What if a newly mutated and deadly virus was identified and quarantined very early? What if COVID-19 mutates and makes women super horny instead of sick, and the mutation has a 99.9% fatality rate for sexually active men? My thanks to my editors and proofreaders - Zen Master, Reluctant Sir, PCBondsman, Bohica, Steve, Kenn Gannon, Brooke, Rev, and Lou.
A story in the The Human Nexus Universe
One night between midnight and six AM Eastern, most of the people of the world died. No one knew why; there was no warning; they simply stopped. Some survived to live a few extra hours or days. In the USA, this meant that most folks died in their beds. Streets, roads, and bridges remained mostly open. In other parts of the world, the timing was such that the visible carnage was horrendous. For the dead, neither situation mattered a whit. After a week, humanity was dead - all but a very few.
When a boxer puts an opponent in a coma and loses his wife in a car accident, he leaves everything behind in London to live in a small village in Wales. Some years later, he gets a surprise visit from his mother-in-law with shocking news, forcing him to return to London.
With the gift of magic at an early age his future was open. When the serial killer strikes and his family is taken that future only has one path. Of course when the killer is caught that path changes slightly. The inspectors did not know or expect him but who is going to turn away a mage that is trained? Now it is just a matter of time for the killers because once on the case he will not give up.
A Swarm Cycle Story
Lieutenant Stewart "rides along" with the Marines and meets the Sa'arm face-to-face. This story is a bit darker the the semi-comic tone of the other "Stewart" stories, as it deals with combat and the toll combat can take on those that survive.