[AN] This is the first story I have ever written. I own none of this, but the main characters are original. This may contain spoilers later on, but not for several more chapters at least.

I would recommend on finishing chapter 3 before deciding to continue the rest of the story. The first part of the story isn't as exciting, but I still needed to include it.

If you could leave feedback, either positive or negative, that would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 1:

"Begin scan, First Airman Barrett." Ordered his commanding officer through his helmet.

"Yes sir." Marcus replied, flipping the switch on his control panel.

Thank God I got assigned to a base so close to home. He thought to himself, down over the still functional city of Boise, Idaho. He had seen some reports on what had been going on in other cities, and it horrified him. His father owned a farm a couple miles out from the city. Back when he was assigned to Mountain Home Air Force base three years ago, he considered himself lucky. Now, he considered himself one of the luckiest men alive.

He quickly looked to the photo of his family that he always kept on him and smiled. He was so glad he was able to get Kathryn and Cory to his father's farm before Boise (eventually) went to hell. While he had no doubts about Kathryn's ability to take care of herself (his wife always outperformed him at the shooting range, and he was quite a good shot himself), they both agreed that staying in the city was insane, especially with Cory, their one year old son to look after. They had seen on TV what had happened to some other cities, and while Boise was clean right now...

Marcus stopped himself. He had to focus on making sure the scan was going smoothly. He knew they would be more than safe with his father.

He looked out of the cockpit, down on Boise. It was one of the few remaining cities that was almost entirely functional. It had been a week and a half since the outbreak, and the walls around the city were already being placed. It looked so peaceful in the red light from the sunset.

He heard a beeping on the terminal, and checked the scan results.

"Staff Sargent Merton, this is Airman First Class Barrett. Calling in to report negative scan readings."

"Understood Barrett. Return to base."

"Yes sir."

Marcus hesitated for a moment. He spoke into his headset, "Sir, are you sure the scanners are working?"

In spite of the protocol breach, Merton calmly responded, " They were inspected yesterday. They work fine."

"Well, it just seems strange that I'm not picking anything. I'm not saying the scanners are wrong, but I can't think of a single explanation for why the fungus hasn't spread anywhere near Boise."

"I'm sure there is some good reason for it. All methods of getting in and out of the city were shut down. Hell, all flights in and out the entire state Idaho have been canceled. All ten of them anyways." Merton responded with a chuckle.

Marcus laughed, "Ain't that the truth." His voice returned to normal, "ETA to base is 3 minutes."

"Confirmed. The landing strip will be clear. "

"Thanks".