September 1, 2089
“Ah, Mae. Thank you for joining us,” said a deep voice.
Mae Thatcher opened the door to Dr. Tate's office. She took in the small office with wide eyes, not quite sure what to expect. She had been inside Dr. Tate’s once, over ten years ago when she first started working at the hospital. Not much had changed over the years. Two large windows were behind Dr. Tate’s desk, but instead of letting the sun in as before, the blinds were shut tight. Dr. Tate sat at his desk, looking worried. His eyes jumped around the room, on Mae, at the door, at his computer on his desk, the papers in his hand, at the tall man in the suit standing next to his desk, and back at Mae.
“Please close the door and uh have a seat,” Dr. Tate set down the papers he was holding and took off his wire-rimmed reading glasses.
Mae did as she was told. She pulled the door shut and tried not to collapse into the chair in front of Dr. Tate’s desk. Seeing his expression and fear, what little confidence she had vanished.
“Is there a problem?”, she asked, relieved to find her voice was steady.
“No, no problem. You see, there’s been a bit of a situation. With the government.” Dr. Tate stole a quick glance at the man in the suit, then looked back at Mae. “Mr. Stafford is from the CDC. Mr. Stafford?”
“Thank you, Marcus.” Mr. Stafford from the CDC took off his sunglasses. “Ms. Thatcher you have been randomly selected for the option to receive a possibly life-saving vaccine. You see we have knowledge that there may be an epidemic soon, and you were one of the lucky few chosen to receive it.”
Mae, who had been leaning forward in anticipation, sat back in her chair, thinking about what Mr. Stafford had told her. She couldn’t place it, but something felt off. She leaned forward again.
“What’s the catch?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I’m sorry sir, but this sounds too good to be true. What are the side effects? Why was I chosen? What will happen to me if I don’t take the vaccine? What will happen to those who don’t and others if I do?” She said this all in a rapid-fire of words. Mr. Stafford looked slightly stunned as if he had just expected her to follow him blindly down the path he had set for her. Dr. Tate, on the other hand, looked slightly proud, as if he had been hoping she would fight back and had not disappointed him.
Mr. Stafford, however, recovered quickly. “It is highly possible the disease will not even happen, meaning those who do not receive the vaccine will most likely not even be affected. If the disease does spread, however, you will be safe from its unknown effects. As for side effects from the vaccine, there are none. It remains dormant in your body until activation by the disease. I have the information on it right here if you would like to see how it works.”
Mae took the tablet that was offered to her and spent a few minutes pouring over its contents. When she was satisfied the information it contained, she placed it on the desk and looked up at Mr. Stafford.
“I have a daughter. She’s fourteen months old. If I agree to receive the vaccine, could she receive it as well?”
Mr. Stafford looked at Mae, then looked at Dr. Tate and gave a small nod.
“I don’t see why not. But if you are choosing to receive the vaccine, you’ll need to sign a contract. A company lawyer has already looked over and approved it. His only concern is if you sign this, then technically this meeting never happened. You and your daughter would not be able to say a word about any of this. Are you alright with that?”
“I-uh. Yes. That will be just fine.”
Mae drove home, to take Julia back to the hospital. The babysitter was a little surprised, but didn’t hide her relief to go home early very well. As she drove back to the hospital with Julia now strapped in her car seat, Mae kept glancing into the rearview mirror at her sleeping little girl. A halo of messy golden curls framed her chubby face, and her chest rose and fell evenly. Mae took a deep breath, the sight of Julia’s even breathing steadying her.
Mae pulled into the hospital parking lot and unbuckled the now awake Julia from her car seat. “Alright Jules, let’s go.” She carried Julia into the hospital and to Dr. Tate’s office. Julia didn’t fuss too much when she got the shot, but then she never had.
September 2, 2089
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Mae’s hand groped for her cell phone on her bedside table.
“Hello?”
“Mae? It’s Donna. You gotta come in right away, its an emergency.”
“What?”
“You have to come in! I don’t know how but there’s been some kind of epidemic.”
“I . . . “
“Mae?”
“I’ll be right in.”
March 1, 2090
“Congratulations Mrs. Flemming, you’ll be released and going home tomorrow.” They were the best words Mae had been able to say to a patient in the past six long months. The weathered Mrs. Flemming gave her a small, sad smile, her eyes tired and weary, but with hope blooming in them. Yes, the six months had taken their toll.
Mae went around to different patients, relieved that everyone had finally gotten a release date. It had been decided they wouldn’t tell the patients until they were absolutely sure it was safe for them to be released. Except for 98% of the hospital staff, almost the entire surrounding population around the large hospital had gotten the virus. As long as it was treated soon, the virus wasn’t deadly.
But the hospital had been full. Very full. New regulations about how many hours nurses could work were made, and Mae had to work overtime practically every night. But now people were going to be released.
“Hopefully after tomorrow everything will go back to normal,” Donna, Mae’s coworker said as she caught up with her in the hall.
“Yes, hopefully,” Mae said. What she didn’t say was that she wasn’t sure she knew what normal was anymore.
March 4, 2090
“Did you hear what happened last night?” Donna asked Mae when she came in that morning.
“No, what?”
“Around two A.M. last night some people that had recently been released came back in with symptoms of drug withdrawal.”
“Drug withdrawal? Are you sure?”
“They didn't exhibit any symptoms that would indicate it was anything else.”
“Is it from the medication they were given here?”
“Not that we know of so far. Until they can figure out what's happening the people who came back are being held here. But the board is looking into it.”
“Okay. Okay, that’s good. That’s good.”
