Disclaimer: Scrubs does not belong to me.

Chapter One: Foreshadowing

"Belle, unless that book holds the cure for cancer and the common cold, I suggest that you--"

JD attempted to close the book, but Doctor Cox was quick to intercept, swiping his hand between the perused pages as he took it from him. "Um, my shift just ended--"

The older doctor squinted at the pages' contents before turning the book around to glance at the cover, smirking at his protégé. "Survival Guide? Newbie, it's a shame that genetics didn't equip you with the standard know-how of a man, like, for instance, how to change a tire and wrestle a crocodile, but have we not established this enough? You're just not programmed to do any of this, seeing as you are, in fact, a little girl."

"Me and Turk had a Lethal Weapon marathon last night!" he said excitedly. "I figure anything Riggs can do counts as a survival skill. But combine that with anything MacGyver can do and I'd be superhuman!"

Doctor Cox snorted as he thrust the book back at the younger man. "Get out of here unless you've found a revolutionary breakthrough on how to rewire the human anatomy like a car engine."

JD tilted his head in thought, but was immediately brought back down to earth by the sound of Doctor Cox's pager going off. He watched as his mentor studied the screen intently, his ears perking for any sounds of a heart monitor flat-lining. He frowned when none came. "Is there something wrong, Doctor Cox?"

"It seems that my harpy of an ex-wife is stuck in traffic and won't be able to pick up our hybrid devil spawn from preschool," the older man said, glancing at his wristwatch.

"I can get him!" JD said cheerfully.

"Do ya remember the last time you 'got him,' Newbie?" Doctor Cox asked with a glare. At the younger man's thoughtful frown, he said, "You didn't. And for some reason unbeknownst to me, he head-banged and spouted off random words that sounded oddly like the German language for the entire weekend. While I found this to be somewhat amusing, Jordan and the Hasidic Jews at the supermarket did not."

"So," he said with a grin, "what time do I pick him up?"

Doctor Cox growled, flipping open his wallet and slapping a couple of dollar bills in the younger man's hand. "Get on a bus now. There's no way in hell I'm letting you put my son on the back of that scooter." He handed off the keys to his apartment. "Stay there until Jordan arrives. Touch anything and die."

JD beamed, practically floating to the locker room.

When JD arrived at the school, he found the yard to be completely barren. He frowned, noticing two police cars double parked by the front entrance, effectively blocking it.

"Excuse me, but what's going on?" JD asked one of the officers.

"Is your kid in there?" the middle aged officer asked, pointing towards the school doors with the butt of his pen. "The CDC is quarantining the place. There's an epidemic going around, and one of the doctors said it looks to be a strain of Hands, Foot, and Mouth disease. I'm afraid they're going to be in there for a while."

JD blinked, glancing at the school doors before directing his gaze back on the officer. "Is there anything I can do? I'm a doctor."

"Some people from the CDC are coming in. Stick around, they might need some help. Although, if it's not within your scope of practice, I'd say don't bother."

JD nodded, walking away from the gates. He took out his cell phone and dialed the hospital, sighing as it began to ring. He recognized Carla's voice as soon as she answered the phone. "Carla? It's JD, is Doctor Cox there?"

"Yeah, Bambi. Hold on, okay?"

"Thanks," JD murmured, running a hand through his hair.

"This better be good, Clarabelle," his mentor growled into the phone a moment later.

"Sorry to bother you, Doctor Cox, but your son's school has just been quarantined."

"What?!"

"Yeah, the police are here and they said they think it's a strain of Hands, Foot, and Mouth disease. I'm going to be here for a while."

There was a short pause on the other line. "JD, I'm only four hours into my shift. I can't leave. I need you to stay there if anything happens. I'll call you on my next break."

"Yeah, it's no problem, Doctor Cox," he said gently, cringing when his mentor slammed down the phone.

In a matter of minutes, the premises was flooded with concerned parents and bustling news vans, but still no word from the CDC. JD stood amongst the commotion, thankful that he'd taken off his scrubs and hospital ID before heading over to the school. As much as he wanted to help, he knew that drawing too much attention to himself would probably be more detrimental than not. It was only when the police officers started pushing the crowd further away from the barrier tapes did several white, unmarked Ford E-Series vans come into view. They parked haphazardly in front of the gates, several masked and gowned men and women flooding out of the vehicles. They ducked under the police tape and made their way towards the building.

