I need this afternoon."

[knowthyexits]

"I'd offer help, but I'm from California," she admits with a hapless shrug. "And where I come from, if we see snow, it's as good as the apocalypse." She'd laugh at her own private joke, but she doesn't laugh much anymore. "I'm Sarah."

[1struleiscardio]

"I was just in California," I say, and think, yet again, with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, of Pacific Playland. Jesus, I hope all that turned out.

"I've seen the actual apocalypse," I tell her. "And I prefer the snow." I clear my throat. "Hi. Columbus."

[knowthyexits]

"You and me both," she says, but she's not about to indicate which part she's agreeing to. She just arches her brow at him and finds that she has a little more respect than she might for anyone else. "What was it like, back in California where you're from? Black skies? Underground life?"

[1struleiscardio]

"Zombies," I say, with a little bit of a shrug. "But that's pretty much true of everywhere. Lots of...zombies. Tons of them." I make a vague gesture with one hand. "Everything's still there, though. You just have to...you know. You have to be careful."

[knowthyexits]

Sarah raises her brows, unable to deny that she feels a bit of a flood of relief at the fact that it's a different kind of apocalypse. "What caused the zombies?" she asks. It might not be the cause of her world ending, but it doesn't hurt to know more.

[1struleiscardio]

"CJD. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It's...uh...form of...spongiform encephalopathy." You learn all this from the papers in the first few days, the internet blogs, the news channels. Very quickly, all of that goes away.

"Mad cow disease." I laugh, try to, like it's a joke. It doesn't really work. "Bad burger."

[knowthyexits]

It pulls relief from her and she laughs at that joke, because it's just the kind of thing she needs right now, an idle thing about the end of the world to make her smile. "You're a vegetarian, then?"

[1struleiscardio]

"Actually, no," I say, laughing despite myself and shaking my head. "I probably ought to be, right?"

[knowthyexits]

Now her laugh really is genuine and it feels like she hasn't relaxed like this in years. "So how'd you avoid the bug, so to speak?" she asks, because avoiding the apocalypse for her mainly involves stopping the future from preventing the past.

Nothing so simple as not eating a burger.

[1struleiscardio]

"Luck, more than judgement," I say, because I've never been more sure of anything in my life. "I got really, really lucky. And I'm...you know. I'm carefully. And I've got a lot of rules."

[knowthyexits]

"Rules?" Sarah asks, because now she feels like she's talking to someone she understands very well. "What kind of rules?"