A knock at the front door sends panic through my parents.
"Who is it?" Dad calls. No answer. He cautiously approaches the door, then peers out the window to see who might be outside. The knock comes again, and Dad staggers backward. "There's no one there!" he says, shocked and confused.
Nat has now joined Dad; she is snickering.
"Macky, it's Manny."
At that, I chuckle too, and the tension lifts slightly from Dad's face.
"Open the door," I say.
Dad opens the door, and Manny starts to walk in. A sly smile spreads across my face, and Nat seems to understand, too.
"There's nobody there," Dad repeats and steps forward to go outside.
"Ouch!" Manny exclaims as Dad steps on his foot.
Then, Dad totally freaks out. He runs into the living room where Mom and Bree are. Then the three of us burst out laughing, and Manny shuts the front door. Mom comes over to confront Nat and me.
"What's so funny?" she demands.
"Yeah, what's really going on here?" Dad says, trailing close behind.
"Sorry, Dad," I say, motioning to the spot where Manny had just been.
"I'm over here," Manny says, with a humorous tone.
"I see…" Dad says. "An invisible person?" He glances at the place where Manny's voice comes from. "Is that even possible?"
"Do you guys have any peppermint tea?" Manny's voice is now in the kitchen.
The rest of my family is too stunned to protest Manny's loud rummaging through our kitchen cabinets.
"If you have already found the mug cupboard, the tea is beneath it," Bree says, but Manny is standing right behind us.
"LOL," he says, "I'm just here to see if this family is or isn't infected."
"What?" Dad, Mom, and Bree all said at once.
"Oh, yeah, since no one and nothing can see me, I'm going around the neighborhood—and Winnipeg for that matter—taking account of all the non-Rogues—or non-Vexon—and telling everyone to stay inside and lock their doors."
At that, Manny steps outside and slams the door. I reach for the deadbolt, then lock the knob as well.
"Okay then, I guess we don't have to worry about calling numbers from the phone book," Mom says, and the five of us go back to the living room.
This time, I sit next to Nat. To my relief, Bree doesn't seem to mind.
"So we need to cover some basic rules," Mom resumes our family meeting from before. "No going outside without specific permission and a valid reason. Only your dad can answer the door. Who knows how smart this virus is, and any human who has it may try to deceive the non-infected.
"Okay, but what about me?" Nat asks.
"What about you?" Mom asks in return.
"Well, it's just—like, well, am I a part of the Renner family now, how does this all work now that I'm in the picture?"
Dad answers her. "Yes, you are a part of this family now." This means sharing the chores, being in your room by curfew—except on nights like this. Our lives don't necessarily change all that much, but the fact that we need to stay as isolated as possible probably means we'll never be going outside again."
"What about the season warehouse?" I interject. "In the basement, in the furnace room, there is a small door just behind the furnace fan. This passage should be used for checking up on things, or if we need fresh air."
"Concerning the Season's Warehouse, there needs to be a buddy system. Nat or Bree will accompany you, Macky, whenever you go to the warehouse, and you will accompany me whenever I go to the warehouse." Dad pauses so that we can digest what he says.
"There can't be any questioning if your mom and I give you a certain task, no matter how absurd or how little sense it makes. Lives could depend on whether or not you listen to us. This world is collapsing, but I'm sure that smart families around the world are doing similar things."
"Any other questions?" Mom asks us.
Nat and I simultaneously shake our heads, and after a moment, Bree also shakes her head.
"Can I go now?" Bree asks.
Dad nods. "This family meeting is adjourned. And Nat, you can just call June and me Mom and Dad, not Mr. or Mrs. Renner, nor John or June."
"All right, Dad," Nat replies, and she heads off to bed.
It's just my parents and me left.
"I can't help but notice that you have feelings for Nat," Dad says, after a few moments of silence.
I nod slowly. "I do. She is everything I have ever dreamed of and everything I ever wanted. She means a lot to me, even though I've only known her for four days."
"I'm glad you found affection for someone. That kind of relationship only gets stronger as the two of you endure hard times."
"Yeah, she's amazing," I say. "I can't think of anyone else who could take her place. Anyway, it's getting late, so I'm going to hit the sack."
"Good night, son," Dad says as I get up to leave.
Bree is in my bed when I enter my room. She doesn't stir, but I know she isn't asleep. I notice that Nat hasn't said goodnight to me. It's probably nothing. I shrug it off. I climb into the right side of the bed, which is against the wall.
"Good night, Bree. I love you."
"I'll try to be nicer to Nat," Bree whispers. "I love you, too."