Trapped

It ended on March 11th, 2020. The life I once knew. The evening sun painted the world around me in a smoky orange hue as I strolled over to the local bowling alley with a spring in my step. Even the mask I was wearing couldn’t hide my excitement, as I couldn’t wait to meet four of my closest high school friends for the first time in six months! Within seconds of walking inside the building, I was bombarded with jubilant cries from my friends Olivia, Violet, Ian, and Dylan. “Corey is finally here!” I grinned in response. “Hope I didn’t keep you guys waiting too long.” We quickly got a lane and sat down, and I smiled at the refreshing sight of our group back together once again. A peaceful lull gradually enveloped us as we chatted and bowled, scoring spare after spare, or in Ian’s case, gutter after gutter. “How is it fair that you guys get 10s and 9s… while I can’t even hit the pins?” Ian muttered in exasperation to himself before pulling out his phone, determined to discover the secret to bowling. It was Dylan’s turn to bowl, but just as he got up, Ian’s face suddenly grew pale. “Guys… you have to check this out.” He tilted his phone in our direction and the alert on it made my blood freeze. No… No way. How did they get in? Violet read it in a hushed whisper. “The Unmasked are here…? Are you sure this isn’t a joke?” Her voice trembled as she spoke. As if in response, a loud reverb echoed throughout the area as a metal grate was lowered in front of the only door to the building. All the TVs hung above the lanes suddenly showed static as the manager on duty walked forward and gathered our attention. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “We have a problem. We have determined that the safest course of action is to barricade the building and stay inside until it is safe. Nothing can come in, and no one can go out.” A voice pitched back to him. “You can’t do that! If I want to leave, I should be able to! What’s the problem anyway?” A couple of other voices could be heard agreeing with the statement and the manager let out a heavy sigh before quelling the dissenters with a few potent words. “The Unmasked have infiltrated our city.” There was a brief silence before the entire room erupted into panicked whispers, but some groups like ours remained silent, still in shock from the sudden announcement. The manager continued to speak. “In the meantime, all food items are available for free. Thank you for your patience.” Hours seemed to pass as the five of us huddled up, reminiscing about the good times while devouring stale pizza and uncarbonated soda. All of a sudden, Olivia’s eyes grew watery. “How do you think our families are doing?” None of us had the heart to answer that question truthfully. Even though we had each repeatedly tried to contact them, no one had responded. The Unmasked were unrelenting in their mad drive to spread their infection before they perished, but it was rare for them to be able to overwhelm the army and enter the city. Their greatest weapon was their breath, and if they could come close enough, it was game over. A single breath could infect someone, either causing instant death or an even worse fate: becoming an Unmasked. Yet typically the army was able to fend them off, so what had changed? As I was about to reassure Olivia despite my despair, a sudden piercing scream shook the air. “AN UNMASKED!” The five of us leapt to our feet, and as soon as I saw the cause of the scream my complexion went pallid. The Unmasked traditionally traveled in packs of around seven, but entering the bowling alley was a horde of at least twenty, if not more. “HOW DID THEY GET IN?” Dylan screamed, launching a bowling ball towards an Unmasked approaching us. Ian pointed a shaking finger at the roof of the building, where a panel was loose. “The vents… they entered through the vents!” As if to prove his point, another Unmasked fell from the vent. We were already sprinting to the grate covering the door, hoping we would be able to escape through there, but what we saw beyond the door was terrifying. An entire legion of the Unmasked stood outside patiently, as if predicting what we would do, and suddenly I knew how the army was overwhelmed. Were they always this intelligent… and when did so many appear at once? As we turned around and saw the chaos inside, I knew it. We were trapped, and there was nothing else we could do. This was it. As the Unmasked approached us steadily with a carnal rage in their eyes, I threw a final grin at my friends, a useless gesture considering we were all wearing masks. A breath… and then darkness…. …My eyes slowly opened, and a spark of insanity could be seen igniting within them. I stood up and glanced at my pack. My pack of four. “Hope I didn’t keep you guys waiting too long,” I say with a smile, and I see them smile back. Olivia, Violet, Ian, and Dylan all followed me as I walked under the blazing sun, and, around us, thousands of the Unmasked swarmed like ants. It started on March 11th, 2020. My new life as an Unmasked.

22 Fall 2020

Story by Ronak Kanodia Design by Erin McLoughlin Illustration by Cambell Lackey