Chapter Text
*I wrote this over 2 years ago when things seemed dire. I hope it doesn’t bring back bad memories for anyone and I certainly don’t mean to make light of anyone’s COVID experience.*
Lock Down
Part 1 of 3
It’s early morning, the air is cool, the sky is pale blue, everything seems so fresh and safe and peaceful - and she’s a bit breathless because she’d dashed out of the station only two minutes earlier, racing to pick up her Special-Delivery First-Class Rush-Rush-Rush package as soon as she’d hung up the phone. “Be right back!!” she’d yelled then dove out the door, putting everything she had into running down the steps without breaking her neck while waving a hand over her shoulder at the shouted warning.
She skids to a halt outside the Post Office where Mrs. Upshot waits, official Receipt Book taped to a broom handle, pen dangling from a string. Camille scribbles her initials, grabs the tossed package, and turns for the station… when another thought pops up and she takes a quick detour to skitter to La Kaz’s door and holler, “Maman! Do you have an extra box of his tea?”
Catherine runs out, a large bagged box of PG Tips in one gloved hand. She throws it and is just taking breath to urge her daughter to take it and RUN… when a strangely ominous low howl warbles into existence. It spreads like poisoned honey into the hushed air, slow at first then faster and louder until it claxons like the retired and repurposed Air Raid Siren it really is.
Camille and her mother stiffen, eyes staring in shock above their masks, because… well, because no one had actually thought they would hear this sound in real life! Their fright is being mirrored all over Honoré as people jump or freeze or gasp, listening in growing dread, hoping like mad this is just an unscheduled test or a mechanical error or an over-zealous public servant who’s ‘jumped the gun’… but in their heart of hearts they know it’s not.
This is NOT a test, people, this is ‘IT!!’ the siren seems to scream. Time to duck and cover! And isn’t it a good thing cooler heads prevailed at the Town Meeting of only 17 days ago? Aren’t you glad now that you’ve been practicing what to do if ‘The Plague’ came to the island? Many grumped, some refused to cooperate, but most of you went along in the face of the combined determination of your Doctor, your Fire Marshall, and your Police Chief.
Yes, you mostly cooperated with the daily noon rehearsals, smiling indulgently at the three men who stood on the main streets with stopwatches in their hands, clipboards at the ready, pens poised to take note of slackers and slow-coaches. The latest ‘lock-down’ times were posted daily with stern hints that certain people and certain businesses better ‘pull up their socks’ in the event of an actual emergency. It had been a bit of good communal fun, joshing with neighbours, teasing family members, and seeing who could outrun whom... but that’s all over now... because it’s TIME!
And it was true that, mostly, everyone had complied with the daily drills... because the Doctor, the Marshall, and the Chief had the full support of the Women’s Council... and no one wants to mess with THEM! (the Council, not the men) (don’t tell the men) (the women already know so nothing more need be said) (ESPECIALLY to the men)
The school children even had a song:
Red Eye, Red Eye, make you bloom!
Hot up, hot up, Daddy goes boom!
Puff up, puff up, Daddy goes plop!
Here come the dribbles, they won’t stop.
Two days later, we’re OK.
Bad germs, bad germs, stay away!
Bad germs, fly off, go to the moon.
Bad germs, bad germs, zoom zoom zoom!”
They skip in circles, pull down their lower eyelids, blink at each other then fall over and kick their heels in the air before jumping to their feet again and waving their arms. It might have been cute a month ago. None of the adults are laughing now.
No, the women frown and look at their men. The men shiver inside and try to pretend they weren’t worried, assuring their women that everything will be fine. But it isn’t fine. It isn’t fine at all because ‘Red Eye’ aka ‘The Plague’ aka ‘TJNB-14+’ had escaped or mutated or evolved or something and it was loose in the world. It only attacked human males ages 14 and up. Women didn’t get sick so all over the world women stocked their homes and prepared for, quite literally, a shit storm.
The first sign is a faint flush around the eyes which worsens hourly until the eyes are blood-red, a very disturbing sight. You’d almost expect thick red tears but no, the eyes run clear and colourless. Then shivers, then shudders, then molten lava in your veins and, if you were standing, you fell over ‘boom’, hence the song lyrics. The final phase was too awful and no man wanted to witness it much less experience it! The Dribbles; a whole body no holds barred gushing of every fluid contained within the male human body. Except blood... thank goodness for small mercies. It wasn’t fatal but some men never recovered their dignity. World leaders went into ‘self-isolation’ immediately after the first case of ‘The Dribbles’ was caught on TV.
So the children’s tune emulated that mediaeval old favourite ‘Ring Around The Rosy’. No one knew what ‘zoom zoom zoom’ meant but the kids insisted it was needed to end the song.
At any rate, now everyone is frozen in place as the Emergency Alert Siren blares its rising and falling scream of warning, jumping the blood and making feet start to jitter without thought.
There is a paralyzed moment before people streak into action and if anyone was timing this lock-down they would be astonished! The streets empty. Doors and windows slam shut everywhere. Cars throw up wheel-hats as they race out of town into the surrounding hills. Boats careen out of the harbour heading for the wide open sea. Practice makes perfect and Honoré will be a ghost town in less than a minute.
However, this is about 15 seconds short of what Camille Bordey needs in order to flash up the street, around the corner, and up the hill. As the station comes into view, she already knows she isn’t going to make it. He had drilled and drilled until he had achieved a best total lock-down time of 42 seconds flat. The front doors are closed and she hears windows slamming shut as she leaps the stairs and careens into the East door, hammering and kicking and roaring, “Let me in! You open this door and let me in RIGHT NOW!!”
End – part 1