No one realized, until it was far too late of course, how quickly and virulently this thing would spread. The number of deaths kept rising, almost hourly, to the point where no one bothered removing them from their homes: the condos and apartments and houses were simply sealed up. Some buildings, including his own, became little more than glass and steel tombs. Grocery stores had long been closed; now, the government left boxes of food outside his door, taken from some national repository no one knew existed. So imagine the elation when the government announced that, finally, a Cure had been found. Not a vaccine, but an actual Cure, one that would, with luck, finally rid everyone of this blight. No one knew how many had actually survived: maybe five percent at most. The Cure was a complicated process, but the reward at the end was worth it. First, however, the lockdown was lifted for a day, and everyone was allowed into the sun and the streets. He hugged his friends with tearful joy. Families were, as much as possible, reunited. The streets, still empty of traffic, became a city-wide festival, the happiness of it all overshadowing how much damage had been done. As the sun began to fall, everyone was told to return to their homes for a final two-week lockdown, and then the Cure would be put in motion. He went home and waited. A week later, there was another announcement: as reward, the government was offering everyone a holiday trip to a series of lakeside villages. It wasnt mandatory, of course, but the government hoped everyone would avail this offer. He certainly wanted to, anything for a change of scenery. The online brochure showed a quaint, slightly run down but charming little resort town, and everyone remarked on how fun this looked. Most said yes to the offer. Details, the government told all, would be forthcoming. The day of the Cure was happy chaos. Take only what you need, the instructions said. If you had personal items you'd like to see, boxes would be provided for their packing. If you have pets, put them in carriers and they will be delivered to you: no pet would be left behind. Leave your computers and mobile devices home, the instructions continued: this was going to be an opportunity to reconnect with real people in real time. He liked this idea a lot. It made eminent sense: he was tired of "virtual relationships", and the opportunity to make new friends in person was gleefully embraced. On a block by block basis, everyone was led down to the street, where gleaming buses awaited. They smelled of disinfectant and rosewood, and prior to boarding, everyone was given a shot: part of the Cure process, they were told. As he left his apartment, he saw teams in red surgical scrubs rushing to gather up pet carriers and boxes of personal items. It all looked very professional, and he was glad. He noticed a pile of laptops and phones and tablets taken from people who tried to smuggle them in, and he grinned a bit: talking about missing the concept, he told himself. As the bus pulled away, he felt happy for the first time in months, and before long, the ride had put everyone aboard to sleep. They woke to their destination. He was assigned a cabin near the water, and he walked in to find his dog still in her carrier, looking a bit dazed but still happy to see her owner. His boxes were neatly piled in the living room, and he happily put everything away, then made some dinner and contentedly slept to the sound of the waves outside. The next morning he found a folder on his kitchen table, telling him that because the village needed compensation for all this, he was asked to work as a clerk in a small florist shoppe: not a demanding job, and he was happy to agree. Life was, as he had hoped, pretty much perfect. Meanwhile, back in the city, everyone had been removed as much as possible. Some people opted to stay, of course, and the government nodded and said this was fine. Then, block by block, street by street, the explosions started; within minutes, the great city, like all the others across the country, was reduced to rubble. And the Cure was considered 100% effective.