It felt great to be back out in the world.
She couldn’t wait to head into the hills and revisit all her favourite spots – hill climbing was not something you could do while locked down in your house and sticking to the local area.
She felt a little rusty to start with, even though she’d been keeping a strict fitness regime up in her home, but once she’d clambered up a few slopes and traversed a few ridges and boulder fields she could feel her muscle memory kicking in and she start moving freely again.
This was the sort of social distancing she really enjoyed, not a soul around. She breathed in the fresh mountain air.
She followed the route she knew well that led to the rock plateau – the perfect spot to stop and have the lunch she had brought with her, with the sun beating down from the blue sky.
Something wasn’t the same. She paused, then moved forward, uncertain of what had changed. It was the opening to the plateau, she realised. The huge boulders had definitely moved. They were closer together. Had there been some sort of landslip?
There was still enough room for her to get through. She slowed her pace a little, carefully picking her steps across the uneven rocks. She crossed the gap without a problem and stepped through the narrow space.
But she wasn’t standing on the rock plateau. It was a dark cave of some kind. She felt a cold chill in the air. What was this place? What was going on?
‘Welcome to the Haven,’ a voice said.
She had no time to reply before the chains wrapped themselves around her wrists and ankles.
‘First, we must make sure you are free of the virus.’
A needle entered her outstretched arm.
‘If you are negative, you will join us in the New World.’
‘And if I’m not?’ she managed to ask.
There was no reply.
This is a response to the #writephoto Prompt: Otherworldly curated over at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo. Click on the link to read other stories inspired by the image.
I hope she makes it. If she’s positive I doubt she be around for long.
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No, it doesn’t seem like they will be too kind to those afflicted.
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That was unexpected 😉
Can’t wait to be up there again though…
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Me too.
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I didn’t see that coming. I hope she makes it to the New World, and let’s hope it doesn’t ever come to that here.
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Thanks Michele, I hope so too.
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The flip side of vigilance is a totalitarian dictatorship. We DO need to be careful to balance.
Tapping into my own late night paranoia…
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Absolutely Liz. We need testing, but safely and without discrimination.
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Unexpected twist to the story. Hope she makes it.
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Let’s hope so! Thank you.
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A pleasure Iain.
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Hmmm! This just could come to pass in a different way, Iain.
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We may all face some sort of test in the future, hopefully for the right reasons though.
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Ominous premonition?
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Let’s hope not!
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Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie ~ Authors.
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Thanks for the reblog 🙂
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A little frightening, but perfectly believable. Well done.
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Thanks Eugenia. We will all have to face some sort of testing in the future, but hopefully not like this!
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I know we would pass that test Iain, wishing the same for you. 🙂
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So far we are safe, hopefully it stays that way.
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You know sometimes you scare me.
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Not as much as the real world at the moment, I hope!
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When anyone says, “Welcome to the Haven”, it’s rarely a good sign. 😉 Well done!
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The word Haven has taken on some sinister meaning these days!
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Wow, super creepy. Great scary movie since the beginning starts off without even a hint of what happens.
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Thank you
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OH gosh! I was thinking, Ahh, what a nice feel good story, but I should have known! LOL! Yes, I might have “yelled” at you 🙂
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Sorry, I just couldn’t leave it. Hoping for a happy ending soon in the real world.
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Me too!! 🙂
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Oh gosh – what a dystopian nightmare future that would be. I hope it doesn’t come to pass! The story is really well written though. It really flows.
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Thank you Suzanne
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