Lockdown

by Stephen Lewis

  SAZA Presents

  LOCKDOWN

  By Lee Herrmann

  Lockdown

  By Lee Herrmann

  ©2020 Tall Tales

  Cover design by Lee Herrmann

  Edited by Lee Herrmann

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, locations, and incidents are

  products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual

  events, places or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  www.saza.co.za

  info@saza.co.za

  For Cyril

  Keep poppin’ & lockin’

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  ENTRY 1

  ENTRY 2

  ENTRY 3

  ENTRY 4

  ENTRY 5

  ENTRY 6

  ENTRY 7

  ENTRY 8

  ENTRY 9

  ENTRY 10

  ENTRY 11

  ENTRY 12

  ENTRY 13

  ENTRY 14

  ENTRY 15

  ENTRY 16

  ENTRY 17

  ENTRY 18

  ENTRY 1

  It’s day one of the lockdown. The South African government says we have to stay at home for 21 days – no going out. Not even to walk the dog. I can see The Mothership losing it whenever that mutt Zizi starts gnawing on the corner of the couch. I call my mom the Mothership because she’s this larger than life presence that hovers around, sees everything, and calls all the shots in the house – but I’d never call her that to her face. The estate in which we live is taking the lockdown very seriously. Only residents are allowed to enter and leave – and even then, they ask you where you’re going and if you have permission. Hectic.

  I’ve already been home two weeks. They closed the schools when the first case of the virus hit South Africa, and I’ve been stewing at home ever since. Thank goodness for fibre internet! At least I can still face-time Nkata and play games online – but it’s starting to get boring now... never thought I would say that. We also have a decent size back garden, and I throw the ball with Zizi when The Mothership and Dad are at work. This book was actually Dad’s idea. He gave me an old notebook from the study and said:

  ‘Write down your thoughts. It’ll be more interesting than those video games.’

  Dad has always been a big reader. Old-school books, no e-readers or tablets.

  ‘I want to feel the paper when I turn a page,’ he said. Sometimes he is so weird. He likes to sit in his study and read instead of watching television – mostly medical journals, then he makes notes in his many notebooks he has piled on the shelf.

  Okay... now I’m bored with this too. Let’s see if Nkata is online and we can frag the zombies on level 42 of our game. He’s a pretty good partner when we’re on the same team, but when I’m against him; he always gets the upper hand.

  ENTRY 2

  The Mothership has to work from home now – they are not letting people go in and work from her offices. ‘Social distancing,’ they say. I’m glad she’s here, but she’s always on my case.

  ‘Lucas, did you brush your teeth?’

  ‘Lucas, did you make your bed?’

  ‘Lucas, don’t leave your cereal bowl in the sink.’

  ‘Lucas, stop playing so many video games, it’s going to rot your brain.’

  The only peace I get is when she is busy answering her emails or on a conference call. She works for a big insurance company – in the legal department, so she’s always answering emails and sending fat documents that would take a degree to understand. Yawn. That’s why I’m rather going to be a doctor, like Dad – at least his work is interesting. He came home exhausted last night after working for 26 hours straight at the hospital.

  I asked him how bad it was, and he just smiled and rubbed my head, telling me that the government has everything under control. According to the news, we have 612 cases of this new virus – it’s called GEOIT-20, but people are also calling it the Falcevirus. They say it started in Italy last year and the governments didn’t take it seriously, now its spread to the rest of the world. Dad calls it a kind of super-flu that attacks your lungs.

  Most people recover, but if you have asthma or are super-old, it can kill you. So for the last month, the government has been telling us to wash our hands like crazy and not get too close to each other.

  But now it’s escalated, and we’ve gone into a 21-day lockdown, meaning we have to stay at home and go nowhere. Only essential personnel like Dad can go to work. The rest must work from home. I don’t see what the big deal is... I still see people jogging in our estate, and I’m sure I heard someone having a party a couple of nights ago.

  After Dad ate his dinner, he looked finished.

  ‘Are you okay, Dad?’ I asked.

  ‘I’m fine. Just very tired. I have to be back at the hospital tomorrow morning at six o clock.’ ‘Why can’t you just work from home like Mom?’

  ‘It’s my job to be on the ground and help people,’ he smiled. ‘I have a responsibility to help the sick so that we can curb the spread of this virus. That’s why you have to stay home. That’s your responsibility. To stay home and stay safe, so it does not spread any further.’

  That’s just like Dad, always willing to help. Even if we walk in the estate, other residents will stop him to ask for a quick diagnosis. He never says no, and always gives advice with a smile. Dad could see the concern on my face.

  ‘Don’t worry about me. The hospital is sterile, and we’re all wearing the correct protective gear. A hospital is one of the safest places you can be!’ He pulled me in tight, and even though I am sixteen, it feels good to be hugged by your dad.

  ‘Are people dying?’ I asked once he let me go.

  ‘No, there have been no deaths yet. As long as we obey the rules of the lockdown, we can beat this thing.’

  ‘But some people aren’t listening...’

  ‘Then they are putting us all in danger! If you see someone out in the streets, you call the estate security.’

