• Published 1st Jun 2018
  • 747 Views, 56 Comments

Pandemic: Hope - Cadiefly



A distraught and feeble man must explore his very soul as he struggles to tell reality from fantasy in the midst of an ETS pandemic.

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Quarantine

The room in which I stayed remained elusive during my trek through the ward. I was pleased, however, to find the halls emptier than when I had visited the doctor. If it meant being spared of their judging eyes, I could go the rest of my life in solitude.

After turning another corner, my destination finally appeared to be in sight. The aroma of the white pine needles faintly wafted through my nose as I approached it. It reminded me of my countryside cabin not altogether far from here. The forested area stretched on for miles it wasn’t much, but it was at least a home.

“Maybe I can talk the doctor into discharging me,” I said aloud to myself, suddenly reminded that it was left unattended. “I bet those rascals are up there causing havoc in my absence… They’re always breaking things and trying to take my home away from me.”

I half expected the comment to elicit some kind of response from my self-conjured stalker, but there was nothing. This must have been one of those rare instances in which I was spared the bane of my affliction.

Then I reached the door to my room and found it slightly ajar. I could hear voices from inside, and I was curious to see if the orderlies were somehow making an unscheduled cleaning service in my quarters. I apprehensively peered through the crack to catch a look unnoticed.

I silently cursed to myself when I realized that I had once again been mistaken about where I had been headed. I was so sure this was the place. It was a small conference room instead. The participants evidently thought their conversation was sufficiently private.

Dr. Webster, along with one other doctor and three orderlies, were sitting around a conference table. I was sure David was among them, but I couldn’t quite make his face out from where I stood.

“And you’re sure the patients didn’t just have some flu?” Webster asked.

“The symptoms Jeff described to me yesterday were exactly the same, and now he's out sick this morning,” one of the orderlies said. “I haven't noticed anyone presenting the disease yet, so I think it’s safe to say, at least for the time being, that it’s isolated over in the west wing.”

A tense silence settled in the room for a moment. Webster shook his head and asked, “How did this even happen? We’re secluded, with minimal residents, in the middle of a countryside road. Some of our staff even stay here during their rotation. I don’t see how anyone would have had contact with the outside world.”

“About that…” I heard David say, “We had a new transfer here a few days ago by ship. They were from Charleston, South Carolina, I think.”

“That’s a long way from Maine.” Dr. Webster had a stern look fixated on the orderlies. I wondered if he somehow blamed all of this on them.

“I think,” the only other doctor in the room said, “what he's trying to say, Charles, and has been trying to say for the past half hour, is that even with all the odds stacked in our favor, there was simply no guaranteeing that we could have prevented something like this. I know you have a certain… affinity towards cleanliness, even for medical standards, but I think it’s time for us to take a step back from what might have been and instead focus on the situation at hand.”

He stopped himself short, faced the orderlies, and asked, “Have there been any known cases of fatalities yet?” When one of them shook his head, he turned back to Webster. “I think until we truly understand just what it is we’re up against, we should quarantine the infected and conduct research so as to develop a methodology for handling it and finding a treatment. As far fetched as it may be, there may yet be countering its effects if this is a virus.”

Dr. Webster stared at the table, rapping his fingers anxiously against the wooden surface. He grimaced and appeared to be conflicted by thought. He was so quiet when he spoke that I almost didn’t hear him. “I want everyone who’s already shown symptoms to be to be escorted to the west wing, where they shall remain. And for heaven’s sake, keep your distance at all costs. Now, I need a good, thorough rinsing!”

The members of the conference stood up and started making their way to the door. I pulled away from the door before they got the chance to catch me eavesdropping. My brisk pace soon became a frantic run.

There was no destination in mind, except perhaps someplace out of this death trap. I may not have understood much of their discussion, but one statement stood out to me crystal clear: infection. I should never have allowed my brother talk me into checking into this place. His trust in their ability to treat me was greatly misplaced.

“Yes,” said my other half, “you’ve finally come to your senses… It was foolhardy to depend on others. They misunderstand us. They act as if you for something wrong with us. Especially our brother. He’s the worst of them all.”

I wished I could turn the voices in my head off at will, but whether or not I asked for his company, as well as others, he came and went as he pleased. I didn’t always make out what they all said. Sometimes it was bits and pieces of random conversations that made no sense out of context. Other times it wasn’t comprehensible at all. Still other times, such as this one, I wondered if the voices only ever said what I believed deep down.

Trying not to ponder on this any longer, I made my way out to the facility entrance, where I stumbled across Monty by happenstance. He shuffled along at a lackadaisical pace, veering off course as if lost in thought. Once he took notice of me, he waved me over to him. I obliged, if only to warn him.

“I have a friend…” he said cryptically. “He told me about a funny-looking person. She’s got a wild hairdo and a tail like she’s straight outta the circus or something.” He snorted and clapped his hands together excitedly. “Want to go check her out?”

“I don’t think she’d much appreciate that.” I grabbed him by the arm. “And we shouldn’t stick around here any longer. It’s not safe.”

“What? Why ever not? The doctors here are real nice; they look after us.” Monty gave me a cheeky grin.

“I don’t really understand it myself, but there’s some kind of outbreak. She might be infected already, and she could pass it along to you too if you go.”

He had a puzzled look on his face as he tried to pry himself off me. “Infected? Like a virus or something? I’ve been sick before, but I got better, and she will too. We should go wish her well.”

I released my hold over him. I’ve done my due diligence by this point, and it was really none of my business if he wanted to get himself infected. “Fine, you go do that. I’m going to get the hell out of here.”