Mae went to get her assignment for the day. She went to the room of one of the patients that had been checked back in last night, and went about checking the man’s vitals. Donna had been right. He had all the symptoms of drug withdrawal. The man was shaking, pale, and sluggish in his movements. He couldn’t hold down any food, so he got nutrients through an IV. He had curled his knees up to his chest, his eyes wide and blank. Mae tried not to shudder as she closed the curtain around him. She looked out into the hallway. She had gotten here early and hardly anyone for the morning shift was there yet, so the hallway was empty. Mae went to the computer in the hallway and entered the man’s information. She looked back a few weeks and scrolled through what medication he had been given. She silently went through what did what, checking for anything out of place. Everything looked okay except . . . methadone? That was used to treat opioid addiction. Really the only drug that required methadone was heroin. And none of the patients had received heroin. It hadn’t been used medically for many decades, so there shouldn’t have been any reason why methadone was being used. Mae looked through some of the files of the other patients and found the same thing. Something wasn’t right.
March 6, 2090
“My fellow Americans, in light of the past six months and in light of the last two days I am turning over my presidential powers to CDC director Nathaniel Clark. Our country is in a state of medical emergency and this is the perfect way to handle the situation. Now this transition won’t be easy. But we will do it anyways. As Americans it is our duty to do what’s best for our country. And at the moment, this is what’s best. Let us stay united in this difficult time. Let us stay proud Americans.”
Mae turned off her tv in disgust. The now-former president's announcement left her feeling sick. But it also left her with questions. Questions that needed answering.
March 7, 2090
Mae went to work the next day, but instead of eating lunch during her break she went down to the records room. She went in quietly, an excuse on her tongue, but fortunately no one was at the desk. She snuck through the halls, looking at the rows and rows of holographic files. She chose a name at random, which lit up at her touch. A holographic book jumped out. Mae swiped through the pages but found no helpful information. She mimed closing the book and it shut and disappeared, the file’s name ceasing to glow. She continued this way for half an hour, till her watch beeped that her lunch break was over. She snuck out and went to her next patient.
March 8, 2090
“Where were you at lunch yesterday?” Donna asked Mae when she got there the next morning.
“I-I’m not sure if I can tell you. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Mae don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”
“Okay. I was in records,” she paused at Donna’s shocked expression. “I just was looking for information on the epidemic. I’m not sure what, but something seems off about it.”
“No Mae. You can’t go snooping around. Things are dangerous right now, they’ll know what you’re doing.”
“Donna I have to. I have to know what is actually going on. I can’t just stand by and let whatever is happening happen.”
“I understand Mae, but you have to stay safe. Keep your head down, stay in the line. You can’t afford to be reckless right now.”
“I’m sorry Donna, I really am. I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something bad happened when I might have had the chance to stop it.”
“Alright Mae but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Oh, I just don’t want something bad to happen to you. But don’t worry, like I said before, my lips are sealed.”
“Thank you, Donna. I appreciate your concern but don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
At lunch that day, Mae went back to the records room. Again, everyone there was away at lunch. She once again started her search for the file on the epidemic. Two minutes before her watch beeped she found the file. Just as she had opened it, she heard footsteps. Mae quickly made a mental note of where the file was, and practically ran out of the giant maze of information.
March 9, 2090
The next day at her third skipped lunch break of the week, Mae walked as fast as she could down the halls of records, looking for the file. She found it quickly and touched the name, opening the file. She skimmed through the holographic pages, looking for any hidden information that didn’t look right. As it turned out, the information she needed wasn’t hidden at all. It was in plain sight. And it was bad.
“Hey! What are you doing down there?” A security guard shouted at her. Mae gasped. She used her phone and snapped pictures of the few pages she had seen, frantically shoved her phone in her bag, pushed the button to put the file back, and ran.
She sprinted through the halls and looked back to see the security guard chasing her. But because she looked back what she didn’t see was the other guard in front of her. Until she collided with him that is. She fell to the ground, and the last thing she remembered was an elbow in her face. Then darkness.
March 2090
Mae woke up in an office tied to a chair. She recognized the shape of a man. She blinked and the man’s face came into view. Mr. Stafford from the CDC who had first told her about the vaccine.
“Ah Ms. Thatcher, we meet again,” he drawled.
“I - uh,” Mae stuttered, the bright lights of the office not helping her throbbing headache.
“Would you care to tell me what you were doing looking at files that weren't in your clearance level?” Stafford asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.
“You mean that wasn’t in my clearance level? I thought it was,” Mae said weakly, but not backing down from Stafford stabbing glare.
She felt a hard slap across her face. Stafford held his hand. “You know exactly what you did Ms. Thatcher,” he growled.
“Yes, I do and I also know it isn’t right. I don’t just know what happened, I know what you’re going to do. Do you really think we wouldn't recognize the symptoms of drug withdrawal? With the high levels the patients were given there is no coming back from this addiction. They either stay on this drug or they die. There’s no alternative.”
“You’re right, there isn’t. We control the distribution of the drug and people stay dependant on us.”
Mae gasped. “You can’t do that! I’ll expose you, I’ll tell everyone what you were planning. I have proof,” she said frantically, her words rushing out of her mouth.
“No, you do not,” Stafford said holding her phone up in front of her.
“Then I’ll tell people anyways! People will notice what’s happening and they’ll believe me! If treated soon the side effects may not be deadly.”
“Maybe not for everyone else. But unfortunately for you, Ms. Thatcher the side effects of those threats are,” he said, pulling out a gun and aiming it at her head.
“No, no, no, no, no. Please don’t. You can’t. I-I have a little girl, I need to be there, to take care of her. She needs me!”
“Oh. I truly am sorry Ms. Thatcher. But I’m afraid with the information you found and the signs of hostility you’ve shown, you are just too dangerous to the future of society.”
There was no getting out of this. The bonds strapping her to her chair were tight and she had absolutely no way to defend herself. So Mae steadied herself, took a deep breath, and looked death square in the face.