Luke's Diary: An Unlucky Man In A Zombie Apocalypse. Entries 757 to 956

Entry 867: Sunday 10th February 2019

Entry 867
Sunday 10th February 2019

I went to See Auntie Meryl in Newport today.

I got the bus to Newport which dropped me off at the entrance to the quarantined area of the town; the start of a main road where some sort of gated roadblock had been erected by GRID. Armed GRID soldiers were on guard and there was a barrier that stopped vehicles and people from just wandering in. I walked up to the barrier and the armed GRID soldier, who had a face like a slapped arse, he gripped his machine gun and took a step close to me. "State your business," he bluntly said. "I'm here to visit my Auntie Meryl, she got brought here last week." The moody soldier walked a few feet over to some sort of guard post and spoke to another GRID soldier. The second GRID soldier, a slightly cheerier one approached me and said he'd take me to see Auntie Meryl. We walked down the main road, past the abandoned buildings and boarded up shops and turned into a street full of terraced houses. In the front gardens people were hanging out washing, feeding birds and watering flowers. It was like the outbreak had never happened. There was actually quite a nice community feeling about the whole place. The soldier pointed to one of the terraced houses. "That's where your Auntie lives," he said, "She's certainly a character isn't she?" "If that's where she lives, why are we walking past?" I asked. "All visits need to take place in large buildings with open spaces," said the soldier, "We need to keep an eye on things. It's for everyone's safety." We walked down another road, past an old working men's club and a little park where some kids were playing on some swings. "Why are kids here?" I asked, "Surely they're not classed as vulnerable?"  "Well some of them are being looked after by their grandparents who are elderly," said the soldier, "Some of them do have underlying health conditions, and some of them are here because their parents have underlying health conditions. There are a small number of cases where adults with underlying health conditions have been allowed to move here with their children who do not have underlying health conditions." "Well doesn't that defeat the point of this place?" I said, "I thought everyone who was elderly or who had underlying health conditions, was brought here to be kept away from those who don't have any underlying health conditions. It was to make sure that healthy people were kept safe from the virus. If you're mixing lots of healthy people with vulnerable people then..." "Look," said the soldier, interrupting me, "Most people are elderly, vulnerable or with underlying health conditions, but we don't want people split up from their loved ones. I know a 35-year-old man with a bad heart condition. He's the only one that can look after his nine-year-old daughter. Are you saying we should leave his healthy daughter on her own in the general population whilst her father stays here?" "Well I suppose not," I said, "But if he dies, he could infect her and kill her." "We have strict measures in place to make sure that doesn't happen," said the soldier. Anyone here who is not on the vulnerable list is never left alone with someone who is vulnerable; that means they are never left alone with someone elderly or with an underlying health condition. Whenever someone who is on the vulnerable list is with someone who is not on the vulnerable list, armed GRID soldiers are always present. We are there, ready, just in case the worst happens." "What about at night?" I asked. "The vulnerable are never allowed to be left alone with those who aren't classed as vulnerable," said the soldier, "Never. A father with an underlying health condition cannot be left alone with his child who is not vulnerable. They see each other only when there is an armed GRID guard present. At night the vulnerable sleep in a different building to those who are not vulnerable. Vulnerable and non-vulnerable never mix unless there is an armed GRID presence." "So, someone with an underlying health condition will never be alone with their child ever again, for the rest of their life?" I said, "That sounds a bit harsh." "What do you want us to do?" the soldier snapped, "One minute you're criticising us for allowing a small amount of non-vulnerable to mix with the vulnerable and then you criticise us for taking precautions to ensure everyone's safety. We can't win." "I'm just saying it's not ideal," I said. "Of course, it's not ideal," said the soldier, "The entire situation we all find ourselves in isn't ideal, but we have to do something." "I just think you'll end up getting a lot of people here who are resistant to what's being suggested," I said. "We have," said the soldier, "But we've dealt with that. We dealt with it when it all kicked off last week. All we're trying to do is keep people safe." I could kind of understand what the soldier was telling me, and whilst I understood the need for people to be kept safe it was hard to accept that I would never be able to spend any time with Auntie Meryl without the presence of an armed GRID soldier.