C-Shapes

by Matthew Fish

  C-Shapes

  Matthew Fish

  Eight years after a mysterious virus caused half of the population of the world to go mentally unstable, a man named Ethan chase signs up to become a “Sitter” or caretaker for two unstables. One of them, a “Mirror,” is a a girl who constantly believes that she is either leaving for Paris, or has just recently returned. She often mimics the words and actions of those around her. The other, a highly functioning “Amnesiac,” is a man named Noah who walks a fine line between lucidity and complete incoherence. As Ethan forges an unlikely friendship with his two cases, something that is looked down upon—he is swept up in events that cause him to rethink what normal means.

  Matthew Fish

  C-SHAPES

  * * *

  “Are you alright?” I ask as I cautiously enter the room of the old farmhouse. The floor creaks beneath each slow step I take. I see her there—the sun glowing against her shoulder length bleached blonde hair and her hazel eyes are illuminated like glowing gems. She is sitting motionless. Her eyes are fixed to the view of the window. She does not reply. She does not even acknowledge my presence.

  There is a gun in her hand. The faint smell of smoke hangs in the air. Spent bullet casings line the hardwood floor around her. As I slowly enter the room, I spot a trail of blood that leads to a large, heavy set man. He is shirtless, wearing a pair of overalls. A large red axe with a wooden handle rests against the floor beside him. What remains of his head is a sight that I will never forget as very little of it is there, save for a mess of blood and scattered brain matter.

  As I stand there, I reflect for a moment on how I got here. I do not know if I am still alive by luck, or because I have some purpose in the future… although, I highly doubt the latter. My name is Ethan Chase, and there is nothing remarkable about me. I do not have all the answers about what has happened. I will probably leave you with more questions than answers…. Regardless, this is the story of what I know I am—a survivor.

  Part I: Enlightenment

  1. Regarding V-Day

  The date is September 29 2025; it has been a little over 8 years since a virus quickly swept across the world and rendered about half of the world’s population mentally ‘Unstable.’ No one knows where the virus originated. There are a lot of theories and government conspiracy ideas; however, most people are too busy dealing with the aftermath of the situation to spend time on its origin. Right now, the countries are more concerned with keeping it under control as best they can. Some countries were hit harder than we were… I remember the final reports, China’s 1.6 billion people had the largest ratio of loss with nearly sixty-five percent of its population rendered Unstable.

  A little under two years after the virus hit, with the help of the government, a pharmaceutical research and treatment facility emerged in Virginia called C-Shapes. I know very little about them, other than the fact they are my employer and they employ a lot of people from all over the world… they have managed to mine the best and brightest of the survivors from every country as they are all desperately dependent on C-Shapes sole product. With the United States population of able and stable citizens cut down from four-hundred million down to a little over two-hundred million, there is no lack of employment. I worked for a few years doing menial jobs that needed to be done. I spent some time manning different gas stations; a long time stocking a grocery store… it took a rather long time for me to get into the C-Shapes program. I suppose, unless you are some kind of scientist, researcher, chemist, therapist, or someone of higher education, it probably amounts to a large number of waiting years for processing. However, the pay difference is well worth the wait.

  There are a few different jobs available for those of us who do not really possess a specific talent, a few less for someone who barely graduated high school… myself specifically. Most of the people that were rendered Unstable were sent to C-Shapes offices to be evaluated, from there they go to Caseworkers, and then they are placed under the care of Sitters (A name I’m not particularly fond of.) There is also another section of C-Shapes called Hunters. They are basically government-sanctioned killers. Anyone with a gun and love for shooting things can usually apply—it’s a necessary evil for times when an Unstable goes Aggro. I have never been fond of shooting animals, and could not imagine the thought of shooting a human (although we’ve been trained to not think of them as human anymore). It is just not in my nature. So, naturally, I became a Sitter.

  A Sitter’s job is not overly complicated. Even still, I had my reservations. You basically make sure your Unstable takes their dosage of C-Alysium, or Calm as it’s been affectionately nicknamed, and make sure that they are doing the basic functions necessary for living, keeping them company, helping with shopping, making sure they don’t go Aggro… I keep mentioning Aggro—it is probably a good time for an explanation. When the virus hit, to those susceptible, it affected people in different ways. At the low end there are the Catatonics, who just spend most of the day staring off at nothing at all or sleeping. They require the most work as they will often let themselves starve. Then there are the rare Mirrors, named for their behavior of sometimes mimicking the actions and words of people around them. Mirrors are often very capable and self sufficient, left to their own devices they will cook, dress themselves, do everything a normal person can do—they just sometimes do not act normal, they are most prone to anxiety attacks and often do not know where they are. Most, but not all, also often have severe memory issues. The next group they call the Amnesiacs—which are pretty high functioning, intelligent people who are lucid one moment but, completely incoherent the next. They can still work, usually under the supervision of someone familiar with dealing with Unstable. However, they sometimes forget to do important things and generally have a permanent memory loss of who they were before the virus hit. In what is considered the middle ground there are the Manics, they experience extreme mood swings and some lack inhibitions which leads to destructive behavior. They also share the same permanent memory loss as the Amnesiacs, and many do not function well with any type of interaction. On the high end, or what some consider the violent end, there are the Psychopaths. They were left in a constant state of anger and destruction, most of them cannot function under any kind of self sustaining condition and almost all of these Unstables are housed in mental care facilities. Finally, there is the last phase, what they’ve called the Aggro. These people are considered beyond hope. I’ve seen the first test footage they show during training…

