The photo below is from the Google Photo Frame.
The year is now 2024.
Our bus moved along swiftly in spite of the noontime traffic.
There was silence, except for the occasional rattle of handcuffs, as our group shifted restlessly in our seats. Even the compressor attached to our metal masks was soundless as it pumped our exhaled breaths through multiple filters, as well as, stifling intermittent screams.
We were the first, as collecting the rebellious and non-compliant is easier in densely populated areas. We wouldn’t be the last.
It didn’t matter whether any of us had natural immunity or immunity gained from having survived the virus, we were Anti-Vaxxers and deemed a public health threat for asserting our individual right to personal autonomy in the face of a treatable, extremely survivable, NOW, almost extinct virus.
The government urgency was clear- to eliminate us before the population, at large, learned they too were already in invisible governmental handcuffs constructed entirely from exaggerated fear and indifference to far greater threats to their own health and happiness.
Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #128 – This, That, and The Other (fivedotoh.com)
Sillyfrog's Blog 
An interesting take on the photo. I wish you were right that we are dealing with “a treatable, extremely survivable, NOW, almost extinct virus.” Well, maybe by 2024 that will be the case.
Yes… I hope so too. I also hope our government officials will relinquish their chokehold on us by then. 🙏
Well, 95 % survivable already is in the ‘extremely’ category according to my sensibility. I’d like those odds in Vegas! LOL
I hope that this dreadful virus vanishes in three years!
You can bet that government overreach will be harder to remove. Of course, this scary scenario is exaggerated…
The last two years have already taken us beyond dystopian scenarios. I can see discrimination ahead. I hope I’m wrong.
Still a great story! WTG!
Every time I catch myself saying, “Oh, that can’t happen in the U.S..” I’ve been wrong. A nightmare. Thanks Jen!
All we can do is stay safe, carry on and survive.
💜🦋
We can talk openly and/or write stories encouraging diverse thought, too!
❤
Hm hmm