Don't Let Me Go

Necessity Over Warning

Mark and his friends sit in the living room, listening to the TV continuously repeating the same message on loop for the past day. No one says anything, no one moves. They all just sit there in their confusion and unease. They all exchange glances, but still no words are exchanged. Mark puts his arm around Amy, needing some kind of endearment since his faithful companion is missing. Amy leans against him, using him for the same reason he's using her: Contentment, some kind of interaction to ease their nerves.

Nate gets up from his spot against the wall next to Matt and Stephanie and he stomps over to the TV, angrily slamming his fist into the power button, more than effectively turning the electronic off. He then stomps back to his spot and collapses to the floor, leaning against the wall, bringing his knees to his chest again, wrapping his arms around himself, glaring at the floor. Again, the friends all look around at one another uneasily.

What were they supposed to do? The message on the TV told them not to leave the house, because the illness is airborne, or animals carry it, or for whatever reason some kind of deadly illness apparently broke out. Felix, the only one still standing, leans against the wall in the corner of the room, stares out the window. He frowns, taking in the unnatural quiet of Los Angeles. Not a car in the road, not a noise beyond the wind, not a single child playing in their yard. Nothing. Just nothing, Los Angeles has become a ghost town in the matter of twenty-four hours and no one really knows why.

There was no indication of any kind of illness breaking out in the few days Felix has been with Mark in LA, and then suddenly the government finds it needed to broadcast the need to stay isolated? Sure, the symptoms the man spoke of sounded scary enough, but there had been no word of any kind of thing like that. Felix watches the news frequently, though he'd never admit it, but he's heard nothing of this mysterious illness breaking out. Nothing makes sense and he doesn't like it. He almost feels like it's some kind of test, some kind of joke, and everyone's falling for it.

Marzia stands and puts her arms around Felix. He looks at her and his eyes soften. He moves, pulling her into a loving embrace. Whatever was going on, I won't let it touch her. The couple stands there in silence, holding each other as Felix strokes her hair. Bob and Wade come back into the living room from the kitchen. Mark looks back at them and Bob shrugs, "Food's low."

Mark frowns, running a hand through his hair, "It was low before that message came on the day before yesterday. How low is low?"

Wade shifts his weight from foot to foot uneasily, "There's not enough to feed even half of us today."

Mark groans, pulling away from Amy so he can stand up.

"What should we do?" Nate asks.

"We can't go without food, we'll need to get more from the store." Mark replies.

"But we're not supposed to leave the house." Stephanie frowns, "What about that illness their talking about?"

"Mark's right, starvation will kill us first," Jack stands from the couch, "What do you want us to do?"

Mark frowns lightly, he doesn't like that he's silently been named leader of the situation. He crosses his arms, "I can't imagine the store having much food left, but there might be something still there if we're not the only ones that holed up immediately."

He goes to the bathroom and opens the cabinets. he grabs a few surgical masks his Mom insists he keeps around and returns to his friends, "If this thing is airborne, these might help. I won't be able to carry a lot of groceries back by myself, but I don't have enough for everyone to go, so--"

Felix interrupts him, "I'm in."

Nate stands, "Me, too."

Instantly, all his friends' voices overlap one another as everyone agrees to go with Mark. He groans softly, "I just said not everyone can go."

He rolls his eyes, "Felix and Nate were first, so they can go. I still have three left, and one is for me, so I need two more volunteers."

Again, everyone agrees to go. Mark pinches the bridge of his nose, "Guess I'm picking then."

They go silent and Mark sighs, running a nervous hand through his hair again. He looks over all his friends, it's not an easy decision. Of course, he'd like all his friends to go with him, but this isn't an ordinary outing. They could be in danger. Opening the front door could potentially let the illness into his home, free to infect everyone inside. They have no choice, food is a necessity for their survival, but he has to think this through. The masks might protect him and the four friends he'll be taking with him, but there's a chance they won't. And then how do they even know if the food will be any good? What if the food is infected and it poisons them? What if nothing is safe because the illness is everywhere? What do they do then?

Mark shakes his head, he keeps thinking like that and they will die in here. He looks at his friends again, "Bob and Wade. Felix, Bob, Wade, Nate, and I will go get some groceries. I want the rest of you to hide out in my room. Just in case opening the front door puts you all at risk. I will knock three times, each three seconds apart. Anyone else tries to get in, or knocks, do not let them in. Jack and Amy, you're in charge while we're gone. I'm not sure how long it'll take us, or what we'll run into out there, so.. Just hold the fort down until we get back."

He puts on his mask, handing the other four theirs. The rest of his friends all run upstairs to Mark and Amy's bedroom. Once everyone but Mark, Bob, Wade, Felix, and Nate are safely upstairs, Mark turns to the front door. He takes in a deep breath, hand touching the knob. He takes another breath and then opens the door.