Family Secret by Adrian Vladimir | Part 1 | Read It For Free Today

In a world ravaged by a deadly supervirus, survival relies upon one thing: isolation. For the Walsh family, quarantine isn't just a precaution – it's a way of life. Trapped within the confines of their home, they grapple with the mental toll of isolation while navigating the ever-present threat of infection lurking beyond their walls.

But as the weeks blur into months, temptation beckons. Forbidden freedoms whisper promises of normalcy as the strain on their family grows heavier. Amidst the chaos, a secret lurks within the heart of the Walsh family – a secret that could unravel everything they hold dear. Will they succumb to the irresistible call of freedom and discover what awaits beyond their quarantine walls? Can they survive?

In Family Secret, a gripping science fiction short story, author Adrian Vladimir delves into what we'll go through to protect our loved ones.

---

FAMILY SECRET

Copyright 2024 by Adrian Vladimir

This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system of any kind, without prior written permission of the author.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I'd like to thank my wife, Jordana, who never complains no matter how many times she has to go over a manuscript with her savage red pen.

---

ONE​

“No one will ever know,” John said quietly.

“What about the neighbors?” Janice glanced into the dining room, where the kids were busy coloring at the table.

“What about the neighbors? There’s no one around to catch us.” John waved a hand dismissively. He stepped closer to his wife, within arm’s reach, and whispered, “We’ll move fast. The cops aren’t going to come even if someone does see us.”

“That’s not very comforting.”

“They’re busy with the roadblocks and the riots. It’s all happening miles away anyway, in downtown. This is magical suburbia, remember? It’s why we moved here.”

Dark circles rimmed her eyes, and she looked haggard; John knew his face wasn’t any better, unshaven and far too pale from a prolonged lack of sunlight. Janice looked away, bit nervously on her lower lip in thought, and peered out the kitchen window. John followed his wife’s gaze across the tiny backyard to the forest behind their house.

All that space, he thought, and just like that, the angst began squirming in his guts again, and his heart began to pound. He’d managed to keep these spells from Janice, but she’d eventually notice how his face sometimes went slack, and his eyes peered inward.

It’s the friction–everything chafing together. Even the air is thick, John thought. The walls were tighter, the house smaller. Sometimes it was hard to breathe. But out there … The forest …

Temptation.

How could he articulate how he’d seen Janice looking through a rain-soaked window while he was in the backyard last week, the side of her face aglow with the rosy, pink light cast from the growing lights they’d hung over a table to grow fresh herbs? They needed something with flavor to add to their rations, something healthy, something green.

The look on her face had been blank, and her stare was empty. Lips slightly parted. Slack expression. She didn’t seem to register his presence even though he was standing right there, and it spooked him deep down in his core like shadows sliding through the fog. He felt powerless, hunted. What was she seeing that John couldn’t comprehend?

Nothing good.

John looked back at the kids through the kitchen doorway. They were young enough to roll with the new normal but old enough to know it was anything but ordinary, and that little reality was just too damn heartbreaking. Innocence stripped away.

The kids were chattering to each other, and right then, they seemed enthusiastic. When was the last time he’d felt enthusiastic about anything?

“What color does green taste like?” their five-year-old, Billy, asked his older sister.

“Colors don’t have a taste, Silly Billy.” Becca giggled.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.”

“How could you forget what green tastes like anyway? I’ll bet it’s like Brussels Sprouts.”

“Ew!”

Both kids laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

“At least they’re doing better than we are,” Janice said quietly.

“Kids are malleable,” he said. But they’re crumbling at the edges, too.

There were signs: anxiety, skittishness, nightmares, not to mention being too pale and skinny from so little sunlight and too little food.

“What day is it?” Janice asked.

“Day twelve. Eighteen more to go,” he said sourly.

Translation: eighteen more days until they were allowed to leave their house to collect their monthly allotment of rations. Expired food, boxed and canned–nothing fresh. Crumbly old soap. A few cups of fuel, just enough to get to and from the distribution center–mileage was strictly calculated to maximize resources. Random supplies like duct tape and tarps, coloring books, and whatever else the people packing the boxes in some faraway place happened to have available. If they were lucky, batteries. Masks. Always masks. Never a shortage of those. Once, they’d gotten a spool of wire and a single sock.

What the hell am I supposed to do with this stuff? John had thought at the time, but eventually, he’d found a use for them. He’d learned that you could find a use for anything when you had nothing better to do.

“It always feels like such a long time,” Janice said.

“You get what you get, and you don’t get upset,” John sang in mock happiness.

“Oh, God. Please don’t.”

The kids sang that tune whenever the eighteenth day of the month came around, and the family was permitted to pack into their car and drive the two miles to the shopping plaza.

The plaza had been converted into a military-style facility: food and supply warehouses, barracks, holding pens for the sick, medical tents, and a helicopter landing pad across the street at the high school soccer field. Barb-wired and guarded by an assortment of soldiers, police, and local militia types. Everyone wearing masks and rubber gloves. It was quite an operation for a sleepy little suburb.

Whenever they returned home from one of these excursions, the family gathered around the dining room table and took turns removing items one by one with a dramatic flourish, giving the items silly names. It helped guard against disappointment. Anything to stay sane, to reduce the friction of souls sandpapering together in too small a space.

The cartoon family printed on the sides of the boxes spewed advice from fluffy white speech bubbles.

Little Adam is counting his calories. Can you count your calories, too, kids?

Cartoon Mom asked, peering happily out from the side of the box.

Skipping meals is good for the waistline, and fasting can improve your immune

system, Cartoon Dad declared, holding up an authoritative finger.

Do your part. Eat light and smart! Cartoon Cindy, the older sister, said.

Rationing carbohydrates, proteins, and vegetables is a great way to learn

math. Let’s ration together!

Don’t be an oinker. No one likes a piggy. Ha, ha, ha! Little Cartoon Adam laughed.

Those damn cartoons drove John crazy.

“Sweethearts?” Janice called, walking to the doorway of the dining room. “How would you like to go outside for a while?”

They looked up in unison, smiles shining through the surprise on their faces.

“Can we really, Mom?” Becca asked.

“Outside?” Billy said.

“What about other people?” Becca’s face clouded over.

“Mom and Dad are working on a plan. A safe one. Aren’t we, John?”

“Yes … Yes, we are.”

The kids dropped their crayons, scrambled down from their chairs, and threw themselves around Janice’s legs, making her stagger and laugh. It was a real laugh, not forced, the first in a long time.

“You’re the best mommy ever!” Becca said.

“Your father gets some credit, too.”

“How about we have a picnic?” John said.

It was decided. They were breaking quarantine.

---

Read part two or subscribe today to continue reading Family Secret!

Why Subscribe?

Get Stories & Other Cool Stuff

SUBSCRIBE - IT'S FREE!

💌 My Monthly Newsletter Delivered to Your Inbox

on the 3rd Tuesday of Each Month. 📚 Be the FIRST to Access New Titles Before They Hit the Shelves! Non-Members Have to Wait Until Official Release Dates! 💲 Access Top-Secret Sales & Pre-Sale Discounts – Exclusively for Members! 📖 Dive into Sneak Peek Chapters! 💥 And the Best Part? Membership is FREE! ​ Well, I hope that's not the best part. 😉

SUBSCRIBE - IT'S FREE!