Earth Abides

For as long as he could remember, Isherwood Williams enjoyed coming to his cabin in the woods. A writer by profession, he loved the isolation it afforded him from the demands of society. Then one day, while hiking with his dog along a mountain path, Ish was bitten on the leg by a rattlesnake. He survived the bite, but the solitude that he cherished so much took on new significance. He was sick for days -- although, somehow, he never doubted that he'd live through the ordeal. Often delirious, he did awake at one point to find two strangers peering into his cabin from the door. Yet oddly, instead of offering help to Ish, they ran off as if terrified. Not long after that, coughing began. Ish suffered chills followed by fever and a measles-like rash broke out on his skin. While most victims don't survive this peculiar malady, Ish did not know it then. He headed home when he finally felt himself again — and noticed the strangeness almost immediately.