Chapter 3

Evan Lothrop was 14. He lived in a comfortable suburb with his mother, father, and 17-year-old sister Allie.

Like most boys, he had sex on the brain. Getting a girl to do it with him was his idea of heaven, but things with peers were very complicated. So he had been dumbfounded while walking downtown when a lovely young woman had approached him with a friendly smile and asked if he was interested in sex, quickly clarifying she meant just for fun, not money. She was too pretty and fresh to fit any prostitute stereotypes -- heck, she was wearing a pink T-shirt and a knee-length black skirt. She said she just thought he was sexy and wanted him to do it to her. He was always a cautious guy and this was very unexpected, so he refused, but now he cursed himself. To get to do it to a girl like her, just because she thought he was hot!

It struck him shortly after the encounter that she might be one of the infected ones from that recent news story. But to him and his friends it sounded like a dream come true -- lots of girls who wanted to get laid. They said if a guy caught it, it made him want sex a lot too, but he and his friends didn't quite get it -- they all wanted sex so much they couldn't imagine wanting it more.

Luke came over to Evan's house Monday afternoon with a big smile on his face.

"Well, I did it! Lost my virginity. Did it with three different girls this weekend."

"You're kidding ... No, you went downtown?"

"Yeah, it was like you said. It was no problem finding them. Fucking is everything I dreamed of and more. And this way, there's no dating, commitment, foreplay, or any of that. Just a babe who spreads her legs and invites you in. Man is it fantastic." He mimed a half dozen thrusting motions with his hips and gave an orgasmic groan.

Evan's cock surged strongly to erection within his pants as he imagined the scene. He felt envy for Luke's experience, to be sure, but there was more than that. Luke was usually a kind of awkward, dissatisfied kid -- it was one thing they had in common -- but now he seemed relaxed and confident.

"You ought to come down next weekend. Or even better, tomorrow. Blow off school."

"Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious. Whatever good is school, anyway?"

This wasn't like Luke at all, but Evan found his friend's new attitude mesmerizing.

"Say, you got anything to eat?"

"Sure."

They headed to the kitchen, where Luke's mother was sorting bills.

"Hi, Mrs. Lothrop."

"Oh, hi, Luke. How are you?"

"Fine, fine, thanks."

They grabbed a bag of chips and sodas and headed back to Evan's room.

On the way, Evan handed the food to Luke and stopped by the bathroom. After the noise of his peeing finished, he heard a murmur of voices, and then suddenly his mother's voice raised in anger. Something wasn't right, and he raced back into the kitchen.

Kyle had pinned his mother against the wall and his right hand was groping down under her dress.

"What the fuck?" roared Evan.

Kyle turned in confusion, but within a second put on his confident smile. "Oh, hey, man," he said.

"Out of my house!" said his mother firmly.

"Oh, hey, sure, if that's what you want. I just thought you might like a little excitement."

"Out!"

"I'm going, I'm going..." said Kyle, sauntering off to get his pack from Evan's room. Evan was furious and had the impulse to beat the shit out of his friend. But he wasn't sure how such a contest would turn out, his mother probably wouldn't approve (would she?), and he was a cautious guy.

Once he had locked the door on Kyle's retreating back, Evan raced to his mother.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah. Did Kyle have sex with one of those girls?"

Ordinarily he wouldn't share his friend's confidences for the world. But this was different. "Uhhh, yeah, he just told me he was downtown this weekend."

"Well, then he's dangerous. Just like they're saying on TV."

Evan was silent, taking in the new situation.

"We've got to spread the word. Make sure he doesn't try to rape anyone else's mother..." She paused, a horrified expression on her face. "Or his own mother! Not to mention all his peers ... Oh, shit!"

Evan set to work posting to Twitter and Facebook. His mother called Kyle's mother, and he overheard her half of the conversation.

"Hello? You're Kyle's mother? ... Look, this is Evan's mother ... Yes, fine, thank you -- actually, not so fine. Your son just tried to rape me. I think he's infected ... What? ... You're kidding! ... Really? ... Huh? OK, bye." Her face was blank with astonishment as she hung up.

"What did she say?"

"She said I shouldn't tell lies about her son. And even if he was 'forward', I shouldn't be so uptight. Society's too uptight. All these accusations about rape have gotten out of hand." She looked at Evan with panic. "She's infected too!"

"Let's figure. They say it takes 24 hours, right? If he did the first girl Saturday, then by Sunday he'd show the behaviors, and if he raped his mother Sunday, then by today ... whoa, it fits!"

"And if you hadn't come in to stop him, I'd be the same way in 24 hours!" She shuddered. "You can't go over to his house ever, right? His mother would try to seduce you."

"Mom, I wouldn't do my friend's mother!" But he reflected that if he hadn't been forewarned, and she'd come on really strong... "Should we call the police?"

"No, they say the police are flooded with complaints, and then the women always say to drop the matter once the bug kicks in."

"But you didn't get infected, right?"

"No, but still. Do you know any girls who might be vulnerable? Like friends of Kyle's?"

Evan's heart sank. He could think of a half dozen girls the two of them were kind of friendly with. He and his mother set to work trying to notify them. Fortunately, the TV stories had already made a lot of girls cautious. But evidently Kyle had already gotten to Justine, as he found out the next morning on his way to school.