Dreaming in Digital

We went back to their apartment with the goods we found, the interior looking very much like my home in 9L. There was one more bedroom, as the boys each had their own room to sleep in. The drywall was shattered in some places, and the rooms and hallways were cluttered - the walls stacked with various items I couldn't make out. On certain hours, the floor would flood and our feet would be underwater.

The next day, the eldest son, who reminded me of Dick Grayson, came back ill - he possibly caught it while at work, working a exhausting labour job. The middle son, who shared a room with him, had to sleep with their younger brother, and the girl slept with their parents. I watched their mother weep as if her son was absolutely going to die (the virus has a 10% survivability chance). She couldn't touch him, or go near him, so she cried outside his bedroom. Her second eldest and daughter pried her from the floor when she was out of tears and we laid her down in the living room to recover.

When their mother was fast asleep, the four of us went out to scavenge again. This time, we searched at ground level, in Brookfield Place, with its tall, iconic indoor arches that reached to the sky. We spotted a group of uniformed men inspecting housing (that had been converted from a lavished restaurant) for stolen and scavenged goods to tax, to keep or confiscate them. The girl looked very worried. I watched the men violently pull people out of their doors, many of them screaming and crying as basic appliances and goods were taken from them.

"We've amassed so many goods. My parents don't have very much left," the girl thought out loud. "We need a reason for them not to come back ever again. Something like... Oh!"

We raced back home as quickly as we could to find another group of uniformed men a couple of doors away. Quickly, we gathered all the things they scavenged and threw it into the rooms the two boys slept in. Her youngest brother ran into Dick's room, grabbing a couple of his contaminated things, like bandages and clothing. 

Accompanied by their parents, the men were led into Dick's room. As soon as they were all inside, their parents were dragged out by their daughter and middle son, and the youngest threw the bandages and clothing inside. We locked the door sealed. We heard the men inside gasp and scream in frantic terror, while their parents began coughing in discomfort.