The pandemonium picked up then, nerve-wracked parents and inquisitive news reporters rushing over to the specialists.

"People, I'm going to need you to clear the area," a gray haired man called out as he exited out of the driver's side. "We're dealing with an epidemic here. I ask that you place at least one thousand feet between you and this institution. If you've been in that building at any time today, please come forward for a standard check up. Please understand the circumstances we are in if we need you quarantined."

"Excuse me," one news reporter called out, waving at him to get his attention, "how do you think this strain of Hands, Foot, and Mouth disease reached this facility?"

"We are not sure if it is Hands, Foot, and Mouth disease," the man replied with a grunt. "A teacher took a picture of a rash that's developed on several of the children and also one of the faculty members and sent it to the school nurse, who then emailed it to the CDC. She claims that there are a few children that have presented with oral lesions, but there are several diseases that match up to these symptoms. We have no further information at this time."

"Erenreich, this is Coleman," a staticky voice spoke up from his two-way. "This does not look like Hands, Foot, and Mouth disease at all…" The voice sounded in awe.

The gray haired man frowned. "Describe the symptoms, Coleman," he said into the microphone.

"I don't know, man, but these aren't normal lesions. The one teacher's symptoms seem to be progressing faster than any of the kids'. This looks more like necrosis to me, Bob…"

"Coleman, lesions and necrosis are two very distinct things," Bob said, his voice taut. "Describe the rest of the symptoms."

"The symptoms on the children are as follows: red, raw, and pustulous lesions in the mouth, swelling of the hands and feet, and there also appear to be rashes on the extremities, but presentation of the rashes vary from child to child. Many of them are spiking up with high grade fevers. The teacher, however, shows signs of necrosis in the mouth, her extremities… Upon palpating her abdomen, her skin is hot to the touch and there are signs of internal bleeding."

"Definitely not Hands, Foot, and Mouth disease," JD remarked under his breath, tugging at strands of his hair.

"Coleman, have the kids visited any parks or zoos lately?" Bob asked into the two-way.

There was a pause before Coleman replied, "Yes, sir… One of the assistants said they went to a petting zoo two days ago."

"I want that petting zoo quarantined immediately," Bob barked. "Round up teams four and five. I want blood samples."

"Copy that, Doc," Coleman said.

JD startled when his phone began to ring, quickly answering it. "Hello?"

"Give me a rundown of what's happening, Newbie."

"Doctor Cox," JD said with a heavy sigh. "It sounds nothing like Hands, Foot, and Mouth disease. At least, at the onset, it did."

"Is… Is Jack anywhere near you?" the older doctor asked, his voice sounding strained.

"No," JD said, worrying his lower lip, "the entire building's been quarantined. Everybody here has been pushed back a thousand feet from the premises." He glanced around before cupping his hand to the speaker. "Doctor Cox, the symptoms are ranging from pustulous lesions to necrosis. I have no idea what's going on."

"ERENREICH, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY," a female rasped on the two-way, "Teacher presenting with necrosis is convulsing and showing signs of delirium. It's taking four people to restrain her…"

"Newbie!" Doctor Cox snarled on the other line.

"S-Sorry," JD said softly. "I think one of the teachers is suffering from a high grade fever. She's reported to be delirious, and it's taking a few people to restrain her. There's no news on any of the kids right now." He swallowed hard, turning his head when he saw the school doors burst open. His eyes widened when a woman darted out the doors, followed by a cluster of masked and gowned men and women.

"Erenreich, the woman's escaped--"

"I see that!" Bob growled into the two-way. He reached for something in the van, producing a megaphone. "Everyone evacuate the area now!"

Several officers ushered everyone from the scene. JD watched in horror as the sickly woman ran closer, a guttural, wet scream tearing from her throat. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin was sallow, the saliva dribbling from her mouth stringy and thick. One of the gowned specialists leapt at her from behind, grabbing her by the forearms as they both tumbled to the ground.

"Doctor Cox, I gotta call you back," JD rasped, hanging up the phone.

The crowd watched, wide-eyed and quiet as four more gowned men approached the writhing woman and her captor. And then suddenly an agonizing scream tore from one of the men holding her down.

"SHE BIT ME! THE BITCH BIT ME!"

A/N: I know the zombie thing has been horribly overdone in some cases, but the plot bunnies bit me and I just had to. Reviews are nice!