Fiction Writing

The Social Distance

By: Nora Malone

BREAKING NEWS: All non-essential workers are to stop immediately, due to the COVID-19 outbreak

All workers who are deemed ‘non-essential’ by the World Health Organization are to stop working as soon as possible to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. These safety measures are important and must be followed. Do not go outside unless it is necessary, always wear a mask, and wash your hands as often as you can. Stay at least six feet apart from others and go to no public gatherings. These guidelines are-

Corey switched off the TV and sighed. He looked at the clock and got up. His break was almost over and he needed to wash his hands before he started his next shift. Not that there was much work to do, no one was coming to the museum anyway. He walked out of the breakroom and down the long hallway. Huge statues of Egyptian pharaohs loomed over him as he walked through the silent museum.

Corey frowned to himself. Usually the Egyptain section was one of the most popular exhibits. There were usually school groups and people taking tours. It was almost always the loudest part of the museum, full of people asking for directions to the bathroom and the snack bar. (They were right next to each other, down the hallway to the left.) But today it was just Corey walking through the empty halls. His keys were the loudest thing around him as he opened up the door to the staff bathroom.

Corey looked at his watch and sighed, it was 2:00 on a Thursday and the museum was as silent as a tomb. Not that Corey knew exactly what a tomb was like, but his friend Laura had gone to Egypt once and had told him all about it. He finished washing his hands and used a paper towel to open the door, a little trick his roommate had taught him.

“Bathroom door handles are dirtier than the subway,” he had said.

Corey doubted that anything was dirtier than the subway, but he still refused to touch the handle. He knew that it wasn’t much but it was better to be safe than sorry. It was especially important for Corey. His roommate Mathew was immunocompromised, Corey couldn’t risk him getting sick.

“Corey!” Someone said, it echoed around the silent hall.

Corey turned and saw Laura walking towards him. Laura worked in the Egpytian department, she had started a little before Corey but they had worked together in Visitor Services until about two weeks ago when she had been promoted to Director of the Egyptian Department.

Corey waved. “Laura,” he said, walking towards her, “Whats up?”

She grimaced, and stuck her lower lip out. Corey frowned.

“What's wrong?” He was getting worried. Had she been fired? Had he been fired?

“They’re closing the museum,” she said, her brow furrowed.

“What!? For how long?”

Laura shrugged.

“Until further notice,” she muttered, using air quotes. Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Corey bit his lip.

“Do we still have jobs?”

“No idea,” Laura did not seem well informed on this subject. “I know I’m getting paid until May 2nd, but after that...” she shrugged.

Just then Coreys walkie-talkie came on. He took it off his belt and held it up so both he and Laura could hear.

“Pshhhhhhh,” Corey adjusted the dials on his walkie talkie until he could hear what his supervisor was saying.

“Museum is closing tomorrow and will stay closed until further notice.”

Laura rolled her eyes.

“All personnel will be paid until May 2nd.”

Corey saw Laura smile. Looked like they weren’t getting fired.

“No wait-” the walkie talkie said, “All personnel except those in Visitor Services will be paid until May 2nd, those in Visitor Service will receive severance…”

“Ah,” thought Corey. It looked like he was getting fired after all.

The walkie talkie blathered on about cleaning out their lockers and collecting their things. Corey tuned it out. He had thought that he could go somewhere with this job. He loved working at the museum, he just got to talk about history for the whole day. The hours were good, and so was the pay. He had finally found something he could excel at. And he had thought, maybe… No. It had seemed like he had been close to getting a promotion until this whole coronavirus made everything more complicated. Maybe the museum would hire him back after this was all over. But in the meantime he needed another job. He had to pay rent and his roommate had to work from home. Corey sighed and turned off the walkie talkie.

“Corey…” Laura said, her voice sad.

Corey shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, I knew it was coming.”

That was a lie and Corey knew it. As he walked away from Laura down the hall he had to hold back tears. Of course he was non-essential. He didn’t deal in organization, he dealt with people. And when there were no people, there was no Corey. But still, he had hoped that maybe they would have found a place for him, and all the other people who were wandering around the museum now. Wondering how they’ll pay their rent.

BREAKING NEWS: The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art has closed its doors due to the spread of the coronavirus.

The museum has said that they are going to close until further notice to slow the spread of COVID-19 in New York. They have laid off 81 employees in Visitor Services and retail departments. The rest of their employees will be paid until May 2nd. They have made no more statements regarding-

Sage muted the TV.

“That's so sad,” she said, making a little pouty face, “All those poor people.”

Her boyfriend was sitting next to her, he looked up.

“What?” he said, pulling one of his earbuds out of his ear.

She pointed at the TV, the bottom of it read.

81 LAID OFF FROM MET DUE TO SPREAD OF COVID-19

“Oh,” her boyfriend said, looking back down at his phone. “Right.”

Sage stood up brushing her hands on her thighs. She walked over to the huge glass window that overlooked LA. She could see the whole city from her living room. The only thing between her and all of LA was the huge pool she had had installed in her front yard. Her sister was sitting next to it now. Laying on a lounge chair, tanning. Sage grabbed her phone off the end table and walked into the kitchen. Her agent was sitting at the table with a computer. There were papers all across the huge granite island in the middle of the kitchen. Sage grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and leaned over to look at the papers.

“What's this?” she said, picking one of the pieces of paper up and looking at it.

“I am trying to arrange a visit,” her agent said, taking the paper out of Sage’s hand, “To a children's hospital.”

Sage smiled. “Aww how sweet, what would I do?”

Her agent shrugged, “No idea, sing? Take photos? The usual.”

Sage nodded “I’m down,” she said, “But what about the coronavirus, is it safe?”

“Oh you’ll be fine,” her agent said running his hand through his hair, “This hospital is just for cancer patients, they haven’t been allowed outside since the breakout so they’re safe.”

Sage nodded. “Sounds good, when is it?”

“Tomorrow, so you’d better start packing.”

“Packing?” Sage said, scrunching up her face “Where is this hospital?”

