Quarantine

[Contradiction 6]

Content warning: The following piece contains (brief) description of violence which some readers may find disturbing.

 

“What matters most is preserving human life,” announced the labcoat into the loudspeaker.  “Too many have died for us to give up now. You all know how greatly we value human life.”

The man’s eight subordinates, whose blank faces were veiled by the hazmat masks, stood silently, spaced at equal intervals about the podium. Each one eased a shotgun in his arms, fingers poised at the trigger, ready for any sign of movement.

“Do not violate quarantine. We know what a difficult time this is, for everyone. But we urge you to consider the greater good.”

Behind the stand, two heavy white doors swung open. The silent crowd craned their necks to view the proceedings. Two men stood in the doorway, on each side of a ragged figure. The two men, each wearing impeccable white masks, dragged the captive by each arm onto the stage and tossed him onto the cement surface where he landed on his knees.

“This male was found violating quarantine. He left his quarters early in the morning and was found attempting to steal a lifeboat.”

The crowd stared at the man, still resting on his knees, breathing rapidly. His long matted hair veiled his eyes, and no clear emotion could be detected in his posture. The labcoat continued:

“There are only 18 liferafts on this vessel. It would be extremely unequal—a gross violation of quarantine—to leave this ship alone. Once again, we urge you to remember the common good. We live in a time of crisis, and we cannot afford to lose control, to panic, to give in to selfish instincts, instincts that would divide us and further spread the disease.”

The eight armed men lifted their shotguns and took aim at the pathetic shape on the cement. There were eight shots in rapid succession. Blood spattered onto the cement, obscuring the maroon stains that already blemished the surface, notwithstanding the daily hours of dedicated scrubbing. The men’s faces appeared implacable beneath their masks, although the labcoat could not restrain a brief curl of his lip as the shots went off. He hated the sight of blood.

The crowd, well experienced with the weekly proceedings, did not react to the dismembered corpse on the pavement. Each member of the crowd stood silent, eyes cast down, spaced no less than six feet from every other member. Hundreds of these identical unkempt figures dotted the upper deck of what had once been the largest and most luxurious cruise ship in the world. 

The labcoat stood strong, a perfect image of upright bearing. He continued his address, the repeated phrases of which had become nearly memorized by each passenger on the vessel.

“We all have heard stories of the unrest that can accompany times of desperation. When food stores diminish, people want to resort to any means to survive. Sometimes crews revolt against their captains. Armed bands oppress the weak, seizing stocks of supplies and food and exiling the rest to captivity and starvation. The situation devolves rapidly into chaotic violence, to cannibalism and a drawn out, senseless scene of bloodshed. This will not be the case on this vessel.”

The heavy white doors opened again, the two men returning with yet another captive.

“The common factor is selfishness. Losing sight of the common good. Believing your own personal needs warrant greater attention than that given to others. In other words, inequality. On this boat we are committed to equality, committed to quarantine. Remember, quarantine is much more than a set of behaviors. It is a way of living, a way of thinking.”

The two men dragged the next prisoner onto the cement, dumping her in the still-warm blood from the previous execution. She whimpered quietly.

“This female was found violating quarantine. She was found hiding below deck with a male, delivering him her own rations of food.”

The woman sobbed hysterically, “He’s my son! I’m immune! I had the virus. I never wanted to violate quarantine. Please!”

The labcoat’s face turned pale, his thin lips pressed close together. He announced, attempting to mask a tone of rage from his voice,

“No one has children on this vessel. Everyone belongs to everyone else. This is how we remain equal. No one has special needs or exceptions. We are all equal in rations, in clothing, in treatment. I hope each one of you have forgotten those so-called familial ties that once divided us before the pandemic! After all, we are all one family: the human family! We are in this struggle together, this war, as it were, against the pandemic. Be united!”

The crowd, in unison, repeated the labcoat’s exclamation to “be united”.  He continued.

“Some dissidents among us have proffered the notion that one can become immune to this pandemic. This is not the case. The virus kills everyone. We are all equal—none of us are any stronger at resisting it than others. Do not lose sight of the common good.”

The woman lay on her stomach, sobbing, her skin already smeared with the previous man’s blood. The men raised their shotguns. Eight shots once again rang out across the deck. 

