Malik tossed and turned in bed. He peeled the comforter off his body, hoping that would cool him down enough to stop sweating. Why is it so hot? He covered his face with the pillow, shielding his eyes from the sun. The sun. “The sun!” Malik said as he sat up in his bed. Malik couldn’t remember the last time he slept past sunrise. He looked at his phone. 8:03. The first patients should be arriving for virus screening in thirty minutes. He sent a text to let the office know he was running late, then he jumped out of bed, splashed water on his face, brushed his teeth, and hurriedly dressed.
Malik ran downstairs, but something was different. The house was quiet, which wasn’t so much of a surprise. Mom and Dad probably had an early start. He went to grab a cup of coffee, but the pot was empty. The coffee maker was not only empty, but Malik could see streaks of dried coffee at the bottom of the glass. Coffee gets brewed daily in their household. Malik grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and a couple of granola bars, threw them in his bag, and headed for the front door. He grabbed his mask and started to lock the door behind him when he remembered that it was Wednesday. He ran back inside the house and downstairs to the basement. He opened the freezer. Only ten left. “This will have to do,” he said as he put the atomizers inside a cooler and placed several ice packs on top.
Once on the road, traffic was much lighter than usual. It had been a while since he had been driving in the morning rush-hour traffic, but this felt light. It was a sunny autumn day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. With no traffic around, Malik got to appreciate the yellow, orange, and red leaves that painted Olmsted Linear and Shady Side Parks. Malik arrived at the doctor’s office within ten minutes. He checked his watch. “Eight thirty-eight, nailed it.” The parking lot was empty, and the doctor’s office looked closed.
Malik got out of his car, walked to the window, and tried to peek inside, cupping his eyes to block the reflection from the sun. The inside of the office was empty. Malik backed up and noticed the For Sale sign out front. “What the…” he said to himself, but the sudden drop in temperature made him shiver. He looked up to see the clouds confidently roll in and push out the sun. Malik walked back toward his car, still staring at the doctor’s office, looking for some sign of what had happened. Why didn’t he recognize anything? Where’s the name of the practice? Why is the color of the building different? Where are the dogwoods? His train of thought crashed when he felt a firm hand grip the back of his arm. He turned to see who it was but then felt someone else grab his other arm. Before he knew it, everything faded to black.
The next thing he knew, the sound of trickling water made him open his eyes. He was sitting on a stone bench, looking at a small pond with koi fish. He tried to move his arms, but they wouldn’t budge. He looked down and saw he was trapped in a straitjacket. Malik thrust his shoulders and arms as hard as he could from left to right, back and forth, up and down, until he conceded that whatever movie he saw when a character escaped from this jacket was a lie. Malik shouted, “Help, help!” until a nurse came.
“How’s it going today?” the nurse asked. He seemed like a kind, older man.
“I’m not supposed to be here,” Malik said.
“Oh, I know, Malik. But hey, once we get you all better, you’ll be free to leave.”
“I am all better,” Malik said. “Nothing’s wrong with me. I’m not supposed to be here.”
“I know, I know,” the nurse said. “Hey, there’s some good news. A friend is here to see you.”
Malik then saw Ronnie in the doorway. “Ronnie! Please tell this man that there’s some mistake and that I’m not supposed to be here.”
Ronnie patted the nurse on the back. “It’s cool, George. I’ve got it from here.”
George, Malik thought, noticing the familiarity between them. “Ronnie, you’ve got to help me. Can you get ahold of my parents? There’s been a mix-up. I shouldn’t be here.”
“What are you talking about?” Ronnie asked.
“I was heading to work at…” Malik said, but Ronnie cut him off.
“At the doctor’s office.”
“That’s right,” Malik said, growing excited. “See, you remember. You’ve got to tell them.”
“Bro,” Ronnie said, “you’ve got to calm down and let them help you.”
“Wh—what do you mean?” Malik said with a nervous laugh. “Is this a joke? Are you playing a joke on me?” Malik laughed again before looking around the room. “Where is everyone? Where’s Dr. Patel? Christine? Who else was in on this? Did…”
“This isn’t a joke.” Ronnie’s voice was quiet, and his face stoic. “It’s hard to keep seeing you like this.”
Malik felt something sink deep into his stomach as his smile fell away. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah, Malik, I am.”
Malik felt a tear fall out of the corner of his eye. “What happened?”
“After Callie got sick, you lost it. You kept saying all these crazy things. You quit your internship and dropped out of school. Your parents didn’t know what to do, so they put you in here.”
“What crazy things?” Malik asked.
“The same crazy things that you were starting to say now: That you work in some doctor’s office. That you’re working on some supersecret project, and you swear it will cure the virus.”
“But…” Malik said. “That, that was all real. That all happened. That’s all happening.”
“Is it?” Ronnie asked. “Then who…”
“Who what?” Malik asked.
“Whooo?” Ronnie said again. This time he drew the word out longer.
Malik leaned back and closed his eyes. “This, this isn’t real.”
Hooooot. Malik opened his eyes and saw a large owl perched on a branch outside his window. It was dark, but the light from the moon was just enough for Malik to make eye contact with the owl before it flew off. Malik looked at his phone. 4:44.