“It’s the Memorial Sloan Kettering Children's Cancer Center in New York.”

“Oh!” said Sage happily, “New York!”

“I thought you’d approve.” her agent said, “Now go pack, I’m going to see if we can get your house down there up and running.”

LIVE FEED:

This is Amy Catherand reporting live from New York City. As the coronavirus becomes more of a threat here in the Big Apple, more precautions have been taken. The Museum of Fine Arts has closed all its branches as New York quickly becomes the state with the most coronavirus cases.

Corey smashed his face into a pillow.

“Can you turn that off?” he said “Or at least change the channel.”

“Sure,” his roommate said, changing the channel to some football game.

“Hey,” Mathew was looking at him with a concerned look in his eyes, “You good?”

“I’m fine,” Corey said, rubbing his temples. “Just tired.”

“If you say so.”

Corey stood up and looked at his watch.

“My shift starts in an hour, I’d better get ready.”

Mathew laughed, “How long is it gonna take you to walk three blocks?”

Corey laughed, it wasn’t genuine but Mathew didn’t seem to notice. He walked into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Corey grabbed the Advil and put it in his bag after taking a couple. He head ached but he needed to work. It had been two weeks since he had been fired from the MET and it had not been a good two weeks for Corey. The severance package was nice, but hardly enough to support him and Mathew. Corey had gotten a job at the Burger King a few blocks away, but the pay had not been good. Mathew’s company had decided since he was working from home he should only get part time pay. Mathew had tried to argue but he didn’t want to risk his job, he couldn’t risk going into work and getting sick.

Corey sat down on his bed. He had been so tired these past few days, he told himself it was just because of his new job. But he knew that wasn’t true. He was working less than he had when he worked at the museum, yet he was even more tired then he had been on the busiest days. Corey put the back of his hand to his head, it felt hot but it was hard to tell. It's usually impossible to tell if you have a fever when you use your own hand. He considered walking into the other room to ask Mathew, but what would he say if he did have a fever? He didn’t know if they owned a thermometer, he had one in college but he didn’t know if it had made the trip to his apartment. He walked into the bathroom and started looking through the drawers. No luck. Corey took a deep breath and stood up, he would have to buy one somewhere.

He walked into the living room just as the doorbell rang. Mathew jumped up.

“My food!”

Corey sighed, “I thought we agreed to stop getting take out?”

“We did,” said Mathew “But we can’t stop Sushi Saturdays!”

He walked out the front door and exchanged with the delivery guy. He was wearing a mask and gloves and Mathew had a scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face. As Mathew walked back into the apartment Corey saw the delivery guy take his mask off and walk down the stairs. Corey ran to the window and saw the delivery guy walking down the street without gloves or a mask. He had just worn them to deliver the food. Corey walked away from the window.

“People need to start taking this more seriously.”

Mathew nodded, he was already eating.

“Save some for me,” Corey said “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

INSIDER SCOOP: Pop star Sage Bell may have the coronavirus and is currently quarantined in her New York home.

Recently the star has been seen having doctors and nurses come to her penthouse in the Upper East Side. She is suspected to have COVID-19, but it has yet to address these rumors.

Sage put down the magazine. How did the press know everything? She had been quarantined for a day, maybe a day and a half. And there were already articles being written about her. It had not been a good two weeks for Sage Bell. She had visited the Children's Hospital and was halfway through meeting the kids when she heard that all air travel had been suspended. She was stuck in New York. She had been planning on staying the night in the city, maybe see some friends, and then fly back to LA the next day. Now all her plans had been ruined. She had tried to make the best of it. She had been going to parties and bars, but then they had all been closed, and meetings of groups of people had been forbidden. Sage had been hoping to at least have some fun while she was stuck in New York, she did not. She had only been here for a week, having gone to hardly any parties mind you, when she had gotten sick. She assumed that it was just a cold. All the people she had been around had been high up members of society, none of them could possibly have the coronavirus. It just couldn’t be true. She had convinced herself it was just a cold, maybe the flu. She had spoken to her friend Harmony who made curing juices and she had given her a carrot, beetroot, chia seed, and kale smoothie. Which she said would clear her cold right up. Sage had been prepared for the smoothie to taste horrible, they most often did, but she was not prepared for it to taste like nothing at all. She had taken several sips, maybe it was a slow burn? Before she had gone to ask Harmony, who was sitting at the table with her agent.

“Hey Har,” she had said holding the smoothie out in front of her “What's this supposed to taste like?”

Harmony smiled at her, “It usually tastes very tart with a hint of a poppy flavor, why?”

Sage looked down at the smoothie and took another sip. Still nothing.

“I don’t know,” Sage had said smelling the drink, it didn’t smell like much either, “it just doesn’t taste like anything.”

Her agent had dropped his glass at that point. Harmony had shrieked so loud Sage thought some of the glass must have hit her.

“Harmony!” She had said, rushing over, “Are you alright!?”

The girl had nodded and put her hand on her chest.

“I’m fine” she whispered, “Just a little shocked, that's all.”

Sage felt her agent grab her arm.

“You said that your smoothie didn’t taste like anything?” he said, the words coming out in a rush.

Sage nodded as Harmony took the smoothie from her and took a sip. Sage saw her lips pucker.

“I don’t know what you mean.” she said handing the smoothie back “Tastes normal to me.”

“Weird,” Sage said, putting the cap back on the smoothie.

Harmony stood up.

“I’ve gotta go,” she said waving at Sage, “See you later.”

Sage nodded and turned back to her agent who was typing extremely fast.

“Go take your temperature” he said without looking up.

“What?”

“Go take your temperature.”

She had shrugged and walked into the bathroom. She was in the middle of searching for the thermometer when she had felt a wave of tiredness. She sat down and rested her chin in her hands. She felt lightheaded and woozy, she couldn’t remember feeling faint the last time she had a cold. It was so weird.

