Play as Tyler, a young man just trying to make sense of dating.  When he gets some advice and a Disney+ account from his friend, Brad, there's only one logical thing to do.  

Entry for Bucky's Year's End Contest

My entry for Gower's Contest: Battle in the Ruins of a Dead Civilization

Explore the not-so-uninhabited ruins of Japan, after it had been completely annihilated in World War Two.  Fifty years later, the travel ban is lifted, and James and his crew may be the first people to get a peek into this relic of a country.  However, expect the unexpected, for James and his crew are not the only residents of the Land of the Setting Sun!

Hope y'all enjoy it!  Please leave a comment, any feedback would be much appreciated!

V.2 - 183% less POV and tense errors, partly in thanks to the help of Shadowdrake27 and Mizal.  Thank you both!

"[REDACTED], I'd like to begin with an apology."

The thing about cliche stories is that they're everywhere, so don't beat yourself up too bad about that.  When it comes to cliches, the number one thing you need to be concerned with is dialogue.  As long as your idea is executed well, it can and will almost certainly borrow ideas from other things.  This was an interesting and engaging story.  The only thing that I noticed that might've disturbed the flow was the interruptions from the main character's consciousness during tense moments, and qute routinely.  It seemed to change the tone I think you might've been going for to a more lighthearted style.

Of course, if that's what you were going for, then it works.  Interested to read the next part when you write it!

Can't get tested until I have all of the symptoms, apparently, otherwise we'd all be getting tested.  And they should allow us to quarantine at home, with any luck.  Nobody I know is in a facility.

Quick update: we've got five confirmed cases of the 'rona in my workplace, most of which are people I know and interact with regularly.  So I'm screwed.

I've got some spare graph paper, a lot of pencils, and a quarantine to sit though.  We'll see.  I'm no engineer though, so the design is gonna be a major issue.

Maybe a very basic level of knowledge lol, but I don't work on them at all.  And thanks!  We're doing alright so far.

The implication is that neither your character nor anyone else in quarantine actually has Covid-19, and instead has something else (that apparently the government just kills you outright for having).

@poisonmara

@Bill_Ingersoll

“Hey! How’re we doing today?  Pleasure to meet you, the name’s Dr. Shasan.  Just lie yourself back on the clear paper and we’ll get this test started, alright?

…..

“I’m always impressed by those who come in voluntarily to get tested for Covid-19, personally.  Not that it’s something that should be considered exceptional of course, but still, to perform your civic duty, quite admirable.  Hold still for a moment, I’m going to administer a shot that will make the antibodies in your blood easier to identify. It’ll pinch a little, and you’ll feel some muscle stiffness.”

…..

“Alright, excellent.  That shot is the most worrying part of the procedure, so we’re past the hard part.  I’ll just be taking a bit of your blood, about ten milliliters. Please hold still again.”

…..

“Sorry about the bad aim, I’m not usually the one to do this, but we’re trying to limit exposure to potential carriers as much as possible.  Here’s a band-aid, and some gauze. Now if you’ll excuse me, we’re going to conduct the actual testing, it shouldn’t take any more than half an hour or so.  Go ahead and make yourself comfortable in this room, I stole a couple magazines from the waiting room that should help.”

…..

…..

…..

*click*

“I’m back, and with great news, actually!  You’ve tested negative for Covid-19, which means you’re free to leave.  Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t get infected, so put on this face mask at least until you’ve left the hospital and are home safe.  We’re also going to inject a… sort of deterrent to the virus into you, so you’re better prepared if you are somehow exposed. One last time, I promise, hold still.”

…..

“Alright, he’s been sedated, come on in.”

“You put the mask on him?”

“He did it himself.  Should be able to move him pretty easily now.  He’s physically incapacitated, but he’ll still be able to hear you.  Just avoid any sort of bare skin contact, and you’ll be alright.”

“Copy.  You three, grab him.  I’ll hold the door. Keep the halls clear.”

…..

“Hey! Move the fuck out of the way!  You want what he’s got? Then get up against the fucking wall!”

“--what’s up with his skin?”

“Dunno, it looks a bit, scaly--”

“I’m not going to ask again!  Move out of the doorway before we MAKE you move!”

