Ending A Pandemic

It's too quiet here, Elle thought to herself as she walked down the snow filled streets late on New Years Eve. The sky was dark and roads empty. Even with everyone excited for the end of the dreadful year, no one could be bothered to visit friends or family in the cold outdoors. Elle wanted the end of this virus. She had not been able to see even her parents for Christmas, and now, she was spending New Years on her own. She took a sharp inhale of the chilling air around her and saw the fog leave her mouth as she exhaled.

She needed social interaction again. There was only one way she could think of to put an end to this virus once and for all. She turned around mid step, going back in the direction of her apartment building. She took her hands out of her pockets once she arrived, quickly unlocking her door. The warm air from her space heated immediately hit her as she entered. She had a plan, a way that could not possibly fail to end this pandemic. She would finally be able to say goodbye to masks. She could give her friends a hug.

Elle grabbed her phone out of her coat pocket and threw herself on the sofa. She could hear her neighbours loudly counting down from ten. It was almost 2021. It was finally hitting her. She may say it every year, but she wanted 2021 to be her year. She wanted to do something, something good. And now she knew what she had to do.

She spent years in school studying to become a nurse, just like she had always wanted. It was what her late aunt did. Maybe it was finally time to put her degree to use and help out in a more crowded hospital. Move to The United States of America, away from her small town in Canada. The Gods knew that the States needed as much help during this pandemic as they could get. What kind of person would she be if she did not at least try to help? She would not think highly of herself if she sat by and did nothing. Besides, the people in her town were more than well equipped. They had plenty of help, and hardly anyone hospitalized thanks to COVID-19.

With a quick tap of her finger, Elle pressed the book button on a website. She would be flying down to America. She let out a shaky breath. This was a big change, but she had been thinking about it for awhile. The excited yells of her neighbours about the new year was the final push she needed. It would be better for her down there. She would make friends, for the first time. She would do a real difference with this virus. What more could she ask for. She stood up, and rushed out the door, locking it behind her. She had to tell her parents the news. She mumbled a quick apology to the person she bumped into, and continued on her way.

Nick ignored the young woman who ran into him as he made his way to the roof of his apartment building. He could not stand to year the couples around him celebrating the new year, as if counting down from ten would make any real change. It was ridiculous. Just because there was a new year meant nothing. Everything still remained. Nick was still stuck at home, unable to work. He still had to wear a mask every time he went out, which was not really something that bothered him, but he could add it to his list of things to complain about either way. Most importantly, he was still unable to visit his father in the Hospital. Even if cases of the virus were low in his town, they did not allow him to visit his father. His father, who was suffering alone without his son by his side. Only his step mother was allowed inside with him. It broke Nick's heart. He should be there for him, be there for the man who raised him. His father, the man who held him when he cried over his mother's death. The man who listened when he complained about the math homework. The man who, despite all his talk about Nick having the potential to become a great surgeon, supported him when he dropped out to become a musician.

All Nick wanted was to see his father. At least once, but he could not. And he hated everyone for it. What was the point of celebration, if there was still a world-spread virus out there? Nothing changed. It would not magically go away over night. Nick knew that it had to change. Even if it would cost him everything.

It was cold on the roof. Snowflakes fell from the sky and landed in his hair, on his nose, on his shoulders. He let the cold bit at his uncovered arms, standing looking out to the street in nothing but a t-shirt. He had nothing to loose. Not really.

He had money left. From merchandise sales. He could use it, bride his way up the scale of command. He knew of a local mafia group with connections all over the world. They would help him. Help him rid the world of all those infected with this coronavirus. He could not wait for them all to get cured, to wait and see if this vaccine would work. That would not end it all. He needed to do this, did he not? For his father.

"You really want to do this, kid?" A gruff voice asked him from behind. "It's dangerous business."

Nick shrugged. He did not move, still staring out to the street. "What choice do I have?"

The man behind him wanted to tell him that he had plenty, to wait, to be patient, but he could not bring himself to. He could not start having morals now. Money was money. There was nothing else to it. At last, he sighed. "Alright, kid. Let's meet the boss."