  I nodded. Dad’s eyes looked droopy, so I helped him up and we walked in silence up the stairs to his bedroom. I was sure I heard him already snoring as I closed the door.

  ENTRY 3

  I overheard today on the news that the number of infected cases has reached 1000, and we’ve had our first death in the country. Social media is going crazy and saying that we cannot contain this virus. The Mothership assured me there is no need to panic – the government is still getting all the data, so the infection figures will get worse before it gets better.

  ‘Your father and all the doctors are working very hard to fight this virus. We must be patient and do our part. Don’t worry, Lucas,’ she said and kissed me gently on the forehead.

  I decided to play some video games with Nkata to take my mind off things. We’ve known each other since primary school and have remained friends even though we go to different high schools now. His house is a few streets over, but it felt like he’s been with me the whole time. I’m grateful we’ve been able to chat and play games; otherwise I would have climbed the walls by now.

  ‘So what does the Doc say?’ he asked as we duelled on a racetrack at high speed. Nkata is the only one that gets away with calling my Dad ‘Doc.’ It’s Doctor Malope to everyone else, but somehow Dad lets it slide. I think it’s his laidback character – nothing fazes Nkata. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get angry.

  ‘He says it’s all going to be fine. We must just stay home and let this virus die out.’

  ‘Did you see the news, brah? A thousand people are infected.’

  ‘I heard,’ I replied, braking my Ferrari heavily into a corner and trying to keep up with Nkata’s Mercedes. ‘I
t’s scary.’

  ‘My dad said it was only a matter of time before the first death. He said there will be plenty more.’

  ‘I hope he’s wrong, dude.’ I was wrestling the controls as if turning my arms would straighten the car.

  ‘Me too. Oh, and you must hear what my brother is saying, brah.’

  ‘What?’ I knitted my brow waiting for the next crazy thing to come from the mind of Walter, Nkata’s older brother. He studies medicine at TUKS and always has stories about dark medicine and insane experiments. He once tried to convince us that the hospital where he worked could bring people back from the dead.

  ‘He says they might have a cure for this thing.’

  ‘If that were true it would be on the news.’

  ‘He says it’s experimental and they are not announcing it yet. Ah, no man!’ Nkata cried as my car passed him on the outside of a slow corner.

  ‘Watch out, dude, I’m in the lead!’ I laughed. ‘Do you believe your brother?’

  ‘I don’t know, brah. You know he talks a lot. He says they are going to test it on some people at the hospital where he’s working. We’ll see what happens.’

  ‘How’s your Dad?’

  ‘Still stuck in Angola, but he’s fine. Says he’s bored in his hotel but has a good internet connection so we can video chat with him.’ Nkata’s Dad works for a big international mining company and was in Angola when the lockdown happened. Now he’s stuck there and waiting for the government to allow flights back. Nkata acts all cool, but I know he misses his dad.

  After losing at the finish line to Nkata, we decided to call it quits on the gaming for the day. I suddenly felt like being alone and decided to read. I realised I had so many books that I hadn’t read.

  Mostly birthday presents from relatives that have been sitting on the shelf for years collecting dust. I pulled out a book about urban legends. I started reading about Bigfoot, UFOs, and the Lochness Monster - how people swore they had seen these myths, but no one believes them.

  The one thing I noticed about all these witnesses is that they all lacked credible evidence. Blurred photos and sketchy drawings aren’t going to cut it in this day and age.

  I eventually fell asleep and dreamt everything was normal, and that I was back at school with my friends. It felt so real, like this whole virus and lockdown had never happened. Maybe soon it will be.

  ENTRY 4

  The days are starting to melt together. I don’t even know what day of the week it is. Nkata told me that Walter tested positive for GEOIT-20. He’s self-isolating himself in his room and sleeps most of the day. Nkata’s mom just goes in once a day wearing a face mask and brings him food. Apparently, he needs fourteen days for the virus to work through his system. As long as he rests and takes painkillers, he should be fine.

  But it sucks non-the-less, but Nkata doesn’t seem too worried.

  ‘He knew what he was getting himself into,’ Nkata said. ‘The guy wanted to be a doctor, brah. Those are the risks. He’ll be fine.’

  The Mothership had to go into work today. Some sort of emergency meeting, because the shareholders of her firm are panicking. It was a real struggle for her to get a permit to travel to Johannesburg – she had to apply at the police station, but they eventually gave her one.

  While she’s away she left me a list of chores to do. First on the list is watering the plants in the front garden. This is the first time I’ve been out of the front door since the lockdown. It's deadly quiet like everyone is away on holiday.

  I started to unroll the hosepipe and switched on the tap. I began with the roses at the front, adjusting my thumb over the pipe, sprinkling water onto the dry beds. I was lost in thought about Walter being ill, that I never saw her at first.

  She was on the road heading towards my house, wearing grey leggings and a white vest that had a school crest on the left breast. I recognised it as the private school Nkata goes to. Her blonde ponytail swished rhythmically as her expensive sneakers patted the tarmac. There was no one else around as she steadily approached where I was standing, the water still spraying onto the white roses.