That was last week. And Sage would have given anything to go back to when she felt like that. Now she had an aching, dry, painful, cough. Her whole body would shake and she felt like her throat was going to tear. She had laughed at the prospect of having coronavirus. Her agent had told her it was a possibility and Sage didn’t believe it. To her the coronavirus didn’t feel real. It was something that was happening to everyone else, but it couldn’t possibly reach her. She was in a different world than everyone else. The people she spoke to, the food she ate, it wasn’t something everyone did. So how on earth did she have the virus?

LIVE FEED:

New York has officially become the state with the most coronavirus cases. The state's department is scrambling to figure out what to do. New York City has 12,000 deaths already from COVID-19.

Corey muted the TV, there was no point changing the channel. Everything was about coronavirus. Flipping through the channels did nothing, it was either coronavirus, or reruns of old sitcoms. Corey looked around. The Burger King was empty, big surprise. The drive through was open but it turns out that not many people will get in the car just for Burger King. Corey didn’t blame them. It wasn’t exactly quality food, but he got a paycheck so it was enough.

Corey groaned and leaned back in his chair. His head was pounding and he was dead on his feet. He needed to cough but he had to wait until he was alone. The other day he had coughed once and the person he worked with refused to come within ten feet of him for the rest of the day. Corey was definitely sick, he knew that this was no ordinary cough, but he couldn’t afford to stop working. He needed to pay rent and he needed to buy groceries. His roommate couldn’t work so Corey had to. It was hard living in an apartment with someone and not letting them know you’re sick. Corey blamed it on his new job, he was working different hours so he was tired. At least that's what he told Mathew. He spent his days taking unhealthy amounts of Advil and opening up the window so he could cough freely. It reminded him of when he was in college. When you got sick all you needed was Vapo-Rub and soup. You just had to power through and you’d eventually get better. That was Corey’s goal, but he seemed to just be getting worse. He was short of breath and it hurt his lungs when he walked up long flights of stairs. When he walked home from work he had to take two breaks to catch his breath.

He stared at the clock, his shift was over in ten minutes and then he had to walk home, maybe he could get a test? He had already called his healthcare provider and they had suggested he get one, even though he had downplayed his symptoms. But he didn’t know how much the tests cost and he didn’t want to go into debt because he felt a little sick. Corey sighed, his best bet was to tell his roommate he felt sick and then treat it like a cold. Take a few days off and get back on his feet. He should be able to afford that.

When his shift ended Corey started on his walk home. He stopped in a CVS and bought a box of Theraflu and a bag of cough drops. It would have to do for now. As he walked home he saw a long line of people standing outside a grocery store. They were waiting to go in, but instead of standing six feet apart they were all standing next to each other waiting to go into the store. At that point you might as well all go into the store. Corey crossed the street so he wouldn’t go near them. The street was emptier than he’d ever seen it. There were usually people standing and talking, kids playing in the street, people walking with dogs. Today it was empty except for one guy taking out his garbage bins. Corey had moved to New York because he loved the hustle and bustle, seeing it empty and quiet made him uneasy.

When he got home, Mathew wasn’t there, it wasn’t unusual on most days, but Mathew hadn’t left the apartment in weeks. Corey was about to call him when he walked through the door.

“Where were you?” Corey said, putting the Theraflu and the cough drops on the kitchen counter.

“I went for a walk,” Mathew said, opening the fridge, “I’m going stir crazy.”

Corey laughed.

“Well you won’t be alone for long.”

“Why's that?” Mathew turned, one eyebrow raised. “Did you get fired?”

“No!” Corey said, “I’m just taking a few days off, I think I’m sick.”

As soon as he said it Mathew jumped away from him. He climbed over the counter and ran across the room.

“Sick!?” He was already holding hand sanitizer.

“Calm down” Corey walked towards him, his hands up, “it’s just a cold.”

That was a lie but Mathew didn’t need to know that. Corey had been making sure to clean things after he used them for weeks. It was nearly impossible for Mathew to have gotten sick from him.

Mathew lowered the hand sanitizer.

“If you’re sure,” he sounded apprehensive.

“I’m sure,” Corey said, “I wasn’t planning on licking you anyway.”

Mathew laughed.

“I thought that was a given.”

“I won’t lick you as long as you don’t lick me.”

“Deal.”

Corey grabbed the Theraflu and put it in a cabinet. He was so tired but he didn’t show it. He needed to sleep, he also needed to shower. Preferably not at the same time. As he walked towards the bathroom he swayed, little lights popping up in his eyes. He caught himself on the wall and looked around. Mathew hadn’t noticed. Good. Corey would feel better if he could just sit down for a second. Then he blacked out.

BREAKING NEWS:

It is confirmed that singer-songwriter Sage Bell has coronavirus. She is currently quarantined in her New York home and has been seen with several medical professionals.

Sage felt like hell. Her chest hurt and breathing was hard. She had a pounding headache and she was bone tired despite having done nothing for almost a week. She had seen several doctors who said the best thing for her to do was rest. She was trying, but she was so bored. She felt like she was slowly losing her mind. She couldn’t even get up and walk around. She was too tired, and even if she had been able to, it was dangerous. She knew the press wanted more information but she was too tired to give it. She had posted to her instagram story.

“Stay strong guys, we are all in this together.” And then “This affects everyone.” That was all she had the energy to do. Her agent had wanted her to make a statement but she was too tired to do so much of anything. She had been told she was lucky to have rested as soon as it hit. According to one of her doctors it would have been much worse if she had tried to power through. Her internal organs and immune system were weak from the virus and if she had tried to power through it could have harmed them further making it almost impossible to heal.

She heard a knock on her door.

“Sage?”

It was her agent. She wasn’t sure who she expected it to be. They were the only people in the house. Sage laughed to herself. This was supposed to be a two day trip, just stopping by and leaving again. And here she was a full month later still in New York.

“What is it?”

“Just bringing out some food.” Her agent said, peering around the door.

“Thanks,” she replied, smiling at him. “Thanks for putting up with me.”

He shrugged.

