Ostracism

Day Five

➛ March 16th, 2020 

I woke up with a sore throat. I was immediately irritated. I thought it was elevation sickness setting in. Killington Peak was 1,100 feet higher than Mt. Marcy. I poked around on my college website, exploring for the latest news. Everything was quiet. It felt kind of eerie. I didn't like it. 

I had to drive to campus to pick of a kit for my ceramics class. I wasn't sure how that class was going to do. I was in wheel throwing and we were switching to hand-building. Campus was completely deserted, it felt extremely weird and lonely to see all the parking lots practically empty.

 I could see that the majority of dorms had been emptied. Windows that were usually decorated were empty. Suddenly, these buildings looked more gloomy. I glanced at the halls where I had classes as I drove by. Was I actually going to miss college? 

I felt nostalgic that it would be my last time on campus as a freshman. I never really thought I'd make it to college but I guess they were really naive thoughts. We all grow up. Gosh, why did I have such a bad feeling? It felt like I was being haunted. Something bad was coming. 

While I was collecting my pottery in the studio, my ears plugged and I could barely hear anything. My head began to feel stuffier than it had been and I called my Mom on the way home; mostly to make sure I stayed awake. 

In the evening, my Dad came home from work and announced that the Governor of my state requested that all non-essential business are to close. More cases of COVID-19 were being reported in my state. Along with the positive patients, the death rate from the virus climbed. 

The CDC decalred that COVID-19 is viral, therefore its proving hard to stop the spread. Cases doubled, deaths climbed. The virus was out of control in the United States, spreading like wildfire from one community to the next.

I was reminded of that one episode in The Walking Dead, where Rick Grimes learns that the disease causing people to turn into zombies is viral. Everyone was infected. Was it true for us? Was our reality about to become like a TV show?