After Confinement

New world

30 years ago my parents said they were in 5th grade when they started hearing about covid-19. To them the virus didn't seem real until it was on their doorstep with a mask. There were a lot of warning signs. At first there were just a few cases in China, which was so far away that nobody took it seriously, including the government. Nearly every leader around the globe tried to calm their citizens by telling them that if they were careful they'd be fine. All they had to do was wash their hands for 20 seconds and avoid touching their face.

If only it were that easy...

~present day~

As we drive down the long broken road I try to find anything to entertain myself with for the long ride ahead. It'll be our 4th drive this year. Because everyone was so caught up in looking for a cure, most of the scientists were fighting the virus and not nearly enough were left to prevent global warming. After it lost control about 20 years ago the government tried to put a band aid on it by shipping out carbon monoxide detectors and foods like peanut butter and rice. But the economy was so damaged by then, it made no difference.

Lilith: Mom! Sage is kicking my seat again-make her stop!

Mom: Sage stop it-you wouldn't like it if she did that to you.

Sage: I didn't when she was doing it to me yesterday.

Mom: Enough girls. Just leave eachother alone. Mavis, I think we might be closer to another tower, why don't you try the radio again?

A year ago, dad was driving behind us right after a run for supplies. He put everything we found in his truck and told us to ride separately with mom in the van. We were told that if we ever got separated or saw anyone suspicious then to call it in over the radio, and then help would be on the way. Marshall Law was approved not long after the stay-at-home order was put into effect and nobody's been the same since. When prisons had to turn away inmates and put them back on the streets, criminals everywhere realized they had immunity and used it. They started with the wealthier people of higher status who were trying to buy tickets for them and their families to get into private bunkers. To them it didn't seem fair that someone rich and privileged was more deserving of a chance at survival. At first there were hundreds of men who swarmed the bunkers and locked themselves inside. Nobody knows if they've lasted this long, but none of them have opened up yet for us to be sure. Then there were the looters. With businesses shutting down and the stay-at-home order getting more strict, people started getting desperate. Most of them were lower class citizens and immigrants who stood no chance at surviving the economy's collapse, but some of them were honest men that were just afraid of not being able to feed their family. That's the most screwed up thing about all of this. Everyone you thought you knew is a different person than they were before. When fight or flight kicks in your neighbors are either taking a trip to Colorado or banging on your door threatening to kill you over a can of soup.

I sit up straight in my chair and start messing with the radio. I try changing the frequencies, and adjusting the antenna, but dad was the only one that really knew how to make it work. He was the one that made all the tough decisions and taught us to protect ourselves. Starting at 8 years old, our dad started teaching my sisters and I self defense and took us out shooting anytime he got the chance. He always told us that even if we were going up against someone twice our size, we should at least try to survive. I've never had to shoot anyone before, but the self defense has come in handy the few times we've run into other families on the road. There are others like us. The ones that stay only with their family and fight to keep them safe, but behind the smiling faces and the seemingly perfect unit, everyone's a criminal in this new world.