Socially Distanced: A Quarantine Novella
“I know it pisses you off that I ran.”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I’m not holding it against you anymore if that’s what you mean. I don’t think you should have run.”
“I got caught anyway,” Kendra says.
“But you don’t think you did anything wrong.”
&
nbsp; “I don’t think the issue is quite that black and white.”
“Yeah, it really is,” I reply. “We’re carriers. We spread this to the rest of the population, but we don’t get sick. We just kill everyone around us.”
“But not each other. I think there were other options for us. Why are we kept apart? Why can’t we be in the same rooms so we can have some actual contact with other people? Why do we have to be isolated like this?”
“Because the more you’re exposed, the better your chances of actually getting sick.”
“They don’t know that for sure.”
“Neither do we. Reliable information is impossible to find, and everyone out there has their opinions. Doctors can’t even agree with each other. Keeping us here is for the common good.”
“Is it?”
“Of course. We can’t be out there with the general population.”
“Do you think we’re putting each other at risk?” she asks. “Do you think by touching our hands or hanging out this close to each other day after day is making it worse for us?”
“I don’t know. Probably not, I guess. But why risk it?”
“Because this isn’t life,” Kendra says as she waves her arms around, indicating the whole building. “We need more than this.”
“Maybe eventually it will change.”
“Do you think they’ll ever let us out of here?” Kendra asks.
“Not until they find a treatment for us. As long as we can still transmit the virus, we’ll be here.”
“Do you think anyone is even looking for a treatment?”
“Of course they are.” The words come out automatically.
Kendra looks over at me, her lips pressed tightly together. I wait for her to contradict me, but I also know she needs to believe there will be an end to this as much as I do.
Chapter Six: Day 166
“Hey, Sean?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you get your whiskey today?”
“Yep. It just showed up an hour ago. What did you get?”
“A manicure set.”
“Really?” I glance at her, incredulous. “You’re going to spend the month doing your nails?”
“I had something else in mind.”