The Aftermath

It was the third morning since Jared had heard any news of more deaths. This was indeed a good omen surely, or so he thought. This meant the vaccines were working. It had been utter pandemonium the last three months. An outbreak of a unique, yet indistinct, virus in the city of Emanest, incidentally also the fourth most populous city on the periphery of Denver, had the whole country facing a pandemic. Nothing of this sort had been heard since a similar outburst in Texas, thirteen years ago. Unfortunately nothing of this virus had hitherto been identified either. It affected on a cellular level- broke down the structure of the DNA and in some cases caused surface level deformation. It took as long as it had to restrict the spreading because the symptoms showed after two weeks or more which almost always meant it was too late for help. However after much debate in Congress, permission had been granted to experiment on the deceased, and the voluntary living- most in their last stages, to find a cure.

Jared raised the blinds to look for any happenings outside his house. Not a soul on the street, as it had been for the past week. The city had been under complete lock-down. No entry or exit, without express permission from D.C. All vehicles entering with food and other necessities were thoroughly checked and food tested and injected with the new vaccine and sent directly to every household. The death toll had been devastating. Every family had had its losses and some unfortunate names had perished. Most that  displayed odd symptoms were separated from their families for caution.

Jared had lost his father, his sister was still recovering. She was still too weak to walk around. He had been one of the lucky few.  He was not feeling all too well himself. He had been having severe headaches the past two days, some mild, some severe enough to black him out. Although lately his hearing had become more refined; in a sense. He heard when his sister called for him from her room upstairs, even from the kitchen, and she could barely whisper. Today he could swear he heard his neighbors the Brays’ arguing about something they referred to as ‘sickness’. He worried if one of them had contracted the virus, they had just lost one of their twin sons and the other was not doing well. It did not occur to him that he should not have heard even a word of that conversation because of the 33 meters between their houses and the fact that they were arguing in their basement. He ignored what he was hearing and resolved to make breakfast for his sister.

In her room upstairs, Rachel could hear her brother was in the kitchen. He had been very supportive of her condition. He had become more responsible overnight. She’d be the one to usually take care of the house chores when their dad was away. Lately though she didn't have the strength or want to go on after they lost their father and Jared knew how close she was to him. But she had decided. She owed her little brother more than this. He was after all her only family.

She was making an attempt to get out of bed when she noticed she couldn't feel her legs, or rather they felt much too light- almost weightless. Yes she had regained the use of her feet after viral outbreak, but she was only getting to walking on her own today. She fell over with the first step she took and let out an involuntary gasp, mostly in her head. She didn't want to worry Jared. She got up and took another step forward and fell again. It was not that she was clumsy; she had no control over her actions. Her feet had a mind of their own it seemed. She got up again. After landing on her face for the third time she realized her feet were moving too fast for her to control. But she was also feeling a change in her body. The weightlessness was spreading to her upper body. It was like warmth as the body soaks into a hot bath. She surrendered to it. She felt much better; she had not felt physically better for a long time.

She took a few more steps and crashed into Jared.

‘How did you do that?’ he asked incredulously getting up.

‘Do what?’

‘One second I hear you shout and you’re struggling on your feet and then in a blink you almost apparate onto me!’

‘What are you talking about Jared?’

‘Rach, you just moved lightning fast… - you didn't realize?’ He looked at her for some explanation.

She was taking it all in. She did realize something was not right. She couldn't have made it to the door in literally a blink. The force she knocked him down with was evident of her speed. And then she realized something else.

‘But I didn't shout, Jared...’

They stared at each other; neither trusting the other to say the right thing.

*  *  *

Seven kilometers away, Fred was going out of his mind. The voices in his head wouldn't go away. He kept hearing them louder and louder. If only he could tell them to stop. There was only one problem- they were all dead.

*  *  *

Mr. Bray stared at his son, Josh for the hundredth time. He seemed bluer than before and he could swear he was almost twice his size now. Somehow he had gained weight, height and age in an hour or so. Mrs. Bray couldn't stop sobbing; she couldn't bear to lose another son. And she was not going to let them take him away either. She would hide in the basement her whole life if that’s what it took to keep him. And Josh, he just smiled at Frank, sharing his secret only with his brother.