  What was she doing outside? Obviously she was jogging, but there was a lockdown – didn’t she know? She got closer but didn’t acknowledge me standing there.

  I thought about what Dad said. Should I call security? I didn’t want to be a tattle-tale, but rules were rules and she could be putting others in danger by being outside her house.

  As she passed, I looked down so as not to make eye contact, but before I knew it, I blurted out: ‘You shouldn’t be running!’

  She took a few more strides before stopping and turning.

  ‘What?’

  ‘You shouldn’t be running.’ I repeated. ‘In the streets. You need to stay in your house.’ ‘You’re not in your house,’ she replied, looking at the hosepipe which had now become a flow of water pouring onto the grass. I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn’t think of an answer straight away.

  ‘I’m... I’m on my property... You’re not allowed to be on the streets during lockdown. The estate rules said...’

  ‘I know what the rules say, Boy Scout.’ She smiled and crossed her arms.

  ‘Then why are you out?’ I took a step forward to show her I wasn’t afraid. She couldn’t have been more than a year older than me.

  She raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m training. I’ve got SA Champs at the end of the year and I’m not going to let this lockdown ruin my chances of a scholarship.’

  ‘Run on a treadmill.’ I thought I sounded clever.

  ‘It’s not the same. You obviously don’t know anything about athletics. Training is important.’

  ‘So is staying healthy and alive.’

  She smiled again, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. ‘There’s no one around.’ She raised her arms and moved them left and right. ‘So no one is going to infect me, and it’s obvious I’m not sick.’

  ‘It doesn’t work like that...’

  I was about to explain what Dad told me – that the virus could sit dormant in you for up to 14 days before you showed any symptoms – before she cut me off again.

  ‘Go back to watering your roses, Boy Scout and mind your own business.’ She turned and started running again.

  I could feel my grip tightening around the hosepipe in anger. Who did this chick think she was?

  ‘I’m going to call security!’ I called after her.

  ‘Call them!’ she replied and turned back and smiled. ‘I bet I can outrun them.’

  I watched her disappear down the road, her swishing ponytail mocking me.

  ***

  Later that evening, I was playing games with Nkata again – a mindless shoot ‘em up game where I controlled a guy in army gear. I was actually quite terrible at it.

  ‘How’s Walt?’ I asked.

  ‘He’s okay. He just sleeps. Ma said he was looking a bit better today... less pale. He took some meds he brought home from the hospital. At least there is peanut butter left. He eats the stuff straight out of the jar with a spoon... the savage.’

  I snickered when suddenly my video game soldier slumped to the ground in a haze of red mist.

  ‘Headshot.’ Nkata’s voice was calm in my headphones.

  ‘What?! How? Where are you?’

  This was the third time this evening he’s taken me out.

  ‘Skyscraper behind you. Sniper rifle. You got to watch your 6, brah.’

  I sighed and tried not to show my annoyance.

  ‘Okay, again.’

  We reloaded the game. I could never understand how he always got the drop on me. Nkata is one of the laziest guys I know. Hates sports. Sleeps all the time. Never exercises, yet he stays skinny. And when it comes to shoot ‘em up games, the guy moves his character like an Olympic athlete! I know video games are not the same as real life, but still!

  ‘Which do you want to play? City or jungle?’ he asked.

  I could hear him loading up on ammunition.

  ‘Let’s p
lay jungle. At least I can hide and make you run around a bit.’

  ‘Let’s do it.’

  ‘Speaking of running. I saw this girl running around the estate today. When I told her she shouldn’t, she gave me serious attitude.’

  ‘Was she hot?’

  ‘Dude! That’s not the point. We’re in lockdown and this chick just runs around like she owns the place.’ I furiously pushed buttons to get my character to duck and jump over branches.

  ‘But was she hot?’

  I sighed. ‘She was okay. She wore a vest from your school and said she was part of the athletic team.’

  ‘Blonde hair in a ponytail?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Sounds like Stephanie Nixon.’

  ‘You know her?’

  ‘Yeah. She’s a grade above me. Super over-achiever and a real attitude to go with it,’ he replied. ‘She also lives in the estate - over on the north. I used to be in a lift club with her a couple of years ago. She’s the type that likes to tell the driver how to drive.’

  ‘That sounds like the girl I met earlier. A total...’

  I didn’t get to finish. I heard Nkata whisper to himself. ‘There you are.’

  A shot whistled past my character’s head, hitting branches and leaves.

  ‘Damnit! Where are you?’ I swung my character around seeing nothing but a blur of brown and green.

  My heart was pounding, even if it was only a video game. I turned and ran, but then it was the red mist again and my soldier was down.

  ‘Gotta watch your 6, brah.’

  ENTRY 5

  The Mothership had to go into work again – this is the third day in a row. And Dad is working another marathon shift at the hospital. He told me last night, even though the infections are rising; more people are recovering from GEOIT-20, so that’s a good thing at least. When I woke up there was another list of chores on the kitchen counter.

  Top of the list was mowing the lawn.

  What the hell? I’ve never used the lawnmower in my life. Obviously, The Mothership knows me too well, because next to it she wrote: You’ll figure it out xxx.