3:01 p.m. [2003-03-01]

**THE FOLLOWING IS A DREAM**

"The deadline was up. She would have to kill."

The scene opens up to a slightly warped parking lot, the setting is my University campus. Darkness floods everywhere, and lights illuminate the tall dorms in the background. Sirens, like tornado sirens, are heard far away. Soldiers decked in biohazard masks armed with guns are dotted throughout the lot.

I'm on this hill looking at my dorm. It looks sort of like this:

There's a sense of extreme panic, and somehow I figure out what's going on: a virus, let loose by our government or some other country's government, is about to touch our little community. All women will die, as this represents the 'Artemis' virus (Beyond Recall by Stephen Kyle).

Where I was were about 10 or so girls lined up, facing the crown of the hill. I joined them in line as one girl was explaining to me how "she wasn't afraid to die." Neither was I, and for some reason I didn't want to join the panicking herd of females.

Below us, down a ways, a gate had been constructed with a white dome over the top to, I suppose, protect those inside from the coming threat. Loudspeakers beckoned the girls inside, and with a rush they all swarmed inside.

A girl comes and stands behind me, crying. I stand still and think for a moment, I can't just stay here. I started galloping for the gate and the lead girl in the line yelled, "Where are you going!?" and I responded, "I can't go, not yet! I still have to live for my parents!" Yes, that is what I said.

I reached the gate just as the last few fled inside, and the gate reeled shut with a click of the lock. A young soldier clad in white seemed to understand and without hesitation let me inside as his peers attempted to stop me.

Inside the platform I kept running, up the hill surrounded with the gate. A restaurant to my left was filled with people, and to my right was the open vastness of the north. Up the hill I still ran, until I reached a single tree where my friend, Tara, was crying. Overjoyed to see me, we both continued up the hill until we reached a thicket of trees, where I seem to feel the most comfortable. From there we could see the campus through the dome, empty of everyone including the soldiers. A few women had already died and laid strewn in the streets.

All I remember lastly was the pale light hovering through the plastic dome. A real big feeling of hopelessness. Because what's next? I can't even imagine to guess.

I've had many 'virus' dreams, most of which I flee to the forest where I remain safe, only with a few of my most loved friends and family. I had these dreams years before the actual biohazard warnings, of these bioweapons that now threaten us everyday. I knew it, and I saw it coming. West Nile wasn't a surprise. The flu wasn't a surprise. Who knows what will come next, but it most likely won't surprise me.

I remember packing a safe bag filled with pasta and medicine, ready to be carried off to the west (the heart of the US) in case something really did happen. My best friend and I shared the same feelings and prepared as well. Our meeting place was Briargate park, and if one of us didn't show up at a certain point, we were to leave alone.

This is almost what I'd hope for. It's thrilling in a sick way. The growth of hope from no hope.

Creation through destruction.