“You pay my salary.”

She laughed as he walked out of the room, but she didn’t know if it was a joke.

She heard a timer go off somewhere near her head. She grabbed her phone and saw a banner that said ‘Advil’. Sage turned off the alarm and reached for the bottle. All of last week she would count down until she could have another Advil, her headache never seemed to go away entirely but she had barely noticed it today. Hopefully that was a good sign.

MEDICAL ALERT:

Do not go outside unless it is necessary, always wear a mask, and wash your hands often. Stay at least six feet away from other people at all times.

Corey’s head was pounding in two different places. His headache had only gotten worse as the days went on and smacking his skull into the floor hadn’t helped the situation. He had a huge bruise on his forehead, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. He was having trouble breathing.

After he had fainted his roommate had to half carry him to the couch. Halfway there Corey had a coughing fit and had to sit down and take a break. Now he was laying down staring at the wall while Mathew Googled coronavirus symptoms. Corey already knew all the symptoms. He had looked it up multiple times to try to figure out a way to deny how sick he was.

Mathew came over holding his laptop.

“It says here that your body is working overtime so that's why you’re so tired.”

Corey nodded. He knew all this of course but he didn’t want to admit that he had known for a while and not told Mathew.

“The worst thing that could happen is that because of the virus taking its toll on your body your organs could fail.”

That made Corey sit up.

“My organs?” he spluttered, trying to grab the laptop.

Mathew held it away from him.

“It says here that your lungs, liver, or heart could fail.” Mathew’s brow was furrowed and he bit his lip.

“I should probably take you to the hospital.”

“Why!?” Corey managed to prop himself up on the pillows of the couch.

“Why?!” Mathew said, incredulous. “You’re sick!”

Corey flopped back on the couch.

“Exactly.” He said, “If I go to the hospital I’ll spend all my money having them tell me something I already know.”

Mathew shook his head and stood up.

“I’m calling a cab.”

Before Corey could even open his mouth Mathew cut him off.

“And don’t try to stop me.”

LIVE FEED:

Pop Star Sage Bell was seen walking her dog yesterday and has confirmed that she had the coronavirus but has now recovered. She says she is still a little tired but is much better and urges everyone to stay home as much as possible.

Sage took a deep breath. It felt good to be outside, even if it was just for a few minutes. She felt so much better than she had three days ago. It was easier to breathe, her headache was gone, and according to her doctors, all her organs were working. She was still a little tired, but that was to be expected. Her body had been fighting for two weeks. It deserved a rest.

She turned the corner to her street and started walking towards her apartment. The city was so empty, it was weird. She could only see a few people walking down the street, there were usually big crowds of people running in every direction. Sage walked into her building and into the elevator. She leaned against the cool wall and sighed. She was thankful she had been able to rest these past few weeks, if she had needed to do anything it would not have ended well.

The elevator doors opened right into Sage’s front room. She took her dogs' leash off and walked into the kitchen.

“Sage!” Her sister was sitting on the counter.

“Penelope?” she said, smiling. “How did you get here?”

Her sister swung her legs and jumped off the counter. She was a full head shorter and bursting with energy.

“I drove,” she said, shrugging. “It was kinda fun.”

Sage laughed.

“Only you would call five day road trip fun.”

Her sister smiled.

“When I heard you were getting better I had to come see you.” She was talking so fast it took Sage a minute to process everything she said.

Penelope walked towards the fridge and took out a soda.

“So,” she said, popping the tab on the drink, “tell me everything that’s happened to you.”

Sage laughed. She was always laughing when her sister was around. Penelope had that effect on people.

“I haven’t done that much other than lay in bed all day.”

Penelope took a sip of her drink.

“Well that’s something I guess.”

Sage nodded. She was acting lighthearted, but in reality she had been terrified the whole time. She was so thankful that she had been able to rest for those two weeks. She was able to just sit and heal. If she had to do any shows or meet and greets she would still be sick. Sage smiled as her sister talked about her roadtrip. She was already feeling better. She would probably go to bed early and sleep in tomorrow. Maybe she would make cookies. She had weeks ahead for her to fill with anything she wanted to do, she had nothing to worry about.

OBITUARY:

This week we mourn Corey Davidson, a 26 year old New York resident after he died from heart failure after testing positive for COVID-19. He was a kind man who wasn’t afraid to help. But because of his lack of access to medical treatment he could not be saved. Because of social distancing we are unable to have a service, but we ask anyone who knew Corey to pay their respects by donating to the coronavirus relief effort in Corey’s name. We do not want what happened to Corey to happen again.

Isolation

By: Evan Moore

Isolation.

It’s a funny thing. We as humans are social creatures. If we are apart for too long, we start to lose it. It can be a cold, empty feeling gnawing at our souls, making our bones or us feel hollow. It can be a distrust for the world around us, a creeping fear that has its claws in our minds. It can be two invisible arms, tightly grabbing us and acting more like chains, cold and controlling.

As I often do, I escaped. I tried to free myself from the tight chains or the gnawing feeling. I escape into worlds unlike my own, the worlds of fiction. Whether it be through a podcast, a book, or comics, these worlds pull me out. They free me from the isolation that has taken me hostage. Their voices and faces and feelings fill my head and my space, replacing what would usually be filled by my friends. I can feel them with me. I am no longer in this world of sickness, this boring, drab world that makes me shaken and tighten with it’s nothing. This current state where there is no movement and no activity in our daily life that would usually be at the same pace as my brain. Now my mind is still as fast as ever, but it’s the only thing in the race.

When I immerse myself in fiction, my mind isn’t alone in this race. I’m not alone in this life. Instead of being a kid who feels every day less alive, a kid who sits in his room, only leaving to eat a warm bagel and fill my stomach, I am in a world of mystery and the supernatural. I am no longer isolated.

Now I am in love with a boy. A boy who is forced to watch as I unravel, unwind. A boy who sees me lose myself to the entity forever growing inside me. A boy who knows that all he can do is hold my hand and whisper reassuring words into my ear as we cross the world together, hoping to stop it from unravelling as well. Love may have saved him, but it can’t save me.

