The Beginning of the End by Lorana Hoopes (readict txt) 📕

that breaking news was coming up. She decided to wait and see what the breaking news might be.

As soon as Governor Smythe disappeared from the screen, the regular news anchor appeared. “It’s been quite a trying time for our state over the last few months. Total cases are now in the thousands with deaths in the hundreds, but we do have some good news to report. A foreign businessman by the name of Daman Caturix has stepped into the limelight, promising to back the productions of masks and research for a vaccine, so that we can all get back to normal. Let’s listen to what he has to say.”

The screen switched to a pale man with dark hair, dark eyes, and bony features that sent a chill racing down Raven’s spine. Even his close-lipped smile evoked a sense of revulsion in her stomach, but when he began to speak, she knew she was looking at pure evil.

“You have probably never heard of me. My name is Daman Caturix, and until recently, I have lived a quiet life. However, I have been watching the devastation that this virus is creating, and I can no longer remain silent. I know that I am more fortunate than some, and I want to use that fortune to help as many people as I can. Among other businesses, I own a manufacturing plant and I have asked them to begin making masks and sending them out to any company who requests them. In addition, I have begun speaking with the largest medical research labs and will be donating whatever capital they need to create a cure for this virus as soon as possible. Though we are asked to distance right now, we can work together to achieve this new normal.”

New normal? Raven wanted nothing to do with any kind of new normal. She rather liked the old normal, and something about this man sent every hair on her body standing at attention. It was time to see exactly who Daman Caturix was.

“Seriously? Masks are now required?” Lily turned off the television and tossed the remote to the side in disgust. She was so tired of this already. With no need to get up for school and little to do outside of her house, the days had soon lost their meaning. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d changed out of her pajamas into real clothes. Oh, she still showered daily, but instead of throwing on jeans and a top, she simply grabbed another pair of pajamas, and why not? It wasn’t like anyone was going to see her.

Her father’s office had been closed, but he was still working. Mainly in his bedroom with the door closed, the cell phone glued to his ear, and the computer open less than a foot away. She almost felt like she saw less of him now even though he was in the same house with her all day.

Her mother wasn’t much better. Her office had transitioned to working at home as well which meant that she was now fielding calls from the house and then looking up the information she needed on the laptop. The woman shuffled around with a headset on, randomly spouting out, “Thank you for calling Insureman, how can I help you?” in between other tasks.

Both generally left her alone until noon when her mother would take a break from work, pop her head in Lily’s room and ask about her school work. Lily normally had it all done by then as the teachers had assigned much less work than she would have done in school. While she welcomed the break, she also couldn’t help but feel like she was getting cheated out of her education. Sometimes, her teachers would schedule Zoom meetings, but they were mostly just to answer questions, and Lily didn’t have any. The majority of the work was simply reading an article or watching a video and answering a few questions with a paper thrown in here and there. Even if she didn’t watch the video, she could search the answers quickly enough online.

The end of the school year was approaching, and it would end without fanfare. Everything had been canceled including The Spring Fling dance and graduation. Bryce had slipped out of her life, due to the virus or something else, she didn’t know, and around the town, businesses were closing their doors forever in record numbers. Now, with the new mask mandate, there would be even fewer places to go as Lily held reservations about masks.

Most of her reservations came from the fact that for the last few months, every doctor on TV had been saying masks wouldn’t help and people needed to not wear masks. Now, they were saying the exact opposite, but as far as Lily could tell, nothing had changed. They certainly weren’t sharing any data that backed up this new claim. In addition, she didn’t understand how breathing her own carbon dioxide could be good. She couldn’t stand smelling other people’s breath, so she was pretty sure she wouldn’t like smelling her own all day either. It appeared outings to get groceries were even on hold for now. Unless she did the pickup option that allowed her to buy online and have someone bring the groceries out to her car.

Bored and frustrated, Lily picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts. There weren’t many left she could call. When school first let out, everyone had been agreeable to wanting to get together, but as the lockdowns continued, more and more of her friends began locking themselves inside their houses out of fear. Katie had told her that one of their friends had even refused to visit her grandfather on his birthday for fear she might be sick and not know it and give the virus to him. How had the media managed to convince healthy people they were dangerous so quickly?

Even the few who would still meet up required that it be