Aquarium Quarantine

Chapter 4

We only had a limited number of respirator filter replacements, so we decided it wouldn't be worth trying to wear them all the time. After a while of wear they would need to be swapped out or else they might not do their job correctly. It simply wasn't worth the risk of wasting them in case we ever had to go outside or someone got inside the building. We assumed that since none of us were sick, the air coming from outside was being filtered enough by the buildings air filtration system. We made a new rule, everyone always had to carry a respirator and safety goggles on their belt at all times. That way, in the event of an unwanted guest, we could be sure that we would be safe from airborne transmission and our eyes and mouth would be protected from any body fluid contact.

The second rule was to always carry a weapon. Sasha had seen way too many zombie movies and tried to choose a battery powered chainsaw that we had bought for clearing up trees after a hurricane.

Charles snatched it out of her hand and laughed. "Are you TRYING to spread a mass of potentially infected blood on everyone? This isn't a movie; they are not television show zombies that magically keep going without all their body parts. There is nothing in the world that will keep a dead body moving other than an electrical current. You stab someone in the heart or bash their brain hard enough and they will die regardless of whatever virus they have."

Sasha huffed in response to him and muttered, “I was just trying to be helpful, but whatever….” But after a few minutes his words about the zombies just being killable people seemed to comfort her a bit and she smiled.

We chose makeshift weapons from random supplies that would keep us as far away as possible from an infected person and still do significant damage. Scarlet chose a large filet knife, I picked a large a wooden canoe paddle and attached a PVC saw to the end of it, Madeline detached the long metal pole from a swimming pool scrubber (Used for cleaning tanks with aggressive animals) and zip tied a kitchen knife to the end. Sasha ended up choosing a large PVC pipe that she screwed tons of screws into until it looked like a polearm mace. Charles snagged my personal Taser that I keep in my bag and duck taped it to a machete to make an 'electric sword'. I was slightly concerned that he was going to end up shocking himself by accidentally touching the metal, but he was so pleased with himself that I just let it go.

By night time, we had started to feel more confident in ourselves and more hopeful about the situation. We still had phone service and were still able to talk to our families, and even though we were in a shitty and highly dangerous situation, we knew they were somewhere safe and nothing crazy was happening anywhere else yet. We still had power and internet, and we were confident that there would be help coming soon. We were feeling like we were safe and could definitely face whatever was coming next. In a way I think we all sort of disassociated from the fact that this was actual reality. None of us were actually prepared to kill anyone, but making weapons was fun in a way and it detached us from the scariness and made it feel more like a game. I feel like the human brain can only handle so much outside of what it is conditioned it to believe is possible, and going beyond that makes you convinced that you are in a dream or hallucination. That is sort of how I felt for a while, like I was in a bad dream that was going to end at some point.

That brief moment of us feeling ready to face the situation with courage was shattered almost as soon as it had begun. We were all in the office again, sharing a bag of potato chips and brandishing our makeshift weapons like we were in a video game. Charles was in a good mood again, and I knew it was because his family was far away and safe. If they had still been in harm’s way, he would have been a nervous mess. I was glad to see him beginning to relax a little bit. It made me feel less scared too.

We were not able to get comfortable for long though…. All of a sudden, we heard a loud scratching noise coming from outside the office. We all froze on the spot in absolute terror. Nobody made a sound and we all stood completely still, listening and hoping it was just the wind or the creaking of the old metal.

The sound continued to grow louder and louder, and we realized it was coming from the front door of the building, merely 20 feet away from where we were sitting. 'Could it be rescuers?' I thought to myself, wishing some wonderful team of professionals in hazmat suits would come swooping down to get us the hell out of here. I stamped those hopes down, there was absolutely no way I was going to take the risk and be disemboweled or shot. Being rescued so soon would be too easy, and nothing in life was ever that quick and easy.

We all remained glued to the spot as the agonizing sound of scraping metal grew more frantic, and turned to harsh pounding. We heard a loud groan come from the other side of the door and a weak voice mumble, "Help...…"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock and you could see the conflicted feelings written across everyone's face. There was no way we could let anyone in and risk getting infected. Nobody wanted to let a poor innocent person die if we could save them, but the chances of our own lives being lost were too great. If it was up to my heart, I would have done anything I could to help them. But I was afraid of dying too, so I decided on the spot that I would put my own life over a stranger’s life no mater what. I wondered if that made me a bad person inside…. Goosebumps rose on my arms and I shivered as I imagined a movie scene of a hoard of zombies breaking down the door and charging us. Charles must have been thinking the same thing, because he shook his head and whispered, "He won't get inside." But it sounded more like a hope than a promise.

The person outside the door began to scratch aggressively on the metal again. A few slurred words could be understood in between the noise. "Help...……….. hurts...…….."

We all stood silently for what seemed like forever listening to the sad strangers pleas, and then something changed.

The stranger started saying something else, "Sa...….sha…………………...Sa...sha…..help...….."

Sasha eyes widened and she let out a muffled shriek. "Oh God, its Harrold!" she said louder than she should have. Tears started pouring down her face and she clamped her hand over her mouth in an effort to keep silent.

She turned towards the door and we all quickly grabbed at her. "It's too late," Scarlet whispered. "We can't let him in, we can't save him. We can’t save him Sasha!"

Madeline looked like someone just slapped her. She had her hand covering her mouth and an expression of absolute shock and disbelief.

Sasha was naïve but she wasn't stupid, she knew as well as we did that he was infected. She knew she couldn't save him. It was just unbearable to know that he was out there dying from some nasty disease and she couldn't do anything at all. She sat down in her chair and buried her face in a sweatshirt to muffle her tears. The pain Sasha was experiencing was extreme and life shattering. Could you imagine how it would feel to have your boyfriend dying in pain and screaming for help, and you were unable to help or even hug him goodbye? I wondered how dark her thoughts were getting…. But I was pretty sure that she wouldn’t do anything crazy like trying to go out there and die with him. They had been dating, but not for long enough for her to want to kill herself over him, I believed. We wouldn't let her throw her life away, even if she tried.

Harrold did not seem to hear us on the other side of the door, but we stayed as quiet as we could nonetheless.

If Harrold hadn't made it, was there any hope for James and Michael? Did Nicole make it to work, only to be slaughtered or infected while she was clocking in? Everyone we knew and worked with was likely dead, along with thousands of other people.

We sat in the office for what felt like hours, silent tears falling, and mourned the loss of the people we use to work with. Several of them were young new workers, fresh out of college. Although I didn't know them well enough yet to call them a friend, I mourned the loss of their sunny lives that were taken away right at the peak of their future. Michael was the person I was closest too outside of my quarantine group, and even then, we only knew each other enough to have casual conversation. Looking at Sasha and seeing the pain she was dealing with made me glad that I was too shy and antisocial to become close to all of the workers outside my area. At least by not knowing them well, I was spared a great deal of pain over their deaths.

More time passed, and the cramped office started to feel suffocating. I felt like the blue walls were shrinking closer to me with every moment, and the screeching from Harold outside made the hair on the back of my neck standup. I glanced down at the empty chip bag on the table and regretted eating, thanks to how much my stomach was tumbling. I felt like all my senses were suddenly heightened and it was overwhelming. The crappy old ceiling lights were too bright,, and the drip from the leaky sink faucet was suddenly too loud. I could feel the adrenalin from fear and sensory overload coursing through my veins. Sasha’s quiet sobs rattled the desk and caused it to squeak when it scraped across the floor, and it made me and Madeline flinch.

The fear and the sadness made me start to feel queasy, and I laid my head down on the desk next to Sasha to try to regain control of myself......