Untouched

11. Sunday/ Realising Zach's not the only idiot- day

Zach is laughing, but I don't think he's laughing at me. I'm telling myself he isn't.

We gave up looking in the boxes for animals that don't exist a while ago. Instead, we've spent the time quizzing each other while we walk aimlessly around the woods. Zach walks closer than any of my friends but at least he's keeping some distance, about a hand's length. I don't focus on the lack of space as I'm too interested in finding out how he lives; comparing the differences and similarities between us.

I haven't found any similarities yet.

'Seriously? You tagged each other with sticks instead of your hands?' Zach asks, once he's stopped laughing and is able to speak again.

'You used your hands instead of sticks. Now that's weird,' I say defensively. 'Anyway, Naturalists are great at playing Tag. The whole avoiding touch acts as an extra incentive for us so you can never get near enough to even poke anyone with your stick.'

'Good to know, I'll be sure to never challenge you to a game of Tag.' Zach grins. 'What happens when you get seriously hurt and you need stitches or an operation?'

'I don't know, I've never been seriously hurt.'

'That bruise on your arm looks pretty bad.'

I absently rub my arm which is covered in various shades of light blue and yellow. My legs are worst but I don't mention that, he'd probably ask to see them. 'Me and my brother were testing a theory.'

'What theory was that?'

'A stupid one.'

'Details.' Zach arches an eyebrow.

'Years ago, I wanted to know whether using a sheet-like a parachute would slow our fall when jumping off the roof of our cabin. Turns out it doesn't.' We also learnt a thin mattress doesn't do much in the form of cushioning a fall either, and I'm an idiot because I attempted it twice when Mattan told me I wasn't holding the sheet at the correct angle.

Zach laughs loudly. 'Are you being serious?'

I nod. 'My brother was adamant we try it last Sunday. Someone informed my parents, and they turned up and demanded we get down at once so my brother never even got his turn.'

As painful as it was, it was also really fun. My brother had morphed back into the younger version of himself before he was interested in Mara and spending all his time with her, before he was thinking about settling. It felt good spending time just the two of us.

My stomach dips. Soon Mattan will leave me to settle with Mara.

I clear my throat. 'A few months ago, a woman in the carpentry workshop crushed her hand but she bandaged it up and returned a week later.'

Her hand is now permanently misshapen, curled and twisted so she can no longer use it. Whenever I visit Mattan at the workshop, I see her struggling to use her tools. Mattan said there's talk of transferring her to basic fieldwork. If she was a Techie would they have been able to fix it? Probably.

Zach tucks his hands in his pockets. 'What I don't understand is, you don't touch each other to prevent contamination but Virulence can survive on surfaces for weeks so surely you're still at risk from touching objects that other people have touched.'

'We don't touch other people possessions or go into each others' homes. Doors are left open on all the public buildings we have to use so we don't have to touch the handles. We also limit the amount of time spent in public places to reduce any transmission and prevent another outbreak occurring. We take lots of precautions to ensure our safety.' I sigh.