Or I have learned that he was wrong. The man who taught me, the man who gave me his dream. The dream that has shattered. Now our fight must continue, though it will continue on my terms. If we gave up, it would all be for nothing. I do this now, for my wife, my family, my friends. He was wrong, but that doesn’t mean I am as well.

I can also stand back to back with my best friend as we try to defeat what we can’t understand. My best friend who was hurting this whole time, yet hid it from the world, from himself. We are trying to save the love of his life, the one who he had given up on. I haven’t though. When I fought to save the girl who I love, he was there with me. I can only repay the favor and help him rescue the boy he loves.

Instead, I could be the one who is missing someone. My brother, lost in time. I am willing to risk it all to get him back. Manipulate their minds, make them play my games. I could be the villain, but I wouldn’t mind. My goal is one thing, saving the only person who ever cared about me. They may hate me, but for my brother, I don’t mind.

I could always be a member of my community. Someone strong, who they are all looking up to. I could be scared. Scared of my brother and what he might do, scared for my wife and her ex who always seems to show up when it’s wanted the least, or scared for my nephew and his confused, lost soul. I am a leader, but I am scared. A fear that grows everyday as I try not to drown in the sea of messy problems.

I can be all of these things, be in all of these places. I can feel comforted, instead of isolated. Warm, instead of cold. My mind can run wild and not be stopped. I can feel those chains that make me clench up loosen, a smile on my face as I think of who I could be, where I could be. I am no longer contained.

The Tough Decision

By: Bethel Asefaw

“And there have been over a million cases so far all around the globe…”

I immediately clicked the off button on the remote, carefully placing it back onto the coffee table as to not make a sound, and wake my father up, which would be the last thing I would want do. Ever since the Pandemic began, I started worrying about my father, with, you know, his age and all that, since he’s 63-years-old. Seemed like he realized it too because he locked his door from day one of the outbreak, not going to lie though, he is a bit of a germaphobe. I bought a mini-fridge for him because he insists on not coming downstairs since he keeps thinking that the air downstairs is infected with the virus. His loss, I have the TV all to myself. My only job is to restock his fridge for him with food that has been sterilized, which are those disgusting bean soups in cans. This isn’t the first time he locked the door on me though, he’s done it when my mom passed away, after an experiment accident at a science convention she was invited to six years ago. That was when my father tried committing suicide, thankfully, God spared his life, and gave my dad a second chance, but not his job, no, his job requires him to attend every call he gets. He was an FBI agent, working for the government. I think mom passing away really made him fragile. This virus situation is not helping.

With that thought, I got up from the sofa, cracking my back in the process. Slowly, I made my way to the kitchen to grab some food for my dad. I slid open one of the cabinets, empty. I realized then, we had to restock on food. I continued to search, I reached for the top cabinets grabbing the rusted knob and turning it open,

“What’s going on? It’s all empty…” Frustrated, I stood in the middle of the kitchen, scratching my head, thinking of who could’ve possibly eaten all these foods in one day. I sighed. I returned to the living room, I know my dad doesn’t like me going outside, but, it has to be done, I have to ask him so I could get permission. I trudged my way to a half- lit hallway, until I reached the familiar crooked sign hanging on the chipped white door, ‘Get away, this is my room.’

I opened the door to hear a soft creak, I grimaced, all at once, I got a whiff of a sickly sweet smell, reeking of vomit and sourness, that I can now taste in my mouth the longer I stood in the doorway. I instantly gagged while turning my back to the room to think that the odor wouldn’t spread, placing both my hands on my knees hunching over, just to be ready to throw up. After a minute passed, I finally built up the courage to walk into the room. I yanked my shirt up and pinched my nose with it. All I could see were mutilated bodies everywhere, on the floor were detached body parts, on the ceilings there were rows of people but, there were silver looking hooks that were pinned into the side of their neck.

“What’s going on dad? This isn’t a joke.” I said, trying to call out, but realizing that nobody is here to answer. I shivered, since when did it get so cold in here, I thought my dad paid for the heating system in the house. “That’s it, I can’t take this, it’s too creepy,” I muttered to myself. I turned around to walk back to the living room to dial the police, but I bumped into a familiar body in front of me, a familiar body that I remember hugging whenever I was scared of monsters under the bed

“Dad?...” Something was off though, he was extremely silent. I looked up to his face, draped over it was a red cloak and a white mask on top with a painted-on expression. Surprised, I stumbled backward, but somebody else caught me and dragged me away to another room at a frightening speed.

******************************************

“Dad?...” I tried sitting up, but I figured out that I was strapped tightly on top of a slanted metal bed that was slowly numbing my back with freezing temperatures and spreading to my legs. I looked around, searching for any sign of life around me, but all I could see was pitch black darkness. To my right I could hear water dripping, echoing, this must be an empty room. Everything was so silent, it’s too silent. I close my eyes to see no difference in the lighting, wait, now my eyelids look brighter. I opened my eyes slowly, scared to reveal what was in front of me. I exhale, it’s just a white wall, but, I can feel the room spinning, the bed spinning. I’m facing a circle of red-cloaked, masked faces with different expressions on each person, in the background I could see the bean soup cans all in rows, filled with syringes and scalpels, so many scalpels. I didn’t want to have my voice sound shaken up but it came up as, “Hey, woah.. Um… what’s going on…Am I in a lab?” I blurted out, stumbling my words, trying to sound confident. One of the taller people, with a sad expression for a mask, stepped towards me. I quickly realized it was a mistake to speak up. They were so close to me. I could see the details of how the mask was created, the eyes were blood red, the brows were made with real hair, and the mouth was a sewn in thin piece of skin. I shuddered. One of the cloaked people in the back raised their arm and snapped, the person in front of me and the rest took off their cloaks and their masks. I noticed they all had FBI uniforms on, and I caught sight of my dad to the left of the circle, I mouthed ‘help’ to him, but he switched his gaze to the floor. The FBI agent that was in front of me a minute ago returned with a can-full of medical equipments used for surgeries

“What are you going to do with those...?” I cautiously asked. The FBI looked at me intently,

“First off, yes you are in a lab, and we are ordered by the government to give you a virus we’ve created, named COVID-19. As you may have heard all over the news, the government wants us to perform surgery on you so you won’t have any of the symptoms, you just need to spread it to others. Many of our minions across the world were too scared to risk their lives, and so they chose to spread it, and make it a pandemic--” The FBI agent raised his hand for silence and chuckles, knowing that I was about to ask a question, he continued, “If you don’t want to listen, you will be hooked, as you’ve seen by the entrance of your father’s room.” I watched him walk back to the circle as people make space for him to stand.

