They dressed us in black and stacked us three deep on metal carts. Masked doctors all in white flocked about the sterile room, peering over onto one another’s clipboards. My head swam in the suffocating heat. I tried to call for help but couldn’t move my lips to form the words. A sharp clack sounded somewhere above my head.
New York, London and Tokyo are repeating near zero populations.
A buzz-cut man dressed in combat boots and military grey loomed over me. Most of his face was covered by the same mask the doctors wore. His eyes held pity and when his gloved hands reached out to my own pock-marked ones, I thought he would save me.
So far, we have been able to keep ahead of the virus with a marginal number of casualties.
The man yanked the wedding band from my finger. Brushing the hair from my face, he checked my ears before moving on to the bodies below me. Muttered words to the doctors and he retreated to the muted browns of the side wall.
Every precaution is being taken. Everything that can be done is being done.
I struggled as the white ones wheeled me over to a latched metal door but only my shoulders obeyed. One of the doctors opened the gate and the added heat radiating from the chamber made the room feel like an oven. Sweat poured down my neck.
To ensure the best chance of survival, we are placing ourselves under quarantine
The military grey man returned with a wide broom. He disappeared into the chamber for a moment. Mounds of bone fragments and small bits of metal came sweeping out in front of him. I tried to scream as the cart wheeled towards the incinerator. A soft grunt and we were jerked off.
Let the record state that November 16th, 2018 is quarantine day one.
We slid off the cart and soft moans echoed beneath me. I wasn’t the only one alive in that sweltering heat. A fine layer of the ‘ash’ clogged my throat but my lungs were too weak to cough. The door swung shut. A soft metallic click was all it took to plunge us into dark silence.
May God have mercy on our souls.
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