Erin's Apartment

The entire ride over to Erin's place was quiet. Betty didn't want to play music, listen to the radio or anything else of the sort. All she could do was decompress from the stress of her whirlwind day. Once she arrived she parked in a guest spot as Erin buzzed her in. She took her bag and found her apartment. Erin opened the door almost as soon as she knocked.

"Are you alright?", Erin asked right after she opened the door.

Betty nodded, "Yeah, I've just had a few too many close calls."

Erin stepped aside and let her in. Betty walked right over to the couch and plopped down. She set her bag to the side and took a deep breath.

"So what exactly happened?", Erin asked with her hands crossed. She stood in the kitchen next to the island with a raised brow.

"Even the girls in my sorority that I thought were fine ended up using the Lotion. I don't even know exactly how they got it, all I know is that when it was time to pack it in for the night they both went to the bedroom. I heard some noises and the door was opened. My friend Amy was covered in Lotion and was practically squirting all over the floor as Dianna watched. That's when I left and texted you. My roommate used it and at this point I would say half my sorority is probably using it. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get my stuff safely.", Betty said.

Erin gave her a sympathetic look, "It's alright, you don't have to worry about that here. Besides, between the checkpoints and everything else they're going to get everything under control."

Betty tilted her head, "I find that hard to believe at this point. You've seen it. Once someone gets exposed, they get obsessed with the Lotion and they don't want to stop. If anyone in the military or police gets their hands on it, it's game over. The only thing they can do is lock us in and wait for it to spread out of control or for them to run out of a supply. We don't even know where this stuff comes from!"

Erin sighed and took a seat on a bar stool next to the countertop. "You're right, it came out of nowhere and it's spreading like crazy. Either the government figures it out or we're all doomed. I prefer to stay optimistic because the alternative is just joining them. If we're wrong we'll just end up joining them anyways. We need to keep our wits about us and hope that it gets sorted out... I've done some research of my own and from what I can tell, things haven't gotten too out of control yet. The main area of town that's seeing cases is the area surrounding the college. That includes the bars and a few construction sites. Where we are now seems to be safe considering the reports are low."

"Where are they releasing reporting data?", Betty asked.

"It's been all over the local news. You must have seen the barricades on the way over.", Erin said.

Betty nodded, "That makes sense."

"Look, it's insanely late at this point and we're going to go insane if we can't sleep. I'll get you a pillow and blanket then I'm going to pass out. You can feel free to watch TV or whatever, I'm a heavy sleeper.", Erin replied.

"Thank you for letting me stay here.", Betty said.

Erin just shook her head, "Don't worry about it."