URGENT: Please Read

Submitted into Contest #51 in response to: Write about someone who has a superpower.... view prompt

2 comments

Fantasy Science Fiction

I am a carrier. There is no other way to adequately convey the disease that plagues my life. There are others like me. They may not know it yet, but they will find out one day. One day, when they lose the love of their lives. One day, when every person around them suffers from terrible illnesses, yet they remain unscathed. One day, when every person they touch ends up sick, or more likely, dead.

But until that day, they will think themselves a god. They will think they soar higher than eagles and roar louder than lions. They will never fall ill; they will never slow. As if their bodies were made of steel and titanium forged together by tungsten and chrome, polished off with the dust of a million diamonds.

Yet, I, like they, am a carrier. As stomach bugs rage down the halls of their dorms, they will ask to drink from the same cup as the sickest of men. As pharmacies began advertising the need for flu shots, they will seek out individuals to swap spit with them, only to prove a point. As viral pandemics terrorize every country around the world, they will travel with reckless abandon enjoying the low fares and empty streets.

But one day they will learn that they are carriers. They carry each and every bacteria, virus and infection they come in contact with. It lives in their bodies – growing and morphing – enjoying inhabiting a living organism that isn’t trying to rid them. The parasites are able to grow and get stronger. All the while, not causing any harm to the host. The simple-minded host is ignorant to the catastrophic biological warfare they are hosting in their bodies. They are unaware of the number of encounters they have daily which only further welcome new illnesses to live comfortably in their body. They become a magnet, a disco ball, for anything parasitic for miles around.

But one day they will learn they are carriers. They carry until they touch. The simple act of any skin to skin contact automatically transfers any and all bacteria, virus, and infection the carrier had been hosting into the warm bodied creature they just engaged with. The longer between touches, the more has been saved up to transfer. The sicker the victim falls. The mutated parasites, with no known cures, become hungry animals that have been chained up for days, weeks, or month, ready to destroy everything in their path of hungry desire.

And the carrier is unaware. A person who never gets ill is seen as superhuman. They are idolized. A person to be admired and worshipped. They are asked to share their personal habits, diets and routines. People are quick to follow in step behind them. Picking up every piece of knowledge they might leave behind. They want to become these illustrious humans with supernatural abilities to stay healthy, while every person around them falls ill.  

And the carrier is unaware. They would think themselves an excellent specimen to pass on genetic information. If they knew themselves to be a carrier; they would obviously seek a person of similar superhuman abilities to create an entire superhuman race. Yet, carriers are only male, and they are unaware. Unaware that they will likely end up being the unlikely cause of death for any women they attempt to impregnate. Unaware that holding a small child is the same as signing their death wish. Unaware that hugging an elderly family member becomes their sealed kiss of death.

Therefore, I urge you, my fellow brothermen, you must take what I am about to tell you with the highest tone of seriousness. If you find yourself never falling ill even though many around you have and individuals whom you have recently come in physical contact with have died of unexplainable causes, I believe you to be a carrier.

I know it may seem to suggest that you now have superhuman abilities, because you do. However, your superhuman abilities will cause destruction to the entire human race. You will bring disease upon the land that no human has ever seen. No scientist has ever studied. No vaccine can prevent. And no doctor can cure.

I know not how or why we were created, but I know that we are unable to procreate on our own. Therefore, it would appear, to me, that the only thing we are able to bring upon the world is destruction.

Thusly, I have a simple task for each of you, my fellow carriers. Avoid all human contact. Live quiet lives void of all physical interactions. It may seem difficult, but I urge you to trust me. The longer one goes without the physical sensation of touch, the easier it becomes.

I share this tiny ray of light into my statement. If you must touch, wear the appropriate protective equipment. Ensure that every ounce of your body is covered with a multiple layered cloth-like material. Wear gloves and masks along with long sleeves and full pants. Ensure that you cover both your feet and your head. No matter the season, temperature or weather – it will be difficult, but it is the only way.

I head you this warning, if you go without touch for longer than two weeks and then find yourself growing weak enough to insist on connecting with someone physically, I fear you will bring a death upon them so great that it might spread to all the nations. It will bring complete destruction to the human planet and every person inhabiting it. It will only leave behind us, the carriers, forced to live in complete desolation.

I urge you that once you have started on this path of self-isolation, please continue forward. The road will not be easy, temptations will appear. In the end, you will never be honored with a plague, medal or key. But in your heart, you will know that the work you have accomplished was honest work. You will be a hero. 

July 22, 2020 00:52

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

2 comments

Jim Cowles
22:49 Jul 29, 2020

Very intriguing story and we'll written. It does seem to be repetitive; I expected you to introduce a character, or characters, building the person and the drama and giving the reader a heartfelt example of loss. That might give the warning more teeth.

Reply

Kat Gruszka
00:31 Jul 30, 2020

That is a super interesting point! I hadn't thought about it, but you're correct. The reader can only assume the lost the character has experienced. Diving deeper into that would have been helpful. Thank you!!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in the Reedsy Book Editor. 100% free.