My feet carried me to the entrance before he could stop me. Just as pulled on the door handle, however, someone else placed their hand on my shoulder. I turned to find David standing there next to me.

“Sorry, Bart,” he said, “I can’t have you roaming the grounds any longer today. The doctors requested all patients return to their rooms for the time being. We’re going to make an announcement later today that concerns you. Right this way. You as well, Monty.”

Monty, seemingly having forgotten his adventures, eagerly bounded toward us. Once he was by our side, David escorted us back to our rooms. I complained the entire way, and the orderly offered quiet assurances at every turn.

I contemplated making a run for it, but I was restrained the last time I tried to escape. There was no other choice but to bide my time and wait until the opportunity for escape presented itself to me.

So it was there that I painfully found myself with nothing to do except to pace. I imagined the virus encroaching around on me from all sides, and if I didn’t act soon, it would be the end of me. With the orderlies patrolling these halls, though, I couldn’t act at all.

While I was there, my mind wandered to how the doctors managed to let this happen in the first place. If they took the necessary precautions, surely the infected wouldn’t have been allowed through. The only reason I could think of is if they somehow didn’t notice it.

Could she somehow hidden it out of embarrassment? She was surely unable to hide it now, but it would be possibly in the initial days of the disease. The implication that followed was frightening, as it suggested the rate of transformation was rapid.

My mind continued to fabricate convoluted possibilities one after the other. It wasn’t until a few hours later, when one of the orderlies came to retrieve me, that stopped contemplating over this surreal situation.

The orderlies took me, along with the other patients, to the cafeteria in an orderly fashion. When we got there, it was noticeably emptier than during mealtime. After being seated at the tables, I became distinctly aware of the growing banter from confused souls.

One patient across from me repeatedly struck the table with his fists and letting out wails. As the noise around us grew in intensity, so too did his anxiety. Eventually he, led him to break away from the table. He didn’t make it very far before one of the orderlies crashed into him.

The outburst only made those around me more anxious, and a few more looked ready to make a break for it. I was among those numbers; I felt claustrophobic, and while there may have only been twenty or so patients here, the noise made it feel ten times more.

“Can I have your attention?” Dr. Webster’s voice called out to everyone. The room suddenly fell into silence. “Thank you. That’s much better. As some of you may already know, we’re in a grave situation, and as much as I’d like to handle this behind closed doors, that’s simply not possible.

“What we have on our hands is an outbreak, right here in this very facility. Our staff is doing everything to ensure that this situation doesn’t go from bad to worse, but we cannot hope to achieve that without your cooperation. To try to minimize the spread, no one is allowed to enter the west wing. Therefore, anyone caught heading into that section must stay there until they’re told otherwise.”

Though I appreciated the doctor’s valiant efforts to control the issue, there was no way in hell this was ever going to work. Couldn’t the doctor see what we really needed was to flee? Anywhere but here was better.

Webster continued, “I won’t sugarcoat the severity of our predicament. The rate of transmission is very aggressive. So aggressive, in fact, that per regulations as stated by the CDC we are on full lockdown. The fact of the matter is, we may very well be infected already, and so evacuation is impossible. It’s most unfortunate, but these measures must be taken in light of the life-changes that the virus inflicts upon people. Changes that are so drastic that they threaten humanity itself.

“There is hope yet that we will get through this, and so I encourage us all to help guide each other in this time of need. That is all.” After Webster finished his speech, he didn’t waste any time leaving the cafeteria.

Once he was gone, the orderlies directed us into the hall in a file. They broke us off into groups and began taking us back to our quarters. We made more buzz the further we stepped away from the lunchroom, though our tones were more hushed than before the announcement. No one could really make sense of what was happening.

My group took us right past the front entrance. I stared at it out of longing; I wanted to walk out those doors now more than ever. They were so close, but they might as well be a million miles away.

Movement near the doors caught my attention. Someone else was fulfilling my dream of trying to make their great escape. I lost interest in the spectacle quickly, expecting its conclusion to be swiftly drawn.

A collective gasp dragged me back in. No one was moving to stop this person, and it took me a moment to realize why. I couldn’t make out much from where I was, but there was unmistakably a tail protruding from her tailbone. This must be the person responsible for our strife.

“It’s her!”

I turned my head to watch Monty jogging after the infected. I silently wished for the poor man to see reason, but my prayers went unheard as he continued his journey.

“You’re okay!” he yelled.

David launched himself into motion out of the corner of my eye. He sprinted across the room faster than I thought possible. Despite his best efforts, he still wasn’t quick enough to stop Monty.

By this point, the patient had taken notice of him as well. She looked just as frightened as the rest of us, though perhaps for very different reasons.

“Don’t worry. The doctors will take good care of us. You’ll see,” Monty said. He then raised his hand and patted her head.

Author's Note:

With the release of this chapter, I think I have most of the pieces there to make this set of circumstances line up with the universe.

To summarize, we have an out of the way facility located in a low population density, which has the virus introduced primarily by one individual. I ran some calculations to make sure everything works, and I think it does. A ship traveling from SC to ME had an average speed of 11 knots. The calculation placed the time to destination at approximately three days, which (correct me if I'm wrong) is right around the time the symptoms first became noticeable... odd hairdo, change of eye color.

I believe there are two additional details about the infected person and reasoning behind travel and feasibility of her transfer that I shan't ignore. However, I will look for the right time to introduce those details naturally into the narrative. Regardless, I hope my explanations have been sufficiently addressed. :raritywink:

I had a ton of fun writing this chapter. I especially found Monty positively delightful. His innocence and simplistic outlook on life is something to be cherished.