“So, you’re saying I either choose to pass along a virus you have given to me to other people for them to die, or I choose to die myself if I don’t obey?”

“Precisely, we want you to go to every nearby store, every busy playground, and spread it.” This one coming from the guy who snapped his fingers. My dad started getting in the conversation as well, “Well, which one are you choosing son?” I look at him for any sign of help, nothing.

“I…”

Pandemic Short Story

By: Dylan Skenderian

March - The past few months had been pretty bad, school had to be stopped abruptly without any idea of when we'd be going back. As time went on I am less and less sure that we will ever go back to school, and as I see the cases spike in places like New York as well as the rest of the country, it seems like this might last until the end of the school year. At first, the idea of not having to go to school for a couple of weeks just kind of seemed like an exciting if not relaxing time to chill out, or just an extension of our March break. But as time has gone on the idea of basically just sitting inside all day has gotten less and less appealing.

April - At this point, I’m honestly bored playing video games, and going outside and hanging out with friends is all I could hope for at this point. I have been outside a couple of times this week, though, just to play catch and to walk my dog, though it’s weird walking around the city when it’s basically a ghost town. But now the experts are talking about the quarantine lasting until the fall and also at the same time people are talking about opening the country again. I want to hope that the country will be open again as soon as possible. At the same time if everyone comes out of quarantine and things get bad again we will have to go right back, and judging by how lucky we've been this year I wouldn't be surprised if that happens.

May - It’s been about two weeks and it’s official, the country at large is being opened up again, the only places that will stay closed for longer are high population areas like NYC, luckily Boston wasn't bad enough to fit the criteria and people are going to be allowed outside in bigger groups again. Maybe I’ll be able to go to a concert this summer, it was also decided school will stay closed because while people are allowed to gather school was said to be too much of a risk with everyone being so close to each other. It’s honestly nice just to see people walking around and me and my friends are already planning what we're doing once the quarantine is completely lifted.

June? - The last week has been a blur, the quarantine got lifted at the end of May and I’ve hung out with people every day of the week. The teachers also haven’t assigned any homework either, I think they're just as happy as us for this whole thing to be over. The last couple of weeks have felt like the best of my life., I’ve just been chilling with my friends and having a good time. Plus there hasn't been a bad weather day since the quarantine was lifted, it honestly feels like the whole world is celebrating. I honestly probably haven't been sleeping as much as I should, but I don’t know what it is, but I don't feel tired.

July? - I honestly think the only things that haven’t been perfect about the past few weeks are some weird dreams that I’ve been having. They're all filled with the same feeling, kind of like claustrophobia, mostly just like I'm trapped. My friends joked that my brain might just have PTSD from being stuck inside for so long though. That and yesterday when I woke up I thought I heard my phone’s beep alarm. I couldn’t find where the sound was coming from, but after a few minutes it went away and I didn’t think much about it after that.

August? - This week has been just as fun as July me and my friends went bridge jumping and we got some cool videos. The past few months after quarantine has been amazing and honestly, the world seems more whole almost. I haven’t heard about people fighting over politics or wars or the environment. My dreams are still happening though, I don’t know how long they're going to last, but it feels like they’ve been getting longer.

???? - My head hits my pillow and I instantly feel like I’ve been stabbed in the chest, I gasped for air but it feels like an elephant is standing on my chest. I hear someone yell “He’s awake,”, I try and move but it feels like I'm locked in place. My eyes focus and I look over to my right and I see a big machine, I follow the tubes from the machine and realize they are attached to me. Then I see a vital monitor sitting just to the right of the machine. I pause for a second before I hear the beep, the same one from the dream. Before I can ask what’s happening a doctor wearing a huge protective mask runs into the room and asks how I feel, I tell him it’s hard to breathe, he gives me a mask and says to put it over my mouth when I breathe in and it will make it easier. I do and it helps a bit and I build up the energy to ask what's going on. He gives me a worried look and tells me that sadly they don’t know, they think the virus mutated at some point becoming much more infective and having strange effects on the brain and respiratory system. That combined with the quarantine being lifted a week before, started a new crisis which has devastated the world. I ask him what day it is and he tells me it’s May 19, only five days after the quarantine was lifted. I stare blankly upward in shock, it was like my universe had been destroyed and rebuilt before my eyes. Then I feel my eyelids pulling down not knowing where I would go next and let myself drift into unconsciousness.

Future Times

By: Orlando Castillo

With tensions rising because of the stay at home order, more and more people are beginning to protest. The Government isn’t doing anything to stop these protestors either. They are most definitely going to be the downfall of our civilization. Covid-19 has shown no remorse to any of these protestors who call the virus “fake.” Multiple people have gotten the virus or died. There is no end in sight with the virus now being three years old. Schools are now a distant memory with everyone working from home and not really learning anything. People are struggling to even find jobs and the economy is nothing but a warzone. Our President Joe Biden doesn’t even know who Covid-19 is and has barely made sense since 2020. Kim Yo-jong is the new leader of North Korea and is a lot harsher than her deceased brother Kim Jong Un. Vladimir Putin and Russia have been working on nuclear bombs without the UN’s knowledge. People have been working on a cure and can’t seem to find one. The Government ends up banning people from airports and giving protesters a $3,000 fine and jail time. The Protests get even bigger to the point where we have one of the worst cases of police brutality in history. On April 6th 2023, 14 people were left dead and 7 injured after people were protesting and disregarding police orders to stay home. After that incident, people were outraged but ended up too scared to go outside and protest. At this point, the only thing that is open are supermarkets and it takes hours to even get in one. People are starving and the world might be over as we know it.