  There is a male, about 5’11, wearing a blue hospital gown slumped over in a wheelchair. He is clearly a Catatonic as he is staring blankly for hours at the ceiling, as the footage plays in fast forward. As the footage slows down, two men in white lab coats approach the Catatonic just as he snaps out of his state. He gets out of his wheelchair to the amazement of the men in the lab coats—however, a strange change happens. His face becomes flushed in crimson red like that of someone who has been drinking heavily. His muscles contract strangely and bulge, his face contorts oddly as though he can no longer control himself. He picks up the man closest to him and holds him by his neck into the air, his feel dangle off of the ground, as his companion attempts to subdue him with a stun gun. The stun gun has no effect and the Catatonic turned Aggro begins to violently eat away at the doctor’s face, all the while tearing away pieces of his flesh with his bare hands. It is a hauntingly terrible vision that still troubles me to this day. Armed guards enter the room moments later and it takes nearly eight gunshots to bring the Aggro down.

  This footage is meant to scare you. Anyone who has been affected by the virus has the possibility to jump from any spectrum to Aggro at any moment. When I was in training, it was said that within the next ten years or so, even with the medication, all Unstables are
eventually going to go Aggro at some point—unless a new cure can be manufactured. The C-Alysium slows down the rate at which an Unstable would go Aggro and breaks the chain of sending other nearby Unstables into an Aggro state (a domino effect that can cause entire groups of Unstables to go Aggro all at once), but even its effects are in no way a guarantee of safety. It at least buys the government and the C-Shapes organization some time by theoretically having to deal with only one Aggro encounter at a time, rather than a full mob. In the past, there have been times of military action against what used to be our own people, clashes between our military forces and mobs of Aggros… then again, it has been like that all around the world. It still happens in large numbers from time to time, even with the advances in the medication.

  There was a time when people thought it would be in the best interests of public safety to simply eradicate all Unstables at once. However, fortunately, compassion and rationality prevailed when C-Shapes affirmed that this virus could no longer be transmitted from person to person, and that killing millions of people would be wrong when they are working on a cure. A lot of people still believe a cure is impossible. There have been times when rogue groups have taken matters into their own hands. It is like in the old days, only it is no longer a race issue—its mobs of different nationalities going around killing anyone they think pose a risk as an Unstable. It’s not often talked about, but in a lot of the poorer countries—they’ve done some terrible things to where there is only a very small population of Unstables left. I suppose, fear is a great motivator to commit what I still consider murder despite everything I’ve seen and been taught during my training.

  2. Sitter

  My first day was actually only about two weeks ago. After you’ve completed your three week training course, you’re handed a badge and a special cell phone. If you’re ever faced with the situation of your Unstable turning Aggro on you, you run. You do not attempt to engage, talk, think—you simply run. You press a special button on your cell and a red light at the top of it starts to blink, slowly at first… then it quickens its pace, as the Hunters are growing closer. It is kind of like a time limit, you know to get the fuck out and survive until it is fully lit and the cavalry has arrived.

  I get dressed that first morning. An anxious feeling of sickness rests in the pit of my stomach. I comb my short light brown hair back and run some gel through it. I put on my running shoes, which contrasts sharply against my professional attire, but it comes highly recommended when engaging in any occupation that deals with Unstables. I grab my car keys and take one look around my huge apartment. It is a lot more extravagant than when I was younger… before the shit hit the fan—but housing these days is not exactly an issue anymore.

  I climb into my car and leave to meet with the caseworker; I believe her name is Kathleen. My mind is running a million miles a second with the anticipation of starting my new job that I am not clear on that point. I drive a few miles to a small C-Shapes office. I enter the large golden trimmed double doors and walk across a smooth marble floor. I meet a nice looking secretary who asks me who I have an appointment with… I pause for a moment.

  “Kathleen?” I say more as a question than a proper answer.

  “Katharine?” The secretary replies in the same manner.

  “That’s it,” I reply. “I’m new… first day and all that.”

  The secretary laughs and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it.”

  I take a look around the entryway; tall trees grow from huge pots around the large windows that surround the building. The walls are lined with rough, rocklike surfaces with water pouring down them; bright lights shimmer from below illuminating the dancing flow of the water creating beautiful reflections against the adjacent wall. C-Shapes definitely does not cheap out, even on a simple field office… then again, they can definitely afford it. They probably have more money than any corporation, or country, in the world at the moment.

  “Katharine will see you now,” the secretary says as she smiles and gestures towards a room at the far end. It’s 2B.

  “Thanks,” I reply as I return the smile and head off.

