The hours of the week trudge by in agonizingly slow rounds, days and nights bleeding into one another like a malignant oil painting.

  Joab isn't paying attention, not really...he never truly did. His eyes, glazed from exhaustion, watch absentmindedly as the spray coats the wall in front of him. For a brief moment, he pauses; lost in thought as he contemplates the untold billions of microscopic life forms he just wiped out, all with the disinterested wave of a nozzle lazy enough to put sloths to shame.

  He again snaps himself back to the present and continues spraying. He'd been doing that a lot more lately; zoning out. Surely it must be the sleeplessness...he would love it if it were that simple. In truth, the events over the weekend had really stuck with him. Normally his days off were about as significant to him as the germs whose eradication were his nine-to-five responsibility; appearing for fleeting moments in time before being snuffed out in a haze of ruthless toxins...and that's the way he liked it. This past Sunday, however, had been somewhat of a breaking point, and now he wasn't sure how he felt about...well...anything. Meeting Isabelle again after so many years had been nice, but...the whole 'mindscape' thing had really rattled him. Even so, there was a small part of him that felt bad for leaving as abruplty as he did. He wanted to give her another chance, though ultimately for no other reason than to simply spend time with her; the young woman's presence was just so...so...'refreshing' was the only word that came to mind.

  As much as he didn't want to admit it, attending the church service had been surprisingly calming as well.

  ...probably just nostalgia, he convinces himself, ...though...perhaps nostalgia worth going back for?

  He shakes his head, smiling almost amusedly beneath his mask,

  ...oh, okay, so we're just churchians now, all of a sudden? You know it's more than likely just Izzy you wanna go back for, right?

  A wave of sweet but fleeting warmth washes over him as he thinks back to the time spent with her,

  She's kinda weird, and sorta quirky, a little 'out there' with all of that freaky mind stuff, but...damn, is she ever cute...and those thighs, oh, mercy, those thighs...

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  He shakes his head again, a little more aggressively than before,

  ...keep it in your pants, horndog. New leaf and all that, remember?

  A few minutes drift by as he continues in his work, sanitizing every last inch of the area; apparently there had been another mass collapse here the day prior. As horrific as these random deaths had been, the silver lining, should one be so bold to even call it that, was that they at least provided job security for those in the sanitization sector...an ironic industry to employ for a problem that the government itself claims is not caused by any perceivable bacteria or virus. The trick, Joab had learned, was to not think about these things too hard...the regime had never been kind to critical thought.

  ...what if we tried her weird mindscape thing again?

  He stops dead, fingers loosening on the trigger as he begins to wonder where the abrupt thought had come from,

  Um, no...that whole experience was unsettling as hell...I really didn't care for it.

  He can feel his thoughts beginning to argue with each other,

  Sure, but what if there really is something to it? Izzy even said herself that she'd done it more than once and had had a positive outcome...maybe we too just need to try it more than once?

  His eyes narrow beneath his goggles as he resumes spraying,

  ...no...no, I really don't think that's necessary; there are other ways for us to deal with our problems.

  Oh yeah, like what? Those great and wonderful therapists nobody can afford? You'd think with all the heavy taxation they'd at least be able to provide some small degree of mental aid for a population oppressed by an invisible force we don't understand, but nooo...

  Doesn't matter, we'll figure something out.

  Uh-huh, every time you say that it means laziness, mindless drinking, bar fights, over eating and sleeping around, all while having the gall to think these things will somehow fix or fulfill you but they don't!

  You're seriously not going to shut up until I agree to Izzy's freaky mind stuff, are you?

  ...it's at least worth a second chance.

  He pauses again as he contemplates the issue, looking around briefly to ensure the boss wasn't there to notice his occasional slacking off,

  ...okay...okay, fine. This Sunday, we'll go back to the church for the service, and when we see Izzy, we'll ask her about it, cool?

  "Neeson, you done in here?"

  Joab's head suddenly snaps around, startled to see the second in command no more than six feet from him.

  ...what does the fat man want this time?

  "Yeah," he replies, slightly fumbling with the nozzle as he returns to his duties, "Almost done, just finishing this wall."

  "Well hurry up, we have four more stops after this."

  "Yep."

  He breathes a sigh of relief as the higher-up moves on to another room,

  ...this Sunday...we'll try again this Sunday.