The Pandemic - Short Story

The Pandemic

"Come on Cassie, let's go" Jason called running into the sea with the rest of our friend group. It was the last day of summer, my friends and I were at the beach for one last swim before school reopens.                                                                                                                                                                

I stood up from my beach towel and sprinted through the hot sand, I should have worn my flip flops, I thought to myself as the sand burned the souls of my feet. The water was cold compared to the sand. It was nice. It was normal. After the beach we went up to the carnival on the pier.  

"Cassie!" Mum called from inside the house, pulling me out of my memories. My eyes opened slowly to look at the empty branches of what once was a beautiful blossom tree. I sat up and pulled my phone out of my jean pocket. 19:43pm. The wallpaper on my phone was a picture of that summer, the five of my friends eating ice cream on the pier, that was the last normal day I had. I remember getting a message from my brother "Mom wants you to come home" it read. I was nervous at the time, I thought I was in trouble, but that wasn't the case, although I wish it was. I shut my phone off and slipped it back into my jeans trying not to remember the details of what happened after that.  

I closed my door behind me, putting on some hand sanitizer we got from Amazon yesterday, before walking further into my three-story family home. I used to think this house was massive but, since lockdown was announced it seemed to get a lot smaller. I regrettably made eye contact with the brown-haired teenager sitting at the dinner table. 

"It's about time" Ben called worriedly from where he was. "Where were you? You didn't touch anyone did you?" he asked standing up from his place at the table, rushing over to me. He placed his hands on my face moving it side to side, inspecting it for symptoms. 

I pulled away quickly.  "I'm fine I was just out at the tree. Anyway, your hands shouldn't be near my face." I paused. "You don't have to worry about me you know." I said pushing past him and walking towards the stairs. "Cassie, don't walk away from me." he said in a fed-up tone. I kept walking, "You're not my dad" I mumbled under my breath. Ben is my older brother; he took the role 'Man of the house' after my dad died. Sometimes I wish he was still just my older brother. Someone I could go to with boy problems and not have him on my back about seeing my friends.  

I was one of the lucky ones, I only lost my dad and sister, I still had Ben and my mum. Other people lost everyone, everything. The population of the earth has dramatically decreased since this time last year. A lot of people died and the people that didn't hid out in their houses, too scared to leave in case they catch the virus. 

All stores are closed, if you need anything, Amazon. It's almost like they've taken over the world. Every van, drone, truck and bike bear its logo. You need food, Amazon. You need clothes, Amazon. You need a car, Amazon. And lately they're not even delivered by a human.  

My phone buzzed in my pocket once I got to my room. Falling onto my bed I opened the message. It was from Jason, my only friend left. The rest of them either left, or got infected. Either way, I knew I would never see them again. People fled left, right, and center. Even though the virus was global, there were rumors of safe camps where they made their own supplies and grew their own vegetables. 'I miss you' it read. I stared at the screen before typing 'I miss you too'. 'Wanna hang?' He replied immediately. Before I could respond there was a knock on my door.   

"Honey, your delivery came from Amazon today" My mum said opening my door holding a large cardboard box with Amazon printed all over it. "Thanks mum." I said sitting up, she placed the box on my bed and sat down beside me. "You washed your hands, didn't you?" she asked, placing her hand on my knee. "Yes" I sighed. "I'm just trying to look after you, and so is Ben." she said sternly. "I know mum."   

My phone buzzed again thinking it was another message from Jason, I turned it on, only to see that Amazon have updated their terms and conditions again. They now need my fingerprint. For their robotic delivery mechanism. They want to be able to open my front door using my fingerprint (for my safety??!!!). Reluctantly I agreed. What choice do I have if I need food in this lockdown world?  

"I'm just going to go to bed, I'm tired" I said looking back up to my mum. She kissed my forehead before leaving.  

My phone buzzed repeatedly. 'incoming call' it said across the screen. I answered already knowing who it was. "I'm outside, let's go for a walk"  

I sneaked out to meet Jason behind the house, making sure my mum or Ben didn't hear me leave. The streets were empty apart from the occasional self-driving patrol car (powered by the Amazon). The sight of so many derelict local buildings with sold signs shocked me. Who would be buying a building in the middle of a pandemic?  

Jason was quiet until we got to the tree, he looked me in the eye and I instantly knew something was wrong. "Jason, what's wrong?" I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. "It's my mum, Cassie, she died yesterday." Jason choked up trying to tell me. "Jason" I said quietly, pulling him into a hug. "Can you be there tomorrow? It's being live streamed at 12." He asked into my shoulder. "Of course, I'll be there."   

 Luckily Ben had gone to bed when I got home, I wouldn't be able to listen to another one of his responsibility speeches again. I moved into the kitchen for a glass of water before bed and noticed another Amazon box sitting on my kitchen table, we must get at least three boxes a day. Every time we make an order its dispatched in boxes of different types, one for food, one type for homeware, and one type with our rations of soap and alcohol gel. Amazon is the only place we can get sanitizers, and we only get enough for the people in the house. Apparently, this is due to the shortage of raw materials. Sometimes I wonder...  

I haven't slept much since the virus was declared a global emergency. This is my life now, and Amazon tv news says it will be like this for the foreseeable future. My morning went pretty fast, I got up, had a shower, caught up with some work then around 11 I got ready to go. I told Jason that I'd meet him at the closed-up diner around the corner from his house.  From there we would go somewhere to watch the funeral online. The only problem was Ben, there's no way he would let me outside to see Jason. So that is exactly why I didn't tell him. I put my laptop and charger into my bag, along with a terry's chocolate orange for Jason and some alcohol gel. I put the bag onto my back and quietly left.   

Jason was standing directly outside of the diner when I arrived. The diner was our spot, we would go there every day after school. That's why I thought it would be the perfect place to watch the funeral. "Hey," I said in a comforting tone once he noticed me "You ready?" You could tell he's been crying from the red marks under his eyes. He nodded, taking a deep breath. I lead the way to the back of the diner where we had previously cut through the metal fence. I then went to the back door and opened it. Jason went first and I followed, turning on all the lights. We both went straight for the booth where we always used to sit. He didn't say much as I set up my laptop, I gave him the chocolate and he quietly said thank you. At 11:58 I slid into the seat beside him. I took his hand in mine once the funeral began. The coffin was already in the empty church when the camera turned on. The first thing I noticed was the big amazon logo engraved onto the top of the coffin. As we were watching the mass begin, I took a glance at Jason. That's when it hit me.  I finally saw the truth in this brutal tragedy.    

Could it be this whole nightmare was created...by Amazon?