The Dog

By: Brian Liu

Once upon a time, there existed a farm. The farm had lots of animals, including cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, and goats. The owners of this farm were Mr. and Mrs. Nora. Mr. and Mrs. Nora had a son, named Brian.

One day, Brian found a dog bounding across the wide meadows that the farm sat on. The dog’s name was Matias. Brian and Matias became fast friends. Brian had always wanted a friend that was a dog, and Matias had never met anybody as vastly intelligent and good looking as Brian.

Mr. and Mrs. Nora did not like dogs. They killed livestock, carried fleas, and were general nuisances. When they found out that Brian and Matias were hanging around, they were very upset. In fact, they ordered Brian to stay at home, in hopes of keeping the dog away from him.

But Brian refused to stay at home. He made a new friend, how was he expected to not play with him? Every day, he would sneak out of the house and hang out with Matias. Sometimes they would have conversations about the fate of the world, sometimes they would frolic in the woods, and sometimes they would talk about all of the cute dogs Matias claimed to have met.

One day, Mr. and Mrs. Nora saw Brian and Matias running across the fields. Because of how far ahead Brian was of Matias, the old couple could only conclude one thing: that Matias was chasing Brian and was going to eat him, along with all of the livestock and Mr. and Mrs. Nora themselves. There was no way for them to know that Brian and Matias were just doing a tempo run, training for their upcoming marathon.

When Mr. and Mrs. Nora saw Brian and Matias, they panicked. They started yelling terrible things at Matias, things like “Stay at home!” and “Get away!” Matias became very mad and started swearing at Mr. and Mrs. Nora. Mr. and Mrs. Nora became even angrier and yelled even louder at Matias.

When Matias and Brian finished their tempo run, they started laughing at how ridiculous Mr. and Mrs. Nora were. “The whole situation could have been avoided if Mr. and Mrs. Nora just didn’t yell at us,” Matias said. “That was completely unnecessary and stupid of them.”

“Hm, yeah,” Brian agreed. “It’s crazy ‘cause we weren’t even close to them. We were more than six feet away from them, so we weren’t even in their personal space.”

“Crazy right.”

When he got home that day, Brian decided to solve the conflict between Mr. and Mrs. Nora and Matias the dog. He confronted Mr. and Mrs. Nora. “I think if you calm down and stop overreacting to Matias the dog, we can all have a better time.”

Mr. and Mrs. Nora were dubious. “But he could have fleas! He has to stay six feet apart from everybody at all times!”

“Are you kidding me?” Brian said. “Did you see how far ahead of him I was when we were running? I’m always at least 50 feet ahead of him, you have nothing to worry about.”

Seeing that their argument had been countered, Mr. and Mrs. Nora had no choice but to surrender. “I see your logic, son,” Mr. and Mrs. Nora said. “I will be more friendly towards Matias and I won’t snap at him for no reason from now on.”

And just like that, because of Mr. and Mrs. Nora’s change, not only was Matias and Brian’s lives so much easier and more fun, but Mr. and Mrs. Nora were more relaxed and had less stress in their lives.

The end.

What's To Come

By: Mekeyas Mekuria

I was 15 years old when the pandemic hit. I remember having heard about the Coronavirus for the first time in late December of 2019. I remember thinking it wasn’t that big of a deal, and it wouldn't affect my life. I am now 17 years old, and looking back I think I wouldn’t be the same person if it wasn’t for this virus however. The world was held in quarantine for 6 months, and it had a tremendous effect on our economy. The first time I left the house after the pandemic was to go get a haircut because of how messy my hair was. The first day I stepped out of my house, it was a sunny hot day and I can’t begin to tell you how happy I was.

Now when I look back at this experience, I can live to say that I survived a global pandemic and I can pass that experience on to my kids. There are a lot of effects from the virus that are still lingering around, that make it hard to enjoy life as we did before. We are now required to get tested every morning before walking into school. We also are required to wear a mask in public, and everyone is still on edge. When I used to walk through the halls, I would shake people’s hands whoI knew. Now all we do is give a simple nod. Since I’m from Massachusetts, the brutal winter is coming up, and so is the flu season along with that, and I’m scared to see what is in store for us in the upcoming months.

Consequences

By: Tenzin Rulutsang

Almost a year has passed since the virus reached the world, millions have died and here more than 60,000 have died according to the news and that the cases and the death rate are decreasing. But sometimes people in the news do big business for no reason. My friends and I lived in the same building and before this virus became a big thing we used to hang out all the time, well, because nobody cared or took it seriously the first time. Even the president himself said that it is nothing big and that they have it under control. My name is Pirlo and let me introduce you to my friends, Cryuff, Lionel and Kaka.

(A few months before)

It was in early March when we were at our school and heard that one of the school children was ill. After school, we went to the soccer field to play some soccer, but after soccer, as I was walking home, I saw people wearing masks. A few days later, cases of the virus were reported in the city and more cases began to appear around the world. The governor said the state would close the school for a few weeks. Cryuff texted in the group chat saying, "Guys I told you that that person in our school might have it and now it's only getting worse and worse." Lionel responded by saying, "shut up Cryuff, the president said it will suddenly disappear." Cryuff and Lionel were arguing with each other in group chat.

A week passed, the cases kept going up and up. Me, Kaka, and Lionel still hang out like going to play soccer, ride a bike, etc. But Cryuff did not leave his house at all, he continued to warn us. The next few days I had a headache and a fever, but I thought I was sick or something. After that, Kaka and Lionel felt the same and only got worse. Our parents took us to be checked and it turns out that we have the virus. But the bad thing is that they have something to kill this virus, except this machine that helps you breathe. It felt like the flu, but much worse than that, I couldn't breathe and not only Kaka and Lionel or me, but there were also a lot of other people who were going through the same thing.