“We do not terminate those who violate quarantine as a method of punishment. In fact, this is an act of the deepest, most intimate mercy that we can offer. Should we not preemptively terminate those who violate quarantine, we would be consigning them to an agonizing death at the hands of the virus, a virus which spares none who violate quarantine.”

The crowd stood still, unphased at the scarlet image of blood and corpses splayed across the deck. In the early days of quarantine, immediately after the labcoat had delivered them from the grips of the pandemic, seagulls would swoop down to consume the flesh of those who were terminated. Since then, however, the seagulls had been universally trapped and incorporated into the daily, equal rations that each passenger received.

The white doors swung open once again. The two men dragged forth a slender figure who desperately struggled in their arms. A cool ocean breeze picked up over the ship, and she, like everyone else, shivered in her thin, fraying rags.

She remembered the early days of the cruise, before everything, before the virus, before quarantine. It had been warm then, the ship passing through tropical waters. She had enjoyed wearing bathing suits or sheer, revealing outfits in a subtle effort to entice other passengers on the cruise. She suddenly remembered the company of other people, of human contact, conversation, even intimacy. These memories struck her as distinctly odd and foreign, but also evoked a sense of desperate longing.

In the early days of the virus, she hadn’t taken the precautions particularly seriously, and doubted that the virus would ever make it to the ship. But the chaos had started rapidly, seemingly out of nowhere, and she was taken by surprise. Then the labcoat had taken charge. His doctrine of quarantine had saved them from certain death, she knew this. She remembered when it was requested that each passenger dispose of their personal possessions and clothing. She had tossed each article of clothing into the communal fire. But even then, she had never fully embraced quarantine, had kept things hidden. Each passenger had then been given a uniform crudely fashioned from the plain white bedsheets on board the ship. Since then, hers had worn and aged.

She now stood in the cold wind, grasped by the two adjacent men. She realized that this was the closest she had been to another human being in months. She felt herself hurled suddenly onto the hard cement. She curled into a ball, feeling warm blood saturate her clothing and her skin. She hid her face in her arms and tried not to whimper, forcing her eyelids shut against tears. She regretted violating quarantine. She should have been obedient. She recognized, now, that it was a beautiful doctrine, after everything.   

The labcoat opened his mouth, gazing distastefully down at the captive at his feet. Her bosom rose and fell frantically. He pried his eyes away from the repulsive image.

“This female was found violating quarantine. She was found to be secretly possessing a medical mask.” These last few words were hissed out, almost menacingly.

“This is a violation of the worst selfishness imaginable. We all know that there were never enough medical masks provided for every one of us to use one. That is why we destroyed them, every last mask. Or so we thought. If we all can’t share equally in provisions, then the excess must be destroyed. This is the only way to guard against inequality and against unrest. The only people authorized to wear masks are these guards, because they are in daily close contact with the infected, those who violated quarantine. Not even I wear a mask.”

The labcoat surveyed the crowd. Many of them appeared shocked, even enraged, that someone could do such a thing as keep a secret, personal mask. This rather pleased the labcoat.

The girl kept her face hidden in her arms and did not notice as the eight men raised their shotguns. It happened too fast for her to feel anything. Her body was torn apart instantaneously by the impact of the shells.

The labcoat finished his address. The crowd watched as the remains of the terminated were scooped up and delivered below deck, to be destroyed in the furnace. Only a handful of passengers, who had proven themselves truly dedicated to the principles of quarantine, knew that the remains were actually reprocessed and incorporated into the daily allotment of rations distributed amongst the passengers.

The labcoat made one final decree: “The aforementioned lifeboats will shortly be destroyed. There is not enough room on the rafts for each one of us to leave together. Therefore, no one can leave! Quarantine must be maintained. Be united!”

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

Article approved!

Quite an interesting piece coming in at an interesting time when many nations are in quarantine. I didn't find anything that needs to be changed. Certainly on the darker side of things, but enjoyable nonetheless. You did use a lot of great imagery though. 

[Lose 881]

Quite an interesting story, but I'm all for it - I love this kind of writing. 

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

That was fun! 

[Viking4s 10,791]

Nicely wrote. 

I would have better liked the full story seen through the eyes of the last victim.

Why is there cement on that boat? Boat are made of metal and wood mainly. It is confusing, at the start I assumed the execution were happening on land on the cemented port.

[Iol 22]

15000th post

[printing_now 59]

awesome story! i enjoyed it quite very much