  “Mr. Chase,” A dark skinned woman with long hair says as she leads me into her office and has me sit across from her. “It is good to meet you.”

  “You as well,” I say as I nod.

  “So what made you want to become a Sitter?” She begins and then laughs as she thumbs through a file cabinet. “…other than the fact that we desperately need them?”

  “I did the normal stuff for a while and I just wanted to be of some help. If I can help someone I feel that my life is somehow more productive than just… stocking shelves.”

  “Well, even though I know you’ve had a long wait period and we’re always understaffed…” Katharine says as she nods and pulls up two files and places them on the desk, “It is not for everyone. A lot of people think they can handle it, but sometimes they get the fear that their Unstable is going to go Aggro on them.”

  “I think I’m a fast runner,” I say as I shrug my shoulders.

  “Let’s hope that confidence lasts,” Katharine says as she opens up the first one of the files and shows me a picture of a man that seems oddly familiar. He has very dark brown hair and blue eyes. He is smiling a big wide dopey grin in the picture. He seems happy. “This is Noah Williams, a 29 year old highly functioning Amnesiac. He does not work…”

  “Noah Williams, I know him. He was in the same grade as me… used to work on the college newspaper and then was the youngest person to get on at the local paper in our town,” I say as I look at the picture once more. He looks so much older, different. “We used to be really good friends actually, well before he left for college and we lost contact… But I used to read his articles.”

  “Well that’s a first,” Katharine says as she nods. “Anyway, I doubt that will be of any help to him… I mean, he has no memory of his life before that day, but who knows. He should be an easy first case. He is pretty capable, you should just have to make sure he takes his Calm—he is on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday Schedule. You might have to cook a few meals, sometimes he prefers to do it himself. He knows what a Sitter is, most of the time he will remember you as he gets to know you. So just keep him on task, he still likes to write… the last Sitter said it was mostly nonsense, but you know, whatever keeps him happy.”

  “Got it,” I say as take the folder. “Same address… I used to live right across the street.”

  “Yeah… his mother still lives in the residence; however, she had a stroke a few years back and hasn’t been able to take care of him… any of your parents make it?”

  “No…” I reply. “They were staying up north in Wisconsin with friends, I meant to go and visit them but, before I could—they both went Aggro.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Katharine says as she shakes her head. “My mom went Aggro about two years ago. It’s best to not be there… I wasn’t. I’ve heard stories though and no one should have to see that.”

  “Yeah,” I say, although, I do not know if I am agreeing or attempting to reassure myself of something I’d rather forget.

  “Moving on,” Katharine adds as she takes a hard swallow as though a lump was forming in her throat. “We usually don’t pair up male Sitters with female Unstables… you know the rules though.”

  “I know,” I add quickly. “Instantly lose your job, face jail time.”

  “Like anyone would want to even mess with an Unstable anyway,” Katharine says as she lets out a short little laugh, for a second she sounds as though she is one of those types that does not really see them as people anymore. “Especially with the fact that they aren’t right in the head and could go Aggro on you at any moment… it shouldn’t even be a… thing.”

  “Yeah, it would never be an issue with me.”

  “Anyway,” Katharine says as she holds up a picture of a girl with very short brown hair and hazel eyes.

  Unlike Noah, she looks sad. There is an instant quality t
o her face that makes me feel inexplicably sad. She has a slender face and her bangs are nearly covering up one of her eyes. It’s the eyes, I then realize—they look so sad.

  “This girl here is surprisingly a Mirror,” Katharine says as she thumbs through the info on the file. “We rarely ever see those here.”

  “I hear they’re a pretty rare outcome of the virus.”

  “Cherie Derry,” Katharine says as she continues to read.

  “Cherry Dairy…?” I ask, almost forcing myself to stifle a bit of laughter.

  Katharine holds up the paper, over the top the real name has been crossed out and ‘Cherie Derry’ has been written over it. “It seems to be the only name she responds to… she won’t respond to her birth name.”

  “What is her real name?”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter,” Katharine says as she continues, “Someone crossed it out. I remember seeing her evaluation video. She is a twenty six year old, female; obsessed with Paris… she constantly thinks she is in Paris or going to Paris. She used to be an artist… not a very successful one. No living family.”

  “Has she ever been to Paris?”

  “Nope, she has a half finished painting of the Eiffel Tower in her apartment. So with her memory issues perhaps she thinks that she has been, or is going… anyway, she should be a pretty easy case as well. You’re familiar with a Mirror’s mannerisms, sometimes they will mimic you or repeat what you say, other times they will talk to just like any normal person would, but for the most part she is a very capable Unstable. She’s prone to sitting though for hours just staring out windows. When I first saw the video I thought she was a veg… sorry I mean a…”

  “Catatonic…?”

  “Yeah,” Katharine says as she shakes her head. “You get around a lot of people who like to use some of the more derogatory terms for these cases. Anyway, comes with the territory… Cherie will be your Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule. She’ll do all her own cooking, just make sure she gets her groceries and try and get her out—you can even take her with you to visit Noah, some interaction might be nice as opposed to staring at the wall… it’s your call though.”