Not listening to Cryuff when he was warning us not to go out put us in this situation. Lionel was getting worse, Kaka was feeling bad. Kaka said, "It's all my fault. I thought this would go away and it wasn't a big deal. Now, because of me, Lionel and all of us are at this stage." I tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault, but he didn't listen to me. Lionel then passed away. Kaka later recovered, but was still blamed for Lionel's death. Now, after losing someone we really cared about, we realized what it feels like to lose someone and how it affects them.

Future Times

By: Noah Burns

On the 12th of March, it felt like it would be the last day of school for a while which even after a year I can't explain.Little did I know it would turn out that way. They really thought we would go back on in early April, then May 4th, and then it was decided we wouldn't go back at all, which isn't surprising at all but still it was bad news to get. Even after a few months, I still can’t believe we aren’t going back. I was really excited for 10th grade and all that would bring but it looks like I won’t get to at least in an actual classroom.

It was unfortunate to hear that my favorite holiday, Halloween was basically cancelled. I mean that didn’t really stop the few people that tried to go out and trick or treat. You could go out and buy candy but honestly it does not feel the same.The month of October didn’t feel very spooky it was missing the magic of the season. It really doesn’t feel real how much has changed in such a short time. Not much changed with Thanksgiving though I mean there weren't that many food options but we did what we could. The grocery stores looked like barren wastelands picked clean of everything, leaving next to nothing. With Christmas coming up in a few weeks, I think it might be a similar situation as Thanksgiving.

The loneliness really started to get me down and I don’t have any more shows on Netflix to watch so I decided to start writing in a journal. I think the thing I miss most is going outside but with it getting cold and the chances of bringing home Covid 19, the cons outweigh the pros. I could deal with isolation at first but that was when I had hope that we would be going back to school. I just want to see my friends. Speaking of friends, the moment quarantine started I lost the majority of my friends and the ones that stayed in my life slowly trickled out my life.

The online schooling was something I couldn’t handle at first but I’m slowly getting better with completing my assignments. No matter how used to online school I get I still miss face to face learning. My family thinks we will go back before the end of 2020 but I doubt it since nothing has changed regarding the situation with the pandemic. Quarantine has yet to end and with the supply and demand the price of masks has skyrocketed to a point that know one saw coming.

If I were to invest in stocks I'd invest in one of the companies that are handling the manufacturing of masks.

Walking

By: Isaac Patterson

I know it’s just my imagination, but the birds seem louder today. It’s been this way for this whole thing, but today they seem to have reached a fever pitch of sorts, as though humans have been gone just long enough for them to reach their full chirping potential. The twittering seems to come from everywhere at once, as though the trees have been wired for surround sound. The trees also seem to have swelled the past eight months, looking one step closer to nature and farther from garden. Their dirt-brown leaves, having finally given in to the pull of late autumn, fit perfectly with the gloomy aesthetic of the day. The uniformly cloudy sky is just dark enough to be depressing, but light enough so that you don’t realize it’s going to rain until it’s too late.

That’s probably why there are even less people outside than usual. In the beginning, the amount of people taking a stroll in the park increased with the added free time, but steadily dropped as the novelty wore off and the fear set in. The only other people I see are a couple, walking towards me on the other side of the path. I steel myself for the inevitable awkward interaction of walking past someone on a path that isn’t six feet wide. They are close enough that I can see what kind of masks they wear: N95s. The only people wearing those are preppers and the very rich, and preppers don't go out for a walk in the park. I myself wear a bandana like the rest of the 99%, simultaneously too tight and too loose. Like many families, mine had made some homemade masks, but sold them off as my parents were furloughed or laid off. Now, the couple is closing in to the six foot range. Here it comes.

Walking is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of changes in a global pandemic, but it was the first that I personally felt, except for the closing of schools and all that. There is the quick pulling up of masks, which always seems to have been done too late, the uncomfortable almost-eye-contact as you estimate how far you have to move to stay six feet away. The couple takes a token step away and I skirt almost into the bushes to give them a wide enough berth. I stare straight at the ground to prevent my slipping mask from falling off, but their faces remain in my mind like the after-image of the sun, their eyes shaded with the hostility unique to this whole situation, bred from the fearful fact that anyone could be infected. A year ago they might have had the friendly eyes of a neighbor, or mouths that called in greeting instead of hiding behind a mask. But I cannot blame them for this. I suspect my own eyes are no different. I am still lost enough in thought and the pavement under me that I don’t see the lamppost in front of me, much to the anger of my forehead.

I raise my hand to rub the sore spot before remembering the guidelines on touching faces, and let it drop. I seem to have smacked right into a Trump 2020 sticker, upon which some clever soul has spray painted a black “4” on the last 0. Unfortunately, this rejection of American democracy has morphed into a movement of sorts, spurred by the reelection of Trump earlier this month, although if you ask me, it wasn’t much of an election considering how strong the fear still was and how many states banned vote by mail. Other features of the lamppost include an “HCQ Is The Cure” flyer with all the phone number tags torn off and a poorly drawn Anarchy A done in what looks like sharpie. Higher on the pole is a poster of CDC guidelines in Portuguese, zip-tied to the pole to prevent it being torn down like it’s ancestors. I remember in July when these had started to be taken down, the first step in returning to normal life. This was before we found out that the re-opened states were lying about the number of infected, and the tens of thousands of anti-lockdown protestors began to die en-masse, of the virus, hydroxychloroquine, or something involving bleach. This caused a second wave of shutdowns, this time with promises not to end until a vaccine was found, and when we were no closer to one by September, school was cancelled indefinitely. And that’s why I’m here, getting some fresh air after the one Zoom class given today. The invisible birds have reached an avian crescendo. I pull down my mask and take a deep breath. No use dwelling on the past.