…..

“I know you can hear me, so listen closely.  Those drugs you were given don’t last forever, and we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.  I’m going to make one thing perfectly clear. If you try to escape or grab me or one of my men, I’m putting a bullet in your head.  Simple as that. So, sit back here and relax, we all make the trip unharmed.”

…..

“Holy shit, you managed to sleep back here?  Most of ‘em just lie up against the cold metal and shake until the ride is over.  Get up, I’m sure you can move now.”

“--dude, are you seeing what I’m seeing? His skin--”

“Quiet!  Both of you, get ready for in-processing procedures.”

“Yes, sir!”

…..

“--just put your thumb right here.  Hey, someone isolate this fingerprint in E Lab, would you?  Now just come over to the counter, after you’ve switched clothes in our decontamination chamber, we’re going to release you to the quarantined section.”

“With this last guy that should fill up Area G.  Start preparations?”

“Yeah, go ahead.  And you, step in here, your change of clothes should be on the bench.”

…..

“Hey!  We’ve got a new guy!  What’s up, man! The name’s Jeremy, feel free to shake my hand, we’ve both got the same thing, afterall.”

“Yeah, you’ve both got Covid, but Jeremy might spread his retardation to you, so I’d advise against it.”

“C’mon man, low blow.  I’m just trying to cheer the guy up, he looks positively depressed.”

“It might just be the meds, everyone that crawls in here looks like this at first.  You forget, I was the first person here. Name’s Kevin, by the way. Been here nearly two and a half weeks.  There’s only one bunk left, so I suppose it’s yours.”

“Don’t mind all the skin flakes and stains, just get the covers changed out tomorrow at wake-up and sleep on the bare mattress.  That bunk kind of became the ‘community bunk’, if you catch my drift.”

…..

“Y’know, this place makes me wonder.  Does getting the virus and getting over it make us immune?  Cause if it doesn’t, we’re just sitting in a cesspool of virus that continuously infects us.”

“Well, if you catch the flu or whatever, then you’re resistant to catching it again.”

“Yeah, you’re resistant.  Not immune. And we’re living in, like I said, a fucking cesspool.  Everything is covered in the stuff, our bedsheets, the walls, us.”

“I’m sure they’ve got a plan, Jeremy.  You overthink things all the time.”

“I guess you’re right.  I do overthink things.”

…..

“They could at least let us make phone calls, I’ll admit.  I’d like to at least make sure my wife is doing alright.”

“I’m with you on that.  At least give me some damn Netflix or something.  I’m going fucking insane after only a couple days.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get out of here.”

“Dude, what’s with the sudden downer shit!  You were just going on about how they’ve got a plan earlier.  Just think of it as a really short, boring vacation.”

“We’ll talk about this tomorrow, it’s time for bed anyway.”

…..

…..

…..

“Hey, psst.  Psst, Kevin, do you smell that shit?”

“Go to bed, Jeremy.”

“No, seriously, it’s this really funky smell, I don-n-n…”

“Hey man, you alright?  You’re about to fall off your bunk, pull yourself up you moron!”

“--hey, Trey, wake the fuck up man you alright!  Yo, something’s in the a--”

“Cover your noses!”

“New guy, I’m not r-r-eally feeling great man.  Hold on, I’m gon-n-a--”

“Everybody, hold your breath!”

Avionic system management, on our jets.  Whether it be turning a wrench, replacing wires, loading software, whatever.

And yeah, I'll be fine.  Might have a fever for a week but we've all had fevers before.  Canary on the other hand has been isolated from the rest of humanity for so long that his immune system has likely grown weak.  Maybe it's better he doesn't know.

I guess I'll start lol.  Just today, I've gotten military orders that I'm not legally allowed to leave the local area until mid-May.  How that'll help when we've already got a coworker that works part-time at a hospital with two suspected coronavirus patients and another one that just returned from vacationing in Wuhan, I've no idea.  I fully expect to get the virus, and there's very little I can do to avoid coming into contact with those who have it, since the military hardly stops functioning for something as piddling as a contagion. 

I'm also on my last roll of toilet paper, but luckily I've got some hard copies of my IS contest WIP handy.