Plague Doctor: Genesis

Chapter 1

Mass outbreak of bubonic plague. 1665. Now, in the common people, she was called the "Great London Plague." It is worth admitting that it is really widely known throughout the globe to this day.

In the middle of the XVII century, London was accompanied by a settlement of 448 hectares, surrounded by the city wall and suburbs. In the middle of the century, 450-500 thousand people lived in it. The sanitary condition was deplorable, there was no sewerage in the city, as in the Middle Ages, sewage flowed right through the center of the winding streets. The cobblestones were slippery from the garbage, manure and slotes thrown out of the houses, in the summer hordes of flies swarmed on the street. Above the city hung smog from smoke from the pipes of metallurgical plants, soap factories, breweries, and in addition fifteen thousand houses heated by coal. There was a terrible stench everywhere, people walked, covering their noses with handkerchiefs. Outside the city walls, in the suburbs, in wooden houses, traders and artisans, numbering more than a quarter of a million people, lived in equally unsanitary conditions. Naturally, a significant part of them visited the already crowded city every day.

It is believed that the epidemic came to England from the Netherlands, where foci of bubonic plague occurred periodically. It is likely that the disease was brought into the UK by Dutch merchant ships carrying cotton. However, the task of the "saviors" remained the same. Assure every potential victim of the epidemic that the chances can always be. On the contrary, the amazing doctors with a frightening mask rejected the residents, especially the children. It was believed that the beak mask, which gives the doctor the appearance of an ancient Egyptian deity, scares away the disease. But the beak also had a functional load: it protected the doctor from the "painful smell", that is, it was the prototype of modern respirators. Another troubled day, another steadfastness of the patient turns into a deplorable result.

- No, no! Mom, put him away! - The girl said frantically, turning from side to side, destroying the beautifully laid bed under her.

- My girl, I besh you, he won't touch you...

He was silent. He didn't say a word. The father stood next to the bed, languidly trying to hold his daughter, stroking her hand. My father was not silent.

- Adam Garcia, she has a chance, doesn't she? You'll understand, she's our everything! Daughter, beautiful, sweet, obedient. We pray for her every day!

The same painful silence followed. Not for long.

- And you don't turn to the Almighty. Don't count how many people like you pray to him. It didn't help yet.

Over her daughter's screams, there was an oppressive silence. The poor were also alarmed by the spread of infection, and some left the city; however, in other places they had no place to stay, there were no means of subsistence, so, afraid of an uncertain future, many still remained in the city.

Leaving the city gate, everyone had to present a certificate of good health issued by the Lord Mayor, which was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. As time went by, the number of victims increased, and fermentation began among the residents of the surrounding villages, as there were no more places to accommodate refugees.

Refugees returned, they were not allowed to enter the cities, and many had to travel across rough terrain and live on what was collected from the fields or stolen. Many died on the way of thirst or hunger. The married couple burned no less with the desire to escape. Alas, it's late. Garcia understood that. Leaning over the reason that prevents you from running away, the doctor mumbled deafly.

- I can't help her. It's beating with all his strength. And not in the face of fear of death, Mrs. Morgan. And in front of me. The whole writhing, but the holy water will not fall. Children are afraid of the current doctors. Bottomless eyes, a long beak...